Original artwork, not a still
History is little else than a picture of human crimes and misfortunes.
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
This bleak view of history places human wrongdoing and suffering at its centre. Little else is a forceful judgment about the historical record, rather than proof that no achievement or kindness belongs in it.
Sources (1)
- Bartlett, Familiar Quotations (1891)Voltaire, L’Ingénu, chapter 10 (1767)Reference checked
Context reviewed
