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Simon Schama Quotes

I find it very hard to write about Jewish history Picture Quote #1

I first read War And Peace about 100 years after Tolstoy wrote it Picture Quote #1

The Bible, for all its riches, is not a document of social history Picture Quote #1

It was the Sephardi Jews who brought fish and chips to Britain, actually, believe it or not, from the Mediterranean world. Apart from actually eating and selling fish and chips, they were kind of debt enforcers Picture Quote #1

Charles was constitutionally incapable of being a constitutional monarch Picture Quote #1

Great art has dreadful manners. The greatest paintings grab you in a headlock, rough up your composure, and then proceed in short order to re-arrange your reality Picture Quote #1

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The great theme of modern British history is the fate of freedom. The 18th century inherits, after the Civil War, this very peculiar political animal. It’s not a democracy, but it’s not a tyranny. It’s not like the rest of the world, the rest of Europe. There is a parliament, laws have to be made, elections are made Picture Quote #1

Charlie Hebdo: Satire was the father of true political freedom, born in the 18th century; the scourge of bigots and tyrants. Sing its praises Picture Quote #1

Walking on camera is damn hard. It’s a Jewish problem. The rangy stride across the blasted moor is not really a Jewish thing Picture Quote #1

The most gloomy prognosis about Jewish life is that it will disappear between the two extremes of ultra-Orthodoxy on the one hand and total assimilation on the other. But those are very exaggerated scenarios Picture Quote #1

I have this magpie instinct for the next glittering object. There are one or two things I know I can’t write about, though: DIY, cricket, automobile repair. I could study it for a lifetime and not produce a word on the carburettor Picture Quote #1

The history of the Jews has been written overwhelmingly by scholars of texts - understandably given the formative nature of the Bible and the Talmud. Seeing Jewish history through artifacts, architecture and images is still a young but spectacularly flourishing discipline that’s changing the whole story Picture Quote #1

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I understood when I was quite small that there were two special things about the Jews. That we’d endured for over 3,000 years despite everything that had been thrown at us, and that we had an extraordinarily dramatic story to tell Picture Quote #1

Jewish comedy doesn’t come out of nothing. Jewish music doesn’t come out of nothing... I don’t want to be part of a story where Jews are just victims or bullies - and I’m not saying that’s what the Israelis are Picture Quote #1

Jewish history has been in my cultural DNA since I was a child growing up in post-war London. In the midst of that dark, gray, lamenting monochromatic world of the 50s, I had a sense that both Jewish and English history were full of color and light and animation Picture Quote #1

The notion that religion can actually be something... attached to progressivism seems so bizarre. But all you have to say is that Abolition wouldn’t have happened without it. The way in which African Americans managed to achieve a degree of self-determination was through the church Picture Quote #1

By the end of the nineteenth century, the stereotype of the ugly American - voracious, preachy, mercenary, and bombastically chauvinist - was firmly in place in Europe Picture Quote #1

St. Paul was making it impossible to be Jewish and Christian at the same time. What is very striking about those early churches and communities is that you could be both. Under Paul, though, you absolutely couldn’t Picture Quote #1

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The difficulty with poetry is that it doesn’t have the life that Shakespeare or Jane Austen have beyond the page. You can’t make a costume drama out of it. There’s no place for it to go except trapped inside its little book Picture Quote #1

By the end of the nineteenth century, the stereotype of the ugly American - voracious, preachy, mercenary, and bombastically chauvinist - was firmly in place in Europe Picture Quote #1

I don’t really like the autumn. For me it is the beginning of winter and I hate the winter. White, the colour of death Picture Quote #1

You are not thinking hard enough if you are sleeping well. And you would have to be unhinged to take on a subject like the French Revolution, or Rembrandt, and not feel some trepidation. There is always the possibility that you will crash and burn, and the whole thing will be a horrible, vulgar, self-indulgent mess Picture Quote #1

I did an audiobook for ‘Rough Crossings,’ which I thought was one of the best books I had published. But it was an absolute embarrassment to read it. All these horrible mucked-up bits of syntax, over-the-top adjectives. I found myself editing it while reading. Alert listeners will notice the difference Picture Quote #1

I used to have a monthly cookery column, and am a big cook, so that whole sense of connecting what one does with food to one’s cultural identity has always been fascinating to me Picture Quote #1

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I am somebody who has never been able to give up 60s habits. I am the inevitable old codger on the dance floor Picture Quote #1

In Mesopotamia or Egypt, for example, the monarch had a god-like religious status. But this is not the case in Judaism. So that notion that religion can go on, when all the markers of power and trappings of monarchy disappear, ultimately serves the endurance of Judaism very well Picture Quote #1

The novelist’s obligation to remake the sensuous texture of a vanished world is also the historian’s. The strongest fiction writers often do deep research to make the thought and utterances of lost time credible Picture Quote #1

In the Einstein way, I can’t believe in a universe that doesn’t have some sort of prime mover, identical with all of created nature. I have a whole lot of a harder time with supposing the fine print of the Torah was a direct revelation Picture Quote #1

It’s not right to think about all of Jewish-German history as shrouded by the smoke of the crematorium Picture Quote #1

The Jewish story is the story of wandering. It is the story of extraordinary heterogeneous complication Picture Quote #1

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Text Quotes

I find it very hard to write about Jewish history (Simon Schama Quotes) I first read War And Peace about 100 years after Tolstoy wrote it (Simon Schama Quotes) The Bible, for all its riches, is not a document of social history (Simon Schama Quotes) It was the Sephardi Jews who brought fish and chips to Britain, actually, believe it or not, from the Mediterranean world. Apart from actually eating and selling fish and chips, they were kind of debt enforcers (Simon Schama Quotes) Charles was constitutionally incapable of being a constitutional monarch (Simon Schama Quotes) Great art has dreadful manners. The greatest paintings grab you in a headlock, rough up your composure, and then proceed in short order to re-arrange your reality (Simon Schama Quotes) The great theme of modern British history is the fate of freedom. The 18th century inherits, after the Civil War, this very peculiar political animal. It’s not a democracy, but it’s not a tyranny. It’s not like the rest of the world, the rest of Europe. There is a parliament, laws have to be made, elections are made (Simon Schama Quotes) Charlie Hebdo: Satire was the father of true political freedom, born in the 18th century; the scourge of bigots and tyrants. Sing its praises (Simon Schama Quotes) Walking on camera is damn hard. It’s a Jewish problem. The rangy stride across the blasted moor is not really a Jewish thing (Simon Schama Quotes) The most gloomy prognosis about Jewish life is that it will disappear between the two extremes of ultra-Orthodoxy on the one hand and total assimilation on the other. But those are very exaggerated scenarios (Simon Schama Quotes) I have this magpie instinct for the next glittering object. There are one or two things I know I can’t write about, though: DIY, cricket, automobile repair. I could study it for a lifetime and not produce a word on the carburettor (Simon Schama Quotes) The history of the Jews has been written overwhelmingly by scholars of texts - understandably given the formative nature of the Bible and the Talmud. Seeing Jewish history through artifacts, architecture and images is still a young but spectacularly flourishing discipline that’s changing the whole story (Simon Schama Quotes) I understood when I was quite small that there were two special things about the Jews. That we’d endured for over 3,000 years despite everything that had been thrown at us, and that we had an extraordinarily dramatic story to tell (Simon Schama Quotes) Jewish comedy doesn’t come out of nothing. Jewish music doesn’t come out of nothing... I don’t want to be part of a story where Jews are just victims or bullies - and I’m not saying that’s what the Israelis are (Simon Schama Quotes) Jewish history has been in my cultural DNA since I was a child growing up in post-war London. In the midst of that dark, gray, lamenting monochromatic world of the 50s, I had a sense that both Jewish and English history were full of color and light and animation (Simon Schama Quotes) The notion that religion can actually be something... attached to progressivism seems so bizarre. But all you have to say is that Abolition wouldn’t have happened without it. The way in which African Americans managed to achieve a degree of self-determination was through the church (Simon Schama Quotes) By the end of the nineteenth century, the stereotype of the ugly American - voracious, preachy, mercenary, and bombastically chauvinist - was firmly in place in Europe (Simon Schama Quotes) St. Paul was making it impossible to be Jewish and Christian at the same time. What is very striking about those early churches and communities is that you could be both. Under Paul, though, you absolutely couldn’t (Simon Schama Quotes) The difficulty with poetry is that it doesn’t have the life that Shakespeare or Jane Austen have beyond the page. You can’t make a costume drama out of it. There’s no place for it to go except trapped inside its little book (Simon Schama Quotes) By the end of the nineteenth century, the stereotype of the ugly American - voracious, preachy, mercenary, and bombastically chauvinist - was firmly in place in Europe. (Simon Schama Quotes) I don’t really like the autumn. For me it is the beginning of winter and I hate the winter. White, the colour of death. (Simon Schama Quotes) You are not thinking hard enough if you are sleeping well. And you would have to be unhinged to take on a subject like the French Revolution, or Rembrandt, and not feel some trepidation. There is always the possibility that you will crash and burn, and the whole thing will be a horrible, vulgar, self-indulgent mess. (Simon Schama Quotes) I did an audiobook for ‘Rough Crossings,’ which I thought was one of the best books I had published. But it was an absolute embarrassment to read it. All these horrible mucked-up bits of syntax, over-the-top adjectives. I found myself editing it while reading. Alert listeners will notice the difference. (Simon Schama Quotes) I used to have a monthly cookery column, and am a big cook, so that whole sense of connecting what one does with food to one’s cultural identity has always been fascinating to me. (Simon Schama Quotes) I am somebody who has never been able to give up 60s habits. I am the inevitable old codger on the dance floor. (Simon Schama Quotes) In Mesopotamia or Egypt, for example, the monarch had a god-like religious status. But this is not the case in Judaism. So that notion that religion can go on, when all the markers of power and trappings of monarchy disappear, ultimately serves the endurance of Judaism very well. (Simon Schama Quotes) The novelist’s obligation to remake the sensuous texture of a vanished world is also the historian’s. The strongest fiction writers often do deep research to make the thought and utterances of lost time credible. (Simon Schama Quotes) In the Einstein way, I can’t believe in a universe that doesn’t have some sort of prime mover, identical with all of created nature. I have a whole lot of a harder time with supposing the fine print of the Torah was a direct revelation. (Simon Schama Quotes) It’s not right to think about all of Jewish-German history as shrouded by the smoke of the crematorium. (Simon Schama Quotes) The Jewish story is the story of wandering. It is the story of extraordinary heterogeneous complication (Simon Schama Quotes)

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