--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: By ignorance is pride increased; Those…" description: "\"By ignorance is pride increased; Those most assume who know the least\" — John Gay" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8f/john-gay-4141_ignorance_by-ignorance-is-pride-increased-those-mo_2224341.png" --- # By ignorance is pride increased; Those most assume who… ![“By ignorance is pride increased; Those most assume who know the least” quote by John Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8f/john-gay-4141_ignorance_by-ignorance-is-pride-increased-those-mo_2224341.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8f/john-gay-4141_ignorance_by-ignorance-is-pride-increased-those-mo_2224341.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8f/john-gay-4141_ignorance_by-ignorance-is-pride-increased-those-mo_2224341.png) > “By ignorance is pride increased; Those most assume who know the least” [John Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gay/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Ignorance fuels pride; those who know little often assume the most. **In simple terms:** Ignorance breeds overconfidence. Key Takeaway Seek knowledge, curb arrogance. Themes humility knowledge pride ignorance Mood thoughtful critical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - education - leadership - debate - media consumption Key Concepts Philosophy psychology literature Questions to Reflect On - How do you check your assumptions? - What steps can you take to learn more? A Different Perspective Overconfidence can lead to poor decisions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ignorance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance/) [Pride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pride/) ## Related quotes > [The National Award is a matter of pride for me, and it has also increased my responsibilities towards the country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-tripathi/the-national-award-is-a-matter-of-pride-for-me-and-it-has-also/) [Pankaj Tripathi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-tripathi/) > [Atheism is the result of ignorance and pride; of strong sense and feeble reasons; of good eating and ill-living. It is the plague of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-collier/atheism-is-the-result-of-ignorance-and-pride-of-strong-sense-and/) [Jeremy Collier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-collier/) > [There must be more equality established in society, or morality will never gain ground, and this virtuous equakity will not rest firmly even when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/there-must-be-more-equality-established-in-society-or-morality-will/) [Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/) > [“You can’t fix anything if you won’t even admit something’s wrong.” “It’s tempting to blame ignorance,” said Socrates, “to believe they don’t know any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-sedgwick/you-can-t-fix-anything-if-you-won-t-even-admit-something-s-wrong-it-s/) [Jamie Sedgwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-sedgwick/) > [“Never assume that you know the mind of another.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-jenoff/never-assume-that-you-know-the-mind-of-another/) [Pam Jenoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-jenoff/) > [I assume you know what to do with this. That's why you were hired.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-tinker/i-assume-you-know-what-to-do-with-this-that-s-why-you-were-hired/) [Grant Tinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-tinker/) > [Don’t take the high ground and assume you already know what you’ll do. The truth is, when it comes to someone you love, you’ll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/don-t-take-the-high-ground-and-assume-you-already-know-what-you-ll-do/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [“People do it all the time--assume that they "know" what's going on in someone else's head. That's impossible. And to think it's possible is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-brown/people-do-it-all-the-time-assume-that-they-know-what-s-going-on-in/) [Jennifer Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-brown/) > [Everyone has a story, who am to judge. I dont know you , you dont know me. So its best to ask then assume…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-has-a-story-who-am-to-judge-i-dont-know-you-you-dont-know-me/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“when you are doubt with someone on how they feel don't pretend that you know what they were thinking, never assume yourself as you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jinnul-jr/when-you-are-doubt-with-someone-on-how-they-feel-don-t-pretend-that/) [Jinnul Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jinnul-jr/) > [“Never assume they know what you fear they know.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-bingham/never-assume-they-know-what-you-fear-they-know/) [Harry Bingham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-bingham/) > [Many believe they understand me.The truth is,no one knows who I really am.If you can't read my mind,don't assume you know who I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhishek-tiwari/many-believe-they-understand-me-the-truth-is-no-one-knows-who-i/) [Abhishek Tiwari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhishek-tiwari/) > [“Do not assume to know. You will be surprised to realize you were ignorant all along.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naide-p-obiang/do-not-assume-to-know-you-will-be-surprised-to-realize-you-were/) [Naide P Obiang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naide-p-obiang/) > [Most of what we know or assume to know is wrong one way or another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-adams/most-of-what-we-know-or-assume-to-know-is-wrong-one-way-or-another/) [Neal Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-adams/) > [How ballsy it was to just assume you know, with one glance, the things another person could live without. As if it was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/how-ballsy-it-was-to-just-assume-you-know-with-one-glance-the-things/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) ## More by John Gay > [On the choice of friends, Our good or evil name depends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gay/on-the-choice-of-friends-our-good-or-evil-name-depends/) [John Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gay/) > [What frenzy dictates, jealousy believes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gay/what-frenzy-dictates-jealousy-believes/) [John Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gay/) > [Whence is thy learning? Hath thy toil O'er books consumed the midnight oil?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gay/whence-is-thy-learning-hath-thy-toil-o-er-books-consumed-the-midnight/) [John Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gay/) > [To cheat a man is nothing; but the woman must have fine parts, indeed, who cheats a woman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gay/to-cheat-a-man-is-nothing-but-the-woman-must-have-fine-parts-indeed/) [John Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gay/) > [Follow love and it will flee, flee love and it will follow thee.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gay/follow-love-and-it-will-flee-flee-love-and-it-will-follow-thee/) [John Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gay/) > [Fair is the kingcup that in meadow blows, Fair is the daisy that beside her grows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gay/fair-is-the-kingcup-that-in-meadow-blows-fair-is-the-daisy-that/) [John Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gay/) > ['T is woman that seduces all mankind; By her we first were taught the wheedling arts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gay/t-is-woman-that-seduces-all-mankind-by-her-we-first-were-taught-the/) [John Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gay/) > [Fill it up. I take as large draughts of liquor as I did of love. I hate a flincher in either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gay/fill-it-up-i-take-as-large-draughts-of-liquor-as-i-did-of-love-i-hate/) [John Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gay/) > [A rich rogue nowadays is fit company for any gentleman; and the world, my dear, hath not such a contempt for roguery as you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gay/a-rich-rogue-nowadays-is-fit-company-for-any-gentleman-and-the-world/) [John Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gay/) > [Let firm, well hammer'd soles protect thy feet Through freezing snows, and rains, and soaking sleet; Should the big last extend the shoe too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gay/let-firm-well-hammer-d-soles-protect-thy-feet-through-freezing-snows/) [John Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gay/) > [A Wolf eats sheep but now and then; Ten thousands are devour'd by men. An open foe may prove a curse, but a pretend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gay/a-wolf-eats-sheep-but-now-and-then-ten-thousands-are-devour-d-by-men/) [John Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gay/) > [A man is always afraid of a woman that loves him too much](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gay/a-man-is-always-afraid-of-a-woman-that-loves-him-too-much/) [John Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gay/) > [ \[Gulliver was soon being read\] "from the cabinet council to the nursery". ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gay/gulliver-was-soon-being-read-from-the-cabinet-council-to-the-nursery/) [John Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gay/) > [Sure men were born to lie, and women to believe them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gay/sure-men-were-born-to-lie-and-women-to-believe-them/) [John Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gay/) > [Exercise thy lasting youth defends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gay/exercise-thy-lasting-youth-defends/) [John Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gay/) [Explore all 115 John Gay quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gay/) ## 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": "By ignorance is pride increased; Those most assume who know the least", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Gay" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gay/by-ignorance-is-pride-increased-those-most-assume-who-know-the-least/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ignorance" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gay/by-ignorance-is-pride-increased-those-most-assume-who-know-the-least/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8f/john-gay-4141_ignorance_by-ignorance-is-pride-increased-those-mo_2224341.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8f/john-gay-4141_ignorance_by-ignorance-is-pride-increased-those-mo_2224341.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8f/john-gay-4141_ignorance_by-ignorance-is-pride-increased-those-mo_2224341.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“By ignorance is pride increased; Those most assume who know the least” — John Gay", "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": "John Gay", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gay/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "By ignorance is pride increased; Those...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gay/by-ignorance-is-pride-increased-those-most-assume-who-know-the-least/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gay/by-ignorance-is-pride-increased-those-most-assume-who-know-the-least/#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 } } ] } ```