The only business of the historian is to relate things exactly as they are: this he can never do as long as he is afraid
fear freedom historian history
Study the historian before you begin to study the facts.
historian history
When history is written as it ought to be written, it is the moderation and long patience of the masses at which men will wonder, not their ferocity.
historian history masses
Uninhibited, they wallowed with zest in the filth and mire of their political conceptions and needs, among the very leaders of their society, but nevertheless the very dregs of human civilisation and moral standards. A historian who finds excuses for such conduct by references to the supposed spirit of the times, or by omission, or by silence, shows thereby that his account of events is not to be trusted.
civilization historian history morals politics
Give me a scholar, therefore, who is able to think and to write, to look with an eye of discernment into things, and to do business himself, if called upon, who hath both civil and military knowledge; one, moreover, who has been in camps, and has seen armies in the field and out of it; knows the use of arms, and machines, and warlike engines of every kind; can tell what the front, and what the horn is, how the ranks are to be disposed, how the horse is to be directed, and from whence to advance or to retreat; one, in short, who does not stay at home and trust to the reports of others: but, above all, let him be of a noble and liberal mind; let him neither fear nor hope for anything; otherwise he will only resemble those unjust judges who determine from partiality or prejudice, and give sentence for hire: but, whatever the man is, as such let him be described.
historian history military reporting
The historian is a prophet facing backwards.
hindsight historian history prophecy
It touched me to be trusted with something terrible.
atmospheric dark dracula european fiction historian historical horror moody vampire vlad-the-impaler
For ignorance is the first requisite of the historian?ignorance, which simplifies and clarifies, which selects and omits, with a placid perfection that unattainable by the highest art.
historian ignorance
