#historian

Recent fads in history and biography have increasingly exalted the aridity of chronology and fact, and have, with some valid reason, rejected romanticizing and the presumption of guessing at the inner thoughts of historical figures. Unfortunately, the result has largely been not to demythologize the past, but merely to dehumanize and depersonalize it. As Roger Mudd has pointed out, 'Too many of today's historians [and biographers] ... seem to have forgotten that the writing of history is a literary art. ↗

— Markham Shaw Pyle

#history #writing #art

A historian ought to be exact, sincere and impartial; free from passion, unbiased by interest, fear, resentment or affection; and faithful to the truth, which is the mother of history the preserver of great actions, the enemy of oblivion, the witness of the past, the director of the future. ↗

— B.R. Ambedkar

#idealism #faith

Visiting the past is something like visiting a foreign country: they do some things the same and some things differently, but above all else, they make us more aware of what we call 'home. ↗

— John Arnold

#dangerous-games #home

The duty of a historian is simply to understand and then convey that understanding, no more than that. ↗

— Antony Beevor

#duty #historian #more #simply #than

What comes to your mind when you think of the word Transylvania, if you ponder it at all? What comes to my mind are mountains of savage beauty, ancient castles, werewolves, and witches - a land of magical obscurity. How, in short, am I to believe I will still be in Europe, on entering such a realm? I shall let you know if it's Europe or fairyland, when I get there. First, Snagov - I set out tomorrow. ↗

— Elizabeth Kostova

#dracula #historian #transylvania #beauty

Scientists disagree among themselves but they never fight over their disagreements. They argue about evidence or go out and seek new evidence. Much the same is true of philosophers, historians and literary critics. ↗

— Richard Dawkins

#among #argue #critics #disagree #disagreements

If you think about it, the historian's task is like that of the detective. ↗

— David Herbert Donald

#detective #historian #like #task #think

Oh no, I'm not a historian or anything like that. ↗

— Lee Hazlewood

#historian #i #like #oh

Historians still often see the end of the war as meaning nothing more for Germany than lost territories, lost participation in colonization, and lost assets for the state and individuals. They frequently overlook the most serious loss that Germany suffered. ↗

— Gustav Stresemann

#colonization #end #frequently #germany #historians

To write history is so difficult that most historians are forced to make concessions to the technique of legende. ↗

— Erich Auerbach

#difficult #forced #historians #history #make