--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To forget would mean the things we never…" description: "\"“To forget would mean the things we never knew had never waited to be known, never waited to be forgotten, had never been; waiting beneath the long dea..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/335/john-daniel-thieme-37051_forgetting_to-forget-would-mean-the-things-we-never_524705.jpg" --- # To forget would mean the things we never knew had never… ![“To forget would mean the things we never knew had never waited to be known, never waited to be forgotten, had never been; waiting beneath the long dead stars in time. . .” quote by John Daniel Thieme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/335/john-daniel-thieme-37051_forgetting_to-forget-would-mean-the-things-we-never_524705.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/335/john-daniel-thieme-37051_forgetting_to-forget-would-mean-the-things-we-never_524705.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/335/john-daniel-thieme-37051_forgetting_to-forget-would-mean-the-things-we-never_524705.jpg) > ““To forget would mean the things we never knew had never waited to be known, never waited to be forgotten, had never been; waiting beneath the long dead stars in time. . .”” [John Daniel Thieme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-daniel-thieme/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Forgetting erases the memory of unknown things, leaving them never truly experienced or missed, suspended in time. **In simple terms:** Forgetting hides unknowns forever. Key Takeaway Embrace remembering unknowns. Themes memory existence time philosophy Mood reflective melancholic Type philosophical poetic When to use this quote - personal reflection - historical study - creative writing Key Concepts ephemerality ontological inquiry Questions to Reflect On - What unknowns might you be overlooking? - How does forgetting shape identity? A Different Perspective Memory loss can erase potential. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Forgetting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forgetting/) [Forgotten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forgotten/) [Forgotten Waiting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forgotten-waiting-4360583/) [Futility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/futility/) [Known Waited](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/known-waited-4420128/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Remembering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remembering/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Waited Forgotten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waited-forgotten-4420127/) [Waited Known](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waited-known-4420129/) [Waiting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waiting/) ## Related quotes > [“what is it she knows/and I have forgotten/that waiting in line/is an opportunity to dance”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-m-bailey/what-is-it-she-knows-and-i-have-forgotten-that-waiting-in-line-is-an/) [Alison M. Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-m-bailey/) > [“. . . This is not the same river at my fingertips. There are no paths, no sunken roads familiar in the forest, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-daniel-thieme/this-is-not-the-same-river-at-my-fingertips-there-are-no-paths-no/) [John Daniel Thieme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-daniel-thieme/) > [“. . .our whispered words, faintly in the darkness, dissolving within the trees—then, fleeting words of consolation would not suffice if feigned, and flippant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-daniel-thieme/our-whispered-words-faintly-in-the-darkness-dissolving-within-the/) [John Daniel Thieme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-daniel-thieme/) > [“those whom love has held, has held here in time curious, in this labyrinth of roses—it will go on holding, though in cruelty—of stars…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-daniel-thieme/those-whom-love-has-held-has-held-here-in-time-curious-in-this/) [John Daniel Thieme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-daniel-thieme/) > [“. . .the sorrows of the heart yearn to be erased, for one final atonement finite and forgetting and whole—but time in its preserving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-daniel-thieme/the-sorrows-of-the-heart-yearn-to-be-erased-for-one-final-atonement/) [John Daniel Thieme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-daniel-thieme/) > [“. . .though the names of lovers are forgotten in time, their names written across the sky as ogham threads are traced between the stars”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-daniel-thieme/though-the-names-of-lovers-are-forgotten-in-time-their-names-written/) [John Daniel Thieme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-daniel-thieme/) > [“She strives, understanding the futility of it, for perfection.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-coover/she-strives-understanding-the-futility-of-it-for-perfection/) [Robert Coover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-coover/) > [Suddenly the clouds seem high above us. They’re moving over us in an arch, circling the planet. 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Over at the pavilion the rubber thump of Roofball and the click of checkers call…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/dabbling-in-the-sandbox-gives-rabbit-a-small-headache-over-at-the/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“The nobility of age is that it conceals from the young the futility of effort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yeo-tze/the-nobility-of-age-is-that-it-conceals-from-the-young-the-futility/) [Yeo-tze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yeo-tze/) > [I am alive again, now that I can no longer stand to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/i-am-alive-again-now-that-i-can-no-longer-stand-to-live/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Married life had taught him the futility of arguing with a female in a dark-brown mood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/married-life-had-taught-him-the-futility-of-arguing-with-a-female-in/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) ## More by John Daniel Thieme > [“. . .though the names of lovers are forgotten in time, their names written across the sky as ogham threads are traced between the stars”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-daniel-thieme/though-the-names-of-lovers-are-forgotten-in-time-their-names-written/) [John Daniel Thieme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-daniel-thieme/) > [“those whom love has held, has held here in time curious, in this labyrinth of roses—it will go on holding, though in cruelty—of stars…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-daniel-thieme/those-whom-love-has-held-has-held-here-in-time-curious-in-this/) [John Daniel Thieme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-daniel-thieme/) > [“that I thought of you—of the air that slipped between the strands of your hair, and blue stones in my hand, before the autumn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-daniel-thieme/that-i-thought-of-you-of-the-air-that-slipped-between-the-strands-of/) [John Daniel Thieme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-daniel-thieme/) > [“. . .in your light, had I learned to love, here in your beauty, could I speak knowing of this space close within as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-daniel-thieme/in-your-light-had-i-learned-to-love-here-in-your-beauty-could-i-speak/) [John Daniel Thieme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-daniel-thieme/) > [“. . .our whispered words, faintly in the darkness, dissolving within the trees—then, fleeting words of consolation would not suffice if feigned, and flippant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-daniel-thieme/our-whispered-words-faintly-in-the-darkness-dissolving-within-the/) [John Daniel Thieme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-daniel-thieme/) > [“we lived depravity and called it truth, silencing our dreaming, and our love, discarding things holy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-daniel-thieme/we-lived-depravity-and-called-it-truth-silencing-our-dreaming-and-our/) [John Daniel Thieme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-daniel-thieme/) > [“a few words spoken beneath the moon, love may be, but I write your name in the celestial dust that lingers in the air,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-daniel-thieme/a-few-words-spoken-beneath-the-moon-love-may-be-but-i-write-your-name/) [John Daniel Thieme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-daniel-thieme/) > [“. . .the sorrows of the heart yearn to be erased, for one final atonement finite and forgetting and whole—but time in its preserving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-daniel-thieme/the-sorrows-of-the-heart-yearn-to-be-erased-for-one-final-atonement/) [John Daniel Thieme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-daniel-thieme/) > [“beneath the stars that drift; she sighed and said "Every tale of a love can only be a tale of ghosts that linger in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-daniel-thieme/beneath-the-stars-that-drift-she-sighed-and-said-every-tale-of-a-love/) [John Daniel Thieme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-daniel-thieme/) > [“I wish to go down under the waters— the cool, crystalline waters that I knew, where all that is, here, existing, is is only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-daniel-thieme/i-wish-to-go-down-under-the-waters-the-cool-crystalline-waters-that-i/) [John Daniel Thieme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-daniel-thieme/) > [“. . . This is not the same river at my fingertips. There are no paths, no sunken roads familiar in the forest, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-daniel-thieme/this-is-not-the-same-river-at-my-fingertips-there-are-no-paths-no/) [John Daniel Thieme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-daniel-thieme/) [Explore all 12 John Daniel Thieme quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-daniel-thieme/) ## More Forgetting quotes > [I have never been in, nor have I had any strong particular desire to be in, what is termed a costume drama, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-freeman/i-have-never-been-in-nor-have-i-had-any-strong-particular-desire-to/) [Martin Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-freeman/) > [The most painful thing in life is losing yourself in the process of valuing someone too much & forgetting that you are special too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-most-painful-thing-in-life-is-losing-yourself-in-the-process-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-focus-on-this-one-thing-forgetting-the-past-and-looking-forward-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Forgetting your Self is the greatest injury; all the calamities flow from it. Take care of the most important, the lesser will take care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/forgetting-your-self-is-the-greatest-injury-all-the-calamities-flow/) [Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/) > [If you can't forgive and forget, pick only one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-brault/if-you-can-t-forgive-and-forget-pick-only-one/) [Robert Brault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-brault/) > [Absolute is a game with only one player where Absolute forgets itself so it would have a reason to fulfill the motion while returning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/absolute-is-a-game-with-only-one-player-where-absolute-forgets-itself/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) > [“Several times that day, the name or thought of Papa had come up. And each time, Francie had felt a flash of tenderness instead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/several-times-that-day-the-name-or-thought-of-papa-had-come-up-and/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [“It's my fault. I am forgetting too much.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/it-s-my-fault-i-am-forgetting-too-much/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Falling out of love is chiefly a matter of forgetting how charming someone is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/falling-out-of-love-is-chiefly-a-matter-of-forgetting-how-charming/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [“She's sure, absolutely sure, that what she's waiting for will happen, just the way she wants it to; and I'm so uncertain, so fearful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-lowry/she-s-sure-absolutely-sure-that-what-she-s-waiting-for-will-happen/) [Lois Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-lowry/) > [Im afraid of being forgotten. Because, it seems everyone I get close to, ends up forgetting me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arcine-arciniegas/im-afraid-of-being-forgotten-because-it-seems-everyone-i-get-close-to/) [Arcine Arciniegas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arcine-arciniegas/) > [“Keeping histories is as much about knowing what needs forgetting as what ought to be remembered.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-bobet/keeping-histories-is-as-much-about-knowing-what-needs-forgetting-as/) [Leah Bobet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-bobet/) > [“Forgetting is what nature does best. The universe is a huge forgetting machine. It erases information no matter how hard we try to hang…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-ives-gilman/forgetting-is-what-nature-does-best-the-universe-is-a-huge-forgetting/) [Carolyn Ives Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-ives-gilman/) > [“Who was it said, ‘We forget because we must’? He was right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/who-was-it-said-we-forget-because-we-must-he-was-right/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [Moving on isnt forgetting the past, its learning from it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/moving-on-isnt-forgetting-the-past-its-learning-from-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 1,010 Forgetting quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forgetting/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“To forget would mean the things we never knew had never waited to be known, never waited to be forgotten, had never been; waiting beneath the long dead stars in time. . .”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Daniel Thieme" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-daniel-thieme/to-forget-would-mean-the-things-we-never-knew-had-never-waited-to-be/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Forgetting" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-daniel-thieme/to-forget-would-mean-the-things-we-never-knew-had-never-waited-to-be/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/335/john-daniel-thieme-37051_forgetting_to-forget-would-mean-the-things-we-never_524705.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/335/john-daniel-thieme-37051_forgetting_to-forget-would-mean-the-things-we-never_524705.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/335/john-daniel-thieme-37051_forgetting_to-forget-would-mean-the-things-we-never_524705.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To forget would mean the things we never knew had never waited to be known, never waited to be forgotten…” — John Daniel Thieme", "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": "John Daniel Thieme", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-daniel-thieme/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“To forget would mean the things...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-daniel-thieme/to-forget-would-mean-the-things-we-never-knew-had-never-waited-to-be/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-daniel-thieme/to-forget-would-mean-the-things-we-never-knew-had-never-waited-to-be/#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 } } ] } ```