--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I addressed the scribes directing…" description: "\"“I addressed the scribes directing, speaking over his head. \"History is merely a list of surprises,\" I said. \"It can only prepare us to be surprised ye..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4e/kurt-vonnegut-41_history_i-addressed-the-scribes-directing-speaki_2223256.jpg" --- # I addressed the scribes directing, speaking over his head… ![“I addressed the scribes directing, speaking over his head. "History is merely a list of surprises," I said. "It can only prepare us to be surprised yet again. Please write that down.” quote by Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4e/kurt-vonnegut-41_history_i-addressed-the-scribes-directing-speaki_2223256.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4e/kurt-vonnegut-41_history_i-addressed-the-scribes-directing-speaki_2223256.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4e/kurt-vonnegut-41_history_i-addressed-the-scribes-directing-speaki_2223256.jpg) > ““I addressed the scribes directing, speaking over his head. "History is merely a list of surprises," I said. "It can only prepare us to be surprised yet again. Please write that down.”” [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) ## 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 unpredictable; we should expect the unexpected and stay adaptable. **In simple terms:** History is full of surprises; be ready for more. Key Takeaway Embrace uncertainty and keep learning. Themes history uncertainty adaptability surprise Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - academic lectures - personal journaling - strategic planning - risk assessment Key Concepts probability human experience learning Questions to Reflect On - What surprise has reshaped your view? - How do you prepare for unforeseen events? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on patterns can blind us to new possibilities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Addressed Scribes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/addressed-scribes-4970912/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Scribes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scribes/) [Scribes Directing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scribes-directing-4970911/) [Surprised Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surprised-write-2482581/) [Surprises Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surprises-said-1135891/) ## Related quotes > [“History is merely a list of surprises,' I said. 'It can only prepare us to be surprised yet again. 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We are today…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/between-the-scribe-who-has-read-and-the-prophet-who-has-seen-there-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“May the scribes record it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-gerard-trotman/may-the-scribes-record-it/) [Wayne Gerard Trotman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-gerard-trotman/) > [Behold, I am writing anew, through scribes on Earth who are willing to listen to me again with new ears, in the light of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-marx-hubbard/behold-i-am-writing-anew-through-scribes-on-earth-who-are-willing-to/) [Barbara Marx Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-marx-hubbard/) > [It was stone carvers in ancient Rome, scribes in the Middle Ages, all the way through Gutenberg to the present day. That's a pretty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bierut/it-was-stone-carvers-in-ancient-rome-scribes-in-the-middle-ages-all/) [Michael Bierut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bierut/) > [Yes, the natural sciences are telling us a great deal about human origins, the origins of our species the origins of our minds; we're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/yes-the-natural-sciences-are-telling-us-a-great-deal-about-human/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [Memory is the scribe of the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/memory-is-the-scribe-of-the-soul/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [“Writers are not exactly storytellers, but scribes for the worlds beyond the grasps, beyond the conceptions of the common mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bailey-elizabeth/writers-are-not-exactly-storytellers-but-scribes-for-the-worlds/) [Bailey Elizabeth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bailey-elizabeth/) > [When cities were first founded, an old Egyptian scribe tells us, the mission of the founder was to 'put gods in their shrines.' The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-mumford/when-cities-were-first-founded-an-old-egyptian-scribe-tells-us-the/) [Lewis Mumford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-mumford/) > [Writing is eternal, For therein the dead heart liveth, the clay-cold tongue is eloquent, And the quick eye of the reader is cleared by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/writing-is-eternal-for-therein-the-dead-heart-liveth-the-clay-cold/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) ## More by Kurt Vonnegut > [“You must bloom as a writer and I must bloom as a painter. Everything else about us is uninteresting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/you-must-bloom-as-a-writer-and-i-must-bloom-as-a-painter-everything/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“People aren't supposed to look back.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/people-aren-t-supposed-to-look-back/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Have a good nap, did you?” said the porter. “Yes,” said Billy. “Man,” said the porter, “you sure had a hard-on.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/have-a-good-nap-did-you-said-the-porter-yes-said-billy-man-said-the/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“I told him that if we doubted that we are demons in Hell, he should read The Mysterious Stranger, which Mark Twain wrote in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-told-him-that-if-we-doubted-that-we-are-demons-in-hell-he-should/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [ “Thomas Jefferson High School \[..\] His high school was named after a slave owner who was also one of the world’s greatest theoreticians on… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/thomas-jefferson-high-school-his-high-school-was-named-after-a-slave/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“I had a certain amount of skill as a dramatist, and Dr. Goebbels wanted me to use it”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-had-a-certain-amount-of-skill-as-a-dramatist-and-dr-goebbels-wanted/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [I was some of the mud that got to sit up and look around. Lucky me, lucky mud.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-was-some-of-the-mud-that-got-to-sit-up-and-look-around-lucky-me/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“The town was Newport, Rhode Island, U.S.A., Earth, Solar System, Milky Way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/the-town-was-newport-rhode-island-u-s-a-earth-solar-system-milky-way/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Her face was one of a kind, a surprising variation that made observers think, Yes--that would be another very nice way for people to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/her-face-was-one-of-a-kind-a-surprising-variation-that-made-observers/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“You finally fell in love, I see,” said Salo. “Only an Earthling year ago,” said Constant. “It took us that long to realize that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/you-finally-fell-in-love-i-see-said-salo-only-an-earthling-year-ago/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Like all Earthlings at the point of death, Mary Young sent faint reminders of herself to those who had known her. She released a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/like-all-earthlings-at-the-point-of-death-mary-young-sent-faint/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“And contrast Mary Kathleen, if you will, with my wife Ruth, the Ophelia of the death camps, who believed that even the most intelligent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/and-contrast-mary-kathleen-if-you-will-with-my-wife-ruth-the-ophelia/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [Someday, someday, this crazy world will have to end, And our God will take things back that He to us did lend. And if,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/someday-someday-this-crazy-world-will-have-to-end-and-our-god-will/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“They were going back to the slaughterhouse for souvenirs of the war.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/they-were-going-back-to-the-slaughterhouse-for-souvenirs-of-the-war/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“There are plenty of good reasons for fighting," I said, "but no good reason ever to hate without reservation, to imagine that God Almighty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/there-are-plenty-of-good-reasons-for-fighting-i-said-but-no-good/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) [Explore all 2,089 Kurt Vonnegut quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) ## More History quotes > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. 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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.' 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