"The same contingencies of time and space that force a statesman or soldier to make decisions, impel the historian, though with less urgency, to make up his mind"

Samuel E. Morison's quote, "The exact same contingencies of time and area that force a statesman or soldier to make decisions, impel the historian, though with less seriousness, to comprise his mind", resonates with the interaction between decision-making in today and the analysis of occasions from the past. Morison draws a parallel between statesmen or soldiers, who often face instant and poignant situations requiring swift and precise choices, and historians, who need to also navigate complexities-- albeit from a range-- to shape historic stories.

In this context, "contingencies of time and area" refers to the unforeseeable and dynamic circumstances that influence decision-making, whether in the heat of fight or the technique spaces of governance. For people like statesmen or soldiers, these contingencies present pressing challenges with instant effects, demanding rapid decisions that can have transformative impacts. Such people are engaged substantively with the physical realities and urgent temporality of their scenarios, where each choice brings significant weight.

Historians, in contrast, deal with the relative high-end of reflection, untangling these very same contingencies retrospectively. While they are not bound by the instant seriousness that bind statesmen or soldiers, historians still deal with the intellectual job of discerning which events, decisions, and contexts are most substantial to understand history. Although less pressured in the temporal sense, they are tasked with constructing narratives that offer significant insights into the past, needing them to sort through complex evidence with clearness and accuracy.

Hence, Morison recommends that while the historian's world is not governed by the instant pressures of action, it requires a mindful weighing of historic contingencies to communicate an understanding of past occasions. This interpretive act still requires decisiveness-- albeit with more consideration-- requiring historians to continuously balance their analyses against the ever-shifting tapestry of time and place to make educated judgments about what history needs to teach.