--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: They are ill discoverers that think there…" description: "\"They are ill discoverers that think there is no land, when they can see nothing but sea.\" — Francis Bacon" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dad/francis-bacon-297_discovery_they-are-ill-discoverers-that-think-ther_937810.jpg" --- # They are ill discoverers that think there is no land, when… ![“They are ill discoverers that think there is no land, when they can see nothing but sea.” quote by Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dad/francis-bacon-297_discovery_they-are-ill-discoverers-that-think-ther_937810.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dad/francis-bacon-297_discovery_they-are-ill-discoverers-that-think-ther_937810.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dad/francis-bacon-297_discovery_they-are-ill-discoverers-that-think-ther_937810.jpg) > “They are ill discoverers that think there is no land, when they can see nothing but sea.” [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Some people claim there is nothing to discover, yet they remain blind to the vast unknown, mistaking ignorance for certainty. **In simple terms:** Mistaking ignorance for certainty limits discovery. Key Takeaway Embrace curiosity and acknowledge unknowns. Themes knowledge exploration humility illusion learning Mood skeptical reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - research - education - innovation - personal growth - philosophical inquiry Key Concepts epistemology critical thinking scientific method Questions to Reflect On - What assumptions are you holding without evidence? - How can you cultivate a habit of questioning? A Different Perspective Overconfidence can lead to missed opportunities and flawed conclusions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Discovery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discovery/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Open mindedness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/open-mindedness/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Sea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sea/) ## Related quotes > [I think this land may bee profitable to those that will adventure it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hudson/i-think-this-land-may-bee-profitable-to-those-that-will-adventure-it/) [Henry Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hudson/) > [The rich think this land is theirs though they have never earned the right to call it theirs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maaza-mengiste/the-rich-think-this-land-is-theirs-though-they-have-never-earned-the/) [Maaza Mengiste](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maaza-mengiste/) > [“You think you own whatever land you land on, that the earth is just a dead thing you can claim, but I know every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colors-of-the-wind/you-think-you-own-whatever-land-you-land-on-that-the-earth-is-just-a/) Colors of the Wind > [If there’s one theme that connects all my work, I think it’s that of land-lessness; how land makes people into who they are and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-towell/if-there-s-one-theme-that-connects-all-my-work-i-think-it-s-that-of/) [Larry Towell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-towell/) > [A lot of people don't think much about what land surveyors do. In a nutshell, we are the interpreters and providers of landmarks and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-mason/a-lot-of-people-don-t-think-much-about-what-land-surveyors-do-in-a/) [Mark Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-mason/) > [A number of scientists with greatly different backgrounds can come up with completely different assessments. The discussions or controversies are endless. Once a year,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-leakey/a-number-of-scientists-with-greatly-different-backgrounds-can-come-up/) [Richard Leakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-leakey/) > [Scientists, explorers, intellectuals: discoverers of the exciting existing!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julias-cattail/scientists-explorers-intellectuals-discoverers-of-the-exciting/) [Julias Cattail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julias-cattail/) > [As a species, we've always been discoverers and adventurers, and space and the deep ocean are some of the last frontiers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-allen/as-a-species-we-ve-always-been-discoverers-and-adventurers-and-space/) [Paul Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-allen/) > [“Leeuwenhoek, Erwin, Woese, and others were at the fringes of their respective fields, the frontiers, to be generous. The same might be said to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-dunn/leeuwenhoek-erwin-woese-and-others-were-at-the-fringes-of-their/) [Rob Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-dunn/) > [America has had many other discoverers besides Columbus, but he seems to have made more satisfactory arrangements with the historians than any of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-nye/america-has-had-many-other-discoverers-besides-columbus-but-he-seems/) [Bill Nye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nye/) > [We do not create the work. I believe we, in fact, are discoverers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-murcutt/we-do-not-create-the-work-i-believe-we-in-fact-are-discoverers/) [Glenn Murcutt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-murcutt/) > [The goal of discoverers is not to outdistance their peers, but to transcend themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-grudin/the-goal-of-discoverers-is-not-to-outdistance-their-peers-but-to/) [Robert Grudin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-grudin/) > [“The life of the Spanish discoverers was one long day-dream. Illusion after illusion chased one another like the bubbles which the child throws off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-prescott/the-life-of-the-spanish-discoverers-was-one-long-day-dream-illusion/) [William H. Prescott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-prescott/) > [In Science, it is when we take some interest in the great discoverers and their lives that it becomes endurable, and only when we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-clerk-maxwell/in-science-it-is-when-we-take-some-interest-in-the-great-discoverers/) [James Clerk Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-clerk-maxwell/) > [Prophets, mystics, poets, scientific discoverers are men whose lives are dominated by a vision; they are essentially solitary men . . . whose thoughts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/prophets-mystics-poets-scientific-discoverers-are-men-whose-lives-are/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) ## More by Francis Bacon > [Princes are like heavenly bodies, which cause good or evil times, and which have much veneration, but no rest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/princes-are-like-heavenly-bodies-which-cause-good-or-evil-times-and/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [The best preservative to keep the mind in health is the faithful admonition of a friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/the-best-preservative-to-keep-the-mind-in-health-is-the-faithful/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [Since custom is the principal magistrate of man's life, let men by all means endeavor to obtain good customs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/since-custom-is-the-principal-magistrate-of-man-s-life-let-men-by-all/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [Painting today is pure intuition and luck and taking advantage of what happens when you splash the stuff down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/painting-today-is-pure-intuition-and-luck-and-taking-advantage-of/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [I usually accept bribes from both sides so that tainted money can never influence my decision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/i-usually-accept-bribes-from-both-sides-so-that-tainted-money-can/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [Much bending breaks the bow; much unbending the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/much-bending-breaks-the-bow-much-unbending-the-mind/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [When Christ came into the world, peace was sung; and when He went out of the world, peace was bequeathed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/when-christ-came-into-the-world-peace-was-sung-and-when-he-went-out/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [...neither is it possible to discover the more remote and deeper parts of any science, if you stand but upon the level of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/neither-is-it-possible-to-discover-the-more-remote-and-deeper-parts/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [The divisions of science are not like different lines that meet in one angle, but rather like the branches of trees that join in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/the-divisions-of-science-are-not-like-different-lines-that-meet-in/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [The human understanding, when any preposition has been once laid down... forces everything else to add fresh support and confirmation; and although more cogent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/the-human-understanding-when-any-preposition-has-been-once-laid-down/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [I should have been, I don't know, a con-man, a robber or a prostitute. But it was vanity that made me choose painting, vanity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/i-should-have-been-i-don-t-know-a-con-man-a-robber-or-a-prostitute/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [Wounds cannot be cured without searching.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/wounds-cannot-be-cured-without-searching/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [The French are wiser than they seem, and the Spaniards seem wiser than they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/the-french-are-wiser-than-they-seem-and-the-spaniards-seem-wiser-than/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [When a man laughs at his troubles he loses a great many friends. They never forgive the loss of their prerogative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/when-a-man-laughs-at-his-troubles-he-loses-a-great-many-friends-they/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [Believing that I was born for the service of mankind, and regarding the care of the commonwealth as a kind of common property which,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/believing-that-i-was-born-for-the-service-of-mankind-and-regarding/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) [Explore all 711 Francis Bacon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) ## More Discovery quotes > [ Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then \[these?\],… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in-england-in-1624-and-in-this/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Throughout my work, I have assumed that the standard model is correct, and hence, the Higgs boson should be found. Although this is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashoke-sen/throughout-my-work-i-have-assumed-that-the-standard-model-is-correct/) [Ashoke Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashoke-sen/) > [There is usually no dreamer so unworldly as the anthologist. He wanders in a vast garden, lost in wonder, unable to decide often between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-webb/there-is-usually-no-dreamer-so-unworldly-as-the-anthologist-he/) [Mary Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-webb/) > [New generations of humans inherit the acquired discoveries of generations past, allowing cosmic insight to accumulate without limit. Each discovery of science therefore adds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/new-generations-of-humans-inherit-the-acquired-discoveries-of/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [The discovery that heartbreak is indeed heartbreaking consoles us about our humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/the-discovery-that-heartbreak-is-indeed-heartbreaking-consoles-us/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [ “\[W\]e must learn to accommodate ourselves to the discovery that some of those cunningly-fashioned instruments called human souls have only a very limited range… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/w-e-must-learn-to-accommodate-ourselves-to-the-discovery-that-some-of/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [We cannot predict the new forces, powers, and discoveries that will be disclosed to us when we reach the other planets and set up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/we-cannot-predict-the-new-forces-powers-and-discoveries-that-will-be/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [ That has been another interesting discovery: that basically a city \[Lagos\] could recover from a really deep, deep, deep pit. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem-koolhaas/that-has-been-another-interesting-discovery-that-basically-a-city/) [Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/) > [Every fact of science was once Damned. Every invention was considered impossible. Every discovery was a nervous shock to some orthodoxy. Every artistic innovation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/every-fact-of-science-was-once-damned-every-invention-was-considered/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [When we look at the love of Christ, we make a wonderful discovery. Love is more a decision than an emotion! Christ-like love applauds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/when-we-look-at-the-love-of-christ-we-make-a-wonderful-discovery-love/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [Discovery is the ability to be puzzled by simple things. Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/discovery-is-the-ability-to-be-puzzled-by-simple-things-noam-chomsky/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [“In December of 2007 human bones including skulls, which have been radiocarbon dated back to between 1304 and 1424, were found in a museum…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/captain-hank-bracker-seawater-one/in-december-of-2007-human-bones-including-skulls-which-have-been/) Captain Hank Bracker, "Seawater One > [The European talks of progress because by the aid of a few scientific discoveries he has established a society which has mistaken comfort for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/the-european-talks-of-progress-because-by-the-aid-of-a-few-scientific/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/education-is-a-progressive-discovery-of-our-own-ignorance/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [The characters in my novels are my own unrealized possibilities. That is why I am equally fond of them all and equally horrified by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-characters-in-my-novels-are-my-own-unrealized-possibilities-that/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) [Browse all 3,125 Discovery quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discovery/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "They are ill discoverers that think there is no land, when they can see nothing but sea.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Francis Bacon" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/they-are-ill-discoverers-that-think-there-is-no-land-when-they-can/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Discovery" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/they-are-ill-discoverers-that-think-there-is-no-land-when-they-can/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dad/francis-bacon-297_discovery_they-are-ill-discoverers-that-think-ther_937810.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dad/francis-bacon-297_discovery_they-are-ill-discoverers-that-think-ther_937810.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dad/francis-bacon-297_discovery_they-are-ill-discoverers-that-think-ther_937810.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“They are ill discoverers that think there is no land, when they can see nothing but sea.” — Francis Bacon", "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": "Francis Bacon", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "They are ill discoverers that think...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/they-are-ill-discoverers-that-think-there-is-no-land-when-they-can/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/they-are-ill-discoverers-that-think-there-is-no-land-when-they-can/#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 } } ] } ```