A. J. P. Taylor Quotes

Like most of those who study history, he (Napoleon III) learned from the mistakes of the past how to make new ones.

History is the single discipline from the world of learning that most informs action in the world. So if you ask world leaders what guides them in making decisions about a new circumstance that they have just encountered it is usually implicitly “a little like this” or “a little like” something else that happened in the past. They use that much more than they use political science theories or economic theories. It is “what is this like that has happened in the past”.

The distinction between a statesman and a politician is that the former imposes his will and his ideas on his environment while the latter adopts himself to it.

The first requirement of a statesman is that he be dull.

A statesman wants courage and a statesman wants vision; but believe me, after six months' experience, he wants first, second, third and all the time - patience.

The essence of statesmanship is not a rigid adherence to the past, but a prudent and probing concern for the future.

A statesman is a politician who’s been dead ten or fifteen years.

A good politician has to know both himself and his times.

A great statesman is he who knows when to depart from traditions, as well as when to adhere to them.

The politician says: "I will give you what you want." The statesman says: "What you think you want is this. What it is possible for you to get is that. What you really want, therefore, is the following.

We must study history to learn its lessons, absorb its spirit of possibility, extract and emulate its models of excellence and possibility and honor the moral obligation to remember. We must measure ourselves in the mirror of the best of our history and constantly ask ourselves how can we use the past as a foundation to inform, expand and enrich our present and future.

In history lies all the secrets of statecraft.

The great statesmen are those who hear the hoof beats of the horses of history.

No man can be a politician except he be first a historian.

Study history. Study history. In history lie all the secrets of statecraft.

If generations past could get things so badly wrong, then we are forever vulnerable as well.

Presidents look back seeking both inspiration for the future and sanction for the moment

I have interacted with several top leaders. Modi is among the three smartest leaders I have met.

The heart of a statesman should be in his head.

I think all presidents should take the long view of history.

The great task of statesmanship is to apply past lessons to new situations, to draw correct analogies to understand and act upon present forces, to recognise the need for change.

You politicians have got to look further ahead; you always got a Putter in your hands, when you ought to have a Driver.

Nature abhors a vacuum, even in the heads of statesmen.

Mayors make tough decisions; Senators make tough speeches.

The orators and statesmen of our land, whether they belong to the past, or to the present, will live and shine in the annals of history, in proportion as they have dedicated their genius and talents to the defense of Justice and man's God-given rights.