These “lessons” appear in The Story however, there they appear as commentary lightly interspersed within the overall mass of the eleven volumes. Perhaps this is to be expected from people making judgments on the human condition. They are clearly historians in The Story, taking the view, in Will Durant’s words, that “the real history of man is…in the lasting contributions made by geniuses to the sum of human civilization and culture.” In The Lessons, they are advocates, learning from history but also using history to buttress their philosophical positions. One sees the same authors in both, but their attitude is different in The Lessons. This provides a different perspective on the book than one would get reading the Durants for the first time. I come to The Lessons of History later in life, having read The Story of Civilization three times. It is a short book, less than 100 pages, in which they comment on lessons they have learned from history as it pertains to the earth, biology, race, character, morals, religion, economics, government, and war. Having completed the 10 th volume of The Story of Civilization (with The Age of Napoleon yet to come), Will and Ariel Durant took time to reflect in The Lessons of History.
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