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Reconstructing the past is rather like translating poetry. It can be done, but never exactly. Whether one deals with prehistoric recipes, colonial settlements, or medieval music, it needs great imagination and restraint if the twin perils of artless authenticity and clueless empathy are to be avoided.

— Norman Davies Europe: A History (1996)

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More quotes by Norman Davies

For more than five hundred years the cardinal problem in defining Europe has centred on the inclusion or exclusion of Russia.

Europe: A History (1996)

The immediate future may be determined by a race between the United Kingdom and the EU over which beats the other to a major crisis.

Vanished Kingdoms (2011)

The formula Muscovy + Ukraine = Russia does not feature in the Russians’ own version of their history; but it is fundamental.

Europe: A History (1996)

They wanted peace and they fought for thirty years to be sure of it. They did not learn then, and have not learned since, that war only breeds war.

Europe: A History (1996)

It is indeed the duty of historians to stress the contrast between the standards of the past and the standards of the present. Some fulfil that duty on purpose, others by accident.

Europe: A History (1996)

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