'The Seamless Robe: An Historian's Apology', in Time and the Hour: Some Collected Papers of David C. Douglas (1977), p. 15
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The philosophy of history is a fascinating and important subject, but with the rarest exceptions its chief English exponents have not been historians. Life is short, and the fervent historian has much to do. He has to discover; he has to create. The nature of his subject he must leave for others to discuss. "I do not believe in the philosophy of history," wrote the great William Stubbs, "and therefore I do not believe in Buckle."
— David C. Douglas
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "The philosophy of history is a fascinating and important subject, but with the rarest exceptions its chief English exponents have not been historians. Life is short, and the fervent historian has much to do. He has to discover; he has to create. The nature of his subject he must leave for others to discuss. "I do not believe in the philosophy of history," wrote the great William Stubbs, "and therefore I do not believe in Buckle."" in the context of "'The Seamless Robe: An Historian's Apology', in Time and the Hour: Some Collected Papers of David C. Douglas (1977), p. 15" to mean that wisdom is timeless.
Source: Wikiquote: "David C. Douglas" (Quotes)
The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 19, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
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About David C. Douglas
David Charles Douglas (1898–1982) was a historian of the Norman period at the University of Cambridge and University of Oxford.
About David C. Douglas
David Charles Douglas (1898–1982) was a historian of the Norman period at the University of Cambridge and University of Oxford.
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