History Repeats/Quotes

"Hegel remarks somewhere that all great, world-historical facts and personages occur, as it were, twice. He has forgotten to add: the first time as tragedy, the second as farce."

—Karl Marx

They say the next big thing is here,
That the revolution's near;
But to me it seems quite clear

That it's all just a little bit of history repeating.

—"History Repeating", by the Propellerheads and Shirley Bassey.

Don't put your trust in revolutions. They always come around again. That's why they're called revolutions. People die, and nothing changes.

—Vimes in Night Watch, by Terry Pratchett.

History repeats itself. That's one of the things wrong with history.

—Clarence Darrow

All this has happened before and will happen again.

—Numerous folks in Battlestar Galactica' (Originally a quote from Peter Pan)

History comes full circle. Sometimes humanity survives, other times.... it's obliterated. We tell stories to help us remember history. To keep us from reigniting a war that could no doubt destroy another planet and perhaps another race. I wish the best of those who find a fallen meteor, who uncover a little secret, who follow the trail, or reconstruct my nightmare.

—Grizzly one in Battlezone 1998 by Activision

History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme.

—Mark Twain, giving us the No Except Yes version.

Those who fail to remember History are doomed to repeat it.

—George Santayna