--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: History is alwys written by victors, and…" description: "\"“History is alwys written by victors, and the defeated create a new set of myths to explain the past and gild the future”\" — Morris West" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/097/morris-west-24404_history_history-is-alwys-written-by-victors-and_56501.jpg" --- # History is alwys written by victors, and the defeated… ![“History is alwys written by victors, and the defeated create a new set of myths to explain the past and gild the future” quote by Morris West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/097/morris-west-24404_history_history-is-alwys-written-by-victors-and_56501.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/097/morris-west-24404_history_history-is-alwys-written-by-victors-and_56501.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/097/morris-west-24404_history_history-is-alwys-written-by-victors-and_56501.jpg) > ““History is alwys written by victors, and the defeated create a new set of myths to explain the past and gild the future”” [Morris West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-west/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. History reflects the perspective of those who win, while those who lose craft narratives to reinterpret events and inspire future aspirations. **In simple terms:** Power shapes narratives. Key Takeaway History is selective. Themes Power Narrative Memory Mythmaking Perspective Mood Reflective Critical Thoughtful Type Analytical Philosophical When to use this quote - Academic analysis - Political discourse - Cultural storytelling - Educational curricula Key Concepts History Victors Defeated Myths Future Practical Applications - Critical historiography - Motivational leadership Questions to Reflect On - Who decides which version of history end? - How do myths influence future expectations? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alwys Written](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alwys-written-784489/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Myths Explain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myths-explain-784487/) [Storytelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storytelling/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Victors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/victors/) [Victors Defeated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/victors-defeated-784488/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Written Victors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/written-victors-769586/) ## Related quotes > [That is what always happens: we never know whether we are victors or whether we are defeated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/that-is-what-always-happens-we-never-know-whether-we-are-victors-or/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [History is written by the victors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/history-is-written-by-the-victors/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [History is written by the victors, the strongest, the most determined. Truth is found most often in the silence, in the quiet places.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/history-is-written-by-the-victors-the-strongest-the-most-determined/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“History is written by the victors, they say, but it seems to me that history is written above all by those who weren’t there,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kapka-kassabova/history-is-written-by-the-victors-they-say-but-it-seems-to-me-that/) [Kapka Kassabova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kapka-kassabova/) > [History is written by the victors--and when there is no victors, it all winds up in the corporate shredders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-shusterman/history-is-written-by-the-victors-and-when-there-is-no-victors-it-all/) [Neal Shusterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-shusterman/) > [History is said to be written by the victors. Fiction, by contrast, is largely the work of injured bystanders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/history-is-said-to-be-written-by-the-victors-fiction-by-contrast-is/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [History is written by the victors. The victors in daily life tend to be those who live longest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hepworth/history-is-written-by-the-victors-the-victors-in-daily-life-tend-to/) [David Hepworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hepworth/) > [“History is written by the victors,’ she said, ‘but the truth has a way of revealing itself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastien-de-castell/history-is-written-by-the-victors-she-said-but-the-truth-has-a-way-of/) [Sebastien de Castell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastien-de-castell/) > [“unlike, say, the sun, or the rainbow, or earthquakes, the fascinating world of the very small never came to the notice of primitive peoples.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/unlike-say-the-sun-or-the-rainbow-or-earthquakes-the-fascinating/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [If history is written by victors, then memory is written by losers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saed-kakei/if-history-is-written-by-victors-then-memory-is-written-by-losers/) [Saed Kakei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saed-kakei/) > [I don't particularly have a good memory. I think history is many times just the text written by the victors. I wanted to counter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elia-suleiman/i-don-t-particularly-have-a-good-memory-i-think-history-is-many-times/) [Elia Suleiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elia-suleiman/) > [History is almost always written by the victors and conquerors and gives their view. Or, at any rate, the victors' version is given prominence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jawaharlal-nehru/history-is-almost-always-written-by-the-victors-and-conquerors-and/) [Jawaharlal Nehru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jawaharlal-nehru/) > [“History is written by the victors, they say, and there was no one alive who would come forward to dispute Hoover’s fabricated story. Never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-burrough/history-is-written-by-the-victors-they-say-and-there-was-no-one-alive/) [Bryan Burrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-burrough/) > [I believe that history is written by the victors, but what about the vanquished? They also have a story to tell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/puneet-issar/i-believe-that-history-is-written-by-the-victors-but-what-about-the/) [Puneet Issar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/puneet-issar/) > [History is written by victors and, occasionally, sensationalist journalists. I mean that with the best respect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-stevenson/history-is-written-by-victors-and-occasionally-sensationalist/) [Ray Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-stevenson/) ## More by Morris West > [It costs so much to be a full human being that there are very few who have the Love and the courage to pay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-west/it-costs-so-much-to-be-a-full-human-being-that-there-are-very-few-who/) [Morris West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-west/) > [I look out of this window and I think this is a cosmos, this is a huge creation, this is one small corner of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-west/i-look-out-of-this-window-and-i-think-this-is-a-cosmos-this-is-a-huge/) [Morris West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-west/) > [The fact is that the learning process goes on, and so long as the voices are not stilled and the singers go on singing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-west/the-fact-is-that-the-learning-process-goes-on-and-so-long-as-the/) [Morris West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-west/) > [“I know what you are thinking - you need a sign. What better one could I give than to make this little one whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-west/i-know-what-you-are-thinking-you-need-a-sign-what-better-one-could-i/) [Morris West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-west/) > [“The truth ? the truth my dear Ashely is a luxury available only to those who are not involved in its consequences ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-west/the-truth-the-truth-my-dear-ashely-is-a-luxury-available-only-to/) [Morris West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-west/) > [In a longish life as a professional writer, I have heard a thousand masterpieces talked out over bars, restaurant tables and love seats. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-west/in-a-longish-life-as-a-professional-writer-i-have-heard-a-thousand/) [Morris West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-west/) > [There are still things I want to do but they're not necessary for me to do. I'm not clinging to anything that I can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-west/there-are-still-things-i-want-to-do-but-they-re-not-necessary-for-me/) [Morris West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-west/) > [No man - prince, peasant, pope - has all the light, who says else is a mountebank. I claim no private lien on truth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-west/no-man-prince-peasant-pope-has-all-the-light-who-says-else-is-a/) [Morris West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-west/) > [One has to accept pain as a condition of existence. One has to court doubt and darkness as the cost of knowing. One needs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-west/one-has-to-accept-pain-as-a-condition-of-existence-one-has-to-court/) [Morris West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-west/) > [If God be God and man a creature made in image of the divine intelligence, his noblest function is the search for truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-west/if-god-be-god-and-man-a-creature-made-in-image-of-the-divine/) [Morris West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-west/) > [I look out this window and think this is a cosmos, this is a huge creation, this is one small corner of it. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-west/i-look-out-this-window-and-think-this-is-a-cosmos-this-is-a-huge/) [Morris West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-west/) > [You know one of the causes of modern despair is the fact that we have had proposed to us, from various quarters, an impossible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-west/you-know-one-of-the-causes-of-modern-despair-is-the-fact-that-we-have/) [Morris West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-west/) > [You are also caught with the fact that man is a creature who walks in two worlds and traces upon the walls of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-west/you-are-also-caught-with-the-fact-that-man-is-a-creature-who-walks-in/) [Morris West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-west/) > [None of us is guaranteed against failure or corruption of any kind; witness what's going on in the world in this moment, the follies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-west/none-of-us-is-guaranteed-against-failure-or-corruption-of-any-kind/) [Morris West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-west/) > [Man is a creature who walks in two worlds and traces upon the walls of his cave the wonders and the nightmare experiences of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-west/man-is-a-creature-who-walks-in-two-worlds-and-traces-upon-the-walls/) [Morris West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-west/) [Explore all 24 Morris West quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-west/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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 alwys written by victors, and the defeated create a new set of myths to explain the past and gild the future”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Morris West" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-west/history-is-alwys-written-by-victors-and-the-defeated-create-a-new-set/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "History" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-west/history-is-alwys-written-by-victors-and-the-defeated-create-a-new-set/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/097/morris-west-24404_history_history-is-alwys-written-by-victors-and_56501.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/097/morris-west-24404_history_history-is-alwys-written-by-victors-and_56501.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/097/morris-west-24404_history_history-is-alwys-written-by-victors-and_56501.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“History is alwys written by victors, and the defeated create a new set of myths to explain the past and gild…” — Morris West", "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": "Morris West", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-west/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“History is alwys written by victors,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-west/history-is-alwys-written-by-victors-and-the-defeated-create-a-new-set/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-west/history-is-alwys-written-by-victors-and-the-defeated-create-a-new-set/#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 } } ] } ```