--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To remember is far worse than to forget…" description: "\"“To remember is far worse than to forget. This is not a discovery of mine. It was an old truth in the times of the Greek statesman Themistocles. Once h..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e56/felice-benuzzi-95818_memory_to-remember-is-far-worse-than-to-forget_393896.jpg" --- # To remember is far worse than to forget. This is not a… ![“To remember is far worse than to forget. This is not a discovery of mine. It was an old truth in the times of the Greek statesman Themistocles. Once he was approached—so the story goes—by a schoolmaster who asked him for a reward because he had thought out a system of teaching that greatly…” quote by Felice Benuzzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e56/felice-benuzzi-95818_memory_to-remember-is-far-worse-than-to-forget_393896.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e56/felice-benuzzi-95818_memory_to-remember-is-far-worse-than-to-forget_393896.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e56/felice-benuzzi-95818_memory_to-remember-is-far-worse-than-to-forget_393896.jpg) > ““To remember is far worse than to forget. This is not a discovery of mine. It was an old truth in the times of the Greek statesman Themistocles. Once he was approached—so the story goes—by a schoolmaster who asked him for a reward because he had thought out a system of teaching that greatly improved the memory of his pupils. Themistocles answered: “I shall give you a reward if you invent a method of enabling mankind to learn how to forget, not how to remember.”” Felice Benuzzi ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True wisdom lies in learning to let go, not just to retain knowledge; forgetting can be as valuable as remembering. **In simple terms:** Learning to forget can be valuable. Key Takeaway Practice letting go of unhelpful memories. Themes memory wisdom forgetting learning psychology Mood thoughtful philosophical Type Memory:1 Remember:0 Truth:1 Forget Remember:1 Learn Forget:1 Worse Forget:0 Memory Pupils:0 When to use this quote - education - personal growth - mental health - mindfulness practices Key Concepts cognitive flexibility philosophical insight Questions to Reflect On - What benefits arise from intentional forgetting? - When is remembering essential? A Different Perspective Forgetting may hinder important lessons. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [Wall Street people learn nothing and forget everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/wall-street-people-learn-nothing-and-forget-everything/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) > [You just have to learn to forget about the people, who forgot about you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-just-have-to-learn-to-forget-about-the-people-who-forgot-about-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Don't hold on to the past. You should learn from it, and then forget about it...or try to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah-harden/don-t-hold-on-to-the-past-you-should-learn-from-it-and-then-forget/) [Isaiah Harden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaiah-harden/) > [To wonder about life is not something we learn; it is something we forget.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/to-wonder-about-life-is-not-something-we-learn-it-is-something-we/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) > [We learn we forget,we are still leaning..dont think your alone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thato/we-learn-we-forget-we-are-still-leaning-dont-think-your-alone/) Thato > [“I was starting to learn how to forget the things that made me sad. It was like a charm you followed step-by-step, collecting and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-lia-block/i-was-starting-to-learn-how-to-forget-the-things-that-made-me-sad-it/) [Francesca Lia Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-lia-block/) > [A mistake is valuable if you do four things with it: recognize it, admit it, learn from it, forget it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wooden/a-mistake-is-valuable-if-you-do-four-things-with-it-recognize-it/) [John Wooden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wooden/) > [Before love, learn how to forget and before forget, learn how to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-elwin/before-love-learn-how-to-forget-and-before-forget-learn-how-to-live/) [John Elwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-elwin/) > [The man who broods over the past can never master the difficulties of today. Every wise man learn to forget.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-newton-casson/the-man-who-broods-over-the-past-can-never-master-the-difficulties-of/) [Herbert Newton Casson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-newton-casson/) > [We live what we learn, and then we forget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bring-me-the-horizon/we-live-what-we-learn-and-then-we-forget/) [Bring Me The Horizon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bring-me-the-horizon/) > [Much we learn only to forget it again, to stand by the goal, we must traverse all the way to it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-r-ckert/much-we-learn-only-to-forget-it-again-to-stand-by-the-goal-we-must/) [Friedrich Ruckert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-r-ckert/) > [You have to learn it all, then forget it and start again like a child. This is the inner evolution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karel-appel/you-have-to-learn-it-all-then-forget-it-and-start-again-like-a-child/) [Karel Appel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karel-appel/) > [Hey, over the years you learn to forget things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-roseboro/hey-over-the-years-you-learn-to-forget-things/) John Roseboro > [I was staring to learn how to forget the things that made me sad. It was like a charm you followed step-by-step, collecting and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-lia-block/i-was-staring-to-learn-how-to-forget-the-things-that-made-me-sad-it/) [Francesca Lia Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-lia-block/) > [We live and we learn. Then we forget and do it again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/we-live-and-we-learn-then-we-forget-and-do-it-again/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) ## More by Felice Benuzzi > [“At such moments it was the thought of the security offered by a regular even though an unpleasant life, the spirit which dooms the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felice-benuzzi/at-such-moments-it-was-the-thought-of-the-security-offered-by-a/) Felice Benuzzi Explore all 2 Felice Benuzzi quotes ## More Memory quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [“Maybe there is something when it all ends. Maybe there is memory, memory of the person you loved, when you lived. Maybe this is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-ellison/maybe-there-is-something-when-it-all-ends-maybe-there-is-memory/) [Kate Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-ellison/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [Memory is funny. Once you hit a vein the problem is not how to remember but how to control the flow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-wolff/memory-is-funny-once-you-hit-a-vein-the-problem-is-not-how-to/) [Tobias Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-wolff/) > [Once upon a time. Ah forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/once-upon-a-time-ah-forget-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I am told many children block out the memory of trauma. In fact, the healing process can only truly begin when we are willing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phoebe-stone/i-am-told-many-children-block-out-the-memory-of-trauma-in-fact-the/) [Phoebe Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phoebe-stone/) > [“The whole town rushed outside to celebrate this crowded minute when the time of suffering had ended and the time of forgetting had not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-whole-town-rushed-outside-to-celebrate-this-crowded-minute-when/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I have a memory like an elephant. I remember every elephant I've ever met.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herb-caen/i-have-a-memory-like-an-elephant-i-remember-every-elephant-i-ve-ever/) [Herb Caen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herb-caen/) > [Your memory is a monster; you forget - it doesn't. It simply files things away. It keeps things for you, or hides things from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/your-memory-is-a-monster-you-forget-it-doesn-t-it-simply-files-things/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [My first Olympics memory was watching Haile Gebrselassie in Sydney 2000. His sprint finish to defend his title really moved me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-farah/my-first-olympics-memory-was-watching-haile-gebrselassie-in-sydney/) [Mo Farah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-farah/) > [That old man dies prematurely whose memory records no benefits conferred. They only have lived long who have lived virtuously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/that-old-man-dies-prematurely-whose-memory-records-no-benefits/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [My greatest memories as a kid were playing sports with my dad and watching sports with my dad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-teixeira/my-greatest-memories-as-a-kid-were-playing-sports-with-my-dad-and/) [Mark Teixeira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-teixeira/) > [What’s the use of remembering anything? If it was unpleasant it was unpleasant and if it was pleasant it’s over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-dundy/what-s-the-use-of-remembering-anything-if-it-was-unpleasant-it-was/) [Elaine Dundy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-dundy/) > [Always remember a little thing can change everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/always-remember-a-little-thing-can-change-everything/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If God knows me I will never forget him](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trunxbeats/if-god-knows-me-i-will-never-forget-him/) Trunxbeats [Browse all 12,248 Memory quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“To remember is far worse than to forget. This is not a discovery of mine. It was an old truth in the times of the Greek statesman Themistocles. 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