Category Archives: history

History As a Good or Bad Medicine

“In the same way political history is also made up of three parts.  The first consists of the industrious study and collation of documents; the second is topographical and includes the survey of cities, places, rivers, harbours, and in general … Continue reading

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The Special Function of History

“Now the special function of history, particularly in relation to speeches, is first of all to discover the words actually used, whatever they were, and next to establish the reason why a particular action or argument failed or succeeded.  The … Continue reading

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One Human Race

“For the human race is, more than any other species, at once social by nature and quarrelsome by perversion.  And the most salutary warning against this perversion or disharmony is given by the facts of human nature.  We are warned … Continue reading

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History and the Holy

“Many mortals, vainly devoted to study and worldly acclaim, have then sought to immortalize their reputation, or so they believed, by using their pen to give an account of the lives of famous men.  But although this did not bring … Continue reading

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History and the Truth

“Now in other spheres of human life we should perhaps not rule out such partiality.  A good man ought to love his friends and his country, and should share both their hatreds and their loyalties. But once a man takes … Continue reading

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History Kindles the Desire for Honor

“I have often heard that Quintus Maximus, Publius Scipio, and other illustrious citizens of our state, used to say that the sight of their ancestors’ portrait-masks fired their hearts with an ardent desire to merit honour.  Obviously they did not … Continue reading

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History as the Soul’s Path to Glory

“What guides and controls human life is man’s soul.  If it pursues glory by the path of virtue, it has all the resources and abilities it needs for winning fame, and is independent of fortune, which can neither give any … Continue reading

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The Power to Tax is the Power to Control

“This power, exercised without limitation, will introduce itself into every corner of the city, and country.—It will wait upon the ladies at their toilett [sic], and will not leave them in any of their domestic concerns; it will accompany them … Continue reading

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God’s Little Puppet Show

“Now the blind world, because it does not know God and his work, concludes that it is owing to its own cleverness, reason, and strength that a community or dominion endures and thrives.  Accordingly, they gather together great treasures, stuff … Continue reading

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Luther on Rulers and History

“A prince must also be very wise and not always try to impose his will, even if he has the right and the best of all reasons to do so.  For it is a far nobler virtue to put up … Continue reading

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