The study of history is a powerful antidote to contemporary arrogance. It is humbling to discover how many of our glib assumptions, which seem to us novel and plausible, have been tested before, not once but many times and in innumerable guises; and discovered to be, at great human cost, wholly false.
Interpretation
Studying history helps us recognize and question our modern assumptions, preventing arrogance.
This quote emphasizes the importance of understanding history as it reveals the recurring nature of human thought and folly. By examining past events and the assumptions that have led to mistakes, we can develop a more grounded perspective on our current beliefs and avoid the arrogance that often accompanies ignorance of historical lessons.
In practice
During a speech addressing current global issues, one might reference this quote to highlight the importance of historical awareness.
Indeed it is the protean ability of Western civilization to be self-critical and self-correcting - not only in producing wealth but over the whole range of human activities - that constitutes its most decisive superiority over any of its rivals.
The image of the scientist who puts the pursuit of truth before anything else has been shattered and replaced by a man on the make or a quasi-religious enthusiast who wants to prove his case at any cost. Science is becoming the tool of campaigning warfare, in which truth is the first casualty.
What strikes the historian surveying anti-Semitism worldwide over more than two millennia is its fundamental irrationality. It seems to make no sense, any more than malaria or meningitis makes sense.
If anti-Semitism is a variety of racism, it is a most peculiar variety, with many unique characteristics. In my view as a historian, it is so peculiar that it deserves to be placed in a quite different category. I would call it an intellectual disease, a disease of the mind, extremely infectious and massively destructive.
Don't leave a 'good time' to chance. Experiences have to be woven with care and planning, like a tapestry.
The easiest thing to be in the world is you. The most difficult thing to be is what other people want you to be. Don't let them put you in that position.
The first step to expanding your reality is to discard the tendency to exclude things from possibility.
What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compared to what lives within us.
The main characteristic which is the proof of the indwelling Spirit is an amazing tenderness in personal dealing, and a blazing truthfulness with regard to God's Word.
To make mistakes is human; to stumble is commonplace; to be able to laugh at yourself is maturity.
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