Historians are left forever chasing shadows, painfully aware of their inability ever to reconstruct a dead world in its completeness however thorough or revealing their documentation. We are doomed to be forever hailing someone who has just gone around the corner and out of earshot.

Summary

This quote highlights the inherent limitation of historians in fully understanding and depicting the past. It suggests that no matter how much evidence and information they gather, historians can never wholly recreate or comprehend the complexities and nuances of a bygone era. The metaphor of "chasing shadows" signifies the elusive nature of the past, as historians are constantly lagging behind and unable to capture the entire picture. Moreover, it implies that historians constantly discover information just as it becomes irrelevant or unattainable, forever missing out on a comprehensive understanding of historical events.

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