What Is History? Part 13
(The series is back by popular demand.)
. . . the two elements most crucial to success: sheer luck and a tireless capacity for self-promotion. —William Marvel
Confronted with complexities, the well-advised layman takes refuge in over-simplification. —Alistair MacLean
Evil rulers then are a sign that God is wroth and angry with us. —William Tyndale
A bloody good thing, but far too late. —Noel Coward on the death of Gandhi.
Alas, just because a man can write a book doesn't mean he can't be silly. . . . —Alistair MacLean
We have what is left, the lies and half-lies and the truths and half-truths. We do not know that we have the Truth. —Robert Penn Warren
Chance makes a plaything of man's life. —Seneca
Democracy cannot survive over-population. —Isaac Asimov
To become aware of our history is to become aware of our singularity. —Octavio Paz
Man, it seems to me, is not in history, he is history. —Octavio Paz
Perhaps the values that comprise a decent civilization and those needed to defend it abroad will always be at odds. —T. R. Fehrenbach
And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars; see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. —Matthew 24:6
Almost all things have been found out, but some have been forgotten. —Aristotle
It is while men talk blithely of the lessons of history that they ignore them. —T. R. Fehrenbach
History always speaks cautiously, warning the present that things often are not what they seem, that actions can produce the most unexpected consequences. —Ludwell H. Johnson
One might expect, or at least hope, that the ever-increasing body of fact unearthed by historical research will reduce the extremes of disagreement; the arc of the pendulum [of interpretation] should become always narrower. On the other hand, complete agreement, or even substantial agreement, may never be achieved. —Ludwell H. Johnson
Let none presume to tell me that the pen is preferable to the sword. —Don Quixote
Entries(RSS)
Modern history can be described as a recounting of the continued hard sell of a handful of bad ideas. Old wine in new bottles, ad infinitum.
An old philosophy professor of mine used to say "and x wasn't held again until the 20th century, when every stupid idea was held." I tend to agree, and perhaps if we make it another 100 or 200 years they will call the 20th century the age of stupidity. Nevertheless the new paganism predicted by Hilaire Belloc I think is even worse than he might have imagined himself. It is not even old wine in new bottles, rather it is the worst rotten vinegar of old placed in the most neoteric bottles of today.
Athanasius @ 2
Wayward Southern Baptist though I be, I read, when I can find them, the works of Hilaire Belloc with relish.
Don't stop there, one should look for Chesterton as well!
Robert #3. I am the same way about Belloc. One of the clearest minds and best English writers of the last century.
Athanasius,
Among the many books which my mother collected during her years as a single teacher in a hotel/boarding house is one with some of the writings of Chesterton. As a teenager, I encountered him in that book on some cold January or February day while out of school during a long bout with the flu. Since then, I have, upon occasion, read more of his work.
Glad to see this series return.
"Evil rulers then are a sign that God is wroth and angry with us. —William Tyndale"
Boy, then he must have really been pissed off in recent decades.
And thanks Professor Wilson, you are a Southern Institution in the flesh.
As you gentlemen probably already know, Belloc also predicted the return of militant Islam. A clear and sober mind indeed.
"It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong." - Voltaire
"It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets." - Voltaire
Forgive me for quoting the atheist Voltaire, but, unless I misunderstand, these seem to fit the theme and even a broken clock. . .
May I add one of my personal favorites; "Those whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad"
attributed to Euripdes.