Paul Veyne
Overview
Paul Veyne, born 13 June 1930 in Aix-en-Provence
Aix-en-Provence
Aix , or Aix-en-Provence to distinguish it from other cities built over hot springs, is a city-commune in southern France, some north of Marseille. It is in the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, in the département of Bouches-du-Rhône, of which it is a subprefecture. The population of Aix is...

, is a French archaeologist and historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...

, and a specialist on Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

. A former student of the École normale supérieure
École normale supérieure
An école normale supérieure or ENS is a type of publicly funded higher education in France. A portion of the student body who are French civil servants are called Normaliens....

 and member of the École française de Rome, he is now honorary professor at the Collège de France
Collège de France
The Collège de France is a higher education and research establishment located in Paris, France, in the 5th arrondissement, or Latin Quarter, across the street from the historical campus of La Sorbonne at the intersection of Rue Saint-Jacques and Rue des Écoles...

.
From an ordinary background, which he described as "uncultured", Veyne took up archaeology and history by chance, at the age of eight, when he discovered a piece of an amphora
Amphora
An amphora is a type of vase-shaped, usually ceramic container with two handles and a long neck narrower than the body...

 on a Celtic site close to the village of Cavaillon
Cavaillon
Cavaillon is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.-Geography:The Calavon, a tributary of the Durance locally called Coulon, flows westward through the middle of the commune....

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Quotations

Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.

Argument in Defense of the British Soldiers in the Boston Massacre Trials (4 December 1770)

There is danger from all men. The only maxim of a free government ought to be to trust no man living with power to endanger the public liberty.

Notes for an oration at Braintree (Spring 1772)

A government of laws, and not of men.

The "Novanglus" Papers, Boston Gazette (1774- 1775), No. 7; this was incorporated into the Massachusetts Constitution in 1780 File:Abigail Adams.jpg|144px|thumb|right|You bid me burn your letters. But I must forget you first.

Metaphysicians and politicians may dispute forever, but they will never find any other moral principle or foundation of rule or obedience, than the consent of governors and governed.

The "Novanglus" papers, Boston Gazette (1774 - 1775), No. 7

A Constitution of Government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored. Liberty, once lost, is lost forever.

Letter to Abigail Adams (17 July 1775)

I agree with you that in politics the middle way is none at all.

Letter to Horatio Gates (23 March 1776)

 
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