--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To be a really good historian is perhaps…" description: "\"To be a really good historian is perhaps the rarest of intellectual distinctions.\" — Thomas B. Macaulay" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c39/thomas-b-macaulay-1980_distinction_to-be-a-really-good-historian-is-perhaps_1044970.png" --- # To be a really good historian is perhaps the rarest of… ![“To be a really good historian is perhaps the rarest of intellectual distinctions.” quote by Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c39/thomas-b-macaulay-1980_distinction_to-be-a-really-good-historian-is-perhaps_1044970.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c39/thomas-b-macaulay-1980_distinction_to-be-a-really-good-historian-is-perhaps_1044970.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c39/thomas-b-macaulay-1980_distinction_to-be-a-really-good-historian-is-perhaps_1044970.png) > “To be a really good historian is perhaps the rarest of intellectual distinctions.” [Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True historical expertise is rare, requiring deep intellectual distinction and rigorous analysis. **In simple terms:** Good historians are rare. Key Takeaway Pursue scholarly excellence. Themes history intellectual rigor excellence Mood academic reflective Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - academic research - public history - education curricula Key Concepts methodology source criticism Questions to Reflect On - What makes a historian truly distinguished? - How can historians remain objective? A Different Perspective Specialization may limit broader perspectives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Distinction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distinction/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Intellectual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectual/) ## Related quotes > [Habits of literary composition are perfectly familiar to me. One of the rarest of all the intellectual accomplishments that a man can possess is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilkie-collins/habits-of-literary-composition-are-perfectly-familiar-to-me-one-of/) [Wilkie Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilkie-collins/) > [One cannot be a good historian of the outward, visible world without giving some thought to the hidden, private life of ordinary people; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/one-cannot-be-a-good-historian-of-the-outward-visible-world-without/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“A good historian always provides for an exit in case of fire. "Probably," "allegedly," "it is possible...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teodoro-a-agoncillo/a-good-historian-always-provides-for-an-exit-in-case-of-fire-probably/) [Teodoro A. 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He looks at the accepted view of a particular historic episode or period with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-johnson/every-good-historian-is-almost-by-definition-a-revisionist-he-looks/) [Paul Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-johnson/) > [A good historian is timeless; although he is a patriot, he will never flatter his country in any respect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-fenelon/a-good-historian-is-timeless-although-he-is-a-patriot-he-will-never/) [Francois Fenelon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-fenelon/) > [If you look at Gothic detailing right down to the bottom of a column or the capital of a column, it's a small version…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-jencks/if-you-look-at-gothic-detailing-right-down-to-the-bottom-of-a-column/) [Charles Jencks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-jencks/) > [“And before there was Clara and Archie there was Clara and Ryan. And there is no getting away from Ryan Topps. Just as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/and-before-there-was-clara-and-archie-there-was-clara-and-ryan-and/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [“The good historian, then, must be thus described: he must be fearless, uncorrupted, free, the friend of truth and of liberty; one who, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucian-of-samosata/the-good-historian-then-must-be-thus-described-he-must-be-fearless/) [Lucian of Samosata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucian-of-samosata/) > [The good historian is like the giant of the fairy tale. 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Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) > [“military historian Richard Holmes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clare-wright/military-historian-richard-holmes/) Clare Wright > [The world's history is a divine poem, of which the history of every nation is a canto, and every man a word. Its strains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/the-world-s-history-is-a-divine-poem-of-which-the-history-of-every/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [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 Thomas B. 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Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) > [Ambrose Phillips . . . who had the honor of bringing into fashion a species of composition which has been called, after his name, Namby Pamby.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/ambrose-phillips-who-had-the-honor-of-bringing-into-fashion-a-species/) [Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) > [In the infancy of civilization, when our island was as savage as New Guinea, when letters and arts were still unknown to Athens, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/in-the-infancy-of-civilization-when-our-island-was-as-savage-as-new/) [Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) > [In truth it may be laid down as an almost universal rule that good poets are bad critics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/in-truth-it-may-be-laid-down-as-an-almost-universal-rule-that-good/) [Thomas B. 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"They must be able to sense a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiersten-white/where-did-you-find-that-one-i-have-no-idea-i-m-a-magnet-for-crazies-i/) [Kiersten White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersten-white/) > [No people is wholly civilized where a distinction is drawn between stealing an office and stealing a purse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/no-people-is-wholly-civilized-where-a-distinction-is-drawn-between/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [I realized early on that the academy and the literary world alike - and I don't think there really is a distinction between the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/i-realized-early-on-that-the-academy-and-the-literary-world-alike-and/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [Alfred Nobel stipulated that no distinction of race or colour will determine who received of his generosity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdus-salam/alfred-nobel-stipulated-that-no-distinction-of-race-or-colour-will/) [Abdus Salam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdus-salam/) > [I think it is important for all those young out there - who someday hope to play real football, where you throw it and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kemp/i-think-it-is-important-for-all-those-young-out-there-who-someday/) [Jack Kemp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kemp/) > [I've always longed for the theatre and acting to be popular. 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