--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To discover the various use of things is…" description: "\"To discover the various use of things is the work of history.\" — Karl Marx" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a31/karl-marx-399_history_to-discover-the-various-use-of-things-is_1179054.jpg" --- # To discover the various use of things is the work of… ![“To discover the various use of things is the work of history.” quote by Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a31/karl-marx-399_history_to-discover-the-various-use-of-things-is_1179054.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a31/karl-marx-399_history_to-discover-the-various-use-of-things-is_1179054.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a31/karl-marx-399_history_to-discover-the-various-use-of-things-is_1179054.jpg) > “To discover the various use of things is the work of history.” [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. History reveals the varied uses of objects, showing how human needs and societies evolve over time. **In simple terms:** History shows how we use things differently. Key Takeaway Learn from past uses to innovate. Themes history technology society economics Mood analytical critical Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - education - product design - policy making - cultural studies Key Concepts material culture use‑value historical analysis Questions to Reflect On - What uses of objects are ignored today? - How does history shape current technology? A Different Perspective Historical narratives can be biased, overlooking marginalized perspectives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) ## Related quotes > [I have used Proactiv, and I use X Out, and they are the only things that work for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cameron-dallas/i-have-used-proactiv-and-i-use-x-out-and-they-are-the-only-things/) [Cameron Dallas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cameron-dallas/) > [“When recruiters, co-workers, old classmates, and other people Google your name and click on a link to you on LinkedIn, your profile page is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie-pinola/when-recruiters-co-workers-old-classmates-and-other-people-google/) [Melanie Pinola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melanie-pinola/) > [It's always nice to work with someone you have a history with. It just makes it easier to click back into that dynamic and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mia-wasikowska/it-s-always-nice-to-work-with-someone-you-have-a-history-with-it-just/) [Mia Wasikowska](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mia-wasikowska/) > [The history of work has been, in part, the history of the worker's body. Production depended on what the body could accomplish with strength…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shoshana-zuboff/the-history-of-work-has-been-in-part-the-history-of-the-worker-s-body/) [Shoshana Zuboff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shoshana-zuboff/) > [I'm not sought after. I never get enough work. It's the history of my career. There just isn't anything to turn down, let me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-asner/i-m-not-sought-after-i-never-get-enough-work-it-s-the-history-of-my/) [Ed Asner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-asner/) > [I work really out of mythology, so often I work out of a story that has remained lodged inside somehow, or I work out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-erdrich/i-work-really-out-of-mythology-so-often-i-work-out-of-a-story-that/) [Louise Erdrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-erdrich/) > [Some things may work, but they definitely won't work every time. Some things may work at various times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-garcia/some-things-may-work-but-they-definitely-won-t-work-every-time-some/) [Jerry Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-garcia/) > [We’re to love people and use things, not love things and use people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-rogers/we-re-to-love-people-and-use-things-not-love-things-and-use-people/) [Adrian Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-rogers/) > [You should use things not people, you should act nice not evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-stanley/you-should-use-things-not-people-you-should-act-nice-not-evil/) [Freddie Stanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-stanley/) > [“The one single use of things which we call our own is that they might be his who hath need of them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hughes/the-one-single-use-of-things-which-we-call-our-own-is-that-they-might/) [Thomas Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hughes/) > [I believe in the devil as much as God. You can use either one to get things done](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-criss/i-believe-in-the-devil-as-much-as-god-you-can-use-either-one-to-get/) [Peter Criss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-criss/) > [“We use people and love things, when we should love people and use things”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-chavis/we-use-people-and-love-things-when-we-should-love-people-and-use/) Ben Chavis > [Don't mess with me I know how to use these things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/destiny/don-t-mess-with-me-i-know-how-to-use-these-things/) [Destiny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/destiny/) > [Love people, use things, not vice versa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-people-use-things-not-vice-versa/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [As an actor, you use the things from yourself that you can apply to the character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-de-niro/as-an-actor-you-use-the-things-from-yourself-that-you-can-apply-to/) [Robert De Niro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-de-niro/) ## More by Karl Marx > [“Economists have a singular method of procedure. There are only two kinds of institutions for them, artificial and natural. The institutions of feudalism are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/economists-have-a-singular-method-of-procedure-there-are-only-two/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [As the variable capital always stays in the hands of the capitalist in some form or other, it cannot be claimed in any way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/as-the-variable-capital-always-stays-in-the-hands-of-the-capitalist/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [Money degrades all the gods of man and converts them into commodities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/money-degrades-all-the-gods-of-man-and-converts-them-into-commodities/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [As a beast of toil an ox is fixed capital. If he is eaten, he no longer functions as an instrument of labour, nor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/as-a-beast-of-toil-an-ox-is-fixed-capital-if-he-is-eaten-he-no-longer/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [Communism... is the genuine resolution of the antagonism between man and nature and between man and man; it is the true resolution of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/communism-is-the-genuine-resolution-of-the-antagonism-between-man-and/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [It is not the consciousness of men that determines their being, but, on the contrary, their social being that determines their consciousness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/it-is-not-the-consciousness-of-men-that-determines-their-being-but-on/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [Philosophy is to the real world as masturbation is to sex](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/philosophy-is-to-the-real-world-as-masturbation-is-to-sex/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [“Go on, get out! Last words are for fools who haven't said enough!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/go-on-get-out-last-words-are-for-fools-who-haven-t-said-enough/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [“If you love without evoking love in return - if through the vital expression of yourself as a loving person you fail to become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/if-you-love-without-evoking-love-in-return-if-through-the-vital/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [Do not be deluded by the abstract word Freedom. Whose freedom? Not the freedom of one individual in relation to another, but freedom of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/do-not-be-deluded-by-the-abstract-word-freedom-whose-freedom-not-the/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [The burgeoisie, by the rapid improvement of all instruments of production, by the immensely facilitated means of communication, draws all nations into civilization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/the-burgeoisie-by-the-rapid-improvement-of-all-instruments-of/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [Ideas do not exist separately from language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/ideas-do-not-exist-separately-from-language/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [So in Jewry we recognise a contemporary universal anti-social phenomenon, which has reached its present pitch through a process of, historical development in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/so-in-jewry-we-recognise-a-contemporary-universal-anti-social/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [The class struggle necessarily leads to the dictatorship of the proletariat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/the-class-struggle-necessarily-leads-to-the-dictatorship-of-the/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [If this labourer were in possession of his own means of production, and was satisfied to live as a labourer, he need not work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/if-this-labourer-were-in-possession-of-his-own-means-of-production/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) [Explore all 571 Karl Marx quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) ## More History quotes > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/histories-never-conclude-they-just-pause-their-prose-their-stories/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [It is said that history turns on small hinges. A human career, too, results from an accumulating series of decisions about large and small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/it-is-said-that-history-turns-on-small-hinges-a-human-career-too/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [In the entire history of the universe, let alone in your own history, there has never been another day just like today, and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/in-the-entire-history-of-the-universe-let-alone-in-your-own-history/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [The NBA is my history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penny-hardaway/the-nba-is-my-history/) [Penny Hardaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penny-hardaway/) > [History has often showed us the strength of the forces that are unleashed by the yearning for freedom. It moved people to overcome their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-merkel/history-has-often-showed-us-the-strength-of-the-forces-that-are/) [Angela Merkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-merkel/) > [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [What is history after all? History is facts which become lies in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/what-is-history-after-all-history-is-facts-which-become-lies-in-the/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [Things live and die, and then someone processes them into edible portions. This is a complete telling of the story, 'Food.' The basic plot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-fahrenthold/things-live-and-die-and-then-someone-processes-them-into-edible/) [David Fahrenthold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-fahrenthold/) > [History is a certain way, but you just change the point of view a little bit, and you discover a whole new side of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-schroeder/history-is-a-certain-way-but-you-just-change-the-point-of-view-a/) [Allison Schroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-schroeder/) > [We're at a point in history were we have to become a part of the neighborhood of inhabited planets, like a neighborhood of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/we-re-at-a-point-in-history-were-we-have-to-become-a-part-of-the/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [Today is a reality, tomorrow's a promise, and yesterday's history!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-blanks/today-is-a-reality-tomorrow-s-a-promise-and-yesterday-s-history/) [Billy Blanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-blanks/) > [Truth be told from compulsive liars with a history/Everything must change 2nd chances are a mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-dash/truth-be-told-from-compulsive-liars-with-a-history-everything-must/) C-DASH > [Every army in the history of the world has always had some deserters, usually much greater than we have today, because once again every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-hilferty/every-army-in-the-history-of-the-world-has-always-had-some-deserters/) [Bryan Hilferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-hilferty/) > [“To those great geniuses now in petticoats, who shall write novels for the beloved reader's children, these men and things will be as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/to-those-great-geniuses-now-in-petticoats-who-shall-write-novels-for/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) [Browse all 27,263 History quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To discover the various use of things is the work of history.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Karl Marx" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/to-discover-the-various-use-of-things-is-the-work-of-history/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "History" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/to-discover-the-various-use-of-things-is-the-work-of-history/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a31/karl-marx-399_history_to-discover-the-various-use-of-things-is_1179054.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a31/karl-marx-399_history_to-discover-the-various-use-of-things-is_1179054.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a31/karl-marx-399_history_to-discover-the-various-use-of-things-is_1179054.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To discover the various use of things is the work of history.” — Karl Marx", "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": "Karl Marx", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "To discover the various use of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/to-discover-the-various-use-of-things-is-the-work-of-history/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/to-discover-the-various-use-of-things-is-the-work-of-history/#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 } } ] } ```