history
n. An account (mostly false) of events (mostly unimportant) which are brought about by rulers (mostly knaves) and soldiers (mostly fools).
n. The short period from Adam to atom.
n. The race between education and catastrophe.
Cynical Quotations
We learn from history that we do not learn from history.
— Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
Indeed, history is nothing more than a tableau of crimes and misfortunes.
— Voltaire
Any event, once it has occurred, can be made to appear inevitable by a competent historian.
— Lee Simonson
Events in the past may be roughly divided into those which probably never happened and those which do not matter.
— W. R. Inge
For four-fifths of our history, our planet was populated by pond scum.
— J.W. Schopf
History is a set of lies agreed upon
— Napoleon Bonaparte
In times like these, it helps to recall that there have always been times like these.
— Paul Harvey
Why doesn't the good history repeat itself?
— Robert Desgrange