“The past is the father of the present.”
“Best not to mix the past with the present. The present paints the past with gold. The past paints the present with lead.”
“The present is the past rolled up for action, and the past is the present unrolled for understanding.”
“The present doesn’t change the past. Is the fact that the past happened enough to make the present good? Is the past real? Was it real anymore?”
“The past is useful only insofar as it justifies the present; the present is not of value in itself or autonomous, but subject to the image of the past.”
“So there existed fathers who dealt in the present, who didn't drag ancient history around like a ball and chain. So there were men who were not neck-deep and sinking in the quagmire of the past.”