--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Science is history arranged according to…" description: "\"Science is history arranged according to the superstition and taste of the moment. The vocabulary of scholars has no wit, no salt. These heavy tomes ha..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b07/blaise-cendrars-17769_distress_science-is-history-arranged-according-to_2559156.png" --- # Science is history arranged according to the superstition… ![“Science is history arranged according to the superstition and taste of the moment. The vocabulary of scholars has no wit, no salt. These heavy tomes have no soul, they are filled with distress...” quote by Blaise Cendrars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b07/blaise-cendrars-17769_distress_science-is-history-arranged-according-to_2559156.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b07/blaise-cendrars-17769_distress_science-is-history-arranged-according-to_2559156.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b07/blaise-cendrars-17769_distress_science-is-history-arranged-according-to_2559156.png) > “Science is history arranged according to the superstition and taste of the moment. The vocabulary of scholars has no wit, no salt. These heavy tomes have no soul, they are filled with distress...” [Blaise Cendrars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-cendrars/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Scholarly works often lack wit and soul, becoming dry and distressing, reflecting the era’s superstition. **In simple terms:** History written without wit feels empty. Key Takeaway Seek lively, critical scholarship. Themes scholarship wit history culture Mood critical thoughtful Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - academic publishing - education - public discourse - media analysis Key Concepts literary criticism philosophy historical methodology creativity Questions to Reflect On - How can scholarship stay engaging? - What role does wit play in learning? A Different Perspective May generalize across all scholarship. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [According Superstition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/according-superstition-1588932/) [Distress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distress/) [Filled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/filled/) [Heavy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heavy/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [History Arranged](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history-arranged-1588931/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Salt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/salt/) [Scholar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scholar/) [Scholars Wit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scholars-wit-1588930/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Science History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science-history-330530/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [Spirituality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirituality/) [Superstitions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/superstitions/) [Taste](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taste/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Vocabulary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vocabulary/) [Wit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wit/) ## Related quotes > [I can remember picking up weighty tomes on the history of science and the history of philosophy and reading those when I was small.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-ackroyd/i-can-remember-picking-up-weighty-tomes-on-the-history-of-science-and/) [Peter Ackroyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-ackroyd/) > [Research is of considerable importance in certain fields, such as science and history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-saberhagen/research-is-of-considerable-importance-in-certain-fields-such-as/) [Fred Saberhagen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-saberhagen/) > [The history of science is science itself; the history of the individual, the individual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/the-history-of-science-is-science-itself-the-history-of-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [I don't think history will ever be a science because history will never be reduced to law-like behavior. People are to unpredictable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/i-don-t-think-history-will-ever-be-a-science-because-history-will/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [The year 1896 ... marked the beginning of what has been aptly termed the heroic age of Physical Science. Never before in the history…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-rutherford/the-year-1896-marked-the-beginning-of-what-has-been-aptly-termed-the/) [Ernest Rutherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-rutherford/) > [I don't believe in the Great Man theory of science or history. There are no great men, just men standing on the shoulders of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacque-fresco/i-don-t-believe-in-the-great-man-theory-of-science-or-history-there/) [Jacque Fresco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacque-fresco/) > [The arts are what humanize science and history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-k-davis/the-arts-are-what-humanize-science-and-history/) [Danny K. Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-k-davis/) > [We know only a single science, the science of history. History can be contemplated from two sides, it can be divided into the history…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/we-know-only-a-single-science-the-science-of-history-history-can-be/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [Philosophy of science without history of science is empty; history of science without philosophy of science is blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imre-lakatos/philosophy-of-science-without-history-of-science-is-empty-history-of/) [Imre Lakatos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imre-lakatos/) > [One of the really bad things you can do to your writing is to dress up the vocabulary, looking for long words because you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/one-of-the-really-bad-things-you-can-do-to-your-writing-is-to-dress/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Most of my life, I thought that I would end up a novelist. But then, in New York City, after college, I started a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-spaihts/most-of-my-life-i-thought-that-i-would-end-up-a-novelist-but-then-in/) [Jon Spaihts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-spaihts/) > [You adjust what you do depending on the actor. You evolve a vocabulary and a way of language and talking with each actor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-c-wolfe/you-adjust-what-you-do-depending-on-the-actor-you-evolve-a-vocabulary/) [George C. Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-c-wolfe/) > [Cults use our vocabulary, but they don't use our dictionary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-r-swindoll/cults-use-our-vocabulary-but-they-don-t-use-our-dictionary/) [Charles R. Swindoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-r-swindoll/) > [“I hereby propose the term “miserize”, as a verb for misery – referring to “to cause misery”.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/i-hereby-propose-the-term-miserize-as-a-verb-for-misery-referring-to/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [When I first started, my message was about joy, but I didn't really have the vocabulary and life experience to fully deliver it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-mraz/when-i-first-started-my-message-was-about-joy-but-i-didn-t-really/) [Jason Mraz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-mraz/) ## More by Blaise Cendrars > [“As a special branch of general philosophy, pathogenesis had never been explored. In my opinion it had never been approached in a strictly scientific…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-cendrars/as-a-special-branch-of-general-philosophy-pathogenesis-had-never-been/) [Blaise Cendrars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-cendrars/) > [Writing is to descend like a miner to the depths of the mine with a lamp on your forehead, a light whose dubious brightness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-cendrars/writing-is-to-descend-like-a-miner-to-the-depths-of-the-mine-with-a/) [Blaise Cendrars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-cendrars/) > [The single fact of existing is already a true happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-cendrars/the-single-fact-of-existing-is-already-a-true-happiness/) [Blaise Cendrars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-cendrars/) > [“and only much later, when Mascha wanted a child, did I realize that love is a deadly poison, a vice, a vice that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-cendrars/and-only-much-later-when-mascha-wanted-a-child-did-i-realize-that/) [Blaise Cendrars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-cendrars/) > [I used the word 'prose' in the Trans-Siberian in the early Latin sense of prosa dictu. Poem seemed to me too pretentious, too narrow.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-cendrars/i-used-the-word-prose-in-the-trans-siberian-in-the-early-latin-sense/) [Blaise Cendrars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-cendrars/) > [“Feelings flake off and fall in dust. The senses, vitrified, can no longer experience pleasure; they crack at the least provocation. Each of us,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-cendrars/feelings-flake-off-and-fall-in-dust-the-senses-vitrified-can-no/) [Blaise Cendrars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-cendrars/) > [“Do not forget that when the heart petrifies there is no progress. All science must be like a fruit, so ordered that it may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-cendrars/do-not-forget-that-when-the-heart-petrifies-there-is-no-progress-all/) [Blaise Cendrars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-cendrars/) > [“Each of us attempted to stem & hold fast the unending flood of his thoughts which tended to trickle off into that inner void.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-cendrars/each-of-us-attempted-to-stem-hold-fast-the-unending-flood-of-his/) [Blaise Cendrars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-cendrars/) > [Only a soul full of despair can ever attain serenity and, to be in despair, you must have loved a good deal and still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-cendrars/only-a-soul-full-of-despair-can-ever-attain-serenity-and-to-be-in/) [Blaise Cendrars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-cendrars/) > [Photogenic is a stupid, nonsensical word, but it is also a great mystery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-cendrars/photogenic-is-a-stupid-nonsensical-word-but-it-is-also-a-great-mystery/) [Blaise Cendrars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-cendrars/) > [“you make me laugh, with your metaphysical anguish, its just that you're scared silly, frightened of life, of men of action, of action itself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-cendrars/you-make-me-laugh-with-your-metaphysical-anguish-its-just-that-you-re/) [Blaise Cendrars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-cendrars/) > [“Modern man has a need for simplification that tends to find its expression one way or another. And this artificial monotony which he takes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-cendrars/modern-man-has-a-need-for-simplification-that-tends-to-find-its/) [Blaise Cendrars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-cendrars/) > [One's life, from being an exterior thing, grows inwards. Its intensity stays the same; and, d'you know, it's most mysterious, the corners in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-cendrars/one-s-life-from-being-an-exterior-thing-grows-inwards-its-intensity/) [Blaise Cendrars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-cendrars/) > [Writing is a noble privilege compared with the lot of most people, who live like parts of a machine, who live only to keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-cendrars/writing-is-a-noble-privilege-compared-with-the-lot-of-most-people-who/) [Blaise Cendrars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-cendrars/) > [“But me no buts, we're going to make whoopee, I tell you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-cendrars/but-me-no-buts-we-re-going-to-make-whoopee-i-tell-you/) [Blaise Cendrars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-cendrars/) [Explore all 35 Blaise Cendrars quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-cendrars/) ## More Distress quotes > [That toil of growing up; The ignominy of boyhood; the distress Of boyhood changing into man; The unfinished man and his pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/that-toil-of-growing-up-the-ignominy-of-boyhood-the-distress-of/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [To pray is to open the door unto Jesus and admit Him into your distress. Your helplessness is the very thing which opens wide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ole-hallesby/to-pray-is-to-open-the-door-unto-jesus-and-admit-him-into-your/) [Ole Hallesby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ole-hallesby/) > [“When children are hurt and in pain psychologically, they don't want to be in distress, so when the situation becomes intolerable, they cease to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-w-firestone/when-children-are-hurt-and-in-pain-psychologically-they-don-t-want-to/) [Robert W. Firestone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-w-firestone/) > [Soothing touch, whether it be applied to a ruffled cat, a crying infant, or a frightened child, has a universally recognized power to ameliorate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deane-juhan/soothing-touch-whether-it-be-applied-to-a-ruffled-cat-a-crying-infant/) [Deane Juhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deane-juhan/) > [When we are in distress we pray genuinely, seeking forgiveness, promise to quit all sin & beg for mercy & protection. Why do we then forget?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-we-are-in-distress-we-pray-genuinely-seeking-forgiveness-promise/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Want to talk third wave feminism, you could cite Ariel Levy and the idea that women have internalized male oppression. Going to spring break…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/want-to-talk-third-wave-feminism-you-could-cite-ariel-levy-and-the/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [Being human, we would expel from our lives physical pain and mental anguish and assure ourselves of continual ease and comfort, but if we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-w-kimball/being-human-we-would-expel-from-our-lives-physical-pain-and-mental/) [Spencer W. Kimball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-w-kimball/) > [It was right then and there that she'd realized there was no quota on misery for people, no quantifiable threshold that once reached, got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ward/it-was-right-then-and-there-that-she-d-realized-there-was-no-quota-on/) [J.R. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/) > [You pray in your distress and in your need; would that you might also pray in the fullness of your joy and in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/you-pray-in-your-distress-and-in-your-need-would-that-you-might-also/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [This isn't a romance. You're not a damsel in distress and I'm not the handsome prince come to save you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cj-roberts/this-isn-t-a-romance-you-re-not-a-damsel-in-distress-and-i-m-not-the/) [CJ Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cj-roberts/) > [“Ivy waved the wet handkerchief, as much as to say, words cannot possibly articulate my profound distress. Then, because Ivy never settled for meaningful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-carriger/ivy-waved-the-wet-handkerchief-as-much-as-to-say-words-cannot/) [Gail Carriger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-carriger/) > [They have stolen the public lands. They have grasped all to themselves, and by their unprincipled greed brought a crisis of unparalleled distress on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-kearney/they-have-stolen-the-public-lands-they-have-grasped-all-to-themselves/) [Denis Kearney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-kearney/) > [I believe that what so saddens the reformer is not his sympathy with his fellows in distress, but, though he be the holiest son…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-believe-that-what-so-saddens-the-reformer-is-not-his-sympathy-with/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Patience will benefit you in every hour, every time and every opportunity. It helps you to overcome your opponent, howsoever strong he may be.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abd-al-karim-qasim/patience-will-benefit-you-in-every-hour-every-time-and-every/) [Abd al-Karim Qasim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abd-al-karim-qasim/) > [Grief that is dazed and speechless is out of fashion: the modern woman mourns her husband loudly and tells you the whole story of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/grief-that-is-dazed-and-speechless-is-out-of-fashion-the-modern-woman/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) [Browse all 686 Distress quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distress/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Science is history arranged according to the superstition and taste of the moment. The vocabulary of scholars has no wit, no salt. These heavy tomes have no soul, they are filled with distress...", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Blaise Cendrars" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-cendrars/science-is-history-arranged-according-to-the-superstition-and-taste/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Distress" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-cendrars/science-is-history-arranged-according-to-the-superstition-and-taste/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b07/blaise-cendrars-17769_distress_science-is-history-arranged-according-to_2559156.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b07/blaise-cendrars-17769_distress_science-is-history-arranged-according-to_2559156.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b07/blaise-cendrars-17769_distress_science-is-history-arranged-according-to_2559156.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Science is history arranged according to the superstition and taste of the moment. The vocabulary of…” — Blaise Cendrars", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Blaise Cendrars", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-cendrars/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Science is history arranged according to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-cendrars/science-is-history-arranged-according-to-the-superstition-and-taste/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-cendrars/science-is-history-arranged-according-to-the-superstition-and-taste/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```