--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Entire ignorance is not so terrible or…" description: "\"Entire ignorance is not so terrible or extreme an evil, and is far from being the greatest of all; too much cleverness and too much learning, accompani..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/540/plato-103_cleverness_entire-ignorance-is-not-so-terrible-or-e_1283435.jpg" --- # Entire ignorance is not so terrible or extreme an evil… ![“Entire ignorance is not so terrible or extreme an evil, and is far from being the greatest of all; too much cleverness and too much learning, accompanied with ill bringing-up, are far more fatal.” quote by Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/540/plato-103_cleverness_entire-ignorance-is-not-so-terrible-or-e_1283435.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/540/plato-103_cleverness_entire-ignorance-is-not-so-terrible-or-e_1283435.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/540/plato-103_cleverness_entire-ignorance-is-not-so-terrible-or-e_1283435.jpg) > “Entire ignorance is not so terrible or extreme an evil, and is far from being the greatest of all; too much cleverness and too much learning, accompanied with ill bringing-up, are far more fatal.” [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Excessive knowledge without virtue is more harmful than ignorance. **In simple terms:** Too much cleverness without morals is dangerous. Key Takeaway Cultivate virtue alongside learning. Themes knowledge virtue danger Mood reflective serious Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - teaching - self‑development - leadership training Key Concepts intellectual humility moral education balance Questions to Reflect On - What virtues balance intellect? - How can education foster humility? A Different Perspective May undervalue practical wisdom. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cleverness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cleverness/) [Entire Ignorance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/entire-ignorance-1047383/) [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Extreme Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extreme-evil-1047385/) [Far Fatal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/far-fatal-4155704/) [Ignorance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance/) [Ignorance Terrible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance-terrible-1047384/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) ## Related quotes > [Entire ignorance is not so terrible or extreme an evil, and is far from being the greatest of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/entire-ignorance-is-not-so-terrible-or-extreme-an-evil-and-is-far-2/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [It is thus that we walk through the world like the blind, not knowing whither we are going, regarding as bad what is good,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-de-rabutin-chantal-marquise-de-sevigne/it-is-thus-that-we-walk-through-the-world-like-the-blind-not-knowing/) [Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, marquise de Sevigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-de-rabutin-chantal-marquise-de-sevigne/) > [It is extreme evil to depart from the company of the living before you die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-extreme-evil-to-depart-from-the-company-of-the-living-before/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Extreme good, extreme evil: the abilities required are similar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/extreme-good-extreme-evil-the-abilities-required-are-similar/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [I think it is no exaggeration to say we are on the cusp of the further perfection of extreme evil, an evil whose possibility…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-joy/i-think-it-is-no-exaggeration-to-say-we-are-on-the-cusp-of-the/) [Bill Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-joy/) > [Ignorance of all things is an evil neither terrible nor excessive, nor yet the greatest of all; but great cleverness and much learning, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/ignorance-of-all-things-is-an-evil-neither-terrible-nor-excessive-nor/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [“I don't know." That was typical Sajaki; like all the genuinely clever people Sylveste had met he knew better than to feign understanding where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alastair-reynolds/i-don-t-know-that-was-typical-sajaki-like-all-the-genuinely-clever/) [Alastair Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alastair-reynolds/) > [Neither do the ignorant love wisdom or desire to become wise; for this is the grievous thing about ignorance, that those who are neither…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/neither-do-the-ignorant-love-wisdom-or-desire-to-become-wise-for-this/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Let no-one ignorant of geometry enter. Said to have been inscribed above the door of Plato's Academy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/let-no-one-ignorant-of-geometry-enter-said-to-have-been-inscribed/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Limits have to be set on how far one can simply use the... cleverness that we have to make changes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-kass/limits-have-to-be-set-on-how-far-one-can-simply-use-the-cleverness/) [Leon Kass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-kass/) > [Ultimately, of course, you must decide for yourself whether the subjective psychological effects created by your evolved cognitive biases reflect an objective reality, perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-bering/ultimately-of-course-you-must-decide-for-yourself-whether-the/) [Jesse Bering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-bering/) > [A fool is a person who guesses and gets it wrong, a clever man is one who guesses, regardless of time period, and gets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/a-fool-is-a-person-who-guesses-and-gets-it-wrong-a-clever-man-is-one/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [If we fail to appreciate the soul that Easternism gives us, then what we have is a disconnected, Greco-Roman, Western, egocentric, compartmentalized, reductionist, fragmented,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-salatin/if-we-fail-to-appreciate-the-soul-that-easternism-gives-us-then-what/) [Joel Salatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-salatin/) > [“Passion often makes a madman of the cleverest man, and renders the greatest fools clever.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/passion-often-makes-a-madman-of-the-cleverest-man-and-renders-the/) [François de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [“Rumi observed, “Sell your cleverness and purchase bewilderment.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-w-dyer/rumi-observed-sell-your-cleverness-and-purchase-bewilderment/) [Wayne W. Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-w-dyer/) ## More by Plato > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [You may be sure, dear Crito, that inaccurate language is not only in itself a mistake: it implants evil in men's souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/you-may-be-sure-dear-crito-that-inaccurate-language-is-not-only-in/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [“If men learn this, it will implant forgetfulness in their souls; they will cease to exercise memory because they rely on that which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/if-men-learn-this-it-will-implant-forgetfulness-in-their-souls-they/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Knowledge which is acquired under compulsion obtains no hold on the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/knowledge-which-is-acquired-under-compulsion-obtains-no-hold-on-the/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [I do not think it is permitted that a better man be harmed by a worse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/i-do-not-think-it-is-permitted-that-a-better-man-be-harmed-by-a-worse/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Any city, however small, is in fact divided into two, one the city of the poor, the other of the rich; these are at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/any-city-however-small-is-in-fact-divided-into-two-one-the-city-of/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [When men speak ill of thee, live so as nobody may believe them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/when-men-speak-ill-of-thee-live-so-as-nobody-may-believe-them/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [“The love of man to woman is a thing common and of course, and at first partakes more of instinct and passion than of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/the-love-of-man-to-woman-is-a-thing-common-and-of-course-and-at-first/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Strange times are these in which we live when old and young are taught in falsehood's school, and the one man that dares to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/strange-times-are-these-in-which-we-live-when-old-and-young-are/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [“He was a wise man who invented God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/he-was-a-wise-man-who-invented-god/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [For let me tell you, that the more the pleasures of the body fade away, the greater to me is the pleasure and charm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/for-let-me-tell-you-that-the-more-the-pleasures-of-the-body-fade-away/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [“What shall we say about those spectators, then, who can see a plurality of beautiful things, but not beauty itself, and who are incapable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/what-shall-we-say-about-those-spectators-then-who-can-see-a-plurality/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Geometry existed before creation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/geometry-existed-before-creation/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [When men speak ill of thee, live so that nobody will believe them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/when-men-speak-ill-of-thee-live-so-that-nobody-will-believe-them/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [We must, if we are to be consistent, and if we re to have a real pedigree herd, mate the best of our men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/we-must-if-we-are-to-be-consistent-and-if-we-re-to-have-a-real/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) [Explore all 1,278 Plato quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) ## More Cleverness quotes > [“Rumi observed, “Sell your cleverness and purchase bewilderment.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-w-dyer/rumi-observed-sell-your-cleverness-and-purchase-bewilderment/) [Wayne W. Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-w-dyer/) > [“Passion often makes a madman of the cleverest man, and renders the greatest fools clever.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/passion-often-makes-a-madman-of-the-cleverest-man-and-renders-the/) [François de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [If we fail to appreciate the soul that Easternism gives us, then what we have is a disconnected, Greco-Roman, Western, egocentric, compartmentalized, reductionist, fragmented,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-salatin/if-we-fail-to-appreciate-the-soul-that-easternism-gives-us-then-what/) [Joel Salatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-salatin/) > [A fool is a person who guesses and gets it wrong, a clever man is one who guesses, regardless of time period, and gets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/a-fool-is-a-person-who-guesses-and-gets-it-wrong-a-clever-man-is-one/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Ultimately, of course, you must decide for yourself whether the subjective psychological effects created by your evolved cognitive biases reflect an objective reality, perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-bering/ultimately-of-course-you-must-decide-for-yourself-whether-the/) [Jesse Bering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-bering/) > [Limits have to be set on how far one can simply use the... cleverness that we have to make changes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-kass/limits-have-to-be-set-on-how-far-one-can-simply-use-the-cleverness/) [Leon Kass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-kass/) > [Sometimes people try way too hard to sound clever on Facebook.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-people-try-way-too-hard-to-sound-clever-on-facebook/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Many of the greatest men have owed their success to industry rather than to cleverness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lubbock/many-of-the-greatest-men-have-owed-their-success-to-industry-rather/) [John Lubbock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lubbock/) > [What a curious picture it is to find man, homo sapiens, of divine origin, we are told, seriously considering going underground to escape the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-william-fulbright/what-a-curious-picture-it-is-to-find-man-homo-sapiens-of-divine/) [J. William Fulbright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-william-fulbright/) > [“Neither the Russians nor the Americans were the cleverest people, or the most experienced, in the world that followed 1945. The French were rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-r-fehrenbach-2/neither-the-russians-nor-the-americans-were-the-cleverest-people-or/) [T.R. Fehrenbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-r-fehrenbach-2/) > [Where there is simplicity, there are a hundred Angels, but where there is cleverness - there are none.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-of-optina/where-there-is-simplicity-there-are-a-hundred-angels-but-where-there/) [Ambrose of Optina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-of-optina/) > [Human integrity is determined by the heart, not by cleverness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senora-roy/human-integrity-is-determined-by-the-heart-not-by-cleverness/) [Senora Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/senora-roy/) > [In late modernity we grow more and more accustomed to politicians and public figures who are indebted to their appetites for their "values," to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-smith/in-late-modernity-we-grow-more-and-more-accustomed-to-politicians-and/) [Kenny Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-smith/) > [The art of investment has one characteristic that is not generally appreciated. A creditable, if unspectacular, result can be achieved by the lay investor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-art-of-investment-has-one-characteristic-that-is-not-generally/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) > [Books are in no hurry. An act of creation is in no hurry; it reads us, it privileges us infinitely. The notion that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-steiner/books-are-in-no-hurry-an-act-of-creation-is-in-no-hurry-it-reads-us/) [George Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-steiner/) [Browse all 406 Cleverness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cleverness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Entire ignorance is not so terrible or extreme an evil, and is far from being the greatest of all; too much cleverness and too much learning, accompanied with ill bringing-up, are far more fatal.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Plato" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/entire-ignorance-is-not-so-terrible-or-extreme-an-evil-and-is-far/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cleverness" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/entire-ignorance-is-not-so-terrible-or-extreme-an-evil-and-is-far/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/540/plato-103_cleverness_entire-ignorance-is-not-so-terrible-or-e_1283435.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/540/plato-103_cleverness_entire-ignorance-is-not-so-terrible-or-e_1283435.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/540/plato-103_cleverness_entire-ignorance-is-not-so-terrible-or-e_1283435.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Entire ignorance is not so terrible or extreme an evil, and is far from being the greatest of all; too much…” — Plato", "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": "Plato", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Entire ignorance is not so terrible...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/entire-ignorance-is-not-so-terrible-or-extreme-an-evil-and-is-far/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/entire-ignorance-is-not-so-terrible-or-extreme-an-evil-and-is-far/#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 } } ] } ```