When shall we three meet again?

Those who live through the turmoil of history might often be shocked at the few dry sentences into which succeeding generations boil down epic events.

Richard Nixon, the 37th president, faced with his own secret, taped record of his authorizing hush money to Watergate burglar E. Howard Hunt, "in light of his loss of political support and the near certainty of both his impeachment and conviction," according to Wikipedia, "resigned the office of the presidency on August 9, 1974."

How simple.

Mr. Nixon was widely hated by those on the left, who considered him a "red-baiter," the man who cynically used inappropriate accusations of communist sympathies to defeat lovely former actress Helen Gahagan Douglas in his first race for the U.S. Senate in 1950.

That Mr. Nixon was a dark and malicious schemer and John F. Kennedy a dashing, martyred hero has become an accepted part of the American mythos -- despite the fact it was Mr. Nixon who decided "for the good of the country" not to challenge the electoral fraud in Chicago and West Virginia that many historians believe won Mr. Kennedy his presidency in 1960; despite the fact the Venona cables and testimony of former Soviet leaders have proved Mr. Nixon and the "red-baiters" were largely right about the infiltration of communist spies into the Roosevelt-Truman State Department, as well as America's nuclear program.

Mr. Nixon's influence has remained enormous, often in ways he could not have wished or foreseen. A whole generation of American college kids revered -- many sought to emulate -- the investigative journalism of The Washington Post's Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, widely credited with bringing Mr. Nixon down thanks to their reporting of the Watergate scandal.

That work would likely not have gotten nearly so far without a "deep background" source cultivated by Bob Woodward, who met W. Mark Felt, No. 2 man at the FBI, in a White House hallway when the young Woodward was a Navy courier in 1970.

Mr. Felt, who became the unnamed source "Deep Throat," was portrayed by Hal Holbrook as a chain-smoking man in the shadows in the film "All the President's Men," acting almost like the far-seeing witches of "Macbeth," telling Mr. Woodward (played by Robert Redford) to "follow the money."

Mr. Felt -- his "deep background" code name borrowed from a popular 1972 porn film -- helped Mr. Woodward link former CIA man Howard Hunt to the break-in. He said the reporter could accurately write that Mr. Hunt, whose name was found in the address book of one of the burglars, was a suspect.

In his memoir published in April 2006, Mr. Felt -- who finally went public in May 2005 -- said he saw himself as a "Lone Ranger" who could help derail a White House cover-up.

Mr. Woodward and Mr. Bernstein said they wouldn't reveal the source's identity until he or she died, but they finally confirmed Mr. Felt's role after he came forward.

Mr. Felt wrote that he was upset by the slow pace of the FBI investigation into the Watergate break-in and believed the press could pressure the administration to cooperate.

W. Mark Felt, 95, died Thursday at a hospice near his home in Santa Rosa, Calif., after suffering from congestive heart failure for several months.

Mr. Felt had argued with his children over whether to reveal his identity or take his secret to the grave. Would he be seen as a turncoat or a man of honor?

Critics, including those who went to prison for the Watergate scandal, called him a traitor for betraying the commander in chief. Supporters hailed him as a hero for blowing the whistle on a corrupt administration.

In a phone interview last week, Bob Woodward said despite the criticism and Mr. Felt's own ambivalence, it is clear the former second-in-command at the FBI should be remembered as a man who did the right thing. "This is a man who did his duty to the Constitution," Mr. Woodward told The Associated Press.

But history is ruthless. Truth be told, it's likely the name "W. Mark Felt" will be little more than the answer to a particularly obscure trivia quiz, in not too many years.

"Tricky Dick," on the other hand? Fair or not, the longevity of his myth and reputation may more closely resemble that of MacBeth, Thane of Glamis, and of Cawdor, too.