--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Writing history is like drinking an ocean…" description: "\"Writing history is like drinking an ocean and pissing a cupful.\" — Gustave Flaubert" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/512/gustave-flaubert-354_drinking_writing-history-is-like-drinking-an-ocea_1576762.jpg" --- # Writing history is like drinking an ocean and pissing a… ![“Writing history is like drinking an ocean and pissing a cupful.” quote by Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/512/gustave-flaubert-354_drinking_writing-history-is-like-drinking-an-ocea_1576762.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/512/gustave-flaubert-354_drinking_writing-history-is-like-drinking-an-ocea_1576762.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/512/gustave-flaubert-354_drinking_writing-history-is-like-drinking-an-ocea_1576762.jpg) > “Writing history is like drinking an ocean and pissing a cupful.” [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. History is vast and complex, yet we often reduce it to tiny, self‑serving narratives. **In simple terms:** History is too big for one perspective. Key Takeaway Seek broader, inclusive narratives. Themes history humility knowledge Mood reflective critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - research - teaching - public discourse - media analysis Key Concepts Narrative bias epistemology Questions to Reflect On - What stories are left out of mainstream histories? - How can we honor complexity in historical study? A Different Perspective Simplifying history can obscure truth and marginalize voices. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Drinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drinking/) [Drinking Ocean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drinking-ocean-5947443/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Ocean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ocean/) [Ocean Pissing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ocean-pissing-5947441/) [Pissing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pissing-306337/) [Pissing Cupful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pissing-cupful-5947442/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing history](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-history/) ## Related quotes > [That man has missed something who has never left a brothel at sunrise feeling like throwing himself into the river out of pure disgust.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/that-man-has-missed-something-who-has-never-left-a-brothel-at-sunrise/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Pissing people off should be a sport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/priyanka/pissing-people-off-should-be-a-sport/) [Priyanka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/priyanka/) > [“And you had to do that in a thunderstorm pissing down like a camel?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/poppet/and-you-had-to-do-that-in-a-thunderstorm-pissing-down-like-a-camel/) [Poppet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/poppet/) > [When Anderson walks into a room, you can hear a rat pissing on cotton.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chael-sonnen/when-anderson-walks-into-a-room-you-can-hear-a-rat-pissing-on-cotton/) [Chael Sonnen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chael-sonnen/) > [“Pissing is the least of my talents. You ought to see me shit”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/pissing-is-the-least-of-my-talents-you-ought-to-see-me-shit/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) > [I've learned that pleasing everyone is nearly impossible, but pissing everyone off is way easier, and fun as hell ! :D](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mac/i-ve-learned-that-pleasing-everyone-is-nearly-impossible-but-pissing/) [Mac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mac/) > [“I remember another aphorism of my father's, one that he used to say whenever we passed someone pissing openly in the street: add color…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinaw-mengestu/i-remember-another-aphorism-of-my-father-s-one-that-he-used-to-say/) [Dinaw Mengestu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinaw-mengestu/) > [“There really isn't much use in getting into a pissing contest since I have to sit down to pee anyway.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammy-blackwell/there-really-isn-t-much-use-in-getting-into-a-pissing-contest-since-i/) [Tammy Blackwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammy-blackwell/) > [“She who gets in the middle of a pissing match will only get wet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brent-weeks/she-who-gets-in-the-middle-of-a-pissing-match-will-only-get-wet/) [Brent Weeks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brent-weeks/) > [It's very important to know when you're in a pissing match. And it's very important to get out of it as quickly as possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-pausch/it-s-very-important-to-know-when-you-re-in-a-pissing-match-and-it-s/) [Randy Pausch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-pausch/) > [Pissing people off doesn't mean you're doing the right things, but doing the right things will almost inevitably piss people off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-powell/pissing-people-off-doesn-t-mean-you-re-doing-the-right-things-but/) [Colin Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-powell/) > [If you’re not pissing someone off, you probably aren’t doing anything important.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver/if-you-re-not-pissing-someone-off-you-probably-aren-t-doing-anything/) [Oliver $](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver/) > [“That's how I want to go. Taking my own way out and totally pissing everybody off at the end.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-j-smith/that-s-how-i-want-to-go-taking-my-own-way-out-and-totally-pissing/) [L.J. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-j-smith/) > [I have this habit of pissing people off without even trying, or hurting them I'm not really sure why it's just something I do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheyenne-delacruz/i-have-this-habit-of-pissing-people-off-without-even-trying-or/) [Cheyenne DeLaCruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheyenne-delacruz/) > [I'm polite. I guess that's the dichotomy within me. I don't like to piss people off just for the sake of pissing them off.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucinda-williams/i-m-polite-i-guess-that-s-the-dichotomy-within-me-i-don-t-like-to/) [Lucinda Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucinda-williams/) ## More by Gustave Flaubert > [As for the piano, the faster her fingers flew over it, the more he marveled. She struck the keys with aplomb and ran from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/as-for-the-piano-the-faster-her-fingers-flew-over-it-the-more-he/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Caught up in life, you see it badly. You suffer from it or enjoy it too much. The artist, in my opinion, is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/caught-up-in-life-you-see-it-badly-you-suffer-from-it-or-enjoy-it-too/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [“When one does something, one must do it wholly and well. 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You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/travel-makes-one-modest-you-see-what-a-tiny-place-you-occupy-in-the/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [“We must not touch our idols; the gilt sticks to our fingers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/we-must-not-touch-our-idols-the-gilt-sticks-to-our-fingers/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [A superhuman will is needed in order to write, and I am only a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/a-superhuman-will-is-needed-in-order-to-write-and-i-am-only-a-man/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [The writer must wade into life as into the sea, but only up to the navel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/the-writer-must-wade-into-life-as-into-the-sea-but-only-up-to-the/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [COLD. Healthier than heat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/cold-healthier-than-heat/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [And indeed, what is better than to sit by one's fireside in the evening with a book, while the wind beats against the window…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/and-indeed-what-is-better-than-to-sit-by-one-s-fireside-in-the/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [One's existence should be in two parts: one should live like a bourgeois and think like a demigod.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/one-s-existence-should-be-in-two-parts-one-should-live-like-a/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Emma was no asleep, she was pretending to be asleep; and, while he was dozing off at her side, she lay awake, dreaming other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/emma-was-no-asleep-she-was-pretending-to-be-asleep-and-while-he-was/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) [Explore all 526 Gustave Flaubert quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) ## More Drinking quotes > [I'm Catholic and I can't commit suicide, but I plan to drink myself to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/i-m-catholic-and-i-can-t-commit-suicide-but-i-plan-to-drink-myself-to/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [There is no sweeter sound than the crumbling of one's fellow man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/there-is-no-sweeter-sound-than-the-crumbling-of-one-s-fellow-man/) [Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/) > [You owe me a drink, you're so ugly I dropped mine when I saw you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-owe-me-a-drink-you-re-so-ugly-i-dropped-mine-when-i-saw-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“We were still twirling around the tiny parking lot when the neighbors screamed 'Happy New Year'. Unfortunately we weren't sober enough to realize that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaitlin-scott/we-were-still-twirling-around-the-tiny-parking-lot-when-the-neighbors/) [Kaitlin Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaitlin-scott/) > [I'm drinking away the exam results that don't take me anywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-herrick/i-m-drinking-away-the-exam-results-that-don-t-take-me-anywhere/) [Steven Herrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-herrick/) > [There is an idea that you can take the spiritual teachings of a religion outside of a religion and practice them; these ideas are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seyyed-hossein-nasr/there-is-an-idea-that-you-can-take-the-spiritual-teachings-of-a/) [Seyyed Hossein Nasr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seyyed-hossein-nasr/) > [I wasn’t like, boo hoo, Bin Laden’s dead, but I wasn’t jumping. 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