Justice & Law Quote by Israel Zangwill

Zangwill is trying to rescue memory from two bad habits: nostalgia-as-sedative and tradition-as-handcuffs. Calling the past a "cradle" concedes its role in forming us, but the follow-up - "not our prison" - snaps shut any attempt to treat inheritance as destiny. The line is built on a tug-of-war rhythm: attraction ("appeal", "glamour") immediately checked by warning ("danger"). That balance is the point. He understands how the past sells itself: it arrives pre-curated, polished into legend, offering the comfort of certainty. "Glamour" is doing sly work here, hinting at enchantment, even deception - history as a kind of stage lighting.

The sharper intent emerges in the paired contrasts: "inspiration, not imitation"; "continuation, not repetition". This is not anti-history; its anti-copy. Zangwill, a Jewish British novelist steeped in debates about assimilation, nationalism, and cultural revival in the early 20th century, is writing against movements that sanctify an origin story and demand reenactment. He’s also pushing back on modernity’s opposite temptation: to sever ties entirely. "Continuation" suggests a living tradition that evolves, a chain you can add links to rather than a script you must perform.

Rhetorically, the sentence is almost a manifesto disguised as good manners: it grants the past its dignity, then quietly refuses its authority. The subtext is political as much as personal: societies that confuse remembrance with obedience become easy to mobilize, easy to manipulate, and hard to renew.