--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: During the few minutes that Lewis was…" description: "\"“During the few minutes that Lewis was away, Morse was acutely conscious of the truth of the proposition that the wider the circle of knowledge the gre..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0c/colin-dexter-22150_ignorance_during-the-few-minutes-that-lewis-was-aw_1662154.png" --- # During the few minutes that Lewis was away, Morse was… ![“During the few minutes that Lewis was away, Morse was acutely conscious of the truth of the proposition that the wider the circle of knowledge the greater the circumference of ignorance.” quote by Colin Dexter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0c/colin-dexter-22150_ignorance_during-the-few-minutes-that-lewis-was-aw_1662154.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0c/colin-dexter-22150_ignorance_during-the-few-minutes-that-lewis-was-aw_1662154.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0c/colin-dexter-22150_ignorance_during-the-few-minutes-that-lewis-was-aw_1662154.png) > ““During the few minutes that Lewis was away, Morse was acutely conscious of the truth of the proposition that the wider the circle of knowledge the greater the circumference of ignorance.”” [Colin Dexter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-dexter/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Expanding knowledge reveals how much more there is to learn, increasing perceived ignorance. **In simple terms:** More knowledge shows more unknowns. Key Takeaway Embrace humility as you learn. Themes knowledge humility learning Mood reflective inquisitive Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - academic study - personal growth - research planning - education - career development Key Concepts epistemology cognitive bias Questions to Reflect On - How does expanding your expertise affect your confidence? - What strategies prevent feeling paralyzed by ignorance? A Different Perspective Knowing more can overwhelm; balance curiosity with focus. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ignorance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Morse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morse/) ## Related quotes > [As our circle of knowledge expands, so does the circumference of darkness surrounding it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/as-our-circle-of-knowledge-expands-so-does-the-circumference-of/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [The circle of knowledge commences close round a man and thence stretches out concentrically.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-heinrich-pestalozzi/the-circle-of-knowledge-commences-close-round-a-man-and-thence/) [Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-heinrich-pestalozzi/) > [“He'd no time for reports. He suspected that about 95% of the written word was never read by anyone anyway.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-dexter/he-d-no-time-for-reports-he-suspected-that-about-95-of-the-written/) [Colin Dexter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-dexter/) > [There's always time for one more pint. - Chief Inspector Morse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-dexter/there-s-always-time-for-one-more-pint-chief-inspector-morse/) [Colin Dexter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-dexter/) > [Morse stared morosely at the blotting paper. "It's just not my sort of case, Lewis. I know it's not a very nice thing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-dexter/morse-stared-morosely-at-the-blotting-paper-it-s-just-not-my-sort-of/) [Colin Dexter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-dexter/) > [“Walters looked quizzically at Morse, who sat reading one of the glossy 'porno' magazines he had brought from upstairs. "You still sex-mad, I see,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-dexter/walters-looked-quizzically-at-morse-who-sat-reading-one-of-the-glossy/) [Colin Dexter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-dexter/) > [Parts like Morse don't grow on trees. He's a great character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-thaw/parts-like-morse-don-t-grow-on-trees-he-s-a-great-character/) [John Thaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-thaw/) > [your morse code interferes with my heart beat. I had a steady heart before you, I replied upon it, it had seen active service…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/your-morse-code-interferes-with-my-heart-beat-i-had-a-steady-heart/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [I think sadly that Morse thinks that he can exist on his own and he only realises at the end that he can't and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-thaw/i-think-sadly-that-morse-thinks-that-he-can-exist-on-his-own-and-he/) [John Thaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-thaw/) > [I feel very competitive with Robert Morse off-set. We often duke it out. He always wins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-staton/i-feel-very-competitive-with-robert-morse-off-set-we-often-duke-it/) [Aaron Staton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-staton/) > [“Mr. Charles Dickens was serializing his novel Oliver Twist; Mr. Draper had just taken the first photograph of the moon, freezing her pale face…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/mr-charles-dickens-was-serializing-his-novel-oliver-twist-mr-draper/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [The ethics laws do not let us tap out the truth in Morse code.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-wyden/the-ethics-laws-do-not-let-us-tap-out-the-truth-in-morse-code/) [Ron Wyden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-wyden/) > [I think Morse's thing about being a poor policeman but a good detective is a very good description of him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-thaw/i-think-morse-s-thing-about-being-a-poor-policeman-but-a-good/) [John Thaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-thaw/) > [I studied Morse code.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-driver/i-studied-morse-code/) [Adam Driver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-driver/) > [You can't say to someone with a brain like Morse, This is the way you do it, regardless of the circumstances; this is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-thaw/you-can-t-say-to-someone-with-a-brain-like-morse-this-is-the-way-you/) [John Thaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-thaw/) ## More by Colin Dexter > [“He'd no time for reports. He suspected that about 95% of the written word was never read by anyone anyway.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-dexter/he-d-no-time-for-reports-he-suspected-that-about-95-of-the-written/) [Colin Dexter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-dexter/) > [“Morse poured himself a can of beer. "Champagne's a lovely drink, but it makes you thirsty, doesn't it?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-dexter/morse-poured-himself-a-can-of-beer-champagne-s-a-lovely-drink-but-it/) [Colin Dexter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-dexter/) > [“Walters looked quizzically at Morse, who sat reading one of the glossy 'porno' magazines he had brought from upstairs. "You still sex-mad, I see,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-dexter/walters-looked-quizzically-at-morse-who-sat-reading-one-of-the-glossy/) [Colin Dexter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-dexter/) > [“He sighed and knew that life was full of ‘if only’ for everyone”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-dexter/he-sighed-and-knew-that-life-was-full-of-if-only-for-everyone/) [Colin Dexter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-dexter/) > [I think that you've got to be prepared to write a load of nonsense to start with and then you can tart it up.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-dexter/i-think-that-you-ve-got-to-be-prepared-to-write-a-load-of-nonsense-to/) [Colin Dexter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-dexter/) > [We read so much about incompetence and corruption in all sorts of places. I'm not just thinking of the United Kingdom and the United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-dexter/we-read-so-much-about-incompetence-and-corruption-in-all-sorts-of/) [Colin Dexter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-dexter/) > [“It is strange to relate (for a man in his profession) that in addition to incurable acrophobia, arachnophobia, myophobia, and ornithophobia, Morse also suffered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-dexter/it-is-strange-to-relate-for-a-man-in-his-profession-that-in-addition/) [Colin Dexter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-dexter/) > [“and Lewis felt excitement, and gratification. Somebody—some”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-dexter/and-lewis-felt-excitement-and-gratification-somebody-some/) [Colin Dexter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-dexter/) > [I've not much faith in the future of the planet and I'm not just thinking about Mr. Bush or global warming. I feel that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-dexter/i-ve-not-much-faith-in-the-future-of-the-planet-and-i-m-not-just/) [Colin Dexter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-dexter/) > [“Nothing quite like it in the whole history of music," announced Morse magisterially, after Brünnhilde had ridden into the flames and the waves of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-dexter/nothing-quite-like-it-in-the-whole-history-of-music-announced-morse/) [Colin Dexter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-dexter/) > [“As he lay abed on Sunday, 21 September, Morse was beset by the nagging feeling that there was so much to be done if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-dexter/as-he-lay-abed-on-sunday-21-september-morse-was-beset-by-the-nagging/) [Colin Dexter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-dexter/) > [“you’ve never seen any evidence of drugs—any packets of drugs? Crack? Speed? Ecstasy? Anything? Anything at all?” Had she? “No,” she said. Almost truthfully.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-dexter/you-ve-never-seen-any-evidence-of-drugs-any-packets-of-drugs-crack/) [Colin Dexter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-dexter/) > [“A man is little use when his wife’s a widow. Scottish proverb”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-dexter/a-man-is-little-use-when-his-wife-s-a-widow-scottish-proverb/) [Colin Dexter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-dexter/) > [“was virtually certain of that. As the coach drew into St. Giles’, the sky was an open blue, and the sunlight gleamed on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-dexter/was-virtually-certain-of-that-as-the-coach-drew-into-st-giles-the-sky/) [Colin Dexter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-dexter/) > [“As he lay abed on Sunday, 21 September, Morse was beset by the nagging feeling that there was so much to be done if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-dexter/as-he-lay-abed-on-sunday-21-september-morse-was-beset-by-the-nagging-2/) [Colin Dexter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-dexter/) [Explore all 28 Colin Dexter quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-dexter/) ## More Ignorance quotes > [My folks tried to make a preacher of me and missed by a narrow margin… I would have made a good one if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/my-folks-tried-to-make-a-preacher-of-me-and-missed-by-a-narrow-margin/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [If you had made the acquiring of ignorance the study of your life, you could not have graduated with higher honor than you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-you-had-made-the-acquiring-of-ignorance-the-study-of-your-life-you/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [One of the deepest and strangest of all human moods is the mood which will suddenly strike us perhaps in a garden at night,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-deepest-and-strangest-of-all-human-moods-is-the-mood-which/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Ignorance is not bliss — it is oblivion. Determined ignorance is the hastiest kind of oblivion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-wylie/ignorance-is-not-bliss-it-is-oblivion-determined-ignorance-is-the/) [Philip Wylie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-wylie/) > [... informed ignorance provides the natural state of mind for research scientists at the ever-shifting frontiers of knowledge. People who believe themselves ignorant of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/informed-ignorance-provides-the-natural-state-of-mind-for-research/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [“If knowledge does not liberate the self from the self, then ignorance is better than such knowledge.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hakim-sanai/if-knowledge-does-not-liberate-the-self-from-the-self-then-ignorance/) [Hakim Sanai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hakim-sanai/) > [You are senile old fool, and because of your impudence, I cannot fathom how you still live!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-are-senile-old-fool-and-because-of-your-impudence-i-cannot-fathom/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Surely, God could have caused birds to fly with their bones made of solid gold, with their veins full of quicksilver, with their flesh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galileo-galilei/surely-god-could-have-caused-birds-to-fly-with-their-bones-made-of/) [Galileo Galilei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galileo-galilei/) > [“Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a people who mean to be their own governors, must arm themselves with the power knowledge gives. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/knowledge-will-forever-govern-ignorance-and-a-people-who-mean-to-be/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [“Don’t turn your face away. Once you’ve seen, you can no longer act like you don’t know. Open your eyes to the truth. It’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vashti-quiroz-vega/don-t-turn-your-face-away-once-you-ve-seen-you-can-no-longer-act-like/) Vashti Quiroz-Vega > [Nothing is worse than active ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/nothing-is-worse-than-active-ignorance/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [The only victories which leave no regret are those which are gained over ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/the-only-victories-which-leave-no-regret-are-those-which-are-gained/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [“Those who embrace prejudice doom themselves to live in ignorance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-p-lintz-sr/those-who-embrace-prejudice-doom-themselves-to-live-in-ignorance/) John P Lintz Sr > [“You are a lawmaker in your own right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/you-are-a-lawmaker-in-your-own-right/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [Sanity can take one of only two forms: that of ignorance, or denial.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-r-audette/sanity-can-take-one-of-only-two-forms-that-of-ignorance-or-denial/) [Derek R. Audette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-r-audette/) [Browse all 5,657 Ignorance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“During the few minutes that Lewis was away, Morse was acutely conscious of the truth of the proposition that the wider the circle of knowledge the greater the circumference of ignorance.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Colin Dexter" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-dexter/during-the-few-minutes-that-lewis-was-away-morse-was-acutely/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ignorance" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-dexter/during-the-few-minutes-that-lewis-was-away-morse-was-acutely/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0c/colin-dexter-22150_ignorance_during-the-few-minutes-that-lewis-was-aw_1662154.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0c/colin-dexter-22150_ignorance_during-the-few-minutes-that-lewis-was-aw_1662154.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0c/colin-dexter-22150_ignorance_during-the-few-minutes-that-lewis-was-aw_1662154.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“During the few minutes that Lewis was away, Morse was acutely conscious of the truth of the proposition that…” — Colin Dexter", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Colin Dexter", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-dexter/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“During the few minutes that Lewis...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-dexter/during-the-few-minutes-that-lewis-was-away-morse-was-acutely/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-dexter/during-the-few-minutes-that-lewis-was-away-morse-was-acutely/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```