"We have all forgot more than we remember"
About this Quote
The intent is moral and social. Fuller is warning against the ego that treats memory as proof of mastery: the scholar who confuses a well-stocked bookshelf with wisdom, the witness who believes their recollection is a reliable court, the believer who mistakes familiarity with doctrine for actual spiritual steadiness. The subtext is humbling and communal: “we have all” collapses hierarchy. No one is exempt - not the educated, not the pious, not the powerful. If forgetting dwarfs remembering, then certainty should be worn lightly.
In Fuller’s clerical context, the line also doubles as a theological nudge. Christian teaching prizes humility, confession, and dependence on grace - a posture that makes sense if human perception is so leaky. Memory’s limits become an argument for charity: if you’re constantly losing parts of your own story, you should hesitate before condemning someone else’s. The quote works because it turns a universal weakness into a disciplined ethic: less swagger, more mercy.
Quote Details
| Topic | Wisdom |
|---|---|
| Source | Rejected source: The holy and profane states: By Thomas Fuller (Thomas Fuller, 1841)IA: holyprofanestate0000thom
Evidence: hesils should have more soldiers or richer armour and artillery than we wherefor Other candidates (2) Civilization's Quotations (2002) compilation95.0% ... We have all forgot more than we remember . ” — Thomas Fuller " Can anybody remember when the times were not hard ... Thomas Fuller (Thomas Fuller) compilation33.8% ood be the best sauce for victory yet must it not be more than the meat the hist |
| Featured | This quote was our Quote of the Day on November 6, 2025 |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Fuller, Thomas. (2026, January 11). We have all forgot more than we remember. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/we-have-all-forgot-more-than-we-remember-10345/
Chicago Style
Fuller, Thomas. "We have all forgot more than we remember." FixQuotes. January 11, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/we-have-all-forgot-more-than-we-remember-10345/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"We have all forgot more than we remember." FixQuotes, 11 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/we-have-all-forgot-more-than-we-remember-10345/. Accessed 6 Feb. 2026.








