--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The truth is perilous never to the true…" description: "\"The truth is perilous never to the true, Nor knowledge to the wise; and to the fool, And to the false, error and truth alike, Error is worse than ignor..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/689/philip-james-bailey-2904_errors_the-truth-is-perilous-never-to-the-true_825012.jpg" --- # The truth is perilous never to the true, Nor knowledge to… ![“The truth is perilous never to the true, Nor knowledge to the wise; and to the fool, And to the false, error and truth alike, Error is worse than ignorance.” quote by Philip James Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/689/philip-james-bailey-2904_errors_the-truth-is-perilous-never-to-the-true_825012.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/689/philip-james-bailey-2904_errors_the-truth-is-perilous-never-to-the-true_825012.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/689/philip-james-bailey-2904_errors_the-truth-is-perilous-never-to-the-true_825012.jpg) > “The truth is perilous never to the true, Nor knowledge to the wise; and to the fool, And to the false, error and truth alike, Error is worse than ignorance.” [Philip James Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-james-bailey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True knowledge can be dangerous for the honest, while the wise may be harmed by knowledge; fools suffer from both falsehood and truth, and error is more harmful than ignorance. **In simple terms:** Truth can harm the honest; error harms more than ignorance. Key Takeaway Beware of error and its impact. Themes truth knowledge error wisdom foolishness Mood cautious reflective Type philosophical advisory When to use this quote - political decision - personal decision - education - media consumption Key Concepts philosophy ethics epistemology Questions to Reflect On - How do you differentiate error from ignorance? - When might truth be perilous? A Different Perspective Error may be less obvious than ignorance, making it harder to detect and correct. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fool/) [Ignorance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wise/) ## Related quotes > [Error is worse than ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-james-bailey/error-is-worse-than-ignorance/) [Philip James Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-james-bailey/) > [It is easier to perceive error than to find truth, for the former lies on the surface and is easily seen, while the latter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/it-is-easier-to-perceive-error-than-to-find-truth-for-the-former-lies/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [It is not to everyone's taste that truth should be pronounced pleasant. But at least let no one believe that error becomes truth when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/it-is-not-to-everyone-s-taste-that-truth-should-be-pronounced/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Quite often, as life goes on, when we feel completely secure as we go on our way, we suddenly notice that we are trapped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/quite-often-as-life-goes-on-when-we-feel-completely-secure-as-we-go/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [The greatest kindness one can render to any man consists in leading him from error to truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-aquinas/the-greatest-kindness-one-can-render-to-any-man-consists-in-leading/) [Thomas Aquinas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-aquinas/) > [We do not progress from error to truth, but from truth to truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/we-do-not-progress-from-error-to-truth-but-from-truth-to-truth/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [Half-knowledge is worse than ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/half-knowledge-is-worse-than-ignorance/) [Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) > [Knowledge that takes you, not beyond yourself is far worse than ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-safak/knowledge-that-takes-you-not-beyond-yourself-is-far-worse-than/) [Elif Safak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-safak/) > [“Shallow intellect is worse than ignorance. 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Truth heals any pain it may inflict on us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/i-prefer-an-injurious-truth-to-a-useful-error-truth-heals-any-pain-it/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [It is much easier to meet with error than to find truth; error is on the surface, and can be more easily met with;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/it-is-much-easier-to-meet-with-error-than-to-find-truth-error-is-on/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) ## More by Philip James Bailey > [The strongest passion which I have is honor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-james-bailey/the-strongest-passion-which-i-have-is-honor/) [Philip James Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-james-bailey/) > [When pride thaws, look for floods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-james-bailey/when-pride-thaws-look-for-floods/) [Philip James Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-james-bailey/) > [Thou art a woman, And that is saying the best and worst of thee.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-james-bailey/thou-art-a-woman-and-that-is-saying-the-best-and-worst-of-thee/) [Philip James Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-james-bailey/) > [The death-change comes. Death is another life. 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