The past is so often unknowable not because it is befogged now but because it was befogged then, too, back when it was still the present. If we had been there listening, we still might not have been able to determine exactly what Stanton said. All we know for sure is that everyone was weeping, and the room was full.


Angels and Ages: A short book about Darwin, Lincoln and modern life (ed. Hachette UK, 2010) - ISBN: 9781849165815

Adam Gopnik Quotes

The past is so often unknowable not because it is befogged now but because it was befogged then, too, back when it was still the present. If we had...

The past is so often unknowable not because it is befogged now but because it was befogged then, too, back when it was still the present. If we had...

The past is so often unknowable not because it is befogged now but because it was befogged then, too, back when it was still the present. If we had...

The past is so often unknowable not because it is befogged now but because it was befogged then, too, back when it was still the present. If we had...