Books · 1905
Progress, far from consisting in change, depends on retentiveness. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.
— George Santayana • The Life of Reason, Vol. 1
Behind the line May contain spoilers.
Our reading
An editorial interpretation.
Progress isn't just swapping old things for new ones, according to this view; it needs memory. Without it there's nothing to build on. Those who can't remember the past are stuck repeating it, so retentiveness is what lets improvement accumulate over time.
Context reviewed