“Misunderstanding of the present is the inevitable consequence of ignorance of the past. But a man may wear himself out just as fruitlessly in seeking to understand the past, if he is totally ignorant of the present…This faculty of understanding the living is, in very truth, the master quality of the historian.”Marc Bloch The Historian's Craft, pg.43
“The good historian is like the giant of the fairy tale. He knows that wherever he catches the scent of human flesh, there his quarry lies.”Marc Bloch The Historian's Craft, pg.26
“The historian is, by definition, absolutely incapable of observing the facts which he examines.”Marc Bloch