--- 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. ”\" — Robert Penn Warren" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff5/robert-penn-warren-2118_knowledge_the-end-of-man-is-knowledge-but-there-is_2889056.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.” quote by Robert Penn Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff5/robert-penn-warren-2118_knowledge_the-end-of-man-is-knowledge-but-there-is_2889056.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff5/robert-penn-warren-2118_knowledge_the-end-of-man-is-knowledge-but-there-is_2889056.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff5/robert-penn-warren-2118_knowledge_the-end-of-man-is-knowledge-but-there-is_2889056.jpg) > ““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/) ## 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 vast, yet some ultimate truths remain unknowable, reminding us of humility. **In simple terms:** Some things are unknowable. Key Takeaway Accept limits of knowledge. Themes philosophy humility knowledge Mood thoughtful curious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - scientific research - personal belief - spiritual inquiry Key Concepts unknown truths human limitation Questions to Reflect On - What mysteries do you accept? - How does uncertainty shape your life? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on certainty can hinder openness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [End Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/end-man-1234883/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Knowledge Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge-thing-682076/) [Man Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-knowledge/) [Thing Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing-know/) ## Related quotes > [The end of man is knowledge, but there is one thing he can't know. 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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/) > [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/) > [Knowledge is one thing, virtue is another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-henry-newman/knowledge-is-one-thing-virtue-is-another/) [John Henry Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-henry-newman/) > [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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The examined life may not be worth living.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gray/human-knowledge-is-one-thing-human-wellbeing-another-there-is-no/) [John Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gray/) > [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/) > [Knowledge is a thing you can carry around with you, but you may not apply it. 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/) > [Deep knowledge is not knowledge of the thing itself, but knowledge of a thing like the thing. Then, you gain not one knowledge, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/deep-knowledge-is-not-knowledge-of-the-thing-itself-but-knowledge-of/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## 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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This, he thought, was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-penn-warren/he-thought-of-night-coming-on-he-thought-of-the-loneliness-of-tonight/) [Robert Penn Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-penn-warren/) > [I reckon I am a smart aleck, but it is just a way to pass the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-penn-warren/i-reckon-i-am-a-smart-aleck-but-it-is-just-a-way-to-pass-the-time/) [Robert Penn Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-penn-warren/) > [The poem is not a thing we see; it is, rather, a light by which we may see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-penn-warren/the-poem-is-not-a-thing-we-see-it-is-rather-a-light-by-which-we-may/) [Robert Penn Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-penn-warren/) > [The asking and the answering which history provides may help us to understand, even to frame, the logic of experience to which we shall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-penn-warren/the-asking-and-the-answering-which-history-provides-may-help-us-to/) [Robert Penn Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-penn-warren/) > [Process as process is neither morally good nor morally bad. We may judge results but not process. The morally bad agent may perform the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-penn-warren/process-as-process-is-neither-morally-good-nor-morally-bad-we-may/) [Robert Penn Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-penn-warren/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-penn-warren/the-end-of-man-is-knowledge-but-there-is-one-thing-he-can-t-know-he/) [Robert Penn Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-penn-warren/) > [For the truth is a terrible thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-penn-warren/for-the-truth-is-a-terrible-thing/) [Robert Penn Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-penn-warren/) [Explore all 184 Robert Penn Warren quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-penn-warren/) ## More Knowledge quotes > [“Knowledge without conscience is but the ruin of the soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabelaise/knowledge-without-conscience-is-but-the-ruin-of-the-soul/) [Rabelaise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabelaise/) > [For successful education there must always be a certain freshness in the knowledge dealt with. It must be either new in itself or invested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/for-successful-education-there-must-always-be-a-certain-freshness-in/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [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/) > [But I already saw no great difference between the psyche and spirituality. To amass knowledge without becoming wise is not my idea of progress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/but-i-already-saw-no-great-difference-between-the-psyche-and/) [M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) > [If we will not interfere with our thought, but will act entirely, or see how the thing stands in God, we know the particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-we-will-not-interfere-with-our-thought-but-will-act-entirely-or/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [An enlightened awareness is within each one of us, right at this moment. This enlightened awareness is truly unborn and marvellously illuminating; and everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bankei-yotaku/an-enlightened-awareness-is-within-each-one-of-us-right-at-this/) [Bankei Yotaku](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bankei-yotaku/) > [One of the deepest and strangest of all human moods is the mood which will suddenly strike us perhaps in a garden at night,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-deepest-and-strangest-of-all-human-moods-is-the-mood-which/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I never knew any man who had once tasted the sweetness of experimental knowledge, that ever afterward fasted after ye Vapour garlick and onions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/i-never-knew-any-man-who-had-once-tasted-the-sweetness-of/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) > [I would rather excel others in the knowledge of what is excellent than in the extent of my powers and dominion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-the-great/i-would-rather-excel-others-in-the-knowledge-of-what-is-excellent/) [Alexander the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-the-great/) > [We know accurately only when we know little, with knowledge doubt increases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/we-know-accurately-only-when-we-know-little-with-knowledge-doubt/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [I've always been a believer in research. It's great to have an instinctual human reaction to a character, too, of course, but it has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chiwetel-ejiofor/i-ve-always-been-a-believer-in-research-it-s-great-to-have-an/) [Chiwetel Ejiofor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chiwetel-ejiofor/) > [I am an aware citizen, so I want my characters to be aware, too. They should be aware of what's happening in the society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-tripathi/i-am-an-aware-citizen-so-i-want-my-characters-to-be-aware-too-they/) [Pankaj Tripathi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-tripathi/) > [Technology means the systematic application of scientific or other organized knowledge to practical tasks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/technology-means-the-systematic-application-of-scientific-or-other/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [Love is a vision,love carry our vision,and love by-step our vision. we carry our love to our by-step. once love is vision love is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-a-vision-love-carry-our-vision-and-love-by-step-our-vision-we/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Man is an ignoramus athirst for knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-wagner/man-is-an-ignoramus-athirst-for-knowledge/) [Charles Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-wagner/) [Browse all 13,227 Knowledge quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The end of man is knowledge, but there is one thing he can't know. ”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert Penn Warren" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-penn-warren/the-end-of-man-is-knowledge-but-there-is-one-thing-he-can-t-know/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Knowledge" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-penn-warren/the-end-of-man-is-knowledge-but-there-is-one-thing-he-can-t-know/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff5/robert-penn-warren-2118_knowledge_the-end-of-man-is-knowledge-but-there-is_2889056.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff5/robert-penn-warren-2118_knowledge_the-end-of-man-is-knowledge-but-there-is_2889056.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff5/robert-penn-warren-2118_knowledge_the-end-of-man-is-knowledge-but-there-is_2889056.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The end of man is knowledge, but there is one thing he can't know.” — Robert Penn Warren", "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": "Robert Penn Warren", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-penn-warren/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The end of man is knowledge,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-penn-warren/the-end-of-man-is-knowledge-but-there-is-one-thing-he-can-t-know/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-penn-warren/the-end-of-man-is-knowledge-but-there-is-one-thing-he-can-t-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 } } ] } ```