John Henrik Clarke Quotes

In fact history does not belong to us; but we belong to it.

History is the witness that testifies to the passing of time; it illumines reality, vitalizes memory, provides guidance in daily life and brings us tidings of antiquity

History happens all around us.

History takes time... History makes memory.

Language also encodes our past. We want to know who we are. To know who we are, we have to know who we used to be. Consequently, our literature, written in the past, anchors us in that past.

Without memory, there is no culture. Without memory, there would be no civilization, no society, no future.

… history does not belong to us but rather we to it

Only the story can continue beyond the war and the warrior. The story outlives the sound of the war drum... The story is our escort. Without it we are blind... It is the thing that sets us apart from cattle.

Stories have to be told or they die, and when they die, we can't remember who we are or why we're here.

It is important for all of us to appreciate where we come from and how that history has really shaped us in ways that we might not understand.

History is like a constantly changing tree.

What does legacy mean? I never think or go there.

It's very strange that most people don't care if their knowledge of their family history only goes back three generations.

It takes an endless amount of history to make even a little tradition.

I have a strong impulse to protect history and time and the lineage of events.

Things that came before, people and things and experiences - that does mean something to me. It doesn't mean I don't embrace the new, but I don't forget the past, either.

Only barbarians are not curious about where they come from, how they came to be where they are, where they appear to be going, whether they wish to go there, and if so, why, and if not, why not.

The future has a lot to do with the past.

It's always good to remember where you come from and celebrate it. To remember where you come from is part of where you're going.

The past is only the present become invisible and mute; and because it is invisible and mute, its memorized glances and its murmurs are infinitely precious. We are tomorrow's past.

History isn’t just what happened before we came on the scene. We are a part of history..

There is also a need that each should understand where he came from and what he is -- and what will become of him.

History didn't begin yesterday.

We learn history not in order to know how to behave or how to succeed, but to know who we are.

The word “History” is mostly made up of the word “Story”.