“What is history? An echo of the past in the future; a reflex from the future on the past”
— Victor Hugo
Simplified Meaning:
History is like a voice from the past that affects what happens in the future. Imagine a classroom where the teacher gives lessons—a lesson learned last year might help students do better in this year's exam. Similarly, the decisions people made long ago can shape the events that we experience today. For example, inventions like the telephone were created in the past but continue to influence our daily lives now, letting us communicate easily. On the other hand, our present actions can also affect how we understand and look back at history. When we learn more about ancient civilizations or discover new artifacts, we might change our understanding of what happened back then. For example, as technology improves, we can make better guesses about how people lived in ancient times, leading to a clearer picture of historical events. So, history and the future are closely connected, each influencing the other in a cycle. By learning about past experiences, we can make better decisions for the future, while new insights can give us a better understanding of the past.