Quotation
Quote by Edward Gibbon
History is, indeed, little more than the register of the crimes, follies, and misfortunes of mankind.
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Understanding this quote
The quote presents history as a record focused mainly on humanity’s worst experiences: crimes, foolish mistakes, and misfortunes. It suggests that accounts of the past often preserve what went wrong rather than the full range of ordinary human life. “Little more than” makes this a deliberately strong, critical judgment, not a claim that every historical event is negative.
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- The Guardian
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- Article
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