--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Of true knowledge at any time, a good…" description: "\"Of true knowledge at any time, a good part is merely convenient, necessary indeed to the worker, but not to an understanding of his subject: One can ju..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b5/jacques-barzun-3251_attention_of-true-knowledge-at-any-time-a-good-par_1143636.jpg" --- # Of true knowledge at any time, a good part is merely… ![“Of true knowledge at any time, a good part is merely convenient, necessary indeed to the worker, but not to an understanding of his subject: One can judge a building without knowing where to buy the bricks; one can understand a violin sonata without knowing how to score for the instrument. The…” quote by Jacques Barzun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b5/jacques-barzun-3251_attention_of-true-knowledge-at-any-time-a-good-par_1143636.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b5/jacques-barzun-3251_attention_of-true-knowledge-at-any-time-a-good-par_1143636.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b5/jacques-barzun-3251_attention_of-true-knowledge-at-any-time-a-good-par_1143636.jpg) > “Of true knowledge at any time, a good part is merely convenient, necessary indeed to the worker, but not to an understanding of his subject: One can judge a building without knowing where to buy the bricks; one can understand a violin sonata without knowing how to score for the instrument. The work may in fact be better understood without a knowledge of the details of its manufacture, of attention to these tends to distract from meaning and effect.” [Jacques Barzun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-barzun/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Argues that practical knowledge can be useful without deep theoretical understanding, but true insight requires knowing underlying details. **In simple terms:** Practical skill vs. deep understanding. Key Takeaway Balance convenience with depth. Themes knowledge learning expertise Mood analytical inquisitive Type educational philosophical When to use this quote - vocational training - academic study - professional development - self‑directed learning Key Concepts epistemology craftsmanship education Questions to Reflect On - When is detail essential? - How can you deepen your expertise? A Different Perspective Over‑reliance on shortcuts can lead to superficial mastery. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Bricks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bricks/) [Building](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/building/) [Building Knowing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/building-knowing-3200077/) [Convenient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/convenient/) [Details](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/details/) [Effects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effects/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Instruments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instruments/) [Judging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judging/) [Knowing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowing/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Score](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/score/) [Sonatas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sonatas/) [Subjects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subjects/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [True knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true-knowledge/) [Understanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understanding/) [Understood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understood/) [Understood Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understood-knowledge-3200076/) [Violin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violin/) [Worker Understanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worker-understanding-3200075/) [Workers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/workers/) ## Related quotes > [“The thing I understood least of all was that knowledge led to despair and damnation. 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Buckley, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-f-buckley-jr/) > [Many Introverts are also "highly sensitive," which sounds poetic, but is actually a technical term in psychology. If you are a sensitive sort, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/many-introverts-are-also-highly-sensitive-which-sounds-poetic-but-is/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [The other option we have are medication treatments. 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Insects are born from the sun... they are the sun's kisses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-scriabin/my-10th-sonata-is-a-sonata-of-insects-insects-are-born-from-the-sun/) [Alexander Scriabin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-scriabin/) > [There is a moonlight note in the Moonlight Sonata; there is a thunder note in an angry sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/there-is-a-moonlight-note-in-the-moonlight-sonata-there-is-a-thunder/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) > [The meaning and purpose of dancing is the dance. Like music also, it is fulfilled in each moment of its course. You do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/the-meaning-and-purpose-of-dancing-is-the-dance-like-music-also-it-is/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [Shakespeare wrote his sonnets within a strict discipline, fourteen lines of iambic pentameter, rhyming in three quatrains and a couplet. Were his sonnets dull?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/shakespeare-wrote-his-sonnets-within-a-strict-discipline-fourteen/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [“But that some sonatas of Beethoven are written tragic no one can gainsay; yet they can triumph or despair as the player decides, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/but-that-some-sonatas-of-beethoven-are-written-tragic-no-one-can/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) ## More by Jacques Barzun > [The danger that may really threaten (crime fiction) is that soon there will be more writers than readers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-barzun/the-danger-that-may-really-threaten-crime-fiction-is-that-soon-there/) [Jacques Barzun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-barzun/) > [It seems a long time since the morning mail could be called correspondence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-barzun/it-seems-a-long-time-since-the-morning-mail-could-be-called/) [Jacques Barzun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-barzun/) > [Teaching is not a lost art, but the regard for it is a lost tradition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-barzun/teaching-is-not-a-lost-art-but-the-regard-for-it-is-a-lost-tradition/) [Jacques Barzun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-barzun/) > [The reason why research is like sculpting from memory is that in neither is there a concrete visible subject to copy directly. 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But as soon as somebody or something stands out as Excellent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-barzun/everybody-keeps-calling-for-excellence-excellence-not-just-in/) [Jacques Barzun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-barzun/) > [Bernard Shaw remains the only model we have of what the citizen of a democracy should be: an informed participant in all things we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-barzun/bernard-shaw-remains-the-only-model-we-have-of-what-the-citizen-of-a/) [Jacques Barzun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-barzun/) > [The ascetic is often a sensualist who has reached the limit of his capacity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-barzun/the-ascetic-is-often-a-sensualist-who-has-reached-the-limit-of-his/) [Jacques Barzun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-barzun/) > [Idealism springs from deep feelings, but feelings are nothing without the formulated idea that keeps them whole.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-barzun/idealism-springs-from-deep-feelings-but-feelings-are-nothing-without/) [Jacques Barzun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-barzun/) > [In teaching you cannot see the fruit of a day's work. It is invisible and remains so, maybe for twenty years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-barzun/in-teaching-you-cannot-see-the-fruit-of-a-day-s-work-it-is-invisible/) [Jacques Barzun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-barzun/) > [The mind tends to run along the groove of one's intention and overlook the actual expression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-barzun/the-mind-tends-to-run-along-the-groove-of-one-s-intention-and/) [Jacques Barzun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-barzun/) > [Vanity is a static thing. It puts it faith in what it has, and is easily wounded. Pride is active, and satisfied only with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-barzun/vanity-is-a-static-thing-it-puts-it-faith-in-what-it-has-and-is/) [Jacques Barzun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-barzun/) > [By the time I was 9, I had the conviction that everybody in the world was an artist except plumbers or people who delivered groceries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-barzun/by-the-time-i-was-9-i-had-the-conviction-that-everybody-in-the-world/) [Jacques Barzun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-barzun/) > [A student under my care owes his first allegiance to himself and not to my specialty; and must not be burdened with my work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-barzun/a-student-under-my-care-owes-his-first-allegiance-to-himself-and-not/) [Jacques Barzun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-barzun/) > [We are accustomed to the artist scoundrel or specialist in vice, and unaccustomed to the creator in whom passion and reason and moral integrity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-barzun/we-are-accustomed-to-the-artist-scoundrel-or-specialist-in-vice-and/) [Jacques Barzun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-barzun/) > [The professionals resemble and recognize each other by virtue of the stigmata that their trade has left upon them. They are like the dog…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-barzun/the-professionals-resemble-and-recognize-each-other-by-virtue-of-the/) [Jacques Barzun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-barzun/) [Explore all 135 Jacques Barzun quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-barzun/) ## More Attention quotes > [It appears to me that one great cause of our difference in opinion on subjects which we often discuss is that you have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ricardo/it-appears-to-me-that-one-great-cause-of-our-difference-in-opinion-on/) [David Ricardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ricardo/) > [People pay far too much attention to the television and they're quite literal in some ways. At the beginning, when I was playing very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ardal-o-hanlon/people-pay-far-too-much-attention-to-the-television-and-they-re-quite/) [Ardal O'Hanlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ardal-o-hanlon/) > [Television, radio, social media. The 24/7 news cycle plows forward mercilessly on our desks, in our cars and in our pockets. Thousands and thousands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-prince/television-radio-social-media-the-24-7-news-cycle-plows-forward/) [Joseph Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-prince/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-inventions-are-wont-to-be-pretty-toys-which-distract-our/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [What people don't normally know about us is the hustle is very real, and it's sorely driven a lot by how we consider ourselves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lzzy-hale/what-people-don-t-normally-know-about-us-is-the-hustle-is-very-real/) [Lzzy Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lzzy-hale/) > [For me, the term "psychotherapy" is limiting. It implies that we work with mind and emotions, but excludes the body and pays scant attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-diamond/for-me-the-term-psychotherapy-is-limiting-it-implies-that-we-work/) [Jed Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-diamond/) > [When you approach something to photograph it, first be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. 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And we we went to this mosque in Philly, and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahershala-ali/i-went-to-a-mosque-in-philadelphia-with-my-wife-in-december-24-1999/) [Mahershala Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahershala-ali/) > [The Harvard Business Review recently had an article called 'The Human Moment,' about how to make real contact with a person at work: ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goleman/the-harvard-business-review-recently-had-an-article-called-the-human/) [Daniel Goleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goleman/) > [Let us thank God heartily as often as we pray that we have His Spirit in us to teach us to pray. Thanksgiving will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-murray/let-us-thank-god-heartily-as-often-as-we-pray-that-we-have-his-spirit/) [Andy Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-murray/) > [Enlightened people live in very charged states of attention, with a tremendous power circuiting through them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/enlightened-people-live-in-very-charged-states-of-attention-with-a/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [We must have a welfare system that we can afford, which will mean giving greater attention to directing the welfare program toward its primary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-portillo/we-must-have-a-welfare-system-that-we-can-afford-which-will-mean/) [Michael Portillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-portillo/) > [The director's job should give you a sense of music without drawing attention to itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-hackford/the-director-s-job-should-give-you-a-sense-of-music-without-drawing/) [Taylor Hackford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-hackford/) [Browse all 10,153 Attention quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Of true knowledge at any time, a good part is merely convenient, necessary indeed to the worker, but not to an understanding of his subject: One can judge a building without knowing where to buy the bricks; one can understand a violin sonata without knowing how to score for the instrument. 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