Quotes

“One of the most important reasons for studying history is that virtually every stupid idea that is in vogue today has been tried before and proved disastrous before, time and again. Do we need to keep repeating the same mistakes forever?”

“Ironically, European history, and not simply French, German, or British history, has had a much longer history [of being taught] in the United States than in Europe itself because the teaching of European history in the United States served first to form an elite and then, with the coming of World War I and II, to create a sense of common values shared between the United States and its European allies.”

“To be ignorant of what occurred before you were born is to remain always a child. For what is the worth of a human life, unless it is woven into the life of our ancestors by the records of history.”

“The dearest ambition of a slave is not liberty, but to have a slave of his own.”

“The laws of man may bind him in chains or may put him to death, but they never can make him wise, virtuous, or happy.”

“I read, I study, I examine, I listen, I reflect, and out of all of this I try to form an idea into which I put as much common sense as I can.”