Famous quotes
Quotes by famous people, credited to who said them. Your own quotes must not match any of these. More are added all the time. 1,158,808 quotes Who coined it · How we decide
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“True science teaches us to doubt and to abstain from ignorance.”
Claude Bernard (1813–1878) said by 1878 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is not the insurrections of ignorance that are dangerous, but the revolts of intelligence.”
James Russell Lowell (1819–1891) said by 1891 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The yoke of religion has not always been easy, nor its burden light—a result arising, in part from the ignorance of the world at large, but more especially from the mistakes of those who had the charge and guidance of a great spiritual force, and who guided it blindly.”
John Tyndall (1820–1893) said by 1893 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The bondage we are born into is the bondage we cannot see. Verily, freedom is little more than the ignorance of tyranny. Live long enough, and you will see: Men resent not the whip so much as the hand that wields it.”
R. Scott Bakker (born 1967) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Any fool can see the limits of seeing, but not even the wisest know the limits of knowing. Thus is ignorance rendered invisible, and are all Men made fools.”
R. Scott Bakker (born 1967) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is fortunate that each generation does not comprehend its own ignorance. We are thus enabled to call our ancestors barbarous.”
Charles Dudley Warner (1829–1900) first seen 1873 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Backlog Studies, "Second Study” (1873).
“That war is an evil is a proposition so familiar to every one that it would be tedious to develop it. No one is forced to engage in it by ignorance, or kept out of it by fear, if he fancies there is anything to be gained by it.”
Thucydides (461–395 BC) said by 395 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The greater the ignorance the greater the dogmatism.”
William Osler (1849–1919) said by 1919 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The bright old day now dawns again; the cry runs through the land, In England there shall be dear bread—in Ireland, sword and brand; And poverty, and ignorance, shall swell the rich and grand, So, rally round the rulers with the gentle iron hand, Of the fine old English Tory days; Hail to the coming time!”
Charles Dickens (1812–1870) first seen 1841 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Fine Old English Gentleman (1841)
“The working classes may be injuriously degraded and oppressed in three ways:1st — When they are neglected in infancy2nd — When they are overworked by their employer, and are thus rendered incompetent from ignorance to make a good use of high wages when they can procure them.3rd — When they are paid low wages for their labour”
Robert Owen (1771–1858) first seen 1818 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Two Memorials on Behalf of the Working Classes (1818)
“These fools by dint of ignorance most crass, Think they in wisdom all mankind surpass; And glibly do they damn as infidel Each one who is not, like themselves, an ass.”
Omar Khayyám (1048–1131) said by 1131 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In the real world, equal respect for all cultures doesn’t translate into a rich mosaic of colorful and proud peoples interacting peacefully while maintaining a delightful diversity of food and craftwork. It translates into closed pockets of oppression, ignorance, and abuse.”
Ayaan Hirsi Ali (born 1969) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We in England also suffer very much...from very clever physicians who are always prepared to prescribe for the body politic with a great deal of intellectual agility, which is equalled only by their ignorance of human nature. These people in Europe are called the "intelligentsia"—a very ugly word for a very ugly thing.”
Stanley Baldwin (1867–1947) first seen 1927 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech to the Canadian Club in Toronto (6 August 1927), quoted in Our Inheritance (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1938), p. 78.
“The pedant interprets the simplicity and the humility of the wise man as ignorance.”
Josemaría Escrivá (1902–1975) said by 1975 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The really frightening risk of war was neglect, filth, poor organization, defective medical services, and hygenic ignorance, which conditions (as in the troops) practically everybody.”
Eric Hobsbawm (1917–2012) said by 2012 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Christopher, like many other writers, was shockingly ignorant of the objective world, except where it touched his own experience. When he had to hide his ignorance beneath a veneer, he simply consulted someone who could supply him with the information he needed.”
Christopher Isherwood (1904–1986) said by 1986 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Social media amplifies both the good side and the dark side of human nature. ... Notwithstanding human ignorance, freedom of expression is essential.”
Newton Lee wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Ignorance and apathy will eventually lead to the annihilation of humanity if left unchecked.”
Newton Lee wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Notwithstanding human ignorance spreading misinformation and disinformation, freedom of speech is essential.”
Newton Lee wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“1978. If thou art wise, thou knowest thy own Ignorance; and thou art ignorant if thou knowest not thy self.”
Thomas Fuller (writer) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The ignorance, carelessness, and brutality are not only in the rough-handed slaughtermen, but in the polite ladies and gentlemen whose dietetic habits render the slaughtermen necessary.”
Henry Stephens Salt (1851–1939) said by 1939 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Political conflict rests to a very large extent on a universal ignorance of consequences, as the people who are benefited by any particular act or policy are rarely those who struggled for it, and the people who are injured are rarely those who opposed it.”
Kenneth Boulding (1910–1993) said by 1993 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“To live like an anchorite, without the superstitious ignorance which leads him to such a course of life, this is wisdom indeed, and power is the reward.”
Eliphas Levi (1810–1875) said by 1875 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The Muslim world, with its history and cultures, and indeed its different interpretations of Islam, is still little known in the West… The two worlds, Muslim and non-Muslim, Eastern and Western, must, as a matter of urgency, make a real effort to get to know one another, for I fear that what we have is not a clash of civilisations, but a clash of ignorance on both sides.”
Aga Khan IV (1936–2025) first seen 2007 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Closing Address by His Highness the Aga Khan at the "Musée-Musées" Round Table Louvre Museum, (17 October 2007)
“Why should old interpretations of scripture, all of which reflect the ignorance and prejudice and limitations of the age in which they were formulated, bar the way to progress in our modern day?”
Benjamin Fish Austin (1850–1933) said by 1933 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Ignorance can be interesting. ∞ Also fatal.”
Iain Banks (1954–2013) said by 2013 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“No, Geis, it doesn’t wear off. Like certain exotic diseases, and unlike love, synchroneurobonding is for life.” Geis lowered his eyes. “You weren’t always so cynical about love.” “As they say; ignorance pays.”
Iain Banks (1954–2013) said by 2013 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Spiral's views are so enchanting that when I heard them, I cleared off to Australia, strolled up Ayres Rock to the meditating Aborigines, pulled down my trousers and pants, polished my dinkle 'til it was as stiff as a pipe, prised its end open and shouted, "Lads, who wants a blow of my didgeridoo?!" They said they faced this ignorance from the white man on an almost daily basis.”
Russell Brand (born 1975) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Religion has ever filled the mind of man with darkness, and kept him in ignorance of his real duties and true interests. It is only by dispelling the clouds and phantoms of Religion, that we shall discover Truth, Reason, and Morality. Religion diverts us from the causes of evils, and from the remedies which nature prescribes; far from curing, it only aggravates, multiplies, and perpetuates them.”
Baron d'Holbach (1723–1789) said by 1789 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.”
Paul of Tarsus (5–66) said by 66 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Quotations are useful in periods of ignorance or obscurantist beliefs.”
Guy Debord (1931–1994) said by 1994 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“But this is not to say that the society which inflicts capital punishment commits murder. Murder is an offensive act. The term cannot be applied legitimately to any defensive act. And capital punishment, however ineffective it may be and through whatever ignorance it may be resorted to, is a strictly defensive act,—at least in theory.”
Benjamin Tucker (1854–1939) said by 1939 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Ignorance and confidence are constant companions.”
John McAfee (1945–2021) first seen 2001 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Into the Heart of Truth (2001)
“Education costs money, but then so does ignorance.”
Claus Moser, Baron Moser (1922–2015) first seen 1990 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Daily Telegraph, 21 August 1990
“Well, now is the time to peel back the foreskin of misconception and apply the wire brush of enlightenment to this mass of sticky half-truths and lies. The truth hurts, but not as much as the consequences of willful ignorance.”
Charles Stross (born 1964) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“...I suspect people would be in for a real shock if they knew the depths of [Obama's] historical ignorance.”
Charles Foster Johnson (born 1953) first seen 2008 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: May 25, 2008
“Keen intelligence is two-edged, It may be used constructively or destructively like a knife, either to cut the boil of ignorance, or to decapitate one's self. Intelligence is rightly guided only after the mind has acknowledged the inescapability of spiritual law.”
Yukteswar Giri (1855–1936) said by 1936 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“There is an utter ignorance of, and indifference to, our sufferings and privations… What care they for us, provided we be submissive, pay the taxes, furnish recruits for the Army and Navy and bless the masters who either despise or oppress or combine both? The apathy that exists respecting Ireland is worse than the national antipathy they bear us.”
Daniel O'Connell (1775–1847) first seen 1839 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to T.M. Ray (1839) on English attitudes to Ireland, quoted in O’Connell Correspondence, Vol VI, Letter No. 2588
“The good Socialist works with religious zeal for the redemption of mankind from the evils of poverty and ignorance. ... He is conscious of the beauty of the ideal ... he works on ... for the deliverance of the human spirit from the enslavement of material things.”
Herbert Morrison (1888–1965) first seen 1934 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Manchester Guardian (2 July 1934), quoted in Bernard Donoughue and George Jones, Herbert Morrison: Portrait of a Politician (2001), p. 184
“A trophy wife how cute? Ignorance is bliss.”
Kelly Clarkson (born 1982) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The truth is revolutionary," gasps the nocturnal voice; "get you gone, you men of truth, you who cast disorder among ignorance, you who strew words and sow the wind; you contrivers, begone! You bring in the reign of men! But the multitude hates you and mocks you!”
Henri Barbusse (1873–1935) said by 1935 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“History, I believe, furnishes no example of a priest-ridden people maintaining a free civil government. This marks the lowest grade of ignorance of which their civil as well as religious leaders will always avail themselves for their own purposes.”
Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) first seen 1813 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to Alexander von Humboldt (6 December 1813)
“Bigotry is the disease of ignorance, of morbid minds; enthusiasm of the free and buoyant. Education & free discussion are the antidotes of both.”
Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) first seen 1816 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to John Adams (1 August 1816)
“To constrain the brute force of the people, the European governments deem it necessary to keep them down by hard labor, poverty and ignorance, and to take from them, as from bees, so much of their earnings, as that unremitting labor shall be necessary to obtain a sufficient surplus to sustain a scanty and miserable life.”
Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) first seen 1823 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to Justice William Johnson (12 June 1823)
“May it be to the world, what I believe it will be, (to some parts sooner, to others later, but finally to all), the signal of arousing men to burst the chains under which monkish ignorance and superstition had persuaded them to bind themselves, and to assume the blessings and security of self-government.”
Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) first seen 1776 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to Roger C. Weightman, on the decision for Independence made in 1776, often quoted as if in reference solely to the document the Declaration of Independence (24 June 1826)
“To believe that any action based on an ignorance of fact can possibly succeed, is to abandon the use of reason.”
Rose Wilder Lane (1886–1968) said by 1968 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Boredom comes simply from ignorance and lack of imagination.”
Susan Ertz (1887–1985) first seen 1943 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Anger in the Sky (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1943), p. 134.
“There can be no respect for a family that is established on ignorance. In the construction of a democratic civilization, the role of the family is vital.”
Abdullah Öcalan (born 1948) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Space is as infinite as we can imagine, and expanding this perspective is what adjusts humankind’s focus onto conquering our true enemies, the formidable foes: ignorance and limitation.”
Vanna Bonta (1958–2014) said by 2014 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Our true enemies are: ignorance and limitation.”
Vanna Bonta (1958–2014) said by 2014 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source