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Anime and Manga
"If Kira is caught, then Kira is evil. If he wins and rules the world, Kira is justice."
— Light Yagami, Death Note
"Those who stand at the top determine what's wrong and what's right! This very place is neutral ground! Justice Will Prevail, you say?! But of course it will!! Whoever wins this war becomes justice!!!"
— Donquixote Doflamingo, One Piece
Comic Books
"Uh... comrades... loyal troops... children of the atom... the day we struggled for has arrived! The fighting was bitter, the cost terrible, but we have been vindicated! We were right! A-and even if it were otherwise... there are none left to accuse us."'
— Magneto, Heroes for Hope
"Tara deserved more than what she got, and she deserved to be remembered as being better than the nature to which she succumbed.
But history is written by the living. Not by the dead."
But history is written by the living. Not by the dead."
— Katana, The Other History of the DC Universe
"There are no goodies and baddies. There's just whoever's tough enough to be in charge of the story today — and even they're just waiting to be knocked over by the next fanatic in line."
— Lona Aphra, Star Wars: Doctor Aphra
Fan Works
Mordor Commander: You cheated. Even the knights of the North will not shake your hand.
Aragorn: Of course they won't, since they will be kneeling before the new King of Gondor! I beat you in an honest fight, one on one — so it shall be written in all the history books. As for you, they won't even remember your name, I'll make sure of that. Actually, we can make it even more interesting: let you be killed by a midget, some tiny little dwarf with hairy paws. Or by a broad... yes, that's how we'll do it.
Aragorn: Of course they won't, since they will be kneeling before the new King of Gondor! I beat you in an honest fight, one on one — so it shall be written in all the history books. As for you, they won't even remember your name, I'll make sure of that. Actually, we can make it even more interesting: let you be killed by a midget, some tiny little dwarf with hairy paws. Or by a broad... yes, that's how we'll do it.
"Truth, Blacker, is a fickle mistress, and one whom ultimately sells herself to the winners, among whom you are not."
— Charlie Wilkes, Six Degrees
, a Gunslinger Girl fanfic
, a Gunslinger Girl fanfic[Ruffnut] let him go with a grin. "So... where I think we want to end..." She exaggeratedly looked him up and down lasciviously, making him laugh. "Well, aside from bed tonight, how's this?" She cleared her throat, and said in her 'saga' voice, "And Magnus the Good was seen as a kind and strong king, unquestioned in his authority over his kingdoms—"
"Kingdoms!?" he interjected, surprised.
"—Kingdoms," she continued, and said tartly, "don't interrupt, it's rude, 'kingdoms, and seen as wise and insightful, and beloved by all, having established early in his reign that dissent was acceptable... but rebellion was not.'" She cleared her throat. "How's that?"
"Ambitious," he said, and took a deep breath. "Very ambitious. I mean, Ruff... I have almost no real power or influence — and the people I would need to get it from want to keep it that way."
"You have me, you have Tuffnut, you have Yngvarr, and, oh yeah, you have Berk. You've got us, Magnus. It'll be tricky, but we can do it."
"It'll be hard," he said, shaking his head, a small smile on his face. "But your confidence is inspiring."
She smirked. "Well, the ones who write the sagas are the winners, yeah?" She snuggled up next to him. "I wanna write that one."
"Kingdoms!?" he interjected, surprised.
"—Kingdoms," she continued, and said tartly, "don't interrupt, it's rude, 'kingdoms, and seen as wise and insightful, and beloved by all, having established early in his reign that dissent was acceptable... but rebellion was not.'" She cleared her throat. "How's that?"
"Ambitious," he said, and took a deep breath. "Very ambitious. I mean, Ruff... I have almost no real power or influence — and the people I would need to get it from want to keep it that way."
"You have me, you have Tuffnut, you have Yngvarr, and, oh yeah, you have Berk. You've got us, Magnus. It'll be tricky, but we can do it."
"It'll be hard," he said, shaking his head, a small smile on his face. "But your confidence is inspiring."
She smirked. "Well, the ones who write the sagas are the winners, yeah?" She snuggled up next to him. "I wanna write that one."
Film — Live-Action
Thanos: I will shred this universe down to its last atom, and then, with the Stones you've collected for me, create a new one, teeming with life, that knows not what it has lost, but only what it has been given. A grateful universe.
Steve Rogers: Born out of blood.
Thanos: They'll never know. Because you won't be alive to tell them.
Steve Rogers: Born out of blood.
Thanos: They'll never know. Because you won't be alive to tell them.
"Historians in England will say I am a liar, but history is written by those who have hanged heroes."
— Robert the Bruce, Braveheart
"Medical books aren't written about losers!"
— Thrax, Osmosis Jones
Gregers: There's two sides to every story.
Max: The winner decides who's a terrorist?
Gregers: Then it's up to us, I guess.
Max: The winner decides who's a terrorist?
Gregers: Then it's up to us, I guess.
"We have achieved our position through poise, precision and audacity. To this we must now add resolve. We'll be branded as traitors, the gravest capital crime. Punishable by death. A couple hundred years ago, a few guys named Washington, Jefferson and Adams were branded as traitors by the British. And now they're called patriots. In time, so shall we."
— Gen. Francis X. Hummel, The Rock
"Half of history is hiding the truth."
— Malcolm Reynolds, Serenity
"What I'm doing here is good for my people if I get results. If I save them. Y'see, there is no H and Younger. There's only victory and defeat. The winner gets to take the moral high ground because they get to write the history books. The loser just loses."
— H, Unthinkable
"As long as history will be written by hunters, lions shall never be glorified."
— Mujtaba, Waar
Literature
"If I win, I'm a prodigy. If I lose, then I'm mad. That's the way history is written."
— Artemis Fowl, Artemis Fowl
After all, words are what remain when all the deeds have been done. Words can shatter faith; start a war; change the course of history. A story can make your heart beat faster; topple walls; scale mountains – hey, a story can even raise the dead. And that's why the King of Stories ended up being King of the Gods; because writing history and making history are only the breadth of a page apart.
Henry Pleasants: Worse luck for the country, you chewed up the whole Army of the Potomac pretty good, you and those damned repeaters of yours.
Nate Caudell: I wouldn't say it's worse luck for the country.
Henry Pleasants: No, I don't suppose you would. And since your side won, the history books won't say that, either. But I do. It's too damn bad.
Nate Caudell: I wouldn't say it's worse luck for the country.
Henry Pleasants: No, I don't suppose you would. And since your side won, the history books won't say that, either. But I do. It's too damn bad.
Traitors who prevail are patriots; usurpers who succeed are divine emperors.
— Julian
He who controls the past, controls the future; he who controls the present, controls the past.
Perhaps you will be proven correct. Perhaps not. Ultimately, the claim goes to the strongest, does it not? In the final sort of things, I mean. He who remains alive, remains alive to write the histories in a light favorable to him and his cause. Surely as worldly as you are, you know well the histories of the world, Master Wingham. Surely you recognize that armies carrying banners are almost always thieves-until they win.
— Jarlaxle, Road of the Patriarch
And so it is true that we can manipulate our own reality. We can persuade, even deceive. We can make others view us in dishonest ways. We can hide selfishness with charity, make a craving for acceptance into magnanimity, and amplify our smile to coerce a hesitant lover. The world is illusion, and often delusion, as victors write the histories and the children who die quietly under the stamp of a triumphant army never really existed. The robber baron becomes philanthropist in the final analysis, by bequeathing only that for which he had no more use. The king who sends young men and women to die becomes beneficent with the kiss of a baby. Every problem becomes a problem of perception to those who understand that reality, in reality, is what you make reality to be.
— Drizzt, Road of the Patriarch
I love how the so-called "good" guys get to revise events to make stuff more convenient for them.
— Skitter, Worm, Colony 15.6
Live-Action TV
"I knew I shouldn't go... 'cause when the victors rewrite history, it's just another kind of war... waged after the battlefield killing is done... to murder the memory of the defeated."
— Takeshi Kovacs, Altered Carbon, "Fallen Angel"
Londo: Mass drivers?! They have been outlawed by every civilized planet!
Lord Refa: These are uncivilized times.
Londo: We have treaties!
Refa: Ink on a page.
Lord Refa: These are uncivilized times.
Londo: We have treaties!
Refa: Ink on a page.
Eddard Stark: What you suggest is high treason.
Littlefinger: Only if we lose.
Littlefinger: Only if we lose.
Mido: Losing the proxy battle means I withdraw our forces, relinquish Hokuto, and that Pandora's Box is the shared property of the three nations! I agreed to those conditions!
Nanba: Then you can ignore those conditions. Winners write history. If you take control, you can make any justifications you want afterwards.
Nanba: Then you can ignore those conditions. Winners write history. If you take control, you can make any justifications you want afterwards.
— Kamen Rider Build, "The Genius Arrives with a Tank"
Dukat: It takes a great man to admit he's wrong. And that's what Ghemor did. I'm speaking of his last-minute change of heart — his deathbed decision to embrace the new Dominion government.
Sisko: That's very moving, except for one small problem: it never happened.
Weyoun: As you say, it's a small problem.
Sisko: That's very moving, except for one small problem: it never happened.
Weyoun: As you say, it's a small problem.
Data: Captain, there is nothing in this room to indicate it was used as a military command center. Perhaps a transporter room?
Worf: But the probe was hostile.
Picard: We can't make that assumption. The effect on the Yamato was devastating, but what if it was by accident, not by design? What I'm going to say may sound unscientific, but standing on this soil, breathing in this air, my instincts tell me that we may have got them wrong.
Worf: But we do know that the Iconians were conquerors.
Picard: But that knowledge was passed down by the descendants of those who attacked this world. The victors invariably write the history to their own advantage. There is an unfortunate tendency in many cultures to fear what they do not understand. It's possible that their enemies, confronted with this technology, were driven to attack the Iconians out of fear.
Worf: But the probe was hostile.
Picard: We can't make that assumption. The effect on the Yamato was devastating, but what if it was by accident, not by design? What I'm going to say may sound unscientific, but standing on this soil, breathing in this air, my instincts tell me that we may have got them wrong.
Worf: But we do know that the Iconians were conquerors.
Picard: But that knowledge was passed down by the descendants of those who attacked this world. The victors invariably write the history to their own advantage. There is an unfortunate tendency in many cultures to fear what they do not understand. It's possible that their enemies, confronted with this technology, were driven to attack the Iconians out of fear.
Finn: Yes, I've read your history books. This is a war for independence, and I am no different than your own George Washington.
Crusher: Washington was a military general, not a terrorist.
Finn: The difference between generals and terrorists, Doctor, is only the difference between winners and losers. You win, you're called a general. You lose...
Crusher: You are killing innocent people! Can't you see the immorality of what you're doing, or have you killed so much you've become blind to it?
Crusher: Washington was a military general, not a terrorist.
Finn: The difference between generals and terrorists, Doctor, is only the difference between winners and losers. You win, you're called a general. You lose...
Crusher: You are killing innocent people! Can't you see the immorality of what you're doing, or have you killed so much you've become blind to it?
"There's an ancient Indian saying that something lives only as long as the last person who remembers it. My people have come to trust memory over history. Memory, like fire, is radiant and immutable while history only serves those who seek to control it, those who would douse the flame of memory in order to put out the dangerous fire of truth. Beware these men, for they are dangerous themselves... and unwise. Their false history is written in the blood of those who might remember it and of those who seek the truth."
— Albert Hosteen, The X-Files, "The Blessing Way"
Music
No weak men in the books at home
The strong men who have made the world
History lives in the books at home
The books at home
The strong men who have made the world
History lives in the books at home
The books at home
— Gang of Four, "Not Great Men"
And all these things are swept aside
By bloody hands time can't deny
And are washed away by your genocide
And history hides the lies of our civil wars
By bloody hands time can't deny
And are washed away by your genocide
And history hides the lies of our civil wars
— Guns N' Roses, "Civil War"
Rewrite the book and rule the pages,
Saving face, secured in faith.
Bury, burn the waste behind you.
Saving face, secured in faith.
Bury, burn the waste behind you.
— R.E.M., "Cuyahoga"
Tabletop Games
Victory needs no explanation, defeat admits none.
— Imperial Thought for the Day, Warhammer 40,000
Theatre
Benjamin Franklin: Treason is a charge invented by winners as an excuse for hanging the losers.
John Adams: [scoffs] I have more to do than stand here all day listening to you quote yourself.
Franklin: Oh, John, that was a new one!
John Adams: [scoffs] I have more to do than stand here all day listening to you quote yourself.
Franklin: Oh, John, that was a new one!
— 1776
"Our history is nothing more than what the losers settle for!"
— The Death Eaters in A Very Potter Sequel
Elphaba, where I'm from, we believe all sorts of things that aren't true. We call it "history".
A man's called a traitor — or liberator
A rich man's a thief — or philanthropist
Is one a crusader — or ruthless invader?
It's all in which label
Is able to persist
A man's called a traitor — or liberator
A rich man's a thief — or philanthropist
Is one a crusader — or ruthless invader?
It's all in which label
Is able to persist
Video Games
"Yet there is more to the story, for history is naught but accounts recorded by the victorious."'
— Lord Lester DeRosso, Bravely Default
"This is for the record. History is written by the victor. History is filled with liars. If he lives and we die, his truth becomes written — and ours is lost. Shepherd will be a hero. 'Cause all you need to change the world is one good lie and a river of blood. He's about to complete the greatest trick a liar ever played on history. His truth will be the truth. But only if he lives, and we die."
— Captain Price, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Though its face may change throughout the ages, history is written from the hand of the victor. By your actions this day... you ensure our people a glorious tomorrow.
— Civilization VI, if you win a Domination victory
"He who controls the past, commands the future. He who commands the future, conquers the past."
— Kane, Command & Conquer
"Losers don't matter in the history books. He's a fucking footnote."
— Caesar, Fallout: New Vegas
"The power wrought by Ul'dahn prosperity was that of justice and good, while the power wrought by Sil'dihn knowledge was horrific beyond belief — the power to rip the living soul out of a man and render him a mindless killing machine. On this matter, the histories are clear. But riddle me this, my friend: who writes the histories, and what does this say of the words writ within? Yes, truth can be elusive and fickle as the shifting sands... As one example, did you know that in the war against Sil'dih, Ul'dahn and Amalj'aa warriors fought side by side? Likely, you did not. And neither did I, until I encountered a faded passage in an ancient text buried deep in our archives. And yet, in the histories read by the populace, you will see no mention of this most fascinating fact. Might it be that someone, at some time, deemed this particular truth less than convenient? Hm hm hm...? But I have said enough already..."
— Cocobuki, Final Fantasy XIV, "Sibling Strife"
"The victor shall write the tale, and the vanquished become its villain!"
— Emet-Selch, Final Fantasy XIV
Chrom: That was Arvis... the villain in every Jugdrali saga I've ever heard. ...So why does he come across as so pleasant?
Avatar: History decides heroes and villains on a different basis than reality. Perhaps the stories got Arvis wrong. He did lose out in the end, after all...
Avatar: History decides heroes and villains on a different basis than reality. Perhaps the stories got Arvis wrong. He did lose out in the end, after all...
— Fire Emblem: Awakening, intro dialogue for "Lost Bloodlines 2"
"It's normal for history to be revised in favor of those who hold the power. The documents in this library are no exception. It's perfectly possible for someone to have made edits to them. But it's my belief that no one has the power to blot out the truth entirely. I like to read the same texts over and over again. That way, I can spot some of the truths hidden between the lines..."
— An Imperial scholar, Fire Emblem: Three Houses
"Thank you for coming. I wish to share the results of my research regarding Merga and the water dragon people. At first, what I found merely reaffirmed everything we already knew... That the water dragons turned violent. That Merga was their greatest warrior. That many Shang Tusians died defending themselves from the Parusan scourge. Then I realized that the books I had read were all written by earth dragons and their descendants. I scoured the library for any book that could possibly recount history from a water dragon's perspective. I found it within a handwritten book of flowers and horticulture. There were various annotations by the author describing what was then to her current events. If what she wrote is true, then... I'm so sorry, Lilac. Merga is right to be angry."
— The Royal Magister, Freedom Planet 2
"It is easy to rewrite history when the few who know the truth are unable to make themselves heard."
— Phantom, Last Scenario
"The legends paint the Antarans as ruthless, xenophobic killers, but we all know that history is written by the victors."
— Ectron Victor, Master of Orion
"I'm talking ideals. ...Forget it, we've both heard enough speeches about higher causes by now. History will decide who is right. End of story."
— Samuel "Jetstream" Rodrigues, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
"And he who controls the battlefield, controls history."
— Solid Snake, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
[X] has defeated the Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia in a war.
The traitors will never get to tell their side of the story.
The traitors will never get to tell their side of the story.
— Samara capitulation message, The New Order: Last Days of Europe
Dakh'thoulan Aegis: History is written by the strong and influential.
Player Character: What does that mean?
Dakh'thoulan Aegis: It means we cannot always believe what we are told to believe. You would do well to remember that.
Player Character: What does that mean?
Dakh'thoulan Aegis: It means we cannot always believe what we are told to believe. You would do well to remember that.
"As a young man, I revered historical records and treated them as fact. I followed in the footsteps of Herodotus, and I sought to experience history first-hand, even when it meant taking dangerous leaps through time and space, aided by chemical agents that are, at best, prohibited. I came to realize at last something fundamental: history is interpretation. There's no singular truth. There are no facts. History isn't only written by the victor; it's rewritten by subsequent victors, or losers who come into possession of the victors' texts, or-or-or the mistresses of victors who figured they'd write themselves into history to ensure immortality!"
— Iain Tibet Gladstone, The Secret World
"Those that get in the way are the ones that get called 'villains', while those who win get to be called 'heroes', you know..."
— Pearl, Splatoon 2 (Japanese localization)
"We were all taught of the Darcsen Calamity, and how their actions forever scorched the land. But this account told a different story. The Valkyrur invaded this land from the north, slaying the indigenous Darcsen people as they came. Their grasp of Ragnite technology and the art of war were vastly superior. They trained the destructive power of Ragnite on the Darcsen's land, burned it to ash, then had the gall to pass the blame for their inhuman deeds off on their Darcsen slaves. Darcsens have borne that stigma ever since, while the Valkyrur became godlike saviors. The victors simply rewrote the history books."
— Faldio Landzaat, Valkyria Chronicles
These are the only remaining records that describe the events of the Gerten War. However, history was written by the victor.
— Description for the Gylia Watch Library, Wynncraft
Visual Novels
"Waging war is no sin — losing a war is."
— Walter Gerlitz, Dies Irae
Web Original
There may be folks around here that didn't live through the whole Nitro vs. Raw era and don't understand exactly what happened back then that made this [the hug between Vince McMahon and Eric Bischoff on Raw in 2002] so infuriating. Maybe you're trying to educate yourself to what happened by watching the Monday Night War series on the WWE Network. If that's your plan, let me save you some time and give you that version of the story:
— WWE was doing great except they had a handful of bad characters that served as the basis for WrestleCrap.com
— The Evil Ted Turner bought all of WWE's top stars
— Folks were CONFUSED so they started watching Nitro
— Eventually, D-Generation X came on the scene and attacked WCW which made everyone realize that WCW sucked mainly due to Triple H being such a stud
— Vince then defeated the Evil Ted Turner by buying out the company
I don’t think I missed too much from what I’ve seen so far. It’s sorta infuriating, but hey, the won the war and thus the victors get to tell their version of history.
— WWE was doing great except they had a handful of bad characters that served as the basis for WrestleCrap.com
— The Evil Ted Turner bought all of WWE's top stars
— Folks were CONFUSED so they started watching Nitro
— Eventually, D-Generation X came on the scene and attacked WCW which made everyone realize that WCW sucked mainly due to Triple H being such a stud
— Vince then defeated the Evil Ted Turner by buying out the company
I don’t think I missed too much from what I’ve seen so far. It’s sorta infuriating, but hey, the won the war and thus the victors get to tell their version of history.
Web Videos
"...[The Vikings'] reputation as bloodthirsty wild men of the North is probably exaggerated. You gotta remember that history is shaped by those who wrote it, and all of those like bloodthirsty men of the North narratives were written by like victims of Viking raids. So history isn't always written by the winners, but when it's written by the losers, they're really bitter about the winners."
— John Green, Crash Course, "The Vikings!"
"21 engagements! That's a lot of potential war crime trials, which is why we have to win."
"Y'know, they say history is written by the winners, but I can't help but notice [Tommy] over there writing."
Western Animation
"History is a procession of victories by the strong over the weak. It is not that the weak never win, but only that, in winning, they become the strong. In winning they control the writing of history. So, they were always strong. History is strength."
— Trevor Goodchild, Æon Flux
"Now remember, class, please take this new history book with a grain of salt, since it focuses primarily on the history of white Western males."
— Miss Grotke, Recess
Bo-Katan: You're all traitors.
Maul: Unfortunately for you, history will not see it that way. Execute them!
Maul: Unfortunately for you, history will not see it that way. Execute them!
Real Life
The first casualty in war is always the truth.
— Attributed to many, likely Aeschylus (perhaps he was the winner?)
(perhaps he was the winner?)The important thing is that the glory of the winners' ascendant fortune gives everything of theirs — even their dress, their gait, their conversation — a radiance that makes them desirable. And people do not merely adopt them, but are proud to adopt them. Then they bring forth, by means of intellectual arguments, many benefits of this.
— Muḥammad Ḥusain Āzād, quoted in Nets of Awareness: Urdu Poetry and Its Critics by Frances Pritchett, reflecting on the triumph of The British Empire
...in Samuel Eliot Morison's history of Columbus — you know, big Harvard historian — he talks about what a great man Columbus was, terrific person and so on, and then he has this little line saying, of course Columbus did set off a program of what he calls "complete genocide," and he was a major mass-murder himself, but that was only a minor flaw, he was really a terrific seaman, this and that and the other thing.
— Noam Chomsky, Understanding Power
For my part, I consider that it will be found much better by all Parties to leave the past to history, especially as I propose to write that history myself.
— Winston Churchill, Speech in the House of Commons (January 23, 1948)
We will go down in history either as the world's greatest statesmen or its worst villains.
Treason doth never prosper, what's the reason? Why, if it prosper, none dare call it treason.
— Sir John Harrington
It is not truth that matters, but victory.
If you win, you need not have to explain. If you lose, you should not be there to explain!
Killing Japanese didn't bother me very much at that time... I suppose if I had lost the war, I would have been tried as a war criminal... Every soldier thinks something of the moral aspects of what he is doing. But all war is immoral and if you let that bother you, you're not a good soldier.
— Curtis LeMay
I do not believe that the Roman lower classes deserve the vituperation they have received from Roman (and Greek) writers, especially Cicero, from whom so much of our historical tradition about Late Republican political life derives. If indeed they were to some extent demoralised and depraved, it was largely because the oligarchy had made it impossible for them to be anything else, and perhaps preferred them to be so, as our ancestors preferred to keep the English labouring classes ignorant and uneducated and without a voice in the government until well on in the nineteenth century. What chance did the humble Roman have of acquiring a sense of political responsibility? The unfortunate thing is that we can virtually never feel we are seeing things as they really were: our sources normally present us with a mere stock caricature.
— G. E. M. de Ste. Croix, The Class Struggle in the Ancient Greek World.
History would be something extraordinary, if only it were true.
Nations are not communities and never have been. The history of any country, presented as the history of a family, conceals the fierce conflicts of interest (sometimes exploding, often repressed) between conquerors and conquered, masters and slaves, capitalists and workers, dominators and dominated in race and sex. And in such a world of conflict, a world of victims and executioners, it is the job of thinking people, as Albert Camus suggested, not to be on the side of the executioners.
— Howard Zinn, A People's History of the United States
Until lions have their historians, tales of the hunt shall always glorify the hunter.
— African proverb
Dos fracos não reza a história.
History does not speak of the weak.
History does not speak of the weak.
— Portuguese proverb
History is a set of lies agreed upon.
Clio, the muse of history, is as thoroughly infected with lies as a street whore with syphilis.
— Arthur Schopenhauer, Parerga and Paralipomena II, §233
"Those who commit the murders write the reports."
— Ida B. Wells
