But what is history, Don Ferrante would often say, without politics? A guide who walks on and on with no one following to learn the road, so that his every step is wasted; just as politics without history is like a man who walks along without a guide.

Ma cos'è mai la storia, diceva spesso don Ferrante, senza la politica? Una guida che cammina, cammina, con nessuno dietro che impari la strada, e per conseguenza butta via i suoi passi; come la politica senza la storia è uno che cammina senza guida.

Original text (Italian)

Another quote →

Notes from Wikiquote

Ch. 27, p. 374 | Richard Bentley translation (1834)

More quotes by Alessandro Manzoni

All Alessandro Manzoni quotes →

Attribution

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