“That we are capable only of being what we are remains our unforgivable sin.”
Source: The Claw of the Conciliator
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Gene Wolfe 102
American science fiction and fantasy writer 1931–2019Related quotes

“No sin is unforgivable except the sin that is not repented of.”
Source: Saint Silouan the Athonite (1991), p. 83

“We are ever capable of change and ever capable of being our better selves”
Source: Clockwork Princess

“To be what we are, and to become what we are capable of becoming, is the only end of life.”
Familiar Studies of Men and Books http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext96/fsomb10.txt (1882).

“That is the one unforgivable sin in any society. Be different and be damned!”
Source: Gone with the Wind

In "Gods", ADAM International Review, No. 299 (1962)

“It is a sin not to do what one is capable of doing.”
Martí : Thoughts/Pensamientos (1994)
Context: To busy oneself with what is futile when one can do something useful, to attend to what is simple when one has the mettle to attempt what is difficult, is to strip talent of its dignity. It is a sin not to do what one is capable of doing.

“Your unforgivable sins do not allow you to see my splendor.”
"The masked dyer Hakim of Merv" [El tintorero enmascarado Hakim de Merv] Universal History of Infamy (1935); also translated as "Hakim, Masked Dyer of Merv" ( review of "Hakim, Masked Dyer of Merv" http://www.elimae.com/reviews/borges/merv.html)

“Only the person who is essentially capable of remaining silent is capable of speaking essentially.”