John W. O'Malley

"Historians should always look at continuities and fractures: as I see it, the continuities are always deeper and more profound than any discontinuities."

"Historical events do not fall out of the heavens. They have a pre-history. To understand them, it is essential to understand the pre-history."

"I revise a lot my work and read out loud, and often say: “It doesn’t work”; “It’s so boring!” I often realize that I could say something more clearly, more simply, and get rid of many qualifications. I believe that you do not really have a clear thought until you have the right word. The thought is developed in the act of writing: sometimes you are writing a sentence, and you realize that, deep down, you do not really know what you want to say. You revise, and at a certain point you say: “This is really what I think, what I want to say!”"

"...the cultural mission of the Jesuits—what really makes the Jesuits distinctive..."