There is nothing more agreeable in life than to make peace with the establishment and nothing more corrupting. A. J. P. Taylor More Quotes by A. J. P. Taylor More Quotes From A. J. P. Taylor If there had been a strong democratic sentiment in Germany, Hitler would never have come to power . [Germans] deserved what they got when they went round crying for a hero. A. J. P. Taylor strong hero history No matter what political reasons are given for war, the underlying reason is always economic. A. J. P. Taylor political war peace Conformity may give you a quiet life; it may even bring you to a University Chair. But all change in history, all advance, comes from the nonconformists. If there had been no trouble-makers, no Dissenters, we should still be living in caves. A. J. P. Taylor caves may giving If men are to respect each other for what they are, they must cease to respect each other for what they own. A. J. P. Taylor respect-each-other ifs men Knowledge breeds doubt, not certainty, A. J. P. Taylor certainty uncertain doubt The great armies, accumulated to provide security and preserve the peace, carried the nations to war by their own weight. A. J. P. Taylor army war peace History is not another name for the past, as many people imply. It is the name for stories about the past. A. J. P. Taylor names people past Bismarck fought 'necessary' wars and killed thousands, the idealists of the twentieth century fight 'just' wars and kill millions. A. J. P. Taylor bismarck fighting war Though the object of being a Great Power is to be able to fight a Great War, the only way of remaining a Great Power is not to fight one. A. J. P. Taylor able fighting war In 1917 European history, in the old sense, came to an end. World history began. It was the year of Lenin and Woodrow Wilson, both of whom repudiated the traditional standards of political behaviour. Both preached Utopia, Heaven on Earth. It was the moment of birth for our contemporary world. A. J. P. Taylor political heaven years History is not a catalogue but...a convincing version of events. A. J. P. Taylor convincing events history Manchester has everything but good looks..., the only place in England which escapes our characteristic vice of snobbery. A. J. P. Taylor england vices looks The present enables us to understand the past, not the other way round. A. J. P. Taylor rounds way past Human blunders usually do more to shape history than human wickedness. A. J. P. Taylor witty war history Freedom does not always win. This is one of the bitterest lessons of history. A. J. P. Taylor winning doe history If there had been no troublemakers, no Dissenters, we should still be living in caves. A. J. P. Taylor differences caves freedom A master of improvised speech and improvised policies. A. J. P. Taylor speech masters judging When I write I have no loyalty except to historical truth as I see it and care no more about British achievements and mistakes than any other. A. J. P. Taylor loyalty mistake writing We are apt to say that a foreign policy is successful only when the country, or at any rate the governing class, is united behind it. In reality, every line of policy is repudiated by a section, often by an influential section, of the country concerned. A foreign minister who waited until everyone agreed with him would have no foreign policy at all. A. J. P. Taylor successful country reality Every historian loves the past or should do. If not, he has mistaken his vocation; but it is a short step from loving the past to regretting that it has ever changed. Conservatism is our greatest trade-risk; and we run psychoanalysts close in the belief that the only "normal" people are those who cause no trouble either to themselves or anybody else. A. J. P. Taylor regret running past
