Like the philosopher, the author views his task as one of establishing a clear connection between life and history, and of making the past bear fruit for the present and future.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
A man acquainted with history may, in some respect, be said to have lived from the beginning of the world, and to have been making continual additions to his stock of knowledge in every century.
History is the interpretation of the significance that the past has for us.
When you realize the value of all life, you dwell on what is past and concentrate more on the preservation of the future.
When you realize the value of all life, you dwell less on what is past and concentrate more on the preservation of the future.
What is history? An echo of the past in the future; a reflex from the future on the past.
Man spends his life in reasoning on the past, in complaining of the present, in fearing future.
Life is a culmination of the past, an awareness of the present, an indication of a future beyond knowledge, the quality that gives a touch of divinity to matter.
What matters is to live in the present, live now, for every moment is now. It is your thoughts and acts of the moment that create your future. The outline of your future path already exists, for you created its pattern by your past.
A key goal for an author of history is to persuade his or her readers to forget what they know and to relive the world as it unfolded for characters of the time - with outcomes uncertain.
An author who sets about to depict events of the past that have run their course is suspected of wishing to avoid the problems of the present day, of being, in other words, a reactionary.