--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To give an accurate description of what…" description: "\"To give an accurate description of what has never occurred is not merely the proper occupation of the historian, but the inalienable privilege of any m..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0d/oscar-wilde-16_accurate_to-give-an-accurate-description-of-what_2765654.jpg" --- # To give an accurate description of what has never occurred… ![“To give an accurate description of what has never occurred is not merely the proper occupation of the historian, but the inalienable privilege of any man of parts and culture.” quote by Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0d/oscar-wilde-16_accurate_to-give-an-accurate-description-of-what_2765654.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0d/oscar-wilde-16_accurate_to-give-an-accurate-description-of-what_2765654.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0d/oscar-wilde-16_accurate_to-give-an-accurate-description-of-what_2765654.jpg) > “To give an accurate description of what has never occurred is not merely the proper occupation of the historian, but the inalienable privilege of any man of parts and culture.” [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Describing events that never happened is a historian's duty and a cultural right for educated people. **In simple terms:** Imagining the unreal is a scholarly and cultural privilege. Key Takeaway Embrace imaginative thinking in historical analysis. Themes history imagination culture Mood reflective intellectual Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - academic research - creative writing - museum curation - public lectures Key Concepts counterfactuals historical methodology Questions to Reflect On - How does imagination aid understanding of history? - When is speculation harmful? A Different Perspective May blur factual accuracy if not clearly labeled. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Occupation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/occupation/) [Privilege](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/privilege/) ## Related quotes > [The making of one's life into art is, after all, the first duty and privilege of every man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-symons/the-making-of-one-s-life-into-art-is-after-all-the-first-duty-and/) [Arthur Symons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-symons/) > [It is an undeniable privilege of every man to prove himself right in the thesis that the world is his enemy; for if he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-an-undeniable-privilege-of-every-man-to-prove-himself-right-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It is a great privilege for any man to become a member of the Senate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-a-great-privilege-for-any-man-to-become-a-member-of-the-senate/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“the only title to place or privilege that any man enjoys in the community is ultimately based on the service that he performs”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booker-t-washington/the-only-title-to-place-or-privilege-that-any-man-enjoys-in-the/) [Booker T. Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booker-t-washington/) > [Suicide is a privilege of man which deity does not possess.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pliny-the-elder/suicide-is-a-privilege-of-man-which-deity-does-not-possess/) [Pliny the Elder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pliny-the-elder/) > [A woman has a responsibility and a privilege that a man doesn't have of given birth to another human being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/a-woman-has-a-responsibility-and-a-privilege-that-a-man-doesn-t-have/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [A woman has a responsibility and a privilege that a man doesnt have of given birth to another human being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/a-woman-has-a-responsibility-and-a-privilege-that-a-man-doesnt-have/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [I don't think the revisionist historians are accurate. I think their agendas are clouded by selfishness and anger and rage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/i-don-t-think-the-revisionist-historians-are-accurate-i-think-their/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [“As an American historian, I will be correcting the historical record for the dangerous DeSoto Solar Farm to be a true, accurate and complete…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/as-an-american-historian-i-will-be-correcting-the-historical-record/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [“As an American historian, I am required to keep an accurate and truthful historical record.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/as-an-american-historian-i-am-required-to-keep-an-accurate-and/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [“Indeed, no woman should ever be quite accurate about her age. It looks so calculating.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/indeed-no-woman-should-ever-be-quite-accurate-about-her-age-it-looks/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [No woman should ever be quite accurate about her age. It looks so calculating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/no-woman-should-ever-be-quite-accurate-about-her-age-it-looks-so/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Newspapers. . . give us the bald, sordid, disgusting facts of life. They chronicle, with degrading avidity, the sins of the second-rate, and with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/newspapers-give-us-the-bald-sordid-disgusting-facts-of-life-they/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Every one of course represents the spirit of his age, but there is an eternal aspect of the Spirit of every age which may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/every-one-of-course-represents-the-spirit-of-his-age-but-there-is-an/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [The surprise of an army is now next to an impossibility. ... Prearranged surprises are rare and difficult because in order to plan one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-henri-jomini/the-surprise-of-an-army-is-now-next-to-an-impossibility-prearranged/) [Antoine-Henri Jomini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-henri-jomini/) ## More by Oscar Wilde > [How else but through a broken heart may Lord Christ enter in?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/how-else-but-through-a-broken-heart-may-lord-christ-enter-in/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [The books that the world calls immoral are the books that show the world its own shame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-books-that-the-world-calls-immoral-are-the-books-that-show-the/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Bachelors should be heavily taxed. It is not fair that some men should be happier than others](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/bachelors-should-be-heavily-taxed-it-is-not-fair-that-some-men-should/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Who, being loved, is poor?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/who-being-loved-is-poor/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Basil my dear boy puts everything that is charming in him into his work. The consequence is that he has nothing left for life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/basil-my-dear-boy-puts-everything-that-is-charming-in-him-into-his/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Anybody can be good in the country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/anybody-can-be-good-in-the-country/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [I don't at all like knowing what people say of me behind my back. It makes me far too conceited.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-don-t-at-all-like-knowing-what-people-say-of-me-behind-my-back-it/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Alles Populäre ist falsch.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/alles-popul-re-ist-falsch/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“If these elements of beauty are real, the whole thing simply appeals to our sense of dramatic effect. Suddenly we find that we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/if-these-elements-of-beauty-are-real-the-whole-thing-simply-appeals/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [To love one's self is the beginning of a life-long romance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/to-love-one-s-self-is-the-beginning-of-a-life-long-romance/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Those who find beautiful meanings in beautiful things are the cultivated. For these there is hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/those-who-find-beautiful-meanings-in-beautiful-things-are-the/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Men always want to be a womans first love. Women have a more subtle instinct: What they like is to be a mans last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/men-always-want-to-be-a-womans-first-love-women-have-a-more-subtle/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Why is it that at a bachelor's establishment the servants invariably drink the champagne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/why-is-it-that-at-a-bachelor-s-establishment-the-servants-invariably/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Moderation is a fatal thing. Enough is as bad as a meal. More than enough is as good as a feast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/moderation-is-a-fatal-thing-enough-is-as-bad-as-a-meal-more-than/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Beauty is the only thing that time cannot harm. Philosophies fall away like sand, creeds follow one another, but what is beautiful is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/beauty-is-the-only-thing-that-time-cannot-harm-philosophies-fall-away/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) [Explore all 3,343 Oscar Wilde quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) ## More Accurate quotes > [The surprise of an army is now next to an impossibility. ... 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