--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We do not know. All that we know is that…" description: "\"“We do not know. All that we know is that we lack a tongue that could reveal, a language that could perfectly express the wild joy swelling to a music ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a0/thomas-wolfe-4237_darkness_we-do-not-know-all-that-we-know-is-that_2099900.jpg" --- # We do not know. All that we know is that we lack a tongue… ![“We do not know. All that we know is that we lack a tongue that could reveal, a language that could perfectly express the wild joy swelling to a music in our heart, the wild pain welling to a strong ache in our throat, the wild cry mounting to a madness in our brain, the thing, the word, the joy we…” quote by Thomas Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a0/thomas-wolfe-4237_darkness_we-do-not-know-all-that-we-know-is-that_2099900.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a0/thomas-wolfe-4237_darkness_we-do-not-know-all-that-we-know-is-that_2099900.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a0/thomas-wolfe-4237_darkness_we-do-not-know-all-that-we-know-is-that_2099900.jpg) > ““We do not know. All that we know is that we lack a tongue that could reveal, a language that could perfectly express the wild joy swelling to a music in our heart, the wild pain welling to a strong ache in our throat, the wild cry mounting to a madness in our brain, the thing, the word, the joy we know so well, and cannot speak! All that we know is that the little stations whip by in the night, the straggling little towns whip by with all that is casual, rude, familiar, ugly, and unutterable. All that we know is that the earth is flowing by us in the darkness, and that this is the way the world goes with a field and a wood and a field! And of the huge and secret earth all we know is that we feel with all our life its texture with our foot upon it.”” [Thomas Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-wolfe/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote expresses the ineffable nature of deep emotions and the struggle to articulate them with language, highlighting the wild, primal feelings that surpass words. **In simple terms:** Deep feelings cannot be fully expressed in words. Key Takeaway Accept that some emotions are felt beyond language. Themes emotion language expression ineffability Mood melancholic reflective Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - artistic inspiration - personal reflection - poetic writing - creative therapy Key Concepts existentialism phenomenology Questions to Reflect On - How do you convey profound emotions without words? - What non‑verbal outlets help you express what language cannot? A Different Perspective Language may fail to capture the full intensity of feeling. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) ## Related quotes > [Performance art is about joy, about making something that's so full of kind of a wild joy that you really can't put into words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-anderson/performance-art-is-about-joy-about-making-something-that-s-so-full-of/) [Laurie Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-anderson/) > [“The whole world awake and wild with joy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/the-whole-world-awake-and-wild-with-joy/) [Emily Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [If I were still stupider than I am, I should think myself at the apex of my career; yet I know how much I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-chopin/if-i-were-still-stupider-than-i-am-i-should-think-myself-at-the-apex/) [Frederic Chopin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-chopin/) > [When I think about my new CD, the word 'joy' comes to mind. I sincerely hope that each listener will feel the earth, spirit,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-duke/when-i-think-about-my-new-cd-the-word-joy-comes-to-mind-i-sincerely/) [George Duke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-duke/) > [I don't know if there is a 'lack' of good black men. But when you haven't taken the time to get to know yourself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keshia-knight-pulliam/i-don-t-know-if-there-is-a-lack-of-good-black-men-but-when-you-haven/) [Keshia Knight Pulliam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keshia-knight-pulliam/) > [A glance, a word -- and joy or pain befalls… How slight the links are in the chain that binds us to our destiny!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bailey-aldrich/a-glance-a-word-and-joy-or-pain-befalls-how-slight-the-links-are-in/) [Thomas Bailey Aldrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bailey-aldrich/) > [“Many students fail examinations not because they don't know anything but because they lack confidence to prove that they know anything or everything.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asuni-ladyzeal/many-students-fail-examinations-not-because-they-don-t-know-anything/) Asuni LadyZeal > [Once you have heard a strange audience burst into laughter at a film you directed, you realize what the word joy is all about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-jones/once-you-have-heard-a-strange-audience-burst-into-laughter-at-a-film/) [Chuck Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-jones/) > [I want to say one word to you and this word is “Joy”. 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This is important to note,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-renner/the-greek-word-for-joy-is-chara-derived-from-the-word-charis-which-is/) [Rick Renner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-renner/) > [ Everything we "know" from above \[heaven\], we know from down here \[earth\]. How can you take something like that seriously? ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-stevaert/everything-we-know-from-above-heaven-we-know-from-down-here-earth-how/) Steve Stevaert > [Nature and the spirit of our ancestors are giving you loud warnings. Today you see increasing floods, more damaging hurricanes, hail storms, climate changes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-banyacya/nature-and-the-spirit-of-our-ancestors-are-giving-you-loud-warnings/) [Thomas Banyacya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-banyacya/) > [You don't need to be a scientist to know Earth's age or that life evolved. You just need be one who embraces objective truths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/you-don-t-need-to-be-a-scientist-to-know-earth-s-age-or-that-life/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) ## More by Thomas Wolfe > [“So all were gone at last, one by one, each swept out into the mighty flood tide of the city's life, there to prove,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-wolfe/so-all-were-gone-at-last-one-by-one-each-swept-out-into-the-mighty/) [Thomas Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-wolfe/) > [“A stick is not only wood but the negation of wood. It is the meeting in space of wood and no-wood. A stick is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-wolfe/a-stick-is-not-only-wood-but-the-negation-of-wood-it-is-the-meeting/) [Thomas Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-wolfe/) > [All things on earth point home in old October; sailors to sea, travellers to walls and fences, hunters to field and hollow and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-wolfe/all-things-on-earth-point-home-in-old-october-sailors-to-sea/) [Thomas Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-wolfe/) > [“At these repeated signs of decadence in a society which had once been the object of his envy and his highest ambition, Webber's face…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-wolfe/at-these-repeated-signs-of-decadence-in-a-society-which-had-once-been/) [Thomas Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-wolfe/) > [If a man has talent and can't use it, he's failed. If he uses only half of it, he has partly failed. 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They were his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-wolfe/the-mountains-were-his-masters-they-rimmed-in-life-they-were-the-cup/) [Thomas Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-wolfe/) > [“For four years he lived in Brooklyn, and four years in Brooklyn are a geologic age -- a single stratum of grey time. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-wolfe/for-four-years-he-lived-in-brooklyn-and-four-years-in-brooklyn-are-a/) [Thomas Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-wolfe/) > [“Eugene looked with passionate devotion at that grand old head, calm, wise and comforting. In a moment of vision, he saw that, for him,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-wolfe/eugene-looked-with-passionate-devotion-at-that-grand-old-head-calm/) [Thomas Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-wolfe/) > [Each moment is the fruit of forty thousand years. The minute-winning days, like flies, buzz home to death, and every moment is a window…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-wolfe/each-moment-is-the-fruit-of-forty-thousand-years-the-minute-winning/) [Thomas Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-wolfe/) > [“Among other things Jonestown was an example of a definition well known to sociologists of religion: a cult is a religion with no political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-wolfe/among-other-things-jonestown-was-an-example-of-a-definition-well/) [Thomas Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-wolfe/) > [“They clung together in that bright moment of wonder, there on the magic island, where the world was quiet, believing all they said. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-wolfe/they-clung-together-in-that-bright-moment-of-wonder-there-on-the/) [Thomas Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-wolfe/) > [Loneliness is and always has been the central and inevitable experience of every man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-wolfe/loneliness-is-and-always-has-been-the-central-and-inevitable/) [Thomas Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-wolfe/) [Explore all 109 Thomas Wolfe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-wolfe/) ## More Darkness quotes > [“Narrative cannot sustain formlessness any more than light can sustain darkness - it is the antithesis of formlessness, and so it can never truly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/narrative-cannot-sustain-formlessness-any-more-than-light-can-sustain/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [“Wait here, wait here!" he cried and jumped up and began to run for help toward a cluster of lights he saw in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/wait-here-wait-here-he-cried-and-jumped-up-and-began-to-run-for-help/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [Strange - is it not? That of the myriads who Before us passed the door of Darkness through, Not one returns to tell us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/strange-is-it-not-that-of-the-myriads-who-before-us-passed-the-door/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [Clear moments are so short. There is much more darkness. More ocean than terra firma. More shadow than form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-zagajewski/clear-moments-are-so-short-there-is-much-more-darkness-more-ocean/) [Adam Zagajewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-zagajewski/) > [I even see the cinema itself as a woman, with its alternation of light and darkness, of appearing and disappearing images](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/i-even-see-the-cinema-itself-as-a-woman-with-its-alternation-of-light/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [I guess he'll have to figure out someday that he is supposed to have this dark side, that it is part of what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-guess-he-ll-have-to-figure-out-someday-that-he-is-supposed-to-have/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“I promise to respect and protect your aloneness, knowing that everything created must have its period of darkness: child and bulb, poem and personality.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/i-promise-to-respect-and-protect-your-aloneness-knowing-that/) [anne morrow lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [The beauty of darkness is how it lets you see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/the-beauty-of-darkness-is-how-it-lets-you-see/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [“Even in darkness your lips taste of sunshine”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-lia-block/even-in-darkness-your-lips-taste-of-sunshine/) [Francesca Lia Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-lia-block/) > [“Defy me not for gleam can only shine in my existence" said Darkness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/defy-me-not-for-gleam-can-only-shine-in-my-existence-said-darkness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“What does he look like? 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Do you see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-gentile/twinking-tears-in-a-sea-of-black-soft-light-in-a-world-of-darkness/) Nicole Gentile [Browse all 8,219 Darkness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We do not know. All that we know is that we lack a tongue that could reveal, a language that could perfectly express the wild joy swelling to a music in our heart, the wild pain welling to a strong ache in our throat, the wild cry mounting to a madness in our brain, the thing, the word, the joy we know so well, and cannot speak! All that we know is that the little stations whip by in the night, the straggling little towns whip by with all that is casual, rude, familiar, ugly, and unutterable. All that we know is that the earth is flowing by us in the darkness, and that this is the way the world goes with a field and a wood and a field! 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