The same contingencies of time and space that force a statesman or soldier to make decisions, impel the historian, though with less urgency, to make up his mind. Samuel Eliot Morison More Quotes by Samuel Eliot Morison More Quotes From Samuel Eliot Morison Franklin may . . . be considered one of the founding fathers of American democracy, since no democratic government can last long without conciliation and compromise. Samuel Eliot Morison government long father If a lecturer, he wishes to be heard; if a writer, to be read. He always hopes for a public beyond that of the long-suffering wife. Samuel Eliot Morison wife suffering long Too rigid specialization is almost as bad for a historian's mind, and for his ultimate reputation, as too early an indulgence in broad generalization and synthesis. Samuel Eliot Morison reputation synthesis mind So I have cultivated the vast garden of human experience which is history, without troubling myself overmuch about laws, essential first causes, or how it is all coming out. Samuel Eliot Morison aquariums garden law A tough but nervous, tenacious but restless race [the Yankees]; materially ambitious, yet prone to introspection, and subject to waves of religious emotion. . . . A race whose typical member is eternally torn between a passion for righteousness and a desire to get on in the world. Samuel Eliot Morison yankees passion religious Military and absolutist regimes are undoubtedly well fitted to get the jump on an unsuspecting or unprepared enemy; but the history of modern warfare proves that they cannot win over representative governments in the long run, provided that people behind those governments have the heart to sustain initial punishment, and both the will and the resources to fight back. Samuel Eliot Morison military heart running
