--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All the knowledge that has led our…" description: "\"“All the knowledge that has led our species from wearing animal skins to people flying, complete with proofs, would fill a handful of reference books, ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a41/robert-musil-2009_books_all-the-knowledge-that-has-led-our-speci_175010.jpg" --- # All the knowledge that has led our species from wearing… ![“All the knowledge that has led our species from wearing animal skins to people flying, complete with proofs, would fill a handful of reference books, but a bookcase the size of the earth would not suffice to hold all the rest, quite apart from the vast discussions that are conducted not with the…” quote by Robert Musil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a41/robert-musil-2009_books_all-the-knowledge-that-has-led-our-speci_175010.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a41/robert-musil-2009_books_all-the-knowledge-that-has-led-our-speci_175010.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a41/robert-musil-2009_books_all-the-knowledge-that-has-led-our-speci_175010.jpg) > ““All the knowledge that has led our species from wearing animal skins to people flying, complete with proofs, would fill a handful of reference books, but a bookcase the size of the earth would not suffice to hold all the rest, quite apart from the vast discussions that are conducted not with the pen but with the sword and chains.”” [Robert Musil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human progress is driven by documented knowledge, yet vast unrecorded forces shape history through conflict and oppression. **In simple terms:** Knowledge fuels advancement, but power and violence also shape society. Key Takeaway Recognize both recorded achievements and hidden power dynamics. Themes history knowledge power conflict societal change Mood thoughtful critical serious Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - education reform - political analysis - historical research - media critique - human rights advocacy Key Concepts Epistemology political theory sociology Questions to Reflect On - How do unrecorded power structures influence current events? - What role does violence play in shaping history? A Different Perspective Written records cannot capture the full impact of coercion and violence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) ## Related quotes > [“The contents of someone's bookcase are part of his history, like and ancestral portrait.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-broyard/the-contents-of-someone-s-bookcase-are-part-of-his-history-like-and/) [Anatole Broyard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-broyard/) > [“The bookcase tipped and the book covers opened like wings over an underbelly of white feathers, dirty with ink.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-marra/the-bookcase-tipped-and-the-book-covers-opened-like-wings-over-an/) [Anthony Marra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-marra/) > [“Was there no time in there he could have said, "Oh,hey,meet me at the magical bookcase at the butt-crack of dawn tomorrow,cool?" And what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-hawkins/was-there-no-time-in-there-he-could-have-said-oh-hey-meet-me-at-the/) [Rachel Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-hawkins/) > [The main thing my bookcase says about me is that I'm not French.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-druckerman/the-main-thing-my-bookcase-says-about-me-is-that-i-m-not-french/) [Pamela Druckerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-druckerman/) > [The young need discipline and a full bookcase.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivienne-westwood/the-young-need-discipline-and-a-full-bookcase/) [Vivienne Westwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivienne-westwood/) > [“Congregated around a glass-fronted bookcase was an irritation of middle-aged men in waxed jackets,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-keen/congregated-around-a-glass-fronted-bookcase-was-an-irritation-of/) Greg Keen > [“I walked to the bookcase and examined the storybooks inside. As a girl, I had dreamed of having stacks of books at my disposal--stories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-jio/i-walked-to-the-bookcase-and-examined-the-storybooks-inside-as-a-girl/) [Sarah Jio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-jio/) > [“There’s a bookcase lining an entire wall. By the window there’s an armchair and another lamp, with a stack of books illuminated beneath it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-thorne/there-s-a-bookcase-lining-an-entire-wall-by-the-window-there-s-an/) [Sally Thorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-thorne/) > [“My bookcase is all yours." I walked to the door. 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Nobody will lend me a bookcase.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henny-youngman/i-own-a-hundred-and-fifty-books-but-i-have-no-bookcase-nobody-will/) [Henny Youngman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henny-youngman/) > [The book must of necessity be put into a bookcase. And the bookcase must be housed. And the house must be kept. And the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-e-gladstone/the-book-must-of-necessity-be-put-into-a-bookcase-and-the-bookcase/) [William E. Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-e-gladstone/) > [“Irene made a private mental resolution that if she ever became a queen, her throne would incorporate a cushion. Also a convenient bookcase.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/genevieve-cogman/irene-made-a-private-mental-resolution-that-if-she-ever-became-a/) [Genevieve Cogman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/genevieve-cogman/) > [A man's bookcase will tell you everything you'll ever need to know about him](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-mosley/a-man-s-bookcase-will-tell-you-everything-you-ll-ever-need-to-know/) [Walter Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-mosley/) ## More by Robert Musil > [“Everything we feel and do is somehow oriented "lifeward," and the least deviation away from this direction toward something beyond is difficult or alarming.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-musil/everything-we-feel-and-do-is-somehow-oriented-lifeward-and-the-least/) [Robert Musil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/) > [“He was in that familiar state - not that the occasion mattered to seriously to him -- of incoherent ideas spreading outward without a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-musil/he-was-in-that-familiar-state-not-that-the-occasion-mattered-to/) [Robert Musil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/) > [It is life that does the thinking all around us, forming with playful ease the connections our reason can only laboriously patch together piecemeal,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-musil/it-is-life-that-does-the-thinking-all-around-us-forming-with-playful/) [Robert Musil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/) > [“What is it you do, then? I'll tell you: You leave out whatever doesn't suit you. As the author himself has done before you.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-musil/what-is-it-you-do-then-i-ll-tell-you-you-leave-out-whatever-doesn-t/) [Robert Musil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/) > [and while faith based on theological reasoning is today universally engaged in a bitter struggle with doubt and resistance from the prevailing brand of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-musil/and-while-faith-based-on-theological-reasoning-is-today-universally/) [Robert Musil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/) > [What is the use of good painting? We want a spell cast upon the optical part of our existence! 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Consider…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-musil/his-appearance-gives-no-clue-to-what-his-profession-might-be-and-yet/) [Robert Musil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/) > [Philosophers are people who do violence, but have no army at their disposal, and so subjugate the world by locking it into a system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-musil/philosophers-are-people-who-do-violence-but-have-no-army-at-their/) [Robert Musil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/) > [“The drive of his own nature to keep developing prevents him from believing that anything is final and complete, yet everything he encounters behaves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-musil/the-drive-of-his-own-nature-to-keep-developing-prevents-him-from/) [Robert Musil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/) > [“And so the mind or spirit is the great opportunist, itself impossible to pin down, take hold of, anywhere; one is tempted to believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-musil/and-so-the-mind-or-spirit-is-the-great-opportunist-itself-impossible/) [Robert Musil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/) > [“For if one is partly insane, one is also, juridically, partly sane, and if one is partly sane one is at least partly responsible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-musil/for-if-one-is-partly-insane-one-is-also-juridically-partly-sane-and/) [Robert Musil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/) [Explore all 139 Robert Musil quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. Krebs > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. 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And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“All the knowledge that has led our species from wearing animal skins to people flying, complete with proofs, would fill a handful of reference books, but a bookcase the size of the earth would not suffice to hold all the rest, quite apart from the vast discussions that are conducted not with the pen but with the sword and chains.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert Musil" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-musil/all-the-knowledge-that-has-led-our-species-from-wearing-animal-skins/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-musil/all-the-knowledge-that-has-led-our-species-from-wearing-animal-skins/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a41/robert-musil-2009_books_all-the-knowledge-that-has-led-our-speci_175010.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a41/robert-musil-2009_books_all-the-knowledge-that-has-led-our-speci_175010.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a41/robert-musil-2009_books_all-the-knowledge-that-has-led-our-speci_175010.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“All the knowledge that has led our species from wearing animal skins to people flying, complete with proofs…” — Robert Musil", "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": "Robert Musil", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“All the knowledge that has led...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-musil/all-the-knowledge-that-has-led-our-species-from-wearing-animal-skins/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-musil/all-the-knowledge-that-has-led-our-species-from-wearing-animal-skins/#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 } } ] } ```