--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: That we are capable only of being what we…" description: "\"That we are capable only of being what we are remains our unforgivable sin.\" — Gene Wolfe" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/961/gene-wolfe-2530_capable_that-we-are-capable-only-of-being-what-w_743878.jpg" --- # That we are capable only of being what we are remains our… ![“That we are capable only of being what we are remains our unforgivable sin.” quote by Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/961/gene-wolfe-2530_capable_that-we-are-capable-only-of-being-what-w_743878.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/961/gene-wolfe-2530_capable_that-we-are-capable-only-of-being-what-w_743878.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/961/gene-wolfe-2530_capable_that-we-are-capable-only-of-being-what-w_743878.jpg) > “That we are capable only of being what we are remains our unforgivable sin.” [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote laments that limiting ourselves to our current identity is a grave moral failing. **In simple terms:** Staying static is a serious sin. Key Takeaway Embrace growth beyond self‑imposed limits. Themes self‑limitation identity morality growth Mood reflective somber Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - personal development - career change - creative pursuits - spiritual practice Key Concepts existentialism self‑actualization Questions to Reflect On - What aspects of yourself are you refusing to evolve? - How can you responsibly expand your identity? A Different Perspective It may overlook structural barriers that restrict identity change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Sin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sin/) [Unforgivable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unforgivable/) [Unforgivable sin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unforgivable-sin/) ## Related quotes > [All you have done is to be different from other women and you have made a little success of it. This is unforgivable sin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mitchell/all-you-have-done-is-to-be-different-from-other-women-and-you-have/) [Margaret Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mitchell/) > [“The only unforgivable sin is to look into the human heart without compassion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/the-only-unforgivable-sin-is-to-look-into-the-human-heart-without/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [The only unforgivable sin: Being unforgiving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-forbes/the-only-unforgivable-sin-being-unforgiving/) [Malcolm Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-forbes/) > [Success is the only unforgivable sin against your neighbor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faina-ranevskaya/success-is-the-only-unforgivable-sin-against-your-neighbor/) [Faina Ranevskaya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faina-ranevskaya/) > [Beckett does not believe in God, though he seems to imply that God has committed an unforgivable sin by not existing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/beckett-does-not-believe-in-god-though-he-seems-to-imply-that-god-has/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [Despair is the price one pays for setting himself an impossible aim.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/despair-is-the-price-one-pays-for-setting-himself-an-impossible-aim/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [“Spoiling stories… is an unforgivable sin in this world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-baskerville-pandora-hearts/spoiling-stories-is-an-unforgivable-sin-in-this-world/) Leo Baskerville Pandora Hearts > [That is the one unforgivable sin in any society. Be different and be damned!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mitchell/that-is-the-one-unforgivable-sin-in-any-society-be-different-and-be/) [Margaret Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mitchell/) > [The unforgivable sin is the refusal to pardon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/the-unforgivable-sin-is-the-refusal-to-pardon/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [The only unforgivable sin is deliberate cruelty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-williams/the-only-unforgivable-sin-is-deliberate-cruelty/) [Tennessee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-williams/) > [There is no word more "dangerous" than liberalism, because to oppose it is the new "unforgivable sin."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/there-is-no-word-more-dangerous-than-liberalism-because-to-oppose-it/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“In the eyes of his contemporaries, he was a man who had committed the one unforgivable sin; he was proud of his wealth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/in-the-eyes-of-his-contemporaries-he-was-a-man-who-had-committed-the/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Despair has been called the unforgivable sin-not presumably because God refuses to forgive it, but because it despairs of the possibility of being forgiven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/despair-has-been-called-the-unforgivable-sin-not-presumably-because/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [The unforgivable sin of Hitler's Germany was to develop a new economic system by which the international bankers were deprived of their profits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-unforgivable-sin-of-hitler-s-germany-was-to-develop-a-new/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Punctuality comes high on my list of unforgivable sins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-cannell/punctuality-comes-high-on-my-list-of-unforgivable-sins/) Dorothy Cannell ## More by Gene Wolfe > [Some writers say they cannot write in front of a window; many say they cannot function without almost perfect quiet. A writer with only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/some-writers-say-they-cannot-write-in-front-of-a-window-many-say-they/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [“Sometimes driven aground by the photon storms, by the swirling of the galaxies, clockwise and counterclockwise, ticking with light down the dark sea-corridors lined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/sometimes-driven-aground-by-the-photon-storms-by-the-swirling-of-the/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [Ambiguity is necessary in some of my stories, not in all. In those, it certainly contributes to the richness of the story. I doubt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/ambiguity-is-necessary-in-some-of-my-stories-not-in-all-in-those-it/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [“There are beings—and artifacts—against which we batter our intelligence raw, and in the end make peace with reality only by saying, “It was an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/there-are-beings-and-artifacts-against-which-we-batter-our/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [Science has so accustomed us to devising and accepting theories to account for the facts we observe, however fantastic, that our minds must begin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/science-has-so-accustomed-us-to-devising-and-accepting-theories-to/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [“The experienced feel love or desire, or both. The inexperienced are sick with a thousand feelings, most of them unformed: fearful that they may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/the-experienced-feel-love-or-desire-or-both-the-inexperienced-are/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [“For those who have never attended a science fiction convention, masquerades are features of most of the larger ones. Awards are presented for best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/for-those-who-have-never-attended-a-science-fiction-convention/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [“He had a wild yellow beard and long, tangled hair that stood out from his head in a way that made it seem too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/he-had-a-wild-yellow-beard-and-long-tangled-hair-that-stood-out-from/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [ ...in some situations winning consist\[s\] of disentangling oneself. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/in-some-situations-winning-consist-s-of-disentangling-oneself/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [“For after all, if the lives of most men are examined in detail, it will be found that they have been experts of immense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/for-after-all-if-the-lives-of-most-men-are-examined-in-detail-it-will/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [You never learn how to write a novel. You just learn how to write the novel that you're writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/you-never-learn-how-to-write-a-novel-you-just-learn-how-to-write-the/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [There is no magic. There is only knowledge, more or less hidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/there-is-no-magic-there-is-only-knowledge-more-or-less-hidden/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [“...the progress of science depends much less upon either theoretical considerations or systematic investigation than is commonly believed, but rather on the transmittal of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/the-progress-of-science-depends-much-less-upon-either-theoretical/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [“Whatever we may say, all of us suffer from disturbed sleep at times. Some in truth hardly sleep, though some who sleep copiously swear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/whatever-we-may-say-all-of-us-suffer-from-disturbed-sleep-at-times/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [“. . .Consciousness came and went. Consciousness went and came like the errant winds of spring, and I, who so often have had difficulty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/consciousness-came-and-went-consciousness-went-and-came-like-the/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) [Explore all 160 Gene Wolfe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) ## More Capable quotes > [When we are capable of living in the moment free from the tyranny of "shoulds," free from the nagging sensation that this moment isn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-z-borysenko/when-we-are-capable-of-living-in-the-moment-free-from-the-tyranny-of/) [Joan Z. Borysenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-z-borysenko/) > [Everybody is different. Some writers can write reams of great books and then J. D. Salinger wrote just a few. Beethoven wrote nine symphonies.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-joel/everybody-is-different-some-writers-can-write-reams-of-great-books/) [Billy Joel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-joel/) > [People are capable of great, great change during the span of one lifetime. And women even more than men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/people-are-capable-of-great-great-change-during-the-span-of-one/) [Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/) > [When you lived it for years and years and years and seen different characters just get pummeled and squashed because 'I said so,' it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arn-anderson/when-you-lived-it-for-years-and-years-and-years-and-seen-different/) [Arn Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arn-anderson/) > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [But, outside of being a sweet little girl, she was awfully dumb and capable of doing horrible things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/but-outside-of-being-a-sweet-little-girl-she-was-awfully-dumb-and/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [I was terrible student. I was capable, but I never like being told what to do, so I was always in the bottom class…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-lilley/i-was-terrible-student-i-was-capable-but-i-never-like-being-told-what/) [Chris Lilley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-lilley/) > [Not everyone is capable of madness; and of those lucky enough to be capable, not many have the courage for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-strindberg/not-everyone-is-capable-of-madness-and-of-those-lucky-enough-to-be/) [August Strindberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-strindberg/) > [ \[The Community's\] crosses and trials give me confidence. But I derive my hope above all, and most especially, from our utter incapacity, for it… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-guerin/the-community-s-crosses-and-trials-give-me-confidence-but-i-derive-my/) [Theodore Guerin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-guerin/) > [The mathematical facts worthy of being studied are those which, by their analogy with other facts, are capable of leading us to the knowledge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-poincare/the-mathematical-facts-worthy-of-being-studied-are-those-which-by/) [Henri Poincare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-poincare/) > [“If you not yet try How to know you can or not?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sopharat/if-you-not-yet-try-how-to-know-you-can-or-not/) Sopharat > [I'm attracted to the garden, without a doubt, but I always try and image the wolf that's there, too. And that wolf would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-light/i-m-attracted-to-the-garden-without-a-doubt-but-i-always-try-and/) [Michael Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-light/) > [A man, as a man, could arrive at all the dignity that a man was capable of obtaining or receiving; but it needed a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor/a-man-as-a-man-could-arrive-at-all-the-dignity-that-a-man-was-capable/) [John Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor/) > [Playing is much, much harder than composing in my opinion, becoming a player. If you want to be a player for all your life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-powell/playing-is-much-much-harder-than-composing-in-my-opinion-becoming-a/) [John Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-powell/) > [How difficult the task to quench the fire and the pride of private ambition, and to sacrifice ourselves and all our hopes and expectations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-adams/how-difficult-the-task-to-quench-the-fire-and-the-pride-of-private/) [Abigail Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-adams/) Browse all 3,861 Capable quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "That we are capable only of being what we are remains our unforgivable sin.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gene Wolfe" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/that-we-are-capable-only-of-being-what-we-are-remains-our/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Capable" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/that-we-are-capable-only-of-being-what-we-are-remains-our/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/961/gene-wolfe-2530_capable_that-we-are-capable-only-of-being-what-w_743878.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/961/gene-wolfe-2530_capable_that-we-are-capable-only-of-being-what-w_743878.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/961/gene-wolfe-2530_capable_that-we-are-capable-only-of-being-what-w_743878.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“That we are capable only of being what we are remains our unforgivable sin.” — Gene Wolfe", "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": "Gene Wolfe", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "That we are capable only of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/that-we-are-capable-only-of-being-what-we-are-remains-our/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/that-we-are-capable-only-of-being-what-we-are-remains-our/#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 } } ] } ```