--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I can see only one safe rule for the…" description: "\"I can see only one safe rule for the historian: that he should recognize in the development of human destinies the play of the contingent and the unfor..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c3/h-a-l-fisher-57773_destiny_i-can-see-only-one-safe-rule-for-the-his_936188.png" --- # I can see only one safe rule for the historian: that he… ![“I can see only one safe rule for the historian: that he should recognize in the development of human destinies the play of the contingent and the unforeseen.” quote by H. A. L. Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c3/h-a-l-fisher-57773_destiny_i-can-see-only-one-safe-rule-for-the-his_936188.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c3/h-a-l-fisher-57773_destiny_i-can-see-only-one-safe-rule-for-the-his_936188.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c3/h-a-l-fisher-57773_destiny_i-can-see-only-one-safe-rule-for-the-his_936188.png) > “I can see only one safe rule for the historian: that he should recognize in the development of human destinies the play of the contingent and the unforeseen.” [H. A. L. Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-a-l-fisher/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Historians must recognize that chance and unpredictability shape human destiny. **In simple terms:** History is shaped by chance. Key Takeaway Accept uncertainty in historical analysis. Themes history uncertainty contingency human destiny analysis Mood reflective thoughtful Type scholarly analytical When to use this quote - academic research - policy planning - risk assessment - education Key Concepts probability causality narrative construction philosophy of history Questions to Reflect On - How does contingency affect historical interpretation? - What methods handle uncertainty? A Different Perspective Predicting future trends remains difficult. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Contingent Unforeseen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contingent-unforeseen-1564130/) [Destiny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destiny/) [Development](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/development/) [Historian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/historian/) [Historian Recognize](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/historian-recognize-1564129/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [I can](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-can/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Rule Historian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rule-historian-1564131/) [Safe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/safe/) [Safe Rule](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/safe-rule-647403/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Unforeseen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unforeseen/) ## Related quotes > [“Men wiser and more learned than I have discerned in history a plot, a rhythm, a predetermined pattern. These harmonies are concealed from me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/men-wiser-and-more-learned-than-i-have-discerned-in-history-a-plot-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/i-do-not-believe-one-can-settle-how-much-we-ought-to-give-i-am-afraid/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [It is a good and safe rule to sojourn in every place as if you meant to spend your life there, never omitting an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/it-is-a-good-and-safe-rule-to-sojourn-in-every-place-as-if-you-meant/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [But too often the goal of the planners is a universal gray state of health corresponding to absence of disease rather than to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-dubos/but-too-often-the-goal-of-the-planners-is-a-universal-gray-state-of/) [Rene Dubos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-dubos/) > [Italians are great improvisers. If something unforeseen happens, they throw up their hands, and they adjust.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-von-sydow/italians-are-great-improvisers-if-something-unforeseen-happens-they/) [Max von Sydow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-von-sydow/) > [Concerning all acts of initiative there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/concerning-all-acts-of-initiative-there-is-one-elementary-truth-the/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [Always try to associate yourself closely with and learn as much as you can from those who know more than you, who do better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/always-try-to-associate-yourself-closely-with-and-learn-as-much-as/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [The arrival of the unforeseen reveals the depths of one's heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-arrival-of-the-unforeseen-reveals-the-depths-of-one-s-heart/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [For an introvert his environment is himself and can never be subject to startling or unforeseen change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/for-an-introvert-his-environment-is-himself-and-can-never-be-subject/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) > [Failure is not a destination; it’s an invitation to unforeseen VICTORIES.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/les-brown/failure-is-not-a-destination-it-s-an-invitation-to-unforeseen/) [Les Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/les-brown/) > [“How do you calculate upon the unforeseen? It seems to be an art of recognizing the role of the unforeseen, of keeping your balance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/how-do-you-calculate-upon-the-unforeseen-it-seems-to-be-an-art-of/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [The moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves, too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never have otherwise occurred...unforeseen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/the-moment-one-definitely-commits-oneself-then-providence-moves-too/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Astronomy may be revolutionized more than any other field of science by observations from above the atmosphere. Study of the planets, the Sun, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyman-spitzer/astronomy-may-be-revolutionized-more-than-any-other-field-of-science/) [Lyman Spitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyman-spitzer/) > [He had not yet lived long enough to have discovered that nothing is more close at hand then the impossible, and that what must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-had-not-yet-lived-long-enough-to-have-discovered-that-nothing-is/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Play enables us to rearrange our capacities and our very identity so that they can be used in unforeseen ways](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-nachmanovitch/play-enables-us-to-rearrange-our-capacities-and-our-very-identity-so/) [Stephen Nachmanovitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-nachmanovitch/) ## More by H. A. L. Fisher > [Purity of race does not exist. Europe is a continent of energetic mongrels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-a-l-fisher/purity-of-race-does-not-exist-europe-is-a-continent-of-energetic/) [H. A. L. Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-a-l-fisher/) > [It is a terrible commentary on Christian civilization that the longest period of slave-raiding known to history was initiated by the action of Spain,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-a-l-fisher/it-is-a-terrible-commentary-on-christian-civilization-that-the/) [H. A. L. Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-a-l-fisher/) > [History is one damn thing after another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-a-l-fisher/history-is-one-damn-thing-after-another/) [H. A. L. Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-a-l-fisher/) > [Nothing commends a radical change to an Englishman more than the belief that it is really conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-a-l-fisher/nothing-commends-a-radical-change-to-an-englishman-more-than-the/) [H. A. L. Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-a-l-fisher/) > [The fact of progress is written plain and large on the page of history; but progress is not a law of nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-a-l-fisher/the-fact-of-progress-is-written-plain-and-large-on-the-page-of/) [H. A. L. Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-a-l-fisher/) [Explore all 6 H. A. L. Fisher quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-a-l-fisher/) ## More Destiny quotes > [... War on the destiny of man! Doom on the sun! Before death takes you, O take back this.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/war-on-the-destiny-of-man-doom-on-the-sun-before-death-takes-you-o/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Anatomy is destiny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/anatomy-is-destiny/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [“You are destiny for greatness. Your future is in the hands of the Lord.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/you-are-destiny-for-greatness-your-future-is-in-the-hands-of-the-lord/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“To be a Sufi is to detach from fixed ideas and from preconceptions; and not to try to avoid what is your lot.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/to-be-a-sufi-is-to-detach-from-fixed-ideas-and-from-preconceptions/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [ Man blindly works the will of fate. \[Ger., Blindlings that er blos den Willen des Geschickes.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christoph-martin-wieland/man-blindly-works-the-will-of-fate-ger-blindlings-that-er-blos-den/) [Christoph Martin Wieland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christoph-martin-wieland/) > [There are times when we can feel destiny close around us like a fist around a doorknob. Sure, we can resist. But a knob…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/there-are-times-when-we-can-feel-destiny-close-around-us-like-a-fist/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [“It's morning now, and I miss the soft rasp of her voice already. Ugh. I'm in trouble, aren't I?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-shand/it-s-morning-now-and-i-miss-the-soft-rasp-of-her-voice-already-ugh-i/) [Pat Shand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-shand/) > [You can't choose what stays and what stays away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-welch/you-can-t-choose-what-stays-and-what-stays-away/) [Florence Welch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-welch/) > [“Failing to meet your true destiny is a tragic act of free will.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthon-st-maarten/failing-to-meet-your-true-destiny-is-a-tragic-act-of-free-will/) [Anthon St. Maarten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthon-st-maarten/) > [Somehow destiny comes into play. These children end up with you and you end up with them. It's something quite magical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-kidman/somehow-destiny-comes-into-play-these-children-end-up-with-you-and/) [Nicole Kidman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-kidman/) > [“In that instant it all seemed to come clear to him- it came in a grisly flash of light, and he realized that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/in-that-instant-it-all-seemed-to-come-clear-to-him-it-came-in-a/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Destiny is the ordained intention God has sacredly prepared with your name on it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-s-lynch/destiny-is-the-ordained-intention-god-has-sacredly-prepared-with-your/) [John S. Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-s-lynch/) > [“There is no interaction without God with interaction with men”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/there-is-no-interaction-without-god-with-interaction-with-men/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [“Fate and future both are servant to the determined, for they are nothing but creation of human determination.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/fate-and-future-both-are-servant-to-the-determined-for-they-are/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) [Browse all 7,925 Destiny quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destiny/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I can see only one safe rule for the historian: that he should recognize in the development of human destinies the play of the contingent and the unforeseen.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "H. 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