--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I can only give you words. Nothing fancy…" description: "\"I can only give you words. Nothing fancy. But this will have to do. It doesn't matter if you're reading it a year from now or a hundred years from now...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f9/daniel-h-wilson-3372_annihilation_i-can-only-give-you-words-nothing-fancy_3061023.jpg" --- # I can only give you words. Nothing fancy. But this will… ![“I can only give you words. Nothing fancy. But this will have to do. It doesn't matter if you're reading it a year from now or a hundred years from now. By the end of the chronicle you will know that humanity carried the flame of knowledge into the terrible blackness of the unknown, to the very…” quote by Daniel H. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f9/daniel-h-wilson-3372_annihilation_i-can-only-give-you-words-nothing-fancy_3061023.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f9/daniel-h-wilson-3372_annihilation_i-can-only-give-you-words-nothing-fancy_3061023.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f9/daniel-h-wilson-3372_annihilation_i-can-only-give-you-words-nothing-fancy_3061023.jpg) > “I can only give you words. Nothing fancy. But this will have to do. It doesn't matter if you're reading it a year from now or a hundred years from now. By the end of the chronicle you will know that humanity carried the flame of knowledge into the terrible blackness of the unknown, to the very brink of annihilation. And we carried it back.” [Daniel H. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-h-wilson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Humanity preserves knowledge through darkness, returning from the brink of annihilation with its flame intact. **In simple terms:** Knowledge survives even in the darkest times. Key Takeaway Cherish and protect knowledge. Themes knowledge survival humanity Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - space exploration - historical preservation - education - cultural heritage Key Concepts existentialism resilience hope Questions to Reflect On - How do we ensure knowledge is used wisely? - What responsibilities come with preserving knowledge? A Different Perspective Even with knowledge, societies can still collapse without action. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Annihilation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/annihilation/) [Blackness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blackness/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) ## Related quotes > [It may be, it just may be, that life as we know it with its humanity is more unique than many have thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/it-may-be-it-just-may-be-that-life-as-we-know-it-with-its-humanity-is/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [“Perhaps the Creator of this strange place knows us better than we know ourselves. 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He was threatened with expulsion from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-douglas/no-one-died-from-infection-under-keen-he-keen-began-to-chronicle-the/) [Paul Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-douglas/) > [Vanity Fair has but two major articles in its editorial creed: first, to believe in the progress and promise of American life, and, second,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-crowninshield/vanity-fair-has-but-two-major-articles-in-its-editorial-creed-first/) [Frank Crowninshield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-crowninshield/) > [The truth is when you have a movie that was as successful as 'Chronicle' was, it's not as quick of a process. There are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-landis/the-truth-is-when-you-have-a-movie-that-was-as-successful-as/) [Max Landis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-landis/) > [My first name was inspired by the character of Aslan, the lion in C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aselin-debison/my-first-name-was-inspired-by-the-character-of-aslan-the-lion-in-c-s/) Aselin Debison ## More by Daniel H. Wilson > [“I don't think. I react. My action is divorced from all emotion and logic. It isn't human or inhuman-it just is. I believe that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-h-wilson/i-don-t-think-i-react-my-action-is-divorced-from-all-emotion-and/) [Daniel H. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-h-wilson/) > [“See you in the funny pages...mate”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-h-wilson/see-you-in-the-funny-pages-mate/) [Daniel H. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-h-wilson/) > [To survive, humans will work together. Accept each other. For a moment, we are all equal. Backs against the wall, human beings are at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-h-wilson/to-survive-humans-will-work-together-accept-each-other-for-a-moment/) [Daniel H. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-h-wilson/) > [You don't pick your revolution. It picks you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-h-wilson/you-don-t-pick-your-revolution-it-picks-you/) [Daniel H. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-h-wilson/) > [“We search for the ordinary when we are surrounded by the extraordinary.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-h-wilson/we-search-for-the-ordinary-when-we-are-surrounded-by-the-extraordinary/) [Daniel H. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-h-wilson/) > [Johannes Cabal would kill me for saying this, but he's my favorite Zeppelin-hopping detective. The fellow has got all the charm of Bond and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-h-wilson/johannes-cabal-would-kill-me-for-saying-this-but-he-s-my-favorite/) [Daniel H. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-h-wilson/) > [As a society, I think we express our cultural mores through our politics. 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The benefits far outweigh the threats.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-h-wilson/personally-i-m-not-afraid-of-a-robot-uprising-the-benefits-far/) [Daniel H. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-h-wilson/) > [“I may be a simple man, but I am very good with an axe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-h-wilson/i-may-be-a-simple-man-but-i-am-very-good-with-an-axe/) [Daniel H. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-h-wilson/) > [Looking ahead, future generations may learn their social skills from robots in the first place. The cute yellow Keepon robot from Carnegie Mellon University…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-h-wilson/looking-ahead-future-generations-may-learn-their-social-skills-from/) [Daniel H. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-h-wilson/) > [Human reactions to robots varies by culture and changes over time. In the United States we are terrified by killer robots. 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Wilson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-h-wilson/) ## More Annihilation quotes > [The heart that breaks open can contain the whole universe... All is registered in the 'boundless heart' of the bodhisattva. Through our deepest and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-macy/the-heart-that-breaks-open-can-contain-the-whole-universe-all-is/) [Joanna Macy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-macy/) > [The highest ideal of cure is the rapid, gentle and permanent restoration of health; that is, the lifting and annihilation of the disease in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-hahnemann/the-highest-ideal-of-cure-is-the-rapid-gentle-and-permanent/) [Samuel Hahnemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-hahnemann/) > [To fight is to face death once more, perhaps the total annihilation of their kind. 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I had become a cage of mirrors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/the-breath-had-become-as-much-a-trick-as-breathing-things-were-not/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [There were days when she was unhappy, she did not know why,--when it did not seem worthwhile to be glad or sorry, to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-chopin/there-were-days-when-she-was-unhappy-she-did-not-know-why-when-it-did/) [Kate Chopin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-chopin/) > [I've crossed some kind of invisible line. I feel as if I've come to a place I never thought I'd have to come to.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-carver/i-ve-crossed-some-kind-of-invisible-line-i-feel-as-if-i-ve-come-to-a/) [Raymond Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-carver/) > [We travel together, passengers on a little spaceship, dependent on it's vulnerable reserves of air and soil, all committed, for our safety, to it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adlai-e-stevenson/we-travel-together-passengers-on-a-little-spaceship-dependent-on-it-s/) [Adlai E. Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adlai-e-stevenson/) > [Liberty is to faction, what air is to fire, an aliment without which it instantly expires. But it could not be a less folly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/liberty-is-to-faction-what-air-is-to-fire-an-aliment-without-which-it/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [Today I will once more be a prophet. 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