"A too great inattention to past occurrences retards and bewilders our judgment in every thing; while, on the contrary, by comparing what is past with what is present, we frequently hit on the true character of both, and become wise with very little trouble. It is a kind of countermarch, by which we get into the rear of Time, and mark the movements and meanings of things as we make our return."
-- Thomas Paine - American and English political activist, philosopher, political theorist and revolutionary, The Crisis, 1777
-- Thomas Paine - American and English political activist, philosopher, political theorist and revolutionary, The Crisis, 1777