History is indeed the witness of the times, the light of truth. — Marcus Tullius Cicero
History is a vision of God's creation on the move. — Arnold J. Toynbee
History is on every occasion the record of that which one age finds worthy of note in another. — Jacob Burckhardt
Historical novels are, without question, the best way of teaching history, for they offer the human stories behind the events and leave the reader with a desire to know more. — Louis L'Amour
When the drama of history is over, Jesus Christ will stand alone on the stage. All the great figures of history ... will realize that they have been but actors in a drama produced by another. — Helmut Thielicke
That's history. I say history because it happened in the past. — Murray Walker
History is the ship carrying living memories to the future. — Stephen Spender
History is a light that illuminates the past,
and a key that unlocks the door to the future. — Runoko Rashidi
History is the story of events, with praise or blame. — Cotton Mather
History is a child building a sand-castle by the sea, and that child is the whole majesty of man's power in the world. — Heraclitus
History is a symphony of echoes heard and unheard. It is a poem with events as verses. — Charles Angoff
Most events recorded in history are more remarkable than important, like eclipses of the sun and moon, by which all are attracted,but whose effects no one takes the trouble to calculate. — Henry David Thoreau
History is the land-mark by which we are directed into the true course of life. — Marcus Garvey
I just couldn't move. History had me glued to the seat. — Claudette Colvin
That is the supreme value of history. The study of it is the best guarantee against repeating it. — John Buchan
Short Great Historical Quotes
It is essential to resist the depiction of history as the work of heroic individuals — Angela Davis
The people are the true heroes, for it is they who create history. — Xi Jinping
History is not a burden on the memory but an illumination of the soul. — Lord Acton
The study of History is the beginning of wisdom. — Jean Bodin
History is Philosophy teaching by example. — Thucydides
Silence is a source of great strength.
Great History Quotes
There is that great proverb — that until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter. — Chinua Achebe
Great Britain provided time; the United States provided money and Soviet Russia provided blood. — Joseph Stalin
Never limit yourself because of others' limited imagination; never limit others because of your own limited imagination. — Mae Jemison
Every great dream begins with a dreamer. — Harriet Tubman
Now is the time to understand more, so we fear less. — Marie Curie
It is the intense spirituality of India, and not any great political structure or social organisation that it has developed, that has enabled it to resist the ravages of time and the accidents of history. — Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
In the history of the human race, those periods which later appeared as great have been the periods when the men and the women belonging to them had transcended the differences that divided them and had recognized in their membership in the human race a common bond. — Haile Selassie
All the ills of mankind, all the tragic misfortunes that fill the history books, all the political blunders, all the failures of the great leaders have arisen merely from a lack of skill at dancing. — Moliere
The flags of the Confederate States of America were very important and a matter of great pride to those citizens living in the Confederacy. They are also a matter of great pride for their descendants as part of their heritage and history. — Winston Churchill
Historical Events Quotes
Covering a historic event is perfectly legitimate. It's not sneaking into somebody's boudoir... These people belong to history, and not to record that if you have the opportunity would be wrong. — Elliott Erwitt
When the venture has been made of dealing with historical events and characters, it always seems fair towards the reader to avow what liberties have been taken, and how much of the sketch is founded on history. — Charlotte Mary Yonge
The Renaissance is studded by the names of the artists and architects, with their creations recorded as great historical events. — Arthur Erickson
Great minds discuss ideas.Average minds discuss events.Small minds discuss people.
When I was at Stratford, the very first thing that I was commissioned to work on was trying to make a musical out of the documentary material about the General Strike, which was the next big historical event in England, after the First World War. — Trevor Nunn
I believe that historians and analysts of historical events need the authority of facts supplied by living witnesses to the events, which they make their subject. — Ibrahim Babangida
History is opaque. You see what comes out, not the script that produces events, [...] The generator of historical events is different from the events themselves, much as the minds of the gods cannot be read just by witnessing their deeds. — Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.
I accept the resurrection of Easter Sunday not as an invention of the community of disciples, but as a historical event. — Pinchas Lapide
A complex is a cluster of energy in the unconscious, charged by historic events, reinforced through repitition, embodying a fragment of our personality, and generating a programmed response and an implicit set of expectations. — Carl Jung
History - an account, mostly false, of events, mostly unimportant — John Barth
I think students should know something about religion as a historical phenomenon, in the same way that they should know something about socialism and humanism and the other great ideas that have shaped political philosophies and therefore the course of human events. — Steven Pinker
Historical Military Quotes
If we fight a war and win it with H-bombs, what history will remember is not the ideals we were fighting for, but the methods we used to accomplish them. These methods will be compared to the warfare of Genghis Khan who ruthlessly killed every last inhabitant of Persia. — Hans Bethe
It is God's job to forgive Osama Bin Laden. It is our job to arrange a face to face meeting. — Norman Schwarzkopf
Sure, we want to go home. We want this war over with. The quickest way to get it over with is to go get the bastards who started it. — George S. Patton
Acknowledge all of your small victories. They will eventually add up to something great.
I am the very model of a modern Major-General, I've information vegetable, animal, and mineral, I know the kings of England, and I quote the fights historical, From Marathon to Waterloo, in order categorical. — W. S. Gilbert
The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena..who errs, who comes short again and again; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who spends himself in a worthy cause. — Theodore Roosevelt
You need a little bit of insanity to do great things.
The military mind tends to be conservative, realistic and historical. The civilian mind tends to be liberal, idealistic and Utopian. Journalists, obviously, are civilians, and they tend to distrust, and to suspect, the military's motives. — Mark Riebling
The information technologies which were historically born from military research are, today, on the verge of developing an offensive capability of destruction, which could tomorrow, if we're not careful, completely destroy world peace. — Guy-Philippe Goldstein
And while national military forces have historically resisted the full participation of women soldiers, female talent has found plenty of scope in revolutionary and terrorist groups around the planet. — Katherine Dunn
South America has virtually broken away in the last decade. That's an event of historic significance. South America just doesn't follow US orders. In fact there isn't a single US military base left there. — Noam Chomsky
Historical Quotes
The truth is the greatest enemy of the State. — Unknown Author
An honest public servant can't become rich in politics. He can only attain greatness and satisfaction by service. — Harry S. Truman
History teaches that grave threats to liberty often come in times of urgency, when constitutional rights seem too extravagant to endure. — Thurgood Marshall
Failure is a great teacher, and, if you are open to it, every mistake has a lesson to offer.
As a historical legacy, the Kashmir conflict has been an outstanding issue for more than half a century. — Li Peng
A revolution that is based on the people exercising their creativity in the midst of devastation is one of the great historical contributions of humankind. — Grace Lee Boggs
Historically speaking, we went from being Indians to pagans to savages to hostiles to militants to activists to Native Americans. Its five hundred years later and they still cant see us. We are still invisible. — John Trudell
To a great mind, nothing is little.
Dehumanization, although a concrete historical fact, is not a given destiny but the result of an unjust order that engenders violence in the oppressors, which in turn dehumanizes the oppressed — Paulo Freire
Nothing will stop us. The road to the stars is steep and dangerous. But we're not afraid . . . Space flights can't be stopped. This isn't the work of one man or even a group of men. It is a historical process which mankind is carrying out in accordance with the natural laws of human development. — Yuri Gagarin
Divide the world into regional groups as a transitional stage to world government. Populations will more readily abandon their national loyalty to a vague regional loyalty than they will for a world authority. Later the regions can be brought together all the way into a single world dictatorship. — Joseph Stalin
You are a den of vipers. I intend to rout you out and by the Eternal God I will rout you out. If the people only understood the rank injustice of our money and banking system, there would be a revolution before morning. — Andrew Jackson
Historical Political Quotes
The issue today is the same as it has been throughout all history, whether man shall be allowed to govern himself or be ruled by a small elite. — Thomas Jefferson
You have to know the past to understand the present. — Carl Sagan
When one group rules another, the relationship between the two is political. When such an arrangement is carried out over a long period of time it develops an ideology (feudalism, racism, etc.). All historical civilizations are patriarchies: their ideology is male supremacy. — Kate Millett
Average people have great ideas. Legends have great execution.
Let us put the normal divisions of politics aside. Let us come together as one country; let us seize this historic moment to shift the balance of power from the corridors of Westminster to the streets and communities of Scotland. — Nicola Sturgeon
Sooner I'd try to change history than turn political, than try convincing others to write letters or to vote or to march or to do something they didn't already feel like doing. — Richard Bach
Truth is not to be found either in traditional capitalism or in Marxism. Each represents a partial truth. Historically, capitalism failed to discern the truth in collective enterprise and Marxism failed to see the truth in individual enterprise. — Martin Luther King, Jr.
Don't fear the failure... in great attempts it is glorious even to fail.
It's a historical phenomenon that in 250 years, a nation could move from a colony into the most prosperous nation of the world and the leader of the world. It is indeed an achievement, a tribute to the talent of the American nation, the American people and an optimal political and economic system. — Vladimir Putin
You have delivered up our holy German Fatherland to one of the greatest demagogues of all time. I solemnly prophesy that this accursed man will cast our Reich into the abyss and bring our nation to inconceivable misery. Future generations will damn you in your grave for what you have done. — Ian Kershaw
The more subsidized it is, the less free it is. What is known as 'free education' is the least free of all, for it is a state-owned institution; it is socialized education - just like socialized medicine or the socialized post office - and cannot possibly be separated from political control. — Frank Chodorov
Anti-Semitism has no historical, political and certainly no philosophical origins. Anti-Semitism is a disease. — Daniel Barenboim
Historical Fiction Quotes
I could write historical fiction, or science fiction, or a mystery but since I find it fascinating to research the clues of some little know period and develop a story based on that, I will probably continue to do it. — Jean M. Auel
As a child, I read science fiction, but from the very beginnings of my reading for pleasure, I read a lot of non-fictional history, particularly historical biography. — Norman Spinrad
Perhaps it is the greatest grief, after all, to be left on earth when another is gone. — Madeline Miller
No one has ever made himself great by showing how small someone else is.
I feel as if dystopian and utopian representations are historically the most effective way of criticizing modern society. You know, because you don't have to be factually accurate. You can kind of construct some awesome strawman arguments in your fictional world. — Owen Pallett
There is no law that gods must be fair, Achilles,” Chiron said. “And perhaps it is the greater grief, after all, to be left on earth when another is gone. Do you think? — Madeline Miller
I got nice rejections explaining that historical fiction was a difficult sell. But I kept trying. — Anita Diament
I can't read historical fiction because I find the real thing so much more interesting. — Antonia Fraser
For me, writing historical fiction is all about finding a balance between reading, traveling, looking, imagining, and dreaming. — Anthony Doerr
There are some varieties of fiction that I never touch - mystery stories, for instance, which I abhor, and historical novels. I also detest the so-called "powerful" novel - full of commonplace obscenities and torrents of dialog. — Vladimir Nabokov
I read mostly historical fiction - lots of stuff set in ancient Rome and ancient Greece. I also liked sci-fi and fantasy: David Gemmell, Raymond E. Feist. It's a nice escape from the world. As much as I do love real-life stories, they can often make you hurt in a way I'd rather not hurt. — Henry Cavill
Our responsibility is to rally and lead the whole party and the Chinese people of all ethnic groups, take up this historic baton and continue working hard for the great renewal of the Chinese nation so that we will stand rock firm in the family of nations and make fresh and greater contributions to mankind. — Xi Jinping
On the eve of this great adventure I send my best wishes to every soldier in the Allied team.
To us is given the honour of striking a blow for freedom which will live in history; and in the better days that lie ahead men will speak with pride of our doings. — Bernard Law Montgomery
We are living in an historic moment. We are each called to take part in a great transformation. Our survival as a species is threatened by global warming, economic meltdown, and an ever-increasing gap between rich and poor. Yet these threats offer an opportunity to awaken as an interconnected and beloved community. — Desmond Tutu
Another important historical factor is the fact that this already very simple religion was further simplified and purified by the early philosophers of ancient China. Our first great philosopher was a founder of naturalism; and our second great philosopher was an agnostic. — Hu Shih
I think one of the great historical contributions of science is to weaken the hold of religion. That's a good thing. — Steven Weinberg
I think the whole, like, cultural diversity and the arty side of London is really, really great. And how it's so historic as well. — Lily Allen
Alexander the Great was not very tall — Greek Proverbs
[A] great embarrassing fact… haunts all attempts to represent the market as the highest form of human freedom: that historically, impersonal, commercial markets originate in theft. — David Graeber
We have a huge amount of evidence that it was NATO expansion and the more general policy of making Ukraine a western bulwark on Russia’s border that motivated him to attack on February 24th... For Putin to have said time after time that NATO, that Ukraine in NATO, was an existential threat to Russia, when in fact it wasn’t, and this was all done to disguise the real motive, which was to incorporate Ukraine into a greater Russia for the purposes of satisfying his imperial ambitions is an argument that is just not supported by the historical record. Putin was very clear, as were all his lieutenants, that their great fear was that Ukraine was becoming a Western bulwark on Russia’s borders. For them, that was an existential threat. It was simply unacceptable. —
The Presidency is not merely an administrative office. Thats the least of it. It is more than an engineering job, efficient or inefficient. It is pre-eminently a place of moral leadership. All our great Presidents were leaders of thought at times when certain historic ideas in the life of the nation had to be clarified. — Franklin D. Roosevelt
History is the only laboratory we have in which to test the consequences of thought. — Etienne Gilson
Quite apart from any conscious program, the great cultural historians have always been historical morphologists: seekers after theforms of life, thought, custom, knowledge, art. — Johan Huizinga
We consider Christmas as the encounter, the great encounter, the historical encounter, the decisive encounter, between God and mankind. He who has faith knows this truly; let him rejoice. — Pope Paul VI
America was discovered accidentally by a great seaman who was looking for something else; when discovered it was not wanted; and most of the exploration for the next fifty years was done in the hope of getting through or around it. America was named after a man who discovered no part of the New World. History is like that, very chancy. — Samuel Eliot Morison
A people's literature is the great textbook for real knowledge of them. The writings of the day show the quality of the people as no historical reconstruction can. — Edith Hamilton
Well, I actually wrote her a letter a couple of days ago congratulating her. The tone I tried to convey in the letter is, look, you are a part of a great American historical process. — Bruce Babbitt
One belief, more than any other, is responsible for the slaughter of individuals on the alter of the great historical ideas - justice or progress or happiness of future generations... or emancipation of a nation or race or class... this is the belief that somewhere... there is a final solution. — Isaiah Berlin
Generations from now, when historians write about these times, they might note that, in the early decades of the twenty-first century, the United States succeeded in its great and historic mission--it globalized the world. But along the way, they might write, it forgot to globalize itself. — Fareed Zakaria
Sometimes I have the feeling that you are not quite aware--and this honors you--of the historical greatness of your position, that you think too modestly about yourself. Everything you do is destined to be of historic significance. One day, your letters, your decisions, will belong to all mankind, like those of Wagner and Brahms. — Stefan Zweig
Hegel remarks somewhere that all great, world-historical facts and personages occur, as it were, twice. He has forgotten to add: the first time as tragedy, the second as farce. — Karl Marx
Nature never rhymes her children, nor makes two men alike. When we see a great man, we fancy a resemblance to some historical person, and predict the sequel of his character and fortune, a result which he is sure to disappoint. None will ever solve the problem of his character according to our prejudice, but only in his high unprecedented way. — Ralph Waldo Emerson
My historical reading of the situation is that these great monolithic empires developed, Rome, Turkey, and so forth, and they always break down when enough people, and it's always the young, the creative, and minority groups drop out and go back to a tribal form. — Timothy Leary
What you are doing I cannot do, what I'm doing you cannot do, but together we are doing something beautiful for God, and this is the greatness of God's love for us-To give us the opportunity to become holy through the works of love that we do because holiness is not the luxury of the few. — Mother Teresa
I think you're never going to get somewhere ambitious if you don't start out with great ambitions. What I would say is: we got a start. That to me is a very significant thing. Here we were, a historic meeting to talk about climate change. — Christy Clark
Do you believe in the existence of Socrates? Alexander the Great? Julius Caesar? If historicity is established by written records in multiple copies that date originally from near contemporaneous sources, there is far more proof for Christ's existence than for any of theirs. — Dinesh D'Souza
The Chinese Government and I myself have always attached great importance to China-U.S. relations. In the new historic era, I look forward to working together with you to continuously strengthen dialogue and exchanges between our two countries. — Hu Jintao
There are 4 billion cell phones in use today. Many of them are in the hands of market vendors, rickshaw drivers, and others who've historically lacked access to education and opportunity. Information networks have become a great leveler, and we should use them together to help lift people out of poverty and give them a freedom from want. — Hillary Clinton
People want to be successful, and they want to be acknowledged for what they do. Sometimes they make really great art and aren't. Historically, the best artists weren't. But their work survived. — Devendra Banhart
The truth is that History, with its imposing capital H, is simply the amalgamation of many quotidian lives lived in very ordinary ways. History is always personal. If you read Holocaust survivor or American slavery survivor narratives, you realize all too well that these great Historical moments were personal to someone at some time. — Chris Abani
Ridicule has historically proven itself a rickety fence for great ideas. — Vanna Bonta
I feel a great responsibility playing a historical figure because whether they were good or bad, I feel like the person deserves a fair shake. It's like being the executor of their estate in some ways. — Vincent Piazza
...We have an historic opportunity for a great global healing and renewal. If we will accept the challenge of nonviolent activism with faith, courage, and determination, we can bring this great vision of a world united in peace and harmony from a distant ideal into glowing reality. — Coretta Scott King
The purposes of our God are great, His love unfathomable, His wisdom infinite, and His power unlimited; therefore, the Saints have cause to rejoice and be glad. — Joseph Smith, Jr.
Those who remember only that the Roosevelts served hot dogs to the royals will be fascinated by this well-researched account of an historic and ennobling relationship - a great story! — James MacGregor Burns
I know that historically our foundation has had great relations with all the administrations.[Bill] Clinton administration did a lot of outreach. The greatest rise in U.S. foreign aid was under the [George] Bush administration, that's where we got the AIDS initiative, which is called PEPFAR. — Bill Gates
The greatest historical events in the twentieth century - in fact, in all of human history - have been the overthrow of capitalism and establishment of societies run by and for the working class in the two great communist revolutions in Russia and China. — Grover Furr
The writing of history is largely a process of diversion. Most historical accounts distract attention from the secret influences behind great events. — Frank Herbert
The Messianic era is the present age, which began to germinate with the teachings of Spinoza, and finally came into historical existence with the great French Revolution. — Moses Hess
Once one determines that he or she has a mission in life, that's it's not going to be accomplished without a great deal of pain, and that the rewards in the end may not outweigh the pain -if you recognize historically that always happens, then when it comes, you survive it. — Richard M. Nixon
I want to say with the utmost of sincerity, not as a Republican, but as an American, that I have great respect for Senator Obama's historic achievement to become his party's nominee, not because of his color, but with indifference to it. — Mike Huckabee
In Conclusion
Which quotation resonated with you best? Did you enjoy our collection of great historical quotes? Or may be you have a slogan about great historical to suggest. Let us know using our contact form.
Citation
Feel free to cite and use any of the quotes in this collection of great historical quotations. For popular citation styles(APA, Chicago, MLA), please use this citation page.
