WIST Quotations

Cicero, Marcus Tullius -- Tusculan Disputations [Tusculanae Disputationes], Book 1, ch. 25 (1.25) / sec. 60 (1.60) (45 BC) [tr. Wase (1643)]

Dave — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 20:03:57 +0000

MARCUS: Nor am I asham’d, as some others are, to confess I do not know, what I do not.

[Nec me pudet ut istos fateri nescire quod nesciam.]

Marcus Tullius Cicero (106–43 BC) Roman orator, statesman, philosopher
Tusculan Disputations [Tusculanae Disputationes], Book 1, ch. 25 (1.25) / sec. 60 (1.60) (45 BC) [tr. Wase (1643)]

Discussing his uncertainty of what the immortal soul is made of, versus others that pretend at knowing the answer.

(Source (Latin)). Other translations:

Nor am I, like those, ashamed to own where I am ignorant, that I am so.
[tr. Main (1824)]

Nor am I ashamed, as those are, to confess my ignorance of what I do not know.
[tr. Otis (1839)]

Nor am I, as those men are, ashamed in cases where I am ignorant, to own that I am so.
[tr. Yonge (1853)]

And I am not ashamed, like those who deny that there is a soul, to confess my ignorance of what I do not know.
[tr. Peabody (1886)]

Nor am I ashamed -- as some whom you wot of -- to confess that I do not know what I do not know.
[tr. Black (1889)]

I am not, like some men, ashamed to confess my ignorance when I do not know.
[ed. Harbottle (1897)]

Nor am I ashamed, as they are, to admit that I do not know what I do not know.
[tr. Douglas (1985)]

And I'm not embarrassed (unlike others) to admit that I don't know.
[tr. Habinek (1996)]

And unlike those others, I am not ashamed to admit to my ignorance where I am ignorant.
[tr. Davie (2017)]

Roosevelt, Eleanor -- (Misattributed)

Dave — Tue, 25 Aug 2026 14:55:03 +0000

He who learns but does not think is lost. He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger.

Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962) American politician, diplomat, activist; First Lady of the US (1933–45)
(Misattributed)

This quote is often attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt, and, where a source is given, usually to her Autobiography (e.g.). I am unable to find it in that work, nor in the three earlier separate memoirs she wrote, nor in any other written source.

If she did use the phrase, she was quoting from the popular Waley (1938) translation of Confucius, Analects, 2.15.

Terence -- Adelphoe [Adelphoi; Adelphi; The Brothers], Act 5, sc. 4, l. 855ff (160 BC) [tr. Christenson (2010), Sc. 22]

Dave — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 21:09:14 +0000

DEMEA: No one has ever plotted out his life’s plan so successfully that he never faces
New challenges and discoveries brought about by circumstances, the passing of time,
Or experience itself. Inevitably, you discover you don’t know what you thought you did,
And the principles we first formed don’t hold up in the face of everyday practice.

[Nunquam ita quisquam bene subducta ratione ad vitam fuit
Quia res, Ætas usus semper aliquid apportet novi
Aliquid moneat, ut illa, quæ te scire credas, nescias
Et, quæ tibi putaris prima, in experiundo ut repudies.]

Terence (186?-159 BC) African-Roman dramatist [Publius Terentius Afer]
Adelphoe [Adelphoi; Adelphi; The Brothers], Act 5, sc. 4, l. 855ff (160 BC) [tr. Christenson (2010), Sc. 22]

Sometimes attributed to Richard Steele, as he used the quote as an epigraph to an essay in The Spectator, No. 544 (1712-11-24).

(Source (Latin)). Other translations:

No man was ever so completely skilled in the conduct of life, as not to receive new information from age and experience: insomuch that we find ourselves really ignorant of what we thought we understood, and see cause to reject what we fancied our truest interest.
[tr. Steele (1712)]

Never could there be anyone with a method for life so well drawn up, but that circumstance, time, experience ever brings something new, teaches something; so that you know not those things which you think that you know, and that you repudiate in experience the things which you have thought essential for you.
[tr. Giles, c. 1850]

Never was there any person of ever such well-trained habits of life, but that experience, age, and custom are always bringing him something new, or suggesting something; so much so, that what you believe you know you don't know, and what you have fancied of first importance to you, on making trial you reject.
[tr. Riley (1874)]

However well a man may have calculated his scheme of life, still circumstances, years, experience, always introduce a new element and teach new lessons. You find that you don't know what you thought you did know, and what you thought of primary importance that in practice you reject.
[tr. Sargeaunt (Loeb) (1912), Act 6]

You never add things up so well in this life that something unexpected doesn’t turn up and set you wondering -- some money matter, some event, some personal problem. As a result, you find you don’t know what you thought you knew, and things that seemed fine turn out to be worthless when they're put to the test.
[tr. Copley (1967)]

No matter how neatly you keep your accounts in life,
experience, age, and circumstance always show up
to toss something new on the books and teach you a lesson.
You find out you don't know what you thought you did, and what seemed
so important in theory turns out to be pointless in practice.
[tr. Berg/Parker (1999)]

There never was a person so well-bred
And so refined but that into his head
Come new thoughts springing from experience
And age and custom, so that what you sense
You know you don’t know and what you before
Believed was most important you abhor.
[tr. Kelk (2022)]

Franklin, Benjamin -- (Spurious)

Dave — Fri, 03 Jul 2026 22:01:30 +0000

We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid.

Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790) American statesman, scientist, philosopher, aphorist
(Spurious)

Attributions of this to Franklin cannot be found in print before 1999. Search of his papers and various other sources do not find it.

Franklin did write at times about ignorance (e.g.), and in fact did write this similar aphorism:

Being ignorant is not so much a Shame, as being unwilling to learn.

But he does not seem to have used the phrasing above.

For more discussion about this quote:

Watterson, Bill -- Calvin and Hobbes (1993-11-16)

Dave — Tue, 12 May 2026 20:55:28 +0000

CALVIN: I don’t care about issues! I’ve got better things to do than argue with every wrong-headed crackpot with an ignorant opinion! I’m a busy man! I say, either agree with me or take a hike! I’m right, period! End of discussion!

Bill Watterson (b. 1958) American cartoonist
Calvin and Hobbes (1993-11-16)

Billings, Josh -- Josh Billings’ Farmer’s Allminax, 1874-12 (1874 ed.)

Dave — Thu, 07 May 2026 19:06:29 +0000

Whare thare iz one man obstinate bekauze he iz wize, thare iz 4,695,853 obstinate bekauze they are ignorant.

[Where there is one man obstinate because he is wise, there are 4,685,853 obstinate because they are ignorant.]

Josh Billings (1818–1885) American humorist, aphorist [pseud. of Henry Wheeler Shaw]
Josh Billings’ Farmer’s Allminax, 1874-12 (1874 ed.)

Bierce, Ambrose -- “Book-learning,” “Devil’s Dictionary” column, San Francisco Wasp (1881-05-14)

Dave — Tue, 24 Mar 2026 17:01:28 +0000

BOOK-LEARNING, n. The dunce’s derisive term for all knowledge that transcends his own impenitent ignorance.

Ambrose Bierce (1842–1914?) American writer and journalist
“Book-learning,” “Devil’s Dictionary” column, San Francisco Wasp (1881-05-14)

Not collected in later books.

Adams, Douglas -- Hitchhiker’s Guide No. 5, Mostly Harmless, ch. 9 (1992)

Dave — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 19:21:44 +0000

“Oh, all right,” said the old man. “Here’s a prayer for you. Got a pencil?”
“Yes,” said Arthur.
“It goes like this. Let’s see now: ‘Protect me from knowing what I don’t need to know. Protect me from even knowing that there are things to know that I don’t know. Protect me from knowing that I decided not to know about the things that I decided not to know about. Amen.’ That’s it. It’s what you say silently inside yourself anyway, so you may as well have it out in the open.”
“Hmmmm,” said Arthur. “Well, thank you –”
“There’s another prayer that goes with it that’s very important,” continued the old man, “so you’d better jot this down, too.”
“Okay.”
“It goes, ‘Lord, lord, lord …’ It’s best to put that bit in, just in case. You can never be too sure. ‘Lord, lord, lord. Protect me from the consequences of the above prayer. Amen.’ And that’s it. Most of the trouble people get into in life comes form leaving out that last part.”

Douglas Adams (1952–2001) English author, humorist, screenwriter
Hitchhiker’s Guide No. 5, Mostly Harmless, ch. 9 (1992)

Ironically, most quotations of the above prayer leave out the "very important" second part.

Russell, Bertrand -- Education and the Good Life, Part 2, ch. 11 “Affection and Sympathy” (1926)

Dave — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 17:19:17 +0000

I have known some pacifists who wished history taught without reference to wars, and thought that children should be kept as long as possible ignorant of the cruelty in the world. But I cannot praise the “fugitive and cloistered virtue” that depends upon absence of knowledge. As soon as history is taught at all, it should be taught truthfully. If true history contradicts any moral we wish to teach, our moral must be wrong, and we had better abandon it. I quite admit that many people, including some of the most virtuous, find facts inconvenient, but that is due to a certain feebleness in their virtue. A truly robust morality can only be strengthened by the fullest knowledge of what really happens in the world.

Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Education and the Good Life, Part 2, ch. 11 “Affection and Sympathy” (1926)

Brecht, Bertholt -- Poem (1938 ca.), “To Those Born Later [An die Nachgeborenen],” sec. 1, Svendborger Gedichte (1939) [tr. Willet / Manheim / Fried (1976)]

Dave — Tue, 17 Feb 2026 18:17:32 +0000

Truly, I live in dark times!
The guileless word is folly. A smooth forehead
Suggests insensitivity. The man who laughs
Has simply not yet had
The terrible news.
–
What kind of times are they, when
A talk about trees is almost a crime
Because it implies silence about so many horrors?
That man there calmly crossing the street
Is already perhaps beyond the reach of his friends
Who are in need?

[Wirklich, ich lebe in finsteren Zeiten!
Das arglose Wort ist töricht. Eine glatte Stirn
Deutet auf Unempfindlichkeit hin. Der Lachende
Hat die furchtbare Nachricht
Nur noch nicht empfangen.
–
Was sind das für Zeiten, wo
Ein Gespräch über Bäume fast ein Verbrechen ist
Weil es ein Schweigen über so viele Untaten einschließt!
Der dort ruhig über die Straße geht
Ist wohl nicht mehr erreichbar für seine Freunde
Die in Not sind?]

Bertolt Brecht (1898–1956) German poet, playwright, director, dramaturgist
Poem (1938 ca.), “To Those Born Later [An die Nachgeborenen],” sec. 1, Svendborger Gedichte (1939) [tr. Willet / Manheim / Fried (1976)]

Also translated as "To Those Who Follow in Our Wake" and "To Later Generations." Written while Brecht had left Germany for Denmark ("crossing the street").

An audio recording of the poem by Brecht.

(Source (German)). Other translations:

Truly, I live in dark times
The innocent word is suspect.
An unwrinkled forehead
suggests insensitivity.
He who laughs
simply has not heard
the terrible news.
-
What times are these when
a conversation about trees
is almost a crime
because it includes
so much silence
about so many outrages!
[tr. Lettau (1978)]

Truly, I live in dark times!
An artless word is foolish. A smooth forehead
Points to insensitivity. He who laughs
Has not yet received
The terrible news.
-
What times are these, in which
A conversation about trees is almost a crime
For in doing so we maintain our silence about so much wrongdoing!
And he who walks quietly across the street,
Passes out of the reach of his friends
Who are in danger?
[tr. Horton (2008)]

Really, I live in dark times!
Innocent words are foolish. A smooth brow
Betrays insensitivity. Anyone left laughing
Simply has not yet heard
The terrible news.
-
What are these for times, where
A discussion about trees is almost a crime
Because it involves a silence about so many misdeeds!
He there peacefully crossing the street
Is probably no longer reachable for his friends
Who are in need?
[tr. Rienas (2009)]

Really, I live in dark times!
Innocent words are foolish. An unfurrowed brow
Indicates apathy. He who laughs
Just hasn’t yet received
The terrible news.
-
What times are these, in which
A conversation about trees is almost a crime
Because it implies silence about so many misdeeds!
He who quietly crosses the street
Is probably no longer within reach of his friends
Who are in need?
[tr. Renaud (2016)]

Truly, I live in dark times!
Innocent words are foolish. A smooth forehead
shows insensitivity. The guy laughing
has just not received
the terrible news yet.
-
What kind of times are these, where
talking about trees is almost a crime
when it means silence about so many atrocities!
That man calmly crossing the street
is probably no longer reachable by his friends
who need help.

Montesquieu -- Spirit of Laws [The Spirit of the Laws; De l’esprit des lois], Book 4, ch. 3 (4.3) (1748) [tr. Cohler/Miller/Stone (1989)]

Dave — Mon, 09 Feb 2026 19:35:22 +0000

Extreme obedience assumes ignorance in the one who obeys; it assumes ignorance even in the one who commands; he does not have to deliberate, to doubt, or to reason; he has only to want.

[L’extrême obéissance suppose de l’ignorance dans celui qui obéit; elle en suppose même dans celui qui commande: il n’a point à délibérer, à douter, ni à raisonner; il n’a qu’à vouloir.]

Charles-Lewis de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu (1689–1755) French political philosopher
Spirit of Laws [The Spirit of the Laws; De l’esprit des lois], Book 4, ch. 3 (4.3) (1748) [tr. Cohler/Miller/Stone (1989)]

(Source (French)). Other translations:

Excessive obedience supposes ignorance in the person that obeys: the same it supposes in him that commands; for he has no occasion to deliberate, to doubt, to reason; he has only to will.
[tr. Nugent (1750)]

Extreme obedience assumes ignorance in him who obeys; it assumes ignorance even in him who commands: he has no need to deliberate, to doubt, or to reason, he has only to will.
[tr. Stewart (2018)

Colton, Charles Caleb -- Lacon: Or, Many Things in Few Words, Vol. 1, § 443 (1820)

Dave — Sat, 17 Jan 2026 00:09:23 +0000

The whole family of pride and ignorance are incestuous, and mutually beget each other.

Charles Caleb "C. C." Colton (1780–1832) English cleric, writer, aphorist
Lacon: Or, Many Things in Few Words, Vol. 1, § 443 (1820)

Doyle, Arthur Conan -- Story (1886-04), “A Study in Scarlet,” Part 1, ch. 2, Beeton’s Christmas Annual, Vol. 28 (1887-11-21)

Dave — Thu, 15 Jan 2026 23:03:42 +0000

My surprise reached a climax, however, when I found incidentally that he was ignorant of the Copernican Theory and of the composition of the Solar System. That any civilized human being in this nineteenth century should not be aware that the earth travelled round the sun appeared to be to me such an extraordinary fact that I could hardly realize it. […] “But the Solar System!” I protested.
“What the deuce is it to me?” he interrupted impatiently; “you say that we go round the sun. If we went round the moon it would not make a pennyworth of difference to me or to my work.”

Arthur Conan Doyle (1859–1930) British writer and physician
Story (1886-04), “A Study in Scarlet,” Part 1, ch. 2, Beeton’s Christmas Annual, Vol. 28 (1887-11-21)

Watson speaking of and with Holmes. This passage is followed by this one.

Published in novel form 1888-07.

In the Sherlock TV episode 01x03 "The Great Game" (w. Mark Gatiss) (2010-08-08), this explanation is reworked (including this analogous passage):

HOLMES: Look, it doesn't matter to me who's Prime Minister, or who's sleeping with whom --
WATSON: Or that the earth goes around the sun.
HOLMES: Oh God, that again! It's not important!
WATSON: Not important? It's primary school stuff! How can you not know that?
HOLMES: Well, if I ever did, I've deleted it.
WATSON: "Deleted it"?
HOLMES: Listen: (points to his head) This is my hard-drive, and it only makes sense to put things in there that are useful. Really useful. Ordinary people fill their heads with all kinds of rubbish, and that makes it hard to get at the stuff that matters! Do you see?
WATSON: (brief silence) But it's the solar system!
HOLMES: Oh, hell! What does that matter?! So we go around the sun! If we went around the moon or round and round the garden like a teddy bear, it wouldn't make any difference! All that matters to me is the work!

Marat, Jean-Paul -- The Chains of Slavery (Les Chaînes de L’Esclavage, ch. 40 “Of Ignorance” (1774) [Beckett ed. (1774)]

Dave — Mon, 27 Oct 2025 04:19:44 +0000

In order to subdue his subjects, the Prince labours to blind them. Conscious of the unlawfulness of his own designs, and sensible of what he has to fear from clear-sighted men, he endeavours to deprive the people of every means of acquiring knowledge.
How many crafty devices have not Princes employed to oppose the progress of learning? Some banish science out of their dominions; others prohibit their subjects from traveling into foreign countries; others again divert the people from reflecting, by continually entertaining them with feasts and shews, or keeping up among the the spirit of gaming; and all stand up against men of spirit, who dedicate either their voices or their pen to defend the cause of liberty.

[Persuadés d’ailleurs combien il est commode de régner sur un peuple abruti, ils [les princes] s’efforcent de le rendre tel. Que d’obstacles n’opposent-ils pas au progrès des lumières? Les uns bannissent les lettres de leurs Etats; les autres défendent à leurs sujets de voyager; d’autres empêchent le peuple de réfléchir, en l’amusant continuellement par des parades, des spectacles, des fêtes, ou en le livrant aux fureurs du jeu. Tous s’élèvent contre les sages qui consacrent leur voix et leur plume à défendre la cause de la liberté.]

Jean-Paul Marat (1743–1793) French physician, political theorist, scientist, journalist
The Chains of Slavery (Les Chaînes de L’Esclavage, ch. 40 “Of Ignorance” (1774) [Beckett ed. (1774)]

Source (French)). Other translations:

As sovereigns are persuaded of the convenience of ruling an ignorant people, they try to make it so. What won’t they do to prevent the progress of knowledge? Some banish anyone scholarly from their nation; others ban their subjects from traveling; others don't give the people the time to think, constantly amusing them with parades, shows, festivals, or by delivering them over to the passion for games. All of them denounce the wise who give their voice and pen to defend the cause of freedom.

Convinced, moreover, how convenient it is to reign over a stupefied people, they [princes] strive to make them so. How many obstacles do they not place in the way of progress of enlightenment? Some banish letters from their states; others forbid their subjects from traveling; others prevent the people from thinking, by continually amusing them with parades, spectacles, festivals, or by delivering them to the furies of gambling. All rise up against the wise men who devote their voice and their pen to defending the cause of liberty.
[Google Translate]

Marlowe, Christopher -- The Jew of Malta, Act 1, Prologue (c. 1590)

Dave — Sat, 25 Oct 2025 17:34:55 +0000

MACHIAVEL: I count Religion but a childish Toy,
And hold there is no sinne but Ignorance.

Christopher "Kit" Marlowe (1564–1593) English dramatist and poet
The Jew of Malta, Act 1, Prologue (c. 1590)

This speech is often considered the Prologue, but differs from the Prologue at Court and the Prologue to the Stage, and in some editions is set apart from Act 1, in others simply at the beginning of it.

The character Machiavel, who only appears in this prologue, is Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527), Italian author of The Prince, whose cut-throat, godless, political pragmatism were considered anathema to the English.

Douglass, Frederick -- Speech (1886-04-16), “Strong to Suffer, and Yet Strong to Strive,” Israel Bethel Colored Methodist Episcopal Church, Washington, D.C.

Dave — Wed, 22 Oct 2025 22:59:03 +0000

The American people have this lesson to learn: That where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob, and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe.

Frederick Douglass (1817–1895) American abolitionist, orator, writer
Speech (1886-04-16), “Strong to Suffer, and Yet Strong to Strive,” Israel Bethel Colored Methodist Episcopal Church, Washington, D.C.

Carlin, George -- Book (2001), Napalm & Silly Putty, “Don’t Blame the Leaders”

Dave — Wed, 15 Oct 2025 16:53:16 +0000

In the midst of all my bitching, you might’ve noticed that I never complain about politicians. I leave that to others. And there’s no shortage of volunteers; everyone complains about politicians. Everyone says they suck.
But where do people think these politicians come from? They don’t fall out of the sky; they don’t pass through a membrane from a separate reality. They come from American homes, American families, American schools, American churches, and American businesses. And they’re elected by American voters. This is what our system produces, folks. This is the best we can do. Let’s face it, we have very little to work with. Garbage in, garbage out.
Ignorant citizens elect ignorant leaders, it’s as simple as that. And term limits don’t help. All you do is get a brand new bunch of ignorant leaders.

George Carlin (1937–2008) American comedian
Book (2001), Napalm & Silly Putty, “Don’t Blame the Leaders”

(Source (audio)). The audiobook version is trivially different (emphasis added):

In the midst of all my bitching, you might've noticed that I never complain about politicians. I leave that to other people. There's no shortage of volunteers; everyone complains about politicians. Everyone says they suck.
But where do people think these politicians come from? They don't fall out of the sky; they don't pass through a membrane from a separate reality. They come from American homes, American families, American schools, American churches, and American businesses. And they're elected by American voters. This is what our system produces, folks. This is the best we can do. Let's face it, we have very little to work with in this country. Garbage in, garbage out.
Ignorant citizens elect ignorant leaders, it's as simple as that. And term limits don't help. All you do is get a brand new bunch of ignorant leaders.

Brecht, Bertholt -- (Attributed)

Dave — Thu, 09 Oct 2025 04:29:28 +0000

The worst illiterate is the political illiterate. He hears nothing, sees nothing, takes no part in political life. He doesn’t seem to know that the cost of living, the price of beans, of flour, of rent, of medicines all depend on political decisions. He even prides himself on his political ignorance, sticks out his chest and says he hates politics. He doesn’t know, the imbecile, that from his political non-participation comes the prostitute, the abandoned child, the robber and, worst of all, corrupt officials, the lackeys of exploitative multinational corporations.

Bertolt Brecht (1898–1956) German poet, playwright, director, dramaturgist
(Attributed)

A chewy quote that is widely attributed to Brecht, but no actual citation has been found.

Brecht, Bertholt -- Life of Galileo [Leben des Galilei], sc. 9 (1940) [tr. Sauerlander/Manheim (1955)]

Dave — Wed, 24 Sep 2025 15:29:59 +0000

GALILEO: The aim of science is not to open the door to everlasting wisdom, but to set a limit to everlasting error.

[Es ist nicht ihr Ziel, der unendlichen Weisheit eine Tiir zu offnen, sondern eine Grenze zu setzen dem unendlichen Irrtum.]

Bertolt Brecht (1898–1956) German poet, playwright, director, dramaturgist
Life of Galileo [Leben des Galilei], sc. 9 (1940) [tr. Sauerlander/Manheim (1955)]

(Source (German)). Other translations:

It isn't their [the sciences'] job to throw open the door to infinite wisdom but to put a limit to infinite error.
[tr. Willett (1980)]

It is not the aim of science to open a door to infinite wisdom -- but to put an end to infinite error.
[tr. Brenton (1980)]

Hugo, Victor -- Les Misérables, Part 4 “St. Denis,” Book 7 “Argot,” ch. 4 (4.7.4) (1862) [tr. Denny (1976)]

Dave — Mon, 08 Sep 2025 19:26:16 +0000

Certainly the influence of the past is very strong at the present time; it is reviving, and this rejuvenation of a corpse is surprising. It is on the march, and it seems to be winning — a dead thing yet a conqueror! It comes with its army of superstitions, its sword, which is despotism, its banner, which is ignorance, and in recent years it has won ten battles. It advances, laughs, and threatens; it is at our door.

[Le passé, il est vrai, est très fort à l’heure où nous sommes. Il reprend. Ce rajeunissement d’un cadavre est surprenant. Le voici qui marche et qui vient. Il semble vainqueur ; ce mort est un conquérant. Il arrive avec sa légion, les superstitions, avec son épée, le despotisme, avec son drapeau, l’ignorance ; depuis quelque temps il a gagné dix batailles. Il avance, il menace, il rit, il est à nos portes.]

Victor Hugo (1802–1885) French writer, journalist, human rights activist, politician
Les Misérables, Part 4 “St. Denis,” Book 7 “Argot,” ch. 4 (4.7.4) (1862) [tr. Denny (1976)]

(Source (French)). Alternate translations:

The past, it is true, is very strong at the present hour. It is reviving. This revivification of a corpse is surprising. Here it is walking and advancing. It seems victorious; this dead man is a conqueror. He comes with his legion, the superstitions, with his sword, despotism, with his banner, ignorance; within a little time he has won ten battles. He advances, he threatens, he laughs, he is at our doors.
[tr. Wilbour (1862)]

The past, we grant, is very powerful at the present hour, and is beginning again. This rejuvenescence of a corpse is surprising, yet here it is, marching straight toward us. The dead man appears a victor, and is a conqueror; he arrives with his legion, superstitions; with his sword, despotism; with his banner, ignorance; and during sometime past he has gained ten battles. He advances, he threatens, he laughs, he is at our gates.
[tr. Wraxall (1862)]

The past is very strong, it is true, at the present moment. It censures. This rejuvenation of a corpse is surprising. Behold, it is walking and advancing. It seems a victor; this dead body is a conqueror. He arrives with his legions, superstitions, with his sword, despotism, with his banner, ignorance; a while ago, he won ten battles. He advances, he threatens, he laughs, he is at our doors.
[tr. Hapgood (1887)]

The past, it is true, is very strong right now. It is reviving. This revivification of a corpse is surprising. Here it is walking and advancing. It seems victorious; this dead man is a conqueror. He comes with his legion, superstitions, with his sword, despotism, with his banner, ignorance; within a little time he has won ten battles. He advances, he threatens, he laughs, he is at our door.
[tr. Wilbour/Fahnestock/MacAfee (1987)]

At the moment, it is true, the past is very strong. It is reviving. This rejuvenation of a corpse is astounding. Back on its feet again, here it comes. It looks victorious. This defunct is a conqueror, it arrives with its legion -- superstitions -- with its sword -- despotism -- with its banner -- ignorance. Recently, it has won a dozen battles. It is advancing, threatening, laughing, it is at our gates.
[tr. Donougher (2013)]

Heywood, John -- Proverbes, Part 2, ch. 5 (1546)

Dave — Sat, 06 Sep 2025 19:14:44 +0000

Much water goeth by the mill
That the miller knoweth not of.

John Heywood (1497?-1580?) English playwright and epigrammist
Proverbes, Part 2, ch. 5 (1546)

See Shakespeare, Titus Andronicus, Act 2, sc. 7 (1588-1593): "More water glideth by the mill, / Than wots the miller of."

Carlyle, Thomas -- Sartor Resartus, Book 1, ch. 8 (1834)

Dave — Thu, 28 Aug 2025 15:59:50 +0000

Strange enough how creatures of the human-kind shut their eyes to plainest facts; and by the mere inertia of Oblivion and Stupidity, live at ease in the midst of Wonders and Terrors. But indeed man is, and was always, a blockhead and dullard; much readier to feel and digest, than to think and consider.

Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) Scottish essayist and historian
Sartor Resartus, Book 1, ch. 8 (1834)

Quoting Herr Teufelsdröckh.

This chapter first appeared in Fraser's Magazine for Town and Country, Vol. 8, No. 48 (1833-12).

Watterson, Bill -- Calvin and Hobbes (1987-06-03)

Dave — Thu, 28 Aug 2025 00:03:26 +0000

CALVIN: Hey Dad, how does a carburetor work?

CALVIN’S DAD: I can’t tell you.

CALVIN: Why not?

CALVIN’S DAD: It’s a secret.

CALVIN: No it isn’t! You just don’t know!

Bill Watterson (b. 1958) American cartoonist
Calvin and Hobbes (1987-06-03)

Martin, Judith -- Interview (1995-03-06) by Virginia Shea, “Miss Mannners’ Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Internet Behavior,” Computerworld, Vol. 29, No. 10

Dave — Mon, 04 Aug 2025 17:31:26 +0000

I always presume, because it helps me get up in the morning, that most people are people of goodwill and would like to restrain themselves from offending people if they knew what was offensive.

Judith Martin (b. 1938) American author, journalist, etiquette expert [a.k.a. Miss Manners]
Interview (1995-03-06) by Virginia Shea, “Miss Mannners’ Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Internet Behavior,” Computerworld, Vol. 29, No. 10

Adams, John -- Diary (1772, Spring), “Notes for a Oration at Braintree”

Dave — Mon, 07 Jul 2025 18:46:42 +0000

We see, by the Sketches I have given you, that all the great Kingdoms of Europe have once been free. But that they have lost their Liberties, by the Ignorance, the Weakness, the Inconstancy, and Disunion of the People. Let Us guard against these dangers, let us be firm and stable, as wise as Serpents and as harmless as Doves, but as daring and intrepid as Heroes.

John Adams (1735–1826) American lawyer, Founder, statesman; US President (1797–1801)
Diary (1772, Spring), “Notes for a Oration at Braintree”

The serpents/doves reference is from the New Testament, Matthew 10:16.

Holmes, Oliver Wendell, Sr. -- Speech (1859-03-10), Valedictory Address, Harvard University School of Medicine

Dave — Mon, 23 Jun 2025 19:43:49 +0000

You can never be too cautious in your prognosis, in the view of the great uncertainty of the course of any disease not long watched, and the many unexpected turns it may take.
I think I am not the first to utter the following caution : —
Beware how you take away hope from any human being. Nothing is clearer than that the merciful Creator intends to blind most people as they pass down into the dark valley. Without very good reasons, temporal or spiritual, we should not interfere with his kind arrangements. It is the height of cruelty and the extreme of impertinence to tell your patient he must die, except you are sure that he wishes to know it, or that there is some particular cause for his knowing it. I should be especially unwilling to tell a child that it could not recover; if the theologians think it necessary, let them take the responsibility. God leads it by the hand to the edge of the precipice in happy unconsciousness, and I would not open its eyes to what he wisely conceals.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (1809–1894) American poet, essayist, scholar
Speech (1859-03-10), Valedictory Address, Harvard University School of Medicine

Sometimes paraphrased, "Beware how you take away hope from another human being."

Collected in The Boston Medical and Surgical Journal, Vol. 58, No. 8 (1858-03-25).

Barrie, James -- Peter Pan, Act 1 (1904, pub. 1928)

Dave — Tue, 08 Apr 2025 17:50:13 +0000

WENDY:I shall give you a kiss if you like.

PETER: Thank you. (He holds out his hand.)

WENDY: (aghast) Don’t you know what a kiss is?

PETER. I shall know when you give it me. (Not to hurt his feelings she gives him her thimble.)

J. M. Barrie (1860–1937) Scottish novelist and dramatist [James Matthew Barrie]
Peter Pan, Act 1 (1904, pub. 1928)

The original version of this scene (with the girl named Maimie, not Wendy) can be found in Barrie's earlier version of the Peter Pan tale, The Little White Bird, ch. 18 "Peter's Goat" (1902):

She said out of pity for him, "I shall give you a kiss if you like," but though he once knew, he had long forgotten what kisses are, and he replied, "Thank you," and held out his hand, thinking she had offered to put something into it. This was a great shock to her, but she felt she could not explain without shaming him, so with charming delicacy she gave Peter a thimble which happened to be in her pocket, and pretended that it was a kiss.

In Barrie's 1911 novelization of the play, Peter and Wendy, ch. 3 "Come Away, Come Away!" this scene is rendered:

She also said she would give him a kiss if he liked, but Peter did not know what she meant, and he held out his hand expectantly.
“Surely you know what a kiss is?” she asked, aghast.
“I shall know when you give it to me,” he replied stiffly, and not to hurt his feelings she gave him a thimble.

Shakespeare, William -- Julius Caesar, Act 1, sc. 2, l. 289ff (1.2.289-295) (1599)

Dave — Mon, 07 Apr 2025 15:25:13 +0000

CASSIUS: Did Cicero say anything?

CASCA: Ay, he spoke Greek.

CASSIUS: To what effect?

CASCA Nay, an I tell you that, I’ll ne’er look you i’ th’ face again. But those that understood him smiled at one another and shook their heads. But for mine own part, it was Greek to me.

William Shakespeare (1564–1616) English dramatist and poet
Julius Caesar, Act 1, sc. 2, l. 289ff (1.2.289-295) (1599)

Not origin, but likely popularizer of the phrase, "It's Greek to me." Similar phrases had been around since Roman days, and through the Medieval period. Many languages/cultures have similar idioms.

Jefferson, Thomas -- Letter (1816-01-06) to Charles Yancey

Dave — Tue, 01 Apr 2025 18:38:30 +0000

If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be. The functionaries of every government have propensities to command at will the liberty and property of their constituents. There is no safe deposit for these but with the people themselves; nor can they be safe with them without information. Where the press is free, and every man able to read, all is safe.

Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) American political philosopher, polymath, statesman, US President (1801–09)
Letter (1816-01-06) to Charles Yancey

The original, non-orthographic version of this reads:

if a nation expects to be ignorant & free, in a state of civilisation, it expects what never was & never will be. the functionaries of every government have propensities to command at will the liberty & property of their constituents. there is no safe deposit for these but with the people themselves; nor can they be safe with them without information. where the press is free and every man able to read, all is safe.

There is a spurious variant on part of this quotation that reads:

If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be. If we are to guard against ignorance and remain free, it is the responsibility of every American to be informed.

While the first sentence (as above) is legitimate, the second is not. It appears to be a paraphrase of Jefferson used by Ronald Reagan in 1981.

Fuller, Thomas (1654) -- Introductio ad Prudentiam, Vol. 1, # 84 (1725)

Dave — Wed, 12 Mar 2025 15:08:19 +0000

If thou wilt be cured of thy Ignorance, confess it.

Thomas Fuller (1654–1734) English physician, preacher, aphorist, writer
Introductio ad Prudentiam, Vol. 1, # 84 (1725)

Carlyle, Thomas -- Essay (1829-06), “Signs of the Times,” Edinburgh Review, Vol. 49, No. 98, Art. 7

Dave — Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:14:13 +0000

Wonder, indeed, is, on all hands, dying out: it is the sign of uncultivation to wonder.

Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) Scottish essayist and historian
Essay (1829-06), “Signs of the Times,” Edinburgh Review, Vol. 49, No. 98, Art. 7

Review of three 1829 books: Anticipation; or, an Hundred Years Hence; The Rise, Progress, and Present State of Public Opinion in Great Britain; Edward Irvine, The Last Days; or, Discourses on These Our Times.

Marcus Aurelius -- Meditations [To Himself; Τὰ εἰς ἑαυτόν], Book 2, ch. 1 (2.1) [tr. Gill (2013)]

Dave — Wed, 05 Feb 2025 21:09:53 +0000

Say to yourself first thing in the morning: I shall meet with people who are meddling, ungrateful, violent, treacherous, envious, and unsociable. They are subject to these faults because of their ignorance of what is good and bad.

[ἕωθεν προλέγειν ἑαυτῷ· συντεύξομαι περιέργῳ, ἀχαρίστῳ, ὑβριστῇ, δολερῷ, βασκάνῳ, ἀκοινωνήτῳ· πάντα ταῦτα συμβέβηκεν ἐκείνοις παρὰ τὴν ἄγνοιαν τῶν ἀγαθῶν καὶ κακῶν.]

Marcus Aurelius (AD 121–180) Roman emperor (161–180), Stoic philosopher
Meditations [To Himself; Τὰ εἰς ἑαυτόν], Book 2, ch. 1 (2.1) [tr. Gill (2013)]

(Source (Greek)). Alternate translations:

Betimes in the morning say to thyself, This day I shalt have to do with an idle curious man, with an unthankful man, a railer, a crafty, false, or an envious man; an unsociable uncharitable man. All these ill qualities have happened unto them, through ignorance of that which is truly good and truly bad.
[tr. Casaubon (1634), 1.15]

Remember to put yourself in mind every Morning, That before Night 'twill be your Luck to meet with some Inquisitive Impertinent, with some ungrateful, and abusive Fellow; with some Knavish, Envious, or unsociable Churl or other. Now all this perverseness in them proceeds from their Ignorance of Good and Evil
[tr. Collier (1701)]

Say thus to thyself every morning: to day I may have to do with some intermeddler in other mens affairs, with an ungrateful man; an insolent, or a crafty, or an envious, or an unsociable selfish man. These bad qualities have befallen them through their ignorance of what things are truly good or evil.
[tr. Hutcheson/Moor (1742)]

Consider with yourself, before you go out in the morning, that in the course of the day you will probably meet with some impertinent, disagreeable, or abusive fellow, with some deceitful, envious, or selfish wretch: now all this perverseness in them proceeds from their ignorance of what is really good or evil.
[tr. Graves (1792)]

Begin the morning by saying to thyself, I shall meet with the busybody, the ungrateful, arrogant, deceitful, envious, unsocial. All these things happen to them by reason of their ignorance of what is good and evil.
[tr. Long (1862)]

Remember to put yourself in mind every morning, that before night it will be your luck to meet with some busy-body, with some ungrateful, abusive fellow, with some knavish, envious, or unsociable churl or other. Now all this perverseness in them proceeds from their ignorance of good and evil.
[tr. Collier/Zimmern (1887)]

When you wake, say to yourself -- To-day I shall encounter meddling, ingratitude, violence, cunning, malice, self-seeking; all of them the results of men not know what is good and what is evil."
[tr. Rendall (1898)]

Say this to yourself in the morning: Today I shall have to do with meddlers, with the ungrateful, with the insolent, with the crafty, with the envious and the selfish. All these vices have beset them, because they know not what is good and what is evil.
[tr. Hutcheson/Chrystal (1902)]

Say to thyself at daybreak: I shall come across the busy-body, the thankless, the bully, the treacherous, the envious, the unneighbourly. All this has befallen them because they know not good from evil.
[tr. Haines (Loeb) (1916)]

Say to yourself in the early morning: I shall meet to-day inquisitive, ungrateful, violent, treacherous, envious, uncharitable men. All these things have come upon them through ignorance of real good and ill.
[tr. Farquharson (1944)]

Begin each day by telling yourself: Today I shall be meeting with interference, ingratitude, insolence, disloyalty, ill will, and selfishness -- all of them due to the offenders’ ignorance of what is good or evil.
[tr. Staniforth (1964)]

Say to yourself at break of day, I shall meet with meddling, ungrateful, violent, treacherous, envious, and ungrateful men. All these vices have fallen to them because they have no knowledge of good and bad.
[tr. Hard (1997 ed.)]

When you wake up in the morning, tell yourself: The people I deal with today will be meddling, ungrateful, arrogant, dishonest, jealous, and surly. They are like this because they can’t tell good from evil.
[tr. Hays (2003)]

Say to yourself first thing in the morning: today I shall meet people who are meddling, ungrateful, aggressive, treacherous, malicious, unsocial. All this has afflicted them through their ignorance of true good and evil.
[tr. Hammond (2006)]

Begin each day by saying to yourself: Today I am going to encounter people who are ungrateful, arrogant, deceitful, envious, and hostile. People have these characteristics because they do not understand what is good and what is bad.
[tr. Needleman/Piazza (2008)]

Say to yourself at the start of the day, I shall meet with meddling, ungrateful, violent, treacherous, envious, and unsociable people. They are subject to all these defects because they have no knowledge of good and bad.
[tr. Hard (2011 ed.)]

First thing in the morning say to yourself: "I’m going to meet a busybody, an ingrate, a bighead, a fraudster, a slanderer, and an anti-social person; they’ve become all these things because of their ignorance of good and evil."
[tr. @aleatorclassicus (2013)]

Begin the morning by saying to yourself: Today I will meet people who are busy-bodies, ungrateful, arrogant, deceitful, envious, and unkind. This will happen because these people are ignorant of what is good and bad.
[tr. McNeill (2019)]

Rogers, Will -- Column (1930-01-11)

Dave — Fri, 31 Jan 2025 21:32:27 +0000

It’s almost been worth this depression to find out how little our big men know.

Will Rogers (1879–1935) American humorist
Column (1930-01-11)

Variant: "It's almost worth the Great Depression to learn how little our big men know.

Collected in Sanity Is Where You Find It, ch. 8 (1955) [ed. Donald Day].

Rogers, Will -- Column (1929-08-11), “Daily Telegram: Praise to Russia and China”

Dave — Fri, 10 Jan 2025 16:05:23 +0000

The more ignorant you are, the quicker you fight.

Will Rogers (1879–1935) American humorist
Column (1929-08-11), “Daily Telegram: Praise to Russia and China”

Barzun, Jacques -- Essay (1989), “Exeunt the Humanities,” The Culture We Deserve

Dave — Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:29:11 +0000

A person is not a democrat thanks to his ignorance of literature and the arts, nor an elitist because he or she has cultivated them. The possession of knowledge makes for unjust power over others only if used for that very purpose: a physician or lawyer or clergyman can exploit or humiliate others, or he can be a humanitarian and a benefactor. In any case, it is absurd to conjure up behind anybody who exploits his educated status the existence of an “elite” scheming to oppress the rest of us.

Jacques Barzun (1907–2012) French-American historian, educator, polymath
Essay (1989), “Exeunt the Humanities,” The Culture We Deserve

An earlier version of this essay appeared as "This Business of the Humanities," Three Talks by Jacques Barzun, Northern Kentucky University (1980).

Hugo, Victor -- Les Misérables, Part 1 “Fantine,” Book 1 “An Upright Man,” ch. 4 (1.1.4) [Bishop Myriel] (1862) [tr. Wilbour (1862)]

Dave — Mon, 02 Dec 2024 20:46:48 +0000

If the soul is left in darkness, sins will be committed. The guilty one is not he who commits the sin, but he who causes the darkness.

[Cette âme est pleine d’ombre, le péché s’y commet. Le coupable n’est pas celui qui y fait le péché, mais celui qui y a fait l’ombre.]

Victor Hugo (1802–1885) French writer, journalist, human rights activist, politician
Les Misérables, Part 1 “Fantine,” Book 1 “An Upright Man,” ch. 4 (1.1.4) [Bishop Myriel] (1862) [tr. Wilbour (1862)]

(Source (French)). Alternate translations:

This soul is full of darkness, and sin is committed, but the guilty person is not the man who commits the sin, but he who produces the darkness.
[tr. Wraxall (1862)]

This soul is full of shadow; sin is therein committed. The guilty one is not the person who has committed the sin, but the person who has created the shadow.
[tr. Hapgood (1887)]

The soul in darkness sins, but the real sinner is he who caused the darkness.
[tr. Denny (1976)]

If the soul is left in darkness, sins will be committed. The guilty one is not he who commits the sin, but the one who causes the darkness.
[tr. Wilbour/Fahnestock/MacAfee (1987)]

In any benighted soul -- that's where sin will be committed. It's not he who commits the sin that's to blame, but he who causes the darkness to prevail.
[tr. Donougher (2013)]

Bierce, Ambrose -- “Learning,” The Cynic’s Word Book (1906)

Dave — Fri, 29 Nov 2024 19:01:12 +0000

LEARNING, n. The kind of ignorance distinguishing the studious.

Ambrose Bierce (1842–1914?) American writer and journalist
“Learning,” The Cynic’s Word Book (1906)

Included in The Devil's Dictionary (1911).

Bierce, Ambrose -- “Ignoramus,” The Cynic’s Word Book (1906)

Dave — Tue, 03 Sep 2024 22:06:08 +0000

IGNORAMUS, n. A person unacquainted with certain kinds of knowledge familiar to yourself, and having certain other kinds that you know nothing about.

Ambrose Bierce (1842–1914?) American writer and journalist
“Ignoramus,” The Cynic’s Word Book (1906)

Included in The Devil's Dictionary (1911). Originally published in the "Devil's Dictionary" column in the San Francisco Wasp (1885-08-29).

Ferber, Edna -- Show Boat, ch. 13 (1926)

Dave — Fri, 26 Jul 2024 14:04:11 +0000

Don’t you believe ’em when they say that what you don’t know won’t hurt you. Biggest lie ever was. See it all and go your own way and nothing’ll hurt you. If what you see ain’t pretty, what’s the odds! See it anyway. Then next time you don’t have to look.

Edna Ferber (1886–1968) American author and playwright
Show Boat, ch. 13 (1926)

Captain Andy Hawkes to his daughter, Magnolia.

Stoppard, Tom -- Where Are They Now? (1968)

Dave — Wed, 24 Jul 2024 21:45:02 +0000

GALE: Childhood is Last Chance Gulch for happiness. After that, you know too much.

Tom Stoppard (1937–2025) Czech-English playwright and screenwriter
Where Are They Now? (1968)

Russell, Bertrand -- “The Best Answer to Fanaticism: Liberalism,” New York Times Magazine (1951-12-16)

Dave — Wed, 10 Jul 2024 20:57:37 +0000

The Ten Commandments that, as a teacher, I should wish to promulgate, might be set forth as follows:

Do not feel absolutely certain of anything.
Do not think it worth while to proceed by concealing evidence, for the evidence is sure to come to light.
Never try to discourage thinking for you are sure to succeed.
When you meet with opposition, even if it should be from your husband or your children, endeavour to overcome it by argument and not by authority, for a victory dependent upon authority is unreal and illusory.
Have no respect for the authority of others, for there are always contrary authorities to be found.
Do not use power to suppress opinions you think pernicious, for if you do the opinions will suppress you.
Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric.
Find more pleasure in intelligent dissent that in passive agreement, for, if you value intelligence as you should, the former implies a deeper agreement than the latter.
Be scrupulously truthful, even if the truth is inconvenient, for it is more inconvenient when you try to conceal it.
Do not feel envious of the happiness of those who live in a fool’s paradise, for only a fool will think that it is happiness.

Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“The Best Answer to Fanaticism: Liberalism,” New York Times Magazine (1951-12-16)

Sometimes referred to as "The Liberal Decalogue." Later printed in The Autobiography of Bertrand Russell, Vol. 3 (1969).

Gibbon, Edward -- The Decline And Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. 2, ch. 15 (1781)

Dave — Tue, 21 May 2024 15:36:53 +0000

It is always easy as well as agreeable for the inferior ranks of mankind to claim merit from the contempt of that pomp and pleasure which fortune has placed beyond their reach. The virtue of the primitive Christians, like that of the first Romans, was very frequently guarded by poverty and ignorance.

Edward Gibbon (1737–1794) English historian
The Decline And Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. 2, ch. 15 (1781)

See La Rochefoucauld.

Montaigne, Michel de -- Essays, Book 3, ch. 2 (3.2), “Of Repentance [Du Repentir]” (1586) [tr. Frame (1943)]

Dave — Wed, 17 Apr 2024 21:00:31 +0000

To found the reward for virtuous actions on the approval of others is to choose too uncertain and shaky a foundation. Especially in an age as corrupt and ignorant as this, the good opinion of the people is a dishonor. Whom can you trust to see what is praiseworthy?

[De fonder la recompence des actions vertueuses, sur l’approbation d’autruy, c’est prendre un trop incertain et trouble fondement, signamment en un siecle corrompu et ignorant, comme cettuy cy la bonne estime du peuple est injurieuse. A qui vous fiez vous, de veoir ce qui est louable?]

Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592) French essayist
Essays, Book 3, ch. 2 (3.2), “Of Repentance [Du Repentir]” (1586) [tr. Frame (1943)]

This essay first appeared in the 1588 ed. The second sentence/phrase (on the age being so corrupt) and following were added for the 1595 ed.

(Source (French)). Other translations:

To ground the recompence of vertuous actions, upon the approbation of others, is to undertake a most uncertaine or troubled foundation, namely in an age so corrupt and times so ignorant, as this is: the vulgar peoples good opinion is injurious. Whom trust you in seeing what is commendable?
[tr. Florio (1603)]

To ground the Recompence of virtuous Actions upon the Approbation of others, is too uncertain and unsafe a Foundation; especially in so corrupt and ignorant an Age as this, the good Opinion of the Vulgar is injurious. Upon whom do you relie to shew you what is recommendable?
[tr. Cotton (1686)]

To ground the recompense of virtuous actions upon the approbation of others is too uncertain and unsafe a foundation, especially in so corrupt and ignorant an age as this, wherein the good opinion of the vulgar is injurious: upon whom do you rely to show you what is recommendable?
[tr. Cotton/Hazlitt (1877)]

To base the reward of virtuous actions on the approbation of others is to choose a too uncertain and obscure foundation. Especially in a corrupt and ignorant age like this, the good opinion of the vulgar is offensive; to whom do you trust to perceive what is praiseworthy?
[tr. Ives (1925)]

Basing the recompense of virtuous deeds on another’s approbation is to accept too uncertain and confused a foundation -- especially since in a corrupt and ignorant period like our own to be in good esteem with the masses is an insult: whom would you trust to recognize what was worthy of praise!
[tr. Screech (1987)]

Shakespeare, William -- Much Ado About Nothing, Act 4, sc. 1, l. 19ff (4.1.19-20) (1598)

Dave — Mon, 15 Apr 2024 22:11:36 +0000

CLAUDIO: O, what men dare do! What men may do!
What men daily do, not knowing what they do!

William Shakespeare (1564–1616) English dramatist and poet
Much Ado About Nothing, Act 4, sc. 1, l. 19ff (4.1.19-20) (1598)

Bagehot, Walter -- “The Waverley Novels,” National Review (1858-04)

Dave — Wed, 03 Apr 2024 14:35:05 +0000

In truth, poverty is an anomaly to rich people. It is very difficult to make out why people who want dinner do not ring the bell.

Walter Bagehot (1826–1877) British businessman, essayist, journalist
“The Waverley Novels,” National Review (1858-04)

A review of Sir Walter Scott's very popular and lengthy book series of that name, which includes his (today) most famous, Ivanhoe.

Jacobs, Jane -- Dark Age Ahead, ch. 3 “Science Abandoned” (2004)

Dave — Mon, 11 Mar 2024 23:59:07 +0000

Science doesn’t supply happiness; but neither does its lack. The same can be said of social utopias: they aren’t created by science, but neither does lack of science provide them. Science has cast up dangerous and cruel knowledge, which has been exploited for warfare and dictatorial power; but so have cultures so little gifted with scientists that they either make do with imported weapons or rely on clubs, axes, and daggers. Scientific information about our mistakes — for instance, that deforestation invites mud slides and deserts, that overfishing depletes fish stocks — doesn’t guarantee we will avoid such mistakes or correct them, but that is owing to failure to heed what science uncovers.

Jane Jacobs (1916–2006) American-Canadian journalist, author, urban theorist, activist
Dark Age Ahead, ch. 3 “Science Abandoned” (2004)

Kafka, Franz -- The Trial, ch. 1 (1925) [tr. Wyllie (2003)]

Dave — Wed, 28 Feb 2024 14:52:26 +0000

They’re talking about things of which they don’t have the slightest understanding, anyway. It’s only because of their stupidity that they’re able to be so sure of themselves.

Franz Kafka (1883–1924) Czech-Austrian Jewish writer
The Trial, ch. 1 (1925) [tr. Wyllie (2003)]

The protagonist Josef K., musing over the minor functionaries who have arrested him on unknown charges.

Campbell, Joseph -- (Attributed)

Dave — Fri, 19 Jan 2024 15:44:34 +0000

Life is like arriving late for a movie, having to figure out what was going on without bothering everybody with a lot of questions, and then being unexpectedly called away before you find out how it ends.

Joseph Campbell (1904–1987) American writer, professor of literature
(Attributed)

Widely attributed to Campbell, but I cannot find a source in Campbell's works. Citations, when given, are usually to to The Masks of God, vol. 4: Creative Mythology (1968), but repeated searches of the book do not find this text.

Byron, George Gordon, Lord -- “Manfred,” Act 2, sc. 4 [First Destiny] (1817)

Dave — Thu, 11 Jan 2024 15:55:58 +0000

Knowledge is not happiness, and science
But an exchange of ignorance for that
Which is another kind of ignorance.

George Gordon, Lord Byron (1788–1824) English poet
“Manfred,” Act 2, sc. 4 [First Destiny] (1817)

Byron, George Gordon, Lord -- “Manfred,” Act 1, sc. 1 [Manfred] (1817)

Dave — Wed, 20 Dec 2023 17:40:07 +0000

Sorrow is knowledge: they who know the most
Must mourn the deepest o’er the fatal truth,
The Tree of Knowledge is not that of Life.

George Gordon, Lord Byron (1788–1824) English poet
“Manfred,” Act 1, sc. 1 [Manfred] (1817)

Adams, Henry -- The Education of Henry Adams, ch. 25 (1907)

Dave — Tue, 19 Dec 2023 18:13:41 +0000

Nothing in education is so astonishing as the amount of ignorance it accumulates in the form of inert facts.

Henry Adams (1838–1918) American journalist, historian, academic, novelist
The Education of Henry Adams, ch. 25 (1907)

Augustine of Hippo -- City of God [De Civitate Dei], Book 22, ch. 22 (22.22) (AD 412-416) [tr. Green (Loeb) (1972)]

Dave — Mon, 18 Dec 2023 21:05:40 +0000

Why is it that we remember with effort but forget without effort? That we learn with effort but stay ignorant without effort? That we are active with effort, and lazy without effort?

[Quid est enim, quod cum labore meminimus, sine labore obliuiscimur; cum labore discimus, sine labore nescimus; cum labore strenui, sine labore inertes sumus?]

Augustine of Hippo (354–430) Christian church father, philosopher, saint [b. Aurelius Augustinus]
City of God [De Civitate Dei], Book 22, ch. 22 (22.22) (AD 412-416) [tr. Green (Loeb) (1972)]

(Source (Latin)). Other translations:

What is our labour to remember things, our labour to learn, and our ignorance without this labour? our agility got by toil, and our dullness if we neglect it?
[tr. Healey (1610)]

For why is it that we remember with difficulty, and without difficulty forget? learn with difficulty, and without difficulty remain ignorant? are diligent with difficulty, and without difficulty are indolent?
[tr. Dods (1871)]

How difficult it is to remember, how easy to forget; how hard to learn and how easy to be ignorant; how difficult to make an effort and how easy to be lazy.
[tr. Walsh/Honan (1954)]

How is it that what we learn with toil we forget with ease? that it is hard to learn, but easy to be in ignorance? That activity goes against the grain, while indolence is second nature?
[tr. Bettenson (1972)]

Why is it that we remember with such difficulty, but forget so easily? Why is it that we learn with such difficulty, yet so easily remain ignorant? Why is it that we are vigorous with such difficulty, yet so easily inert?
[tr. Dyson (1998)]

Jerome, Jerome K. -- Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow, “On Cats and Dogs” (1889)

Dave — Mon, 18 Dec 2023 19:04:16 +0000

Yes, poor doggie, you are very stupid, very stupid indeed, compared with us clever men, who understand all about politics and philosophy, and who know everything in short, except what we are, and where we came from, and whither we are going, and what everything outside this tiny world and most things in it are.

Jerome K. Jerome (1859–1927) English writer, humorist [Jerome Klapka Jerome]
Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow, “On Cats and Dogs” (1889)

Augustine of Hippo -- City of God [De Civitate Dei], Book 22, ch. 22 (22.22) (AD 412-416) [tr. Walsh/Honan (1954)]

Dave — Tue, 12 Dec 2023 02:20:55 +0000

This life of ours — if a life so full of such great ills can properly be called a life — bears witness to the fact that, from its very start, the race of mortal men has been a race condemned. Think, first, of that dreadful abyss of ignorance from which all error flows and so engulfs the sons of Adam in a darksome pool that no one can escape without the toll of toils and tears and fears. Then, take our very love for all those things that prove so vain and poisonous and breed so many heartaches, troubles, griefs, and fears; such insane joys in discord, strife, and war; such wrath and plots of enemies, deceivers, sycophants; such fraud and theft and robbery; such perfidy and pride, envy and ambition, homicide and murder, cruelty and savagery, lawlessness and lust; all the shameless passions of the impure — fornication and adultery, incest and unnatural sins, rape and countless other uncleannesses too nasty to be mentioned; the sins against religion — sacrilege and heresy, blasphemy and perjury; the iniquities against our neighbors — calumnies and cheating, lies and false witness, violence to persons and property; the injustices of the courts and the innumerable other miseries and maladies that fill the world, yet escape attention.
It is true that it is wicked men who do such things, but the source of all such sins is that radical canker in the mind and will that is innate in every son of Adam. For, our infancy proves with what ignorance of the truth man enters upon life, and adolescence makes clear to all the world how full we are of folly and concupiscence. In fact, if anyone were left to live as he pleased and to do what he desired, he would go through practically the whole gamut of lawlessnesses and lust — those which I have just listed and, perhaps, others that I refrained from mentioning.

[Nam quod ad primam originem pertinet, omnem mortalium progeniem fuisse damnatam, haec ipsa uita, si uita dicenda est, tot et tantis malis plena testatur. Quid enim aliud indicat horrenda quaedam profunditas ignorantiae, ex qua omnis error existit, qui omnes filios Adam tenebroso quodam sinu suscepit, ut homo ab illo liberari sine labore dolore timore non possit? Quid amor ipse tot rerum uanarum atque noxiarum et ex hoc mordaces curae, perturbationes, maerores, formidines, insana gaudia, discordiae, lites, bella, insidiae, iracundiae, inimicitiae, fallacia, adulatio, fraus, furtum, rapina, perfidia, superbia, ambitio, inuidentia, homicidia, parricidia, crudelitas, saeuitia, nequitia, luxuria, petulantia, inpudentia, inpudicitia, fornicationes, adulteria, incesta et contra naturam utriusque sexus tot stupra atque inmunditiae, quas turpe est etiam dicere, sacrilegia, haereses, blasphemiae, periuria, oppressiones innocentium, calumniae, circumuentiones, praeuaricationes, falsa testimonia, iniqua iudicia, uiolentiae, latrocinia et quidquid talium malorum in mentem non uenit et tamen de uita ista hominum non recedit? Verum haec hominum sunt malorum, ab illa tamen erroris et peruersi amoris radice uenientia, cum qua omnis filius Adam nascitur. Nam quis ignorat cum quanta ignorantia ueritatis, quae iam in infantibus manifesta est, et cum quanta abundantia uanae cupiditatis, quae in pueris incipit apparere, homo ueniat in hanc uitam, ita ut, si dimittatur uiuere ut uelit et facere quidquid uelit, in haec facinora et flagitia, quae commemoraui et quae commemorare non potui, uel cuncta uel multa perueniat?]

Augustine of Hippo (354–430) Christian church father, philosopher, saint [b. Aurelius Augustinus]
City of God [De Civitate Dei], Book 22, ch. 22 (22.22) (AD 412-416) [tr. Walsh/Honan (1954)]

(Source (Latin)). Other translations:

Concerning man’s first origin, our present life (if such a miserable estate can be called a life) does sufficiently prove that all his children were condemned in him. What else does that horrid gulf of ignorance confirm, whence all error has birth, and wherein all the sons of Adam are so deeply drenched, that none can be freed without toil, fear, and sorrow? What else does our love of vanities affirm, whence there arises such a tempest of cares, sorrows, repinings, fears, mad exultations, discords, altercations, wars, treasons, furies, hates, deceits, flatteries, thefts, rapines, perjuries, pride, ambition, envy, murder, parricide, cruelty, villainy, luxury, impudence, unchastity, fornications, adulteries, incests, several sorts of sins against nature (filthy even to be named), sacrilege, heresy, blasphemy, oppression, calumnies, circumventions, deceits, false witnesses, false judgments, violence, robberies, and suchlike out of my remembrance to reckon, but not excluded from the life of man? All these evils are belonging to man, and arise out of the root of that error and perverse affection which every son of Adam brings into the world with him. For who does not know in what a mist of ignorance (as we see in infants) and with what a crew of vain desires (as we see in boys) all mankind enters this world, so that if man were left unto his own election, he would fall into most of the aforesaid mischiefs?
[tr. Healey (1610)]

That the whole human race has been condemned in its first origin, this life itself, if life it is to be called, bears witness by the host of cruel ills with which it is filled. Is not this proved by the profound and dreadful ignorance which produces all the errors that enfold the children of Adam, and from which no man can be delivered without toil, pain, and fear? Is it not proved by his love of so many vain and hurtful things, which produces gnawing cares, disquiet, griefs, fears, wild joys, quarrels, lawsuits, wars, treasons, angers, hatreds, deceit, flattery, fraud, theft, robbery, perfidy, pride, ambition, envy, murders, parricides, cruelty, ferocity, wickedness, luxury, insolence, impudence, shamelessness, fornications, adulteries, incests, and the numberless uncleannesses and unnatural acts of both sexes, which it is shameful so much as to mention; sacrileges, heresies, blasphemies, perjuries, oppression of the innocent, calumnies, plots, falsehoods, false witnessings, unrighteous judgments, violent deeds, plunderings, and whatever similar wickedness has found its way into the lives of men, though it cannot find its way into the conception of pure minds? These are indeed the crimes of wicked men, yet they spring from that root of error and misplaced love which is born with every son of Adam. For who is there that has not observed with what profound ignorance, manifesting itself even in infancy, and with what superfluity of foolish desires, beginning to appear in boyhood, man comes into this life, so that, were he left to live as he pleased, and to do whatever he pleased, he would plunge into all, or certainly into many of those crimes and iniquities which I mentioned, and could not mention?
[tr. Dods (1871)]

This very life, if life it can be called, pregnant with so many dire evils, bears witness that from its very beginning all the progeny of mankind was damned. For what else is the meaning of the dreadful depth of ignorance, from which all error arises, which has taken to its bosom, so to speak, all the sons of Adam in its dark embrace, so that man cannot be freed from that embrace without toil, pain and fear? What is the meaning of the love of so many vain and harmful things, from which come gnawing cares, passions, griefs, fears, mad joys, discords, strifes, wars, plots, wraths, enmities, deceits, flattery, fraud, theft, robbery, perfidy, pride, ambition, envy, murder, parricide, cruelty, ferocity, vileness, riotous living, disorderly conduct, impudence, shamelessness, fornication, adultery, incest and so many outrageous and foul forms of unnatural vice in each sex which it is indecent even to mention, sacrilege, heresies, blasphemies, perjuries, oppressions of the innocent, calumnies, deceptions, duplicities, false witness, unjust verdicts, violence, brigandage and all the other evils which come not to mind, but still do not pass from this life of men? Yes, these are misdeeds of bad men, for they spring from that root of error and perverse love with which every son of Adam is born. Indeed, who does not know with what ignorance of truth, manifest already in infancy, and with what excess of vain desire, which begins to appear in childhood, man comes into this life, so that if he is allowed to live and do as he likes, he falls into all, or many, of these misdeeds and crimes which I have rehearsed, and others which I was unable to rehearse?
[tr. Green (Loeb) (1972)]

As for that first origin of mankind, this present life of ours (if a state full of so much grievous misery can be called a life) is evidence that all the mortal descendants of the first man came under condemnation. Such is the clear evidence of that terrifying abyss of ignorance, as it may be called, which is the source of all error, in whose gloomy depths all the sons of Adam are engulfed, so that man cannot be rescued from it without toil, sorrow and fear. What else is the message of all the evils of humanity? The love of futile and harmful satisfactions, with its results: carking anxieties, agitations of mind, disappointments, fears, frenzied joys, quarrels, disputes, wars, treacheries, hatreds, enmities, deceits, flattery, fraud, theft, rapine, perfidy, pride, ambition, envy, murder, parricide, cruelty, savagery, villainy, lust, promiscuity, indecency, unchastity, fornication, adultery, incest, unnatural vice in men and women (disgusting acts too filthy to be named), sacrilege, collusion, false witness, unjust judgement, violence, robbery, and all other such evils which do not immediately come to mind, although they never cease to beset this life of man -- all these evils belong to man in his wickedness, and they all spring from that root of error and perverted affection which every son of Adam brings with him at his birth. For who is not aware of the vast ignorance of the truth (which is abundantly seen in infancy) and the wealth of futile desires (which begins to be obvious in boyhood) which accompanies a man on his entrance into this world, so that if man were left to live as he chose and act as he pleased he would fall into all, or most, of those crimes and sins which I have mentioned -- and others which I was not able to mention.
[tr. Bettenson (1972)]

This life itself, if it is to be called a life, attests, by the many great evils with which it is filled, that the whole mortal progeny of the first man stands condemned. What could show this more clearly than that dreadful and profound ignorance from which springs all the error which imprisons the sons of Adam in a dark place from which no man can be delivered without toil, pain and fear? Is this not proved by his love of so many vain and harmful things, from which come gnawing cares, disturbances, griefs, fears, insane joys, discords, litigation, wars, treasons, angers, hatreds, falsehood, flattery, fraud, theft, rapine, perfidy, pride, ambition, envy, homicides, parricides, cruelty, ferocity, wickedness, luxury, insolence, immodesty, unchastity, fornications, adulteries, incests, and so many other impure and unnatural acts of both sexes of which it is shameful even to speak; sacrileges, heresies, blasphemies, perjuries, oppression of the innocent, slanders, plots, prevarications, false witness, unrighteous judgments, acts of violence, robberies, and other such evils which do not immediately come to mind, but which are never far away from men in this life? Truly, these are the crimes of wicked men; yet they come forth from that root of error and perverse love which is born with every son of Adam. For who does not know how great is our ignorance of the truth, manifesting itself even in infancy? Who does not know with what an abundance of vain desires, beginning to appear in boyhood, a man comes into this life? So true is this that, if a man were left to live as he wished and do whatever he liked, he would fall into all, or certainly into many, of those crimes and iniquities which I mentioned and could not mention.
[tr. Dyson (1998)]

Elders, Joycelyn -- Penn & Teller: Bullshit!, s. 4, ep. 6 “Abstinence” (2006-06-05)

Dave — Mon, 20 Nov 2023 03:28:22 +0000

We’ve tried ignorance for a thousand years. It’s time we try education.

Joycelyn Elders (b. 1933) American pediatrician, public health administrator, academic
Penn & Teller: Bullshit!, s. 4, ep. 6 “Abstinence” (2006-06-05)

On sex education for kids.

Young, Nedrick -- Inherit the Wind, film (1960) [with Harold Jacob Smith]

Dave — Tue, 07 Nov 2023 23:59:49 +0000

Can’t you understand that if you take a law like evolution and make it a crime to teach it in public schools, tomorrow you could make it a crime to teach it in private schools, and tomorrow you may make it a crime to read about it? And soon you may ban books and newspapers. And then you may turn Catholic against Protestant, and Protestant against Protestant, and try to foist your own religion upon the mind of man. If you can do one you can do the other, because fanaticism and ignorance is forever busy and needs feeding.

Nedrick Young (1914–1968) American screenwriter and actor [pseud. Nathan E. Douglas]
Inherit the Wind, film (1960) [with Harold Jacob Smith]

The original 1951 play was written by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, but does not include this line, delivered in the film by Spencer Tracy. Young and Smith share the screenwriting credits.

Baudelaire, Charles -- Le Spleen de Paris (Petits Poèmes en Prose), No. 29 “The Generous Gambler [Le Joueur généreux]” (1869) [tr. Kaplan (1989)]

Dave — Tue, 03 Oct 2023 00:09:23 +0000

My dear brothers, when you hear the progress of enlightenment extolled, never forget that the devil’s cleverest trick is to persuade you that he does not exist!

[Mes chers frères, n’oubliez jamais, quand vous entendrez vanter le progrès des lumières, que la plus belle des ruses du diable est de vous persuader qu’il n’existe pas!]

Charles Baudelaire (1821–1867) French poet, essayist, art critic
Le Spleen de Paris (Petits Poèmes en Prose), No. 29 “The Generous Gambler [Le Joueur généreux]” (1869) [tr. Kaplan (1989)]

A warning by a Parisian preacher, as reported by the Devil himself. Used in movie The Usual Suspects (1995) as "The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist."

(Source (French)). Other translations:

My dear brethren, never forget, when you hear the progress of wisdom vaunted, that the cleverest ruse of the Devil is to persuade you he does not exist!
[tr. Shipley (<1919) "The Generous Player"]

My dear brethren, never forget, when you hear boasts about the progress of enlightenment, that the finest ruse of the devil is to persuade you that he does not exist!
[tr. Hamburger (1946) "The Generous Gamester"]

My dear brothers, never forget when you hear people boast of our progress in enlightenment, that one of the devil's best ruses is to persuade you that he does not exist!
[tr. Varèse (1970)]

The Devil's subtlest ruse is to convince us that he doesn't exist.
[tr. McGowan (1993)]

Dear brethren, never forget that the finest of all the devil's tricks is to persuade you that he doesn't exist.
[tr. Lerner (2003)]

My dear brethren, do not ever forget, when you hear the progress of lights praised, that the loveliest trick of the Devil is to persuade you that he does not exist!
[Source]

Colton, Charles Caleb -- Lacon: Or, Many Things in Few Words, Vol. 1, § 1 (1820)

Dave — Thu, 28 Sep 2023 15:42:51 +0000

It is almost as difficult to make a man unlearn his errors as his knowledge. Mal-information is more hopeless than non-information; for error is always more busy than ignorance. Ignorance is a blank sheet, on which we may write; but error is a scribbled one, on which we must first erase. Ignorance is contented to stand still with her back to the truth; but error is more presumptuous, and proceeds in the same direction. Ignorance has no light, but error follows a false one. The consequence is, that error, when she retraces her footsteps, has further to go, before she can arrive at the truth, than ignorance.

Charles Caleb "C. C." Colton (1780–1832) English cleric, writer, aphorist
Lacon: Or, Many Things in Few Words, Vol. 1, § 1 (1820)

Twain, Mark -- Letter to Mrs. Foote (1887-12-02)

Dave — Mon, 18 Sep 2023 22:29:48 +0000

All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence; then success is sure.

Mark Twain (1835–1910) American writer [pseud. of Samuel Clemens]
Letter to Mrs. Foote (1887-12-02)

First reprinted, upon the letter's rediscovery, in The Los Angeles Times (1930-03-16). A facsimile of the discovered letter (with the above punctuation) can be found in B. DeCasseres, When Huck Finn Went Highbrow (1934).

For more discussion about this quotation's origin: All You Need In This Life Is Ignorance and Confidence; Then Success Is Sure – Quote Investigator®.

Carlyle, Thomas -- Sartor Resartus, Book 3, ch. 4 (1834)

Dave — Thu, 07 Sep 2023 22:53:25 +0000

That there should one Man die ignorant who had capacity for Knowledge, this I call a tragedy.

Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) Scottish essayist and historian
Sartor Resartus, Book 3, ch. 4 (1834)

Quoting Herr Teufelsdröckh.

This chapter first appeared in Fraser's Magazine for Town and Country, Vol. 9, No. 54 (1834-06).

L'Amour, Louis -- Education of a Wandering Man: A Memoir, ch. 11 (1989)

Dave — Tue, 29 Aug 2023 18:41:58 +0000

What had men thought? What had men believed? How did they come by those thoughts and beliefs? How had men learned to govern themselves? Were the processes the same everywhere?

Did man build cities because of an inner drive, like that of a beaver to build dams? How much of what we do is free will, and how much is programmed in our genes? Why is each people so narrow that it believes that it, and it alone, has all the answers? In religion, is there but one road to salvation? Or are there many, all equally good, all going in the same general direction?

I have read my books by many lights, hoarding their beauty, their wit or wisdom against the dark days when I would have no book, nor a place to read.

I have known hunger of the belly kind many times over, but I have known a worse hunger: the need to know and to learn.

Louis L'Amour (1908–1988) American writer
Education of a Wandering Man: A Memoir, ch. 11 (1989)

Young, Nedrick -- Inherit the Wind, film (1960) [with Harold Jacob Smith]

Dave — Tue, 29 Aug 2023 17:10:41 +0000

DRUMMOND: As long as the prerequisite for that shining paradise is ignorance, bigotry and hate, I say to hell with it.

Fry, Stephen -- Room 101, 6×10, BBC Two (2001-03-12)

Dave — Wed, 12 Jul 2023 23:29:49 +0000

You will hear things like, “Science doesn’t know everything.” Well, of course science doesn’t know everything. But because science doesn’t know everything, that doesn’t mean science knows nothing. Science knows enough for us to be watched by a few million people now on television, for these lights to be working, for quite extraordinary miracles to have taken place in terms of the harnessing of the physical world and our dim approaches towards understanding it.

Stephen Fry (b. 1957) British actor, writer, comedian
Room 101, 6×10, BBC Two (2001-03-12)

Chamfort, Nicolas -- Products of Perfected Civilization [Produits de la Civilisation Perfectionnée], Part 2 “Characters and Anecdotes [Caractères et Anecdotes],” ch. 12 (1795) [tr. Merwin (1969)]

Dave — Mon, 19 Jun 2023 21:57:31 +0000

Man comes to each age of his life a novice.

[L’homme arrive novice à chaque âge de la vie.]

Nicolas Chamfort (1741–1794) French writer, epigrammist (b. Nicolas-Sébastien Roch)
Products of Perfected Civilization [Produits de la Civilisation Perfectionnée], Part 2 “Characters and Anecdotes [Caractères et Anecdotes],” ch. 12 (1795) [tr. Merwin (1969)]

(Source (French)). Other translations:

Man arrives a novice at every age of life.
[Source (1878)]

Man reaches each stage in his life as a novice.
[tr. Hutchinson (1902), "The Cynic's Breviary"]

A man begins every stage of his life as a novice.
[tr. Parmée, ¶412 (2003)]

McLaughlin, Mignon -- The Neurotic’s Notebook, ch. 7 (1963)

Dave — Thu, 13 Apr 2023 14:44:10 +0000

Learn a little of anything, and you’re ready to proselytize.

Mignon McLaughlin (1913–1983) American journalist and author
The Neurotic’s Notebook, ch. 7 (1963)

Child, Julia -- “What I’ve Learned: Julia Child,” interview by Mike Sager, Esquire (2001-06)

Dave — Thu, 30 Mar 2023 16:04:06 +0000

Always remember: If you’re alone in the kitchen and you drop the lamb, you can always just pick it up. Who’s going to know?

Julia Child (1912–2004) American chef and writer
“What I’ve Learned: Julia Child,” interview by Mike Sager, Esquire (2001-06)

Reprinted in Brendan Vaughan, Esquire: The Meaning of Life (2004).

This quotation, and variations on it, are (in)famous regarding Child. The earliest version can be found in her public TV show, The French Chef, 1x22 "The Potato Show" (1963-06-29). In that filmed-live episode, a potato pancake flip ends poorly, spilling onto other parts of the range. Child scoops up the spilled bits and puts them back into the pan:

Well, that didn't go very well. See, when I flipped it I didn't have the courage to do it the way I should have. But you can always pick it up, and if you are alone in the kitchen, who is going to see?

In an era before online video, and on such an initially obscure show, variations appeared almost immediately, e.g., in Blake Hunter, "A Tasty Dish," "Educational TV" column, Film News (1964-10), which gave the quote as happening when a potato pancake spilled on a sideboard:

If this happens, just scoop it back into the pan. Remember, you are alone in the kitchen, and nobody can see you.

The story grew in the telling, and eventually was told as her dropping a chicken. Many folk incorrectly recall this as being one of the gags in the (hilarious) 1978 Saturday Night Live skit starring Dan Aykroyd as Child.

Child often pointed to the incident as involving a potato pancake, not a chicken, though as noted, her lamb comment still stands as another hypothetical.

Rothfuss, Patrick -- The Name of the Wind, ch. 32 “Coppers, Cobblers and Crowds” (2007)

Dave — Thu, 16 Mar 2023 15:34:58 +0000

Fear tends to come from ignorance. Once I knew what the problem was, it was just a problem, nothing to fear.

Patrick Rothfuss (b. 1973) American author
The Name of the Wind, ch. 32 “Coppers, Cobblers and Crowds” (2007)

Dante Alighieri -- The Divine Comedy [Divina Commedia], Book 1 “Inferno,” Canto 7, l. 70ff (7.70-71) [Virgil] (1309) [tr. Hollander/Hollander (2007)]

Dave — Fri, 24 Feb 2023 22:43:02 +0000

O foolish creatures,
what great ignorance besets you!

[Oh creature sciocche,
quanta ignoranza è quella che v’offende!]

Dante Alighieri (1265–1321) Italian poet
The Divine Comedy [Divina Commedia], Book 1 “Inferno,” Canto 7, l. 70ff (7.70-71) [Virgil] (1309) [tr. Hollander/Hollander (2007)]

Virgil lambasting humanity for not understanding the God-ordained role of Fortune. (Source (Italian)). Other translations:

O Mortals without sense,
How great's the Ignorance that you possess!
[tr. Rogers (1782)]

O beings blind! what ignorance
Besets you?
[tr. Cary (1814)]

Ah! sottish creature-tribe!
What scandals doth your ignorance beteem!
[tr. Dayman (1843)]

O foolish creatures, how great is this ignorance that falls upon ye!
[tr. Carlyle (1849)]

Oh! foolish creature! to be blind
What ignorance is that attacks your mind?
[tr. Bannerman (1850)]

Oh, creatures weak and blind,
How ye are hinder'd by your ignorance!
[tr. Johnston (1867)]

O creatures imbecile,
What ignorance is this which doth beset you?
[tr. Longfellow (1867)]

O foolish creatures, how great ignorance is that which makes you trip!
[tr. Butler (1885)]

O creatures dull to see,
What ignorance is this that here offends!
[tr. Minchin (1885)]

O creatures foolish, how great is that ignorance that harms you!
[tr. Norton (1892)]

Besotted race, how deep the ignorance that harasseth you!
[tr. Sullivan (1893)]

O ye insipid creatures.
How great the ignorance which doth oppress
you. [tr. Griffith (1908)]

O foolish creatures, what ignorance is this that besets you!
[tr. Sinclair (1939)]

How heavy the ignorance,
O foolish creatures, that on you is laid.
[tr. Binyon (1943)]

Ah, witless world! Behold the grand
Folly of ignorance!
[tr. Sayers (1949)]

O credulous mankind,
is there one error that has wooed and lost you?
[tr. Ciardi (1954)]

O foolish creatures, how great is the ignorance that besets you!
[tr. Singleton (1970)]

Oh foolish race of man,
how overwhelming is your ignorance!
[tr. Musa (1971)]

O unenlightened creatures,
how deep -- the ignorance that hampers you!
[tr. Mandelbaum (1980)]

How foolish people are!
How great is the ignorance which strikes them down!
[tr. Sisson (1981)]

Foolish creatures,
How great an ignorance plagues you.
[tr. Pinsky (1994), ll. 62-63]

O foolish creatures, how great is the ignorance that injures you!
[tr. Durling (1996)]

O, blind creatures, how great is the ignorance that surrounds you!
[tr. Kline (2002)]

You idiotic creatures,
so greatly hurt by your own ignorance!
[tr. Kirkpatrick (2006)]

O men of foolish minds!
How limited you are, how ignorant!
[tr. Raffel (2010)]

Half-witted mortals, how is it you know
So little even of the ignorance
That starves you?
[tr. James (2013), ll. 66-68]

De Morny, Charles -- (Attributed)

Dave — Mon, 20 Feb 2023 16:09:23 +0000

A polite man is one who listens with interest to things he knows all about, when they are told him by a person who knows nothing about them.

Charles de Morny (1811–1865) French statesman [Charles Auguste Louis Joseph de Morny, 1st Duc de Morny]
(Attributed)

Earliest reference found here (1872).

Cicero, Marcus Tullius -- De Legibus [On the Laws], Book 1, ch. 5 (1.6) / sec. 18 [Marcus] (c. 51 BC) [tr. Zetzel (1999)]

Dave — Fri, 20 Jan 2023 01:08:49 +0000

In fact ignorance of law leads to more lawsuits than knowledge of it.

[Potius ignoratio iuris litigiosa est quam scientia.]

Marcus Tullius Cicero (106–43 BC) Roman orator, statesman, philosopher
De Legibus [On the Laws], Book 1, ch. 5 (1.6) / sec. 18 [Marcus] (c. 51 BC) [tr. Zetzel (1999)]

(Source (Latin)). Other translations:

It is not so much the science of law that produces litigation, as the ignorance of it.
[tr. Barham (1842), Barham/Yonge (1878)]

The litigious spirit is more often found with ignorance than with knowledge of law.
[ed. Harbottle (1906)]

For it is rather ignorance of the law than knowledge of it that leads to litigation.
[tr. Keyes (1928)]

Ignorance rather than knowledge of the law leads to litigation.
[tr. Rudd (1998)]

La Bruyere, Jean de -- The Characters [Les Caractères], ch. 5 “Of Society and Conversation [De la Société et de la Conversation],” § 76 (5.76) (1688) [tr. Van Laun (1885)]

Dave — Tue, 10 Jan 2023 22:22:52 +0000

Profound ignorance makes a man dogmatical; he who knows nothing thinks he can teach others what he just now has learned himself.

[C’est la profonde ignorance qui inspire le ton dogmatique. Celui qui ne sait rien croit enseigner aux autres ce qu’il vient d’apprendre lui-même.]

Jean de La Bruyère (1645–1696) French essayist, moralist
The Characters [Les Caractères], ch. 5 “Of Society and Conversation [De la Société et de la Conversation],” § 76 (5.76) (1688) [tr. Van Laun (1885)]

(Source (French)). Other translations:

Profound Ignorance makes a Man dogmatick. If he knows nothing, he thinks he can teach others what he is to learn himself.
[Bullord ed. (1696)]

Profound Ignorance makes a Man dogmatick; he who knows nothing, thinks he can teach others what he just now has learn'd himself.
[Curll ed. (1713)]

A dogmatic tone is generally inspired by abysmal ignorance. The man who knows nothing thinks he is informing others of something which he has that moment learnt.
[tr. Stewart (1970)]

Calvin, John -- The Institutes of Christian Religion [Institutio Christianae Religionis], Book 3, ch. 7, sec. 4 (1541) [tr. Van Andel (1952)]

Dave — Mon, 26 Dec 2022 21:56:28 +0000

The vices of which we are full we carefully hide from others, and we flatter ourselves with the notion that they are small and trivial; we sometimes even embrace them as virtues.

John Calvin (1509–1564) French theologian and reformer
The Institutes of Christian Religion [Institutio Christianae Religionis], Book 3, ch. 7, sec. 4 (1541) [tr. Van Andel (1952)]

Also reprinted in an extract as The Christian Life [De Vita Hominis Christiani], or, in the case of the Van Andel translation, Golden Booklet of the True Christian Life, ch. 2, sec. 4, subsec. 2.

The vices in which we abound, we sedulously conceal from others, and flatter ourselves with the pretence that they are diminutive and trivial, and even sometimes embrace them as virtues.
[Source (1813)]

The very vices that infest us we take pains to hide from others, while we flatter ourselves with the pretense that they are slight and insignificant, and even sometimes embrace them as virtues.
[Source (1984)]

The vices with which we abound we both carefully conceal from others, and flatteringly represent to ourselves as minute and trivial, no, sometimes hug them as virtues.
[tr. Beveridge (2008)]

Nehru, Jawaharlal -- Glimpses of World History, Letter 82, 4 Aug 1932 (1934)

Dave — Fri, 09 Dec 2022 17:40:21 +0000

Ignorance is always afraid of change. It fears the unknown and sticks to its rut, however miserable it may be there. In its blindness it stumbles on anyhow.

Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) Indian nationalist leader, politician, statesman, author
Glimpses of World History, Letter 82, 4 Aug 1932 (1934)

Cicero, Marcus Tullius -- De Oratore [On the Orator, On Oratory], Book 3, ch. 35 (3.35) / sec. 142 (55 BC) [tr. Watson (1860)]

Dave — Thu, 01 Dec 2022 17:57:05 +0000

Neither his inability to speak, who understands his subject but cannot set it forth in words, nor his ignorance, to whom substance is lacking though words abound, can merit commendation; and if I had to choose one of the two, I should prefer uneloquent good sense to loquacious folly.

[Neque infantiam eius, qui rem norit, sed eam explicare dicendo non queat, neque inscientiam illius, cui res non suppetat, verba non desint, esse laudandam; quorum si alterum sit optandum, malim equidem indisertam prudentiam quam stultitiam loquacem]

Marcus Tullius Cicero (106–43 BC) Roman orator, statesman, philosopher
De Oratore [On the Orator, On Oratory], Book 3, ch. 35 (3.35) / sec. 142 (55 BC) [tr. Watson (1860)]

(Source (Latin)). Other translations:

A Knowledge of Things, without an Ability of expressing them, no more deserves the Name of Eloquence, than a Fluency of Words, join'd to an Ignorance of Things: For my part, were I to take my Choice, I should prefer good Sense, tho' uneloquent, to Nonsense, let it be ever so flowing.
[tr. Guthrie (1755)]

Neither a knowledge of things, without ability to express them, nor a fluency fo words, without ideas, be considered as deserving the name of eloquence: for my part, were I to take my choice, I should prefer good sense, though ineloquent, to nonsense, however flowing.
[Source (1808)]

Neither the ineloquence which cannot impart what it knows, nor the ignorance that is fluent without knowledge, be deemed a subject for commendation; though, if the alternative be unavoidable, I should very much prefer ineloquent information to ignorant loquacity.
[tr. Calvert (1870)]

If have to choose between the two, I would rather have sound common sense without eloquence, than folly with a fine flow of language.
[ed. Harbottle (1906)]

Neither the tongue-tied silence of the man who knows the facts but cannot explain them in language, nor the ignorance of the person who is deficient in facts but has no lack of words, is deserving of praise. And if one had to choose between them, for my part I should prefer wisdom lacking power of expression to talkative folly.
[tr. Rackham (1942)]

No praise is due to the dumbness of the person who has mastered the matter but cannot unfold it in speech, nor, conversely, to the ignorance of the one who does not have the subject matter at his command, but has no lack of words. If we must choose between these alternatives, I myself would prefer inarticulate wisdom to babbling stupidity.
[tr. May/Wisse (2001)]

Elders, Joycelyn -- Comment, United Nations AIDS conference, New York City (1 Dec 1994)

Dave — Mon, 21 Nov 2022 15:04:23 +0000

As per your specific question in regard to masturbation, I think that is something that is a part of human sexuality and it’s a part of something that perhaps should be taught. But we’ve not even taught our children the very basics. And I feel that we have tried ignorance for a very long time and it’s time we try education.

Joycelyn Elders (b. 1933) American pediatrician, public health administrator, academic
Comment, United Nations AIDS conference, New York City (1 Dec 1994)

When asked if it would be appropriate to discuss or promote masturbation as a means of getting younger people to avoid riskier forms of sexual activity. She was fired as Surgeon General for the Clinton Administration for that and earlier comments on controversial issues.

Harris, Sam -- “The Politics of Ignorance,” Huffington Post (2 Aug 2005)

Dave — Tue, 15 Nov 2022 16:38:37 +0000

Unreason is now ascendant in the United States — in our schools, in our courts, and in each branch of the federal government. Only 28 percent of Americans believe in evolution; 68 percent believe in Satan. Ignorance in this degree, concentrated in both the head and belly of a lumbering superpower, is now a problem for the entire world.

Sam Harris (b. 1967) American author, philosopher, neuroscientist
“The Politics of Ignorance,” Huffington Post (2 Aug 2005)

Della Casa, Giovanni -- Galateo: Or, A Treatise on Politeness and Delicacy of Manners [Il Galateo overo de’ costumi], ch. 24 (1558) [tr. Einsenbichler/Bartlett (1986)]

Dave — Wed, 19 Oct 2022 15:30:59 +0000

I cannot guess why it is so, but those who know the least speak the most.

[E non so io indovinare donde ciò proceda, che chi meno sa più ragioni.]

Giovanni della Casa (1503–1556) Florentine poet, author, diplomat, bishop
Galateo: Or, A Treatise on Politeness and Delicacy of Manners [Il Galateo overo de’ costumi], ch. 24 (1558) [tr. Einsenbichler/Bartlett (1986)]

(Source (Italian)). Other translations:

Nor can I guess at the cause, (though it is certainly fact) why he that knows the least, should always talk the most.
[tr. Graves (1774)]

I cannot divine how it happens that the man who knows the least is the most argumentative.
[Source]

Yevtushenko, Yevgeny -- “Fuku,” Almost at the End (1987) [tr. Bouis]

Dave — Mon, 03 Oct 2022 17:41:39 +0000

If you forget the victims
of yesterday’s sorrow
you could become
a victim of tomorrow.

Yevgeny Yevtushenko (1933–2017) Russian poet, writer, film director, academic [Евге́ний Евтуше́нко, Evgenij Evtušenko]
“Fuku,” Almost at the End (1987) [tr. Bouis]

First printed, in Russian, in Novyi mir, No. 9 (1985). In "Yevtushenko: A Soviet Poet Turns to Movie Making," New York Times (2 Feb 1986), Yevtushenko translates it himself as:

He who forgets the victims of yesterday, may become the victim of tomorrow.

Euripides -- Antiope [Αντιοπη], frag. 205 (Kannicht) (c. 410 BC) [tr. @sentantiq (2015)]

Dave — Tue, 20 Sep 2022 15:27:27 +0000

I know that I suffer and this is no small pain:
Not to know, now that brings some pleasure to
The troubled — ignorance is an advantage amid grief.

[φρονῶ δ’ ὃ πάσχω, καὶ τόδ’ οὐ σμικρὸν κακόν·
τὸ μὴ εἰδέναι γὰρ ἡδονὴν ἔχει τινὰ
νοσοῦντα, κέρδος δ’ ἐν κακοῖς ἀγνωσία.]

Euripides (485?-406? BC) Greek tragic dramatist
Antiope [Αντιοπη], frag. 205 (Kannicht) (c. 410 BC) [tr. @sentantiq (2015)]

A source for the phrase, "Ignorance is bliss." (Source (Greek); see also TGF frag 204). Other translation:

I understand what I endure, and this
Is no small evil; for to the diseas'd
There is a kind of pleasure in not knowing
Their malady; such ignorance is gain
To those who labor under grievous woes.
[tr. Wodhall (1809); Barnes 23, Musgrave 24]

I understand what I suffer, and this is not a small evil:
for not to know that one is ailing has some pleasure,
in misery ignorance is an advantage.
[tr. Will (2015)]

Dyson, Freeman -- Disturbing the Universe, ch. 1 (1979)

Dave — Mon, 12 Sep 2022 17:21:59 +0000

If we had a reliable way to label our toys good and bad, it would be easy to regulate technology wisely. But we can rarely see far enough ahead to know which road leads to damnation. Whoever concerns himself with big technology, either to push it forward or to stop it, is gambling in human lives.

Freeman Dyson (1923–2020) English-American theoretical physicist, mathematician, futurist
Disturbing the Universe, ch. 1 (1979)

Dyson, Freeman -- “Freeman Dyson: In Praise of Diversity,” Interview on A Glorious Accident, VPRO (Netherlands) (30 Aug 2016)

Dave — Mon, 22 Aug 2022 14:52:48 +0000

The things which we understand least are the quasars, but I don’t want to get into a technical discussion. But these are the most violent and most energetic objects in the universe, and they’re totally, still totally, mysterious, really. I mean, we know that they’re there, that’s all, and they’re not only there, they’re rather frequent; and nobody ever dreamed that they existed, until they were found. And even after they were found it took a long time before people took them seriously. Nature’s imagination is always richer than ours.

Freeman Dyson (1923–2020) English-American theoretical physicist, mathematician, futurist
“Freeman Dyson: In Praise of Diversity,” Interview on A Glorious Accident, VPRO (Netherlands) (30 Aug 2016)

Jefferson, Thomas -- Letter (1807-06-11) to John Norvell

Dave — Mon, 22 Aug 2022 14:33:39 +0000

It is a melancholy truth that a suppression of the press could not more compleatly deprive the nation of its benefits, than is done by its abandoned prostitution to falsehood. Nothing can now be believed which is seen in a newspaper. Truth itself becomes suspicious by being put into that polluted vehicle. […] I will add that the man who never looks into a newspaper is better informed than he who reads them; inasmuch as he who knows nothing is nearer to truth than he whose mind is filled with falsehoods & errors. He who reads nothing will still learn the great facts, and the details are all false.

Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) American political philosopher, polymath, statesman, US President (1801–09)
Letter (1807-06-11) to John Norvell

Commager, Henry Steele -- The Nature and Study of History, ch. 1 (1965)

Dave — Wed, 08 Jun 2022 18:43:13 +0000

For a people to be without history, or to be ignorant of its history, is as for a man to be without memory — condemned forever to make the same discoveries that have been made in the past, invent the same techniques, wrestle with the same problems, commit the same errors; and condemned, too, to forfeit the rich pleasures of reflection.

Henry Steele Commager (1902–1998) American historian, writer, activist
The Nature and Study of History, ch. 1 (1965)

Gracián, Baltasar -- The Art of Worldly Wisdom [Oráculo Manual y Arte de Prudencia], § 176 (1647) [tr. Jacobs (1892)]

Dave — Tue, 10 May 2022 16:40:10 +0000

But many do not know that they do not know, and many think they know when they know nothing. Failings of the intelligence are incorrigible since those who do not know do not know themselves and cannot therefore seek what they lack.

[Pero hay muchos que ignoran que no saben y otros que piensan que saben, no sabiendo. Achaques de necedad son irremediables, que como los ignorantes no se conocen, tampoco buscan lo que les falta.]

Baltasar Gracián y Morales (1601–1658) Spanish Jesuit priest, writer, philosopher
The Art of Worldly Wisdom [Oráculo Manual y Arte de Prudencia], § 176 (1647) [tr. Jacobs (1892)]

(Source (Spanish)). Other translations:

Yet there are some, who are ignorant that they know nothing; and others, who think they know, though they know nothing at all. The faults that proceed from the want of wit, are incurable. For as ignorants know not themselves, so they take no care to search for that they want.
[Flesher ed. (1685)]

But there be many who do not know that they know nothing, and others who think that they know, but know nothing; these deformities of the mind are incurable, whence it is that the ignorant neither know themselves nor yet how to gain what they lack.
[tr. Fischer (1937)]

But many people are unaware that they do not know, and others think they know when they do not. Attacks of foolishness have no remedy. Because the ignorant do not know themselves, they never look for what they're lacking.
[tr. Maurer (1992)]

Zelazny, Roger -- The Blood of Amber, ch. 5 (1986)

Dave — Wed, 06 Apr 2022 14:19:24 +0000

Where shall wisdom be found, and where is the place of understanding? If I knew, I’d walk over and stand there. As it was, I felt as if I stood in the midst of a large map, surrounded by vague areas wherein were penned the visages of particularly nasty-looking random variables. A perfect place for a soliloquy, if one had anything to say.

Roger Zelazny (1937–1995) American writer
The Blood of Amber, ch. 5 (1986)

Quoting Job 28:12.

Commager, Henry Steele -- Essay (1947-07), “Who Is Loyal to America?” sec. 4, Harper’s Magazine, Vol. 195, No. 1168

Dave — Wed, 09 Mar 2022 15:57:49 +0000

It is easier to say what loyalty is not than to say what it is. It is not conformity. It is not passive acquiescence in the status quo. It is not preference for everything American over everything foreign. It is not an ostrich-like ignorance of other countries and other institutions. It is not the indulgence in ceremony — a flag salute, an oath of allegiance, a fervid verbal declaration. It is not a particular creed, a particular version of history, a particular body of economic practices, a particular philosophy.

Henry Steele Commager (1902–1998) American historian, writer, activist
Essay (1947-07), “Who Is Loyal to America?” sec. 4, Harper’s Magazine, Vol. 195, No. 1168

Reprinted in Freedom, Loyalty, Dissent (1954).

McLaughlin, Mignon -- The Neurotic’s Notebook, ch. 4 (1963)

Dave — Thu, 24 Feb 2022 17:34:55 +0000

Nostalgia for what we have lost is more bearable than nostalgia for what we have never had, for the first involves knowledge and pleasure, the second only ignorance and pain.

Mignon McLaughlin (1913–1983) American journalist and author
The Neurotic’s Notebook, ch. 4 (1963)

Washburn, Lemuel -- Is the Bible Worth Reading? And Other Essays, Epigraph (1911)

Dave — Thu, 03 Feb 2022 15:21:34 +0000

History shows that there is nothing so easy to enslave and nothing so hard to emancipate as ignorance, hence it becomes the double enemy of civilization. By its servility it is the prey of tyranny, and by its credulity it is the foe of enlightenment.

Lemuel K. Washburn (1846–1927) American freethinker, writer
Is the Bible Worth Reading? And Other Essays, Epigraph (1911)

Hertzberg, Hendrik -- “A Moral Ideologue: The Character of Jimmy Carter,” Character Above All, PBS (31 May 1995)

Dave — Fri, 07 Jan 2022 19:49:06 +0000

A political ideology is a very handy thing to have. It’s a real time-saver, because it tells you what you think about things you know nothing about.

Hendrik Hertzberg (b. 1943) American journalist, editor, speech writer, political commentator
“A Moral Ideologue: The Character of Jimmy Carter,” Character Above All, PBS (31 May 1995)

Preparation essay for the PBS series on modern presidents. The passage itself is referring, in contrast, to Ronald Reagan, who defeated Carter for reelection as US President in 1980.

Frye, Northrop -- The Educated Imagination, Talk 1 “The Motive for Metaphor” (1963)

Dave — Mon, 29 Nov 2021 17:50:37 +0000

A person who knows nothing about literature may be an ignoramus, but many people don’t mind being that.

Northrop Frye (1912–1991) Canadian literary critic and literary theorist
The Educated Imagination, Talk 1 “The Motive for Metaphor” (1963)

Fussell, Paul -- The Norton Book of Travel, Introduction (1987)

Dave — Thu, 28 Oct 2021 19:42:21 +0000

Travelers learn not just foreign customs and curious cuisines and unfamiliar beliefs and novel forms of government. They learn, if they are lucky, humility. Experiencing on their senses a world different from their own, they realize their provincialism and recognize their ignorance.

Paul Fussell (1924–2012) American cultural and literary historian, author, academic
The Norton Book of Travel, Introduction (1987)

Browne, Thomas -- Hydriotaphia, or Urne-Buriall, ch. 4 (1658)

Dave — Wed, 20 Oct 2021 19:15:08 +0000

A Dialogue between two Infants in the womb concerning the state of this world, might handsomely illustrate our ignorance of the next, whereof methinks we yet discourse in Platoes denne, and are but Embryon Philosophers.

Thomas Browne (1605–1682) English physician and author
Hydriotaphia, or Urne-Buriall, ch. 4 (1658)

Eliot, George -- Letter to Sara Hennell (May 1844)

Dave — Wed, 13 Oct 2021 21:35:38 +0000

I never will believe that our youngest days are our happiest. What a miserable augury for the progress of the race and the destination of the individual, if the more matured and enlightened state is the less happy one! Childhood is only the beautiful and happy time in contemplation and retrospect: to the child it is full of deep sorrows, the meaning of which is unknown.

George Eliot (1819–1880) English novelist [pseud. of Mary Ann Evans]
Letter to Sara Hennell (May 1844)

Homer -- The Odyssey [Ὀδύσσεια], Book 22, l. 32ff (22.32) (c. 700 BC) [tr. Mandelbaum (1990)]

Dave — Wed, 29 Sep 2021 20:23:22 +0000

Those fools
were not aware that now they all were snared,
that death cords lashed them fast.

[τὸ δὲ νήπιοι οὐκ ἐνόησαν,
ὡς δή σφιν καὶ πᾶσιν ὀλέθρου πείρατ᾽ ἐφῆπτο.]

Homer (fl. 7th-8th C. BC) Greek author
The Odyssey [Ὀδύσσεια], Book 22, l. 32ff (22.32) (c. 700 BC) [tr. Mandelbaum (1990)]

(Source (Greek)). Other translations:

O fools, to think
That all their rest had any cup to drink
But what their great Antinous began!
[tr. Chapman (1616)]

For, proud and foolish, they perceived not
The fatal hour was to them all arriv’d.
[tr. Hobbes (1675), l. 27ff]

Blind as they were: for death e'en now invades
His destined prey, and wraps them all in shades.
[tr. Pope (1725)]

Nor saw
Th’ infatuate men fate hov’ring o’er them all.
[tr. Cowper (1792), ll. 34-35]

How fatal and how nigh
Death's snares were set, they foolish never knew!
[tr. Worsley (1861), st. 5]

Yet this the fools knew not
That now them all the goal of death was touching!
[tr. Bigge-Wither (1869)]

Insensate they!
Who felt not in that hour that one and all
Upon the verge of their own ruin stood!
[tr. Musgrave (1869), l. 54ff]

But they knew not in their folly that on their own heads, each and all of them, the bands of death had been made fast.
[tr. Butcher/Lang (1879)]

And they had no understanding, fools as they were, and vain,
That to all the end of the Death-doom was hard upon them now.
[tr. Morris (1887), ll. 32-33]

They foolishly did not see that for them one and all destruction's cords were knotted.
[tr. Palmer (1891)]

And did not perceive that death was hanging over the head of every one of them.
[tr. Butler (1898)]

In their folly they knew not this, that over themselves one and all the cords of destruction had been made fast.
[tr. Murray (1919)]

... their infatuation hiding from them the toils of death that enlaced each and every one.
[tr. Lawrence (1932)]

It had not dawned upon the fools that every one of them was marked for slaughter too.
[tr. Rieu (1946)]

Fools, not to comprehend
they were already in the grip of death.
[tr. Fitzgerald (1961)]

They had not yet realized
how over all of them the terms of death were now hanging.
[tr. Lattimore (1965)]

The fools did not perceive
That already the bond of destruction were fastened on them all.
[tr. Cook (1967)]

Poor fools, blind to the fact
that all their necks were in the noose, their doom sealed.
[tr. Fagles (1996)]

And had no idea of how tightly the net
Had been drawn around them.
[tr. Lombardo (2000)]

And the poor fools never suspected how on all of the suitors the grim death bindings were fastened.
[tr. Merrill (2002)]

It had not dawned upon the fools that the fate of all of them was sealed.
[tr. DCH Rieu (2002)]

Fools, who did not understand that on every one of them death's ropes were now fastened tight.
[tr. Verity (2016)]

Those poor fools did not know [...] that the snares of death were round them all.
[tr. Wilson (2017)]

Poor fools, they had no notion that over them all the bonds of destruction were set.
[tr. Green (2018)]

In their folly,
they did not understand that they were now enmeshed
in destruction’s net.
[tr. Johnston (2019), ll. 39-41]

Butler, Octavia -- Parable of the Talents, ch. 12, epigram (1998)

Dave — Thu, 02 Sep 2021 15:19:39 +0000

Beware:
Ignorance
Protects itself
Ignorance
Promotes suspicion.
Suspicion
Engenders fear.
Fear quails,
Irrational and blind,
Or fear looms,
Defiant and closed.
Blind, closed,
Suspicious, afraid,
Ignorance
Protects itself,
And protected,
Ignorance grows.

Octavia Butler (1947–2006) American writer
Parable of the Talents, ch. 12, epigram (1998)

Wylie, Philip Gordon -- Generation of Vipers (1942)

Dave — Tue, 06 Jul 2021 17:17:16 +0000

Ignorance is not bliss — it is oblivion. Determined ignorance is the hastiest kind of oblivion.

Philip Wylie (1902–1971) American author
Generation of Vipers (1942)

Orwell, George -- “Notes on Nationalism” (May 1945)

Dave — Mon, 14 Jun 2021 18:02:26 +0000

The general uncertainty as to what is really happening makes it easier to cling to lunatic beliefs. Since nothing is ever quite proved or disproved, the most unmistakable fact can be impudently denied.

George Orwell (1903–1950) English journalist, essayist, writer [pseud. of Eric Arthur Blair]
“Notes on Nationalism” (May 1945)

Goldman, William -- Adventures in the Screen Trade, ch. 1 (1983)

Dave — Tue, 25 May 2021 14:44:32 +0000

NOBODY KNOWS ANYTHING. Not one person in the entire motion picture field knows for a certainty what’s going to work. Every time out it’s a guess — and, if you’re lucky, an educated one.

William Goldman (1931–2018) American screenwriter, novelist
Adventures in the Screen Trade, ch. 1 (1983)

Darrow, Clarence -- Scopes Trial, Dayton, Tennessee (13 Jul 1925)

Dave — Thu, 20 May 2021 18:53:43 +0000

If today you can take a thing like evolution and make it a crime to teach it in the public school, tomorrow you can make it a crime to teach it in the private schools, and the next year you can make it a crime to teach it to the hustings or in the church. At the next session you may ban books and the newspapers. Soon you may set Catholic against Protestant and Protestant against Protestant, and try to foist your own religion upon the minds of men. If you can do one you can do the other. Ignorance and fanaticism is ever busy and needs feeding. Always it is feeding and gloating for more. Today it is the public school teachers, tomorrow the private. The next day the preachers and the lectures, the magazines, the books, the newspapers. After a while, your honor, it is the setting of man against man and creed against creed until with flying banners and beating drums we are marching backward to the glorious ages of the sixteenth century when bigots lighted fagots to burn the men who dared to bring any intelligence and enlightenment and culture to the human mind.

Clarence Darrow (1857–1938) American lawyer
Scopes Trial, Dayton, Tennessee (13 Jul 1925)

Pratchett, Terry -- Discworld No. 14, Maskerade (1995)

Dave — Tue, 18 May 2021 16:39:19 +0000

His progress through life was hampered by his tremendous sense of his own ignorance, a disability which affects all too few.

Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) English author
Discworld No. 14, Maskerade (1995)

Grant, Ulysses S. -- Speech, Army of the Tennessee, Des Moines (29 Sep 1876)

Dave — Mon, 17 May 2021 21:53:59 +0000

If we are to have another contest in the near future of our national existence, I predict that the dividing line will not be Mason’s and Dixon’s, but between patriotism and intelligence on the one side, and superstition, ambition, and ignorance on the other.

Ulysses S. Grant (1822–1885) American military leader, US President (1869–77)
Speech, Army of the Tennessee, Des Moines (29 Sep 1876)

Advocating free, non-sectarian, public education.

Brodsky, Joseph -- Press conference, Library of Congress, Washington (17 May 1991)

Dave — Tue, 11 May 2021 15:08:57 +0000

There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them.

Joseph Brodsky (1940–1996) Russian-American poet, essayist, Nobel laureate, US Poet Laureate [Iosif Aleksandrovič Brodskij]
Press conference, Library of Congress, Washington (17 May 1991)

On accepting the US Poet Laureateship.

Bowlby, John -- Maternal Care and Mental Health (1951)

Dave — Mon, 05 Apr 2021 19:02:22 +0000

It must be remembered that evidence is never complete, that knowledge of truth is always partial, and that to await certainty is to await eternity.

John Bowlby 1907–1990) British psychologist, psychiatrist, psychoanalyst
Maternal Care and Mental Health (1951)

The last phrase is often attributed to Jonas Salk, who used it ("It is said to await certainty is to await eternity") in a telegram to Basil O'Connor (8 Nov 1954). But as Salk himself noted, it was not original to him.

Teller, Edward -- Interview (1994)

Dave — Tue, 30 Mar 2021 16:24:22 +0000

There is no case where ignorance should be preferred to knowledge — especially if the knowledge is terrible.

Edward Teller (1908–2003) Hungarian-American theoretical physicist
Interview (1994)

Recalling the debate over the development of the hydrogen bomb. Quoted in Roger Shattuck, Forbidden Knowledge (1996).

Blume, Judy -- “Judy Blume Talks about Censorship”

Dave — Fri, 26 Mar 2021 04:25:23 +0000

I believe that censorship grows out of fear, and because fear is contagious, some parents are easily swayed. Book banning satisfies their need to feel in control of their children’s lives. This fear is often disguised as moral outrage. They want to believe that if their children don’t read about it, their children won’t know about it. And if they don’t know about it, it won’t happen.

Judy Blume (b. 1938) American writer
“Judy Blume Talks about Censorship”

Leonardo da Vinci -- Notebook entry (c. 1500), Leonardo da Vinci’s Note-Books (1906) [tr. MacCurdy]

Dave — Tue, 02 Mar 2021 17:19:46 +0000

You do ill if you praise, but worse if you censure, what you do not understand.

Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) Italian artist, engineer, scientist, polymath
Notebook entry (c. 1500), Leonardo da Vinci’s Note-Books (1906) [tr. MacCurdy]

Codice Atlantico 76 v. a.

Darwin, Charles -- The Descent of Man, Introduction (1871)

Dave — Tue, 24 Nov 2020 00:09:12 +0000

It has often and confidently been asserted, that man’s origin can never be known: but ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge: it is those who know little, and not those who know much, who so positively assert that this or that problem will never be solved by science.

Charles Darwin (1809–1882) English naturalist
The Descent of Man, Introduction (1871)

Arendt, Hannah -- Life of the Mind, Vol. 1 “Thinking,” Introduction (1977)

Dave — Thu, 19 Nov 2020 16:49:27 +0000

If, as I suggested before, the ability to tell right from wrong should turn out to have anything to do with the ability to think, then we must be able to “demand” its exercise from every sane person, no matter how erudite or ignorant, intelligent or stupid, he may happen to be.

Hannah Arendt (1906–1975) German-American philosopher, political theorist
Life of the Mind, Vol. 1 “Thinking,” Introduction (1977)

Originally published as an essay (1977-11-14), "Thinking -- I," The New Yorker (1977-11-21).

Cicero, Marcus Tullius -- Brutus, ch. 34, sec. 120 (55 BC) [tr. Jones (1776)]

Dave — Mon, 16 Nov 2020 20:00:51 +0000

To be unacquainted with what has passed in the world, before we came into it ourselves, is to be always children. For what is the age of a single mortal, unless it is connected, by the aid of History, with the times of our ancestors?

[Nescire autem quid ante quam natus sis acciderit, id est semper esse puerum. Quid enim est aetas hominis, nisi ea memoria rerum veterum cum superiorum aetate contexitur?]

Marcus Tullius Cicero (106–43 BC) Roman orator, statesman, philosopher
Brutus, ch. 34, sec. 120 (55 BC) [tr. Jones (1776)]

The original Latin. Other translations

"For not to know what happened before one was born, is to be a boy all one s life. For what is the life of a man unless by a recollection of bygone transactions it is united to the times of his predecessors?" [tr. Yonge (1853)]
"To be ignorant of what happened before you were born is to remain always a boy. For what is the lifetime of a man, unless it is connected with the lifetime of older men by the memory of earlier events?" [tr. Fox (2007)]
"What is a generation, if it is not conjoined with the age of our predecessors by the memory of ancient things?" [tr. @sentantiq]
"Not to know what happened before you were born is to be a child forever. For what is the time of a man, except it be interwoven with that memory of ancient things of a superior age?"
"Not to know what happened before you were born is always to be a boy."
"To be ignorant of the past is to be forever a child."

Hobbes, Thomas -- Leviathan, Part 1, ch. 11 (1651)

Dave — Fri, 06 Nov 2020 20:50:39 +0000

Ignorance of remote causes disposeth men to attribute all events to the causes immediate and instrumental: for these are all the causes they perceive.

Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679) English philosopher
Leviathan, Part 1, ch. 11 (1651)

Pratchett, Terry -- Discworld No. 3, Equal Rites [Granny Weatherwax] (1987)

Dave — Tue, 06 Oct 2020 15:22:02 +0000

They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it’s not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance.

Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) English author
Discworld No. 3, Equal Rites [Granny Weatherwax] (1987)

After Pope.

Straczynski, J. Michael "Joe" -- Babylon 5, 3×20 “And the Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place” (14 Oct 1996)

Dave — Fri, 14 Aug 2020 01:55:01 +0000

DEXTER: Every day, here and at home, we are warned about the enemy. But who is the enemy? Is it the alien? Well, we are all alien to one another. Is it the one who believes differently than we do? No, oh no, my friends. The enemy is fear. The enemy is ignorance. The enemy is the one who tells you that you must hate that which is different. Because, in the end, that hate will turn on you. And that same hate will destroy you.

J. Michael (Joe) Straczynski (b. 1954) American screenwriter, producer, author [a/k/a "JMS"]
Babylon 5, 3×20 “And the Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place” (14 Oct 1996)

Sinclair, Upton -- The Profits of Religion, Book Two: “The Church of Good Society,” “The Canonization of Incompetence” (1917)

Dave — Thu, 13 Aug 2020 23:59:22 +0000

The supreme crime of the church to-day is that everywhere and in all its operations and influences it is on the side of sloth of mind; that it banishes brains, it sanctifies stupidity, it canonizes incompetence.

Upton Sinclair (1878–1968) American writer, journalist, activist, politician
The Profits of Religion, Book Two: “The Church of Good Society,” “The Canonization of Incompetence” (1917)

Arendt, Hannah -- Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil, Epilogue (1963)

Dave — Tue, 21 Jul 2020 15:27:27 +0000

The trouble with Eichmann was precisely that so many were like him, and that the many were neither perverted nor sadistic, that they were, and still are, terribly and terrifyingly normal. From the viewpoint of our legal institutions and of our moral standards of judgment, this normality was much more terrifying than all the atrocities put together, for it implied — as had been said at Nuremberg over and over again by the defendants and their counsels — that this new type of criminal, who is in actual fact hostis generis humani, commits his crimes under circumstances that make it well-nigh impossible for him to know or to feel that he is doing wrong.

Hannah Arendt (1906–1975) German-American philosopher, political theorist
Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil, Epilogue (1963)

Hostis humani generis (Latin for "enemy of humanity") was an admiralty legal term indicating that slavers, pirates, and terrorists were held beyond legal protection and were a legitimate target of any nation.

Suzuki, Shunryu -- Lotus Sutra No. 6 lecture, Tassajara, California (Feb 1968)

Dave — Fri, 10 Jul 2020 17:15:47 +0000

The highest truth is daiji, translated as dai jiki in Chinese scriptures. This is the subject of the question the emperor asked Bodhidharma: “What is the First Principle?” Bodhidharma said, “I don’t know.” “I don’t know” is the First Principle.

Shunryū Suzuki (1905–1971) Japanese Zen Buddhist master
Lotus Sutra No. 6 lecture, Tassajara, California (Feb 1968)

Billings, Josh -- Everybody’s Friend, Or; Josh Billing’s Encyclopedia and Proverbial Philosophy of Wit and Humor, ch. 130 “Affurisms: Puddin & Milk” (1874)

Dave — Thu, 02 Jul 2020 20:57:31 +0000

Ignorance iz the wet nuss of prejudice.

[Ignorance is the wet nurse of prejudice.]

Moliere -- Les Femmes Savantes [The Learned Ladies], Act 4, sc. 3 (1692) [tr. Van Laun (1876)]

Dave — Fri, 19 Jun 2020 19:35:35 +0000

CLITANDRE: A learned fool is more foolish than an ignorant fool.

[Un sot savant est sot plus qu’un sot ignorant.]

Molière (1622–1673) French playwright, actor [stage name for Jean-Baptiste Poquelin]
Les Femmes Savantes [The Learned Ladies], Act 4, sc. 3 (1692) [tr. Van Laun (1876)]

(Source (French)). Other translations:

A learned Fool is more foolish than an ignorant Fool.
[tr. Clitandre (1739)]

A learned fool is more of a fool than an ignorant one.
[tr. Wall (1879), The Learned Women]

A learned fool is more foolish than an ignorant one.
[tr. Matthew (1890), The Blue-Stockings]

The learned fool is a far greater fool than the fool of ignorance.
[tr. Wormeley (1895), The Female Pedants]

A learned fool is a bigger fool than an ignorant one.
[tr. Waller (1903)]

There's no fool like a learned fool.
[tr. Page (1908)]

A learned fool is more foolish than an ignorant fool.
[tr. Marks (2018)]

Herold, Don -- So Human (1924)

Dave — Fri, 05 Jun 2020 21:00:07 +0000

It takes a lot of things to prove you are smart, but only one thing to prove you are ignorant.

Don Herold (1889–1966) American humorist, cartoonist, author
So Human (1924)

Aristophanes -- The Knights, ll. 191-3 [tr. O’Neill (1938)]

Dave — Wed, 03 Jun 2020 22:20:36 +0000

DEMOSTHENES: A demagogue must be neither an educated nor an honest man; he has to be an ignoramus and a rogue.

Aristophanes (c. 450-c. 388 BC) Athenian comedic playwright
The Knights, ll. 191-3 [tr. O’Neill (1938)]

Alt. trans. "For the character of popular leader no longer belongs to a man of education, nor yet to one good in his morals, but to the ignorant and abominable." [tr. Hickie (1853)]

Jefferson, Thomas -- Letter (1816-08-01) to John Adams

Dave — Sat, 23 May 2020 23:17:50 +0000

Bigotry is the disease of ignorance, of morbid minds.

Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) American political philosopher, polymath, statesman, US President (1801–09)
Letter (1816-08-01) to John Adams

Saxe, John Godfrey -- “The Blind Men and the Elephant,” st. 8 and “Moral” (c. 1861; publ. 1872)

Dave — Fri, 08 May 2020 23:06:53 +0000

And so these men of Indostan
Disputed loud and long,
Each in his own opinion
Exceeding stiff and strong.
Though each was partly in the right
And all were in the wrong!

So oft in theologic wars,
The disputants, I ween,
Rail on in utter ignorance
Of what each other mean,
And prate about an Elephant
Not one of them has seen!

John Godfrey Saxe (1816–1887) American poet and satirist
“The Blind Men and the Elephant,” st. 8 and “Moral” (c. 1861; publ. 1872)

Saxe introduced the parable, which dates back to India (c. 500 BC) to American audiences. He wrote the poem originally against what he felt was extremism on both sides that led the the American Civil War.

Lovecraft, H. P. -- “The Call of Cthulhu,” ch. 1, opening words (1928)

Dave — Fri, 03 Apr 2020 18:55:28 +0000

The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far. The sciences, each straining in its own direction, have hitherto harmed us little; but some day the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality, and of our frightful position therein, that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the deadly light into the peace and safety of a new dark age.

H. P. Lovecraft (1890–1937) American fabulist [Howard Phillips Lovecraft]
“The Call of Cthulhu,” ch. 1, opening words (1928)

Lynn, Jonathan -- Yes Minister, 01×01 “Open Government” (BBC2 Television) (1980-02-25) [with Anthony Jay]

Dave — Tue, 25 Feb 2020 17:18:21 +0000

BERNARD: But surely the citizens of a democracy have a right to know.

SIR HUMPHREY: No. They have a right to be ignorant. Knowledge only means complicity in guilt; ignorance has a certain dignity.

Jonathan Lynn (b. 1943) English actor, comedy writer, director
Yes Minister, 01×01 “Open Government” (BBC2 Television) (1980-02-25) [with Anthony Jay]

Douglass, Frederick -- Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, ch. 6 [Mr. Auld] (1845)

Dave — Mon, 10 Feb 2020 22:09:38 +0000

“If you give a nigger an inch, he will take an ell. A nigger should know nothing but to obey his master — to do as he is told to do. Learning will spoil the best nigger in the world. Now, if you teach that nigger how to read, there would be no keeping him. It would forever unfit him to be a slave. He would at once become unmanageable, and of no value to his master. As to himself, it could do him no good, but a great deal of harm. It would make him discontented and unhappy.”

Frederick Douglass (1817–1895) American abolitionist, orator, writer
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, ch. 6 [Mr. Auld] (1845)

Quoting his master, Auld, chastising Mrs. Auld for teaching Douglass to read. Frequently paraphrased down to "Knowledge makes a man unfit to be a slave."

Lynd, Robert -- The Pleasure of Ignorance, ch. 1 (1921)

Dave — Wed, 29 Jan 2020 21:34:36 +0000

One of the greatest of joys known to man is to take such a flight into ignorance in search of knowledge. The great pleasure of ignorance is, after all, the pleasure of asking questions. The man who has lost this pleasure or exchanged it for the pleasure of dogma, which is the pleasure of answering, is already beginning to stiffen.

Robert Lynd (1892–1970) American sociologist [Robert Slaughton Lynd]
The Pleasure of Ignorance, ch. 1 (1921)

Asimov, Isaac -- “Your Future As A Writer,” Writer’s Digest (May 1986)

Dave — Tue, 07 Jan 2020 21:52:35 +0000

H.G. Wells said that history was a race between education and catastrophe, and it may be that the writer will add just sufficient impetus to education to enable it to outrace catastrophe. And if education wins by even the narrowest of margins, how much more can we ask for?

Isaac Asimov (1920–1992) Russian-American author, polymath, biochemist
“Your Future As A Writer,” Writer’s Digest (May 1986)

See referenced quotation by Wells.

Butler, Samuel -- Erewhon, ch. 3 “Up the River” (1872)

Dave — Mon, 28 Oct 2019 21:23:28 +0000

There are few of us who are not protected from the keenest pain by our inability to see what it is that we have done, what we are suffering, and what we truly are. Let us be grateful to the mirror for revealing to us our appearances only.

Samuel Butler (1835–1902) English novelist, satirist, scholar
Erewhon, ch. 3 “Up the River” (1872)

Hugo, Victor -- Les Misérables, Preface (1862) [tr. Hapgood (1887)]

Dave — Wed, 18 Sep 2019 23:33:49 +0000

So long as there shall exist, by virtue of law and custom, decrees of damnation pronounced by society, artificially creating hells amid the civilization of earth, and adding the element of human fate to divine destiny; so long as the three great problems of the century — the degradation of man through pauperism, the corruption of woman through hunger, the crippling of children through lack of light — are unsolved; so long as social asphyxia is possible in any part of the world; — in other words, and with a still wider significance, so long as ignorance and poverty exist on earth, books of the nature of Les Misérables cannot fail to be of use.

[Tant qu’il existera, par le fait des lois et des mœurs, une damnation sociale créant artificiellement, en pleine civilisation, des enfers, et compliquant d’une fatalité humaine la destinée qui est divine; tant que les trois problèmes du siècle, la dégradation de l’homme par le prolétariat, la déchéance de la femme par la faim, l’atrophie de l’enfant par la nuit, ne seront pas résolus; tant que, dans de certaines régions, l’asphyxie sociale sera possible; en d’autres termes, et à un point de vue plus étendu encore, tant qu’il y aura sur la terre ignorance et misère, des livres de la nature de celui-ci pourront ne pas être inutiles.]

Victor Hugo (1802–1885) French writer, journalist, human rights activist, politician
Les Misérables, Preface (1862) [tr. Hapgood (1887)]

(Source (French)). Other translations:

So long as there shall exist, by reason of law and custom, a social condemnation, which, in the face of civilization, artificially creates hells on earth, and complicates a destiny that is divine, with human fatality; so long as the three problems of the age -- the degradation of man by poverty, the ruin of woman by starvation, and the dwarfing of childhood by physical and spiritual night -- are not solved; so long as, in certain regions, social asphyxia shall be possible ; in other words, and from a yet more extended point of view, so long as ignorance and misery remain on earth, books like this cannot be useless.
[tr. Wilbour (1862)]

As long as there shall exist, as a consequence of laws and customs, a social damnation artificially creating hells in the midst of civilization, and complicating the destiny which is divine with a fatality which is human; as long as the three problems of the age -- the degradation of man by the proletariat, the ruin of woman by hunger, the atrophy of the child by the night—are not solved; as long as in certain regions social asphyxia shall be possible; in other terms, and from a still more extended point of view, as long as there shall be on the earth ignorance and wretchedness, books of the nature of this one cannot be useless.
[tr. Wraxall (1862)]

While through the working of laws and customs there continues to exist a condition of social condemnation which artificially creates a human hell within civilization, and complicates with human fatality a destiny that is divine; while the three great problems of this century, the degradation of man in the proletariat, the subjection of women through hunger, the atrophy of the child by darkness, continue unresolved; while in some regions social asphyxia remains possible; in other words, and in still wider terms, while ignorance and poverty persist on earth, books such as this cannot fail to be of value.
[tr. Denny (1976)]

So long as there shall exist, by reason of law and custom, a social condemnation which, in the midst of civilization, artificially creates a hell on earth, and complicates with human fatality a destiny that is divine; so long as the three problems of the century -- the degradation of man by the exploitation of his labor, the ruin of woman by starvation, and the atrophy of childhood by physical and spiritual night -- are not solved; so long as, in certain regions, social asphyxia shall be possible; in other words, and, from a still broader point of view, so long as ignorance and misery remain on earth, there should be a need for books such as this.
[tr. Wilbour/Fahnestock/MacAfee (1987)]

As long as through the workings of laws and customs there exists a. damnation-by-society artificially creating hells int he very midst of civilization and complicating destiny, which is divine, with a man-made fate; as long as the three problems of the age are not resolved: the debasement of of men through proletarianization, the moral degradation of women through hunger, and the blighting of children by keeping them in darkness; as long as in certain strata social suffocation is possible; in other words and from an even broader perspective, as long as there are ignorance and poverty on earth, books of this kind may serve some purpose.
[tr. Donougher (2013)]

McMurtry, Larry -- Oh What a Slaughter: Massacres in the American West: 1846–1890 (2005)

Dave — Tue, 01 Jan 2019 20:37:11 +0000

Americans’ lack of passion for history is well known. History may not quite be bunk, as Henry Ford suggested, but there’s no denying that, as a people, we sustain a passionate concentration on the present and the future. Backward is just not a natural direction for Americans to look — historical ignorance remains a national characteristic.

Larry McMurtry (b. 1936) American novelist, essayist, bookseller, screenwriter
Oh What a Slaughter: Massacres in the American West: 1846–1890 (2005)

Orwell, George -- Essay (1945-05), “Notes on Nationalism,” Polemic Magazine (1945-10)

Dave — Fri, 03 Aug 2018 15:22:53 +0000

Although endlessly brooding on power, victory, defeat, revenge, the nationalist is often somewhat uninterested in what happens in the real world. What he wants is to feel that his own unit is getting the better of some other unit, and he can more easily do this by scoring off an adversary than by examining the facts to see whether they support him.

George Orwell (1903–1950) English journalist, essayist, writer [pseud. of Eric Arthur Blair]
Essay (1945-05), “Notes on Nationalism,” Polemic Magazine (1945-10)

Brown, Rita Mae -- (Attributed)

Dave — Mon, 14 May 2018 18:54:54 +0000

One of the keys to happiness is a bad memory.

Rita Mae Brown (b. 1944) American author, playwright
(Attributed)

Brown, Rita Mae -- Interview in OutSmart magazine (Jan 1998)

Dave — Mon, 20 Nov 2017 17:33:39 +0000

I ask you not to hate people who treat you badly. … This is easier to write than it is to live but there are ignorant people. Only a few are truly malicious. Hate is a poison. It can spread through your system. Forgive them if you can. Forget them if you must.

Rita Mae Brown (b. 1944) American author, playwright
Interview in OutSmart magazine (Jan 1998)

King, Martin Luther -- Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? (1967)

Dave — Fri, 17 Nov 2017 18:42:10 +0000

Many of the ugly pages of American history have been obscured and forgotten. A society is always eager to cover misdeeds with a cloak of forgetfulness, but no society can fully repress an ugly past when the ravages persist into the present. America owes a debt of justice which it has only begun to pay. If it loses the will to finish or slackens in its determination, history will recall its crimes and the country that would be great will lack the most indispensable element of greatness — justice.

Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929–1968) American clergyman, civil rights leader, social activist, preacher
Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? (1967)

Heinlein, Robert A. -- The Puppet Masters (1951)

Dave — Fri, 03 Nov 2017 17:52:00 +0000

Ever see a bird hurt itself by flying into a glass window? The bird is not stupid; he simply did not have all the data.

Robert A. Heinlein (1907–1988) American writer
The Puppet Masters (1951)

Stross, Charles -- The Nightmare Stacks, ch. 12 (2016)

Dave — Tue, 05 Sep 2017 19:23:21 +0000

Some people are just better than others at noticing things that don’t align with their concern, and Mum and Dad are simply oblivious to elves, vampires, vegans, and other esoteric manifestations of modernity.

Charles "Charlie" Stross (b. 1964) British writer
The Nightmare Stacks, ch. 12 (2016)

Chesnutt, Charles -- The Marrow of Tradition (1901)

Dave — Mon, 31 Jul 2017 19:27:23 +0000

Impossibilities are merely things of which we have not learned, or which we do not wish to happen.

Charles Chesnutt (1858–1932) American author, essayist, civil rights activist, lawyer
The Marrow of Tradition (1901)

De Botton, Alain -- The Course of Love, “Irreconcilable Desires” (2016)

Dave — Thu, 20 Jul 2017 19:52:40 +0000

The only people who can still strike us as normal are those we don’t yet know very well.

Alain de Botton (b. 1969) Swiss-British author
The Course of Love, “Irreconcilable Desires” (2016)

Bronte, Charlotte -- Jane Eyre, ch. 29 (1847)

Dave — Sat, 01 Jul 2017 01:37:37 +0000

Prejudices, it is well known, are most difficult to eradicate from the heart whose soil has never been loosened or fertilized by education; they grow there, firm as weeds among stones.

Charlotte Brontë (1816–1855) British novelist [pseud. Currer Bell]
Jane Eyre, ch. 29 (1847)

Angelou, Maya -- I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, ch. 17 (1969)

Dave — Wed, 21 Jun 2017 00:41:01 +0000

Children’s talent to endure stems from their ignorance of alternatives.

Maya Angelou (1928–2014) American poet, memoirist, activist [b. Marguerite Ann Johnson]
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, ch. 17 (1969)

Mencken, H. L. -- “What I Believe,” sec. 6, Forum and Century (Sep 1930)

Dave — Mon, 22 May 2017 16:21:49 +0000

I believe it is better to tell the truth than to lie. I believe that it is better to be free than to be a slave. And I believe that it is better to know than to be ignorant.

H. L. Mencken (1880–1956) American writer and journalist [Henry Lewis Mencken]
“What I Believe,” sec. 6, Forum and Century (Sep 1930)

Mencken, H. L. -- “Homo Neandertalensis,” Baltimore Evening Sun (29 Jun 1925)

Dave — Mon, 08 May 2017 21:48:44 +0000

It is common to assume that human progress affects everyone — that even the dullest man, in these bright days, knows more than any man of, say, the Eighteenth Century, and is far more civilized. This assumption is quite erroneous. The men of the educated minority, no doubt, know more than their predecessors, and some of them, perhaps, it may be said that they are more civilized — though I should not like to be put to giving names — but the great masses of men, even in this inspired republic, are precisely where the mob was at the dawn of history. They are ignorant, they are dishonest, they are cowardly, they are ignoble. They know little if anything that is worth knowing, and there is not the slightest sign of a natural desire among them to increase their knowledge.

H. L. Mencken (1880–1956) American writer and journalist [Henry Lewis Mencken]
“Homo Neandertalensis,” Baltimore Evening Sun (29 Jun 1925)

Lao-tzu -- Tao-te Ching, ch. 56 [tr. Wing-Tsit Chan]

Dave — Thu, 06 Apr 2017 17:19:25 +0000

He who knows does not speak.
He who speaks does not know.

Lao-tzu (604?-531? BC) Chinese philosopher, poet [also Lao-tse, Laozi]
Tao-te Ching, ch. 56 [tr. Wing-Tsit Chan]

Jefferson, Thomas -- Letter (1816-01-06) to Charles Yancey

Dave — Mon, 20 Mar 2017 22:37:19 +0000

If a nation expects to be ignorant & free, in a state of civilisation, it expects what never was & never will be. The functionaries of every government have propensities to command at will the liberty & property of their constituents. there is no safe deposit for these but with the people themselves; nor can they be safe with them without information. Where the press is free and every man able to read, all is safe.

Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) American political philosopher, polymath, statesman, US President (1801–09)
Letter (1816-01-06) to Charles Yancey

Steinbeck, John -- Travels With Charley: In Search of America, Part 2 (1962)

Dave — Thu, 23 Feb 2017 16:56:18 +0000

We, or at least I, can have no conception of human life and human thought in a hundred years or fifty years. Perhaps my greatest wisdom is the knowledge that I do not know. The sad ones are those who waste their energy in trying to hold it back, for they can only feel bitterness in loss and no joy in gain.

John Steinbeck (1902–1968) American writer
Travels With Charley: In Search of America, Part 2 (1962)

Johnston, E. K. -- Ahsoka (2016)

Dave — Mon, 20 Feb 2017 20:05:42 +0000

Jenneth turned a blind eye to his part in their incipient suffering, a privilege that came with never really having suffered.

Emily Kate (E. K.) Johnston (contemp.) Canadian author
Ahsoka (2016)

Miller, Walter M. -- A Canticle for Leibowitz, “Fiat Lux,” ch. 20 (1959)

Dave — Wed, 25 Jan 2017 18:32:23 +0000

Ignorance is king. Many would not profit by his abdication. Many enrich themselves by means of his dark monarchy. They are his Court, and in his name they defraud and govern, enrich themselves and perpetuate their power. Even literacy they fear, for the written word is another channel of communication that might cause their enemies to become united. Their weapons are keen-honed, and they use them with skill. They will press the battle upon the world when their interests are threatened, and the violence which follows will last until the structure of society as it now exists is leveled to rubble, and a new society emerges. I am sorry: But that is how I see it.

Walter M. Miller Jr. (1923–1996) American writer
A Canticle for Leibowitz, “Fiat Lux,” ch. 20 (1959)

McLaughlin, Mignon -- The Second Neurotic’s Notebook, ch. 10 (1966)

Dave — Tue, 23 Aug 2016 02:50:03 +0000

It’s innocence when it charms us, ignorance when it doesn’t.

Mignon McLaughlin (1913–1983) American journalist and author
The Second Neurotic’s Notebook, ch. 10 (1966)

Franklin, Benjamin -- (Attributed)

Dave — Sat, 11 Jun 2016 21:52:19 +0000

Carelessness does more harm than a want of knowledge.

Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790) American statesman, scientist, philosopher, aphorist
(Attributed)

Verne, Jules -- The Mysterious Island, Part 3, ch. 14 (1874)

Dave — Fri, 27 May 2016 19:45:45 +0000

“Men, Pencroft, however learned they may be, can never change anything of the cosmographical order established by God Himself.”

“And yet,” added Pencroft, “the world is very learned. What a big book, captain, might be made with all that is known!”

“And what a much bigger book still with all that is not known!” answered Harding.

[Les hommes, Pencroff, si savants qu’ils puissent être, ne pourront jamais changer quoi que ce soit à l’ordre cosmographique établi par Dieu même.
— Et pourtant, ajouta Pencroff, qui montra une certaine difficulté à se résigner, le monde est bien savant! Quel gros livre, monsieur Cyrus, on ferait avec tout ce qu’on sait!
— Et quel plus gros livre encore avec tout ce qu’on ne sait pas, répondit Cyrus Smith.]

Jules Verne (1828–1905) French novelist, poet, playwright
The Mysterious Island, Part 3, ch. 14 (1874)

Gervais, Ricky -- Twitter (13 Oct 2013)

Dave — Thu, 18 Feb 2016 15:42:12 +0000

Ignorance might be bliss for the ignorant, but for the rest of us it’s a right fucking pain in the arse.

Ricky Gervais (b. 1961) English comedian, actor, director, writer
Twitter (13 Oct 2013)

Bible, Vol. 2. New Testament -- Book 1. Gospel of Matthew 15:14 (Matt 15:14) (Jesus) [KJV (1611)]

Dave — Mon, 04 Jan 2016 18:41:41 +0000

They be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.

[ἄφετε αὐτούς· τυφλοί εἰσιν ὁδηγοὶ [τυφλῶν]· τυφλὸς δὲ τυφλὸν ἐὰν ὁδηγῇ, ἀμφότεροι εἰς βόθυνον πεσοῦνται.]

The Bible (The New Testament) (AD 1st - 2nd C) Christian sacred scripture
Book 1. Gospel of Matthew 15:14 (Matt 15:14) (Jesus) [KJV (1611)]

Jesus, speaking of the Pharisees. Origin of the English phrase, "the blind leading the blind."

This passage is paralleled in Luke 6:39.

(Source (Greek)). Other translations:

They are blind men leading blind men; and if one blind man leads another, both will fall into a pit.
[JB (1966)]

They are blind leaders of the blind; and when one blind man leads another, both fall into a ditch.
[GNT (1976)]

They are blind leaders of the blind; and if one blind person leads another, both will fall into a pit.
[NJB (1985)]

They are blind people who are guides to blind people. But if a blind person leads another blind person, they will both fall into a ditch.
[CEB (2011)]

They are blind guides of the blind. And if one blind person guides another, both will fall into a pit.
[NRSV (2021 ed.)]

Berdyaev, Nicholas -- The Destiny of Man, 2.4.1 (1931) [tr. Duddington (1955)]

Dave — Tue, 29 Dec 2015 19:31:32 +0000

The good may prove to be a hidden form of evil. The evil may prove to be a new and not yet recognized form of the good.

Nikolai Alexandrovich Berdyaev (1874–1948) Russian religious and political philosopher
The Destiny of Man, 2.4.1 (1931) [tr. Duddington (1955)]

Brecht, Bertholt -- “To Those Born Later [An die Nachgeborenen],” (1938) [tr. Horton (2008)]

Dave — Thu, 17 Dec 2015 14:55:50 +0000

He who laughs
Has not yet received
The terrible news.

[Der Lachende
Hat die furchtbare Nachricht
Nur noch nicht empfangen.]

Bertolt Brecht (1898–1956) German poet, playwright, director, dramaturgist
“To Those Born Later [An die Nachgeborenen],” (1938) [tr. Horton (2008)]

Other translations: "He who laughs last has not yet heard the bad news," and "The man who laughs has simply not yet had the terrible news."

The title is also sometimes translated as "To Those Who Follow In Our Wake" and "To Those Born After."

Oddly enough, the German is sometimes given in paraphrase (or back-translated from the English): "Wer jetzt noch lacht, hat die neuesten Nachrichten noch nicht gehört." This German only appears to be found on quotation sites.

Brecht, Bertholt -- Life of Galileo [Leben des Galilei], sc. 13 (1939)

Dave — Thu, 22 Oct 2015 14:02:21 +0000

ANDREA: The aim of science is not to open the door to infinite wisdom, but to set some limit on infinite error.

Bertolt Brecht (1898–1956) German poet, playwright, director, dramaturgist
Life of Galileo [Leben des Galilei], sc. 13 (1939)

Aristippus of Cyrene -- (Attributed)

Dave — Fri, 12 Jun 2015 12:10:09 +0000

It is better to be a beggar than ignorant; for a beggar only wants money, but an ignorant person wants humanity.

Aristippus of Cyrene (c. 435 – c. 356 BC) Cyrenaic philosopher, Hedonist
(Attributed)

Galbraith, John Kenneth -- (Attributed)

Dave — Thu, 12 Mar 2015 15:19:35 +0000

We have two classes of forecasters: those who don’t know and those who know they don’t know.

John Kenneth Galbraith (1908–2006) Canadian-American economist, diplomat, author
(Attributed)

Variants:

There are two classes of people who tell what is going to happen in the future: Those who don't know, and those who don't know they don't know.
You can divide the world into those who don't know and those who don't know they don't know.
There are those who don't know, and there are those who don't know they don't know.
We have two kinds of forecasters: Those who don't know ... and those who don't know they don't know.
There are two kinds of economists: those who don't know the future, and those who don't know they don't know.

HIcks, Bill -- Sane Man (1989)

Dave — Fri, 20 Feb 2015 17:04:49 +0000

You know I’ve noticed a certain anti-intellectualism going around this country ever since around 1980, coincidentally enough. I was in Nashville, Tennessee last weekend and after the show I went to a Waffle House, and I’m sitting there and I’m eating and reading a book. I don’t know anybody, I’m alone, I’m eating and I’m reading a book. This waitress comes over to me (mocks chewing gum) “What you readin’ for?” Wow, I’ve never been asked that; not “What am I reading,” “What am I reading for?” Well, goddammit, you stumped me. I guess I read for a lot of reasons — the main one is so I don’t end up being a fuckin’ waffle waitress. Yeah, that would be pretty high on the list. Then this trucker in the booth next to me gets up, stands over me and says [mocks Southern drawl] “Well, looks like we got ourselves a readah.” What the fuck’s going on? It’s like I walked into a Klan rally in a Boy George costume or something. Am I stepping out of some intellectual closet here? I read, there I said it. I feel better.

Bill Hicks (1961–1994) American stand-up comedian, social critic, satirist, musician [William Melvin "Bill" Hicks]
Sane Man (1989)

Rogers, Will -- Column (1931-07-05), “Weekly Article”

Dave — Thu, 05 Feb 2015 17:49:49 +0000

There is nothing as stupid as an educated man if you get him off the thing he was educated in.

Will Rogers (1879–1935) American humorist
Column (1931-07-05), “Weekly Article”

See also his comment here.

Holmes, Oliver Wendell, Sr. -- Article (1857-12), “The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table,” Atlantic Monthly

Dave — Thu, 18 Dec 2014 13:52:22 +0000

A weak mind does not accumulate force enough to hurt itself; stupidity often saves a man from going mad.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (1809–1894) American poet, essayist, scholar
Article (1857-12), “The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table,” Atlantic Monthly

Collected in The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table, ch. 2 (1858).

Camus, Albert -- The Plague (1947)

Dave — Mon, 01 Dec 2014 13:36:48 +0000

The evil that is in the world always comes of ignorance, and good intentions may do as much harm as malevolence, if they lack understanding. On the whole men are more good than bad; that, however, isn’t the real point. But they are more or less ignorant, and it is this that we call vice or virtue; the most incorrigible vice being that of an ignorance which fancies it knows everything and therefore claims for itself the right to kill. There can be no true goodness, nor true love, without the utmost clear-sightedness.

Albert Camus (1913–1960) Algerian-French novelist, essayist, playwright
The Plague (1947)

Keillor, Garrison -- Leaving Home? (1987)

Dave — Thu, 16 Oct 2014 12:05:13 +0000

Selective ignorance, a cornerstone of child rearing. You don’t put kids under surveillance: it might frighten you. Parents should sit tall in the saddle and look upon their troops with a noble and benevolent and extremely nearsighted gaze.

Garrison Keillor (b. 1942) American entertainer, author
Leaving Home? (1987)

Pitt, William the Elder -- Correspondence of William Pitt, vol 4 (1840) [ed. Taylor and Pringle]

Dave — Fri, 22 Aug 2014 12:21:24 +0000

An eagerness and zeal for dispute on every subject, and with every one, shows great self-sufficiency, that never-failing sign of great self-ignorance.

William Pitt the Elder (1708–1778) British statesman, orator [Lord Chatham, 1st Earl of Chatham]
Correspondence of William Pitt, vol 4 (1840) [ed. Taylor and Pringle]

Goethe, Johann von -- Maximen und Reflexionen

Dave — Fri, 11 Jul 2014 12:41:22 +0000

Nothing is worse than active ignorance.

[Es ist nichts schrecklicher als eine tätige Unwissenheit.]

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) German poet, statesman, scientist
Maximen und Reflexionen

In Frederick Ungar, ed., Goethe’s World View Presented in His Reflections and Maxims (1963).

Bierce, Ambrose -- “Religion,” The Devil’s Dictionary (1911)

Dave — Fri, 14 Mar 2014 12:08:20 +0000

RELIGION, n. A daughter of Hope and Fear, explaining to Ignorance the nature of the Unknowable.

Ambrose Bierce (1842–1914?) American writer and journalist
“Religion,” The Devil’s Dictionary (1911)

Originally published in The Devil's Dictionary [A-Z] as Vol. 7 of his Collected Works.

Huxley, Aldous -- “Religion and Time,” in Christopher Isherwood, ed. Vedanta for the Western World (1945)

Dave — Tue, 14 Jan 2014 13:46:48 +0000

Nothing stands between the people’s miserable present and its glorious future, except a minority, perhaps a majority, of perverse or merely ignorant individuals. All that is necessary is to liquidate a few thousands, or it may be a few millions, of these living obstacles to progress, and then to coerce and propagandize the rest into acquiescence. When these unpleasant but necessary preliminaries are over, the governage will begin. Such is the theory that secular apocalypticism, which is the religion of the revolutionaries. But in practice, it is hardly necessary to say, the means employed positively guarantee that the end actually reached shall be profoundly different form that which the prophetic theorists envisage.

Aldous Huxley (1894–1963) English novelist, essayist and critic
“Religion and Time,” in Christopher Isherwood, ed. Vedanta for the Western World (1945)

Franklin, Benjamin -- Poor Richard (1734 ed.)

Dave — Wed, 09 Oct 2013 12:19:59 +0000

A learned blockhead is a greater blockhead than an ignorant one.

Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790) American statesman, scientist, philosopher, aphorist
Poor Richard (1734 ed.)

Stevenson, Robert Louis -- Essay (1888-09), “A Letter to a Young Gentleman who Proposes to Embrace the Career of Art,” Scribner’s Magazine, Vol. 4, No. 3

Dave — Wed, 09 Oct 2013 12:15:08 +0000

To know what you like is the beginning of wisdom and of old age. Youth is wholly experimental. The essence and charm of that unquiet and delightful epoch is ignorance of self as well as ignorance of life. These two unknowns the young man brings together again and again, now in the airiest touch, now with a bitter hug; now with exquisite pleasure, now with cutting pain; but never with indifference, to which he is a total stranger, and never with that near kinsman of indifference, contentment.

Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894) Scottish essayist, novelist, poet
Essay (1888-09), “A Letter to a Young Gentleman who Proposes to Embrace the Career of Art,” Scribner’s Magazine, Vol. 4, No. 3

Collected in Across the Plains, ch. 10 (1892).

Estienne, Henri -- Les Prémices, ou Le I livre Des Proverbes epigrammatizez [The First Fruits, or the First Book of Epigrammatized Proverbs], ch. 4, ep. 4 (1594)

Dave — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 11:59:50 +0000

If youth knew; if age could.

[O si jeunesse scavoit,
O si vieillesse pouvoit.]

Henri Estienne (1528 or 1531–1598) French printer and classical scholar [a.k.a. Henricus Stephanus]
Les Prémices, ou Le I livre Des Proverbes epigrammatizez [The First Fruits, or the First Book of Epigrammatized Proverbs], ch. 4, ep. 4 (1594)

Variants:

If youth only knew; if only age could.
If youth knew; if age could.
If only youth knew; if only age could.

Franklin, Benjamin -- Poor Richard (1736 ed.)

Dave — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 12:06:45 +0000

Admiration is the Daughter of Ignorance.

Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790) American statesman, scientist, philosopher, aphorist
Poor Richard (1736 ed.)

Vidal, Gore -- “William Dean Howells” (1983)

Dave — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 14:54:06 +0000

The average “educated” American has been made to believe that, somehow, the United States must lead the world even though hardly anyone has any information at all about those countries we are meant to lead. Worse, we have very little information about our own country and its past.

Gore Vidal (1925–2012) American novelist, dramatist, critic
“William Dean Howells” (1983)

Asimov, Isaac -- “A Cult of Ignorance,” Newsweek (1980-01-21)

Dave — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 18:45:37 +0000

There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there always has been. Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that “my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.”

Isaac Asimov (1920–1992) Russian-American author, polymath, biochemist
“A Cult of Ignorance,” Newsweek (1980-01-21)

More discussion on this quotation here and here.

Twain, Mark -- (Spurious)

Dave — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 13:55:37 +0000

A person who won’t read has no advantage over one who can’t read.

Mark Twain (1835–1910) American writer [pseud. of Samuel Clemens]
(Spurious)

First attributed to Twain in 1945, but not found in his works. Earliest appearances of the quote date back to 1910, but are unattributed. It's often attributed to Abigail Van Buren (Dear Abby), but she didn't say it until 1966.

For more research and discussion see Quote Origin: The Man Who Does Not Read Has No Advantage Over the Man Who Cannot Read – Quote Investigator® and Mark Twain quotations - Reading.

Variants:

"Who can see the barely perceptible line between the man who can not read at all and the man who does not read at all? The literate who can, but does not, read, and the illiterate who neither does nor can? [Joseph D. Eggleston Jr. (1910)]
"The person who does not read has no advantage over the person who cannot read." ["Dear Abby" (1966-10-19)]
"The man who doesn't read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them."

Butler, Samuel -- “Ignorance”

Dave — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 14:13:01 +0000

All things […] are best to those who know no better.

Samuel Butler (1835–1902) English novelist, satirist, scholar
“Ignorance”

Full passage:

The less Judgment any Man ha's the Better he is perswaded of his owne abilities, because he is not capable of understanding anything beyond it, and all things how mean so ever, are best to those who know no better: for beside the naturall affection that he has for himself, which go's very farre, the less he is able to improve and mend his Judgment, the higher value he sets upon it, and can no more correct his own false opinions, when he is at his height, than outgrow his own Stature.

Huxley, Aldous -- “Religion and Time” (1943)

Dave — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 13:57:37 +0000

Reality cannot be ignored, except at a price; and the longer the ignorance is persisted in, the higher and more terrible becomes the price that must be paid.

Aldous Huxley (1894–1963) English novelist, essayist and critic
“Religion and Time” (1943)

Reprinted in Christopher Isherwood, Vedanta for Modern Man (1951).

McLaughlin, Mignon -- The Neurotic’s Notebook, ch. 5 (1963)

Dave — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 13:07:44 +0000

The know-nothings are, unfortunately, seldom the do-nothings.

Mignon McLaughlin (1913–1983) American journalist and author
The Neurotic’s Notebook, ch. 5 (1963)

Ivins, Molly -- Essay (1973-01), “Pitfalls of Reporting in the Lone Star State,” Houston Journalism Review

Dave — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:19:01 +0000

I believe that ignorance is the root of all evil. And that no one knows the truth. I believe that the people is not dumb. Ignorant, bigoted, and mean-minded, maybe, but not stupid. I just think it helps, anything and everything, if the people know. Know what the hell is going on. What they do about it once they know is not my problem.

Molly Ivins (1944–2007) American writer, political columnist [Mary Tyler Ivins]
Essay (1973-01), “Pitfalls of Reporting in the Lone Star State,” Houston Journalism Review

Her journalistic credo. Collected in Molly Ivins Can't Say That, Can She? (1991).

Montaigne, Michel de -- Essays, Book 1, ch. 22 (1.22), “Of Custom and Not Easily Changing an Accepted Law [De la Coustume et de Ne Changer Aisément une Loy Receüe]” (1572) [tr. Lowenthal (1935)]

Dave — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 13:26:20 +0000

Miracles arise from our ignorance of nature, not from nature itself.

[Les miracles sont, selon l’ignorance en quoy nous sommes de la nature, non selon l’estre de la nature.]

Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592) French essayist
Essays, Book 1, ch. 22 (1.22), “Of Custom and Not Easily Changing an Accepted Law [De la Coustume et de Ne Changer Aisément une Loy Receüe]” (1572) [tr. Lowenthal (1935)]

Some translators use the 1588 sequence of chapters, not the 1595, and so identify this as ch. 23. The original essay is from 1572; this passage was added in the "C" period, prior to Montaigne's death and the final 1595 edition. The Lowenthal translation is from an edited autobiography, drawing from the Essays and other sources.

(Source (French)). Other translations:

Miracles are according to the ignorance wherein we are by nature, and not according to nature's essence.
[tr. Florio (1603), ch. 22]

Miracles appear such, according to our ignorance of nature, and not according to the real essence of nature.
[tr. Cotton (1686), ch. 22]

Miracles appear to be so, according to our ignorance of nature, and not according to the essence of nature.
[tr. Cotton/Hazlitt (1877), ch. 22]

Miracles exist from our ignorance of nature, not in nature herself.
[tr. Ives (1925)]

Miracles arise from our ignorance of nature, not from the essence of nature.
[tr. Frame (1943)]

Miraculous wonders depend on our ignorance of Nature, not on the essence of Nature.
[tr. Screech (1987)]

Einstein, Albert -- (Attributed)

Dave — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 12:26:52 +0000

If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?.

Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-American physicist
(Attributed)

Heywood, John -- Proverbes, Part 2, ch. 9 (1546)

Dave — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 15:07:13 +0000

Who is so deafe, or so blynde, as is hee,
That wilfully will nother heare nor see?

[Who is so deaf, or so blind, as is he,
That willfully will neither hear nor see?]

John Heywood (1497?-1580?) English playwright and epigrammist
Proverbes, Part 2, ch. 9 (1546)

Twain, Mark -- The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, ch. 1 (1884)

Dave — Tue, 03 May 2011 13:44:27 +0000

That is just the way with some people. They get down on a thing when they don’t know nothing about it.

Mark Twain (1835–1910) American writer [pseud. of Samuel Clemens]
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, ch. 1 (1884)

Franklin, Benjamin -- Poor Richard Improved (1755 ed.)

Dave — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 15:05:55 +0000

Being ignorant is not so much a Shame, as being unwilling to learn.

Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790) American statesman, scientist, philosopher, aphorist
Poor Richard Improved (1755 ed.)

See also Franklin (spurious).

Jefferson, Thomas -- Notes on the State of Virginia, Query 6 (1782)

Dave — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 13:48:34 +0000

Ignorance is preferable to error, and he is less remote from the truth who believes nothing than he who believes what is wrong.

Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) American political philosopher, polymath, statesman, US President (1801–09)
Notes on the State of Virginia, Query 6 (1782)

Hazlitt, William -- Table Talk, “On the Disadvantages of Intellectual Superiority” (1822)

Dave — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 15:44:46 +0000

Ignorance of the world leaves one at the mercy of its malice.

William Hazlitt (1778–1830) English writer
Table Talk, “On the Disadvantages of Intellectual Superiority” (1822)

Billings, Josh -- Everybody’s Friend, Or; Josh Billing’s Encyclopedia and Proverbial Philosophy of Wit and Humor, “Sollum Thoughts” (1874)

Dave — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 06:28:31 +0000

I honestly beleave it iz better tew know nothing than two know what ain’t so.

[I honestly believe it is better to know nothing than to know what ain’t so.]

Josh Billings (1818–1885) American humorist, aphorist [pseud. of Henry Wheeler Shaw]
Everybody’s Friend, Or; Josh Billing’s Encyclopedia and Proverbial Philosophy of Wit and Humor, “Sollum Thoughts” (1874)

This was Billings signature aphorism, and he used variations on multiple occasions. Variants and evolutions have also been misattributed to Will Rogers, Mark Twain, and Artemus Ward, sometimes from their own paraphrases of Billings. Some variations (usually without specific citations) include:

"The trouble with people is not that they don't know but that they know so much that ain't so."
"It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so."
"You’d better not know so much, than know so many things that ain’t so."

In a similar vein, Billings wrote, "Wisdum don't konsist in knowing more that iz new, but in knowing less that iz false. [Wisdom doesn't consist in knowing more that is new, but in knowing less than is false.]" [Source]

More discussion about this quotation:

It Ain’t What You Don’t Know That Gets You Into Trouble. It’s What You Know for Sure That Just Ain’t So – Quote Investigator
Ralph Keyes, The Quote Verifier (2006)
Ralph Keyes, Nice Guys Finish Seventh (1992)
James Billington, Respectfully Yours (1993)
Daniel Levitin, A Field Guide to Lies, Deluxe Ed. (2016)

Franklin, Benjamin -- Poor Richard Improved (1748 ed.)

Dave — Thu, 27 May 2010 12:16:20 +0000

Most Fools think they are only ignorant.

Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790) American statesman, scientist, philosopher, aphorist
Poor Richard Improved (1748 ed.)

King, Martin Luther -- Strength to Love, ch. 4 “Love in Action,” sec 3 (1963)

Dave — Thu, 13 May 2010 13:02:17 +0000

Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.

Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929–1968) American clergyman, civil rights leader, social activist, preacher
Strength to Love, ch. 4 “Love in Action,” sec 3 (1963)

Twain, Mark -- (Spurious)

Dave — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:49:40 +0000

When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.

Mark Twain (1835–1910) American writer [pseud. of Samuel Clemens]
(Spurious)

Not found in Twain's writing. He was eleven when his father died.

Stevenson, Adlai -- Speech (1963-10-01), “Statement on the Draft Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination,” Committee III, United Nations, New York City

Dave — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 13:15:45 +0000

Ignorance is stubborn and prejudice dies hard.

Adlai Stevenson II (1900–1965) American politician, diplomat, statesman
Speech (1963-10-01), “Statement on the Draft Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination,” Committee III, United Nations, New York City

Twain, Mark -- Mark Twain’s Notebook, 4 Jul 1898 [ed. Paine (1935)]

Dave — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:53:54 +0000

Education consists mainly in what we have unlearned.

Mark Twain (1835–1910) American writer [pseud. of Samuel Clemens]
Mark Twain’s Notebook, 4 Jul 1898 [ed. Paine (1935)]

Orben, Robert -- (Attributed (1974))

Dave — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 15:55:20 +0000

If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.

Robert Orben (1927–2023) American comedy writer, magician, speechwriter
(Attributed (1974))

Frequently attributed to Ann Landers, who used it in her column, but she herself cited Derek Bok (who then wrote her to disavow it being his). Also attributed to Andy McIntyre.

Further discussion of this quotation's origins:

Boorstin, Daniel J. -- Speech (1992-08-31), “Realms of Discovery, Old and New,” World Space Congress, Washington, D.C.

Dave — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:44:45 +0000

The history of Western science confirms the aphorism that the great menace to progress is not ignorance but the illusion of knowledge.

Daniel J. Boorstin (1914–2004) American historian, professor, attorney, writer
Speech (1992-08-31), “Realms of Discovery, Old and New,” World Space Congress, Washington, D.C.

Collected in his Cleopatra's Nose: Essays on the Unexpected, Part 1, ch. 1 "The Age of Negative Discovery" (1995).

In Carol Krucoff, "The 6 O'Clock Scholar," Washington Post (1984-01-29), he is quoted:

The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance -- it is the illusion of knowledge.

See Billings (1874).

Kerr, Jean -- Essay (1957), “Introduction,” Please Don’t Eat the Daisies

Dave — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 13:04:15 +0000

If you can keep your head when about you are losing theirs, it’s just possible you haven’t grasped the situation.

Jean Kerr (1922–2003) American author and playwright [b. Bridget Jean Collins]
Essay (1957), “Introduction,” Please Don’t Eat the Daisies

See Kipling, "If --".

Galbraith, John Kenneth -- Speech (1963-12-13), “Wealth and Poverty,” National Policy Committee on Pockets of Poverty

Dave — Tue, 19 May 2009 12:10:20 +0000

The modern conservative is not even especially modern. He is engaged, on the contrary, in one of man’s oldest, best financed, most applauded, and, on the whole, least successful exercises in moral philosophy. That is the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. It is an exercise which always involves a certain number of internal contradictions and even a few absurdities. The conspicuously wealthy turn up urging the character-building value of privation for the poor. The man who has struck it rich in minerals, oil, or other bounties of nature is found explaining the debilitating effect of unearned income from the state. The corporate executive who is a superlative success as an organization man weighs in on the evils of bureaucracy. Federal aid to education is feared by those who live in suburbs that could easily forgo this danger, and by people whose children are in public schools. Socialized medicine is condemned by men emerging from Walter Reed Hospital. Social Security is viewed with alarm by those who have the comfortable cushion of an inherited income. Those who are immediately threatened by public efforts to meet their needs — whether widows, small farmers, hospitalized veterans, or the unemployed — are almost always oblivious to the danger.

John Kenneth Galbraith (1908–2006) Canadian-American economist, diplomat, author
Speech (1963-12-13), “Wealth and Poverty,” National Policy Committee on Pockets of Poverty

Galbraith used variations on this quote over the years.

The above quotation was from a speech given, that was then entered into the Congressional Record, Vol. 109, Senate (1963-12-18).
This material was reworked into an article "Let us begin: An invitation to action on poverty," in Harper's (1964-03), which was in turn again entered into the Congressional Record, Vol. 110 (1964).
One of the last is most often cited: "The modern conservative is engaged in one of man’s oldest exercises in moral philosophy, that is the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. It is an exercise which always involves a certain number of internal contradictions and even a few absurdities. The conspicuously wealthy turn up urging the character-building value of privation for the poor." ["Stop the Madness," Interview with Rupert Cornwell, Toronto Globe and Mail (2002-07-06)]

Leopold, Aldo -- Round River, “Conservation” (1953)

Dave — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 11:04:09 +0000

The last word in ignorance is the man who says of an animal or plant, “What good is it?” If the land mechanism as a whole is good, then every part is good, whether we understand it or not. If the biota, in the course of aeons, has built something we like but do not understand, then who but a fool would discard seemingly useless parts? To keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution of intelligent tinkering.

Aldo Leopold (1887–1948) American conservationist, forester, ecologist
Round River, “Conservation” (1953)

Lichtenberg, Georg C. -- Aphorisms, Notebook F, #17 (1776-79) [tr. Hollingdale (1990)]

Dave — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 13:38:43 +0000

A book is a mirror: if an ape looks into it, an apostle is unlikely to look out.

Georg C. Lichtenberg (1742–1799) German physicist, writer
Aphorisms, Notebook F, #17 (1776-79) [tr. Hollingdale (1990)]

This is nearly mirrored by Notebook E, # 49 (1775-76), "A book is a mirror: if an ape looks into it an apostle is hardly likely to look out."

Other translations:

A book is a mirror: when a monkey looks in, no apostle can look out.
[tr. Mautner and Hatfield (1959)]

A book is a mirror: if an ape looks into it, an apostle is unlikely to look out.
[tr. Tester (2012)]

Adams, Douglas -- Interview (1998-99, Winter) with David Silverman, American Atheist magazine

Dave — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 11:05:22 +0000

I’d take the awe of understanding over the awe of ignorance any day.

Douglas Adams (1952–2001) English author, humorist, screenwriter
Interview (1998-99, Winter) with David Silverman, American Atheist magazine

Reprinted in The Salmon of Doubt, Part 2 "The Universe," "Interview, American Atheists" (2002) [ed. Peter Guzzardi]

Sophocles -- Ajax, l. 964 [tr. Moore (1959)]

Dave — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 10:49:53 +0000

TECMESSA: Ignorant men
Don’t know what good they hold in their hands until
They’ve flung it away.

Sophocles (496–406 BC) Greek tragic playwright
Ajax, l. 964 [tr. Moore (1959)]

Alt trans.:

“Men of perverse opinion do not know / The excellence of what is in their hands, / Till some one dash it from them.” [George Young (1888)]
"Men of ill judgement oft ignore the good / That lies within their hands, till they have lost it."
"For those who are base in judgement do not know the good they hold in their hands until they cast it off."

Rogers, Will -- Column (1924-08-31), “Weekly Article: From Nuts to Soup”

Dave — Fri, 23 May 2008 11:53:13 +0000

You know, Percy, everybody is ignorant, only on different subjects.

Will Rogers (1879–1935) American humorist
Column (1924-08-31), “Weekly Article: From Nuts to Soup”

A common catch phrase of Rogers'. Collected in The Illiterate Digest, "Defending My Soup Plate Position" (1924).

Coffin, William Sloane -- Credo, “Faith, Hope, Love” (2004)

Dave — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 10:45:29 +0000

The first of the four cardinal virtues of the Roman Catholic Church is “prudentia,” which basically means damn good thinking. Christ came to take away our sins, not our minds.

William Sloane Coffin, Jr. (1924–2006) American minister, social activist
Credo, “Faith, Hope, Love” (2004)

Watterson, Bill -- Calvin and Hobbes (1993-09-21)

Dave — Tue, 21 Sep 2004 10:40:02 +0000

CALVIN: The more you know, the harder it is to take decisive action. Once you become informed, you start seeing complexities and shades of gray. You realize that nothing is as clear and simple as it first appears. Ultimately, knowledge is paralyzing. Being a man of action, I can’t afford to take that risk.

HOBBES: You’re ignorant, but at least you act on it.

Bill Watterson (b. 1958) American cartoonist
Calvin and Hobbes (1993-09-21)