--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If good history is dispassionate history…" description: "\"If good history is dispassionate history, it must naturally wait until the passions of the period subside.\" — James Buchan" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f6/james-buchan-9717_dispassionate_if-good-history-is-dispassionate-history_3098395.png" --- # If good history is dispassionate history, it must… ![“If good history is dispassionate history, it must naturally wait until the passions of the period subside.” quote by James Buchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f6/james-buchan-9717_dispassionate_if-good-history-is-dispassionate-history_3098395.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f6/james-buchan-9717_dispassionate_if-good-history-is-dispassionate-history_3098395.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f6/james-buchan-9717_dispassionate_if-good-history-is-dispassionate-history_3098395.png) > “If good history is dispassionate history, it must naturally wait until the passions of the period subside.” [James Buchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-buchan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. History should be written without bias, but true objectivity can only be achieved after the emotional fervor of the era has faded. **In simple terms:** History needs distance from the emotions of its time. Key Takeaway Pause to reflect before judging past events. Themes history objectivity temporal distance Mood reflective analytical Type philosophical critical educational When to use this quote - academic research - journalistic reporting - policy analysis - education curricula Key Concepts historical analysis bias emotional influence Questions to Reflect On - How does emotional distance change your view of history? - Can true neutrality ever be achieved? A Different Perspective Even after passions subside, personal biases may persist. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Good history](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-history/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Passion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passion/) ## Related quotes > [She was at that modulating point between indifference and love, at the stage called having a fancy for. 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Without any past, we will deprive ourselves of the defining impression of our being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-burns/good-history-is-a-question-of-survival-without-any-past-we-will/) [Ken Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-burns/) ## More by James Buchan > [The prevailing ideology of the modern west - which is political economy - is in the doghouse. 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The fate of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/the-mysteries-of-a-universe-made-of-drops-of-fire-and-clods-of-mud-do/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [Dispassionate objectivity is itself a passion, for the real and for the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/dispassionate-objectivity-is-itself-a-passion-for-the-real-and-for/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [The fascinating thing to a dispassionate observer about the structure of life in the Soviet Union is that in their efforts to produce an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/the-fascinating-thing-to-a-dispassionate-observer-about-the-structure/) [John Dos Passos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dos-passos/) > [the sun is as dispassionate as the hand of a man who greets you with his mind on other things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/the-sun-is-as-dispassionate-as-the-hand-of-a-man-who-greets-you-with/) [Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/) > [“Some people would regard people who look like they do as ugly if they did not look like them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/some-people-would-regard-people-who-look-like-they-do-as-ugly-if-they/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [The emotional tone or affect of the tale should be hot and engaged, not remote and dispassionate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-di-filippo/the-emotional-tone-or-affect-of-the-tale-should-be-hot-and-engaged/) [Paul Di Filippo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-di-filippo/) > [Writing is self-taught. Consulting other people only teaches you to depend on their reactions, which may or may not be legitimate. 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If you can dispassionately evaluate the reasons… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-koppelman/the-step-that-a-lot-of-people-miss-is-a-dispassionate-evaluation-of/) [Brian Koppelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-koppelman/) Browse all 63 Dispassionate quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If good history is dispassionate history, it must naturally wait until the passions of the period subside.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "James Buchan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-buchan/if-good-history-is-dispassionate-history-it-must-naturally-wait-until/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dispassionate" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-buchan/if-good-history-is-dispassionate-history-it-must-naturally-wait-until/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f6/james-buchan-9717_dispassionate_if-good-history-is-dispassionate-history_3098395.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f6/james-buchan-9717_dispassionate_if-good-history-is-dispassionate-history_3098395.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f6/james-buchan-9717_dispassionate_if-good-history-is-dispassionate-history_3098395.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If good history is dispassionate history, it must naturally wait until the passions of the period subside.” — James Buchan", "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": "James Buchan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-buchan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If good history is dispassionate history,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-buchan/if-good-history-is-dispassionate-history-it-must-naturally-wait-until/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-buchan/if-good-history-is-dispassionate-history-it-must-naturally-wait-until/#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 } } ] } ```