--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: History is nothing but a pack of tricks…" description: "\"History is nothing but a pack of tricks that we play upon the dead.\" — Voltaire" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eed/voltaire-173_dead_history-is-nothing-but-a-pack-of-tricks_882484.png" --- # History is nothing but a pack of tricks that we play upon… ![“History is nothing but a pack of tricks that we play upon the dead.” quote by Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eed/voltaire-173_dead_history-is-nothing-but-a-pack-of-tricks_882484.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eed/voltaire-173_dead_history-is-nothing-but-a-pack-of-tricks_882484.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eed/voltaire-173_dead_history-is-nothing-but-a-pack-of-tricks_882484.png) > “History is nothing but a pack of tricks that we play upon 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 a constructed narrative, often manipulated to serve the living’s agenda. **In simple terms:** History is a manipulated narrative. Key Takeaway Question historical narratives. Themes history manipulation truth Mood skeptical reflective Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - Critical thinking education - media literacy - archival research - public discourse Key Concepts Narrative construction power dynamics historical revisionism Questions to Reflect On - How do we discern truth in history? - What motives shape historical storytelling? A Different Perspective Alternative perspectives can also be biased. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dead/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [History Pack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history-pack-1067015/) [Packs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/packs/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Play Dead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play-dead-632826/) [Tricks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tricks/) [Tricks Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tricks-play-1067014/) ## Related quotes > [History is a pack of lies we play on the dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/history-is-a-pack-of-lies-we-play-on-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. . . . 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/) > [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/) > [“They were either all unconscious, or they were smart enough to lie down and play dead.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-scott-earle/they-were-either-all-unconscious-or-they-were-smart-enough-to-lie/) [Michael-Scott Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-scott-earle/) > [I don't consider myself a feminist, but boy, I won't lay down and play dead, ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tomi-lahren/i-don-t-consider-myself-a-feminist-but-boy-i-won-t-lay-down-and-play/) [Tomi Lahren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tomi-lahren/) > [“Play dead often and long enough and people begin to think you are.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-tashjian/play-dead-often-and-long-enough-and-people-begin-to-think-you-are/) [Janet Tashjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-tashjian/) > [Even to play a dead body; that'd be an easy gig.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-thayer/even-to-play-a-dead-body-that-d-be-an-easy-gig/) [Maria Thayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-thayer/) > [“When you're out of options, the best option is to do nothing. Play dead. The possum option.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-yancey/when-you-re-out-of-options-the-best-option-is-to-do-nothing-play-dead/) [Rick Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-yancey/) > [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/) > [No man is boss in his own home, but he can make up for it, he thinks, by making a dog play dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/no-man-is-boss-in-his-own-home-but-he-can-make-up-for-it-he-thinks-by/) [W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/) > [I can put on my resume: 'Can play dead.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-verica/i-can-put-on-my-resume-can-play-dead/) [Tom Verica](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-verica/) > [No man is the boss of his own house, but he can make up for it, he thinks, by making a dog play dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/no-man-is-the-boss-of-his-own-house-but-he-can-make-up-for-it-he/) [W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/) > [What do you think you should do if you're attacked by a bear? Play dead? No - that's a lie promoted by the bears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-mirman/what-do-you-think-you-should-do-if-you-re-attacked-by-a-bear-play/) [Eugene Mirman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-mirman/) > [“Mes enfants, you mustn't go at things head-on, you are too weak; take it from me and take it from an angle... Play dead,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/mes-enfants-you-mustn-t-go-at-things-head-on-you-are-too-weak-take-it/) [Honoré de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [“If you want to be forgotten... Play Dead.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-mkn/if-you-want-to-be-forgotten-play-dead/) [Peter MKN](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-mkn/) ## 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 Dead quotes > [I'm going to stay on stage until I drop dead. Then I'm going to have myself stuffed, like Trigger, and I'm going to put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debbie-reynolds/i-m-going-to-stay-on-stage-until-i-drop-dead-then-i-m-going-to-have/) [Debbie Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debbie-reynolds/) > [I can't be a legend yet. I'm not dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-james-keenan/i-can-t-be-a-legend-yet-i-m-not-dead/) [Maynard James Keenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maynard-james-keenan/) > [Okay, so I'll admit I'm curious. Big deal. We both know what that leads to. Dead cat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-elizabeth-phillips/okay-so-i-ll-admit-i-m-curious-big-deal-we-both-know-what-that-leads/) [Susan Elizabeth Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-elizabeth-phillips/) > [It's a really dark, emotionally wrenching world that we've created on 'The Walking Dead.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-holden/it-s-a-really-dark-emotionally-wrenching-world-that-we-ve-created-on/) [Laurie Holden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-holden/) > [If you’re alive, don’t move, if you’re dead, don’t worry about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/if-you-re-alive-don-t-move-if-you-re-dead-don-t-worry-about-it/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [“I’m just–” She wanted to say “not in the mood,” but that was not only a cliché but a vast understatement. She was dead.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-mcintosh/i-m-just-she-wanted-to-say-not-in-the-mood-but-that-was-not-only-a/) [Will McIntosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-mcintosh/) > [Library: A place where the dead lie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/library-a-place-where-the-dead-lie/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [When we dead awaken ... we see that we have never lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henrik-ibsen/when-we-dead-awaken-we-see-that-we-have-never-lived/) [Henrik Ibsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henrik-ibsen/) > [Rather be dead than cool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-cobain/rather-be-dead-than-cool/) [Kurt Cobain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-cobain/) > [He was obviously dead. But since he was a vampire that wasn't as hopless a thing as it might have been.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/he-was-obviously-dead-but-since-he-was-a-vampire-that-wasn-t-as/) [Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/) > [Ireland starts for me with the end of 'The Dead,' which my father read to me from his desk in his basement office in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-jeremiah-sullivan/ireland-starts-for-me-with-the-end-of-the-dead-which-my-father-read/) [John Jeremiah Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-jeremiah-sullivan/) > [“Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead.’ – Ben Franklin,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/three-may-keep-a-secret-if-two-of-them-are-dead-ben-franklin/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [I intend to do the Penn & Teller show until they pry my cheesy magic wand from my cold dead fingers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/i-intend-to-do-the-penn-teller-show-until-they-pry-my-cheesy-magic/) [Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/) > ['Misery' left a lasting mark on me. When I die, it will be 'Kathy 'Misery' Bates Is Dead.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-bates/misery-left-a-lasting-mark-on-me-when-i-die-it-will-be-kathy-misery/) [Kathy Bates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-bates/) > [The only good Indian is a dead Indian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-tecumseh-sherman/the-only-good-indian-is-a-dead-indian/) [William Tecumseh Sherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-tecumseh-sherman/) [Browse all 3,376 Dead quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dead/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "History is nothing but a pack of tricks that we play upon the dead.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Voltaire" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/history-is-nothing-but-a-pack-of-tricks-that-we-play-upon-the-dead/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dead" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/history-is-nothing-but-a-pack-of-tricks-that-we-play-upon-the-dead/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eed/voltaire-173_dead_history-is-nothing-but-a-pack-of-tricks_882484.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eed/voltaire-173_dead_history-is-nothing-but-a-pack-of-tricks_882484.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eed/voltaire-173_dead_history-is-nothing-but-a-pack-of-tricks_882484.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“History is nothing but a pack of tricks that we play upon 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 nothing but a pack...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/history-is-nothing-but-a-pack-of-tricks-that-we-play-upon-the-dead/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/history-is-nothing-but-a-pack-of-tricks-that-we-play-upon-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 } } ] } ```