--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Since we are not permitted to act, we are…" description: "\"Since we are not permitted to act, we are obliged to know.\" — Jack Vance" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac7/jack-vance-3851_knows_since-we-are-not-permitted-to-act-we-are_1710561.jpg" --- # Since we are not permitted to act, we are obliged to know. ![“Since we are not permitted to act, we are obliged to know.” quote by Jack Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac7/jack-vance-3851_knows_since-we-are-not-permitted-to-act-we-are_1710561.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac7/jack-vance-3851_knows_since-we-are-not-permitted-to-act-we-are_1710561.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac7/jack-vance-3851_knows_since-we-are-not-permitted-to-act-we-are_1710561.jpg) > “Since we are not permitted to act, we are obliged to know.” [Jack Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-vance/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The statement suggests that when action is restricted, knowledge becomes a compulsory pursuit. **In simple terms:** Lack of action forces people to learn. Key Takeaway Seek knowledge when action is limited. Themes psychology motivation learning freedom Mood reflective analytical Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career stagnation - creative blocks - educational gaps - personal growth Key Concepts compulsion knowledge acquisition self‑improvement Questions to Reflect On - Why do we learn when we cannot act? - Can knowledge replace action? A Different Perspective It may ignore voluntary learning motivations beyond imposed constraints. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Act Obliged](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/act-obliged-1242948/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Obliged](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obliged/) [Obliged Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obliged-know-1242949/) [Permitted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/permitted/) [Permitted Act](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/permitted-act-1242950/) ## Related quotes > [“I find relief from the questions only when I concede that I am not obliged to know everything. I remind myself it is sufficient…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-find-relief-from-the-questions-only-when-i-concede-that-i-am-not/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [A more accurate statement would be that I was the first person since Jedi who was permitted to stick a fork into the piecrust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-zahn/a-more-accurate-statement-would-be-that-i-was-the-first-person-since/) [Timothy Zahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-zahn/) > [Thank God that He has permitted us to live among the present problems. It is no longer permitted to anyone to be mediocre.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/thank-god-that-he-has-permitted-us-to-live-among-the-present-problems/) [Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/) > [If I was elected God for a day, homosexuality wouldn't be permitted, but nobody's electing me God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-neumann/if-i-was-elected-god-for-a-day-homosexuality-wouldn-t-be-permitted/) [Mark Neumann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-neumann/) > [“The absurd does not liberate; it binds. It does not authorize all actions. "Everything is permitted" does not mean that nothing is forbidden.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-absurd-does-not-liberate-it-binds-it-does-not-authorize-all/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Yes, I believe in school choice. Parents know far better than government bureaucrats what their children need from an education standpoint, and they should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-salmon/yes-i-believe-in-school-choice-parents-know-far-better-than/) [Matt Salmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-salmon/) > [We are not permitted to linger, even with what is most intimate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/we-are-not-permitted-to-linger-even-with-what-is-most-intimate/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [To know all things is not permitted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/to-know-all-things-is-not-permitted/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [I prize the conditions under which I have lived because they have permitted me to choose my opportunities, to inquire into such matters as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-keith/i-prize-the-conditions-under-which-i-have-lived-because-they-have/) [Arthur Keith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-keith/) > [“Everything has always been permitted, even when God was around. God has nothing to do with it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-wood/everything-has-always-been-permitted-even-when-god-was-around-god-has/) [James Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-wood/) > [That which is not forbidden, is not on that account permitted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/that-which-is-not-forbidden-is-not-on-that-account-permitted/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [“If there's no God, all is permitted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-there-s-no-god-all-is-permitted/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“We may not always know what we're wanted for, nor is it for us to enquire, but nobody is useless as long as he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-gatty/we-may-not-always-know-what-we-re-wanted-for-nor-is-it-for-us-to/) [Margaret Gatty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-gatty/) > [I'd always wanted to live in San Francisco, and my circumstances never permitted it. I'm so happy I made the move.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-kapor/i-d-always-wanted-to-live-in-san-francisco-and-my-circumstances-never/) [Mitch Kapor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-kapor/) > [It was the one dream he'd never permitted himself to consider.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-quinn/it-was-the-one-dream-he-d-never-permitted-himself-to-consider/) [Julia Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-quinn/) ## More by Jack Vance > [Conversation! Supple sentences, with first and second meanings and overtones beyond, outrageous challenges with cleverly planned slip-points, rebuttals of elegant brevity; deceptions and guiles,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-vance/conversation-supple-sentences-with-first-and-second-meanings-and/) [Jack Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-vance/) > [But, for instance, when I was awfully young, I read all the Oz books. They were an enormous influence on me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-vance/but-for-instance-when-i-was-awfully-young-i-read-all-the-oz-books/) [Jack Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-vance/) > [I categorically declare first my absolute innocence, second my lack of criminal intent, and third my effusive apologies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-vance/i-categorically-declare-first-my-absolute-innocence-second-my-lack-of/) [Jack Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-vance/) > [Right now I'm so old that if I had a big gush of money, I don't know what I'd do with it. I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-vance/right-now-i-m-so-old-that-if-i-had-a-big-gush-of-money-i-don-t-know/) [Jack Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-vance/) > [This is no science, this is art, where equations fall away to elements like resolving chords, and where always prevails a symmetry either explicit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-vance/this-is-no-science-this-is-art-where-equations-fall-away-to-elements/) [Jack Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-vance/) > [“I will be glad to go. There is no poetry here. It is as I have always set forth: joy comes of its own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-vance/i-will-be-glad-to-go-there-is-no-poetry-here-it-is-as-i-have-always/) [Jack Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-vance/) > [Jack Vance's Lyonesse books are the greatest fairy tale of the twentieth century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-vance/jack-vance-s-lyonesse-books-are-the-greatest-fairy-tale-of-the/) [Jack Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-vance/) > [Good music always defeats bad luck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-vance/good-music-always-defeats-bad-luck/) [Jack Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-vance/) > [“I am not Cugel the Clever for nothing!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-vance/i-am-not-cugel-the-clever-for-nothing/) [Jack Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-vance/) > [“Twango's hospitality, though largely symbolic, does him credit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-vance/twango-s-hospitality-though-largely-symbolic-does-him-credit/) [Jack Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-vance/) > [Nothing is more conspicuous than a farting princess.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-vance/nothing-is-more-conspicuous-than-a-farting-princess/) [Jack Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-vance/) > [“The dead man's companions at the counter started to their feet, but halted as Voynod with great aplomb turned to face them. "Take care,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-vance/the-dead-man-s-companions-at-the-counter-started-to-their-feet-but/) [Jack Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-vance/) > [The story was such that I couldn't make a graceful ending and then make a graceful new beginning. I could have, but I didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-vance/the-story-was-such-that-i-couldn-t-make-a-graceful-ending-and-then/) [Jack Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-vance/) > [Vance has a genius in evoking the beauty of strangeness, the strangeness of beauty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-vance/vance-has-a-genius-in-evoking-the-beauty-of-strangeness-the/) [Jack Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-vance/) > [This flattery has been rather slow in coming. I think all of sudden late in life now I'm getting some credit for what I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-vance/this-flattery-has-been-rather-slow-in-coming-i-think-all-of-sudden/) [Jack Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-vance/) [Explore all 120 Jack Vance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-vance/) ## More Knows quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [I think, here's what I've realized from interviewing people, and I've been very open about my Catholicism and my love of Christ and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-mohr/i-think-here-s-what-i-ve-realized-from-interviewing-people-and-i-ve/) [Jay Mohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-mohr/) > [It is said that history turns on small hinges. A human career, too, results from an accumulating series of decisions about large and small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/it-is-said-that-history-turns-on-small-hinges-a-human-career-too/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [You've touched people and known it. You've touched people and never may know it. Either way, you have something to give. It is in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-schlessinger/you-ve-touched-people-and-known-it-you-ve-touched-people-and-never/) [Laura Schlessinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-schlessinger/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/) [William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/) > [the appetite for thinking must be regulated, as all sensible people know, for it may stifle one's life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/the-appetite-for-thinking-must-be-regulated-as-all-sensible-people/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [So here's what I want you to know, and here's what I want all our men and women in uniform to know: Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-here-s-what-i-want-you-to-know-and-here-s-what-i-want-all-our-men/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [As a child, I had a lot of older gay men taking care of me. There's a trust there. I feel like little girls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/as-a-child-i-had-a-lot-of-older-gay-men-taking-care-of-me-there-s-a/) [Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/) > [We instantly believe everything we think. Isn't that insane? It's good for us to explore the depravity of our minds, so we know we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krishna-das/we-instantly-believe-everything-we-think-isn-t-that-insane-it-s-good/) [Krishna Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krishna-das/) > [He who knows does not speak. He who speaks does not know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/he-who-knows-does-not-speak-he-who-speaks-does-not-know/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I did not know that the planning for biological and chemical warfare was so widespread in England, and even in France before France fell.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/i-did-not-know-that-the-planning-for-biological-and-chemical-warfare/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) [Browse all 53,133 Knows quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Since we are not permitted to act, we are obliged to know.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jack Vance" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-vance/since-we-are-not-permitted-to-act-we-are-obliged-to-know/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Knows" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-vance/since-we-are-not-permitted-to-act-we-are-obliged-to-know/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac7/jack-vance-3851_knows_since-we-are-not-permitted-to-act-we-are_1710561.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac7/jack-vance-3851_knows_since-we-are-not-permitted-to-act-we-are_1710561.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac7/jack-vance-3851_knows_since-we-are-not-permitted-to-act-we-are_1710561.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Since we are not permitted to act, we are obliged to know.” — Jack Vance", "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": "Jack Vance", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-vance/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Since we are not permitted to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-vance/since-we-are-not-permitted-to-act-we-are-obliged-to-know/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-vance/since-we-are-not-permitted-to-act-we-are-obliged-to-know/#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 } } ] } ```