Miguel de Cervantes Quotes

It becomes him that writes an History, sometimes to extol enemies in his praises, when their praise worthy actions bespeak it, and at the same time to reprove the best friends, when their deeds appear worthy of a reproof; in-as-much as History is good for nothing, if truth (which is the very eye of the animal) be not in it.

Historians desiring to write the actions of men, ought to set down the simple truth, and not say anything for love or hatred

The impartiality of history is not that of the mirror, which merely reflects objects, but of the judge, who sees, listens, and decides.

Whenever one assumes the role of historian, friendship and enmities have to be forgotten. Often one has to bestow on adversaries the highest praise…. I hope to satisfy … by appealing to the evidence of actual events and of eyewitnesses.

Historians ought to be precise, faithful, and unprejudiced; and neither interest nor fear, hatred nor affection, should make them swerve from the way of truth.

As the primary end of History is to record truth, impartiality, fidelity and accuracy are the fundamental qualities of an Historian.

Intellectual honesty is the quality that the public in free countries always has expected of historians; much more than that it does not expect, nor often get.

If good history is dispassionate history, it must naturally wait until the passions of the period subside.

A good historian is timeless; although he is a patriot, he will never flatter his country in any respect.

The historian has a special obligation to sobriety and fidelity to the record.

The true historian … reveres the fact rather than any theory.

In the end, we journalists try - or should try - to be the first impartial witnesses of history. If we have any reason for our existence, the least must be our ability to report history as it happens so that no one can say: 'we didn't know - no one told us.'

The good historian is not for any time or any country: while he loves his fatherland, he never flatters it in anything.

One must be careful not to prejudge the past.

The first duty of an historian is to be on his guard against his own sympathies; but he cannot wholly escape their influence.

Oh do not read history, for that I know must be false.

The voice of history is often little more than the organ of hatred or flattery.

History is not written in the interests of morality.

The case against the notion of historical objectivity is like the case against international law, or international morality; that it does not exist.

History, to be above evasion or dispute, must stand on documents, not on opinions.

So very difficult a matter is it to trace and find out the truth of anything by history.

I don't think the revisionist historians are accurate. I think their agendas are clouded by selfishness and anger and rage.

History must not be written with bias, and both sides must be given, even if there is only one side.

History must speak for itself. A historian is content if he has been able to shed more light.

The first law of history is to dread uttering a falsehood; the next is not to fear stating the truth; lastly, the historian's writings should be open to no suspicion of partiality or animosity.