--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I scarcely know the meaning of your…" description: "\"I scarcely know the meaning of your question; much less can I answer it.\" — Boethius" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/60d/boethius-11247_answer_i-scarcely-know-the-meaning-of-your-ques_2057041.png" --- # I scarcely know the meaning of your question; much less… ![“I scarcely know the meaning of your question; much less can I answer it.” quote by Boethius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/60d/boethius-11247_answer_i-scarcely-know-the-meaning-of-your-ques_2057041.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/60d/boethius-11247_answer_i-scarcely-know-the-meaning-of-your-ques_2057041.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/60d/boethius-11247_answer_i-scarcely-know-the-meaning-of-your-ques_2057041.png) > “I scarcely know the meaning of your question; much less can I answer it.” [Boethius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boethius/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker admits ignorance of the question and inability to answer. **In simple terms:** Admits not knowing. Key Takeaway Accept limits of knowledge. Themes humility knowledge communication Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - education - debate - self‑reflection Key Concepts epistemology Socratic method Questions to Reflect On - When is it wise to admit uncertainty? - How does humility aid learning? A Different Perspective May seem evasive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Illumination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illumination/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) ## Related quotes > [What you are is a question only you can answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/what-you-are-is-a-question-only-you-can-answer/) [Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/) > [“Before him exist neither question nor answer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-g-jung/before-him-exist-neither-question-nor-answer/) [C.G. Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-g-jung/) > [Where did the world come from? The question has an answer, even though I cannot get to it. It is a good question. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/where-did-the-world-come-from-the-question-has-an-answer-even-though/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) > [“It was a question now, rather than a statement; a question with no answer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/it-was-a-question-now-rather-than-a-statement-a-question-with-no/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Violence is never the answer, It is a question..and the answer is yes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/violence-is-never-the-answer-it-is-a-question-and-the-answer-is-yes/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“My Name Is Landon And Im 12 Years Old. Im No Philosepher Or a Religous Person. But Everyone Asks The Question, "Whats The Meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/landon-i-taylor/my-name-is-landon-and-im-12-years-old-im-no-philosepher-or-a-religous/) Landon I Taylor > [“Think about the hidden meaning of question more than the question itself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anikor-daniel/think-about-the-hidden-meaning-of-question-more-than-the-question/) [ANIKOR Daniel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anikor-daniel/) > [“Dying is as natural as being born, and all of us have to face it someday. Some sooner than others. It's difficult to understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-m-reine/dying-is-as-natural-as-being-born-and-all-of-us-have-to-face-it/) [S.M. Reine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-m-reine/) > [Who am I, and where am I going? You are the answer to this question. 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I scarcely know my own children or they me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zachary-taylor/i-know-enough-of-the-family-life-of-officers-i-scarcely-know-my-own/) [Zachary Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zachary-taylor/) > [Experience teaches us, but we scarcely know what.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/experience-teaches-us-but-we-scarcely-know-what/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) ## More by Boethius > [“Among wise men there is no place at all left for hatred. 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Love is unto itself a higher law.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boethius/who-would-give-a-law-to-lovers-love-is-unto-itself-a-higher-law/) [Boethius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boethius/) > [“Quid autem de corporis uoluptatibus loquar, quarum appetentia quidem plena est anxietatis, satietas uero paenitentiae?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boethius/quid-autem-de-corporis-uoluptatibus-loquar-quarum-appetentia-quidem/) [Boethius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boethius/) > [Give me Thy light, and fix my eyes on Thee!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boethius/give-me-thy-light-and-fix-my-eyes-on-thee/) [Boethius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boethius/) > [In other living creatures the ignorance of themselves is nature, but in men it is a vice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boethius/in-other-living-creatures-the-ignorance-of-themselves-is-nature-but/) [Boethius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boethius/) > [If there is anything good about nobility it is that it enforces the necessity of avoiding degeneracy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boethius/if-there-is-anything-good-about-nobility-it-is-that-it-enforces-the/) [Boethius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boethius/) > [A man content to go to heaven alone will never go to heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boethius/a-man-content-to-go-to-heaven-alone-will-never-go-to-heaven/) [Boethius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boethius/) > [So nothing is ever good or bad unless you think it so, and vice versa. 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Because I’d rather live with the answer than die with the question.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ellis/and-if-you-can-t-say-yes-answer-anyway-because-i-d-rather-live-with/) Jon Ellis > [“There is a cure and answer to everything, we just haven't found them yet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-halimi/there-is-a-cure-and-answer-to-everything-we-just-haven-t-found-them/) [Eve Halimi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-halimi/) > [Whenever I'm asked about Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi, I always answer: 'Neymar is the best,' not just because of his goals but because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-carlos/whenever-i-m-asked-about-cristiano-ronaldo-or-lionel-messi-i-always/) [Roberto Carlos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-carlos/) > [A wiki works best where you're trying to answer a question that you can't easily pose, where there's not a natural structure that's known…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ward-cunningham/a-wiki-works-best-where-you-re-trying-to-answer-a-question-that-you/) [Ward Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ward-cunningham/) > [“Those are good questions. I recognize good questions, because I can come up with them myself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-brust/those-are-good-questions-i-recognize-good-questions-because-i-can/) [Steven Brust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-brust/) > [My answer is bring 'em on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/my-answer-is-bring-em-on/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [I'll answer anything... I'm brutally honest, actually, which gets me in trouble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-mclachlan/i-ll-answer-anything-i-m-brutally-honest-actually-which-gets-me-in/) [Sarah McLachlan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-mclachlan/) > [“...I guess I can put two and two together." "Sometimes the answer's four," I said, "and sometimes it's twenty-two...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dashiell-hammett/i-guess-i-can-put-two-and-two-together-sometimes-the-answer-s-four-i/) [Dashiell Hammett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dashiell-hammett/) > [Jumping someone is never the answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/jumping-someone-is-never-the-answer/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I play along myself, even though I can't help the player. So I can't say what I think the answer might be. But I'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paddy-mcguinness/i-play-along-myself-even-though-i-can-t-help-the-player-so-i-can-t/) [Paddy McGuinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paddy-mcguinness/) > [Sometimes the question is complicated, but the answers are simple.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-suess/sometimes-the-question-is-complicated-but-the-answers-are-simple/) [Dr Suess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-suess/) Browse all 2,090 Answer quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I scarcely know the meaning of your question; much less can I answer it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Boethius" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boethius/i-scarcely-know-the-meaning-of-your-question-much-less-can-i-answer-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Answer" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boethius/i-scarcely-know-the-meaning-of-your-question-much-less-can-i-answer-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/60d/boethius-11247_answer_i-scarcely-know-the-meaning-of-your-ques_2057041.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/60d/boethius-11247_answer_i-scarcely-know-the-meaning-of-your-ques_2057041.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/60d/boethius-11247_answer_i-scarcely-know-the-meaning-of-your-ques_2057041.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I scarcely know the meaning of your question; much less can I answer it.” — Boethius", "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": "Boethius", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boethius/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I scarcely know the meaning of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boethius/i-scarcely-know-the-meaning-of-your-question-much-less-can-i-answer-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boethius/i-scarcely-know-the-meaning-of-your-question-much-less-can-i-answer-it/#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 } } ] } ```