50 History Repeats Itself Quotes For A New Future

Think deeper about the cyclical nature of time with our history repeats itself quotes. 

It seems that the more things change, the more they stay the same. 

Is history repeating the same themes over and over?

Learn more with our history repeats itself quotes below. 

Does history actually repeat itself?

Well, according to the experts and brightest minds, the answer is yes and no.

Check out these interesting ideas concerning history repeating:

• The present can alter all historical and future events. 
• Drawing parallels from the past is an excellent way to project for the future. 
• When experts study trends or attempt to identify markers that help predict the future, they tend to look at the past to assess what is to come. 

Are we destined to repeat the same things over and over?

The world of politics suggests history repeats itself.

If you turn on a television, check out the news on your phone, or listen to the radio, chances are you have heard a political campaign advertisement. 

Opposing sides continue to war with one another, hurling insults and making outrageous claims for votes.

There are no boundaries, and political rivals have no problem airing out all sorts of private, embarrassing, and intimate information about one another. 

Yale historian Joanne Freeman notes that election battles are full of  “Nasty political mud-slinging. Campaign attacks and counterattacks. Personal insults.”

Freeman studies history, and her fascinating work allows us to consider the way political opinion tactics remain similar despite technological or societal changes. 

What can politics teach us about history repeating?

Freeman goes on to explain how the presidential elections have been reduced to “Outrageous newspaper invective” coupled with “Dire predictions of warfare or a national collapse.”

She also suggests it is important to remember that each party relied on “Innovative new forms of politicking capitalizing on a growing technology” to get their message out. 

Now, of course, when you read the Yale historian’s assessment, you say, “Yeah, that is how the political landscape looks.” 

However, Freeman was describing the election battle of 1800 between Thomas Jefferson and John Adams. 

In 223 years, the campaign strategies used by the most powerful parties remained the same. 

Maybe history does repeat itself after all. 

To learn more, check out our history repeats itself quotes below. 

Short history repeats itself quotes about the cycle of time

Let’s start our list with these short quotes about repeating history. 

1. “Men make their own history.”— Karl Marx

2. “I think history repeats itself.” — Michael B. Jordan 

3. “History seems to be repeating itself.” — James Lago

4. “It’s a case of history repeating itself.” — Stewart Newnham

5. “History repeats itself, and that’s just how it goes.” — J. Cole

6. “History repeats itself. So you might wanna pay attention.” — Quavo 

7. “Each time history repeats itself, the price goes up.” — Ronald Wright

8. “History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce.” — Karl Marx 

9. “History repeats itself. Historians repeat each other.” — Philip Guedalla 

10. “Sometimes history repeats itself. And sometimes it doesn’t.” — Adam Curtis 

The best history repeats itself quotes about learning from the past

We demonstrate that we value our past experiences when we learn from them.

11. “History repeats itself, and History never repeats itself are about equally true.” — G. M. Trevelyan

12. “History repeats itself only in that, from afar, we all seem to lead exactly the same life.” — Edward Bloor

13. “You don’t have to believe history repeats itself, but you should accept that history rhymes.” — Brad Feld 

14. “History repeats itself in a different way but with the same meaning hidden in each situation.” — Robbin/Tom

15. “History repeats itself in the large because human nature changes with geological leisureliness.” — Will Durant

16. “History repeats itself, but the special call of an art which has passed away is never reproduced.” — Joseph Conrad 

17. “History repeats itself. As do the methods used by those specializing in the elimination of leaders who unite people into a strong force for dignity, justice, and self-determination.” — S.M. Sigerson

18. “The problem with the idea that history repeats itself is that when it isn’t making us wiser, it’s making us complacent.” — Lisa Halliday

19. “I put the truth out there; I put the historical facts into Hip Hop to show us how much history repeats itself.” — Immortal Technique

20. “History repeats itself again, I guess.” — Thorsten Heins

Famous history repeats itself quotes from bright minds

Some of the most intelligent people worldwide have observed that history repeats itself. 

21. “History repeats itself, and that’s one of the things that’s wrong with history.” — Clarence Darrow 

22. “If history repeats itself, I should think we can expect the same thing again.” — Terry Venables

23. “History repeats itself over and over again, but most of us have short memories.” — Mike Colter

24. “The only lesson you can learn from history is that it repeats itself.” — Bangambiki Habyarimana

25. “History is never antiquated because humanity is always fundamentally the same.” — Walter Rauschenbusch

26. “The past does not repeat itself, but it rhymes.” — Mark Twain

27. “History repeats itself, the first as tragedy, then as farce.” — Karl Marx

28. “While history never repeats itself, political patterns do.” — Eric Alterman

29. “You have to turn the page. Don’t let history repeat itself.” — Carl Pavano

30. “History repeats itself because nobody listens the first time.” — Erik Qualman

The top history repeats itself quotes about applying the lesson

These quotes remind us of the value that difficulties present us. 

31. “Art, when destroyed, can never be replaced, yet history repeats itself.” — Clarence H. Burns

32. “History does not repeat itself. The historians repeat one another.” — Max Beerbohm

33. “We just feel like history repeats itself. You ain’t never going to see nothing brand new.” — Quavo 

34. “Don’t let history repeat itself; you have the power to stop the patterns.” — Ivana Chubbuck

35. “History repeats itself until we learn the lessons that we need to change our path.” — 12 Laws of Karma

36. “All I know is that history repeats itself, and people are going to want to experience the world.” — John Baldacci

37. “If history repeats itself, and the unexpected always happens, how incapable must Man be of learning from experience.” — George Bernard Shaw

38. “Once I beat Gervonta Davis like I’ve been calling it, that’s going to be like history repeats itself with Sonny Liston and Muhammad Ali.” — Ryan Garcia

39. “Sometimes history repeats itself. And sometimes it doesn’t.” — Adam Curtis

40. “We cannot erase the past, but we can accept it as history.” — Gary Chapman

History repeats itself, quotes and sayings to live by

We close our collection with these history repeats itself quotes about life. 

41. “Yes, I’ve seen it before, just little bits of history repeating.” — Propellerheads, History Repeating

42. “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” — George Santayana 

43. “History repeats itself endlessly for those who are unwilling to learn from the past.” – Leon Brown

44. “The saying goes that history repeats itself; personal histories do the same.” — Sheena Iyengar

45. “Feel the pain, feel the joy aside, set the little bits of history repeating” — Propellerheads, History Repeating

46. “But to me, it seems quite clear that it’s all just a little bit of history repeating.” — Propellerheads, History Repeating

47. “Silence ensures that history repeats itself.” — Erin Gruwell

48. “History repeats itself, but in such cunning disguise that we never detect the resemblance until the damage is done.” — Sydney J. Harris

49. “Those who don’t know history are destined to repeat it.” — Edmund Burke

50. “Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” — Winston Churchill  

Which history will you repeat?

Famous American lawyer Clarence Darrow once ironically joked, “History repeats itself. That’s one of the things wrong with history.”

Part of the beauty of life is that we are in charge of which histories we choose to repeat. 

Let’s make the best choice possible. 

Be sure to let us know your favorite history repeats itself quote in the comments below.