It is a pretty well accepted truth that "He who ignores history is doomed to repeat it."

Commenting on the economic trends in Italy, where he was American ambassador, George Perkins Marsh wrote something in 1864 that would be current and accurate if it was printed in a major newspaper today:

"Even now we are breaking up the floor and wainscoting and doors and window frames of our dwelling for fuel to seethe our pottage."