I have always been — I think any student of history almost inevitably is — a cheerful pessimist.

Jacques Barzun (1907-2012) French-American historian, educator, polymath

Quoted in Thomas Vinciguerra, “Jacques Barzun ’27: Columbia Avatar,” Columbia College Today (2006-01)
    (Source)

Barzun is being quoted in this particular instance from an unclear source, possibly the Independent Women's Forum in 2000.