If men could learn from history, what lessons it might teach us. But passion and party blind our eyes, and the light which experience gives us is a lantern on the stern, which shines only on the waves behind us.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge
About This Quote

The quote refers to the fact that one cannot learn from history. We are too busy with our own passions and political parties. We must stop beating our swords against each other, stop arguing about politics and start taking action. We must learn from the mistakes of the past and make sure that they don't repeat themselves in the future.

Some Similar Quotes
  1. When someone loves you, the way they talk about you is different. You feel safe and comfortable. - Jess C. Scott
  2. The man of knowledge must be able not only to love his enemies but also to hate his friends. - Friedrich Nietzsche
  3. You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection - Sharon Salzberg
  4. In youth, it was a way I had, To do my best to please. And change, with every passing lad To suit his theories. But now I know the things I know And do the things I do, And if you do not like me... - Dorothy Parker
  5. You can search throughout the entire universe for someone who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and that person is not to be found anywhere. You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and... - Sharon Salzberg
More Quotes By Samuel Taylor Coleridge
  1. Day after day, day after day, We stuck, nor breath nor motion; As idle as a painted ship Upon a painted ocean.
  2. Advice is like snow; the softer it falls, the longer it dwells upon, and the deeper it sinks into the mind.
  3. No man was ever yet a great poet, without at the same time being a profound philosopher.
  4. Common sense in an uncommon degree is what the world calls wisdom.
  5. Silence does not always mark wisdom.
Related Topics