Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it
Meaning: Ignoring past mistakes leads to repeating them.
Origin: The line comes from the philosopher George Santayana's The Life of Reason (1905), where it reads: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." Santayana was arguing that progress depends on keeping what experience has taught. The line has been quoted so often, usually with "history" in place of "the past," that it now circulates as a proverb.
Equivalents in French, Spanish, Japanese, and German
- French: Ceux qui n'apprennent pas de l'histoire sont condamnés à la répéter (literally: Those who don't learn from history are condemned to repeat it)
- Spanish: Los que no aprenden de la historia están condenados a repetirla (literally: Those who don't learn from history are condemned to repeat it)
- Japanese: 歴史から学ばない者はそれを繰り返す運命にある (Rekishi kara manabanai mono wa sore wo kurikaesu unmei ni aru) (literally: Those who don't learn from history are fated to repeat it)
- German: Wer die Vergangenheit nicht kennt, ist dazu verdammt, sie zu wiederholen (literally: Whoever does not know the past is condemned to repeat it)
More proverbs about Wisdom
- The early worm gets eaten — Being first isn't always advantageous — sometimes it's risky.
- Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater — Don't discard something valuable while getting rid of unwanted things.
- Rob Peter to pay Paul — Solve one problem by creating another.
- You can't have your cake and eat it too — You can't enjoy two mutually exclusive things simultaneously.
- Better safe than sorry — It's wiser to be cautious than to take unnecessary risks.
- A rose by any other name would smell as sweet — The essence of something doesn't depend on what it's called.
From our idioms
- Σιγά τα λάχανα — Big deal! (extreme sarcasm)
- Τρώω τα νύχια μου — I'm extremely anxious and impatient.
- Ayıkla pirincin taşını — Deal with it yourself; it's your mess.