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Learning from the past16 quotes
Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. — George Santayana · 1905That men do not learn very much from the lessons of history is the most important of all the lessons that history has to teach. — Aldous Huxley · 1956At every step the natural light which illuminates their path grows dimmer and less secure; and that, in spite of all their efforts, they have as yet only discovered a small number of conflicting notions, on which the mind of man has been tossed about for thousands of years, without either laying a firmer grasp on truth, or finding novelty even in its errors. — Alexis de Tocqueville · 1840Experience is the oracle of truth; and where its responses are unequivocal, they ought to be conclusive and sacred. — James Madison · 1787People will not look forward to posterity, who never look backward to their ancestors. — Edmund Burke · 1790What experience and history teach is this-that nations and governments have never learned anything from history, or acted upon any lessons they might have drawn from it. — Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel · 1830All 16 quotes →History8 quotes
Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. — George Santayana · 1905That men do not learn very much from the lessons of history is the most important of all the lessons that history has to teach. — Aldous Huxley · 1956At every step the natural light which illuminates their path grows dimmer and less secure; and that, in spite of all their efforts, they have as yet only discovered a small number of conflicting notions, on which the mind of man has been tossed about for thousands of years, without either laying a firmer grasp on truth, or finding novelty even in its errors. — Alexis de Tocqueville · 1840People will not look forward to posterity, who never look backward to their ancestors. — Edmund Burke · 1790What experience and history teach is this-that nations and governments have never learned anything from history, or acted upon any lessons they might have drawn from it. — Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel · 1830History teaches us that men and nations behave wisely once they have exhausted all other alternatives. — Abba Eban · 1970All 8 quotes →The past4 quotes
Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. — George Santayana · 1905At every step the natural light which illuminates their path grows dimmer and less secure; and that, in spite of all their efforts, they have as yet only discovered a small number of conflicting notions, on which the mind of man has been tossed about for thousands of years, without either laying a firmer grasp on truth, or finding novelty even in its errors. — Alexis de Tocqueville · 1840By despising all that has preceded us, we teach others to despise ourselves. — William Hazlitt · 1827If history records good things of good men, the thoughtful hearer is encouraged to imitate what is good. — Venerable Bede · 731Human nature3 quotes
That men do not learn very much from the lessons of history is the most important of all the lessons that history has to teach. — Aldous Huxley · 1956History teaches us that men and nations behave wisely once they have exhausted all other alternatives. — Abba Eban · 1970It is necessary to keep the former experiences of our country both at home and abroad continually before us, if we are to have any science of government. If we wish to erect new structures, we must have a definite knowledge of the old foundations. We must realize that human nature is about the most constant thing in the universe and that the essentials of human relationship do not change. We must frequently take our bearings from these fixed stars of our political firmament if we expect to hold a true course. If we examine carefully what we have done, we can determine the more accurately what we can do. — Calvin Coolidge · 1925Ignorance of history2 quotes
At every step the natural light which illuminates their path grows dimmer and less secure; and that, in spite of all their efforts, they have as yet only discovered a small number of conflicting notions, on which the mind of man has been tossed about for thousands of years, without either laying a firmer grasp on truth, or finding novelty even in its errors. — Alexis de Tocqueville · 1840People will not look forward to posterity, who never look backward to their ancestors. — Edmund Burke · 1790History repeating itself1 quote
That men do not learn very much from the lessons of history is the most important of all the lessons that history has to teach. — Aldous Huxley · 1956Ignorance1 quote
At every step the natural light which illuminates their path grows dimmer and less secure; and that, in spite of all their efforts, they have as yet only discovered a small number of conflicting notions, on which the mind of man has been tossed about for thousands of years, without either laying a firmer grasp on truth, or finding novelty even in its errors. — Alexis de Tocqueville · 1840Immutability of human nature1 quote
It is necessary to keep the former experiences of our country both at home and abroad continually before us, if we are to have any science of government. If we wish to erect new structures, we must have a definite knowledge of the old foundations. We must realize that human nature is about the most constant thing in the universe and that the essentials of human relationship do not change. We must frequently take our bearings from these fixed stars of our political firmament if we expect to hold a true course. If we examine carefully what we have done, we can determine the more accurately what we can do. — Calvin Coolidge · 1925Judging the past1 quote
By despising all that has preceded us, we teach others to despise ourselves. — William Hazlitt · 1827Looking back1 quote
O you who hear within these scattered verses
The sound of sighs with which I fed my heart
In my first errant youthful days when I
In part was not the man I am today. — Petrarch · 1352Political theory1 quote
Experience is the oracle of truth; and where its responses are unequivocal, they ought to be conclusive and sacred. — James Madison · 1787Politics1 quote
Experience is the oracle of truth; and where its responses are unequivocal, they ought to be conclusive and sacred. — James Madison · 1787Wisdom of the past1 quote
It is necessary to keep the former experiences of our country both at home and abroad continually before us, if we are to have any science of government. If we wish to erect new structures, we must have a definite knowledge of the old foundations. We must realize that human nature is about the most constant thing in the universe and that the essentials of human relationship do not change. We must frequently take our bearings from these fixed stars of our political firmament if we expect to hold a true course. If we examine carefully what we have done, we can determine the more accurately what we can do. — Calvin Coolidge · 1925