Knowledge

Poul Anderson, "Symmetry" IN Anderson, The Complete Psychotechnic League, Volume 3 (Riverdale, NY, 2018), pp. 183-193.

Whereas Weber Franz in "Teucan" is a Trader, Dunham in "Symmetry" is a voortrekker, exploring beyond the known for something to sell to civilization:

"Groundlings are apt to forget that material goods are hardly ever worth seeking among the stars: the real treasure is knowledge." (p. 187)

Here, Dunham agrees with James Blish:

Blish on Knowledge

Although Blish addressed the question whether the desire for secular knowledge is evil, there is no doubt about his answer to it, as expressed through other characters.

In another work, an alien says:

“This organism dies now. It dies in confidence of knowledge, as an intelligent creature dies. Man has taught us this. There is nothing. That knowledge. Cannot do. With it…men…have crossed…have crossed space…” ³⁵

Blish’s major character, Amalfi, says:

“That’s the priceless coin, gentlemen, the universal coin: human knowledge.” ³⁶

When the universe ends, a scientist pronounces the:

“…epitaph for Man: We did not have time to learn everything that we wanted to know.” ³⁷

And that is a fitting epitaph for James Blish.
-copied from here.