Written by the Winners/Quotes

"Of course history will be kind to me, for I intend to write it."

—Winston Churchill (Newsflash: he did. Literally.)

"The victor will never be asked if he told the truth."

—Adolf Hitler

"He who controls the past, controls the future; he who controls the present, controls the past."

—1984

"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. Because 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

"Half of history is hiding the truth."

—Malcolm Reynolds, Serenity

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

—The Wizard of Oz, Wicked

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 episode "The Blessing Way"

"Treason doth never prosper, what's the reason? Why, if it prosper, none dare call it treason."

—Sir John Harrington

"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

"Historians in England will say I am a liar, but history is written by those who have hanged heroes."

—Robert the Bruce, Braveheart

"Our history is nothing more than what the losers settle for!"

—The Death Eaters in A Very Potter Sequel

"It is easy to rewrite history when the few who know the truth are unable to make themselves heard."

—Phantom, Last Scenario

There are no self-proclaimed villains, only regiments of self-proclaimed saints. Victorious historians rule where good or evil lies.
We abjure labels. We fight for money and an indefinable pride. The politics, the ethics, the moralities, are irrelevant.

—Black Company