“History is the witness of the times, the light of truth, the life of memory, the teacher of life, the messenger of antiquity.”
Cicero
TruthMemory
History Quotes
200 FAMOUS QUOTES · HISTORY
History Quotes
Read the best history quotes on the past, memory and lessons for the future from Cicero, Herodotus, Thucydides, Kalhana, Ibn Khaldun, Lincoln, Nehru and more.
“These are the researches of Herodotus, which he publishes, in the hope of thereby preserving from decay the remembrance of what men have done.”
Herodotus
HistoriansMemory
“I have written my work, not as an essay which is to win the applause of the moment, but as a possession for all time.”
Thucydides
HistoriansLegacy
“History is philosophy teaching by examples.”
Dionysius of Halicarnassus
LessonsPhilosophy
“The most instructive, indeed the only method of learning to bear with dignity the vicissitudes of fortune, is to recall the calamities of others.”
Polybius
LessonsResilience
“Those who know how to win are much more numerous than those who know how to make proper use of their victories.”
Polybius
VictoryWisdom
“The study of history is the best medicine for a sick mind; for in history you have a record of the infinite variety of human experience plainly set out for all to see.”
Livy
LearningHuman Experience
“This I hold to be the chief office of history, to rescue virtue from oblivion.”
Tacitus
VirtueMemory
“The historian's one task is to tell the thing as it happened.”
Lucian
TruthHistorians
“Of all men's miseries the bitterest is this: to know so much and to have control over nothing.”
Herodotus
WisdomHuman Nature
“It is not histories I am writing, but lives.”
Plutarch
BiographyWriting
“For heroes have the whole earth for their tomb.”
Pericles
HeroesLegacy
“I am a transmitter and not a maker, believing in and loving the ancients.”
Confucius
TraditionAncients
“If a man keeps cherishing his old knowledge, so as continually to be acquiring new, he may be a teacher of others.”
Confucius
LearningTeaching
“Though death befalls all men alike, it may be heavier than Mount Tai or lighter than a goose feather.”
Sima Qian
LegacyPurpose
“That noble-minded poet alone is worthy of praise whose word, like that of a judge, keeps free from love or hatred in relating the facts of the past.”
Kalhana
HistoriansFairness
“What is found here may be found elsewhere; what is not found here is found nowhere.”
The Mahabharata
EpicsIndia
“The past resembles the future more than one drop of water resembles another.”
Ibn Khaldun
Past And FuturePatterns
“Whoever wishes to foresee the future must consult the past.”
Niccolo Machiavelli
FutureLessons
“History is the mother of truth, the rival of time, the storehouse of deeds, the witness of the past, the example and lesson of the present, and the warning of the future.”
Miguel de Cervantes
TruthLessons
“History hath triumphed over time, which besides it nothing but eternity hath triumphed over.”
Walter Raleigh
TimeEternity
“Geography is the eye of history.”
Abraham Ortelius
GeographyShort Quotes
“Its chief use is only to discover the constant and universal principles of human nature.”
David Hume
Human NaturePhilosophy
“History is nothing more than a tableau of crimes and misfortunes.”
Voltaire
ScepticalHumanity
“What is history but a fable agreed upon?”
Napoleon Bonaparte
ScepticalTruth
Related Topics
About History Quotes
History is the story of everyone who came before us: their wars and discoveries, their mistakes and triumphs. Studying it helps us understand who we are, why the world looks the way it does, and how to avoid repeating the same mistakes. As many thinkers have warned, people who ignore the past often find themselves living it again.
This collection brings together 200 of the best history quotes from historians, philosophers and leaders across the world, including Cicero, Herodotus, Thucydides, Kalhana, Sima Qian, Ibn Khaldun, Abraham Lincoln and Jawaharlal Nehru. Some are wise, some are witty, and some are quite sceptical about history itself. For more on learning from life, explore our [Experience Quotes](/topics/experience-quotes).
Frequently asked questions
Quick answers about History quotes.
What is the most famous quote about history?
Cicero called history "the witness of the times, the light of truth, the life of memory, the teacher of life." Another famous line comes from George Bernard Shaw: "We learn from history that we learn nothing from history."
Why is studying history important?
Livy said history gives us "a record of the infinite variety of human experience." Machiavelli added, "Whoever wishes to foresee the future must consult the past."
Who said history is written by the victors?
Jawaharlal Nehru wrote that "history is almost always written by the victors and conquerors and gives their viewpoint." Many others have made the same point in different words.
What did Indian historians say about history?
Kalhana, who wrote the Rajatarangini about Kashmir, said a true chronicler should write "like a judge," free "from love or hatred" when relating the past.
Does history repeat itself?
Ibn Khaldun believed "the past resembles the future more than one drop of water resembles another." Karl Marx added that history repeats itself "first as tragedy, second as farce."
What are good short history quotes?
Try "Geography is the eye of history," "There is properly no history; only biography," "History is philosophy teaching by examples," or "Fellow-citizens, we cannot escape history."