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If any pale student, glued to his desk, here seek an apology for a way of life whose natural fruits is that pallid and emasculate scholarship of which New England has had too many examples, it will be far better that this sketch had not been written. For the student there is, in its season, no better place than the saddle, and no better companion than the rifle or the oar.

— Francis Parkman Autobiography (1868)

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More quotes by Francis Parkman

France built its best colony on a principle of exclusion, and failed; England reversed the system, and succeeded.

Montcalm and Wolfe (1884)

A happier calamity never befell a people than the conquest of Canada by the British arms.

The Old Régime in Canada (1874)

America was still a land of wonder. The ancient spell still hung unbroken over the wild, vast world of mystery beyond the sea,—a land of romance, adventure, and gold.

Pioneers of France in the New World (1865)

Humanity, morality, decency, might be forgotten, but codfish must still be had for the use of the faithful in Lent and on fast days.

Pioneers of France in the New World (1865)

The Revolution began at the top,—in the world of fashion, birth, and intellect,—and propagated itself downwards.

Montcalm and Wolfe (1884)

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Francis Parkman (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.