--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I insist on knowing the names, on being…" description: "\"I insist on knowing the names, on being interested only in books left ajar, like doors; I will not go looking for keys.\" — Andre Breton" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/468/andr-breton-2478_book_i-insist-on-knowing-the-names-on-being-i_3071364.jpg" --- # I insist on knowing the names, on being interested only in… ![“I insist on knowing the names, on being interested only in books left ajar, like doors; I will not go looking for keys.” quote by Andre Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/468/andr-breton-2478_book_i-insist-on-knowing-the-names-on-being-i_3071364.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/468/andr-breton-2478_book_i-insist-on-knowing-the-names-on-being-i_3071364.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/468/andr-breton-2478_book_i-insist-on-knowing-the-names-on-being-i_3071364.jpg) > “I insist on knowing the names, on being interested only in books left ajar, like doors; I will not go looking for keys.” [Andre Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He values curiosity and the unknown, preferring to explore possibilities without seeking definitive answers. **In simple terms:** He likes mysteries, not solutions. Key Takeaway Stay curious, avoid forcing conclusions. Themes curiosity uncertainty exploration Mood thoughtful introspective Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - reading experimental works - artistic brainstorming - research without bias Key Concepts surrealism philosophy literature Questions to Reflect On - What doors remain unopened by fear? - How can you balance curiosity with action? A Different Perspective Over‑analysis can stall progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Books Left](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books-left-1657691/) [Doors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doors/) [Doors Looking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doors-looking-5196511/) [Insist Knowing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insist-knowing-4362515/) [Keys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/keys/) [Knowing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowing/) [Like Doors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-doors-1663666/) [Looking Keys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looking-keys-2178891/) [Names](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/names/) ## Related quotes > [In looking for the keys of paradise, a pope may stoop a little; having found them, he should rise again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-sixtus-v/in-looking-for-the-keys-of-paradise-a-pope-may-stoop-a-little-having/) [Pope Sixtus V](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-sixtus-v/) > [I wish I could remember where I put things. 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No generation which proceeded us knew what was going on, and there is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-an-intelligent-species-caught-in-an-historical-process-no/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Real education must ultimately be limited to men who insist on knowing, the rest is mere sheep-herding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/real-education-must-ultimately-be-limited-to-men-who-insist-on/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [“People are always breaking through, like in the Doors song 'Break on Through (To the Other Side)'. But I really had. I had broken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-july/people-are-always-breaking-through-like-in-the-doors-song-break-on/) [Miranda July](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-july/) > [Girls really like for doors to be opened for them. Guys should really remember that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/genesis-rodriguez/girls-really-like-for-doors-to-be-opened-for-them-guys-should-really/) [Genesis Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/genesis-rodriguez/) > [Whores are like doors with no locks, anyone could cum in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bethanyharr/whores-are-like-doors-with-no-locks-anyone-could-cum-in/) [Bethanyharr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bethanyharr/) > [Our sound is nothing like the Doors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gord-downie/our-sound-is-nothing-like-the-doors/) [Gord Downie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gord-downie/) > [“(...)books, pocket-size jewels, open up like doors to worlds you never knew existed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-d-alfonso/books-pocket-size-jewels-open-up-like-doors-to-worlds-you-never-knew/) [Antonio D'alfonso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-d-alfonso/) > [All of us can think of a book... that we hope none of our children or any other children have taken off the shelf.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-paterson/all-of-us-can-think-of-a-book-that-we-hope-none-of-our-children-or/) [Katherine Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-paterson/) > [When I think of all the books still left for me to read, I am certain of further happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-renard/when-i-think-of-all-the-books-still-left-for-me-to-read-i-am-certain/) [Jules Renard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-renard/) > [“I'm not courting death; I've far too many books left to read.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-sinclair/i-m-not-courting-death-i-ve-far-too-many-books-left-to-read/) [Alison Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-sinclair/) > [“I suspect that the real attraction was a large library of fine books, which was left to dust and spiders since Uncle March died.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/i-suspect-that-the-real-attraction-was-a-large-library-of-fine-books/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [When I get a little money I buy books; and if any is left I buy food and clothes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desiderius-erasmus/when-i-get-a-little-money-i-buy-books-and-if-any-is-left-i-buy-food/) [Desiderius Erasmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desiderius-erasmus/) ## More by Andre Breton > [Of all the arts in which the wise excel, nature's chief masterpiece is writing well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/of-all-the-arts-in-which-the-wise-excel-nature-s-chief-masterpiece-is/) [Andre Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/) > [Under his (Marc Chagall, ed.) sole impulse metaphor made its triumphal entry into modern painting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/under-his-marc-chagall-ed-sole-impulse-metaphor-made-its-triumphal/) [Andre Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/) > [Psychic automatism in its pure state, by which one proposes to express -- verbally, by means of the written word, or in any other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/psychic-automatism-in-its-pure-state-by-which-one-proposes-to-express/) [Andre Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/) > [The art of Frida Kahlo is a ribbon around a bomb.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/the-art-of-frida-kahlo-is-a-ribbon-around-a-bomb/) [Andre Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/) > [“Let us not mince words: The marvelous is always beautiful, anything marvelous is beauitful, in fact only the marvelous is beautiful”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/let-us-not-mince-words-the-marvelous-is-always-beautiful-anything/) [Andre Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/) > [“There has never been any forbidden fruit. 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Like this (she closes her eyes): Two, two what?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/a-game-say-something-close-your-eyes-and-say-something-anything-a/) [Andre Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/) > [...with the end of my breath, which is the beginning of yours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/with-the-end-of-my-breath-which-is-the-beginning-of-yours/) [Andre Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/) > [Past and future monopolize the poet’s sensory and intellectual faculties, detached from the immediate spectacle. These two philtres become utterly clear the moment one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/past-and-future-monopolize-the-poet-s-sensory-and-intellectual/) [Andre Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/) > [If I place love above everything, it is because for me it is the most desperate, the most despairing state of affairs imaginable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/if-i-place-love-above-everything-it-is-because-for-me-it-is-the-most/) [Andre Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/) > [I am the soul in limbo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/i-am-the-soul-in-limbo/) [Andre Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/) > [Surrealism will usher you into death, which is a secret society. It will glove your hand, burying therein the profound M with which the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/surrealism-will-usher-you-into-death-which-is-a-secret-society-it/) [Andre Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/) [Explore all 141 Andre Breton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/) ## More Book quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! 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I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [There are great books in this world and great worlds in books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/there-are-great-books-in-this-world-and-great-worlds-in-books/) [Anne Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [The purpose of this book is to supply, in the form suitable for laymen, guidance in the adoption and execution of an investment policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-purpose-of-this-book-is-to-supply-in-the-form-suitable-for-laymen/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) > [But I think that of all the literature that I studied, the book that did more than any other to fire my enthusiasm was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/but-i-think-that-of-all-the-literature-that-i-studied-the-book-that/) [Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/) > [It's amazing to see things that are suggested in the book fully developed and so brilliantly realized through the artistry of the designers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/it-s-amazing-to-see-things-that-are-suggested-in-the-book-fully/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“But I’ve developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/but-i-ve-developed-a-great-reputation-for-wisdom-by-ordering-more/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) [Browse all 29,378 Book quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I insist on knowing the names, on being interested only in books left ajar, like doors; I will not go looking for keys.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Andre Breton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/i-insist-on-knowing-the-names-on-being-interested-only-in-books-left/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Book" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/i-insist-on-knowing-the-names-on-being-interested-only-in-books-left/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/468/andr-breton-2478_book_i-insist-on-knowing-the-names-on-being-i_3071364.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/468/andr-breton-2478_book_i-insist-on-knowing-the-names-on-being-i_3071364.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/468/andr-breton-2478_book_i-insist-on-knowing-the-names-on-being-i_3071364.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I insist on knowing the names, on being interested only in books left ajar, like doors; I will not go…” — Andre Breton", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Andre Breton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I insist on knowing the names,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/i-insist-on-knowing-the-names-on-being-interested-only-in-books-left/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/i-insist-on-knowing-the-names-on-being-interested-only-in-books-left/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```