Wednesday, October 24, 2007

History and Hope



A passage from the writings of Robert E Lee, first made public by Colonel Charles Marshall in 1887, in Southern Historical Papers published in 1889, and used as an example in Richard Weaver's essay on the Christian warrior, found in The Southern Tradition at Bay, pg 209.

My experience of men has neither disposed me to think worse of them, nor
indisposed me to serve them; nor, in spite of failures, which I lament, of
errors, which I now see and acknowledge, or, of the present state of affairs, do
I despair of the future.

The march of providence is so slow, and our desires so impatient, the work
of progress is so immense, and our means of aiding it so feeble, the life
of humanity is so long, and that of the individual so brief, that we often see
only the ebb of the advancing wave, and are thus discouraged.

It is history that teaches us to hope.

4 comments:

  1. Love that quote - it's one of my favorites.

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  2. Great quote! I guess the biggest waves have the largest ebbs.

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  3. Thank you for sharing this, I've put it in my journal for reading every now and then. Going to look up more words from RE Lee, he was one wise man.

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  4. Dana,
    Thanks for leaving the link to this quote on my blog; it was very good.
    Sincerely,
    Lisa Winton

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