Previous
The House
In Piranesi, the “Great and Secret Knowledge” symbolizes the intersection of personality and methodology. While Piranesi prefers to follow the data, letting observations lead to general conclusions, the Other’s scientific pursuits are driven by a desire to confirm his hypothesis: that the House possesses a “Great and Secret Knowledge” capable of granting him ancient powers. These different approaches reflect the personalities of Piranesi and the Other, with Piranesi being naturally curious and open-minded and the Other being naturally selfish and tunnel-visioned; in short, who Piranesi and the Other are as people bleeds into the way they approach their work. This leads them to very different conclusions about the House, with Piranesi finding endless beauty and fascination in the House and the Other finding it boring and nothing more than a means to an end. The novel warns of the potential pitfalls of the Other’s purely goal-oriented approach, suggesting that it can blind a person to the true nature—and beauty—of their object of study.
The Great and Secret Knowledge Quotes in Piranesi
The Piranesi quotes below all refer to the symbol of The Great and Secret Knowledge . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Part 2
Quotes
So this, as far as I can tell, is what the birds told me. A message from Afar. Obscure Writing. Innocence eroded. Interesting. I will allow some time to elapse—say a few months—and then I will examine this communication again to see if the intervening events can shed any light upon it (and vice versa).
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
I realized that the search for the Knowledge has encouraged us to think of the House as if it were a sort of riddle to be unraveled, a text to be interpreted, and that if we ever discover the Knowledge, then it will be as if the Value has been wrested from the House and all that remains will be mere scenery. The sight of the One-Hundred-and-Ninety-Second Western Hall in the moonlight made me see how ridiculous that is. The House is valuable because it is the House. It is enough in and of Itself. It is not the means to an end.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Two memories. Two bright minds which remember past events differently. It is an awkward situation. There exists no third person to say which of us is correct. (If only the Sixteenth Person were here).
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Piranesi LitChart as a printable PDF.
The Great and Secret Knowledge Symbol Timeline in Piranesi
The timeline below shows where the symbol The Great and Secret Knowledge appears in Piranesi. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part 1
...35, and the Other, an older scientist and friend of Piranesi who quests after a Great and Secret Knowledge hidden in the world. He has given Piranesi the name Piranesi, but Piranesi recalls it...
(full context)
Piranesi explains why he keeps notebooks, citing the sharpening effect of writing on one’s mind, as well as the importance of...
(full context)
Part 2
The Other prepares to perform a ritual designed to transfer the “Great and Secret Knowledge” to him and Piranesi. Piranesi asks to stay, and the Other asks only that he...
(full context)
...of the constellations and departs. His experience pushes him to abandon his belief in the Great and Secret Knowledge , reflecting that the House is not a “means to an end.”
(full context)
The next day, Piranesi explains his revelation about the insignificance of The Great and Secret Knowledge to the Other. The Other grows upset, explaining that their quest is a “great project,”...
(full context)
