--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If history can do anything it is to…" description: "\"If history can do anything it is to remind us that all our judgments are merely relative to time and circumstance.\" — Herbert Butterfield" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d6/herbert-butterfield-27137_can-do_if-history-can-do-anything-it-is-to-remi_2002296.png" --- # If history can do anything it is to remind us that all our… ![“If history can do anything it is to remind us that all our judgments are merely relative to time and circumstance.” quote by Herbert Butterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d6/herbert-butterfield-27137_can-do_if-history-can-do-anything-it-is-to-remi_2002296.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d6/herbert-butterfield-27137_can-do_if-history-can-do-anything-it-is-to-remi_2002296.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d6/herbert-butterfield-27137_can-do_if-history-can-do-anything-it-is-to-remi_2002296.png) > “If history can do anything it is to remind us that all our judgments are merely relative to time and circumstance.” [Herbert Butterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-butterfield/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Judgments are shaped by the era and context in which they occur, not by absolute standards. **In simple terms:** Judgments are relative to time. Key Takeaway Recognize historical context. Themes history relativism perspective Mood thoughtful analytical Type academic philosophical When to use this quote - legal analysis - policy making - education curricula Key Concepts philosophy of history cultural relativism Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance context with universal values? - What standards should guide us today? A Different Perspective Ignoring timeless principles can lead to moral relativism. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Judgment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judgment/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [I am what time, circumstance, history, have made of me, certainly, but I am also, much more than that. So are we all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/i-am-what-time-circumstance-history-have-made-of-me-certainly-but-i/) [James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/) > [The profound nature of our existence is that we are able at any moment to connect to anyone, anywhere. History is there to remind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melody-gardot/the-profound-nature-of-our-existence-is-that-we-are-able-at-any/) [Melody Gardot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melody-gardot/) > [“My dream is that by returning to our not-so-distant history, I might remind readers why, with all its faults, this is a lucky place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-marr/my-dream-is-that-by-returning-to-our-not-so-distant-history-i-might/) [Andrew Marr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-marr/) > [Of course, success is a relative term. It can be something completely different from winning the German championship eight times or making millions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-kahn/of-course-success-is-a-relative-term-it-can-be-something-completely/) [Oliver Kahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-kahn/) > [There is one thing a professor can be absolutely certain of: almost every student entering the university believes, or says he believes, that truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-bloom/there-is-one-thing-a-professor-can-be-absolutely-certain-of-almost/) [Allan Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-bloom/) > [We possess within us a force of incalculable power, which if we direct it in a conscious and wise manner, gives us the mastery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-coue/we-possess-within-us-a-force-of-incalculable-power-which-if-we-direct/) [Emile Coue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-coue/) > [I stated that Hiroshima and Nagasaki are 'among the most unspeakable crimes in history.' I took no position on just where they stand on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-stated-that-hiroshima-and-nagasaki-are-among-the-most-unspeakable/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Yoga is the method to bring or uncover the union that exists. That all things are relative and are in relationship and that nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-yee/yoga-is-the-method-to-bring-or-uncover-the-union-that-exists-that-all/) [Rodney Yee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-yee/) > [Failure's relative. I've always felt, even early on, if I lose the freedom to fail, something's not right about that. It's how you treat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-pacino/failure-s-relative-i-ve-always-felt-even-early-on-if-i-lose-the/) [Al Pacino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-pacino/) > [The risk of developing carcinoma of the lung increases steadily as the amount smoked increases. If the risk among non-smokers is taken as unity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-doll/the-risk-of-developing-carcinoma-of-the-lung-increases-steadily-as/) Richard Doll > [When the dollar collapses, it's not doing it in a vacuum. If the dollar loses value, it's doing so relative to some other currency.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schiff/when-the-dollar-collapses-it-s-not-doing-it-in-a-vacuum-if-the-dollar/) [Peter Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schiff/) > [Most people do surprisingly poorly when dealing with a relative who is hurting, depressed, or anxious - we get defensive and try to solve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-d-burns/most-people-do-surprisingly-poorly-when-dealing-with-a-relative-who/) [David D. Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-d-burns/) > [“Maybe love, like suffering, is relative. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/maybe-love-like-suffering-is-relative/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [I'm not against gay people. I have a relative who is also gay. We can't help it if they were born that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manny-pacquiao/i-m-not-against-gay-people-i-have-a-relative-who-is-also-gay-we-can-t/) [Manny Pacquiao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manny-pacquiao/) > [Give me strength to walk the soft earth, a relative to all that is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/black-elk/give-me-strength-to-walk-the-soft-earth-a-relative-to-all-that-is/) [Black Elk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/black-elk/) ## More by Herbert Butterfield > [“While there is battle and hatred men have eyes for nothing save the fact that the enemy is the cause of all the troubles;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-butterfield/while-there-is-battle-and-hatred-men-have-eyes-for-nothing-save-the/) [Herbert Butterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-butterfield/) > [The academic mind can eat away the very basis of its own assurance ... produce contortions when it tries to bend over backward ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-butterfield/the-academic-mind-can-eat-away-the-very-basis-of-its-own-assurance/) [Herbert Butterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-butterfield/) > [Very strange bridges are used to make the passage from one state of things to another; we may lose sight of them in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-butterfield/very-strange-bridges-are-used-to-make-the-passage-from-one-state-of/) [Herbert Butterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-butterfield/) > [But the greatest menace to our civilization today is the conflict between giant organized systems of self-righteousness - each system only too delighted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-butterfield/but-the-greatest-menace-to-our-civilization-today-is-the-conflict/) [Herbert Butterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-butterfield/) > [“History is not the study of origins; rather it is the analysis of all the mediations by which the past was turned into our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-butterfield/history-is-not-the-study-of-origins-rather-it-is-the-analysis-of-all/) [Herbert Butterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-butterfield/) > [In the last resort, sheer insight is the greatest asset of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-butterfield/in-the-last-resort-sheer-insight-is-the-greatest-asset-of-all/) [Herbert Butterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-butterfield/) > [The study of the past with one eye, so to speak, upon the present is the source of all sins and sophistries in history…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-butterfield/the-study-of-the-past-with-one-eye-so-to-speak-upon-the-present-is/) [Herbert Butterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-butterfield/) > [“The raconteur knows too well that, if he investigates the truth of the matter, he is only too likely to lose his good story.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-butterfield/the-raconteur-knows-too-well-that-if-he-investigates-the-truth-of-the/) [Herbert Butterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-butterfield/) > [Those people work more wisely who seek to achieve good in their own small corner of the world ... than those who are forever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-butterfield/those-people-work-more-wisely-who-seek-to-achieve-good-in-their-own/) [Herbert Butterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-butterfield/) > [The study of the past with one eye upon the present is the source of all sins and sophistries in history. It is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-butterfield/the-study-of-the-past-with-one-eye-upon-the-present-is-the-source-of/) [Herbert Butterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-butterfield/) > [About the scientific revolution: it "outshines everything since the rise of Christianity and reduces the Renaissance and Reformation to the rank of mere episodes".](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-butterfield/about-the-scientific-revolution-it-outshines-everything-since-the/) [Herbert Butterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-butterfield/) > [It has been said that the historian is the avenger, and that standing as a judge between the parties and rivalries and causes of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-butterfield/it-has-been-said-that-the-historian-is-the-avenger-and-that-standing/) [Herbert Butterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-butterfield/) > [Concerning alchemy it is more difficult to discover the actual state of things, in that the historians who specialise in this field seem sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-butterfield/concerning-alchemy-it-is-more-difficult-to-discover-the-actual-state/) [Herbert Butterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-butterfield/) > [It is not a sin to introduce a personal bias that can be recognized and discounted. The sin in historical composition is the organization…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-butterfield/it-is-not-a-sin-to-introduce-a-personal-bias-that-can-be-recognized/) [Herbert Butterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-butterfield/) > [ \[History is\] the very servant of the servants of God, the drudge of all the drudges. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-butterfield/history-is-the-very-servant-of-the-servants-of-god-the-drudge-of-all/) [Herbert Butterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-butterfield/) [Explore all 21 Herbert Butterfield quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-butterfield/) ## More Can do quotes > [Changes before your eyes, things you can do and things you can't. My attitude is always let it keep rolling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terrence-malick/changes-before-your-eyes-things-you-can-do-and-things-you-can-t-my/) [Terrence Malick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terrence-malick/) > [The happy medium is television. And if you find a good suitor, you can do it for years. With movies, you roll the dice.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-campbell/the-happy-medium-is-television-and-if-you-find-a-good-suitor-you-can/) [Bruce Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-campbell/) > [If I had a million dollars, I just wouldn't just completely set back. I'd have to get out there and show my face to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muddy-waters/if-i-had-a-million-dollars-i-just-wouldn-t-just-completely-set-back-i/) [Muddy Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muddy-waters/) > [Anybody can be Prince Charming one day a year, with the dinner and the flowers and all that. But you know what impresses me?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-howard/anybody-can-be-prince-charming-one-day-a-year-with-the-dinner-and-the/) [Ryan Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-howard/) > [And if the mind thinks with a believing attitude one can do amazing things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/and-if-the-mind-thinks-with-a-believing-attitude-one-can-do-amazing/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [The amount of things you can do with a kettlebell is unsurpassed by any other training equipment - dumbbells, resistance machines, free weights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laird-hamilton/the-amount-of-things-you-can-do-with-a-kettlebell-is-unsurpassed-by/) [Laird Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laird-hamilton/) > [It's nice when you've done enough movies that you can do your own anthology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lithgow/it-s-nice-when-you-ve-done-enough-movies-that-you-can-do-your-own/) [John Lithgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lithgow/) > [If people don't have their own vision, all they can do is 'sign-up' for someone else's.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-senge/if-people-don-t-have-their-own-vision-all-they-can-do-is-sign-up-for/) [Peter Senge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-senge/) > [The one thing that flies in the face of all human history and experience, is that the government can do a superior job than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cook/the-one-thing-that-flies-in-the-face-of-all-human-history-and/) [James Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cook/) > [...what I can do is offer myself, wholehearted and present, to walk with the people I love through the fear and the mess. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shauna-niequist/what-i-can-do-is-offer-myself-wholehearted-and-present-to-walk-with/) [Shauna Niequist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shauna-niequist/) > [Whether that's speaking up in your job or asking for a promotion or saying, 'I think I can do that.' Using your voice in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-shriver/whether-that-s-speaking-up-in-your-job-or-asking-for-a-promotion-or/) [Maria Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-shriver/) > [The average ordinary citizen can do a lot of different things when it comes to the climate crisis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-bender/the-average-ordinary-citizen-can-do-a-lot-of-different-things-when-it/) [Lawrence Bender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-bender/) > [A professional is a man who can do his job when he doesn't feel like it. An amateur is a man who can't do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-agate/a-professional-is-a-man-who-can-do-his-job-when-he-doesn-t-feel-like/) [James Agate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-agate/) > [The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, as it pleases him, for he can do all things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/the-lord-gives-and-the-lord-takes-away-as-it-pleases-him-for-he-can/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [I'm not an educated man. I only know what I'm told, and I'm not told that much; I have no frame of reference for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-james-keenan/i-m-not-an-educated-man-i-only-know-what-i-m-told-and-i-m-not-told/) [Maynard James Keenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maynard-james-keenan/) Browse all 5,673 Can do quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If history can do anything it is to remind us that all our judgments are merely relative to time and circumstance.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Herbert Butterfield" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-butterfield/if-history-can-do-anything-it-is-to-remind-us-that-all-our-judgments/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Can do" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-butterfield/if-history-can-do-anything-it-is-to-remind-us-that-all-our-judgments/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d6/herbert-butterfield-27137_can-do_if-history-can-do-anything-it-is-to-remi_2002296.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d6/herbert-butterfield-27137_can-do_if-history-can-do-anything-it-is-to-remi_2002296.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d6/herbert-butterfield-27137_can-do_if-history-can-do-anything-it-is-to-remi_2002296.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If history can do anything it is to remind us that all our judgments are merely relative to time and…” — Herbert Butterfield", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Herbert Butterfield", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-butterfield/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If history can do anything it...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-butterfield/if-history-can-do-anything-it-is-to-remind-us-that-all-our-judgments/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-butterfield/if-history-can-do-anything-it-is-to-remind-us-that-all-our-judgments/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```