this sentiment has been expressed by many sage individuals

The famous quote is most often attributed to George Santayana as: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it". Other well-known variations include Winston Churchill's "Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it" and Edmund Burke's often-misquoted "Those who don't know history are destined to repeat it".
George Santayana: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it" is the original version from his 1905 book, The Life of Reason.
Winston Churchill: In 1948, he said, "Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it".
Edmund Burke: He is often misquoted, but his work contains similar ideas, such as "People will not look forward to posterity, who never look backward to their ancestors".
Mark Twain: He offered a different take: "History doesn't repeat itself, but it often rhymes".