Heroes
1. “… only a small part is played in great deeds by any hero.” (J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring)
History
2. “Granted, there is always much that is hidden, and we must not forget that the writing of history – however dryly it is done and however sincere the desire of objectivity – remains literature. History’s third dimension is always fiction.” (Hermann Hesse, Magister Ludi – The Glass Bead Game)
3. “The whole world history can be explained as development and progress and can also be seen as nothing but decadence and meaninglessness.” (Hermann Hesse, Magister Ludi – The Glass Bead Game)
4. “Memory is selective, not history. We are what we are. You can’t arbitrarily excise the bad, pretend it never existed.” (Eric Van Lustbader, The Ninja)
5. “To study history one must know in advance that one is attempting something fundamentally impossible, yet necessary and highly important. To study history means submitting to chaos and nevertheless retaining faith in order and meaning. It is a very serious task, young man, and possibly a tragic one.” (Hermann Hesse, Magister Ludi – The Glass Bead Game)
6. “Great men are to youth like the raisins in the cake of world history. They are also part of its actual substance, of course, and it is not so simple and easy as might be thought to distinguish the really great men from the pseudo-greats. Among the latter, it is the historical moment itself, and their ability to foresee its coming and size it, that gives them the semblance of greatness.” (Hermann Hesse, Magister Ludi – The Glass Bead Game)
7. “World history is nothing but an endless, dreary account of the rape of the weak by the strong.” (Hermann Hesse, Magister Ludi – The Glass Bead Game)
8. “I wish history would just die.” (Virginia Hamilton, The House of Dies Drear)
9. “History had a way of playing cruel tricks on those who chased it.” (Dan Brown, Angels and Demons)
10. “History. History is all that matters.” (Eric Van Lustbader, The Ninja)
