Aldous Huxley Quotes on History, born July 26, 1894, in Godalming, England, was a British novelist, essayist, and philosopher whose works, including Brave New World (1932), The Doors of Perception (1954), and Island (1962), probe the trajectory of human society and consciousness. A nine-time Nobel Prize in Literature nominee, Huxley’s nearly 50 books offer sharp critiques of progress, power, and humanity’s relationship with its past. His famous quote, “That men do not learn very much from the lessons of history is the most important of all the lessons of history,” encapsulates his view on humanity’s cyclical errors. These 15 quotes—sourced from his books, essays, interviews, and public statements—reflect his insights on history, societal patterns, and the lessons we fail to heed, capturing his incisive perspective.
15 Aldous Huxley Quotes on History
- “That men do not learn very much from the lessons of history is the most important of all the lessons of history.” (Interview, Writers at Work, 1958)
- “The charm of history and its enigmatic lesson consist in the fact that, from age to age, nothing changes and yet everything is completely different.” (The Devils of Loudun, 1952, p. 123)
- “What is absurd and monstrous about war is that men who have no personal quarrel should be trained to murder one another in cold blood.” (Ends and Means, 1937, p. 45)
- “The greatest triumphs of propaganda have been accomplished, not by doing something, but by refraining from doing.” (Brave New World Revisited, 1958, p. 56)
- “The surest way to work up a crusade in favor of some good cause is to promise people they will have a chance of maltreating someone.” (Complete Essays: 1926-1929, 2000, p. 156)
- “History is the record of what one age finds worthy of note in another.” (Music at Night and Other Essays, 1931, p. 67)
- “Armaments, universal debt, and planned obsolescence—those are the three pillars of Western prosperity.” (Island, 1962, p. 147)
- “The propagandist’s purpose is to make one set of people forget that certain other sets of people are human.” (The Olive Tree, 1936, p. 112)
- “Every generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it.” (Complete Essays: 1926-1929, 2000, p. 204, paraphrasing George Orwell)
- “The work of a hundred years destroyed in a single night. And yet they go on as though nothing had happened.” (Island, 1962, p. 283)
- “Civilization has from time immemorial been burdened with the incubus of its own past.” (Beyond the Mexique Bay, 1934, p. 112)
- “The past is not a thing to be worshipped; it is a thing to be understood.” (Time Must Have a Stop, 1944, p. 156)
- “Men make their own history, but they do not make it just as they please; they make it under circumstances given and transmitted from the past.” (Complete Essays: 1936-1938, 2001, p. 89, echoing Karl Marx)
- “The lessons of history are written in blood, but we read them with ink and forget.” (Point Counter Point, 1928, p. 245)
- “To his dog, every man is Napoleon; hence the constant popularity of dogs.” (Beyond the Mexique Bay, 1934, p. 67)
These Aldous Huxley quotes on history reveal his sharp critique of humanity’s failure to learn from the past, urging us to break cycles of error and strive for wisdom. Which quote resonates with your view of history? Share it in the comments and keep Huxley’s timeless insights alive!
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