History fascinates me. Even though records of history can be - and often are - subject to the interpretations of its recorders, there is still so much real and concrete information available that make the study of history such an appealing and vital exercise.
To my mind - and I'm not a historian by any means; just a layman - there is nothing new in history. Only the names and the dates and some of the specifics change. The rest of it remains naggingly consistent. What does "The Teacher" say? "There is nothing new under the sun".
History is a record of the struggle of human against human to live and thrive, in most cases, or to rule, in several others. History is not filled with tales of peaceful co-existence. It is a litany of brutal conquest, machiavellian dissembly, human frailty, military prowess, technological competition and above all, it is the story of man attempting to establish himself without bowing to his Creator. History is far too frequently streaked by the bloody footmarks of violent men.
Yes, it is all this.
But, yet, history is also a tale of triumph over odds, of obstinate resistance against the tide, of defending one's own against the might of empires.
What a paradoxical mixture!
Perhaps, that may provide a little insight into why I find history so fascinating. Apart from the more normal motivations of trying to get a glimpse of life for our forebears, and a sense of peeling back the layers of countless earthly rotations and revolutions, and trying to understand what life might have been like for those long dead.
I still think, though, that history is a funny thing (Funny, as in 'strange' - not funny as in 'humorous'). George Santayana, the Spanish-American writer and philosopher is credited with the quote "The one who does not remember history is bound to live through it again". This has been framed and displayed at one of the horrors of world history - the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz, where it was made so painfully clear that education and culture cannot change the essential dark nature of makind.
It is this latter, possibly, that is my biggest motivation to learn from history. There is no horror inflicted on men by other men in our lifetime that has not been done to others in the past. A brief visit to the reference section of your local public library will confirm this. All the attempts that man makes to refine himself turn out to be worthless, in the end. For every Hitler, there is an Ivan the Terrible. For every Waterloo, there is an Isandlwana. For every Holocaust, there is the wholesale slaughter of Australian Aborigines, with bounties on their heads like wild animals.
No, I do not attempt to compare these, or to detract from their individual seriousness and bloodiness. I merely wish to point out that for every historical event that we can call upon in our lifetime, past generations can also call upon events from their own lifetimes to rival - or even, surpass - ours.
We should not forget, but neither should we make the mistake of presuming that we are unique in all history. We are not. We are the children of our fathers, and we continue what they did.
Make no mistake. It will take very little for another Holocaust to be unleashed. The heart of man is still the same. Remember that as you go through life.
To my mind - and I'm not a historian by any means; just a layman - there is nothing new in history. Only the names and the dates and some of the specifics change. The rest of it remains naggingly consistent. What does "The Teacher" say? "There is nothing new under the sun".
History is a record of the struggle of human against human to live and thrive, in most cases, or to rule, in several others. History is not filled with tales of peaceful co-existence. It is a litany of brutal conquest, machiavellian dissembly, human frailty, military prowess, technological competition and above all, it is the story of man attempting to establish himself without bowing to his Creator. History is far too frequently streaked by the bloody footmarks of violent men.
Yes, it is all this.
But, yet, history is also a tale of triumph over odds, of obstinate resistance against the tide, of defending one's own against the might of empires.
What a paradoxical mixture!
Perhaps, that may provide a little insight into why I find history so fascinating. Apart from the more normal motivations of trying to get a glimpse of life for our forebears, and a sense of peeling back the layers of countless earthly rotations and revolutions, and trying to understand what life might have been like for those long dead.
I still think, though, that history is a funny thing (Funny, as in 'strange' - not funny as in 'humorous'). George Santayana, the Spanish-American writer and philosopher is credited with the quote "The one who does not remember history is bound to live through it again". This has been framed and displayed at one of the horrors of world history - the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz, where it was made so painfully clear that education and culture cannot change the essential dark nature of makind.
It is this latter, possibly, that is my biggest motivation to learn from history. There is no horror inflicted on men by other men in our lifetime that has not been done to others in the past. A brief visit to the reference section of your local public library will confirm this. All the attempts that man makes to refine himself turn out to be worthless, in the end. For every Hitler, there is an Ivan the Terrible. For every Waterloo, there is an Isandlwana. For every Holocaust, there is the wholesale slaughter of Australian Aborigines, with bounties on their heads like wild animals.
No, I do not attempt to compare these, or to detract from their individual seriousness and bloodiness. I merely wish to point out that for every historical event that we can call upon in our lifetime, past generations can also call upon events from their own lifetimes to rival - or even, surpass - ours.
We should not forget, but neither should we make the mistake of presuming that we are unique in all history. We are not. We are the children of our fathers, and we continue what they did.
Make no mistake. It will take very little for another Holocaust to be unleashed. The heart of man is still the same. Remember that as you go through life.
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