“History should not be written to make the present generation feel good but to remind us that human affairs are complicated.”
Margaret MacMillan, quoted in the New York Review of Books
“Neither in the life of the individual nor in that of mankind is it desirable to know the future.”
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Latest Videos From
Historian Jakob Burckhardt, quoted in the Columbus, Ohio, Dispatch
“It is a characteristic of wisdom not to do desperate things.”
Henry David Thoreau, quoted in the Montreal Gazette
“One of the greatest victories you can gain over someone is to beat him at politeness.”
Humorist Josh Billings, quoted in The Kansas City Star
“Pride, like humility, is destroyed by one’s insistence that he possesses it.”
Psychologist Kenneth Bancroft Clark, quoted in the Dayton, Ohio, Daily News
“Do not fear death so much, but rather the inadequate life.”
Bertolt Brecht, quoted in BookReporter.com
“Vision without execution is hallucination.”
Thomas Edison, quoted in The Wall Street Journal
