---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He had always known what I did not know…"
description: "\"He had always known what I did not know and what, when I learned it, I was always able to forget. But I did not know that then, although I learned it l..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/204/ernest-hemingway-83_able_he-had-always-known-what-i-did-not-know_1244234.jpg"
---

#  He had always known what I did not know and what, when I…

![“He had always known what I did not know and what, when I learned it, I was always able to forget. But I did not know that then, although I learned it later.” quote by Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/204/ernest-hemingway-83_able_he-had-always-known-what-i-did-not-know_1244234.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/204/ernest-hemingway-83_able_he-had-always-known-what-i-did-not-know_1244234.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/204/ernest-hemingway-83_able_he-had-always-known-what-i-did-not-know_1244234.jpg)

> “He had always known what I did not know and what, when I learned it, I was always able to forget. But I did not know that then, although I learned it later.”

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

## About This Quote

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

Knowledge can be both a gift and a burden; learning often leads to forgetting what once seemed essential.

**In simple terms:** Learning can make you forget earlier insights.

Key Takeaway

Embrace learning, but stay aware of what you might lose.

Themes

knowledge learning memory humility

Mood

reflective thoughtful

Type

philosophical literary

When to use this quote

- education
- personal growth
- relationships
- career development

Key Concepts

epistemology forgetting paradox

Questions to Reflect On

- What have you forgotten that could be valuable?
- How do you balance new knowledge with old wisdom?

A Different Perspective

Learning may cause loss of previous insights, creating uncertainty.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/)

## Related quotes

> [It's one thing for a man not to know, not to have learned; it's another not to be able to live by what one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-malamud/it-s-one-thing-for-a-man-not-to-know-not-to-have-learned-it-s-another/)

[Bernard Malamud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-malamud/)

> [Everything I know, I learned from dogs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/everything-i-know-i-learned-from-dogs/)

[Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/)

> [Those who know are not learned. Those who are learned do not know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/those-who-know-are-not-learned-those-who-are-learned-do-not-know/)

[Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/)

> [All I ever needed to know I learned in kindergarten. Share everything ... Don't hit people ... Clean up your own mess ...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fulghum/all-i-ever-needed-to-know-i-learned-in-kindergarten-share-everything/)

[Robert Fulghum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fulghum/)

> [It was a sad thing. I don't know how he learned that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-sands/it-was-a-sad-thing-i-don-t-know-how-he-learned-that/)

[Julian Sands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-sands/)

> [When you are in high school, you don't give much thought to what you can't do. For most people, that gets learned later, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-goff/when-you-are-in-high-school-you-don-t-give-much-thought-to-what-you/)

[Bob Goff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-goff/)

> [I learned later, just as a footnote, that the World Assembly of Youth was a CIA front.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-lewis/i-learned-later-just-as-a-footnote-that-the-world-assembly-of-youth/)

[Stephen Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-lewis/)

> [Little did I know that the sport I loved and the skills I learned would later play a role in my relationship with God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-dempsey/little-did-i-know-that-the-sport-i-loved-and-the-skills-i-learned/)

[Clint Dempsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-dempsey/)

> [“I learned much later to worship her, just as I learned to delight in cleanliness, knowing, even as I learned, that the change was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/i-learned-much-later-to-worship-her-just-as-i-learned-to-delight-in/)

[Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/)

> [“When you let your intuition go wild, it doesn't usually end well. But I only learned that later on.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-m/when-you-let-your-intuition-go-wild-it-doesn-t-usually-end-well-but-i/)

[Maria M](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-m/)

> [You can only look forward to a South Dakota winter if, as with childbirth, remodeling a house, or writing a novel, you're able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-o-brien/you-can-only-look-forward-to-a-south-dakota-winter-if-as-with/)

[Dan O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-o-brien/)

> [“Those who remember are usually the unhappy ones. Only those who are able to forget, find the most joy in life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-frank-baum/those-who-remember-are-usually-the-unhappy-ones-only-those-who-are/)

[L. Frank Baum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-frank-baum/)

> [Move on already!! its what everyone says, what they dont get is its not easy when the memories of us are stuck in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana/move-on-already-its-what-everyone-says-what-they-dont-get-is-its-not/)

[Ana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana/)

> [And still it is not enough to have memories. One must be able to forget them when they are many, and one must have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/and-still-it-is-not-enough-to-have-memories-one-must-be-able-to/)

[Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/)

> [It is a great blessing to be able to forget, but it takes a lot of wisdom to know what should be forgotten.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-albrand/it-is-a-great-blessing-to-be-able-to-forget-but-it-takes-a-lot-of/)

[Martha Albrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-albrand/)

## More by Ernest Hemingway

> [Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/wine-is-one-of-the-most-civilized-things-in-the-world-and-one-of-the/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [“There was no wind, and, outside now of the warm air of the cave, heavy with smoke of both tobacco and charcoal, with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/there-was-no-wind-and-outside-now-of-the-warm-air-of-the-cave-heavy/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [“It was not brilliant bull-fighting. It was only perfect bull-fighting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/it-was-not-brilliant-bull-fighting-it-was-only-perfect-bull-fighting/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [One cat just leads to another. The place is so damned big it doesn't really seem as though there were many cats until you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/one-cat-just-leads-to-another-the-place-is-so-damned-big-it-doesn-t/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [Creation's probably overrated. After all, God made the world in only six days and rested on the seventh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/creation-s-probably-overrated-after-all-god-made-the-world-in-only/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [“Viva my husband who was Mayor of this town”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/viva-my-husband-who-was-mayor-of-this-town/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [“The earth gets tired of being exploited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/the-earth-gets-tired-of-being-exploited/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [What is moral is what you feel good after, and what is immoral is what you feel bad after.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/what-is-moral-is-what-you-feel-good-after-and-what-is-immoral-is-what/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [“We drove out along the coast road. There was the green of the headlands, the white, red-roofed villas, patches of forest, and the ocean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/we-drove-out-along-the-coast-road-there-was-the-green-of-the/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [As a Nobel Prize winner I cannot but regret that the award was never given to Mark Twain, nor to Henry James, speaking only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/as-a-nobel-prize-winner-i-cannot-but-regret-that-the-award-was-never/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [Oh, darling, I've been so miserable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/oh-darling-i-ve-been-so-miserable/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [I read my own books sometimes to cheer me when it is hard to write, and then I remember that it was always difficult,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/i-read-my-own-books-sometimes-to-cheer-me-when-it-is-hard-to-write/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [“You find everything on earth at Harry's." "Yes, my Colonel. Except, possibly, happiness." "I'll damn well find happiness, too," the Colonel assured him. "Happiness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/you-find-everything-on-earth-at-harry-s-yes-my-colonel-except/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [“No. It's bad for me. Cole Porter wrote the words and the music. This knowledge that you're going mad for me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/no-it-s-bad-for-me-cole-porter-wrote-the-words-and-the-music-this/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [“everything kills everything else in some way. Fishing kills me exactly as it keeps me alive. The boy keeps me alive, he thought. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/everything-kills-everything-else-in-some-way-fishing-kills-me-exactly/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

[Explore all 1,464 Ernest Hemingway quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

## More Able quotes

> [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/)

[Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/)

> [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/)

[Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/)

> [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/)

[Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/)

> [In the '80s, the way radio was programmed, if you didn't have a hit record you weren't going to be able to make any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huey-lewis/in-the-80s-the-way-radio-was-programmed-if-you-didn-t-have-a-hit/)

[Huey Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huey-lewis/)

> [I think I've had the longest career of strength, focus, and still being able to sell records. I think I'm that guy. I'm still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-think-i-ve-had-the-longest-career-of-strength-focus-and-still-being/)

[Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/)

> [I have that need in me, I want everyone to love me, but I'm embarrassed by that need, so I wanted to cover it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-jeselnik/i-have-that-need-in-me-i-want-everyone-to-love-me-but-i-m-embarrassed/)

[Anthony Jeselnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-jeselnik/)

> [Thinking about the things that happened, I don't know any other ball player would could have done what he (Jackie Robinson) did. To be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pee-wee-reese/thinking-about-the-things-that-happened-i-don-t-know-any-other-ball/)

[Pee Wee Reese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pee-wee-reese/)

> [I wanted to remember in order to be able to return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/i-wanted-to-remember-in-order-to-be-able-to-return/)

[Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/)

> [Government schools, with your tax money, now discourage the teaching of multiplication tables by rote memorization but teach reading by the 'look-and-say' method which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-perry/government-schools-with-your-tax-money-now-discourage-the-teaching-of/)

Greg Perry

> [I don't know if I would qualify as mainstream. I think I have managed to function pretty successfully on the fringes of the music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-metheny/i-don-t-know-if-i-would-qualify-as-mainstream-i-think-i-have-managed/)

[Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-metheny/)

> [What we're supposed to do as actors is be able to portray real human beings and emotions. And if you grow up in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-browning/what-we-re-supposed-to-do-as-actors-is-be-able-to-portray-real-human/)

[Emily Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-browning/)

> [The reason that Apple is able to create products like iPad is because we always try to be at the intersection of technology and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/the-reason-that-apple-is-able-to-create-products-like-ipad-is-because/)

[Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/)

> [It was an important period for us, because even though we weren't a "punk band", and what became a model for a punk band,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-mallinder/it-was-an-important-period-for-us-because-even-though-we-weren-t-a/)

[Stephen Mallinder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-mallinder/)

> [- You look fine. - Right. I look fine. Except I don't, said Zora, tugging sadly at her man's nightshirt. This was why Kiki…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/you-look-fine-right-i-look-fine-except-i-don-t-said-zora-tugging/)

[Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/)

> [There is a way to be a woman, ask for what we deserve and be able to negotiate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracee-ellis-ross/there-is-a-way-to-be-a-woman-ask-for-what-we-deserve-and-be-able-to/)

[Tracee Ellis Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracee-ellis-ross/)

Browse all 17,257 Able quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "He had always known what I did not know and what, when I learned it, I was always able to forget. But I did not know that then, although I learned it later.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Ernest Hemingway"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/he-had-always-known-what-i-did-not-know-and-what-when-i-learned-it-i/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Able"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/he-had-always-known-what-i-did-not-know-and-what-when-i-learned-it-i/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/204/ernest-hemingway-83_able_he-had-always-known-what-i-did-not-know_1244234.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/204/ernest-hemingway-83_able_he-had-always-known-what-i-did-not-know_1244234.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/204/ernest-hemingway-83_able_he-had-always-known-what-i-did-not-know_1244234.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“He had always known what I did not know and what, when I learned it, I was always able to forget. But I did…” — Ernest Hemingway",
                "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": "Ernest Hemingway",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "He had always known what I...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/he-had-always-known-what-i-did-not-know-and-what-when-i-learned-it-i/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/he-had-always-known-what-i-did-not-know-and-what-when-i-learned-it-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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
