Belief like any other moving body follows the path of least resistance.
Samuel ButlerRead
God cannot alter the past, though historians can.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that while divine influence cannot change history, humans have the power to reinterpret and present it.
Samuel Butlerβs quote highlights a fundamental distinction between the immutable nature of the past and the subjective interpretation of history. It implies that while events that have occurred cannot be changed by any higher power, historians and individuals possess the ability to frame and narrate those events in different ways. This reflects the idea that our understanding of history is often influenced by perspective, bias, and the context in which it is analyzed.
Themes
HistoryInterpretationPastTruthPerception
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a lecture on the subjectivity of historical narratives.
More from Samuel Butler
All quotes βTo know God better is only to realize how impossible it is that we should ever know him at all. I know not which is more childish to deny him, or define him.
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Academic and aristocratic people live in such an uncommon atmosphere that common sense can rarely reach them.
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An apology for the devil: it must be remembered that we have heard one side of the case. God has written all the books.
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Young people have a marvelous faculty of either dying or adapting themselves to circumstances.
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People care more about being thought to have taste than about being thought either good, clever or amiable.
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