--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The end of man is knowledge, but there is…" description: "\"The end of man is knowledge, but there is one thing he can't know. He can't know whether knowledge will save him or kill him. He will be killed, all ri..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54f/robert-penn-warren-2118_ends_the-end-of-man-is-knowledge-but-there-is_269121.jpg" --- # The end of man is knowledge, but there is one thing he… ![“The end of man is knowledge, but there is one thing he can't know. He can't know whether knowledge will save him or kill him. He will be killed, all right, but he can't know whether he is killed because of the knowledge which he has got or because of the knowledge which he hasn't got and which if…” quote by Robert Penn Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54f/robert-penn-warren-2118_ends_the-end-of-man-is-knowledge-but-there-is_269121.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54f/robert-penn-warren-2118_ends_the-end-of-man-is-knowledge-but-there-is_269121.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54f/robert-penn-warren-2118_ends_the-end-of-man-is-knowledge-but-there-is_269121.jpg) > “The end of man is knowledge, but there is one thing he can't know. He can't know whether knowledge will save him or kill him. He will be killed, all right, but he can't know whether he is killed because of the knowledge which he has got or because of the knowledge which he hasn't got and which if he had it, would save him.” [Robert Penn Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-penn-warren/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Knowledge can be both a savior and a destroyer, and its ultimate impact is unknowable. **In simple terms:** Knowledge is risky and uncertain. Key Takeaway Respect knowledge’s limits. Themes philosophy uncertainty knowledge Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - scientific research - ethical decisions - future planning Key Concepts epistemology fate human limitation Questions to Reflect On - Can we predict knowledge’s effects? - How do we balance curiosity and caution? A Different Perspective It may overstate the unknowability of outcomes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) ## Related quotes > [“The end of man is knowledge, but there is one thing he can't know. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-penn-warren/the-end-of-man-is-knowledge-but-there-is-one-thing-he-can-t-know/) [Robert Penn Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-penn-warren/) > [Suppose that we are wise enough to learn and know-and yet not wise enough to control our learning and knowledge, so that we use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/suppose-that-we-are-wise-enough-to-learn-and-know-and-yet-not-wise/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [Most people aren't unsuccessful in life because they don't know what to do. They are unsuccessful because they don't DO what they know how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-duncan/most-people-aren-t-unsuccessful-in-life-because-they-don-t-know-what/) [Al Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-duncan/) > [A man of knowledge must be able not only to love his enermy but also to hate his friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ally-mbululo/a-man-of-knowledge-must-be-able-not-only-to-love-his-enermy-but-also/) [Ally Mbululo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ally-mbululo/) > [When a man's knowledge is not in order, the more of it he has the greater will be his confusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/when-a-man-s-knowledge-is-not-in-order-the-more-of-it-he-has-the/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [Let your desire for truth transcend all minor considerations. Ignorance is invariably confident. The man of knowledge learns to realize his own needs. Be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grenville-kleiser/let-your-desire-for-truth-transcend-all-minor-considerations/) [Grenville Kleiser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grenville-kleiser/) > [The malady of civilized man is his knowledge of death. The good artist, like the wise man, addresses himself to life and invests with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-malady-of-civilized-man-is-his-knowledge-of-death-the-good-artist/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Knowledge is one thing. We're awash in knowledge. Wisdom is rare. There's a big difference.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-andrews/knowledge-is-one-thing-we-re-awash-in-knowledge-wisdom-is-rare-there/) [Andy Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-andrews/) > [One cannot come back too often to the question what is knowledge and to the answer knowledge is what one knows… Knowledge is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/one-cannot-come-back-too-often-to-the-question-what-is-knowledge-and/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [I love the Internet, but it's hard not to get lost in it. It's not like a book where you start and get to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarvis-cocker/i-love-the-internet-but-it-s-hard-not-to-get-lost-in-it-it-s-not-like/) [Jarvis Cocker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarvis-cocker/) > [A scholar's business is to add to what is known. That is all. 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Some knowledge is indiscriminate, and it can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cat-stevens/knowledge-is-a-thing-you-can-carry-around-with-you-but-you-may-not/) [Cat Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cat-stevens/) > [The Designe of the Royall Society being the Improvement of Naturall knowledge all ways and meanes that tend thereunto ought to be made use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hooke/the-designe-of-the-royall-society-being-the-improvement-of-naturall/) [Robert Hooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hooke/) ## More by Robert Penn Warren > [If you are an idealist, it does not matter what you do or what goes on around you because it isn't real anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-penn-warren/if-you-are-an-idealist-it-does-not-matter-what-you-do-or-what-goes-on/) [Robert Penn Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-penn-warren/) > [“The child comes home and the parent puts the hooks in him. 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