--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Who knows whether the best of men be…" description: "\"Who knows whether the best of men be known? or whether there be not more remarkable persons forgot, than any that stand remembered in the known account..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e2/thomas-browne-2006_accounts_who-knows-whether-the-best-of-men-be-kno_1577031.png" --- # Who knows whether the best of men be known? or whether… ![“Who knows whether the best of men be known? or whether there be not more remarkable persons forgot, than any that stand remembered in the known account of time?” quote by Thomas Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e2/thomas-browne-2006_accounts_who-knows-whether-the-best-of-men-be-kno_1577031.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e2/thomas-browne-2006_accounts_who-knows-whether-the-best-of-men-be-kno_1577031.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e2/thomas-browne-2006_accounts_who-knows-whether-the-best-of-men-be-kno_1577031.png) > “Who knows whether the best of men be known? or whether there be not more remarkable persons forgot, than any that stand remembered in the known account of time?” [Thomas Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-browne/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author questions whether history remembers the truly great or forgets remarkable individuals. **In simple terms:** History may overlook great people. Key Takeaway Value contributions beyond fame. Themes history legacy recognition Mood reflective inquisitive thoughtful Type historical philosophical When to use this quote - historical research - education - cultural preservation Key Concepts memory obscurity achievement Questions to Reflect On - Who are the unsung heroes you admire? - How can we better preserve forgotten achievements? A Different Perspective Fame can distort true merit. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Best of me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/best-of-me/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“It is remarkable that persons who speculate the most boldly often conform with the most perfect quietude to the external regulations of society.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/it-is-remarkable-that-persons-who-speculate-the-most-boldly-often-2/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [Of all the men I have known, I cannot recall one whose mother did her level best for him when he was little who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-parkinson-keyes/of-all-the-men-i-have-known-i-cannot-recall-one-whose-mother-did-her/) [Frances Parkinson Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-parkinson-keyes/) > [All the extraordinary men I have ever known were chiefly extraordinary in their own estimation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/all-the-extraordinary-men-i-have-ever-known-were-chiefly/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [“Stimulated by the juice, I believe, men have even been known to ride alligators.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse/stimulated-by-the-juice-i-believe-men-have-even-been-known-to-ride/) [P.G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse/) > [The sentiments of men are known not only by what they receive, but what they reject also.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-sentiments-of-men-are-known-not-only-by-what-they-receive-but/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“Great men are not known by their sizes, but by the greatness in their characters”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oladosuolatayo/great-men-are-not-known-by-their-sizes-but-by-the-greatness-in-their/) OladosuOlatayo > [I like men who have known the best and the worst, whose life has been anything but a smooth trip. Storms have battered them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-salter/i-like-men-who-have-known-the-best-and-the-worst-whose-life-has-been/) [James Salter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-salter/) > [Other men are known to posterity only through the medium of history, which is continually growing faint and obscure; but the intercourse between the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/other-men-are-known-to-posterity-only-through-the-medium-of-history/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [Violent men have not been known in history to die to a man. They die up to a point.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/violent-men-have-not-been-known-in-history-to-die-to-a-man-they-die/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [I have already lived and enjoyed as much life as any nine other men I have known.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/i-have-already-lived-and-enjoyed-as-much-life-as-any-nine-other-men-i/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [Men who have not known the horror of death are not likely to be awed by it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lu-xun/men-who-have-not-known-the-horror-of-death-are-not-likely-to-be-awed/) [Lu Xun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lu-xun/) > [How many worthy men have we known to survive their own reputation, who have seen and suffered the honor and glory most justly acquired…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/how-many-worthy-men-have-we-known-to-survive-their-own-reputation-who/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [I have been all men known to history, Wondering at the world and at time passing; I have seen evil, and the light blessing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-s-thomas/i-have-been-all-men-known-to-history-wondering-at-the-world-and-at/) [R. S. Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-s-thomas/) > [Men are as we have always known them, neither better nor worse from the hearts of rogues there springs a latent honesty, from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federica-montseny/men-are-as-we-have-always-known-them-neither-better-nor-worse-from/) [Federica Montseny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federica-montseny/) > [All the extraordinary men I have known were extraordinary in their own estimation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/all-the-extraordinary-men-i-have-known-were-extraordinary-in-their/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) ## More by Thomas Browne > [Be substantially great in thyself, and more than thou appearest unto others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-browne/be-substantially-great-in-thyself-and-more-than-thou-appearest-unto/) [Thomas Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-browne/) > [Man is a noble animal, splendid in ashes, and pompous in the grave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-browne/man-is-a-noble-animal-splendid-in-ashes-and-pompous-in-the-grave/) [Thomas Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-browne/) > [Not to be content with Life is the unsatisfactory state of those which destroy themselves; who being afraid to live, run blindly upon their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-browne/not-to-be-content-with-life-is-the-unsatisfactory-state-of-those/) [Thomas Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-browne/) > [“It is we that are blind, not Fortune: because our eye is too dim to discover the mystery of her effects, we foolishly paint…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-browne/it-is-we-that-are-blind-not-fortune-because-our-eye-is-too-dim-to/) [Thomas Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-browne/) > [“That there must be heresies is true, not onely in our Church, but also in any other; even in Doctrines hereticall there will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-browne/that-there-must-be-heresies-is-true-not-onely-in-our-church-but-also/) [Thomas Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-browne/) > [Think it more satisfactory to live richly than die rich.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-browne/think-it-more-satisfactory-to-live-richly-than-die-rich/) [Thomas Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-browne/) > [Think not thy time short in this world, since the world itself is not long. 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