--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The vastest things are those we may not…" description: "\"“The vastest things are those we may not learn. We are not taught to die, nor to be born, Nor how to burn With love. How pitiful is our enforced return..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcf/mervyn-peake-2927_birth_the-vastest-things-are-those-we-may-not_1672367.png" --- # The vastest things are those we may not learn. We are not… ![“The vastest things are those we may not learn. We are not taught to die, nor to be born, Nor how to burn With love. How pitiful is our enforced return To those small things we are the masters of.” quote by Mervyn Peake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcf/mervyn-peake-2927_birth_the-vastest-things-are-those-we-may-not_1672367.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcf/mervyn-peake-2927_birth_the-vastest-things-are-those-we-may-not_1672367.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcf/mervyn-peake-2927_birth_the-vastest-things-are-those-we-may-not_1672367.png) > ““The vastest things are those we may not learn. We are not taught to die, nor to be born, Nor how to burn With love. How pitiful is our enforced return To those small things we are the masters of.”” [Mervyn Peake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mervyn-peake/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human knowledge is limited; we are not taught about death, birth, or love's fire, leaving us helpless with small matters. **In simple terms:** We lack teachings on profound life cycles, focusing on trivialities. Key Takeaway Seek deeper understanding of life's cycles. Themes existence learning humility Mood contemplative melancholic Type philosophical poetic When to use this quote - philosophical study - spiritual practice - education reform - personal reflection Key Concepts mortality birth love ignorance Questions to Reflect On - What small things can teach you about larger truths? - How can you learn about death and love without formal teaching? A Different Perspective May be abstract and hard to apply. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Birth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birth/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Small things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/small-things/) ## Related quotes > [“It was a long head. It was a wedge, a sliver, a grotesque slice in which it seemed the features had been forced to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mervyn-peake/it-was-a-long-head-it-was-a-wedge-a-sliver-a-grotesque-slice-in-which/) [Mervyn Peake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mervyn-peake/) > [“Kids learn not so much from what they're taught as from what they do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-s-tolan/kids-learn-not-so-much-from-what-they-re-taught-as-from-what-they-do/) [Stephanie S. Tolan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-s-tolan/) > [Go anywhere you wish, talk to everyone. Ask any questions; you will be given answers. When you want to learn, you will be taught.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/go-anywhere-you-wish-talk-to-everyone-ask-any-questions-you-will-be/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [David Langford, illustrates the difference between teaching and learning in a little story. He says, 'You know, last Wednesday I taught my dog to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myron-tribus/david-langford-illustrates-the-difference-between-teaching-and/) [Myron Tribus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myron-tribus/) > [“One cannot learn what cannot be taught.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bert-mccoy/one-cannot-learn-what-cannot-be-taught/) [Bert McCoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bert-mccoy/) > [Man is the only one that knows nothing, that can learn nothing without being taught. He can neither speak nor walk nor eat, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pliny-the-elder/man-is-the-only-one-that-knows-nothing-that-can-learn-nothing-without/) [Pliny the Elder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pliny-the-elder/) > [“I learn. Sometimes I am taught something I have already been taught in dozens of other classrooms. Sometimes I am taught something completely new.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/i-learn-sometimes-i-am-taught-something-i-have-already-been-taught-in/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“There was at least as much to learn as there was to be taught.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-balogh/there-was-at-least-as-much-to-learn-as-there-was-to-be-taught/) [Mary Balogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-balogh/) > [3 Things to learn from a CHILD:-To be happy for no reason..To be always busy doing something..To know how to demand small things without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tinku-razoria/3-things-to-learn-from-a-child-to-be-happy-for-no-reason-to-be-always/) [Tinku Razoria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tinku-razoria/) > [But the virtues we get by first exercising them, as also happens in the case of the arts as well. For the things we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/but-the-virtues-we-get-by-first-exercising-them-as-also-happens-in/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [We learn good things and we learn bad things but together they come out awesome because the bad cant out weigh the good for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frenchqueen/we-learn-good-things-and-we-learn-bad-things-but-together-they-come/) Frenchqueen > [I've learnt a lot about certain things but you also learn through your own experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-radcliffe/i-ve-learnt-a-lot-about-certain-things-but-you-also-learn-through/) [Daniel Radcliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-radcliffe/) > [There are some things you learn best in calm, and some in storm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/there-are-some-things-you-learn-best-in-calm-and-some-in-storm/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [This extends to all things, but you only learn it by losing a few times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-st-pierre/this-extends-to-all-things-but-you-only-learn-it-by-losing-a-few-times/) [Georges St-Pierre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-st-pierre/) > [When I know things are not for me, I learn to let go. It doesn't mean I'm weak but I'm just showing how strong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-i-know-things-are-not-for-me-i-learn-to-let-go-it-doesn-t-mean-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Mervyn Peake > [Gormenghast, that is, the main massing of the original stone, taken by itself would have displayed a certain ponderous architectural quality were it possible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mervyn-peake/gormenghast-that-is-the-main-massing-of-the-original-stone-taken-by/) [Mervyn Peake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mervyn-peake/) > [Through her, in microcosm, the wide earth sobbed. The starglobe sank in her; the colours faded. The death-dew rose and the wild birds in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mervyn-peake/through-her-in-microcosm-the-wide-earth-sobbed-the-starglobe-sank-in/) [Mervyn Peake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mervyn-peake/) > [“Behind him she saw something which by contrast with the alien incalculable figure before her, was close and real. It was something which she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mervyn-peake/behind-him-she-saw-something-which-by-contrast-with-the-alien/) [Mervyn Peake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mervyn-peake/) > [“If seeing her an hour before her last Weak cough into all blackness I could yet Be held by chalk-white walls - The Consumptive.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mervyn-peake/if-seeing-her-an-hour-before-her-last-weak-cough-into-all-blackness-i/) [Mervyn Peake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mervyn-peake/) > [“He knew that he was caught up in one of those stretches of time when for anything to happen normally would be abnormal. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mervyn-peake/he-knew-that-he-was-caught-up-in-one-of-those-stretches-of-time-when/) [Mervyn Peake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mervyn-peake/) > [“Would you be so kind as to remove your redundant carcass from the door of this room, my man,’ he said, in his high,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mervyn-peake/would-you-be-so-kind-as-to-remove-your-redundant-carcass-from-the/) [Mervyn Peake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mervyn-peake/) > [What is Time... That you speak of it so subserviently? Are we to be the slaves of the sun, that second-hand, overrated knob of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mervyn-peake/what-is-time-that-you-speak-of-it-so-subserviently-are-we-to-be-the/) [Mervyn Peake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mervyn-peake/) > [“He could now inhabit the world of words, with, at the back of his melancholy, a solace he had not known before”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mervyn-peake/he-could-now-inhabit-the-world-of-words-with-at-the-back-of-his/) [Mervyn Peake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mervyn-peake/) > [“He had emptied the bright goblet of romance; at a single gulp he had emptied it. The glass of it lay scattered on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mervyn-peake/he-had-emptied-the-bright-goblet-of-romance-at-a-single-gulp-he-had/) [Mervyn Peake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mervyn-peake/) > [“I want a big breakfast," said Fuchsia at last. "I want a lot to eat, I'm going to think today.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mervyn-peake/i-want-a-big-breakfast-said-fuchsia-at-last-i-want-a-lot-to-eat-i-m/) [Mervyn Peake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mervyn-peake/) > [“Before it had awoke to die on the instant of its waking, a score of bells and clocks had shouted midday and for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mervyn-peake/before-it-had-awoke-to-die-on-the-instant-of-its-waking-a-score-of/) [Mervyn Peake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mervyn-peake/) > [“Gormenghast. Withdrawn and ruinous it broods in umbra: the immemorial masonry: the towers, the tracts. Is all corroding? No. Through an avenue of spires…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mervyn-peake/gormenghast-withdrawn-and-ruinous-it-broods-in-umbra-the-immemorial/) [Mervyn Peake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mervyn-peake/) > [“I do not understand your love,' he said.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mervyn-peake/i-do-not-understand-your-love-he-said/) [Mervyn Peake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mervyn-peake/) > [ \[Peake's books\] are actual additions to life; they give, like certain rare dreams, sensations we never had before, and enlarge our conception of the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mervyn-peake/peake-s-books-are-actual-additions-to-life-they-give-like-certain/) [Mervyn Peake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mervyn-peake/) > [Why break the heart that never beat from love?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mervyn-peake/why-break-the-heart-that-never-beat-from-love/) [Mervyn Peake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mervyn-peake/) [Explore all 143 Mervyn Peake quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mervyn-peake/) ## More Birth quotes > [“Conception is the beginning of human life. From the time that an ovum is fertilized a new life begins that is neither that of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/declaration-on-procured-abortion-congregation-for-the-doctrine-of-the-faith-1974/conception-is-the-beginning-of-human-life-from-the-time-that-an-ovum/) Declaration on Procured Abortion Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith 1974 > [In the entire history of the universe, let alone in your own history, there has never been another day just like today, and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/in-the-entire-history-of-the-universe-let-alone-in-your-own-history/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [The greatest mystery in life is not life itself, but death. Death is the culmination of life, the ultimate blossoming of life. In death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/the-greatest-mystery-in-life-is-not-life-itself-but-death-death-is/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [Guns have little or nothing to do with juvenile violence. The causes of youth violence are working parents who put their kids into daycare,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-delay/guns-have-little-or-nothing-to-do-with-juvenile-violence-the-causes/) [Tom DeLay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-delay/) > [“Every child is born as angel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/every-child-is-born-as-angel/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [Nirvana is a word that means enlightenment, being beyond the illusion of birth and death, the illusion of pain, the illusion of love, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/nirvana-is-a-word-that-means-enlightenment-being-beyond-the-illusion/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [It was no accident, no coincidence, that the seasons came round and round year after year. It was the Lord speaking to us all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-rivers/it-was-no-accident-no-coincidence-that-the-seasons-came-round-and/) [Francine Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-rivers/) > [We do not want to be reminded that it is we, the indigenous people, who are poor and exploited in the land of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-biko/we-do-not-want-to-be-reminded-that-it-is-we-the-indigenous-people-who/) [Steven Biko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-biko/) > [There are two kinds of beauty; there is a beauty which God gives at birth, and which withers as a flower. And there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-kuyper/there-are-two-kinds-of-beauty-there-is-a-beauty-which-god-gives-at/) [Abraham Kuyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-kuyper/) > [Always keep the smile, because the smile is the beginning of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-imad/always-keep-the-smile-because-the-smile-is-the-beginning-of-love/) Adam Imad > [The wailing of the newborn infant is mingled with the dirge for the dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucretius/the-wailing-of-the-newborn-infant-is-mingled-with-the-dirge-for-the/) [Lucretius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucretius/) > [I gave birth to most of them MC's... So when it comes around to the month of May, Send me your royalty check for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxanne-shante/i-gave-birth-to-most-of-them-mc-s-so-when-it-comes-around-to-the/) Roxanne Shante > [“A Beautiful verse takes birth when "U"n"I" VERSE.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajesh-walecha/a-beautiful-verse-takes-birth-when-u-n-i-verse/) [Rajesh Walecha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajesh-walecha/) > [“There is no born evil, only a corruptible canvas darkened by a formidable perpetrator.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yefon-isabelle/there-is-no-born-evil-only-a-corruptible-canvas-darkened-by-a/) [Yefon Isabelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yefon-isabelle/) > [I've always thought that the most extraordinary special effect you could do is to buy a child at the moment of its birth, sit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/i-ve-always-thought-that-the-most-extraordinary-special-effect-you/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) [Browse all 6,183 Birth quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birth/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The vastest things are those we may not learn. We are not taught to die, nor to be born, Nor how to burn With love. How pitiful is our enforced return To those small things we are the masters of.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mervyn Peake" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mervyn-peake/the-vastest-things-are-those-we-may-not-learn-we-are-not-taught-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Birth" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mervyn-peake/the-vastest-things-are-those-we-may-not-learn-we-are-not-taught-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcf/mervyn-peake-2927_birth_the-vastest-things-are-those-we-may-not_1672367.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcf/mervyn-peake-2927_birth_the-vastest-things-are-those-we-may-not_1672367.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcf/mervyn-peake-2927_birth_the-vastest-things-are-those-we-may-not_1672367.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The vastest things are those we may not learn. We are not taught to die, nor to be born, Nor how to burn…” — Mervyn Peake", "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": "Mervyn Peake", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mervyn-peake/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The vastest things are those we...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mervyn-peake/the-vastest-things-are-those-we-may-not-learn-we-are-not-taught-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mervyn-peake/the-vastest-things-are-those-we-may-not-learn-we-are-not-taught-to/#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 } } ] } ```