--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You thought, as a boy, that a mage is one…" description: "\"“You thought, as a boy, that a mage is one who can do anything. So I thought, once. So did we all. And the truth is that as a man's real power grows an..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d15/ursula-k-le-guin-138_power_you-thought-as-a-boy-that-a-mage-is-one_2935039.jpg" --- # You thought, as a boy, that a mage is one who can do… ![“You thought, as a boy, that a mage is one who can do anything. So I thought, once. So did we all. And the truth is that as a man's real power grows and his knowledge widens, ever the way he can follow grows narrower: until at last he chooses nothing, but does only and wholly what he must do . . . .” quote by Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d15/ursula-k-le-guin-138_power_you-thought-as-a-boy-that-a-mage-is-one_2935039.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d15/ursula-k-le-guin-138_power_you-thought-as-a-boy-that-a-mage-is-one_2935039.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d15/ursula-k-le-guin-138_power_you-thought-as-a-boy-that-a-mage-is-one_2935039.jpg) > ““You thought, as a boy, that a mage is one who can do anything. So I thought, once. So did we all. And the truth is that as a man's real power grows and his knowledge widens, ever the way he can follow grows narrower: until at last he chooses nothing, but does only and wholly what he must do . . . .”” [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. As knowledge expands, choices narrow, leading to a singular, necessary path rather than limitless possibilities. **In simple terms:** Growing knowledge limits options to a necessary path. Key Takeaway Accept that mastery narrows choices. Themes knowledge power choice Mood thoughtful melancholic Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - career decisions - personal growth - leadership Key Concepts philosophy psychology Questions to Reflect On - Do you feel constrained by what you know? - How do you find freedom within necessity? A Different Perspective Freedom can feel lost with expertise. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Real power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-power/) [Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [As a man's real power grows and his knowledge widens, ever the way he can follow grows narrower: until at last he chooses nothing,but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/as-a-man-s-real-power-grows-and-his-knowledge-widens-ever-the-way-he/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“And the truth is that as a man's real power grows and his knowledge widens, ever the way he can follow grows narrower: until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin-2/and-the-truth-is-that-as-a-man-s-real-power-grows-and-his-knowledge/) Ursula K Le Guin > [“She would defy laws and kings and Mages and demons and even the Church of Light to be with him. She would tear down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-l-wilson/she-would-defy-laws-and-kings-and-mages-and-demons-and-even-the/) [C.L. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-l-wilson/) > [The thought of being a boy makes me cringe. I just couldn't do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-maines/the-thought-of-being-a-boy-makes-me-cringe-i-just-couldn-t-do-it/) [Nicole Maines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-maines/) > [I think once I was in high school - I had boyfriends and stuff like that, but I think when I was younger, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-peet/i-think-once-i-was-in-high-school-i-had-boyfriends-and-stuff-like/) [Amanda Peet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-peet/) > [“You’ll have her in half an hour.” He did. And if he thought about the boy in the next room as he slammed into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alessandra-hazard/you-ll-have-her-in-half-an-hour-he-did-and-if-he-thought-about-the/) [Alessandra Hazard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alessandra-hazard/) > [ “\[...\] Who are you?" He thought about that. "I'm a boy who doesn't exist," he said, eventually.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-james/who-are-you-he-thought-about-that-i-m-a-boy-who-doesn-t-exist-he-said/) [Kathryn James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-james/) > [I think I really thought I was a boy until I was ten years old because my parents divorced when I was born, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliza-dushku/i-think-i-really-thought-i-was-a-boy-until-i-was-ten-years-old/) [Eliza Dushku](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliza-dushku/) > [“Remember, Thursday, that scientific thought -- indeed, any mode of thought, whether it be religious or philosophical or anything else -- is just like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-fforde/remember-thursday-that-scientific-thought-indeed-any-mode-of-thought/) [Jasper Fforde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-fforde/) > [For the longest time, I thought I was a boy. I really did. 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White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) > [Computer power grows according to Moore's law, as does the sophistication of handheld devices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/computer-power-grows-according-to-moore-s-law-as-does-the/) [Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) > [When threats become unspeakable, unshareable and even unreadable, their power over us only grows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-lucas/when-threats-become-unspeakable-unshareable-and-even-unreadable-their/) [Caroline Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-lucas/) > [“Political power grows out of the barrel of the gun...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mao-tse-tung/political-power-grows-out-of-the-barrel-of-the-gun/) [Mao Tse-tung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mao-tse-tung/) ## More by Ursula K. Le Guin > [“...I wore his blood for clothing, on my legs and thighs and hands: a dry, stiff, brown garment with no warmth in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/i-wore-his-blood-for-clothing-on-my-legs-and-thighs-and-hands-a-dry/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [Translation is entirely mysterious. Increasingly I have felt that the art of writing is itself translating, or more like translating than it is like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/translation-is-entirely-mysterious-increasingly-i-have-felt-that-the/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“Aeneas' mother is a star?" "No; a goddess." I said cautiously, "Venus is the power that we invoke in spring, in the garden, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/aeneas-mother-is-a-star-no-a-goddess-i-said-cautiously-venus-is-the/) [Ursula K. 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Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“If both you and your plane are on time, the airport is merely a diffuse, short, miserable prelude to the intense, long, miserable plane…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/if-both-you-and-your-plane-are-on-time-the-airport-is-merely-a/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“The author is not impartial. Dystopia is not tragedy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/the-author-is-not-impartial-dystopia-is-not-tragedy/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [Between thought and spoken word is a gap where intention can enter, the symbol be twisted aside, and the lie come to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/between-thought-and-spoken-word-is-a-gap-where-intention-can-enter/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [I have no control over my writing. I have lots of good intentions, but no control. There's a story that wants to be told.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/i-have-no-control-over-my-writing-i-have-lots-of-good-intentions-but/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“I did a lot today. That is, I did something. The only thing I have ever done. I pressed a button. It took the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/i-did-a-lot-today-that-is-i-did-something-the-only-thing-i-have-ever/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [To me the female principle is, or at least historically has been, basically anarchic. It values order without constraint, rule by custom not by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/to-me-the-female-principle-is-or-at-least-historically-has-been/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“Hector had no virtue?” “Of course he did. He won all his battles, till the last one.” “We all do,” Aeneas remarked.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/hector-had-no-virtue-of-course-he-did-he-won-all-his-battles-till-the/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“I was willing to believe him that most modern writing was trash, on the evidence that so much old writing was trash; but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/i-was-willing-to-believe-him-that-most-modern-writing-was-trash-on/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“Can women operate as women in a male institution without becoming imitation men?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/can-women-operate-as-women-in-a-male-institution-without-becoming/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) [Explore all 1,114 Ursula K. Le Guin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) ## More Power quotes > [We have to get control of our borders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-coffman/we-have-to-get-control-of-our-borders/) [Mike Coffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-coffman/) > [For us who are now in power, we need to be challenged to serve the people and ignore our own egos and personal interests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wangari-maathai/for-us-who-are-now-in-power-we-need-to-be-challenged-to-serve-the/) [Wangari Maathai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wangari-maathai/) > [Your world will change whether or not you choose to change, but you have the power to choose it's direction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/your-world-will-change-whether-or-not-you-choose-to-change-but-you/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [I want the municipality to be a helping hand to the man with a desire of sympathy, to help the fallen when it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burns/i-want-the-municipality-to-be-a-helping-hand-to-the-man-with-a-desire/) [John Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burns/) > [You can draw power from everything in your life. In order to do that, everything has to be set up in a proper way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/you-can-draw-power-from-everything-in-your-life-in-order-to-do-that/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [The one means that wins the easiest victory over reason is terror and force.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/the-one-means-that-wins-the-easiest-victory-over-reason-is-terror-and/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [DECIDE, v.i. To succumb to the preponderance of one set of influences over another set.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/decide-v-i-to-succumb-to-the-preponderance-of-one-set-of-influences/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [Movies have power. Power to impact society and the choices we make. I want to entertain, but I also want to say something to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gina-prince-bythewood/movies-have-power-power-to-impact-society-and-the-choices-we-make-i/) [Gina Prince-Bythewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gina-prince-bythewood/) > [Next to the assumption of power was the responsibility of relinquishing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/next-to-the-assumption-of-power-was-the-responsibility-of/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/do-not-pray-for-tasks-equal-to-your-powers-pray-for-powers-equal-to/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) > [With every product, the delta between the brand and the reality determines its power over the minds of consumers, and with Trump, that delta…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-wilson/with-every-product-the-delta-between-the-brand-and-the-reality/) [Rick Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-wilson/) > [If you have everything under control, you're not moving fast enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-andretti/if-you-have-everything-under-control-you-re-not-moving-fast-enough/) [Mario Andretti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-andretti/) > [“The power of imagination is strongest in the place of solitude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/the-power-of-imagination-is-strongest-in-the-place-of-solitude/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [“Action is a powerful thing. When you smile through your sadness, it can completely change your outlook. Try it! Smile :) Now hold onto…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leticia-rae/action-is-a-powerful-thing-when-you-smile-through-your-sadness-it-can/) [Leticia Rae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leticia-rae/) > [Politics is about power. It is about the power of the state. It is about the power of the state as applied to individuals,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-rudd/politics-is-about-power-it-is-about-the-power-of-the-state-it-is/) [Kevin Rudd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-rudd/) [Browse all 17,893 Power quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“You thought, as a boy, that a mage is one who can do anything. So I thought, once. So did we all. 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