--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: History is not truth versus falsehoods…" description: "\"History is not truth versus falsehoods, but a mixture of both, a mélange of tendencies, reactions, dreams, errors, and power plays. What's important is..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d5/gretel-ehrlich-9636_discipline_history-is-not-truth-versus-falsehoods-b_421262.jpg" --- # History is not truth versus falsehoods, but a mixture of… ![“History is not truth versus falsehoods, but a mixture of both, a mélange of tendencies, reactions, dreams, errors, and power plays. What's important is what we make of it; its moral use. By writing history, we can widen readers' thinking and deepen their sympathies in every direction. Perhaps…” quote by Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d5/gretel-ehrlich-9636_discipline_history-is-not-truth-versus-falsehoods-b_421262.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d5/gretel-ehrlich-9636_discipline_history-is-not-truth-versus-falsehoods-b_421262.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d5/gretel-ehrlich-9636_discipline_history-is-not-truth-versus-falsehoods-b_421262.jpg) > “History is not truth versus falsehoods, but a mixture of both, a mélange of tendencies, reactions, dreams, errors, and power plays. What's important is what we make of it; its moral use. By writing history, we can widen readers' thinking and deepen their sympathies in every direction. Perhaps history should show us not how to control the world, but how to enlarge, deepen, and discipline ourselves.” [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. History blends truth and falsehood, shaping perspectives; its purpose is to expand empathy and self‑discipline, not control. **In simple terms:** History is a mixed narrative that teaches empathy. Key Takeaway Use history to grow understanding. Themes history truth empathy self‑discipline Mood inquisitive reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - education curricula - public discourse - personal reflection Key Concepts narrative construction power dynamics ethical reflection Questions to Reflect On - What narratives shape your worldview? - How can we balance truth and myth? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on moral lessons can oversimplify events. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Discipline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discipline/) [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Errors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/errors/) [Falsehood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/falsehood/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [History Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history-truth-394519/) [History Widen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history-widen-3733785/) [Important](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important/) [Mixtures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mixtures/) [Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Power play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power-play/) [Reactions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reactions/) [Reader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reader/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Shows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shows/) [Tendencies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tendencies/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Truth Versus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth-versus-2889375/) [Use](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/use/) [Versus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/versus/) [Versus Falsehoods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/versus-falsehoods-3733786/) [What 's important](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/what-s-important/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing history](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-history/) ## Related quotes > [The result of a consistent and total substitution of lies for factual truth is not that the lie will now be accepted as truth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/the-result-of-a-consistent-and-total-substitution-of-lies-for-factual/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [“There lives much more potential and possibility in the truth versus a lie”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renita-bryant/there-lives-much-more-potential-and-possibility-in-the-truth-versus-a/) [Renita Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renita-bryant/) > [Human history is in truth nothing but the history of the slow, uncertain, and surprising fulfillment of the Promise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustavo-gutierrez/human-history-is-in-truth-nothing-but-the-history-of-the-slow/) [Gustavo Gutiérrez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustavo-gutierrez/) > [“If all records told the same tale—then the lie passed into history and became truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/if-all-records-told-the-same-tale-then-the-lie-passed-into-history/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Imagination, whatever may be said to the contrary, will always hold a place in history, as truth does in romance. Has not romance been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arsene-houssaye/imagination-whatever-may-be-said-to-the-contrary-will-always-hold-a/) [Arsene Houssaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arsene-houssaye/) > [The thing about black history is that the truth is so much more complex than anything you could make up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-louis-gates/the-thing-about-black-history-is-that-the-truth-is-so-much-more/) [Henry Louis Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-louis-gates/) > [The time is not come for impartial history. If the truth were told just now, it would not be credited.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-e-lee/the-time-is-not-come-for-impartial-history-if-the-truth-were-told/) [Robert E. Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-e-lee/) > [“There is the truth of history, and there is the truth of what a person remembers. As {she} sat at the edge of {the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-wells/there-is-the-truth-of-history-and-there-is-the-truth-of-what-a-person-2/) [Rebecca Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-wells/) > [The truth isn't easily pinned to a page. In the bathtub of history the truth is harder to hold than the soap and much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-truth-isn-t-easily-pinned-to-a-page-in-the-bathtub-of-history-the/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [There is the truth of history, and there is the truth of what a person remembers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-wells/there-is-the-truth-of-history-and-there-is-the-truth-of-what-a-person/) [Rebecca Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-wells/) > [ \[T\]hat is the triumph of history - truth absolute is not at hand; the original with which to match the copy does not exist. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-barzun/t-hat-is-the-triumph-of-history-truth-absolute-is-not-at-hand-the/) [Jacques Barzun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-barzun/) > [“tale—then the lie passed into history and became truth. “Who controls”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/tale-then-the-lie-passed-into-history-and-became-truth-who-controls/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [The motive force of history is truth and not lies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-trotsky/the-motive-force-of-history-is-truth-and-not-lies/) [Leon Trotsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-trotsky/) > [We like to imagine that in history, truth will prevail through sheer persuasive power. Sadly, this is not the case. Truth needs champions...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/llewellyn-rockwell/we-like-to-imagine-that-in-history-truth-will-prevail-through-sheer/) [Llewellyn Rockwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/llewellyn-rockwell/) > [And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed—if all records told the same tale—then the lie passed into history and became…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-if-all-others-accepted-the-lie-which-the-party-imposed-if-all/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) ## More by Gretel Ehrlich > [“To yield is to be preserved whole. To be bent is to become straight. To be hollow is to be filled. To be tattered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/to-yield-is-to-be-preserved-whole-to-be-bent-is-to-become-straight-to/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) > [Turbulence, like many forms of trouble, cannot always be seen. We bounce so hard my arms sail helplessly above my head. In evolution, wing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/turbulence-like-many-forms-of-trouble-cannot-always-be-seen-we-bounce/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) > [From the clayey soil of northern Wyoming is mined bentonite, which is used as filler in candy, gum, and lipstick. We Americans are great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/from-the-clayey-soil-of-northern-wyoming-is-mined-bentonite-which-is/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) > [Finally, the lessons of impermanence taught me this: loss constitutes an odd kind of fullness; despair empties out into an unquenchable appetite for life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/finally-the-lessons-of-impermanence-taught-me-this-loss-constitutes/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) > [If anything is endemic to Wyoming it is wind. This big room of space is swept out daily, leaving a bone yard of fossils,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/if-anything-is-endemic-to-wyoming-it-is-wind-this-big-room-of-space/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) > [Everything in nature invites us constantly to be what we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/everything-in-nature-invites-us-constantly-to-be-what-we-are/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) > [Between highway sounds I heard waves and thought how the curve of the coastline here had sheltered and nurtured live-born sharks, humans, and migrating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/between-highway-sounds-i-heard-waves-and-thought-how-the-curve-of-the/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) > [Walking is also an ambulation of mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/walking-is-also-an-ambulation-of-mind/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) > [As fog moved to the mainland I heard a flock of birds fly over. They sounded like a dress rustling, a dress being unfastened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/as-fog-moved-to-the-mainland-i-heard-a-flock-of-birds-fly-over-they/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) > [“What shocks me so is the detachment with which we dispense destruction -- not just bombs, but blows to the head of the earth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/what-shocks-me-so-is-the-detachment-with-which-we-dispense/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) > [“Like water, I have no skin...only surface tension. (Gretel Ehrlich)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/like-water-i-have-no-skin-only-surface-tension-gretel-ehrlich/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) > [What Flaubert refers to as the “mélancholies du voyage” is like the sadness I feel as one season departs and another arrives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/what-flaubert-refers-to-as-the-m-lancholies-du-voyage-is-like-the/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) > [“Space is an arena where the rowdy particles that are the building blocks of life perform their antics. All spring, things fall; the general…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/space-is-an-arena-where-the-rowdy-particles-that-are-the-building/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) > [There is nothing in nature that can't be taken as a sign of both mortality and invigoration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/there-is-nothing-in-nature-that-can-t-be-taken-as-a-sign-of-both/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) > [The truest art I would strive for in any work would be to give the page the same qualities as earth: weather would land…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/the-truest-art-i-would-strive-for-in-any-work-would-be-to-give-the/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) [Explore all 71 Gretel Ehrlich quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) ## More Discipline quotes > [Christianity was never meant to be defined by its disciplines, but by its passions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-johnson/christianity-was-never-meant-to-be-defined-by-its-disciplines-but-by/) [Bill Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-johnson/) > [Grit and self-control are related, but they're not the same thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-duckworth/grit-and-self-control-are-related-but-they-re-not-the-same-thing/) [Angela Duckworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-duckworth/) > [“Peace requires a discipline more iron than war. - Easter, 1939 ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-j-turner/peace-requires-a-discipline-more-iron-than-war-easter-1939/) [W.J. Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-j-turner/) > [You can't have the fruits without the roots. It's the principle of sequencing: Private Victories proceed Public Victories. Self-mastery and self-discipline are the foundation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-covey/you-can-t-have-the-fruits-without-the-roots-it-s-the-principle-of/) [Stephen Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-covey/) > [Like a child exploring the attic of an old house on a rainy day, discovering a trunk full of treasure and then calling all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-h-peterson/like-a-child-exploring-the-attic-of-an-old-house-on-a-rainy-day/) [Eugene H. Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-h-peterson/) > [Exercise teaches you the pleasure of discipline.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-fonda/exercise-teaches-you-the-pleasure-of-discipline/) [Jane Fonda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-fonda/) > [I'm always writing. I'm an obsessive. It's not because I'm a disciplined person. It's because I'm crazy about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanif-kureishi/i-m-always-writing-i-m-an-obsessive-it-s-not-because-i-m-a/) [Hanif Kureishi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanif-kureishi/) > [“I felt like praying or something, when I was in bed, but I couldn't do it. I can't always pray when I feel like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/i-felt-like-praying-or-something-when-i-was-in-bed-but-i-couldn-t-do/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [The undisciplined child enters into discipline by working in the company of others; not being told he is naughty.” “Discipline is, therefore, primarily a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/the-undisciplined-child-enters-into-discipline-by-working-in-the/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [“Proverbs from the East: The wind howls, but the mountain remains still. Even though I make no special attempt to observe the discipline of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/proverbs-from-the-east-the-wind-howls-but-the-mountain-remains-still/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [To behave creatively in art means behavior with skill; and skill comes from discipline, not derangement. The artist who knows the rules -and proportion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burne-hogarth/to-behave-creatively-in-art-means-behavior-with-skill-and-skill-comes/) [Burne Hogarth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burne-hogarth/) > [Self-discipline is an act of cultivation. It require you to connect today's actions to tomorrow's results. There's a season for sowing a season for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-ryan-blair/self-discipline-is-an-act-of-cultivation-it-require-you-to-connect/) [Gary Ryan Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-ryan-blair/) > [The individual, by means of the discipline imposed on him by sport, not only plays and finds relaxation from the various compulsions to which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-ellul/the-individual-by-means-of-the-discipline-imposed-on-him-by-sport-not/) [Jacques Ellul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-ellul/) > [Cheerfulness in most cheerful people is the rich and satisfying result of strenuous discipline.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-percy-whipple/cheerfulness-in-most-cheerful-people-is-the-rich-and-satisfying/) [Edwin Percy Whipple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-percy-whipple/) > [Stay in your seat come times of trouble. Its only people who jump off the roller coaster who get hurt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-harvey/stay-in-your-seat-come-times-of-trouble-its-only-people-who-jump-off/) [Paul Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-harvey/) [Browse all 5,597 Discipline quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discipline/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "History is not truth versus falsehoods, but a mixture of both, a mélange of tendencies, reactions, dreams, errors, and power plays. What's important is what we make of it; its moral use. By writing history, we can widen readers' thinking and deepen their sympathies in every direction. 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