"History in general is a collection of crimes, follies, and misfortunes among which we have now and then met with a few virtues, and some happy times."

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There is humanist enterprise of the book, and amongst that there are many, many stories. And that is why at the end, when he says that the stories are so illuminating that they must be engraved and encased in gold and put in the palace library, the people who compile the book are telling us that this is a collection of human wisdom.

— Marina Warner