"Poetry is finer and more philosophical than history; for poetry expresses the universal, and history only the particular"

"We have our own history, our own language, our own culture. But our destiny is also tied up with the destinies of other people - history has made us all South Africans"

"I wish you would read a little poetry sometimes. Your ignorance cramps my conversation"

"But history is neither watchmaking nor cabinet construction. It is an endeavor toward better understanding"

"I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past"

"Neither a wise man nor a brave man lies down on the tracks of history to wait for the train of the future to run over him"

"History is mostly guessing; the rest is prejudice"

"We live in an era with no historical precedents. History is no longer useful as a tool in helping us understand current changes"

"The southward advance of native African farmers with Central African crops halted in Natal, beyond which Central African crops couldn't grow - with enormous consequences for the recent history of South Africa"

"The 4th Amendment and the personal rights it secures have a long history. At the very core stands the right of a man to retreat into his own home and there be free from unreasonable governmental intrusion"

"I don't compete with other discus throwers. I compete with my own history"