People · 1767
Indeed, history is nothing more than a tableau of crimes and misfortunes.
— Voltaire · L'Ingénu, ch.10
Behind the line May contain spoilers.
Our reading
An editorial interpretation.
History, the speaker claims, is just a picture of crimes and misfortunes. It's a bleak view that reduces the past to a display of wrongdoing and bad luck, presenting that as the whole story rather than one part of it.
Context reviewed