Misgovernment is of four kinds, often in combination. They are: 1) tyranny or oppression, of which history provides so many well-known examples that they do not need citing; 2) excessive ambition, such as Athens' attempted conquest of Sicily in the Peloponnesian War, Philip II's of England via the Armada, Germany's twice-attempted rule of Europe by a self-conceived master race, Japan's bid for an empire of Asia; 3) incompetence or decadence, as in the case of the late Roman empire, the last Romanovs and the last imperial dynasty of China; and finally 4) folly or perversity.

If I had taken a doctoral degree, it would have stifled any writing capacity.

The unrecorded past is none other than our old friend, the tree in the primeval forest which fell without being heard

It is wiser, I believe, to arrive at theory by way of evidence rather than the other way around.... It is more rewarding, in any case, to assemble the facts first and, in the process of arranging them in narrative form, to discover a theory or a historical generalization emerging of its own accord.

Fateful moments tend to evoke grandeur of speech, especially in French.

Every successful revolution puts on in time the robes of the tyrant it has deposed.

The writer's object is - or should be - to hold the reader's attention.