Whose q is this:"It is sad but true mankind never learns from its mistakes and so history repeats itself".

Hello Straightener,

I think the root source for the quote is from the Bible, and is simply rewritten to reflect the inability of imperfect man to learn from his mistakes.

Taken one step further the Bible shows that it is for God -- Jehovah, to guide mans steps. Which means, mankind should follow God's laws to avoid the pains of his own imperfection. In learning to follow Gods laws man would not make the same mistakes time and time again as he has made for all these thousands of years

Ecclesiastes 8:9 that," ...man has dominated man to his injury." Jeremiah 10:23 says that," I well know, O Jehovah, that to earthling man his way does not belong. It does not belong to man who is walking even to direct his step."

I know that I will be accused of using a snipet of the whole verse in Ecclesiastes. But when you read and reason on Chapter 8 1-8 you see that it is summerized in verse 9.

I hope this helps you understand the quote in a better context

Honestly I am not able to trace the source of this statement. But, sure it must have been the quote a historian in some history book. May be some learned history student will be able to throw light.

George Bernard Shaw I believe.

I searched my database of quotations and didn't come up with exactly what you asked for.

What I DID unearth was a similar quote by Shaw: "Hegel was right when he said that we learn from history that man can never learn anything from history."

Similar quote . . .

"If history repeats itself, and the unexpected always happens, how incapable must Man be of learning from experience!"

George Bernard Shaw

The nearest I have heard is this: "Those who do not learn their history are cursed to repeat its mistakes", and I think it was Karl Marx who said it.

Not sure whether it's linked but it was Phillip Guedalla who said "history repeats itself, hisorians repeat each other".

you know i just did a search for this answer and my search came back that you asked this question a year ago. Did you forget it? LOL!!!