Nothing great in the World has been accomplished without passion.
It is useless to revert to similar circumstances in the Past.
It is easier to discover a deficiency in individuals, in states, and in providence, than to see their real import or value.
In history, we are concerned with what has been and what is; in philosophy, however, we are concerned not with what belongs exclusively to the past or to the future, but with that which is, both now and eternally — in short, with reason.
Amid the pressure of great events, a general principle gives no help.