Quote by Peter Conrad
The historian's job is to aggrandize, promoting accident to inevitability and innocuous circumstance to portent.
Summary
This quote suggests that historians have a tendency to embellish and glorify events in order to present them as significant and inevitable occurrences. They may also elevate minor occurrences to make them seem more important and foreshadowing of future events. The author criticizes historians for distorting reality by selectively highlighting certain details while downplaying others, thus shaping the narrative to fit their own interpretations and biases. As a result, the quote implies that historians may not always provide an accurate and objective representation of the past.
Topics
History
By Peter Conrad