Henry Adams

Birth: 1872-06-06 , Lawrence

Death: 1936-03-04 , Sydney

Henry Adams was an American historian, journalist, professor, and novelist. Descended from a prominent American family, Adams dedicated himself to analyzing the history and culture of the United States, especially the period of its founding. His work is known for its critical insight and its exploration of the forces that shape society.

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He never labored so hard to learn a language as he did to hold his tongue and it affected him for life. The habit of reticence—of talking without meaning—is never effaced.

The historian must not try to know what is truth, if he values his honesty; for, if he cares for his truths, he is certain to falsify his facts.

History is a tangled skein that one may take up at any point, and break when one has unravelled enough.

Friendship needs a certain parallelism of life, a community of thought, a rivalry of aim.

In practice, such trifles as contradictions in principle are easily set aside; the faculty of ignoring them makes the practical man.

At best, the renewal of broken relations is a nervous matter.

He too serves a certain purpose who only stands and cheers.

The proof that a philosopher does not know what he is talking about is apt to sadden his followers before it reacts on himself.

Not merely the idols fell, but also the habit of faith.

He had fallen into the usual masculine blunder of mixing up smartness of intelligence with strength of character.

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Henry Brooks Adams was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He graduated from Harvard and had a diverse academic and writing career. He was a professor of history at Harvard and later dedicated himself to writing books and essays. His most famous work, 'The Education of Henry Adams,' is a philosophical autobiography that reflects on his intellectual development and his search for meaning in a rapidly changing world. Adams also wrote detailed biographies and histories of important American figures and the country's political development. He died in Washington, D.C.