--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The great word Evolution had not yet, in…" description: "\"The great word Evolution had not yet, in 1860, made a new religion of history, but the old religion had preached the same doctrinefor a thousand years ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/760/henry-adams-1542_contradiction_the-great-word-evolution-had-not-yet-in_3156687.jpg" --- # The great word Evolution had not yet, in 1860, made a new… ![“The great word Evolution had not yet, in 1860, made a new religion of history, but the old religion had preached the same doctrinefor a thousand years without finding in the entire history of Rome anything but flat contradiction.” quote by Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/760/henry-adams-1542_contradiction_the-great-word-evolution-had-not-yet-in_3156687.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/760/henry-adams-1542_contradiction_the-great-word-evolution-had-not-yet-in_3156687.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/760/henry-adams-1542_contradiction_the-great-word-evolution-had-not-yet-in_3156687.jpg) > “The great word Evolution had not yet, in 1860, made a new religion of history, but the old religion had preached the same doctrinefor a thousand years without finding in the entire history of Rome anything but flat contradiction.” [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Historical narratives can become dogmatic, turning facts into doctrine and ignoring contradictions. **In simple terms:** History can be treated as a rigid belief system. Key Takeaway Question assumptions and seek evidence. Themes history dogma critical thinking Mood reflective skeptical Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - academic research - policy analysis - media reporting - education curriculum Key Concepts philosophy epistemology historical method Questions to Reflect On - What evidence challenges the prevailing historical narrative? - How can we foster nuanced understanding of history? A Different Perspective Rigid narratives may oversimplify complex events. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Contradiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contradiction/) [Evolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolution/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Rome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rome/) [Thousand years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thousand-years/) ## Related quotes > [The new religion without any secrets is philosophy. The old religion, said Aristotle, is necessary only for the uneducated; Confucius, Buddha, Voltaire and Lessing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/artur-phleps/the-new-religion-without-any-secrets-is-philosophy-the-old-religion/) Artur Phleps > [The notion of women being written out of history is as old as the Bible, but it always seems more galling when it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-thornberry/the-notion-of-women-being-written-out-of-history-is-as-old-as-the/) [Emily Thornberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-thornberry/) > [New Jersey for me is so alive with history. It's old, dynamic, African-American, Latino.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/new-jersey-for-me-is-so-alive-with-history-it-s-old-dynamic-african/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [“education is a tender garden, whereas ignorance is weeds. History—the old history—was full of examples proving that, when civilizations fell, learning was the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/education-is-a-tender-garden-whereas-ignorance-is-weeds-history-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [All you have learned from history is old ways of making mistakes. There is nothing that history can tell you about what we must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-land/all-you-have-learned-from-history-is-old-ways-of-making-mistakes/) [Edwin Land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-land/) > [A time will come when men will sit with history before them or with some old newspaper before them and ask incredulously,"Was there ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells/a-time-will-come-when-men-will-sit-with-history-before-them-or-with/) [H. G. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells/) > [“Nowadays it seems you learn only what is reasonable and relevant. 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It is, however,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rustichello-of-pisa/yezd-in-pre-mahomedan-times-was-a-great-sanctuary-of-the-gueber/) Rustichello Of Pisa > [Though the worship of riches is an old religion, there has never been a danger that it might become the sole religion. And yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-e-buckrose/though-the-worship-of-riches-is-an-old-religion-there-has-never-been/) [J. E. Buckrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-e-buckrose/) > [That which is true must always remain true, though the applications may change greatly from generation to generation. It is the absence of such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/that-which-is-true-must-always-remain-true-though-the-applications/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The intelligible forms of ancient poets, The fair humanities of old religion, The Power, the Beauty, and the Majesty That had their haunts in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/the-intelligible-forms-of-ancient-poets-the-fair-humanities-of-old-2/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) ## More by Henry Adams > [I am fairly tired--bored beyond endurance--by the world we live in, and its ideals, and am ready to say so, not violently, but kindly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/i-am-fairly-tired-bored-beyond-endurance-by-the-world-we-live-in-and/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [“One had heard and read a great deal about death, and even seen a little of it, and knew by heart the thousand commonplaces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/one-had-heard-and-read-a-great-deal-about-death-and-even-seen-a/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [Chaos often breeds life, when order breeds habit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/chaos-often-breeds-life-when-order-breeds-habit/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [The chief wonder of education is that it does not ruin everybody concerned in it, teachers and taught.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/the-chief-wonder-of-education-is-that-it-does-not-ruin-everybody/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [The American President resembles the commander of a ship at sea. He must have a helm to grasp, a course to steer, a port…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/the-american-president-resembles-the-commander-of-a-ship-at-sea-he/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [The proof that a philosopher does not know what he is talking about is apt to sadden his followers before it reacts on himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/the-proof-that-a-philosopher-does-not-know-what-he-is-talking-about/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [No man should be in politics unless he would honestly rather not be there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/no-man-should-be-in-politics-unless-he-would-honestly-rather-not-be/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [In the history of the United States, there is no continuity at all. You can cut through it anywhere and nothing on this side…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/in-the-history-of-the-united-states-there-is-no-continuity-at-all-you/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [“Washington was no politician as we understand the word," replied Ratcliffe abruptly. "He stood outside of politics. The thing couldn't be done today. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/washington-was-no-politician-as-we-understand-the-word-replied/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [Power when wielded by abnormal energy is the most serious of facts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/power-when-wielded-by-abnormal-energy-is-the-most-serious-of-facts/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [If I grapple with sin in my own strength, the devil knows he may go to sleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/if-i-grapple-with-sin-in-my-own-strength-the-devil-knows-he-may-go-to/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [All State education is a sort of dynamo machine for polarizing the popular mind; for turning and holding its lines of force in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/all-state-education-is-a-sort-of-dynamo-machine-for-polarizing-the/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [You may cut off the heads of every rich man now living--of every statesman--every literary, and every scientific authority, without in the least changing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/you-may-cut-off-the-heads-of-every-rich-man-now-living-of-every/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [History is the most aristocratic of all literary pursuits, because it obliges the historian to be rich as well as educated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/history-is-the-most-aristocratic-of-all-literary-pursuits-because-it/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [The philosopher says--I am, and the church scouts his philosophy. She answers:--No! you are NOT, you have no existence of your own. You were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/the-philosopher-says-i-am-and-the-church-scouts-his-philosophy-she/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) [Explore all 230 Henry Adams quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) ## More Contradiction quotes > [The inner defenses are unconscious. They consist of a kind of magic aura which the mind builds around cherished belief. Arguments which penetrate into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-inner-defenses-are-unconscious-they-consist-of-a-kind-of-magic/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of readiness to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/courage-is-almost-a-contradiction-in-terms-it-means-a-strong-desire/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It is also plausible that those movements with the greatest inner contradiction and between profession and practice - that is to say with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/it-is-also-plausible-that-those-movements-with-the-greatest-inner/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Contradictions in human character are one of its most consistent notes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-spark/contradictions-in-human-character-are-one-of-its-most-consistent-notes/) [Muriel Spark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-spark/) > [“The tiny features below, taken together with the gentle mass of Montblanc towering above them, the Vanoise glacier almost invisible in the shimmering distance,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald-2/the-tiny-features-below-taken-together-with-the-gentle-mass-of/) [W.G. Sebald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-g-sebald-2/) > [I’m a skeptic not because I do not want to believe, but because I want to know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/i-m-a-skeptic-not-because-i-do-not-want-to-believe-but-because-i-want/) [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) > [There are evidently limits to the achievements of science; and there are irresolvable contradictions both between prosperity and virtue, and between happiness and ''the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/there-are-evidently-limits-to-the-achievements-of-science-and-there/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [To exist (in mathematics), said Henri Poincaré, is to be free from contradiction. But mere existence does not guarantee survival. To survive in mathematics…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kac/to-exist-in-mathematics-said-henri-poincar-is-to-be-free-from/) [Mark Kac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kac/) > [“In these creations, life and symbolic value are not in contradiction: they intensify each other.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/in-these-creations-life-and-symbolic-value-are-not-in-contradiction/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [I have never agreed with my other self wholly. The truth of the matter seems to lie between us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/i-have-never-agreed-with-my-other-self-wholly-the-truth-of-the-matter/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [“A truth is not necessary, because we negatively are not able to conceive the actual existence of the opposite thereof;but a truth is necessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-l-dabney/a-truth-is-not-necessary-because-we-negatively-are-not-able-to/) R.L. Dabney > [The pictures that were coming from Vietnam were showing us what was really happening on the ground level. It was in contradiction to what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nachtwey/the-pictures-that-were-coming-from-vietnam-were-showing-us-what-was/) [James Nachtwey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-nachtwey/) > [Here I encounter the most popular fallacy of our times. 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