--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: History is a strange creature. It has the…" description: "\"“History is a strange creature. It has the amazing ability to blind us with our own reflection when we peek over its deep mysterious waters. Many of us..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d67/yanko-tsvetkov-39908_history_history-is-a-strange-creature-it-has-the_3034994.jpg" --- # History is a strange creature. It has the amazing ability… ![“History is a strange creature. It has the amazing ability to blind us with our own reflection when we peek over its deep mysterious waters. Many of us drown in it just like the mythological Narcissus, whose infatuation with his own beauty was stronger than his survival instincts.” quote by Yanko Tsvetkov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d67/yanko-tsvetkov-39908_history_history-is-a-strange-creature-it-has-the_3034994.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d67/yanko-tsvetkov-39908_history_history-is-a-strange-creature-it-has-the_3034994.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d67/yanko-tsvetkov-39908_history_history-is-a-strange-creature-it-has-the_3034994.jpg) > ““History is a strange creature. It has the amazing ability to blind us with our own reflection when we peek over its deep mysterious waters. Many of us drown in it just like the mythological Narcissus, whose infatuation with his own beauty was stronger than his survival instincts.”” [Yanko Tsvetkov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yanko-tsvetkov/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. History blinds us with self‑reflection, like Narcissus drowning in his own image, causing us to lose sight of survival. **In simple terms:** History can become self‑obsessed. Key Takeaway Avoid narcissistic historical narratives. Themes history self‑reflection mythology critical thinking Mood thoughtful analytical Type academic philosophical When to use this quote - academic research - public discourse - education - media analysis Key Concepts philosophy psychology Questions to Reflect On - How can we view history objectively? - What safeguards prevent narcissistic bias? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on self can distort lessons. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Blind Reflection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blind-reflection-4975516/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [History Strange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history-strange-2804651/) [Mythological Narcissus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mythological-narcissus-4975515/) [Narcissus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/narcissus/) [Narcissus Infatuation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/narcissus-infatuation-4975517/) ## Related quotes > [Fake Friends Are Somehow Blind; They See You As Their Reflection In The Mirror Instead The Truth!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/queen-baran/fake-friends-are-somehow-blind-they-see-you-as-their-reflection-in/) [Queen Baran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/queen-baran/) > [“He had a theory about it. It happened, and re-happened, because it was a city uninterested in history. Strange things occurred precisely because there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mccann-colum/he-had-a-theory-about-it-it-happened-and-re-happened-because-it-was-a/) [Mccann Colum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mccann-colum/) > [History is a strange experience. The world is quite small now; but history is large and deep. Sometimes you can go much farther by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-highet/history-is-a-strange-experience-the-world-is-quite-small-now-but/) [Gilbert Highet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-highet/) > [Nature is none other than God in all things. Animals and plants are living effects of Nature; Whence all of God is in all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giordano-bruno/nature-is-none-other-than-god-in-all-things-animals-and-plants-are/) [Giordano Bruno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giordano-bruno/) > [When we are young we do not look into mirrors. It is when we are old, concerned with our name, our legend, what our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/when-we-are-young-we-do-not-look-into-mirrors-it-is-when-we-are-old/) [Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/) > [You cannot hammer a girl into anything. She grows as a flower does, she will wither without sun; she will decay in her sheath…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/you-cannot-hammer-a-girl-into-anything-she-grows-as-a-flower-does-she/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [Her lips are roses over-washed with dew, Or like the purple of Narcissus' flower; No frost their fair, no wind doth waste their power,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/her-lips-are-roses-over-washed-with-dew-or-like-the-purple-of/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [Leo took out a pen and autographed the arm of one of the nymphs. “Narcissus is a loser! He’s so weak, he can’t bench-press…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/leo-took-out-a-pen-and-autographed-the-arm-of-one-of-the-nymphs/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [“Yesterday a very interesting, beautifully photografed english picture about a nun convent in India, "Black Narcissus," with Deborah Kerr who is quite lovely. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-weill/yesterday-a-very-interesting-beautifully-photografed-english-picture/) [Kurt Weill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-weill/) > [“The Orphic symbols center on the singing god who lives to defeat death and who liberates nature, so that the constrained and constraining matter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-marcuse/the-orphic-symbols-center-on-the-singing-god-who-lives-to-defeat/) [Herbert Marcuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-marcuse/) > [Narcissus is the glory of his race: For who does nothing with a better grace?.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-young/narcissus-is-the-glory-of-his-race-for-who-does-nothing-with-a-better/) [Edward Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-young/) > [“Lily, look and see Narcissus’s true reflection . . . - Abram, Seers of Light”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-delucy/lily-look-and-see-narcissus-s-true-reflection-abram-seers-of-light/) [Jennifer DeLucy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-delucy/) > [I've got six months to sort out the hackers, get the Japanese knotweed under control and find an acceptable form of narcissus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-fforde/i-ve-got-six-months-to-sort-out-the-hackers-get-the-japanese-knotweed/) [Jasper Fforde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-fforde/) > [“The alchemist picked up a book that someone in the caravan had brought. Leafing through the pages, he found a story about Narcissus. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-alchemist-picked-up-a-book-that-someone-in-the-caravan-had/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Narcissus does not fall in love with his reflection because it is beautiful, but because it is his. If it were his beauty that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/narcissus-does-not-fall-in-love-with-his-reflection-because-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Yanko Tsvetkov > [“The truth is that the material world is too poor to satisfy our yearnings. This is how we end up with so many dysfunctional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yanko-tsvetkov/the-truth-is-that-the-material-world-is-too-poor-to-satisfy-our/) [Yanko Tsvetkov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yanko-tsvetkov/) > [“The first domesticated animal was the scapegoat.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yanko-tsvetkov/the-first-domesticated-animal-was-the-scapegoat/) [Yanko Tsvetkov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yanko-tsvetkov/) > [“Europe needs a boundary like a fish needs a bicycle.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yanko-tsvetkov/europe-needs-a-boundary-like-a-fish-needs-a-bicycle/) [Yanko Tsvetkov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yanko-tsvetkov/) > [“Those who don’t know history may be bound to repeat it. But even people who know it may follow the same fate if they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yanko-tsvetkov/those-who-don-t-know-history-may-be-bound-to-repeat-it-but-even/) [Yanko Tsvetkov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yanko-tsvetkov/) [Explore all 5 Yanko Tsvetkov quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yanko-tsvetkov/) ## 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 strange creature. It has the amazing ability to blind us with our own reflection when we peek over its deep mysterious waters. Many of us drown in it just like the mythological Narcissus, whose infatuation with his own beauty was stronger than his survival instincts.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Yanko Tsvetkov" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yanko-tsvetkov/history-is-a-strange-creature-it-has-the-amazing-ability-to-blind-us/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "History" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yanko-tsvetkov/history-is-a-strange-creature-it-has-the-amazing-ability-to-blind-us/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d67/yanko-tsvetkov-39908_history_history-is-a-strange-creature-it-has-the_3034994.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d67/yanko-tsvetkov-39908_history_history-is-a-strange-creature-it-has-the_3034994.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d67/yanko-tsvetkov-39908_history_history-is-a-strange-creature-it-has-the_3034994.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“History is a strange creature. It has the amazing ability to blind us with our own reflection when we peek…” — Yanko Tsvetkov", "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": "Yanko Tsvetkov", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yanko-tsvetkov/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“History is a strange creature. It...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yanko-tsvetkov/history-is-a-strange-creature-it-has-the-amazing-ability-to-blind-us/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yanko-tsvetkov/history-is-a-strange-creature-it-has-the-amazing-ability-to-blind-us/#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 } } ] } ```