Progress, far from consisting in change, depends on retentiveness. When change is absolute there remains no being to improve and no direction is set for possible improvement: and when experience is not retained, as among savages, infancy is perpetual. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. In the first stage of life the mind is frivolous and easily distracted; it misses progress by failing in consecutiveness and persistence. This is the condition of children and barbarians.

Summary

This quote by philosopher George Santayana emphasizes the importance of retaining and learning from the past in order to make progress. Santayana argues that progress does not solely rely on change, but rather on retaining and understanding previous experiences. Without this retention and reflection, there is no basis for improvement, and no direction for growth. In the absence of remembering the past, a cycle of repeating mistakes is perpetuated. Santayana suggests that individuals who lack the ability to recall and learn from the past are doomed to remain stuck in a perpetual state of ignorance, resembling the mindset of children and barbarians.

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