---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: many things I knew, I have forgotten…"
description: "\"many things I knew, I have forgotten; many things I thought I knew, I find I know nothing about; some things I know, I have found not worth knowing; an..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/deb/anna-letitia-barbauld-16166_forgotten_many-things-i-knew-i-have-forgotten-many_1754566.png"
---

#  many things I knew, I have forgotten; many things I…

![“many things I knew, I have forgotten; many things I thought I knew, I find I know nothing about; some things I know, I have found not worth knowing; and some things I would give - O what would one not give to know? are beyond the reach of human ken.” quote by Anna Letitia Barbauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/deb/anna-letitia-barbauld-16166_forgotten_many-things-i-knew-i-have-forgotten-many_1754566.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/deb/anna-letitia-barbauld-16166_forgotten_many-things-i-knew-i-have-forgotten-many_1754566.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/deb/anna-letitia-barbauld-16166_forgotten_many-things-i-knew-i-have-forgotten-many_1754566.png)

> “many things I knew, I have forgotten; many things I thought I knew, I find I know nothing about; some things I know, I have found not worth knowing; and some things I would give - O what would one not give to know? are beyond the reach of human ken.”

[Anna Letitia Barbauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-letitia-barbauld/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Human knowledge is limited; we forget, misjudge, and recognize the value of some truths while others remain elusive.

**In simple terms:** We forget, misjudge, and, some truths

Themes

Accept uncertainty and focus on what truly matters.

Mood

reflective thoughtful

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- epistemology
- self-awareness

Key Concepts

knowledge humility learning

Practical Applications

- education
- personal growth
- research
- decision making

Questions to Reflect On

- What truths are worth pursuing?
- How do we handle what we cannot know?

A Different Perspective

Knowledge is finite; we cannot grasp everything.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Forgotten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forgotten/) [Forgotten things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forgotten-things/) [Found](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/found/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Knew Forgotten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knew-forgotten-830476/) [Know Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-things/) [Knowing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowing/) [Knowing things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowing-things/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/)

## Related quotes

> [The ancients knew something, which we seem to have forgotten.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/the-ancients-knew-something-which-we-seem-to-have-forgotten/)

[Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/)

> [The moment I unloved him was merely when I discovered that he had ceased to notice me. Because I knew he had forgotten me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-bokhari/the-moment-i-unloved-him-was-merely-when-i-discovered-that-he-had/)

[Sara Bokhari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-bokhari/)

> [“What we need is a nuke. - Ash I knew I'd forgotten something. - Parvati”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarwat-chadda/what-we-need-is-a-nuke-ash-i-knew-i-d-forgotten-something-parvati/)

[Sarwat Chadda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarwat-chadda/)

> [“Knowing what things are not is often as important as knowing what they are.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-e-feist/knowing-what-things-are-not-is-often-as-important-as-knowing-what/)

[Raymond E. Feist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-e-feist/)

> [So you used to know everything?" She wrinkled her nose. "Everybody did. I told you. It's nothing special, knowing how things work. And you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/so-you-used-to-know-everything-she-wrinkled-her-nose-everybody-did-i/)

[Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/)

> [Some things are not supposed to be forgotten; these are the things which make us human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/some-things-are-not-supposed-to-be-forgotten-these-are-the-things/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [If you would not be forgotten, do things worth remembering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/if-you-would-not-be-forgotten-do-things-worth-remembering/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [You must go in quest of yourself, and you will find yourself again only in the simple and forgotten things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/you-must-go-in-quest-of-yourself-and-you-will-find-yourself-again/)

[Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/)

> [“It is important, I feel, that these things are set down somewhere. I would not wish these things to be forgotten. These things were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holger-eckhertz/it-is-important-i-feel-that-these-things-are-set-down-somewhere-i/)

[Holger Eckhertz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holger-eckhertz/)

> [“Some forgotten things in the bottom of the fire again The worst black sheep? The sun The best black sheep? The dark side of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-wamba/some-forgotten-things-in-the-bottom-of-the-fire-again-the-worst-black/)

[Daniel Wamba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-wamba/)

> [“This is the way of long and empty roads: nearly forgotten things surface and singing voices improve.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hay/this-is-the-way-of-long-and-empty-roads-nearly-forgotten-things/)

[Elizabeth Hay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hay/)

> [“When I was little, my brother drew an image for me on the train ride home from the academy. It was a map of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-destefano/when-i-was-little-my-brother-drew-an-image-for-me-on-the-train-ride/)

[Lauren DeStefano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-destefano/)

> [“There are things that can be forgotten. And things that cannot - that sit on dusty shelves like stuffed birds with baleful, sideways staring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/there-are-things-that-can-be-forgotten-and-things-that-cannot-that/)

[Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/)

> [Dreams are but interludes that fancy makes... Sometimes forgotten things, long cast behind Rush forward in the brain, and come to mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/dreams-are-but-interludes-that-fancy-makes-sometimes-forgotten-things/)

[John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/)

> [“Tambolia is where dreams live and forgotten things go. It is also, where socks, pins and keys go unless you are paying particularly close…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasha-marshall/tambolia-is-where-dreams-live-and-forgotten-things-go-it-is-also/)

[Yasha Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasha-marshall/)

## More by Anna Letitia Barbauld

> [The best way for women to acquire knowledge is from conversation with a father, a brother, or a friend, in the way of family…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-letitia-barbauld/the-best-way-for-women-to-acquire-knowledge-is-from-conversation-with/)

[Anna Letitia Barbauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-letitia-barbauld/)

> [if an author would have us feel a strong degree of compassion, his characters must not be too perfect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-letitia-barbauld/if-an-author-would-have-us-feel-a-strong-degree-of-compassion-his/)

[Anna Letitia Barbauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-letitia-barbauld/)

> [Society than solitude is worse, And man to man is still the greatest curse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-letitia-barbauld/society-than-solitude-is-worse-and-man-to-man-is-still-the-greatest/)

[Anna Letitia Barbauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-letitia-barbauld/)

> [Children have almost an intuitive discernment between the maxims you bring forward for their use, and those by which you direct your own conduct.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-letitia-barbauld/children-have-almost-an-intuitive-discernment-between-the-maxims-you/)

[Anna Letitia Barbauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-letitia-barbauld/)

> [It is to hope, though hope were lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-letitia-barbauld/it-is-to-hope-though-hope-were-lost/)

[Anna Letitia Barbauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-letitia-barbauld/)

> [we should contract our ideas of education, and expect no more from it than it is able to perform.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-letitia-barbauld/we-should-contract-our-ideas-of-education-and-expect-no-more-from-it/)

[Anna Letitia Barbauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-letitia-barbauld/)

> [it is, in truth, the most absurd of all suppositions, that a human being can be educated, or even nourished and brought up, without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-letitia-barbauld/it-is-in-truth-the-most-absurd-of-all-suppositions-that-a-human-being/)

[Anna Letitia Barbauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-letitia-barbauld/)

> [And when midst fallen London, they survey The stone where Alexander's ashes lay, Shall own with humbled pride the lesson must By Time's slow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-letitia-barbauld/and-when-midst-fallen-london-they-survey-the-stone-where-alexander-s/)

[Anna Letitia Barbauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-letitia-barbauld/)

> [So fades a summer cloud away; So sinks the gale when storms are o'er; So gently shuts the eye of day; So dies a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-letitia-barbauld/so-fades-a-summer-cloud-away-so-sinks-the-gale-when-storms-are-o-er/)

[Anna Letitia Barbauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-letitia-barbauld/)

> [The well taught philosophic mind To all compassion gives; Casts round the world an equal eye, And feels for all that lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-letitia-barbauld/the-well-taught-philosophic-mind-to-all-compassion-gives-casts-round/)

[Anna Letitia Barbauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-letitia-barbauld/)

> [Eternity.Thy name Or glad, or fearful, we pronounce, as thoughts Wandering in darkness shape thee. Thou strange being, Which art and must be, yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-letitia-barbauld/eternity-thy-name-or-glad-or-fearful-we-pronounce-as-thoughts/)

[Anna Letitia Barbauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-letitia-barbauld/)

> [Let us confess a truth, humiliating to human pride; - a very small part only of the opinions of the coolest philosopher are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-letitia-barbauld/let-us-confess-a-truth-humiliating-to-human-pride-a-very-small-part/)

[Anna Letitia Barbauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-letitia-barbauld/)

> [The world has little to bestow Where two fond hearts in equal love are joined.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-letitia-barbauld/the-world-has-little-to-bestow-where-two-fond-hearts-in-equal-love/)

[Anna Letitia Barbauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-letitia-barbauld/)

> [Man is the nobler growth our realms supply, And souls are ripened in our northern sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-letitia-barbauld/man-is-the-nobler-growth-our-realms-supply-and-souls-are-ripened-in/)

[Anna Letitia Barbauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-letitia-barbauld/)

> [We neither laugh alone, nor weep alone, why then should we pray alone?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-letitia-barbauld/we-neither-laugh-alone-nor-weep-alone-why-then-should-we-pray-alone/)

[Anna Letitia Barbauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-letitia-barbauld/)

[Explore all 40 Anna Letitia Barbauld quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-letitia-barbauld/)

## More Forgotten quotes

> [While the 1963 Birmingham church bombing is the most historic, there also was a series of church burnings in the 1990s. Recognition of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthea-butler/while-the-1963-birmingham-church-bombing-is-the-most-historic-there/)

[Anthea Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthea-butler/)

> [Family means no one gets left behind or forgotten.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogden-stiers/family-means-no-one-gets-left-behind-or-forgotten/)

[David Ogden Stiers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogden-stiers/)

> [I was just going to say something, but I forgot when I started looking at you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-was-just-going-to-say-something-but-i-forgot-when-i-started-looking/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Black women's intersectional experiences of racism and sexism have been a central but forgotten dynamic in the unfolding of feminist and antiracist agendas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberle-williams-crenshaw/black-women-s-intersectional-experiences-of-racism-and-sexism-have/)

[Kimberle Williams Crenshaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberle-williams-crenshaw/)

> [I mean, sitcoms shouldn't be doing 'Saturday Night Live.' You can't just do bit after bit after bit. You have to string it together…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-dewitt/i-mean-sitcoms-shouldn-t-be-doing-saturday-night-live-you-can-t-just/)

[Joyce DeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-dewitt/)

> [People paid money for tickets to see us and be entertained by us, and we've never forgotten that. Anything after that was a bonus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-young/people-paid-money-for-tickets-to-see-us-and-be-entertained-by-us-and/)

[Malcolm Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-young/)

> [“Forgotten hero was never the real hero, real hero can not be forgotten.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/forgotten-hero-was-never-the-real-hero-real-hero-can-not-be-forgotten/)

[Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/)

> [We began as mineral. We emerged into plant life, and into the animal state, and then into being human, and always we have forgotten…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/we-began-as-mineral-we-emerged-into-plant-life-and-into-the-animal/)

[Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/)

> [It's the frames which make some things important and some things forgotten. It's all only frames from which the content rises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-babitz/it-s-the-frames-which-make-some-things-important-and-some-things/)

[Eve Babitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-babitz/)

> [Our public officials have forgotten that they are ultimately accountable to the people who put them in office, that the information they keep in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoko-ono/our-public-officials-have-forgotten-that-they-are-ultimately/)

[Yoko Ono](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoko-ono/)

> [I have never forgotten a picture that I ever made.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-bourke-white/i-have-never-forgotten-a-picture-that-i-ever-made/)

[Margaret Bourke-White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-bourke-white/)

> [I had forgotten that talking to you is like trying to pet a cactus." Saiman said dryly. "Thank you for reminding me." "Always happy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilona-andrews/i-had-forgotten-that-talking-to-you-is-like-trying-to-pet-a-cactus/)

[Ilona Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilona-andrews/)

> [Im afraid of being forgotten. Because, it seems everyone I get close to, ends up forgetting me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arcine-arciniegas/im-afraid-of-being-forgotten-because-it-seems-everyone-i-get-close-to/)

[Arcine Arciniegas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arcine-arciniegas/)

> [A lover asked his beloved, Do you love yourself more than you love me? Beloved replied, I have died to myself and I live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-lover-asked-his-beloved-do-you-love-yourself-more-than-you-love-me/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“I had forgotten how wonderful it is to stand on a bridge and catch the scent of rain in the air. I had forgotten…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-steinbach/i-had-forgotten-how-wonderful-it-is-to-stand-on-a-bridge-and-catch/)

[Alice Steinbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-steinbach/)

[Browse all 2,870 Forgotten quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forgotten/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "many things I knew, I have forgotten; many things I thought I knew, I find I know nothing about; some things I know, I have found not worth knowing; and some things I would give - O what would one not give to know? are beyond the reach of human ken.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Anna Letitia Barbauld"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-letitia-barbauld/many-things-i-knew-i-have-forgotten-many-things-i-thought-i-knew-i/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Forgotten"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-letitia-barbauld/many-things-i-knew-i-have-forgotten-many-things-i-thought-i-knew-i/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/deb/anna-letitia-barbauld-16166_forgotten_many-things-i-knew-i-have-forgotten-many_1754566.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/deb/anna-letitia-barbauld-16166_forgotten_many-things-i-knew-i-have-forgotten-many_1754566.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/deb/anna-letitia-barbauld-16166_forgotten_many-things-i-knew-i-have-forgotten-many_1754566.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“many things I knew, I have forgotten; many things I thought I knew, I find I know nothing about; some things…” — Anna Letitia Barbauld",
                "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": "Anna Letitia Barbauld",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-letitia-barbauld/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "many things I knew, I have...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-letitia-barbauld/many-things-i-knew-i-have-forgotten-many-things-i-thought-i-knew-i/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-letitia-barbauld/many-things-i-knew-i-have-forgotten-many-things-i-thought-i-knew-i/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
