--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I came into the unknown and stayed there…" description: "\"“I came into the unknown and stayed there unknowing rising beyond all science. I did not know the door but when I found the way, unknowing where I was,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/889/st-john-of-the-cross-2-38282_agnosia_i-came-into-the-unknown-and-stayed-there_2144045.jpg" --- # I came into the unknown and stayed there unknowing rising… ![“I came into the unknown and stayed there unknowing rising beyond all science. I did not know the door but when I found the way, unknowing where I was, I learned enormous things, but what I felt I cannot say, for I remained unknowing, rising beyond all science. It was the perfect realm of holiness…” quote by St. John of the Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/889/st-john-of-the-cross-2-38282_agnosia_i-came-into-the-unknown-and-stayed-there_2144045.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/889/st-john-of-the-cross-2-38282_agnosia_i-came-into-the-unknown-and-stayed-there_2144045.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/889/st-john-of-the-cross-2-38282_agnosia_i-came-into-the-unknown-and-stayed-there_2144045.jpg) > ““I came into the unknown and stayed there unknowing rising beyond all science. I did not know the door but when I found the way, unknowing where I was, I learned enormous things, but what I felt I cannot say, for I remained unknowing, rising beyond all science. It was the perfect realm of holiness and peace. In deepest solitude I found the narrow way: a secret giving such release that I was stunned and stammering, rising beyond all science. I was so far inside, so dazed and far away my senses were released from feelings of my own. My mind had found a surer way: a knowledge of unknowing, rising beyond all science. And he who does arrive collapses as in sleep, for all he knew before now seems a lowly thing, and so his knowledge grows so deep that he remains unknowing, rising beyond all science. The higher he ascends the darker is the wood; it is the shadowy cloud that clarified the night, and so the one who understood remains always unknowing, rising beyond all science. This knowledge by unknowing is such a soaring force that scholars argue long but never leave the ground. Their knowledge always fails the source: to understand unknowing, rising beyond all science. This knowledge is supreme crossing a blazing height; though formal reason tries it crumbles in the dark, but one who would control the night by knowledge of unknowing will rise beyond all science. And if you wish to hear: the highest science leads to an ecstatic feeling of the most holy Being; and from his mercy comes his deed: to let us stay unknowing, rising beyond all science.”” [St. John of the Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-john-of-the-cross-2/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage describes a journey into profound unknowing, where surrendering intellect leads to divine mystery and transcendence beyond rational science. **In simple terms:** Embrace mystery beyond reason. Key Takeaway Allow silence to guide spiritual growth. Themes spirituality mysticism transcendence Mood reverent contemplative Type mystical poetic When to use this quote - meditation - contemplative prayer - creative inspiration Key Concepts unknowing divine mystery inner silence Questions to Reflect On - How does unknowing foster insight? - What practices help you experience this silence? A Different Perspective Such language can be opaque to modern readers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Unknowing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unknowing/) [Wu-wei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wu-wei/) ## Related quotes > [“Unknowing, or agnosia, is not ignorance or absence of knowledge as ordinarily understood, but rather the realization that no finite knowledge can fully know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pseudo-dionysius-the-areopagite/unknowing-or-agnosia-is-not-ignorance-or-absence-of-knowledge-as/) Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite > [“Our cognitive sciences are themselves suffering from an agnosia essentially similar to Dr P.’s. 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And he who does arrive collapses as in sleep, for all he knew before now seems a lowly thing, and so his knowledge grows so deep that he remains unknowing, rising beyond all science. The higher he ascends the darker is the wood; it is the shadowy cloud that clarified the night, and so the one who understood remains always unknowing, rising beyond all science. This knowledge by unknowing is such a soaring force that scholars argue long but never leave the ground. Their knowledge always fails the source: to understand unknowing, rising beyond all science. This knowledge is supreme crossing a blazing height; though formal reason tries it crumbles in the dark, but one who would control the night by knowledge of unknowing will rise beyond all science. 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