The Original Phrase
I am trying to answer a followup and hope this is how to do it. The most commonly quoted "original" goes something like this:
"Those who don't learn from the lessons of history are bound to repeat them".
See link below to another discussion on this site.
A few years ago, I read that the correct phrase is, "Those who do not learn from the mistakes of history are doomed to repeat them."
This version makes more sense than the commonly quoted phrase, which implies that nothing from the past is worth repeating. That is patently false and indefensible and is why I would never use the common phrase to make a point.
Question: was Santayana misquoted? Or merely wrong?
According to several sources, including the Columbia World Of Quotations, the original quotation from George Santayana is in fact:-
"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
I think that confusion arises because so many later writers have amended and/or altered the original.
Replies
- The Original Phrase Larry 03/12/03