"Most historical work involves an interplay between past and present"

"Most historical work involves an interplay between past and present. If it is good historical work, the past will have something to teach; at the least, a richer sense of the past might safeguard us against an oversimple depiction of the present. Yet it is the present that proposes the questions we ask, and the present-day contentions and excitements over [controversial matters] and their importance furnishe[s] the impetus for . . . study."

Samuel Haber, The Quest for Authority and Honor in the American Professions, 1750-1900 at 359-60 (1991).