“It ain't so much the things we don't know that get us into trouble, it's the things we do know that just ain't so.”

— Artemus Ward

Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "It ain't so much the things we don't know that get us into trouble, it's the things we do know that just ain't so." by Artemus Ward?

Artemus Ward 24

American writer 1834–1867

Related quotes

“Goddamnit, look! We live here and they live there. We black and they white. They got things and we ain't. They do things and we can't. It's just like livin' in jail.”

Richard Wright (1908–1960) African-American writer

Native Son (1940)

“You can get just so much
From a good thing.
You can linger too long
In your dreams.
Say goodbye to the
Oldies but goodies.
You know the good ole days weren't always good,
And tomorrow ain't as bad as it seems.”

Billy Joel (1949) American singer-songwriter and pianist

Keeping the Faith.
Song lyrics, An Innocent Man (1983)

“The trouble with the world is not that people know too little; it's that they know so many things that just aren't so.”

Mark Twain (1835–1910) American author and humorist

“It ain't no use to sit and wonder why, babe
If you don't know by now”

Bob Dylan (1941) American singer-songwriter, musician, author, and artist

Compare: "It ain't no use to sit and sigh now, darlin." Paul Clayton, Who's Gonna Buy You Ribbons (When I'm Gone).
Song lyrics, The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan (1963), Don't Think Twice, It's All Right

“Ain't that a sight? With all the things we know and learn, we still ain't touched the big mysteries -- where we come from, where we go next, why we even her. And when something truly miraculous happens, we run and hide in our caves. We deny.”

Libba Bray Going Bovine

Source: Going Bovine

“So if that little thing can do so much, who knows what else we can experience?”

Kathy Acker (1947–1997) American novelist, playwright, essayist, and poet

Kathy Acker: Where does she get off?
Context: A friend told me that there are these clean and sober dykes that have piercings every couple months just to get high. It's about learning about my body. I didn't know my body could do this. It's not exactly pleasure. It's more like vision. I didn't know the body is such a visionary factory.
Basically we grew up not wanting to know that we had bodies. And it's not as if these piercings are in that deep — it's just on the surface. So if that little thing can do so much, who knows what else we can experience?