The past, which as always did not know the future, acted in ways that ask to be imagined before they are condemned. Or even simplified.

Paul Fussell (1924-2012) American cultural and literary historian, author, academic

“Thank God for the Atom Bomb,” The New Republic (26 Aug 1981)
    (Source)

Reprinted in Thank God for the Atom Bomb and Other Essays (1988).