--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: History is one of those marvelous and…" description: "\"History is one of those marvelous and necessary illusions we have to deal with. It's one of the ways of dealing with our world with impossible generali..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ccd/howard-nemerov-12728_history_history-is-one-of-those-marvelous-and-ne_2724872.jpg" --- # History is one of those marvelous and necessary illusions… ![“History is one of those marvelous and necessary illusions we have to deal with. It's one of the ways of dealing with our world with impossible generalities which we couldn't live without.” quote by Howard Nemerov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ccd/howard-nemerov-12728_history_history-is-one-of-those-marvelous-and-ne_2724872.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ccd/howard-nemerov-12728_history_history-is-one-of-those-marvelous-and-ne_2724872.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ccd/howard-nemerov-12728_history_history-is-one-of-those-marvelous-and-ne_2724872.jpg) > “History is one of those marvelous and necessary illusions we have to deal with. It's one of the ways of dealing with our world with impossible generalities which we couldn't live without.” [Howard Nemerov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-nemerov/) ## 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 a constructed narrative that helps us manage complex realities we cannot otherwise comprehend. **In simple terms:** History simplifies complex reality. Key Takeaway Use history to navigate present challenges. Themes history perception reality narrative Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - political analysis - personal decision making - educational curricula Key Concepts construction illusion cognitive framing Questions to Reflect On - How does history shape your worldview? - What are the limits of historical narratives? A Different Perspective Historical narratives can be biased or selective. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Illusions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illusions/) [Our world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-world/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“Stability and security are just illusions. But they are necessary illusions because without them there would be no way of going on.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-crofts/stability-and-security-are-just-illusions-but-they-are-necessary/) [Andrew Crofts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-crofts/) > [“Necessary illusions enable us to live.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingmar-bergman/necessary-illusions-enable-us-to-live/) [Ingmar Bergman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingmar-bergman/) > [“Subhuti, someone might fill innumerable worlds with the seven treasures and give all away in gifts of alms, but if any good man or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siddh-rtha-gautama/subhuti-someone-might-fill-innumerable-worlds-with-the-seven/) [Siddhārtha Gautama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siddh-rtha-gautama/) > [“Expectations are illusions; Pretense they hang on thin threads.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-kristian-goldmund-aumann/expectations-are-illusions-pretense-they-hang-on-thin-threads/) sir kristian goldmund aumann > [“we are set free from all the illusions we fostered for so many years of our life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelius-wencel/we-are-set-free-from-all-the-illusions-we-fostered-for-so-many-years/) [Cornelius Wencel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelius-wencel/) > [The most important part of our lives-our sensations, emotions, desires, and aspirations-takes place in a universe of illusions which science can attenuate or destroy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-wood-krutch/the-most-important-part-of-our-lives-our-sensations-emotions-desires/) [Joseph Wood Krutch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-wood-krutch/) > [Of course she had some pathetic illusions about herself or she would not be able to go on living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rhys/of-course-she-had-some-pathetic-illusions-about-herself-or-she-would/) [Jean Rhys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rhys/) > [“The more you think about illusions, the more they'll swell up and take on form. And no longer be an illusion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/the-more-you-think-about-illusions-the-more-they-ll-swell-up-and-take/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“A great magician is not more magical than other magicians; he is just more magical in his presentation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/a-great-magician-is-not-more-magical-than-other-magicians-he-is-just/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [Strange, isn't it, that no chemical will give a human being the iridescence that illusions have given them? Give me your hat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/strange-isn-t-it-that-no-chemical-will-give-a-human-being-the/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [“Fear best lends itself to the creation of Nature-defying illusions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/fear-best-lends-itself-to-the-creation-of-nature-defying-illusions/) [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) > [“If men could see us as we really are, they would be a little amazed; but the cleverest, the acutest men are often under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/if-men-could-see-us-as-we-really-are-they-would-be-a-little-amazed/) [Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [Things aren't always as they appear. I've been believing things to be a certain way because I want them to be that way. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brett-dennen/things-aren-t-always-as-they-appear-i-ve-been-believing-things-to-be/) [Brett Dennen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brett-dennen/) > [Life and death are illusions. We are in a constant state of transformation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/life-and-death-are-illusions-we-are-in-a-constant-state-of/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [“To engage in dialogue is to serve others via whatever is real inside you; to engage in debate is to ultimately serve the illusions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oli-anderson/to-engage-in-dialogue-is-to-serve-others-via-whatever-is-real-inside/) [Oli Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oli-anderson/) ## More by Howard Nemerov > [A chronicle is very different from history proper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-nemerov/a-chronicle-is-very-different-from-history-proper/) [Howard Nemerov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-nemerov/) > [When Robert Frost was alive, I was known as the other new England poet, which is to be barely known at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-nemerov/when-robert-frost-was-alive-i-was-known-as-the-other-new-england-poet/) [Howard Nemerov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-nemerov/) > [I've never read a political poem that's accomplished anything. Poetry makes things happen, but rarely what the poet wants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-nemerov/i-ve-never-read-a-political-poem-that-s-accomplished-anything-poetry/) [Howard Nemerov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-nemerov/) > [When you write it doesn't occur to you that somebody could think different from what you do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-nemerov/when-you-write-it-doesn-t-occur-to-you-that-somebody-could-think/) [Howard Nemerov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-nemerov/) > [Both poet and painter want to reach the silence behind the language, the silence within the language. Both painter and poet want their work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-nemerov/both-poet-and-painter-want-to-reach-the-silence-behind-the-language/) [Howard Nemerov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-nemerov/) > [Occasionally a student writer comes up with something really beautiful and moving, and you won't know for years if it was an accident or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-nemerov/occasionally-a-student-writer-comes-up-with-something-really/) [Howard Nemerov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-nemerov/) > [I like all my children, even the squat and ugly ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-nemerov/i-like-all-my-children-even-the-squat-and-ugly-ones/) [Howard Nemerov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-nemerov/) > [It may be said that poems are in one way like icebergs: only about a third of their bulk appears above the surface of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-nemerov/it-may-be-said-that-poems-are-in-one-way-like-icebergs-only-about-a/) [Howard Nemerov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-nemerov/) > [Obvious enough that generalities work to protect the mind from the great outdoors; is it possible that this was in fact their first purpose?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-nemerov/obvious-enough-that-generalities-work-to-protect-the-mind-from-the/) [Howard Nemerov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-nemerov/) > [I sometimes talk about the making of a poem within the poem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-nemerov/i-sometimes-talk-about-the-making-of-a-poem-within-the-poem/) [Howard Nemerov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-nemerov/) > [When in still air and still in summertime A leaf has had enough of this, it seems To make up its mind to go;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-nemerov/when-in-still-air-and-still-in-summertime-a-leaf-has-had-enough-of/) [Howard Nemerov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-nemerov/) > [A lot happens by accident in poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-nemerov/a-lot-happens-by-accident-in-poetry/) [Howard Nemerov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-nemerov/) > [I have a plot, but not much happens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-nemerov/i-have-a-plot-but-not-much-happens/) [Howard Nemerov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-nemerov/) > [Robert Frost had always said you mustn't think of the last line first, or it's only a fake poem, not a real one. I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-nemerov/robert-frost-had-always-said-you-mustn-t-think-of-the-last-line-first/) [Howard Nemerov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-nemerov/) > [Till I, high in the tower of my time Among familiar ruins, began to cry For accident, sickness, justice, war and crime, Because all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-nemerov/till-i-high-in-the-tower-of-my-time-among-familiar-ruins-began-to-cry/) [Howard Nemerov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-nemerov/) [Explore all 52 Howard Nemerov quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-nemerov/) ## More History quotes > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/histories-never-conclude-they-just-pause-their-prose-their-stories/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [It is said that history turns on small hinges. A human career, too, results from an accumulating series of decisions about large and small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/it-is-said-that-history-turns-on-small-hinges-a-human-career-too/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [In the entire history of the universe, let alone in your own history, there has never been another day just like today, and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/in-the-entire-history-of-the-universe-let-alone-in-your-own-history/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [The NBA is my history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penny-hardaway/the-nba-is-my-history/) [Penny Hardaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penny-hardaway/) > [History has often showed us the strength of the forces that are unleashed by the yearning for freedom. It moved people to overcome their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-merkel/history-has-often-showed-us-the-strength-of-the-forces-that-are/) [Angela Merkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-merkel/) > [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [What is history after all? History is facts which become lies in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/what-is-history-after-all-history-is-facts-which-become-lies-in-the/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [Things live and die, and then someone processes them into edible portions. This is a complete telling of the story, 'Food.' The basic plot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-fahrenthold/things-live-and-die-and-then-someone-processes-them-into-edible/) [David Fahrenthold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-fahrenthold/) > [History is a certain way, but you just change the point of view a little bit, and you discover a whole new side of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-schroeder/history-is-a-certain-way-but-you-just-change-the-point-of-view-a/) [Allison Schroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-schroeder/) > [We're at a point in history were we have to become a part of the neighborhood of inhabited planets, like a neighborhood of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/we-re-at-a-point-in-history-were-we-have-to-become-a-part-of-the/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [Today is a reality, tomorrow's a promise, and yesterday's history!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-blanks/today-is-a-reality-tomorrow-s-a-promise-and-yesterday-s-history/) [Billy Blanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-blanks/) > [Truth be told from compulsive liars with a history/Everything must change 2nd chances are a mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-dash/truth-be-told-from-compulsive-liars-with-a-history-everything-must/) C-DASH > [Every army in the history of the world has always had some deserters, usually much greater than we have today, because once again every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-hilferty/every-army-in-the-history-of-the-world-has-always-had-some-deserters/) [Bryan Hilferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-hilferty/) > [“To those great geniuses now in petticoats, who shall write novels for the beloved reader's children, these men and things will be as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/to-those-great-geniuses-now-in-petticoats-who-shall-write-novels-for/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) [Browse all 27,263 History quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "History is one of those marvelous and necessary illusions we have to deal with. 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