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Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it

Cultural

Studying history is necessary to avoid repeating past mistakes. This saying comes from the writings of George Santayana, a Spanish-born American author of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

We all know the old saying: Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 20, 2022

The philosopher George Santayana famously said, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

From Salon • Dec. 26, 2020

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it, unless they just read Paul Krugman's blog."

From New York Times • Jan. 10, 2015

So a better coda might actually be "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it" ... so make sure you truly do remember and understand the past.

From New York Times • Jan. 10, 2015

This book implies a moral stated by Santayana: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

From Time Magazine Archive

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023