--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Ignorance has been well represented under…" description: "\"Ignorance has been well represented under the similitude of a dungeon, where, though it is full of life, yet darkness and silence reign. But in society..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ad/horace-mann-2022_bars_ignorance-has-been-well-represented-unde_2932933.png" --- # Ignorance has been well represented under the similitude… ![“Ignorance has been well represented under the similitude of a dungeon, where, though it is full of life, yet darkness and silence reign. But in society the bars and locks have been broken; the dungeon itself is demolished; the prisoners are out; they are in the midst of us. We have no security but…” quote by Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ad/horace-mann-2022_bars_ignorance-has-been-well-represented-unde_2932933.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ad/horace-mann-2022_bars_ignorance-has-been-well-represented-unde_2932933.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ad/horace-mann-2022_bars_ignorance-has-been-well-represented-unde_2932933.png) > “Ignorance has been well represented under the similitude of a dungeon, where, though it is full of life, yet darkness and silence reign. But in society the bars and locks have been broken; the dungeon itself is demolished; the prisoners are out; they are in the midst of us. We have no security but to teach and renovate them.” [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Ignorance is like a dark dungeon; freeing people through education transforms society, requiring ongoing teaching and renewal. **In simple terms:** Education frees people from ignorance. Key Takeaway Invest in teaching and reform. Themes education social reform equality Mood analytical hopeful Type social philosophical When to use this quote - school curricula - adult literacy programs - policy reform Key Concepts human capital development democratic theory Questions to Reflect On - What barriers hinder educational reform? - How can communities support lifelong learning? A Different Perspective Change is slow and faces resistance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bars/) [Broken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/broken/) [Community](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/community/) [Darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) [Darkness Silence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness-silence-247021/) [Dungeons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dungeons/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Ignorance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance/) [Ignorance Represented](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance-represented-4333262/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Locks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/locks/) [Midst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/midst/) [Prisoner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prisoner/) [Prisoners Midst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prisoners-midst-4333264/) [Reign](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reign/) [Security](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/security/) [Silence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silence/) [Teach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teach/) [Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wells/) ## Related quotes > [What a fool, quoth he, am I, thus to lie in a stinking dungeon, when I may as well walk at liberty! I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bunyan/what-a-fool-quoth-he-am-i-thus-to-lie-in-a-stinking-dungeon-when-i/) [John Bunyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bunyan/) > [The dark ages still reign over all humanity, and the depth and persistence of this domination are only now becoming clear. This Dark Ages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-buckminster-fuller/the-dark-ages-still-reign-over-all-humanity-and-the-depth-and/) [R. Buckminster Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-buckminster-fuller/) > [The dark ages still reign over all humanity, and the depth and persistence of this domination are only now becoming clear. This Dark Ages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-buckminster-fuller/the-dark-ages-still-reign-over-all-humanity-and-the-depth-and-2/) [R. Buckminster Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-buckminster-fuller/) > [While the world sleeps, darkness and silence are awake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/while-the-world-sleeps-darkness-and-silence-are-awake/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) > [I just want to be a woman discussing uncomfortable topics that we don't talk about, these are all things I battled with in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raye/i-just-want-to-be-a-woman-discussing-uncomfortable-topics-that-we-don/) [Raye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raye/) > [“For most secrets are kept by these: the darkness, the silence, and the cat.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-beck/for-most-secrets-are-kept-by-these-the-darkness-the-silence-and-the/) [Wendy Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-beck/) > [Our days longer, shorter, more clear, more clouded. We live and we drain in drops of light and darkness silence and words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariana-fulger/our-days-longer-shorter-more-clear-more-clouded-we-live-and-we-drain/) [Mariana Fulger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariana-fulger/) > [Ships that pass in the night, and speak each other in passing, only a signal shown, and a distant voice in the darkness; So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/ships-that-pass-in-the-night-and-speak-each-other-in-passing-only-a/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [“But i don't care. Because we can say them or not; it doesn't matter. What is in our heats is real whether we name…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-revis/but-i-don-t-care-because-we-can-say-them-or-not-it-doesn-t-matter/) [Beth Revis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-revis/) > [“I paint the darkness and the silence, You see them as stars and poetry.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenim-dibie/i-paint-the-darkness-and-the-silence-you-see-them-as-stars-and-poetry/) [Jenim Dibie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenim-dibie/) > [Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn, whatever state I may be in, therein to be content.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/everything-has-its-wonders-even-darkness-and-silence-and-i-learn/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [“real books should be the offspring not of daylight and casual talk but of darkness and silence”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/real-books-should-be-the-offspring-not-of-daylight-and-casual-talk/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“The flames surround me, and I feel myself slipping further from life, thinning to only the faintest shiver in the air. I yearn for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/the-flames-surround-me-and-i-feel-myself-slipping-further-from-life/) [Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/) > [Awareness There is a dark place. A place where I have no eyes, no mouth. No words. I can't cry out because I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-e-pearson/awareness-there-is-a-dark-place-a-place-where-i-have-no-eyes-no-mouth/) [Mary E. Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-e-pearson/) > [It is a mistake to fancy that horror is associated inextricably with darkness, silence, and solitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/it-is-a-mistake-to-fancy-that-horror-is-associated-inextricably-with/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) ## More by Horace Mann > [When will society, like a mother, take care of all her children?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/when-will-society-like-a-mother-take-care-of-all-her-children/) [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) > [The earth endured Christ's ministry only three years;--not three weeks after his real character and purposes were generally known.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/the-earth-endured-christ-s-ministry-only-three-years-not-three-weeks/) [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) > [If evil is inevitable, how are the wicked accountable? Nay, why do we call men wicked at all? Evil is inevitable, but is also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/if-evil-is-inevitable-how-are-the-wicked-accountable-nay-why-do-we/) [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) > [The soul of the truly benevolent man does not seem to reside much in his own body. Its life, to a great extent, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/the-soul-of-the-truly-benevolent-man-does-not-seem-to-reside-much-in/) [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) > [The pulpit only "teaches" to be honest; the market-place "trains" to overreaching and fraud; and teaching has not a tithe of the efficiency of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/the-pulpit-only-teaches-to-be-honest-the-market-place-trains-to/) [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) > [On entering this world our starting-point is ignorance. None, however, but idiots remain there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/on-entering-this-world-our-starting-point-is-ignorance-none-however/) [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) > [So, in the infinitely nobler battle in which you are engaged against error and wrong, if ever repulsed or stricken down, may you always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/so-in-the-infinitely-nobler-battle-in-which-you-are-engaged-against/) [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) > [We conceive of immortality as having a beginning, but no end; but we conceive of eternity as having neither beginning nor end. Hence it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/we-conceive-of-immortality-as-having-a-beginning-but-no-end-but-we/) [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) > [In our country and in our times no man is worthy the honored name of statesman who does not include the highest practicable education…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/in-our-country-and-in-our-times-no-man-is-worthy-the-honored-name-of/) [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) > [Genius may conceive but patient labor must consummate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/genius-may-conceive-but-patient-labor-must-consummate/) [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) > [Even the choicest literature should be taken as the condiment, and not as the sustenance of life. It should be neither the warp nor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/even-the-choicest-literature-should-be-taken-as-the-condiment-and-not/) [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) > [Of all "rights" which command attention at the present time among us, woman's rights seem to take precedence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/of-all-rights-which-command-attention-at-the-present-time-among-us/) [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) > [After a child has arrived at the legal age for attending school,-whether he be the child of noble or of peasant,-the only two absolute…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/after-a-child-has-arrived-at-the-legal-age-for-attending-school/) [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) > [Let the Common School be expanded to its capabilities, let it be worked with the efficiency of which it is susceptible, and nine tenths…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/let-the-common-school-be-expanded-to-its-capabilities-let-it-be/) [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) > [Resistance to improvement contradicts the noblest instincts of the race. It begets its opposite. The fanaticism of reform is only the raging of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/resistance-to-improvement-contradicts-the-noblest-instincts-of-the/) [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) [Explore all 191 Horace Mann quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) ## More Bars quotes > [If, for instance, they have heard something from the postman, they attribute it to a semi-official statement; if they have fallen into conversation with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/if-for-instance-they-have-heard-something-from-the-postman-they/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [The dark ages still reign over all humanity, and the depth and persistence of this domination are only now becoming clear. This Dark Ages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-buckminster-fuller/the-dark-ages-still-reign-over-all-humanity-and-the-depth-and/) [R. Buckminster Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-buckminster-fuller/) > [It wasn't really touching to be young; it was touching not to be young, because you had less of life left. Touching to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-macaulay/it-wasn-t-really-touching-to-be-young-it-was-touching-not-to-be-young/) [Rose Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-macaulay/) > [Your thief looks Exactly like the rest, or rather better; 'Tis only at the bar, and in the dungeon, That wise men know your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/your-thief-looks-exactly-like-the-rest-or-rather-better-tis-only-at/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [While traveling, I love granola bars, trail mix nuts, dry cereal and fruit for on-the-go snacks. I also try and start the day with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christie-rampone/while-traveling-i-love-granola-bars-trail-mix-nuts-dry-cereal-and/) [Christie Rampone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christie-rampone/) > [3 people get stranded on a remote Island A Banker, a Daily Mail reader & an Asylum seeker All they have to eat is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-brookmyre/3-people-get-stranded-on-a-remote-island-a-banker-a-daily-mail-reader/) [Christopher Brookmyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-brookmyre/) > [Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house unless they have a well-stocked bar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/thou-shalt-not-covet-thy-neighbor-s-house-unless-they-have-a-well/) [W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/) > [Meanwhile after failing the bar twice, I knew some people in New York and moved here in August '71.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-quine/meanwhile-after-failing-the-bar-twice-i-knew-some-people-in-new-york/) [Robert Quine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-quine/) > [If you look at coffee, tea, food and juice, we think there are inherent opportunities. If you look at health bars or grab-and-go products…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-schultz/if-you-look-at-coffee-tea-food-and-juice-we-think-there-are-inherent/) [Howard Schultz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-schultz/) > [At about 10 o'clock in the morning the sun threw a bright dust-laden bar through one of the side windows and in and out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/at-about-10-o-clock-in-the-morning-the-sun-threw-a-bright-dust-laden/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [I bet a guy at a bar 50 bucks that I was more dysfunctional than he was. He raped me. So I tipped him.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-a-guy-at-a-bar-50-bucks-that-i-was-more-dysfunctional-than-he/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I closed my own jazz bar so I could be a man who can write novels as I like. I was pleased about that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-closed-my-own-jazz-bar-so-i-could-be-a-man-who-can-write-novels-as/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [My parents were Orthodox Jews but not very regular Orthodox Jews. I was bar mitzvahed and all that. But God was hardly ever mentioned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nat-hentoff/my-parents-were-orthodox-jews-but-not-very-regular-orthodox-jews-i/) [Nat Hentoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nat-hentoff/) > [I know a lot about Canadian politics. I lived in Canadian bars for six years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-moriarty/i-know-a-lot-about-canadian-politics-i-lived-in-canadian-bars-for-six/) [Michael Moriarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-moriarty/) > [History is the heavy traffic that prevents us from crossing the road. We're not especially interested in what it consists of. We wait, more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mal-peet/history-is-the-heavy-traffic-that-prevents-us-from-crossing-the-road/) [Mal Peet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mal-peet/) [Browse all 1,768 Bars quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bars/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Ignorance has been well represented under the similitude of a dungeon, where, though it is full of life, yet darkness and silence reign. But in society the bars and locks have been broken; the dungeon itself is demolished; the prisoners are out; they are in the midst of us. We have no security but to teach and renovate them.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Horace Mann" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/ignorance-has-been-well-represented-under-the-similitude-of-a-dungeon/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bars" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/ignorance-has-been-well-represented-under-the-similitude-of-a-dungeon/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ad/horace-mann-2022_bars_ignorance-has-been-well-represented-unde_2932933.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ad/horace-mann-2022_bars_ignorance-has-been-well-represented-unde_2932933.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ad/horace-mann-2022_bars_ignorance-has-been-well-represented-unde_2932933.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Ignorance has been well represented under the similitude of a dungeon, where, though it is full of life, yet…” — Horace Mann", "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": "Horace Mann", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Ignorance has been well represented under...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/ignorance-has-been-well-represented-under-the-similitude-of-a-dungeon/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/ignorance-has-been-well-represented-under-the-similitude-of-a-dungeon/#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 } } ] } ```