--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: History is a pack of lies we play on the…" description: "\"History is a pack of lies we play on the dead.\" — Voltaire" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b9/voltaire-173_history_history-is-a-pack-of-lies-we-play-on-the_1343649.png" --- # History is a pack of lies we play on the dead. ![“History is a pack of lies we play on the dead.” quote by Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b9/voltaire-173_history_history-is-a-pack-of-lies-we-play-on-the_1343649.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b9/voltaire-173_history_history-is-a-pack-of-lies-we-play-on-the_1343649.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b9/voltaire-173_history_history-is-a-pack-of-lies-we-play-on-the_1343649.png) > “History is a pack of lies we play on the dead.” [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. History is portrayed as a collection of narratives crafted to serve the living, suggesting that facts are often shaped by present needs rather than objective truth. **In simple terms:** History is a story we tell the dead. Key Takeaway Question the narratives presented as history. Themes history truth politics memory philosophy Mood skeptical inquisitive critical Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - Education - political discourse - media analysis - personal research Key Concepts Narrative construction power dynamics skepticism Questions to Reflect On - How do you verify historical claims? - What motives might shape historical narratives? A Different Perspective Historical accounts can be biased and incomplete. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [History Pack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history-pack-1067015/) [Lies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lies/) [Lies Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lies-play-4546962/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [Pack Lies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pack-lies-691241/) [Packs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/packs/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Play Dead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play-dead-632826/) ## Related quotes > [History is nothing but a pack of tricks that we play upon the dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/history-is-nothing-but-a-pack-of-tricks-that-we-play-upon-the-dead/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [History is a pack of lies about events that never happened told by people who weren't there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/history-is-a-pack-of-lies-about-events-that-never-happened-told-by-2/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [“History is a pack of lies about events that never happened told by people who weren't there. . . . History is always written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/history-is-a-pack-of-lies-about-events-that-never-happened-told-by/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [The Vatican has tried to condemn 'The Magdalene Sisters' as a pack of lies and that I've made it all up - I wish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-mullan/the-vatican-has-tried-to-condemn-the-magdalene-sisters-as-a-pack-of/) [Peter Mullan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-mullan/) > [Knowing can be a curse on a person's life. I'd traded in a pack of lies for a pack of truth, and I didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/knowing-can-be-a-curse-on-a-person-s-life-i-d-traded-in-a-pack-of/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [You can wipe off that grin, I know where you've been, it's all been a pack of lies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-collins/you-can-wipe-off-that-grin-i-know-where-you-ve-been-it-s-all-been-a/) [Phil Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-collins/) > [Folks with their wits about them knew that advertisements were just a pack of lies - you had only to look at the claims…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-parkinson-keyes/folks-with-their-wits-about-them-knew-that-advertisements-were-just-a/) [Frances Parkinson Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-parkinson-keyes/) > [All these things they've been saying are a pack of lies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tina-louise/all-these-things-they-ve-been-saying-are-a-pack-of-lies/) [Tina Louise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tina-louise/) > [The Doors movie is a pack of lies. It did not make money. You want to make money in America? Tell the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-manzarek/the-doors-movie-is-a-pack-of-lies-it-did-not-make-money-you-want-to/) [Ray Manzarek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-manzarek/) > [That doesn't necessarily mean that the story isn't true, ... But what it does mean, then, is that at this moment we simply do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-abrams/that-doesn-t-necessarily-mean-that-the-story-isn-t-true-but-what-it/) [Floyd Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-abrams/) > [“Mosca had come armed with a rich pack of lies, ready to pick whichever seemed to suit Goshawk’s mood best. Under the wintry draught…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hardinge/mosca-had-come-armed-with-a-rich-pack-of-lies-ready-to-pick-whichever/) [Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/) > [Form your own opinons on people, don't form an opinon on a pack of lies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/form-your-own-opinons-on-people-don-t-form-an-opinon-on-a-pack-of-lies/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“. . . and it came out that this King Arthur and his knights had done nothing of real note but to kill innocent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-novik/and-it-came-out-that-this-king-arthur-and-his-knights-had-done/) [Naomi Novik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-novik/) > [I mean, the conservative movement in this country has been selling a pack of lies for a long time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-seder/i-mean-the-conservative-movement-in-this-country-has-been-selling-a/) [Sam Seder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-seder/) > [Oh, you wanna do a little bit of roleplay? Could you just play dead?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-whitehall/oh-you-wanna-do-a-little-bit-of-roleplay-could-you-just-play-dead/) [Jack Whitehall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-whitehall/) ## More by Voltaire > [In every province, the chief occupations, in order of importance, are lovemaking, malicious gossip, and talking nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/in-every-province-the-chief-occupations-in-order-of-importance-are/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Fanaticism, to which men are so much inclined, has always served not only to render them more brutalized but more wicked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/fanaticism-to-which-men-are-so-much-inclined-has-always-served-not/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [History is the study of the world's crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/history-is-the-study-of-the-world-s-crime/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [We’re neither pure, nor wise, nor good; we do the best we know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/we-re-neither-pure-nor-wise-nor-good-we-do-the-best-we-know/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [It is with books as with men: a very small number play a great part, the rest are lost in the multitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/it-is-with-books-as-with-men-a-very-small-number-play-a-great-part/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Meslier was the most singular phenomenon ever seen among all the meteors fatal to the Christian religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/meslier-was-the-most-singular-phenomenon-ever-seen-among-all-the/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." "Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/every-sensible-man-every-honorable-man-must-hold-the-christian-sect/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Being unable to make people more reasonable, I preferred to be happy away from them](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/being-unable-to-make-people-more-reasonable-i-preferred-to-be-happy/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [When his highness sends a ship to Egypt, does he trouble his head whether the mice on board are at their ease or not?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/when-his-highness-sends-a-ship-to-egypt-does-he-trouble-his-head/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Madness is to think of too many things in succession too fast, or of one thing too exclusively.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/madness-is-to-think-of-too-many-things-in-succession-too-fast-or-of/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [God gave us the gift of life; it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/god-gave-us-the-gift-of-life-it-is-up-to-us-to-give-ourselves-the/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [It is not inequality which is the real misfortune, it is dependence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/it-is-not-inequality-which-is-the-real-misfortune-it-is-dependence/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Providence has given us hope and sleep as a compensation for the many cares of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/providence-has-given-us-hope-and-sleep-as-a-compensation-for-the-many/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Men use thought only to justify their wrong doings, and employ speech only to conceal their thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/men-use-thought-only-to-justify-their-wrong-doings-and-employ-speech/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Work spares us from three evils: boredom, vice, and need](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/work-spares-us-from-three-evils-boredom-vice-and-need/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) [Explore all 934 Voltaire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) ## 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 a pack of lies we play on the dead.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Voltaire" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/history-is-a-pack-of-lies-we-play-on-the-dead/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "History" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/history-is-a-pack-of-lies-we-play-on-the-dead/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b9/voltaire-173_history_history-is-a-pack-of-lies-we-play-on-the_1343649.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b9/voltaire-173_history_history-is-a-pack-of-lies-we-play-on-the_1343649.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b9/voltaire-173_history_history-is-a-pack-of-lies-we-play-on-the_1343649.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“History is a pack of lies we play on the dead.” — Voltaire", "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": "Voltaire", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "History is a pack of lies...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/history-is-a-pack-of-lies-we-play-on-the-dead/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/history-is-a-pack-of-lies-we-play-on-the-dead/#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 } } ] } ```