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Never could I tell, try as I might, what it actually was that I saw; nor could the still face tell, for although it must have seen more than I did, it will never speak again. But always I shall guard against the mocking and insatiate Hypnos, lord of sleep, against the night sky, and against the mad ambitions of knowledge and philosophy.

H. P. Lovecraft#47

HorrorDreamsKnowledgePhilosophyVisionSleepNight

About this quote

What does it mean?
The narrator cannot describe what they saw and vows to guard against sleep, the night sky, and the ambitions of philosophy after a silent face witnessed more.
In plain terms
I cannot describe what I saw and fear sleep, the night, and philosophy now.
What can you take from it?
Some knowledge brings danger rather than insight.

Where it applies

  • writing horror
  • philosophical study
  • interpreting trauma

Putting it to work

  • setting boundaries on inquiry
  • resting mind

Questions to consider

  • Is some knowledge better left unseen?
  • What should philosophy warn against?

Another view

Avoiding knowledge may prevent necessary understanding.

More from H. P. Lovecraft

  1. That was the end of our voluntary searchings in the caverns of dream. Awed, shaken, and portentous, my friend who had been beyond the barrier warned me that we…

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  2. They say that that haunting memory-face is modeled from my own, as it was at twenty-five; but upon the marble base is carven a single name in the letters of At…

    Permalink to quote #48
  3. I found myself projected against an obstacle which I could not penetrate. It was like the others, yet incalculably denser; a sticky clammy mass, if such terms …

    Permalink to quote #45

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