History begins as each human being's own personal history. Each
carries a personal memory of his own past. The beginning of it is
shrouded in each case, for each must learn of it by believing the
word of his parents. The end of it is likewise shrouded, although
each knows that the end is certain. This memory of personal events
and affairs... is an elemental human fact.
Linked with it is a second capacity, that of thinking reflectively
upon the meaning of these events in order to interpret their
significance. This capacity for philosophy and hence for a
philosophy of history is likewise a mark of the human. History,
philosophy and the philosophy of history begin with the fact of
human persons, qualitatively distinct as forms of life on this
planet.
The Lord of History, by Msgr. Eugene Kevane