--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The historian's job is to aggrandize…" description: "\"The historian's job is to aggrandize, promoting accident to inevitability and innocuous circumstance to portent.\" — Peter Conrad" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0df/peter-conrad-80315_accident_the-historian-s-job-is-to-aggrandize-pro_1669257.jpg" --- # The historian's job is to aggrandize, promoting accident… ![“The historian's job is to aggrandize, promoting accident to inevitability and innocuous circumstance to portent.” quote by Peter Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0df/peter-conrad-80315_accident_the-historian-s-job-is-to-aggrandize-pro_1669257.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0df/peter-conrad-80315_accident_the-historian-s-job-is-to-aggrandize-pro_1669257.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0df/peter-conrad-80315_accident_the-historian-s-job-is-to-aggrandize-pro_1669257.jpg) > “The historian's job is to aggrandize, promoting accident to inevitability and innocuous circumstance to portent.” Peter Conrad ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Historians often reshape past events, turning random accidents into inevitable outcomes and mundane details into significant signs. **In simple terms:** Historians can turn randomness into destiny and trivial into meaningful. Key Takeaway Question narratives and seek multiple perspectives. Themes history interpretation power bias narrative Mood critical analytical Type expository reflective When to use this quote - academic writing - public discourse - media analysis - education - policy making Key Concepts construction of meaning historical determinism Questions to Reflect On - How does framing affect our understanding of events? - What responsibilities do historians have to truth? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complexity and marginalize alternative viewpoints. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accident](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accident/) [Circumstance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/circumstance/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Inevitability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inevitability/) [Job](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/job/) ## Related quotes > [“For heroes do not make history—that is the historian’s job—but, passive, let themselves be borne along, swept up to the crest of the tide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/for-heroes-do-not-make-history-that-is-the-historian-s-job-but/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [My will broke at the sound of his voice, and my head turned with as much inevitability as a sunflower turning its face to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/my-will-broke-at-the-sound-of-his-voice-and-my-head-turned-with-as/) [Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/) > [What we, thanks to Jung, call "synchronicity" (coincidence on steroids), Buddhists have long known as "the interpenetration of realities." Whether it's a natural law…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/what-we-thanks-to-jung-call-synchronicity-coincidence-on-steroids/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [Senescence is an inevitability. All we can do is try to strike the balance between graceful acceptance and raging against the dying light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marty-nemko/senescence-is-an-inevitability-all-we-can-do-is-try-to-strike-the/) [Marty Nemko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marty-nemko/) > [“These things happen. And we say to ourselves, “Never again.” And a hundred years pass. And they happen. Again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/qntm/these-things-happen-and-we-say-to-ourselves-never-again-and-a-hundred/) Qntm > [“I'm beginning to feel as though everything has happened before, that our story has already been told. Just as we were powerless to stop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-humphreys/i-m-beginning-to-feel-as-though-everything-has-happened-before-that/) [Helen Humphreys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-humphreys/) > [Liberalism, on the other hand, regards life as an adventure in which we must take risks in new situations, in which there is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-raphael-cohen/liberalism-on-the-other-hand-regards-life-as-an-adventure-in-which-we/) [Morris Raphael Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-raphael-cohen/) > [I think my way of showing violence is unique from that of other filmmakers, in that when I show it, it hurts. It happens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/takeshi-kitano/i-think-my-way-of-showing-violence-is-unique-from-that-of-other/) [Takeshi Kitano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/takeshi-kitano/) > [“In that moment I’m able to accept the inevitability of how I feel, though not with joy. I need to talk to someone. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/in-that-moment-i-m-able-to-accept-the-inevitability-of-how-i-feel/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [There is the extreme of hopelessness and the inevitability of doom, a deep despair that comes from the sense that our industrial, consuming society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-keen/there-is-the-extreme-of-hopelessness-and-the-inevitability-of-doom-a/) [Sam Keen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-keen/) > [“Part of the apparently conventional nature of our relationships is the threat of separation and death. This body dies. That body dies. We can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adi-da-samraj/part-of-the-apparently-conventional-nature-of-our-relationships-is/) [Adi Da Samraj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adi-da-samraj/) > [“Thus, for our purposes, genes aren’t about inevitability. Instead they’re about context-dependent tendencies, propensities, potentials, and vulnerabilities. All embedded in the fabric of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/thus-for-our-purposes-genes-aren-t-about-inevitability-instead-they/) [Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/) > [“Both of these positions, inevitability and eternity, are antihistorical. The only thing that stands between them is history itself. History allows us to see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/both-of-these-positions-inevitability-and-eternity-are-antihistorical/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“We allowed ourselves to accept the politics of inevitability, the sense that history could move in only one direction: toward liberal democracy...We imbibed the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/we-allowed-ourselves-to-accept-the-politics-of-inevitability-the/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [He decided then that he would love her forever no matter what came to pass. It was not so much a matter of deciding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-guterson/he-decided-then-that-he-would-love-her-forever-no-matter-what-came-to/) [David Guterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-guterson/) ## More by Peter Conrad > [Losing faith in your own singularity is the start of wisdom, I suppose; also the first announcement of death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-conrad/losing-faith-in-your-own-singularity-is-the-start-of-wisdom-i-suppose/) Peter Conrad > [All that a city will ever allow you is an angle on it, an oblique, indirect sample of what it contains, or what passes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-conrad/all-that-a-city-will-ever-allow-you-is-an-angle-on-it-an-oblique/) Peter Conrad Explore all 3 Peter Conrad quotes ## More Accident quotes > [Fame, we may understand, is no sure test of merit, but only a probability of such: it is an accident, not a property, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/fame-we-may-understand-is-no-sure-test-of-merit-but-only-a/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [I went to school at night in L.A. to brush up on my engineering while I applied to the astronaut program. I really did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-jemison/i-went-to-school-at-night-in-l-a-to-brush-up-on-my-engineering-while/) [Mae Jemison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-jemison/) > [“The accident in your rearview mirror already happened. The one in front of you is still preventable. Pay attention.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nakia-r-laushaul/the-accident-in-your-rearview-mirror-already-happened-the-one-in/) [Nakia R. Laushaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nakia-r-laushaul/) > [People dont get married by accident and they dont get divorced by accident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-hayes/people-dont-get-married-by-accident-and-they-dont-get-divorced-by/) [Darren Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-hayes/) > [My father had Parkinson's, though he actually died following a bicycle accident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kt-tunstall/my-father-had-parkinson-s-though-he-actually-died-following-a-bicycle/) [KT Tunstall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kt-tunstall/) > [A tragic car accident put me in a wheelchair and dashed my hopes and dreams for the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madison-cawthorn/a-tragic-car-accident-put-me-in-a-wheelchair-and-dashed-my-hopes-and/) [Madison Cawthorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madison-cawthorn/) > [My musical career was an accident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sade-adu/my-musical-career-was-an-accident/) [Sade Adu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sade-adu/) > [The spirit in the body is like wine in a glass; when it spills, it seeps into air and earth and light….It’s a mistake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-michaels/the-spirit-in-the-body-is-like-wine-in-a-glass-when-it-spills-it/) [Anne Michaels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-michaels/) > [accident ruled every corner of the universe except the chambers of the human heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-guterson/accident-ruled-every-corner-of-the-universe-except-the-chambers-of/) [David Guterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-guterson/) > [There is a French expression that says: to be exposed to an accident, to cross a street without looking at the cars means exposing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/there-is-a-french-expression-that-says-to-be-exposed-to-an-accident/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [It's no accident that most self-help groups use 'anonymous' in their names; to Americans, the first step toward redemption is a ritual wiping out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/it-s-no-accident-that-most-self-help-groups-use-anonymous-in-their/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) > [High birth is an accident, not a virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pietro-metastasio/high-birth-is-an-accident-not-a-virtue/) [Pietro Metastasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pietro-metastasio/) > [“I just got out of the hospital. I was in a speed reading accident. I hit a book mark and flew across the room.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/i-just-got-out-of-the-hospital-i-was-in-a-speed-reading-accident-i/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [However, I met with a horrible accident while riding my bike in Sangla Valley. The accident was a wakeup call for me stop getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhinav-shukla/however-i-met-with-a-horrible-accident-while-riding-my-bike-in-sangla/) [Abhinav Shukla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhinav-shukla/) > [“Because the core of my personal philosophy is that everything that happens to us benefits us, I was also spared the futility of cursing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/because-the-core-of-my-personal-philosophy-is-that-everything-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 922 Accident quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accident/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The historian's job is to aggrandize, promoting accident to inevitability and innocuous circumstance to portent.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Peter Conrad" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-conrad/the-historian-s-job-is-to-aggrandize-promoting-accident-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Accident" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-conrad/the-historian-s-job-is-to-aggrandize-promoting-accident-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0df/peter-conrad-80315_accident_the-historian-s-job-is-to-aggrandize-pro_1669257.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0df/peter-conrad-80315_accident_the-historian-s-job-is-to-aggrandize-pro_1669257.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0df/peter-conrad-80315_accident_the-historian-s-job-is-to-aggrandize-pro_1669257.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The historian's job is to aggrandize, promoting accident to inevitability and innocuous circumstance to…” — Peter Conrad", "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": "Peter Conrad", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-conrad/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The historian's job is to aggrandize,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-conrad/the-historian-s-job-is-to-aggrandize-promoting-accident-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-conrad/the-historian-s-job-is-to-aggrandize-promoting-accident-to/#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 } } ] } ```