Michael T. Flynn Quotes

World history is a court of judgment.

You never know how history is going to view things.

One must be careful not to prejudge the past.

History is a stern judge.

It's actually quite common for presidents to believe that future generations will render a verdict on their presidencies that is more lasting or definitive than the judgments of their contemporaries. The reason is that although history is certainly "an argument without end" - we're still debating many age-old questions - time does help settle others.

History ... isn't simply what has happened. It's a judgment on what has happened.

There is a difference between remembrance of history and reverence of it.

We should never look down on those of the past and say they should have known better. What do you think they will be saving about us in the future? They’re going to be saying we should have known better.

Those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it.

There are human beings who will be helped in understanding our times through the diaries of Edward Robb Ellis.

Period pieces hold up a mirror to the world that we live in.

It's hard to understand a moment in history when you are in it.

I think a lot of times, the historical piece is often a way to comment on the present.

We have to learn from the past.

I like to think I'm a recovering historian.

Modern men are afraid of the past. It is a record of human achievement, but its other face is human defeat.

Many scholars have complained of our tendency to see history only in conflicts, but I am not convinced they are right. It is in conflict that our values are exposed.

All the past is here, present to be tried; let it approve itself if it can.

Any kind of history you read is basically the winning side telling you the others were bad.

To rush in upon an event before its significance has had time to separate from the surrounding circumstances may be enterprising, but is it useful? ... The recent prevalence of these hot histories on publishers' lists raises the question: Should - or perhaps can - history be written while it is still smoking?

The only important thing to realise about history is that it all took place in the last five minutes.

Today's headlines and history's judgment are rarely the same. If you are too attentive to the former, you will most certainly not do the hard work of securing the latter.

It is the true office of history to represent the events themselves, together with the counsels, and to leave the observations and conclusions thereupon to the liberty and faculty of every man's judgment

The university must be retrospective. The gale that gives direction to the vanes on all its towers blows out of antiquity.

Reading recent history is good to humble yourself, and also to feel some hopefulness that there is progress.