--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Any battle-seasoned general will tell you…" description: "\"“Any battle-seasoned general will tell you that, even in a small-scale engagement (as this one was), there always comes a point where coherence breaks ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e9/stephen-king-13_first-place_any-battle-seasoned-general-will-tell-yo_1133799.jpg" --- # Any battle-seasoned general will tell you that, even in a… ![“Any battle-seasoned general will tell you that, even in a small-scale engagement (as this one was), there always comes a point where coherence breaks down, and the narrative flow, and any real sense of how things are going. These matters are re-created by historians later on. The need to re-create…” quote by Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e9/stephen-king-13_first-place_any-battle-seasoned-general-will-tell-yo_1133799.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e9/stephen-king-13_first-place_any-battle-seasoned-general-will-tell-yo_1133799.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e9/stephen-king-13_first-place_any-battle-seasoned-general-will-tell-yo_1133799.jpg) > ““Any battle-seasoned general will tell you that, even in a small-scale engagement (as this one was), there always comes a point where coherence breaks down, and the narrative flow, and any real sense of how things are going. These matters are re-created by historians later on. The need to re-create the myth of coherence may be one of the reasons why history exists in the first place.”” [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Historians impose narrative coherence on chaotic events, creating myths that justify history’s existence **In simple terms:** Historians create coherent stories from messy events Key Takeaway Question the narratives presented as history Themes history memory mythmaking Mood thoughtful critical Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - teaching history - writing - research - media analysis Key Concepts narrative construction truth Questions to Reflect On - What biases affect historical narratives? - How can we seek multiple perspectives? A Different Perspective Coherence may oversimplify complex realities ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Coherence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coherence/) [Coherence Breaks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coherence-breaks-3129340/) [Coherence Reasons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coherence-reasons-3129339/) [First place](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-place/) [History Exists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history-exists-637216/) [Myth Coherence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myth-coherence-3129338/) ## Related quotes > [History, as an entirety, could only exist in the eyes of an observer outside it and outside the world. History only exists, in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/history-as-an-entirety-could-only-exist-in-the-eyes-of-an-observer/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [There's this unspoken history that exists between any mother and daughter, no matter how deep and loving the bond is, twenty-five years of being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-karam/there-s-this-unspoken-history-that-exists-between-any-mother-and/) [Stephen Karam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-karam/) > [It is sometimes hard to escape the belief that history exists against the artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hisham-matar/it-is-sometimes-hard-to-escape-the-belief-that-history-exists-against/) [Hisham Matar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hisham-matar/) > [History only exists, in the final analysis, for God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/history-only-exists-in-the-final-analysis-for-god/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Some birds are not meant to be caged, that's all. Their feathers are too bright, their songs too sweet and wild. So you let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/some-birds-are-not-meant-to-be-caged-that-s-all-their-feathers-are-2/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“you wondered why in the hell the world had been created in the first place. Good things were in short supply, and so much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/you-wondered-why-in-the-hell-the-world-had-been-created-in-the-first/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“The gunslinger said, "I used to think the most terrible thing would be to reach the Dark Tower and find the top room empty.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-gunslinger-said-i-used-to-think-the-most-terrible-thing-would-be/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [No one can threaten poetry. It's always been there, always will be. Humans need it to live: it has sustaining powers. How could we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-orr/no-one-can-threaten-poetry-it-s-always-been-there-always-will-be/) [Gregory Orr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-orr/) > [In our view any awareness is an increment to consciousness, an added light, a reinforcement of psychic coherence. Its swiftness or instantaneity can hide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/in-our-view-any-awareness-is-an-increment-to-consciousness-an-added/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [“To live, it seems, is to explain, to justify, and to find coherence among diverse outcomes, characteristics, and causes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-gilovich/to-live-it-seems-is-to-explain-to-justify-and-to-find-coherence-among/) [Thomas Gilovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-gilovich/) > [We have power... 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To fill people's mailboxes, eyes, ears and brains with commercial rubbish against their will, television programs that are impossible to watch with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/freedom-to-fill-people-s-mailboxes-eyes-ears-and-brains-with/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The superpowers often behave like two heavily armed blind men feeling their way around a room, each believing himself in mortal peril from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-superpowers-often-behave-like-two-heavily-armed-blind-men-feeling/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I have a strong spiritual commitment, and I try to express that in my work. Salvation cannot be worked out in human terms. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-grossman/i-have-a-strong-spiritual-commitment-and-i-try-to-express-that-in-my/) [Richard Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-grossman/) ## More by Stephen King > [Shall there be truth between us, as two men? Not as friends, but as enemies and equals?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/shall-there-be-truth-between-us-as-two-men-not-as-friends-but-as/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [The worst advice? 'Don't listen to the critics.' I think that you really ought to listen to the critics, because sometimes they're telling you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-worst-advice-don-t-listen-to-the-critics-i-think-that-you-really/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“October 3, 2017 The clown, Hagarty said, looked like a cross between Ronald McDonald and that old TV clown, Bozo—or so he thought at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/october-3-2017-the-clown-hagarty-said-looked-like-a-cross-between/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Eddie saw great things and near misses. 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The Overlook faced it as it had for nearly three-quarters of a century, its darkened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/flakes-of-snow-swirled-and-danced-across-the-porch-the-overlook-faced/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“In that instant it all seemed to come clear to him- it came in a grisly flash of light, and he realized that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/in-that-instant-it-all-seemed-to-come-clear-to-him-it-came-in-a/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Who gets to be best-liked in any community? Who is the most trusted? Why, the man who does the dirty job, of course, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/who-gets-to-be-best-liked-in-any-community-who-is-the-most-trusted/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“¿Lo ves, tonto? Volvió a regañarse. Tú lo inventaste todo, gato asustado. 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I'm going to send you up where the air is rare and the view is much more than fair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/climb-aboard-jonesy-i-m-going-to-send-you-up-where-the-air-is-rare/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) [Explore all 3,589 Stephen King quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) ## More Coherence quotes > [I have a strong spiritual commitment, and I try to express that in my work. Salvation cannot be worked out in human terms. 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It's always been there, always will be. Humans need it to live: it has sustaining powers. How could we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-orr/no-one-can-threaten-poetry-it-s-always-been-there-always-will-be/) [Gregory Orr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-orr/) > [Art and ideology often interact on each other; but the plain fact is that both spring from a common source. 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