Quote by Alexis de Tocqueville

History is a gallery of pictures in which there are few originals and many copies.


History is a gallery of pictures in which there are few orig

Summary

This quote highlights the notion that throughout history, there are few events or individuals that can be considered truly unique or original. Instead, the majority of what we consider historical "pictures" are often imitations or copies of previous events or figures. It suggests that there is a cyclical nature to history, wherein patterns repeat themselves and ideas are often recycled or reimagined. The quote encourages us to critically examine and question what is portrayed as original in history, understanding that much of it may be influenced or derived from what came before.

Topics

History
By Alexis de Tocqueville
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Random Quotations

I got hold of a copy of the video that showed how Saddam Hussein had actually confirmed himself in power. This snuff-movie opens with a plenary session of the Ba'ath Party central committee: perhaps a hundred men. Suddenly the doors are locked and Saddam, in the chair, announces a special session. Into the room is dragged an obviously broken man, who begins to emit a robotic confession of treason and subversion, that he sobs has been instigated by Syrian and other agents. As the (literally) extorted confession unfolds, names begin to be named. Once a fellow-conspirator is identified, guards come to his seat and haul him from the room. The reclining Saddam, meanwhile, lights a large cigar and contentedly scans his dossiers. The sickness of fear in the room is such that men begin to crack up and weep, rising to their feet to shout hysterical praise, even love, for the leader. Inexorably, though, the cull continues, and faces and bodies go slack as their owners are pinioned and led away. When it is over, about half the committee members are left, moaning with relief and heaving with ardent love for the boss. (In an accompanying sequel, which I have not seen, they were apparently required to go into the yard outside and shoot the other half, thus sealing the pact with Saddam. I am not sure that even Beria or Himmler would have had the nerve and ingenuity and cruelty to come up with that.)

Christopher Hitchens