--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is nothing truer than myth…" description: "\"There is nothing truer than myth: history, in its attempt to realize myth, distorts it, stops halfway; when history claims to have succeeded, this is n..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef7/eug-ne-ionesco-1878_claims_there-is-nothing-truer-than-myth-history_3006968.jpg" --- # There is nothing truer than myth: history, in its attempt… ![“There is nothing truer than myth: history, in its attempt to realize myth, distorts it, stops halfway; when history claims to have succeeded, this is nothing but humbug and mystification. Everything we dream is realizable. Reality does not have to be: it is simply what it is.” quote by Eugene Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef7/eug-ne-ionesco-1878_claims_there-is-nothing-truer-than-myth-history_3006968.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef7/eug-ne-ionesco-1878_claims_there-is-nothing-truer-than-myth-history_3006968.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef7/eug-ne-ionesco-1878_claims_there-is-nothing-truer-than-myth-history_3006968.jpg) > “There is nothing truer than myth: history, in its attempt to realize myth, distorts it, stops halfway; when history claims to have succeeded, this is nothing but humbug and mystification. Everything we dream is realizable. Reality does not have to be: it is simply what it is.” [Eugene Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. History tries to turn myth into fact, but ends up distorting both; reality is simply what it is, not what we wish it to be. **In simple terms:** History distorts myth; reality is as it is. Key Takeaway Accept reality, question myth. Themes history myth reality perception Mood reflective critical Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - academic writing - public discourse - personal reflection Key Concepts philosophy epistemology narrative Questions to Reflect On - How does myth shape our view of history? - Can we separate fact from narrative? A Different Perspective Myths can inspire false expectations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Claims](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/claims/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Halfway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/halfway/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [History Claims](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history-claims-4801398/) [Humbug](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humbug/) [Myth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myth/) [Myth Distorts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myth-distorts-4801397/) [Myth History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myth-history-2095170/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Realize Myth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realize-myth-2511650/) [Realizing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realizing/) [Storytelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storytelling/) [Truer Myth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truer-myth-4425926/) ## Related quotes > [I have always considered imaginative truth to be more profound, more loaded with significance, than every day reality... Everything we dream about, and by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/i-have-always-considered-imaginative-truth-to-be-more-profound-more/) [Eugene Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) > [“They do not realize that a myth is dead if it no longer lives and grows. Our myth has become mute, and gives no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-g-jung-2/they-do-not-realize-that-a-myth-is-dead-if-it-no-longer-lives-and/) [C. G. Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-g-jung-2/) > [I could scream down 90 mountains to less than dust if only one living human had eyes in the head and heart in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-could-scream-down-90-mountains-to-less-than-dust-if-only-one-living/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“Myth is history in a masquerade costume. Peel away the fantastical facade, and you will always find a core of truth." Adrien Morel”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-burton/myth-is-history-in-a-masquerade-costume-peel-away-the-fantastical/) [Louisa Burton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-burton/) > [“Fact and myth are history’s bedfellows; it’s hard to wake one without disturbing the other.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-mckenney/fact-and-myth-are-history-s-bedfellows-it-s-hard-to-wake-one-without/) [J.G. McKenney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-mckenney/) > [Imagination is more important than knowledge, myth more than history and dreams more than facts. Hope always triumphs over experience and that laughter is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/imagination-is-more-important-than-knowledge-myth-more-than-history/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I myself, at one time, wanted to be like the explorers of the Himalayas that I used to read about; people intoxicated on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-mishra/i-myself-at-one-time-wanted-to-be-like-the-explorers-of-the-himalayas/) [Pankaj Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-mishra/) > [“We must have humbug, we all like humbug, we couldn't get on without humbug.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/we-must-have-humbug-we-all-like-humbug-we-couldn-t-get-on-without/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [It boils down to this: we should have done with humbug, and let war be war, and not a game ... If there were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/it-boils-down-to-this-we-should-have-done-with-humbug-and-let-war-be/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Sensitive, humbug. Everybody thinks I'm sensitive. Wait until they hear my new album.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carole-king/sensitive-humbug-everybody-thinks-i-m-sensitive-wait-until-they-hear/) [Carole King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carole-king/) > [Christmas a humbug, uncle!" said Scrooge's nephew. "You don't mean that, I am sure?" "I do," said Scrooge. "Merry Christmas! What right have you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/christmas-a-humbug-uncle-said-scrooge-s-nephew-you-don-t-mean-that-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [The humorist has a good eye for the humbug; he does not always recognize the saint.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/the-humorist-has-a-good-eye-for-the-humbug-he-does-not-always/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [The man is a humbug — a vulgar, shallow, self-satisfied mind, absolutely inaccessible to the complexities and delicacies of the real world. He has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-man-is-a-humbug-a-vulgar-shallow-self-satisfied-mind-absolutely/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [How can you see something that isn't there?" yawned the Humbug, who wasn't fully awake yet. "Sometimes, it's much simpler than seeing things that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norton-juster/how-can-you-see-something-that-isn-t-there-yawned-the-humbug-who-wasn/) [Norton Juster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norton-juster/) > [The more intelligent and cultured a man is, the more subtly he can humbug himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/the-more-intelligent-and-cultured-a-man-is-the-more-subtly-he-can/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) ## More by Eugene Ionesco > [I am, it seems, an avant-garde dramatist. It would even seem obvious since I am present here at discussions on the avant-garde theatre. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/i-am-it-seems-an-avant-garde-dramatist-it-would-even-seem-obvious/) [Eugene Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) > [ “My boy! It's really true, you really love hashed brown potatoes? You make me so happy. JACK \[without conviction\]: Yes, I like them, I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/my-boy-it-s-really-true-you-really-love-hashed-brown-potatoes-you/) [Eugène Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) > [Everything that has been will be, everything that will be is, everything that will be has been.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/everything-that-has-been-will-be-everything-that-will-be-is/) [Eugene Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) > [“Rhinoceros The Leader The Future is in Eggs or It Takes all Sorts to Make a World”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/rhinoceros-the-leader-the-future-is-in-eggs-or-it-takes-all-sorts-to/) [Eugène Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) > [Every message of despair is the statement of a situation from which everybody must freely try to find a way out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/every-message-of-despair-is-the-statement-of-a-situation-from-which/) [Eugene Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) > [I've always been suspicious of collective truths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/i-ve-always-been-suspicious-of-collective-truths/) [Eugene Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) > [Shakespeare was the great one before us. His place was between God and despair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/shakespeare-was-the-great-one-before-us-his-place-was-between-god-and/) [Eugene Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) > [I'll never waste my dreams by falling asleep. Never again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/i-ll-never-waste-my-dreams-by-falling-asleep-never-again/) [Eugene Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) > [“All doctors are quacks. And all patients too. Only the Royal Navy is honest in England.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/all-doctors-are-quacks-and-all-patients-too-only-the-royal-navy-is/) [Eugène Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) > [That's how we stay young these days: murder and suicide.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/that-s-how-we-stay-young-these-days-murder-and-suicide/) [Eugene Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) > [“I read a page of Plato's great work. I can no longer understand anything, because behind the words on the page, which have their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/i-read-a-page-of-plato-s-great-work-i-can-no-longer-understand/) [Eugène Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) > [“MRS. SMITH: Well, this is how it was. It is difficult for me to speak openly to you, but a fireman is also a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/mrs-smith-well-this-is-how-it-was-it-is-difficult-for-me-to-speak/) [Eugène Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) > [Childhood is over the moment things are no longer astonishing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/childhood-is-over-the-moment-things-are-no-longer-astonishing/) [Eugene Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) > [Realism falls short of reality. 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Wit consists in combination of ideas, punning in combination of words only. We wonder at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-hosmer/we-do-not-claim-that-punning-is-legitimate-wit-wit-consists-in/) [Harriet Hosmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-hosmer/) > [It is popular to call it a crisis of the Western world. It is in fact a crisis of the whole world. Communism, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whittaker-chambers/it-is-popular-to-call-it-a-crisis-of-the-western-world-it-is-in-fact/) [Whittaker Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whittaker-chambers/) > [One argument goes that recessions are good for female artists because when money flies out the window, women are allowed in the house. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/one-argument-goes-that-recessions-are-good-for-female-artists-because/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [Atheist’s denial of God’s existence needs just as much substantiation as does the theist’s claim; the atheist must give plausible reasons for rejecting God’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-copan/atheist-s-denial-of-god-s-existence-needs-just-as-much-substantiation/) [Paul Copan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-copan/) > [In luggage claim at the Minneapolis airport, the guy came up to me and said, "Maybe you're wrong, maybe stories do matter." I wrote…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-dicamillo/in-luggage-claim-at-the-minneapolis-airport-the-guy-came-up-to-me-and/) [Kate DiCamillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-dicamillo/) > [The rights essential to happiness. . . . 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