--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There are so many who know more than I…" description: "\"There are so many who know more than I do, who understand the world better than I do. I would be truly learned, a great scholar, if only I could retain..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/caa/elie-wiesel-341_dictionary_there-are-so-many-who-know-more-than-i-d_3210499.png" --- # There are so many who know more than I do, who understand… ![“There are so many who know more than I do, who understand the world better than I do. I would be truly learned, a great scholar, if only I could retain everything I've learned from those I have known. But then would I still be me? And isn't all that only words? Words grow old, too; they change…” quote by Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/caa/elie-wiesel-341_dictionary_there-are-so-many-who-know-more-than-i-d_3210499.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/caa/elie-wiesel-341_dictionary_there-are-so-many-who-know-more-than-i-d_3210499.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/caa/elie-wiesel-341_dictionary_there-are-so-many-who-know-more-than-i-d_3210499.png) > “There are so many who know more than I do, who understand the world better than I do. I would be truly learned, a great scholar, if only I could retain everything I've learned from those I have known. But then would I still be me? And isn't all that only words? Words grow old, too; they change their meaning and their usage. They get sick just as we do; they die of their wounds and then they are relegated to the dust of dictionaries. And where am I in all this?” [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quest for total knowledge raises questions about identity and the fluidity of language. **In simple terms:** Too much knowledge may blur self. Key Takeaway Value learning but maintain personal identity. Themes knowledge identity language change epistemology self‑concept Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - academic study - personal growth - teaching Key Concepts philosophy psychology linguistics Questions to Reflect On - What defines you beyond what you know? - How do words change your perception of reality? A Different Perspective Excessive information can overwhelm and dilute meaning. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dictionary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dictionary/) [Grow Old](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grow-old/) [Scholar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scholar/) [Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [Wounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wounds/) ## Related quotes > [“All round me are words, and words and words, They grow on me like leaves, they never Seem to stop their slow growing From…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamala-suraiyya-das/all-round-me-are-words-and-words-and-words-they-grow-on-me-like/) Kamala Suraiyya Das > [“Words are like seeds, I think, planted into our hearts at a tender age. They take root in us as we grow, settling deep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahereh-mafi/words-are-like-seeds-i-think-planted-into-our-hearts-at-a-tender-age-2/) [Tahereh Mafi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahereh-mafi/) > [“Unwritten words grow out of silence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/unwritten-words-grow-out-of-silence/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) > [“So that you will hear me my words sometimes grow thin as the tracks of the gulls on the beaches. Necklace, drunken bell for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/so-that-you-will-hear-me-my-words-sometimes-grow-thin-as-the-tracks/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [“I see you, flawed and humble and road weary and proud and still in spite of the deep ache, somehow sure you’ve done all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-leblanc/i-see-you-flawed-and-humble-and-road-weary-and-proud-and-still-in/) [Jeanette LeBlanc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-leblanc/) > [People are under the impression that dictionaries legislate language. What a dictionary does is keep track of usages over time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/people-are-under-the-impression-that-dictionaries-legislate-language/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [And let a scholar all earth's volumes carry, he will be but a walking dictionary: a mere articulate clock.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-chapman/and-let-a-scholar-all-earth-s-volumes-carry-he-will-be-but-a-walking/) [George Chapman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-chapman/) > [I'm basically a poetry scholar, and I'm happier here in my studio with my row of Chinese dictionaries than I am, frankly, at Lincoln…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-hamill/i-m-basically-a-poetry-scholar-and-i-m-happier-here-in-my-studio-with/) [Sam Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-hamill/) > [You know, words have strange destiny, too. They grow. They get old. They die. They come back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/you-know-words-have-strange-destiny-too-they-grow-they-get-old-they/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [What of the Exodus? That too, is a wonderful story, but from the viewpoint of an historian, it is - to use a word…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/what-of-the-exodus-that-too-is-a-wonderful-story-but-from-the/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [Where can I find a man who has forgotten words, so I can have a few words with him?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhuangzi/where-can-i-find-a-man-who-has-forgotten-words-so-i-can-have-a-few/) [Zhuangzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhuangzi/) > [“not just words, but words that carry the force of the state.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-p-trachtman/not-just-words-but-words-that-carry-the-force-of-the-state/) [Joel P. Trachtman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-p-trachtman/) > [I find my voice and manage to say those three one-syllable words back to him. 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One less reason to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/one-more-stab-to-the-heart-one-more-reason-to-hate-one-less-reason-to/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [“What all these victims need above all is to know that they are not alone; that we are not forgetting them, that when their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/what-all-these-victims-need-above-all-is-to-know-that-they-are-not/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [I feel that books, just like people, have a destiny. Some invite sorrow, others joy, some both.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/i-feel-that-books-just-like-people-have-a-destiny-some-invite-sorrow/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [ \[Chinese\] are a huge empire now, you'll soon be - in a few years two billion people in the world. So, you should be… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/chinese-are-a-huge-empire-now-you-ll-soon-be-in-a-few-years-two/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [Did I write it so as not to go mad or, on the contrary, to go mad in order to understand the nature of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/did-i-write-it-so-as-not-to-go-mad-or-on-the-contrary-to-go-mad-in/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [Take the story of Cain and Abel. Why were we given that story? Scientifically, you may have an explanation for it, but I'm not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/take-the-story-of-cain-and-abel-why-were-we-given-that-story/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [Mankind must remember that peace is not God's gift to his creatures; peace is our gift to each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/mankind-must-remember-that-peace-is-not-god-s-gift-to-his-creatures/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [The world? The world is not interested in us. Today, everything is possible, even the crematoria...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/the-world-the-world-is-not-interested-in-us-today-everything-is/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [every question possessed a power that was lost in the answer . . .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/every-question-possessed-a-power-that-was-lost-in-the-answer/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [I think this century more than any other really has seen the phenomenon of people being uprooted in such numbers, such a degree. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/i-think-this-century-more-than-any-other-really-has-seen-the/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [His cold eyes stared at me. At last, he said wearily: "I have more faith in Hitler than in anyone else. He alone has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/his-cold-eyes-stared-at-me-at-last-he-said-wearily-i-have-more-faith/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [As you know, I describe Shirat ha-Yam as part of an epic story that has qualities of history and which also has qualities of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/as-you-know-i-describe-shirat-ha-yam-as-part-of-an-epic-story-that/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [Every Jew, somewhere in his being, should set apart a zone of hate -healthy virile hate- for what the German personifies and for what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/every-jew-somewhere-in-his-being-should-set-apart-a-zone-of-hate/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [“Did hope help us to survive, or not? Too many families clung to it all through the war, thus falling into the enemy's trap.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/did-hope-help-us-to-survive-or-not-too-many-families-clung-to-it-all/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) [Explore all 662 Elie Wiesel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) ## More Dictionary quotes > [There is no such word as item girl in the dictionary. People have created this word and I don't believe that I am an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shefali-zariwala/there-is-no-such-word-as-item-girl-in-the-dictionary-people-have/) [Shefali Zariwala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shefali-zariwala/) > [“I hereby propose the term “miserize”, as a verb for misery – referring to “to cause misery”.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/i-hereby-propose-the-term-miserize-as-a-verb-for-misery-referring-to/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [The only place where compensation comes before service is in the dictionary or anywhere the government meddles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orrin-woodward/the-only-place-where-compensation-comes-before-service-is-in-the/) [Orrin Woodward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orrin-woodward/) > [What's a depression? The dictionary says a depression is a dent. And what's a dent? Everybody knows a dent is a hole. 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Everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/everybody-talks-about-being-a-role-model-but-if-you-look-up-the-word/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [“We have control on every word of the dictionary except for the 2:; "Death" and "Heart”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikita-tak/we-have-control-on-every-word-of-the-dictionary-except-for-the-2/) [Nikita Tak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikita-tak/) > [Weird itself, even in the dictionary, is just something that is different and unexplainable. A weirdo is someone who follows their heart. Im definitely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kid-cudi/weird-itself-even-in-the-dictionary-is-just-something-that-is/) [Kid Cudi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kid-cudi/) > [I'm not sure what to call 'Lego Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary.' Nonfiction? Movie/toy fiction? But it is any Lego/'Star Wars' kid's dream. 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