--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The knowledge which we have acquired…" description: "\"The knowledge which we have acquired ought not to resemble a great shop without order, and without an inventory; we ought to know what we possess, and ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a6/gottfried-leibniz-3585_able_the-knowledge-which-we-have-acquired-oug_1146053.png" --- # The knowledge which we have acquired ought not to resemble… ![“The knowledge which we have acquired ought not to resemble a great shop without order, and without an inventory; we ought to know what we possess, and be able to make it serve us in need.” quote by Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a6/gottfried-leibniz-3585_able_the-knowledge-which-we-have-acquired-oug_1146053.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a6/gottfried-leibniz-3585_able_the-knowledge-which-we-have-acquired-oug_1146053.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a6/gottfried-leibniz-3585_able_the-knowledge-which-we-have-acquired-oug_1146053.png) > “The knowledge which we have acquired ought not to resemble a great shop without order, and without an inventory; we ought to know what we possess, and be able to make it serve us in need.” [Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We must inventory our knowledge and organize it so it can be applied when needed. **In simple terms:** Know and organize what you know. Key Takeaway Catalog your knowledge for practical use. Themes knowledge organization utility Mood reflective analytical Type philosophical practical When to use this quote - studying - teaching - problem solving - decision making Key Concepts epistemology pragmatism Questions to Reflect On - How do you currently track what you know? - What tools could help you organize your learning? A Different Perspective Without clear structure, knowledge remains inaccessible. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) ## Related quotes > [“He wanted to know her, possess her. All that fire flashing in her eyes when she thought he didn’t see, needed to be unleashed.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-smith/he-wanted-to-know-her-possess-her-all-that-fire-flashing-in-her-eyes/) [Lauren Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-smith/) > [Our weapon is our knowledge. But remember, it may be a knowledge we may not know that we possess.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agatha-christie/our-weapon-is-our-knowledge-but-remember-it-may-be-a-knowledge-we-may/) [Agatha Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agatha-christie/) > [Everybody can be great...because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everybody-can-be-great-because-anybody-can-serve-you-don-t-have-to-4/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everybody can be great because anybody can serve. You don't have to make your degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/everybody-can-be-great-because-anybody-can-serve-you-don-t-have-to-3/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [“If you're trying to serve someone in need and it doesn't hurt a little, you're doing something wrong.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-goins/if-you-re-trying-to-serve-someone-in-need-and-it-doesn-t-hurt-a/) [Jeff Goins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-goins/) > [Everybody can be great. Because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/everybody-can-be-great-because-anybody-can-serve-you-don-t-have-to-2/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [It's his show and I'm just trying to make him look good. If we were the same age there might be a little tension,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/it-s-his-show-and-i-m-just-trying-to-make-him-look-good-if-we-were/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [When we love somebody, we show it by doing something nice. So learn to serve: find a need and fulfill a need. Surprise people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-m-nelson/when-we-love-somebody-we-show-it-by-doing-something-nice-so-learn-to/) [Russell M. Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-m-nelson/) > [“You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/you-don-t-have-to-have-a-college-degree-to-serve-you-don-t-have-to/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [We do not need a truth to serve us, we need a truth that we can serve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-maritain/we-do-not-need-a-truth-to-serve-us-we-need-a-truth-that-we-can-serve/) [Jacques Maritain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-maritain/) > [“In a sermon early in 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. quoted Jesus’ words from Mark 10 about servanthood. Then he said, “Everybody can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rbc-ministries/in-a-sermon-early-in-1968-martin-luther-king-jr-quoted-jesus-words/) [RBC Ministries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rbc-ministries/) > [Science is often misrepresented as "the body of knowledge acquired by performing replicated controlled experiments in the laboratory." Actually, science is something broader: the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-diamond/science-is-often-misrepresented-as-the-body-of-knowledge-acquired-by/) [Jared Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-diamond/) > [Knowledge can be acquired by a suitable and complete study, no matter what the starting point is. Only one must know how to 'learn.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/knowledge-can-be-acquired-by-a-suitable-and-complete-study-no-matter/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life consists in penetrating the unknown, and fashioning our actions in accord with the new knowledge thus acquired.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/life-consists-in-penetrating-the-unknown-and-fashioning-our-actions/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Knowledge which is acquired under compulsion obtains no hold on the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/knowledge-which-is-acquired-under-compulsion-obtains-no-hold-on-the/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) ## More by Gottfried Leibniz > [There are two famous labyrinths where our reason very often goes astray. One concerns the great question of the free and the necessary, above…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/there-are-two-famous-labyrinths-where-our-reason-very-often-goes/) [Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/) > [Either there are no corporeal substances, and bodies are merely phenomena which are true or consistent with each other, such as a rainbow or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/either-there-are-no-corporeal-substances-and-bodies-are-merely/) [Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/) > [The present is saturated with the past and pregnant with the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/the-present-is-saturated-with-the-past-and-pregnant-with-the-future/) [Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/) > [Make me the the master of education, and I will undertake to change the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/make-me-the-the-master-of-education-and-i-will-undertake-to-change/) [Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/) > [All the different classes of beings which taken together make up the universe are, in the ideas of God who knows distinctly their essential…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/all-the-different-classes-of-beings-which-taken-together-make-up-the/) [Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/) > [I hold that the mark of a genuine idea is that its possibility can be proved, either a priori by conceiving its cause or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/i-hold-that-the-mark-of-a-genuine-idea-is-that-its-possibility-can-be/) [Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/) > [The monad, of which we shall speak here, is nothing but a simple substance which enters into compounds; simple, that is to say, without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/the-monad-of-which-we-shall-speak-here-is-nothing-but-a-simple/) [Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/) > [There is no way in which a simple substance could begin in the course of nature, since it cannot be formed by means of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/there-is-no-way-in-which-a-simple-substance-could-begin-in-the-course/) [Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/) > [In symbols one observes an advantage in discovery which is greatest when they express the exact nature of a thing briefly and, as it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/in-symbols-one-observes-an-advantage-in-discovery-which-is-greatest/) [Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/) > [There is nothing without reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/there-is-nothing-without-reason/) [Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/) > [God, possessing supreme and infinite wisdom, acts in the most perfect manner, not only metaphysically, but also morally speaking, and ... with respect to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/god-possessing-supreme-and-infinite-wisdom-acts-in-the-most-perfect/) [Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/) > [It can have its effect only through the intervention of God, inasmuch as in the ideas of God a monad rightly demands that God,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/it-can-have-its-effect-only-through-the-intervention-of-god-inasmuch/) [Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/) > [I do not conceive of any reality at all as without genuine unity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/i-do-not-conceive-of-any-reality-at-all-as-without-genuine-unity/) [Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/) > [The pleasure we obtain from music comes from counting, but counting unconsciously. Music is nothing but unconscious arithmetic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/the-pleasure-we-obtain-from-music-comes-from-counting-but-counting/) [Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/) > [If we were magically shrunk and put into someone's brain while she was thinking, we would see all the pumps, pistons, gears and levers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/if-we-were-magically-shrunk-and-put-into-someone-s-brain-while-she/) [Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/) [Explore all 127 Gottfried Leibniz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/) ## 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": "The knowledge which we have acquired ought not to resemble a great shop without order, and without an inventory; we ought to know what we possess, and be able to make it serve us in need.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gottfried Leibniz" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/the-knowledge-which-we-have-acquired-ought-not-to-resemble-a-great/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Able" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/the-knowledge-which-we-have-acquired-ought-not-to-resemble-a-great/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a6/gottfried-leibniz-3585_able_the-knowledge-which-we-have-acquired-oug_1146053.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a6/gottfried-leibniz-3585_able_the-knowledge-which-we-have-acquired-oug_1146053.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a6/gottfried-leibniz-3585_able_the-knowledge-which-we-have-acquired-oug_1146053.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The knowledge which we have acquired ought not to resemble a great shop without order, and without an…” — Gottfried Leibniz", "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": "Gottfried Leibniz", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The knowledge which we have acquired...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/the-knowledge-which-we-have-acquired-ought-not-to-resemble-a-great/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/the-knowledge-which-we-have-acquired-ought-not-to-resemble-a-great/#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 } } ] } ```