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What we know of the past is mostly not worth knowing. What is worth knowing is mostly uncertain. Events in the past may roughly be divided into those which probably never happened and those which do not matter.

— William Ralph Inge

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More quotes by William Ralph Inge

There are two kinds of fools: one says, "This is old, therefore it is good"; the other says, "This is new, therefore it is better."

More Lay Thoughts of a Dean (1931)

The fruit of the tree of knowledge, always drives man from some paradise or other.

Outspoken Essays (1919)

It is useless for the sheep to pass resolutions in favour of vegetarianism while the wolf remains of a different opinion.

Outspoken Essays (1919)

Patriotism varies, from a noble devotion to a moral lunacy.

Outspoken Essays (1919)

It is becoming impossible for those who mix at all with their fellow-men to believe that the grace of God is distributed denominationally.

Outspoken Essays (1919)

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A generation which ignores history has no past —and no future.

Robert A. Heinlein Time Enough for Love (1973)

History, Stephen said, is a nightmare from which I am trying to awake.

James Joyce Ulysses (1922)

If we don’t care about our past we can’t have very much hope for our future.

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis

I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past, — so good night!

Thomas Jefferson

Attribution

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