--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: History was finite and contained within…" description: "\"“History was finite and contained within comprehensible limits. It began with the Creation and was scheduled to end in a not indefinitely remote future..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b65/barbara-w-tuchman-8258_history_history-was-finite-and-contained-within_3213843.jpg" --- # History was finite and contained within comprehensible… ![“History was finite and contained within comprehensible limits. It began with the Creation and was scheduled to end in a not indefinitely remote future with the Second Coming, which was the hope of afflicted mankind, followed by the Day of Judgment. Within that span, man was not subject to social…” quote by Barbara W. Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b65/barbara-w-tuchman-8258_history_history-was-finite-and-contained-within_3213843.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b65/barbara-w-tuchman-8258_history_history-was-finite-and-contained-within_3213843.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b65/barbara-w-tuchman-8258_history_history-was-finite-and-contained-within_3213843.jpg) > ““History was finite and contained within comprehensible limits. It began with the Creation and was scheduled to end in a not indefinitely remote future with the Second Coming, which was the hope of afflicted mankind, followed by the Day of Judgment. Within that span, man was not subject to social or moral progress because his goal was the next world, not betterment in this. In this world he was assigned to ceaseless struggle against himself in which he might attain individual progress and even victory, but collective betterment would only come in the final union with God.”” [Barbara W. Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-w-tuchman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage describes a view of history where humanity's purpose is spiritual, not social, and progress is limited to personal struggle until a divine union. **In simple terms:** History seen as a spiritual timeline, not social progress. Key Takeaway Focus on personal growth over societal change. Themes theology philosophy history human purpose spirituality Mood contemplative serious Type philosophical theological When to use this quote - religious studies - philosophical reflection - personal development Key Concepts eschatology individual vs collective progress religious worldview Questions to Reflect On - Is personal struggle enough for societal betterment? - How does this view affect moral responsibility? A Different Perspective May overlook tangible social improvements. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) ## Related quotes > [Skepticism relieved two terrible diseases that afflicted mankind: anxiety and dogmatism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sextus-empiricus/skepticism-relieved-two-terrible-diseases-that-afflicted-mankind/) [Sextus Empiricus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sextus-empiricus/) > [There is no short and easy road, no magic cure for those ills which have afflicted mankind from the dawn of history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-b-kellogg/there-is-no-short-and-easy-road-no-magic-cure-for-those-ills-which/) [Frank B. 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It is a process involving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-wilson/there-is-no-single-test-or-formula-for-producing-moral-progress/) [Catherine Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-wilson/) > [“We will embarrass our descendants, just as our ancestors embarrass us. This is moral progress.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/we-will-embarrass-our-descendants-just-as-our-ancestors-embarrass-us/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [Without man and his potential for moral progress, the whole of reality would be a mere wilderness, a thing in vain, and have no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/without-man-and-his-potential-for-moral-progress-the-whole-of-reality/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) ## More by Barbara W. Tuchman > [“The world remembers the battle ever since by the taxis. 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Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-w-tuchman/) > [“Had all the world been a school and Wilson its principal, he would have been the greatest statesman in history.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-w-tuchman/had-all-the-world-been-a-school-and-wilson-its-principal-he-would/) [Barbara W. Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-w-tuchman/) > [“Have we,” he wondered, “conceived a merely human project and then imagined it to be a decree of the Almighty?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-w-tuchman/have-we-he-wondered-conceived-a-merely-human-project-and-then/) [Barbara W. Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-w-tuchman/) [Explore all 82 Barbara W. Tuchman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-w-tuchman/) ## More History quotes > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. 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