Quotes About History

It's a poor sort of memory that only works backwards.

poison or not'; for she had read several nice little histories about children who had got burnt, and eaten up by wild beasts and other unpleasant things, all because they would not remember the simple rules their friends had taught them: such as, that a red-hot poker

People always fear what they don't understand, Evangeline. History proves that.

Every city is a ghost. New buildings rise upon the bones of the old so that each shiny steel bean, each tower of brick carries within it the memories of what has gone before, an architectural haunting. Sometimes you can catch a glimpse of these former incarnations in the awkward angle of a street or filigreed gate, an old oak door peeking out from a new facade, the plaque commemorating the spot that was once a battleground, which became a saloon and is now a park.

The colonizer writes the history, winning twice: A theft of land. A theft of witness.

There is no greater power on this earth than story. Will paced the length of the room. People think boundaries and borders build nations. Nonsense - words. Stories. Myths. Lies. Promises. History.

People think boundaries and borders build nations. Nonsense—words do. Beliefs, declarations, constitutions—words. Stories. Myths. Lies. Promises. History.

When the Bennington was built, in 1872, it was said that the architect, who had descended from a long line of witches, fashioned the building on ancient occult principles so that it would always be a sort of magnet for the otherworldly. So as I said, don't pay any mind to the odd sounds or sights you might experience. It's just the Bennington, dear.

Every city is a ghost. New buildings rise upon the bones of the old so that each shiny steel beam, each tower of brick carries within it the memories of what has gone before, an architectural haunting.

No historians or librar ians were harmed in the making of this book, but some were badgered extensively with questions.

If you would understand the present, you must come to know the past.

History was haunted by the ghosts of buried crimes, which required periodic exorcisms of truth. Actions had consequences. Will

We are the dead. We are the keepers of the stories. We hold the history of blood and promises. We are speaking. Are you listening? Will you hear?

He put a hand to the cool, painted stones bearing witness to so many names, so many histories. In the mural, there were painted lines for the Underground, like scars stretched across the skin of the infected nation. There were wounds and then there were wounds. Some were so great Memphis had no idea how they could ever be healed.

The citizens rise and wash, shave and brush. They don stockings and dresses, pants, shirts, and suspenders. They button up their need. Affix their aspirations. Tuck histories neatly inside drawers, creating themselves as they go, a rhapsody of reinvention.

Gideon isn't for sale mister. Ah, yes. Like the Louisana Purchase, or Manhattan. I see. Should I have come with a purse full of beads and a wagon of diseased blankets? ... Can't you smell the history in the air? No doubt their grandfathers rushed across these prairies in their wagons, knocking down the natives, smashing in their brains in their zeal to stake for their claim. That pioneer spirit. My, what a land! I have learned so much from you

Do you think some places just hold on to evil? That you can't paint or wash it away? It lives on, no matter what you build on top

There is no greater power on this earth than story. People think boundaries and borders build nations. Nonsense - words do. Beliefs, declarations, constitutions - words. Stories. Myths. Lies. Promises. History.

Tu madre y yo no aprobamos el alcohol. ¿No has oído hablar de la Decimoctava Enmienda? - ¿La de la ley seca? Bebo a su salud siempre que puedo.

what we do not study and reflect upon, we are in danger of dismissing or forgetting. What we forget, we are often doomed to repeat. Our ghosts, it seems, are always with us, whispering that attention must be paid.

The Chinese Exclusion Act was a law designed to keep more Chinese from coming here once they'd finished building our railroads.' 'Doesn't sound terribly American.' 'On the contrary, it's very American.

There is no greater power on this earth than story." Will paced the length of the room. "People think boundaries and borders build nations. Nonsense—words do. Beliefs, declarations, constitutions—words. Stories. Myths. Lies. Promises. History.

I like the way Georgia looks, so different from Texas. All those tall pine trees and that rich, red dirt, like the ground bled and scabbed over, like it's got a history you can read in the very clay.

Memphis stared into the fire. "Why are we trying to save this country? What's it ever done for us?" In his mind, he could still see those words on that hateful sign. "Maybe we should just let it burn. Maybe we should let the King of Crows have it all." Bill let the question sit for a long time. "It's the only country we got, I reckon." "That's a bullshit answer," Memphis grumbled. "Only answer I got, too.