Herbert ButterfieldThe raconteur knows too well that, if he investigates the truth of the matter, he is only too likely to lose his good story.
About This Quote
A good storyteller never reveals the whole truth. He always leaves out lots of interesting stuff and then misleads his listeners into thinking that he knows everything about the subject. That’s how stories work too, you see. A story is really just a half-truth.
The link between the two halves isn’t obvious. But in a good story, the audience can easily be tricked into thinking it has a complete picture in its head.
Source: Origins Of History
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More Quotes By Herbert Butterfield
- If history can do anything it is to remind us that all our judgments are merely relative to time and circumstance.
- The raconteur knows too well that, if he investigates the truth of the matter, he is only too likely to lose his good story.
- Those people work more wisely who seek to achieve good in their own small corner of the world ... than those who are forever thinking that life is in vain unless one can ... do big things.