--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Progress had not invaded, science had not…" description: "\"“Progress had not invaded, science had not enlightened, the little hamlet of Pieuvrot, in Brittany. They were a simple, ignorant, superstitious set who..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/785/eliza-lynn-linton-45884_ignorance_progress-had-not-invaded-science-had-not_2515250.jpg" --- # Progress had not invaded, science had not enlightened, the… ![“Progress had not invaded, science had not enlightened, the little hamlet of Pieuvrot, in Brittany. They were a simple, ignorant, superstitious set who lived there, and the luxuries of civilization were known to them as little as its learning. They toiled hard all the week on the ungrateful soil…” quote by Eliza Lynn Linton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/785/eliza-lynn-linton-45884_ignorance_progress-had-not-invaded-science-had-not_2515250.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/785/eliza-lynn-linton-45884_ignorance_progress-had-not-invaded-science-had-not_2515250.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/785/eliza-lynn-linton-45884_ignorance_progress-had-not-invaded-science-had-not_2515250.jpg) > ““Progress had not invaded, science had not enlightened, the little hamlet of Pieuvrot, in Brittany. They were a simple, ignorant, superstitious set who lived there, and the luxuries of civilization were known to them as little as its learning. They toiled hard all the week on the ungrateful soil that yielded them but a bare subsistence in return; they went regularly to mass in the little rock-set chapel on Sundays and saint’s days; believed implicitly all that monsieur le cure said to them, and many things which he did not say; and they took all the unknown, not as magnificent but as diabolical”” [Eliza Lynn Linton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliza-lynn-linton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A remote village clings to superstition while lacking education, illustrating how ignorance persists despite external progress. **In simple terms:** Isolation and lack of knowledge keep a community stuck. Key Takeaway Promote education and critical thinking. Themes ignorance tradition education Mood reflective serious Type literary social commentary When to use this quote - rural development projects - missionary work - community literacy programs Key Concepts social stagnation cultural isolation Questions to Reflect On - What methods best introduce new ideas to isolated societies? - How does superstition affect daily life in such communities? A Different Perspective Changing deep‑rooted beliefs can meet resistance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Civilization Known](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization-known-811819/) [Enlightened Little](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enlightened-little-1195003/) [Hamlet Pieuvrot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hamlet-pieuvrot-1195005/) [Ignorance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance/) [Pieuvrot Brittany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pieuvrot-brittany-1195004/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Science Enlightened](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science-enlightened-1195006/) [Superstition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/superstition/) [Unknown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unknown/) ## Related quotes > [ “It is Vitaraag vignan \[the Spiritual Science of the Enlightened Ones\] to look at gain, and to see losses is the knowledge of worldly… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/it-is-vitaraag-vignan-the-spiritual-science-of-the-enlightened-ones/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [There is not a respectable system of civilization known to history whose foundations were not laid in the institution of domestic slavery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-t-hunter/there-is-not-a-respectable-system-of-civilization-known-to-history/) [Robert M. T. Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-t-hunter/) > [Civilization as it is known today could not have evolved, nor can it survive, without an adequate food supply.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-borlaug/civilization-as-it-is-known-today-could-not-have-evolved-nor-can-it/) [Norman Borlaug](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-borlaug/) > [“I have said that the sole effect of my somewhat childish experiment—that of looking down within the tarn—had been to deepen the first singular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/i-have-said-that-the-sole-effect-of-my-somewhat-childish-experiment/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [“The Jews are an ignorant and barbarous people, who have long united the most sordid avarice with the most detestable superstition and the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/the-jews-are-an-ignorant-and-barbarous-people-who-have-long-united/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [“Many people do simply awful things out of sincere religious belief, not using religion as a cover the way that Saddam Hussein may have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weinberg/many-people-do-simply-awful-things-out-of-sincere-religious-belief/) [Steven Weinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weinberg/) > [I make this chief distinction between religion and superstition, that the latter is founded on ignorance, the former on knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baruch-spinoza/i-make-this-chief-distinction-between-religion-and-superstition-that/) [Baruch Spinoza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baruch-spinoza/) > [If you were to leave the calendar on Friday the 13th, you will be killed by a witch the very next day.w](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-were-to-leave-the-calendar-on-friday-the-13th-you-will-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“In spite of being complicated people choose superstitions over common sense.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/in-spite-of-being-complicated-people-choose-superstitions-over-common/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [Christianity is a pestilent superstition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/christianity-is-a-pestilent-superstition/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) > [“All religions worthy of the name are now making great efforts to purify their doctrines and return to their original standpoint, — all except…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virchand-gandhi/all-religions-worthy-of-the-name-are-now-making-great-efforts-to/) [Virchand Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virchand-gandhi/) > [“Do stories, apart from happening, being, have something to say? For all my skepticism, some trace of irrational superstition did survive in me, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/do-stories-apart-from-happening-being-have-something-to-say-for-all/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [fear has always been a diminisher of life. Whether bred in the bogs of superstition or clothed in the brocades of dogma and ritual,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-mannes/fear-has-always-been-a-diminisher-of-life-whether-bred-in-the-bogs-of/) [Marya Mannes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-mannes/) > [I think superstition has a lot to do with fear: the less, the better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-cruz/i-think-superstition-has-a-lot-to-do-with-fear-the-less-the-better/) [Penelope Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-cruz/) > [The state of mind which I put myself when I tell a story is one in which superstition flourishes very easily. And I welcome…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/the-state-of-mind-which-i-put-myself-when-i-tell-a-story-is-one-in/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) ## More by Eliza Lynn Linton > [I see no light behind that terrible curtain. I do not think one religion better than another and I think the Christian religion has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliza-lynn-linton/i-see-no-light-behind-that-terrible-curtain-i-do-not-think-one/) [Eliza Lynn Linton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliza-lynn-linton/) > [I have never quite understood the relationship between beauty and weakness, womanly sweetness and womanly silliness; to my mind, indeed, that woman being the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliza-lynn-linton/i-have-never-quite-understood-the-relationship-between-beauty-and/) [Eliza Lynn Linton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliza-lynn-linton/) > [Few women have both taste and truth; and indeed, this special bit or moral mosaic is just the most difficult piece of carpentry in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliza-lynn-linton/few-women-have-both-taste-and-truth-and-indeed-this-special-bit-or/) [Eliza Lynn Linton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliza-lynn-linton/) > [What kind of work would be done if Hercules took to spinning wool in safe places, while Omphales turned out to do battle with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliza-lynn-linton/what-kind-of-work-would-be-done-if-hercules-took-to-spinning-wool-in/) [Eliza Lynn Linton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliza-lynn-linton/) > [There is no more delightful hour in life than that of an unconfessed but mutual love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliza-lynn-linton/there-is-no-more-delightful-hour-in-life-than-that-of-an-unconfessed/) [Eliza Lynn Linton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliza-lynn-linton/) > [I hold it to be the moral duty of women to make themselves beautiful in all lawful ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliza-lynn-linton/i-hold-it-to-be-the-moral-duty-of-women-to-make-themselves-beautiful/) [Eliza Lynn Linton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliza-lynn-linton/) > [Poverty is a bitter weed to most women, and there are few indeed who can accept it with dignity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliza-lynn-linton/poverty-is-a-bitter-weed-to-most-women-and-there-are-few-indeed-who/) [Eliza Lynn Linton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliza-lynn-linton/) [Explore all 8 Eliza Lynn Linton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliza-lynn-linton/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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": "“Progress had not invaded, science had not enlightened, the little hamlet of Pieuvrot, in Brittany. They were a simple, ignorant, superstitious set who lived there, and the luxuries of civilization were known to them as little as its learning. 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