Every historian with professional standards speaks or writes what he believes to be true. Samuel E. Morison Read Quote
With honesty of purpose, balance, a respect for tradition, courage, and, above all, a philosophy of life, any young person who embraces the historical profession will find it rich in rewards and durable in satisfaction. Samuel E. Morison Read Quote
In any case, his judgment and set of values, acting alone or through his assistants, determine not only what is gold and what is dross but the design of the history which he creates out of the metal. The historian decides what is significant, and what is not. Samuel E. Morison Read Quote
Skepticism is an important historical tool. It is the starting point of all revision of hitherto accepted history. Samuel E. Morison Read Quote
Yet enthusiasm is no excuse for the historian going off balance. He should remind the reader that outcomes were neither inevitable nor foreordained, but subject to a thousand changes and chances. Samuel E. Morison Read Quote
Any child knows that history can only be a reduced representation of reality, but it must be a true one, not distorted by queer lenses. Samuel E. Morison Read Quote
Courses on historical methodology are not worth the time that they take up. I shall never give one myself, and I have observed that many of my colleagues who do give such courses refrain from exemplifying their methods by writing anything. Samuel E. Morison Read Quote
Everyone agrees to that; but when we come to define truth, dissension starts. Samuel E. Morison Read Quote
Historical methodology, as I see it, is a product of common sense applied to circumstances. Samuel E. Morison Read Quote
