To his dog, every man is Napoleon; hence the constant popularity of dogs.
Aldous HuxleyRead
The charm of history and its enigmatic lesson consist in the fact that, from age to age, nothing changes and yet everything is completely different.
Interpretation
What this quote means
History teaches us that while events may seem cyclical, each occurrence is unique in its context and implications.
Aldous Huxley's quote reflects the paradox of history where, despite the repetition of certain events or themes across time, the circumstances, contexts, and consequences surrounding them evolve. This suggests that while human experiences may bear similarities, every moment is distinct due to the nuanced changes in society, culture, and technology, prompting us to look deeper into the lessons history imparts.
Themes
HistoryChangeParadoxLearningCycles
In practice
Example use cases
In a history class, to illustrate the complexities of historical events.
More from Aldous Huxley
All quotes βFacts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.
Aldous HuxleyRead
In the course of history many more people have died for their drink and their dope than have died for their religion or their country.
Aldous HuxleyRead
On no account brood over your wrongdoing. Rolling in the muck is not the best way of getting clean.
Aldous HuxleyRead
No man ever dared to manifest his boredom so insolently as does a Siamese tomcat when he yawns in the face of his amorously importunate wife.
Aldous HuxleyRead
The leech's kiss, the squid's embrace, The prurient ape's defiling touch: And do you like the human race? No, not much.
Aldous HuxleyRead
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The highest knowledge is to know that we are surrounded by mystery. Neither knowledge nor hope for the future can be the pivot of our life or determine its direction. It is intended to be solely determined by our allowing ourselves to be gripped by the ethical God, who reveals Himself in us, and by our yielding our will to His.
Albert SchweitzerRead
From the apparent usefulness of the social virtues, it has readily been inferred by sceptics, both ancient and modern, that all moral distinctions arise from education, and were, at first, invented, and afterwards encouraged ... in order to render men tractable, and subdue their natural ferocity and selfishness, which incapacitated them for society.
David HumeRead
He is spent. His mind is mercury again, its brief surge of humanity melting into an oily residue on its surface, and he no longer understands the feelings he felt in that strange moment on the overpass. But he did feel them. They did happen. They rest on the murky seabed of his mind, buried under sand and silt and miles of grey waves. Patient seeds waiting for light.
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Every person you meet is waging his or her own war against a callous universe that is plotting against them.
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None of us really changes over time. We only become more fully what we are.
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Why, I hold fate Clasped in my fist, and could command the course Of time's eternal motion, hadst thou been One thought more steady than an ebbing sea.
John FordRead