“One of the lessons of history is that nothing is often a good thing to do and always a clever thing to say.”

American historian and philosopher

Will Durant was an American historian and philosopher, best known for The Story of Civilization, the eleven-volume history he wrote with his wife, Ariel Durant. He lived from 1885 to 1981. He first gained wide notice with The Story of Philosophy in 1926, a book that helped bring philosophy to a broader public. His work focused on the sweep of civilization and the ideas that shape it, especially the history of Eastern and Western cultures.