Arnold Joseph Toynbee (1889–1975) was an English historian of international importance. He is widely regarded as the "father of modern World history." He was born in London, studied at Trinity College, Cambridge, and taught there. He was Professor of Ancient History at Oxford University from 1934 to 1957. His works include one of the most important biographies of Jesus of Nazareth, one on the rise of Islam, several volumes on the rise of China, and four on the rise of India
His last work was his magnum opus, A Study of History (1953–1961; 13 vols.).
Militarism has been by far the commonest cause of the breakdown of civilizations. The single art of war makes progress at the expense of all the arts of peace.Arnold Joseph Toynbee
It is a paradoxical but profoundly true and important principle of life that the most likely way to reach a goal is to be aiming not at that goal itself but at some more ambitious goal beyond it.Arnold Joseph Toynbee
