Just as every human being has an ancestry, unknown to him though it may be; so every idea, every incident, every movement has in the past its own long chain of causes, without which it could not have been. Formerly we were glad to let the dead bury their dead: nowadays we turn lovingly to the records, whether of persons or things; and we busy ourselves willingly among origins, even without conscious utilitarian end. We are no longer proud of having ancestors, since every one has them; but we are more than ever interested in our ancestors, now that we find in them the fragments which compose our very selves.


Fabian Essays in Socialism – The Basis of Socialism – Historic, The Development of the Democratic Ideal, I.1.1. Edited by George Bernard Shaw (1889)

Sidney Webb Quotes

Just as every human being has an ancestry, unknown to him though it may be; so every idea, every incident, every movement has in the past its own...

Just as every human being has an ancestry, unknown to him though it may be; so every idea, every incident, every movement has in the past its own...

Just as every human being has an ancestry, unknown to him though it may be; so every idea, every incident, every movement has in the past its own...

Just as every human being has an ancestry, unknown to him though it may be; so every idea, every incident, every movement has in the past its own...