--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Herodotus says, \"Very few things happen…" description: "\"“Herodotus says, \"Very few things happen at the right time, and the rest do not happen at all: the conscientious historian will correct these defects.”..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15c/mark-twain-22_creativity_herodotus-says-very-few-things-happen-at_1873793.jpg" --- # Herodotus says, "Very few things happen at the right time… ![“Herodotus says, "Very few things happen at the right time, and the rest do not happen at all: the conscientious historian will correct these defects.” quote by Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15c/mark-twain-22_creativity_herodotus-says-very-few-things-happen-at_1873793.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15c/mark-twain-22_creativity_herodotus-says-very-few-things-happen-at_1873793.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15c/mark-twain-22_creativity_herodotus-says-very-few-things-happen-at_1873793.jpg) > ““Herodotus says, "Very few things happen at the right time, and the rest do not happen at all: the conscientious historian will correct these defects.”” [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A historian must correct timing errors because events rarely align perfectly. **In simple terms:** Historians fix timing mistakes. Key Takeaway Check facts and adjust timelines. Themes history accuracy timing Mood thoughtful analytical Type educational reflective When to use this quote - research - academic writing - archival work Key Concepts critical analysis chronology Questions to Reflect On - How do you verify historical timing? - What biases affect your corrections? A Different Perspective Even corrected, some events remain ambiguous. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Herodotus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/herodotus/) [Historians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/historians/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Things happen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-happen/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [Very few things happen at the right time, and the rest do not happen at all. The conscientious historian will correct these defects.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herodotus/very-few-things-happen-at-the-right-time-and-the-rest-do-not-happen/) [Herodotus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herodotus/) > [“As to the ancient historians, from Herodotus to Tacitus , we credit them as far as they relate things probable and credible, and no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/as-to-the-ancient-historians-from-herodotus-to-tacitus-we-credit-them/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [One of the most important factors in life, politics and war, to which historians tend to devote too little attention, is sheer luck, good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rhodes-james/one-of-the-most-important-factors-in-life-politics-and-war-to-which/) Robert Rhodes James > [The general consensus among historians, among the ones who can handle the fact that 'Lincoln' is, in fact, historical fiction, is that we demonstrate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-kushner/the-general-consensus-among-historians-among-the-ones-who-can-handle/) [Tony Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-kushner/) > [Aging nations have arteries clogged with obsolete laws, slowing blood flow and preventing oxygen from reaching all parts of the body politic. Physicians call…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cooper/aging-nations-have-arteries-clogged-with-obsolete-laws-slowing-blood/) [Jim Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cooper/) > [The student of biology is often struck with the feeling that historians, when dealing with the rise and fall of nations, do not generally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-ross/the-student-of-biology-is-often-struck-with-the-feeling-that/) [Ronald Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-ross/) > [As historians, our training and discipline is based on documentary evidence,.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-dixon/as-historians-our-training-and-discipline-is-based-on-documentary/) [David Dixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-dixon/) > [Geologists complain that when they want specimens of the common rocks of a country, they receive curious spars; just so, historians give us the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-whately/geologists-complain-that-when-they-want-specimens-of-the-common-rocks/) [Richard Whately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-whately/) > [If you will protest courageously, and yet with dignity and Christian love, when the history books are written in future generations, the historians will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-will-protest-courageously-and-yet-with-dignity-and-christian/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The poets have familiarized more people with history than have the historians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/the-poets-have-familiarized-more-people-with-history-than-have-the/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [ I have learned more \[from Balzac\] than from all the professional historians, economists, and statisticians put together. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-engels/i-have-learned-more-from-balzac-than-from-all-the-professional/) [Friedrich Engels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-engels/) > [Well goodness knows, goodness knows what historians will write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-downer/well-goodness-knows-goodness-knows-what-historians-will-write/) [Alexander Downer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-downer/) > [Since history has no properly scientific value, its only purpose is educative. And if historians neglect to educate the public, if they fail to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-m-trevelyan/since-history-has-no-properly-scientific-value-its-only-purpose-is/) [G. M. Trevelyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-m-trevelyan/) > [In history as it comes to be written, there is usually some Spirit of the Age which historians can define, but the shape of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-wood-krutch/in-history-as-it-comes-to-be-written-there-is-usually-some-spirit-of/) [Joseph Wood Krutch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-wood-krutch/) > [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/) ## More by Mark Twain > [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [If you had made the acquiring of ignorance the study of your life, you could not have graduated with higher honor than you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-you-had-made-the-acquiring-of-ignorance-the-study-of-your-life-you/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“The Creator sat upon the throne, thinking. Behind him stretched the illimitable continent of heaven, steeped in a glory of light and color; before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-creator-sat-upon-the-throne-thinking-behind-him-stretched-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [It's easy to quit smoking. I've done it hundreds of times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-s-easy-to-quit-smoking-i-ve-done-it-hundreds-of-times/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“It is never wrong to do the right thing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-is-never-wrong-to-do-the-right-thing/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [A man accustomed to American food and American domestic cookery would not starve to death suddenly in Europe, but I think he would gradually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/a-man-accustomed-to-american-food-and-american-domestic-cookery-would/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [There is nothing training can't cannot do. Nothing is above its reach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/there-is-nothing-training-can-t-cannot-do-nothing-is-above-its-reach/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [I never write Metropolis for seven cents because I can get the same price for city. I never write policeman because I can get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-never-write-metropolis-for-seven-cents-because-i-can-get-the-same/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [The higher animals get their teeth without pain or inconvenience. Man gets his through months and months of cruel torture; he will never get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-higher-animals-get-their-teeth-without-pain-or-inconvenience-man/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“As far as I can see, Italy, for fifteen hundred years, has turned all her energies, all her finances, and all her industry to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/as-far-as-i-can-see-italy-for-fifteen-hundred-years-has-turned-all/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Begin with the determination to succeed and the work is half done already.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/begin-with-the-determination-to-succeed-and-the-work-is-half-done/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Many public-school children seem to know only two dates—1492 and 4th of July; and as a rule they don't know what happened on either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/many-public-school-children-seem-to-know-only-two-dates-1492-and-4th/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [If we could imagine such a man, that is a man who could invent the fly and send him out on his mission and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-we-could-imagine-such-a-man-that-is-a-man-who-could-invent-the-fly/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [You perceive, now, that these things are all impossible except in a dream. You perceive that they are pure and puerile insanities, the silly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/you-perceive-now-that-these-things-are-all-impossible-except-in-a/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Lord save us all from a hope tree that has lost the faculty of putting out blossoms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/lord-save-us-all-from-a-hope-tree-that-has-lost-the-faculty-of/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) [Explore all 3,277 Mark Twain quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) ## More Creativity quotes > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“The Soviet “creative intelligentsia” - that is, people accustomed to thinking one thing, saying another and doing a third - is as a whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-amalrik/the-soviet-creative-intelligentsia-that-is-people-accustomed-to/) Andrei Amalrik > [It’s so important to create in your own voice, to hold onto what makes you unique, and have faith in your vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lasseter/it-s-so-important-to-create-in-your-own-voice-to-hold-onto-what-makes/) [John Lasseter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lasseter/) > [A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/a-rock-pile-ceases-to-be-a-rock-pile-the-moment-a-single-man/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [You don't get lucky. You create lucky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sharma/you-don-t-get-lucky-you-create-lucky/) [Robin Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sharma/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [“You are the end of beauty and creativity one must have created so far.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/you-are-the-end-of-beauty-and-creativity-one-must-have-created-so-far/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [Jonah Lehrer is one of the most talented explainers of science that we’ve got. What a pleasure it is to follow his investigation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/jonah-lehrer-is-one-of-the-most-talented-explainers-of-science-that/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [If you've got creativity, imagination, and intelligence, and you want to be hypnotised, then there's no reason you shouldn't be able to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-barry/if-you-ve-got-creativity-imagination-and-intelligence-and-you-want-to/) [Keith Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-barry/) > [“I believe in magic. As a writer, I create them on blank paper.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonnia-kemmer/i-believe-in-magic-as-a-writer-i-create-them-on-blank-paper/) [Sonnia Kemmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonnia-kemmer/) > [Creativity is like chasing chickens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christoph-niemann/creativity-is-like-chasing-chickens/) Christoph Niemann > [It is proposed that a form of free dialogue may well be one of the most effective ways of investigating the crisis which faces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/it-is-proposed-that-a-form-of-free-dialogue-may-well-be-one-of-the/) [David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/) > [You always hear actors say, 'Theater is my first love,' and it is. 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Their creativity and productivity will increase.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/create-an-environment-for-people-to-fail-to-learn-and-to-grow-their/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 13,625 Creativity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Herodotus says, \"Very few things happen at the right time, and the rest do not happen at all: the conscientious historian will correct these defects.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark Twain" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/herodotus-says-very-few-things-happen-at-the-right-time-and-the-rest/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Creativity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/herodotus-says-very-few-things-happen-at-the-right-time-and-the-rest/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15c/mark-twain-22_creativity_herodotus-says-very-few-things-happen-at_1873793.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15c/mark-twain-22_creativity_herodotus-says-very-few-things-happen-at_1873793.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15c/mark-twain-22_creativity_herodotus-says-very-few-things-happen-at_1873793.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Herodotus says, \"Very few things happen at the right time, and the rest do not happen at all: the…” — Mark Twain", "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": "Mark Twain", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Herodotus says, \"Very few things happen...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/herodotus-says-very-few-things-happen-at-the-right-time-and-the-rest/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/herodotus-says-very-few-things-happen-at-the-right-time-and-the-rest/#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 } } ] } ```