--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The last rule was to make enumerations so…" description: "\"“The last rule was to make enumerations so complete, and reviews so comprehensive, that I should be certain of omitting nothing.”\" — René Descartes" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f2/ren-descartes-1376_complete_the-last-rule-was-to-make-enumerations-s_2587016.png" --- # The last rule was to make enumerations so complete, and… ![“The last rule was to make enumerations so complete, and reviews so comprehensive, that I should be certain of omitting nothing.” quote by René Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f2/ren-descartes-1376_complete_the-last-rule-was-to-make-enumerations-s_2587016.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f2/ren-descartes-1376_complete_the-last-rule-was-to-make-enumerations-s_2587016.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f2/ren-descartes-1376_complete_the-last-rule-was-to-make-enumerations-s_2587016.png) > ““The last rule was to make enumerations so complete, and reviews so comprehensive, that I should be certain of omitting nothing.”” [René Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. One should create exhaustive lists and thorough reviews to ensure nothing is missed, emphasizing meticulousness. **In simple terms:** Make exhaustive lists to avoid missing anything. Key Takeaway Be thorough in planning and reviewing. Themes methodology detail precision Mood analytical cautious Type philosophical practical When to use this quote - project planning - academic research - legal due diligence - product development Key Concepts systematic thinking completeness risk management Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance thoroughness with efficiency? - When is it acceptable to leave minor gaps? A Different Perspective Over‑detail can cause paralysis by analysis. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Certain Omitting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certain-omitting-1827443/) [Complete](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complete/) [Complete Reviews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complete-reviews-1827442/) [Comprehensive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comprehensive/) [Comprehensive Certain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comprehensive-certain-1827444/) [Enumerations Complete](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enumerations-complete-1827441/) [Omission](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/omission/) [Omitting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/omitting/) ## Related quotes > [“And the last, in every case to make enumerations so complete, and reviews so general, that I might be assured that nothing was omitted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/and-the-last-in-every-case-to-make-enumerations-so-complete-and/) [René Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [I will not go so far as to say that to construct a history of thought without profound study of the mathematical ideas of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/i-will-not-go-so-far-as-to-say-that-to-construct-a-history-of-thought/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Virtues, of ... Justice: Wrong none by doing injuries or omitting the benefits that are your duty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/virtues-of-justice-wrong-none-by-doing-injuries-or-omitting-the/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [My theory is that, just like with omitting a final comma in a list when not essential for meaning, publishers are trying to save…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-walsh/my-theory-is-that-just-like-with-omitting-a-final-comma-in-a-list/) [Bill Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-walsh/) > [Probably they had good reason for omitting it. A profane mind might make a jest of an apostle half seas over, and ridicule an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bradlaugh/probably-they-had-good-reason-for-omitting-it-a-profane-mind-might/) [Charles Bradlaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bradlaugh/) > [The film has succeeded in transforming subjects so indistinguishably into social functions, that those wholly encompassed, no longer aware of any conflict, enjoy their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodor-adorno/the-film-has-succeeded-in-transforming-subjects-so-indistinguishably/) [Theodor Adorno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodor-adorno/) > [But man is a Noble Animal, splendid in ashes, and pompous in the grave, solemnizing Nativities and Deaths with equal lustre, nor omitting Ceremonies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-browne/but-man-is-a-noble-animal-splendid-in-ashes-and-pompous-in-the-grave/) [Thomas Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-browne/) > [You cannot put patience and experience into a parenthesis, and, omitting them, bring hope out of tribulation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-maclaren/you-cannot-put-patience-and-experience-into-a-parenthesis-and/) [Alexander MacLaren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-maclaren/) > [In view of the tide of religiosity engulfing a once secular republic it is refreshing to be reminded by Freethinkers that free thought and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/in-view-of-the-tide-of-religiosity-engulfing-a-once-secular-republic/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [By right, as the word is employed in this subject, has always been understood discretion, that is, a full and complete power of either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-godwin/by-right-as-the-word-is-employed-in-this-subject-has-always-been/) [William Godwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-godwin/) > [Omitting information is the same as telling a lie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/omitting-information-is-the-same-as-telling-a-lie/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [“Omitting the truth is its own kind of lie.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-sanders/omitting-the-truth-is-its-own-kind-of-lie/) [Ted Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-sanders/) > [Meanness is more in half-doing than in omitting acts of generosity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/meanness-is-more-in-half-doing-than-in-omitting-acts-of-generosity/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [Those who are successfully to lead their fellow-men, should have once possessed the nobler feelings. We have all known individuals whose magnanimity was not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-helps/those-who-are-successfully-to-lead-their-fellow-men-should-have-once/) [Arthur Helps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-helps/) > [It is a good and safe rule to sojourn in every place as if you meant to spend your life there, never omitting an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/it-is-a-good-and-safe-rule-to-sojourn-in-every-place-as-if-you-meant/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) ## More by René Descartes > [“My third maxim was to endeavour always to conquer myself rather than fortune, and change my desires rather than the order of the world,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/my-third-maxim-was-to-endeavour-always-to-conquer-myself-rather-than/) [René Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [Your joy is your sorrow unmasked. And the self-same well from which your laughter rises was often-times filled with your tears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/your-joy-is-your-sorrow-unmasked-and-the-self-same-well-from-which/) [Rene Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [So blind is the curiosity by which mortals are possessed, that they often conduct their minds along unexplored routes, having no reason to hope…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/so-blind-is-the-curiosity-by-which-mortals-are-possessed-that-they/) [Rene Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [“For to be possessed of a vigorous mind is not enough; the prime requisite is rightly to apply it. The greatest minds, as they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/for-to-be-possessed-of-a-vigorous-mind-is-not-enough-the-prime/) [René Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [“It is useful to know something of the manners of different nations, that we may be enabled to form a more correct judgment regarding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/it-is-useful-to-know-something-of-the-manners-of-different-nations/) [René Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [A state is better governed which has few laws, and those laws strictly observed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/a-state-is-better-governed-which-has-few-laws-and-those-laws-strictly/) [Rene Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [ \[About Pierre de Fermat\] It cannot be denied that he has had many exceptional ideas, and that he is a highly intelligent man. For… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/about-pierre-de-fermat-it-cannot-be-denied-that-he-has-had-many/) [Rene Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [Science is practical philosophy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/science-is-practical-philosophy/) [Rene Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [ “And what more am I? I look for aid to the imagination. \[But how mistakenly!\] I am not that assemblage of limbs we call… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/and-what-more-am-i-i-look-for-aid-to-the-imagination-but-how/) [René Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [“And, in fine, of false sciences I thought I knew the worth sufficiently to escape being deceived by the professions of an alchemist, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/and-in-fine-of-false-sciences-i-thought-i-knew-the-worth-sufficiently/) [René Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [Nothing is more fairly distributed than common sense: no one thinks he needs more of it than he already has.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/nothing-is-more-fairly-distributed-than-common-sense-no-one-thinks-he/) [Rene Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [If I go for the alternative which is false, then obviously I shall be in error; if I take the other side, then it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/if-i-go-for-the-alternative-which-is-false-then-obviously-i-shall-be/) [Rene Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [Everything is self-evident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/everything-is-self-evident/) [Rene Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [Neither the true nor the false roots are always real; sometimes they are imaginary; that is, while we can always imagine as many roots…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/neither-the-true-nor-the-false-roots-are-always-real-sometimes-they/) [Rene Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [It is only intelligence that is divided equally between people because everybody thinks he/she is enough wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/it-is-only-intelligence-that-is-divided-equally-between-people/) [René Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) [Explore all 232 René Descartes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) ## More Complete quotes > [Intel has a very complete process that I go through any time I want to sell that ensures I have no insider information.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-krzanich/intel-has-a-very-complete-process-that-i-go-through-any-time-i-want/) [Brian Krzanich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-krzanich/) > [Skiing fast feels like complete freedom to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kt-tunstall/skiing-fast-feels-like-complete-freedom-to-me/) [KT Tunstall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kt-tunstall/) > [“Complete - Yourself! Others may only enhance your completeness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lashauna-d-hinton/complete-yourself-others-may-only-enhance-your-completeness/) [Lashauna D. Hinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lashauna-d-hinton/) > [Being trendy is alright, but clubbing all the trends in one look is a complete no.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fawad-khan/being-trendy-is-alright-but-clubbing-all-the-trends-in-one-look-is-a/) [Fawad Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fawad-khan/) > [Each soul on earth is complete unto itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/each-soul-on-earth-is-complete-unto-itself/) [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) > [I'm so proud of you, Ani so proud I missed you so much now I am complete](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shmi-skywalker/i-m-so-proud-of-you-ani-so-proud-i-missed-you-so-much-now-i-am/) [Shmi Skywalker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shmi-skywalker/) > [When Apple introduced its game-changing iPhone in 2007, Nokia was caught sleeping on the job. Although it had actually developed an iPhone-style device -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noreena-hertz/when-apple-introduced-its-game-changing-iphone-in-2007-nokia-was/) [Noreena Hertz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noreena-hertz/) > [When I'm working in finite serials, I always think in terms of the entire book rather than the individual episode because, by far, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-ellis/when-i-m-working-in-finite-serials-i-always-think-in-terms-of-the/) [Warren Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-ellis/) > [I'm actually, for the most part, a complete agnostic politically.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-witten/i-m-actually-for-the-most-part-a-complete-agnostic-politically/) [Edward Witten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-witten/) > [I produced and acted in 'Ek Duaa' which is a complete female-centric film. It was very well received.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esha-deol/i-produced-and-acted-in-ek-duaa-which-is-a-complete-female-centric/) [Esha Deol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esha-deol/) > [In my work I have complete control, but about my life, I don't want to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-abramovic/in-my-work-i-have-complete-control-but-about-my-life-i-don-t-want-to/) [Marina Abramovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-abramovic/) > [Actually, I failed drama in high school because of nerves. I wasn't able to memorize the words. I had complete stage fright.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/constance-marie/actually-i-failed-drama-in-high-school-because-of-nerves-i-wasn-t/) [Constance Marie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/constance-marie/) > [To have weakness is not to be flawed--it's to be complete.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/to-have-weakness-is-not-to-be-flawed-it-s-to-be-complete/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Through all this other stuff I was doing, I always went back to the writing, and it was writing that made me feel whole,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dannah-gresh/through-all-this-other-stuff-i-was-doing-i-always-went-back-to-the/) [Dannah Gresh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dannah-gresh/) > [I'm a complete addict of The 'X Factor,' so I can see why everyone gets so inspired. But there's a downside to celebrity: your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-quick/i-m-a-complete-addict-of-the-x-factor-so-i-can-see-why-everyone-gets/) [Diana Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-quick/) [Browse all 823 Complete quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complete/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The last rule was to make enumerations so complete, and reviews so comprehensive, that I should be certain of omitting nothing.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "René Descartes" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/the-last-rule-was-to-make-enumerations-so-complete-and-reviews-so/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Complete" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/the-last-rule-was-to-make-enumerations-so-complete-and-reviews-so/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f2/ren-descartes-1376_complete_the-last-rule-was-to-make-enumerations-s_2587016.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f2/ren-descartes-1376_complete_the-last-rule-was-to-make-enumerations-s_2587016.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f2/ren-descartes-1376_complete_the-last-rule-was-to-make-enumerations-s_2587016.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The last rule was to make enumerations so complete, and reviews so comprehensive, that I should be certain…” — René Descartes", "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": "René Descartes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The last rule was to make...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/the-last-rule-was-to-make-enumerations-so-complete-and-reviews-so/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/the-last-rule-was-to-make-enumerations-so-complete-and-reviews-so/#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 } } ] } ```