--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For it is not needful, to use a common…" description: "\"“For it is not needful, to use a common proverb, that one should drink up the ocean who wishes to learn that its water is salt.”\" — Irenaeus of Lyons" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f1/irenaeus-of-lyons-18423_knowledge_for-it-is-not-needful-to-use-a-common-pr_2531459.png" --- # For it is not needful, to use a common proverb, that one… ![“For it is not needful, to use a common proverb, that one should drink up the ocean who wishes to learn that its water is salt.” quote by Irenaeus of Lyons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f1/irenaeus-of-lyons-18423_knowledge_for-it-is-not-needful-to-use-a-common-pr_2531459.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f1/irenaeus-of-lyons-18423_knowledge_for-it-is-not-needful-to-use-a-common-pr_2531459.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f1/irenaeus-of-lyons-18423_knowledge_for-it-is-not-needful-to-use-a-common-pr_2531459.png) > ““For it is not needful, to use a common proverb, that one should drink up the ocean who wishes to learn that its water is salt.”” [Irenaeus of Lyons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irenaeus-of-lyons/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote warns against trying to master something by forcing it, using a proverb about drinking the ocean to learn its saltiness. **In simple terms:** Don't force learning; accept limits. Key Takeaway Accept natural limits. Themes humility learning limits Mood reflective cautious Type philosophical advisory When to use this quote - education - skill acquisition - personal growth Key Concepts Stoicism self‑knowledge Questions to Reflect On - How do you recognize when to stop pushing? - What natural limits have you respected? A Different Perspective Learning cannot be forced beyond capacity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Ocean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ocean/) [Proverb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/proverb/) [River](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/river/) ## Related quotes > [Rely only on yourself; it is a common proverb.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-fontaine/rely-only-on-yourself-it-is-a-common-proverb/) [Jean de La Fontaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-fontaine/) > [I've often heard it said, as the common proverb goes, that a fool can teach a wise man well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/i-ve-often-heard-it-said-as-the-common-proverb-goes-that-a-fool-can/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [ There is more evidence to prove that saltness \[of the sea\] is due to the admixture of some substance, besides that which we have… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/there-is-more-evidence-to-prove-that-saltness-of-the-sea-is-due-to/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Why use salty when you can have brackish? It carries a sense of part-water, part-salt, too, just like the sea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-dent/why-use-salty-when-you-can-have-brackish-it-carries-a-sense-of-part/) [Susie Dent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-dent/) > [When one longs for a drink, it seems as though one could drink a whole ocean-that is faith; but when one begins to drink,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/when-one-longs-for-a-drink-it-seems-as-though-one-could-drink-a-whole/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [It has become quite a common proverb that in wine there is truth (In Vino Veritas).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pliny-the-elder/it-has-become-quite-a-common-proverb-that-in-wine-there-is-truth-in/) [Pliny the Elder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pliny-the-elder/) > [“And he who has deserved to drink from the ocean of life deserves to fill his cup from your little stream.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/and-he-who-has-deserved-to-drink-from-the-ocean-of-life-deserves-to/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [Might as well try to drink the ocean with a spoon as argue with a lover.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/might-as-well-try-to-drink-the-ocean-with-a-spoon-as-argue-with-a/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Wise is the one who flavors the future with some salt from the past. 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They also possess images, some of them painted and others formed from different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irenaeus-of-lyons/others-of-them-employ-outward-marks-they-style-themselves-gnostics/) [Irenaeus of Lyons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irenaeus-of-lyons/) > [As long as any one has the means of doing good to his neighbours, and does not do so, he shall be reckoned a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irenaeus-of-lyons/as-long-as-any-one-has-the-means-of-doing-good-to-his-neighbours-and/) [Irenaeus of Lyons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irenaeus-of-lyons/) > [ \[Peter\] testified to \[the Jews in Acts 2\] that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, the Judge of the living and dead, into… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irenaeus-of-lyons/peter-testified-to-the-jews-in-acts-2-that-jesus-christ-was-the-son/) [Irenaeus of Lyons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irenaeus-of-lyons/) > [ And when we come to refute them, we shall show in its fitting place that this class of men \[i.e., the gnostics\] has been… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irenaeus-of-lyons/and-when-we-come-to-refute-them-we-shall-show-in-its-fitting-place/) [Irenaeus of Lyons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irenaeus-of-lyons/) > [ \[Naaman\] dipped himself," it says, "seven times in Jordan." It was not for nothing that Naaman of old, when suffering from leprosy, was purified… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irenaeus-of-lyons/naaman-dipped-himself-it-says-seven-times-in-jordan-it-was-not-for/) [Irenaeus of Lyons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irenaeus-of-lyons/) > [But following the only true and stedfast Teacher, the Word of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, who did, through His transcendent love, become what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irenaeus-of-lyons/but-following-the-only-true-and-stedfast-teacher-the-word-of-god-our/) [Irenaeus of Lyons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irenaeus-of-lyons/) > [God became man, that we might be gods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irenaeus-of-lyons/god-became-man-that-we-might-be-gods/) [Irenaeus of Lyons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irenaeus-of-lyons/) > [A man that is an heretic, after the first and second admonition, reject; knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irenaeus-of-lyons/a-man-that-is-an-heretic-after-the-first-and-second-admonition-reject/) [Irenaeus of Lyons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irenaeus-of-lyons/) > [The church has been planted as a paradise in this world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irenaeus-of-lyons/the-church-has-been-planted-as-a-paradise-in-this-world/) [Irenaeus of Lyons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irenaeus-of-lyons/) > [Since it is impossible, without God, to come to knowledge of God, he teaches men through his Word to know God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irenaeus-of-lyons/since-it-is-impossible-without-god-to-come-to-knowledge-of-god-he/) [Irenaeus of Lyons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irenaeus-of-lyons/) > [ He \[Jesus\] fought and conquered. On the one hand, he was man who struggled for his fathers and through his obedience cancelled their disobedience.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irenaeus-of-lyons/he-jesus-fought-and-conquered-on-the-one-hand-he-was-man-who/) [Irenaeus of Lyons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irenaeus-of-lyons/) > [It is not necessary to seek the truth among others which it is easy to obtain from the Church; since the apostles, like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irenaeus-of-lyons/it-is-not-necessary-to-seek-the-truth-among-others-which-it-is-easy/) [Irenaeus of Lyons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irenaeus-of-lyons/) > [Suppose there arise a dispute relative to some important question among us, should we not have recourse to the most ancient Churches with which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irenaeus-of-lyons/suppose-there-arise-a-dispute-relative-to-some-important-question/) [Irenaeus of Lyons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irenaeus-of-lyons/) > [Error never shows itself in its naked reality, in order not to be discovered. On the contrary, it dresses elegantly, so that the unwary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irenaeus-of-lyons/error-never-shows-itself-in-its-naked-reality-in-order-not-to-be/) [Irenaeus of Lyons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irenaeus-of-lyons/) > [He who was the Son of God became the Son of man, that man ... might become the son of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irenaeus-of-lyons/he-who-was-the-son-of-god-became-the-son-of-man-that-man-might-become/) [Irenaeus of Lyons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irenaeus-of-lyons/) [Explore all 35 Irenaeus of Lyons quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irenaeus-of-lyons/) ## More Knowledge quotes > [“Knowledge without conscience is but the ruin of the soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabelaise/knowledge-without-conscience-is-but-the-ruin-of-the-soul/) Rabelaise > [For successful education there must always be a certain freshness in the knowledge dealt with. 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Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) > [If we will not interfere with our thought, but will act entirely, or see how the thing stands in God, we know the particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-we-will-not-interfere-with-our-thought-but-will-act-entirely-or/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [An enlightened awareness is within each one of us, right at this moment. 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It's great to have an instinctual human reaction to a character, too, of course, but it has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chiwetel-ejiofor/i-ve-always-been-a-believer-in-research-it-s-great-to-have-an/) [Chiwetel Ejiofor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chiwetel-ejiofor/) > [I am an aware citizen, so I want my characters to be aware, too. 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