QuoteProject
History always constitutes the relation between a present and its past. Consequently fear of the present leads to mystification of the past
John Berger
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote highlights the connection between our current experiences and historical events, suggesting that fear can distort our understanding of the past.

John Berger's quote emphasizes the intricate relationship between the present and the past, indicating that our perceptions of history are often influenced by our current fears and anxieties. When individuals or societies are fearful of their present circumstances, they may romanticize or distort their understanding of history, leading to a misunderstanding of past events and their significance. This observation encourages a critical examination of how our emotions and experiences shape our interpretations of history.

Themes

HistoryFearPresentPastMystificationUnderstanding

In practice

Example use cases

In a history class discussing how current events shape our interpretations of past eras.

More from John Berger

The strange power of art is sometimes it can show that what people have in common is more urgent than what differentiates them. It seems to me it's something that theatre can do, but it's rare; it's very rare.
John BergerRead
Unlike any other visual image, a photograph is not a rendering, an imitation or an interpretation of its subject, but actually a trace of it. No painting or drawing, however naturalist, belongs to its subject in the way that a photograph does.
John BergerRead
We never look at just one thing; we are always looking at the relation between things and ourselves.
John BergerRead
The camera relieves us of the burden of memory. It surveys us like God, and it surveys for us. Yet no other god has been so cynical, for the camera records in order to forget.
John BergerRead
Propaganda requires a permanent network of communication so that it can systematically stifle reflection with emotive or utopian slogans. Its pace is usually fast.
John BergerRead
Being a unique superpower undermines the military intelligence of strategy. To think strategically, one has to imagine oneself in the enemy's place. If one cannot do this, it is impossible to foresee, to take by surprise, to outflank. Misinterpreting an enemy can lead to defeat. This is how empires fall.
John BergerRead

Similar quotes

The banyan tree does not mean awakening, nor does the hill, nor the saint, nor the European couple. The lotus is a symbol of regeneration.
Swami VivekanandaRead
But now that I am old, moving every year closer to the end of my life, I also feel closer to the beginning. And I remember everything that happened that day becasue it has happened many times in my life. The same innocence, trust, and restlessness; the wonder, fear, and lonliness. How I lost myself. I remember all these things. And tonight, on the fifteenth day of the eighth moon, I also remember what I asked the Moon Lady so long ago. I wished to be found.
Amy TanRead
It must be so,-Plato, thou reasonest well! Else whence this pleasing hope, this fond desire, This longing after immortality? Or whence this secret dread and inward horror Of falling into naught? Why shrinks the soul Back on herself, and startles at destruction? 'T is the divinity that stirs within us; 'T is Heaven itself that points out an hereafter, And intimates eternity to man. Eternity! thou pleasing, dreadful thought!
Joseph AddisonRead
We should show life neither as it is or as it ought to be, but only as we see it in our dreams.
Leo TolstoyRead
I am dying, but the state remains.
Louis XivRead
My foundations support people in the country who care about an open society. It's their work that I'm supporting. So it's not me doing it. But I can empower them. I can support them, and I can help them.
George SorosRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.