A Quote by Karl Marx

History repeats itself, the first as tragedy, then as farce.

Karl Marx

Quote Topics

Farce First History History Repeats Itself Itself Repeats Then Tragedy

Quote Author

Karl Marx
German - Philosopher
May 5, 1818 - March 14, 1883

History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce.

Karl Marx

"The Universe repeats itself, with the possible exception of history." Of all earthly studies history is the only one that does not repeat itself. ... Astronomy repeats itself; botany repeats itself; trigonometry repeats itself; mechanics repeats itself; compound long division repeats itself. Every sum if worked out in the same way at any time will bring out the same answer. ... A great many moderns say that history is a science; if so it occupies a solitary and splendid elevation among the sciences; it is the only science the conclusions of which are always wrong.

Gilbert K. Chesterton

History that repeats itself turns to farce. Farce that repeats itself turns to history.

Jean Baudrillard

Does history repeat itself, the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce? No, that's too grand, too considered a process. History just burps, and we taste again that raw-onion sandwich it swallowed centuries ago.

Julian Barnes

History repeats itself and History never repeats itself are about equally true.

G. M. Trevelyan

As Karl Marx once noted: 'Hegel remarks somewhere that all great, world-historical facts and personages occur, as it were, twice. He forgot to add: the first time as tragedy, the second as farce.' William Jennings Bryan and the Scopes trial was a tragedy. The creationists and intelligent design theorists are a farce.

Michael Shermer

"History repeats itself" and "History never repeats itself" are about equally true ... We never know enough about the infinitely complex circumstances of any past event to prophesy the future by analogy.

G. M. Trevelyan

History repeats itself because nobody listens the first time.