--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Historians are lenient to those who…" description: "\"“Historians are lenient to those who succeed and stern to those who fail; in this, and this alone, they display strong political sense.”\" — J. Christop..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2cb/j-christopher-herold-30177_bonaparte_historians-are-lenient-to-those-who-succ_1357848.jpg" --- # Historians are lenient to those who succeed and stern to… ![“Historians are lenient to those who succeed and stern to those who fail; in this, and this alone, they display strong political sense.” quote by J. Christopher Herold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2cb/j-christopher-herold-30177_bonaparte_historians-are-lenient-to-those-who-succ_1357848.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2cb/j-christopher-herold-30177_bonaparte_historians-are-lenient-to-those-who-succ_1357848.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2cb/j-christopher-herold-30177_bonaparte_historians-are-lenient-to-those-who-succ_1357848.jpg) > ““Historians are lenient to those who succeed and stern to those who fail; in this, and this alone, they display strong political sense.”” [J. Christopher Herold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-christopher-herold/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Historians tend to favor successful figures and criticize failures, revealing a political bias in their judgments. **In simple terms:** Historians favor winners. Key Takeaway Question sources and seek balanced views. Themes bias history politics Mood skeptical inquisitive Type analytical critical When to use this quote - education - research - media analysis - public policy Key Concepts narrative framing success bias historical interpretation Questions to Reflect On - Why do successes receive more favorable histories? - How can we mitigate bias in historical study? A Different Perspective May not account for methodological rigor. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bonaparte/) [Egypt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/egypt/) [France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/france/) [Historians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/historians/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Napoleon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/napoleon/) [Napoleonic-wars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/napoleonic-wars/) ## Related quotes > [“The war against Napoleon was won not by England but by Russia, Austria, and Prussia; but England won the last battle and she won…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-christopher-herold/the-war-against-napoleon-was-won-not-by-england-but-by-russia-austria/) [J. Christopher Herold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-christopher-herold/) > [“The right-wing Tories and the conservative Whigs fought Napoleon as the Usurper and the Enemy of the Established Order; the liberal Tories and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-christopher-herold/the-right-wing-tories-and-the-conservative-whigs-fought-napoleon-as/) [J. Christopher Herold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-christopher-herold/) > [“The English soldier was probably the worst-treated soldier in Europe, and judging from the English casualty rates during the Napoleonic wars, English generals were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-christopher-herold/the-english-soldier-was-probably-the-worst-treated-soldier-in-europe/) [J. Christopher Herold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-christopher-herold/) > [The media, far from being a conspiracy to dull the political sense of the people, could be viewed as a conspiracy to disguise the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-riesman/the-media-far-from-being-a-conspiracy-to-dull-the-political-sense-of/) [David Riesman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-riesman/) > [All art is political in the sense that it serves someone's politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/all-art-is-political-in-the-sense-that-it-serves-someone-s-politics/) [August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/) > [Artists are political in the sense that they've subtracted themselves from the structure of the marketplace and are contributing something that's not utilitarian. Even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-kushner/artists-are-political-in-the-sense-that-they-ve-subtracted-themselves/) [Rachel Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kushner/) > [Herbert Hoover was a man of genuine, fine character, but he lacked practical political sense. And he couldn't bend and shift and change with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-dallek/herbert-hoover-was-a-man-of-genuine-fine-character-but-he-lacked/) [Robert Dallek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-dallek/) > [In a raw political sense, I want to win farm country for Bill Clinton.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-espy/in-a-raw-political-sense-i-want-to-win-farm-country-for-bill-clinton/) [Mike Espy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-espy/) > [“It makes perfect political sense. We have reached the point where ignorance and neglect are the best we can hope for in a ruler.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/it-makes-perfect-political-sense-we-have-reached-the-point-where/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [I feel like Barack Obama, kind of in a political sense, embodies that same kind of spirit as a Q-Tip or a Santogold or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/q-tip/i-feel-like-barack-obama-kind-of-in-a-political-sense-embodies-that/) [Q-Tip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/q-tip/) > [I'm political in the sense that there's much to be done, but I'm apolitical in the sense that I don't think there's a party…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandi-toksvig/i-m-political-in-the-sense-that-there-s-much-to-be-done-but-i-m/) [Sandi Toksvig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandi-toksvig/) > [“But his political sense kept up a persistent itch that said: A, Given ignorance in the mix, stupidity was at least as common in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-j-cherryh/but-his-political-sense-kept-up-a-persistent-itch-that-said-a-given/) [C.J. Cherryh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-j-cherryh/) > [“Always wetweating-always wetweating!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/always-wetweating-always-wetweating/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“It was as easy as breathing to go and have tea near the place where Jane Austen had so wittily scribbled and so painfully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-was-as-easy-as-breathing-to-go-and-have-tea-near-the-place-where/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“You are a monster of selfishness and greed, bearing no loyalty to anyone but yourself, and you prance across the stage and preen as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-messina/you-are-a-monster-of-selfishness-and-greed-bearing-no-loyalty-to/) [Lynn Messina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-messina/) ## More by J. Christopher Herold > [“Greatness has its beauties, but only in retrospect and in the imagination": thus wrote General Bonaparte to General Moreau in 1800. His observation helps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-christopher-herold/greatness-has-its-beauties-but-only-in-retrospect-and-in-the/) [J. Christopher Herold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-christopher-herold/) > [Napoleon, who had an aversion to the moral laxity of the eighteenth century, which he blamed on the domination of society by women, was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-christopher-herold/napoleon-who-had-an-aversion-to-the-moral-laxity-of-the-eighteenth/) [J. Christopher Herold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-christopher-herold/) > [The Allies had made war on Napoleon as a tyrant and an oppressor of nations; yet once they had got him out of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-christopher-herold/the-allies-had-made-war-on-napoleon-as-a-tyrant-and-an-oppressor-of/) [J. Christopher Herold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-christopher-herold/) > [“Just as Napoleon was the sole authority in the state, so the husband and father was to exercise authority over his family. Unfortunately the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-christopher-herold/just-as-napoleon-was-the-sole-authority-in-the-state-so-the-husband/) [J. Christopher Herold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-christopher-herold/) > [Those who mistake their good luck for their merit are inevitably bound for disaster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-christopher-herold/those-who-mistake-their-good-luck-for-their-merit-are-inevitably/) [J. Christopher Herold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-christopher-herold/) > [ “The popular image \[in England\] of Bonaparte as a blood-stained tyrant and bandit was admittedly exaggerated, but instinct told even the most radical among… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-christopher-herold/the-popular-image-in-england-of-bonaparte-as-a-blood-stained-tyrant/) [J. Christopher Herold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-christopher-herold/) > [ His \[Pitt's\] successor as prime minister was Mr. Addington, who was a friend of Mr. Pitt, just as Mr. Pitt was a friend of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-christopher-herold/his-pitt-s-successor-as-prime-minister-was-mr-addington-who-was-a/) [J. Christopher Herold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-christopher-herold/) > [There is, of course, nothing wrong in a program that aims to please everybody, except that as a rule it is a prelude to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-christopher-herold/there-is-of-course-nothing-wrong-in-a-program-that-aims-to-please/) [J. Christopher Herold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-christopher-herold/) > [The Allies had made war on Napoleon as a tyrant and an oppressor of nations; yet once they had him out of the way,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-christopher-herold/the-allies-had-made-war-on-napoleon-as-a-tyrant-and-an-oppressor-of-2/) [J. Christopher Herold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-christopher-herold/) > [“The right-wing Tories and the conservative Whigs fought Napoleon as the Usurper and the Enemy of the Established Order; the liberal Tories and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-christopher-herold/the-right-wing-tories-and-the-conservative-whigs-fought-napoleon-as/) [J. Christopher Herold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-christopher-herold/) > [“The English soldier was probably the worst-treated soldier in Europe, and judging from the English casualty rates during the Napoleonic wars, English generals were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-christopher-herold/the-english-soldier-was-probably-the-worst-treated-soldier-in-europe/) [J. Christopher Herold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-christopher-herold/) > [A collective insanity seemed to have seized the nation and turned them into something worse than beasts. The princess de Lamballe, Marie Antoinette's intimate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-christopher-herold/a-collective-insanity-seemed-to-have-seized-the-nation-and-turned/) [J. Christopher Herold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-christopher-herold/) > [“Napoleon loved only himself, but, unlike Hitler, he hated nobody.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-christopher-herold/napoleon-loved-only-himself-but-unlike-hitler-he-hated-nobody/) [J. Christopher Herold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-christopher-herold/) > [“Madame Tallien shared honors with Josephine Beauharnais in being mistress to Barras, an ex-nobleman and ex-terrorist whose appetite for beautiful women, beautiful young men,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-christopher-herold/madame-tallien-shared-honors-with-josephine-beauharnais-in-being/) [J. Christopher Herold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-christopher-herold/) > [“The war against Napoleon was won not by England but by Russia, Austria, and Prussia; but England won the last battle and she won…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-christopher-herold/the-war-against-napoleon-was-won-not-by-england-but-by-russia-austria/) [J. Christopher Herold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-christopher-herold/) [Explore all 17 J. Christopher Herold quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-christopher-herold/) ## More Bonaparte quotes > [“Never interfere with an enemy while he’s in the process of destroying himself.’ Napoleon Bonaparte”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashwin-sanghi/never-interfere-with-an-enemy-while-he-s-in-the-process-of-destroying/) [Ashwin Sanghi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashwin-sanghi/) > [“Amy wondered if Bonaparte could declare war on Miss Gwen alone without breaking his peace with England”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-willig/amy-wondered-if-bonaparte-could-declare-war-on-miss-gwen-alone/) [Lauren Willig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-willig/) > [“The aggressor is always peace-loving (as Bonaparte always claimed to be); he would prefer to take over our country unopposed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-von-clausewitz/the-aggressor-is-always-peace-loving-as-bonaparte-always-claimed-to/) [Carl von Clausewitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-von-clausewitz/) > [The three-o'-clock in the morning courage, which Bonaparte thought was the rarest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-three-o-clock-in-the-morning-courage-which-bonaparte-thought-was/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“By common consent the eminent man of the time was Napoleon Bonaparte, the revolution queller, the burgher sovereign, the imperial democrat, the supreme captain,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-milligan-sloane/by-common-consent-the-eminent-man-of-the-time-was-napoleon-bonaparte/) William Milligan Sloane > [Linnæus, setting out for Lapland, surveys his "comb" and "spare shirt," "leathern breeches" and "gauze cap to keep off gnats," with as much complacency…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/linn-us-setting-out-for-lapland-surveys-his-comb-and-spare-shirt/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Suppose someone sits down where you are sitting right now and announces to me that he is Napoleon Bonaparte. The last thing I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-solow/suppose-someone-sits-down-where-you-are-sitting-right-now-and/) [Robert Solow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-solow/) > [Our faith in democracy, personal freedoms and human 'rights', and the other comforting prescriptions of the humanist liberal credo stem from the supremacy of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-padfield/our-faith-in-democracy-personal-freedoms-and-human-rights-and-the/) [Peter Padfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-padfield/) > [“but Bonaparte when he worked went step by step toward his goal. He was free, he had nothing but his aim to consider, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-bonaparte-when-he-worked-went-step-by-step-toward-his-goal-he-was/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Anyone who clings to the historically untrue-and thoroughly immoral-doctrine that, 'violence never settles anything' I would advise to conjure the ghosts of Napoleon Bonaparte…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/anyone-who-clings-to-the-historically-untrue-and-thoroughly-immoral/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [It would scarcely be destruction," he replied gently. "Let us call it iconoclasm, the swallowing of formulas, which has always had its full retinue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-buchan/it-would-scarcely-be-destruction-he-replied-gently-let-us-call-it/) [John Buchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-buchan/) > [I always thought I was Jeanne d'Arc and Bonaparte. How little one knows oneself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/i-always-thought-i-was-jeanne-d-arc-and-bonaparte-how-little-one/) [Charles de Gaulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/) > [“Could it be that the great Bonaparte is incapable of fathering a child? that it is not I who am at fault but you?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolly-erickson/could-it-be-that-the-great-bonaparte-is-incapable-of-fathering-a/) Carolly Erickson > [Political scientists have often described Gaullism as a sort of Bonapartism. I myself have occasionally compared Sarkozy to Napoleon Bonaparte.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-gallo/political-scientists-have-often-described-gaullism-as-a-sort-of/) [Max Gallo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-gallo/) > [Was it possible that Napoleon should win the battle of Waterloo? We answer, No! Why? Because of Wellington? Because of Blucher? No! Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/was-it-possible-that-napoleon-should-win-the-battle-of-waterloo-we/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) [Browse all 37 Bonaparte quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bonaparte/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Historians are lenient to those who succeed and stern to those who fail; in this, and this alone, they display strong political sense.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "J. 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