--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Herein is the evil of ignorance, that he…" description: "\"Herein is the evil of ignorance, that he who is neither good nor wise is nevertheless satisfied with himself: he had no desire for that of which he fee..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ec/plato-103_desire_herein-is-the-evil-of-ignorance-that-he_3128470.jpg" --- # Herein is the evil of ignorance, that he who is neither… ![“Herein is the evil of ignorance, that he who is neither good nor wise is nevertheless satisfied with himself: he had no desire for that of which he feels no want.” quote by Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ec/plato-103_desire_herein-is-the-evil-of-ignorance-that-he_3128470.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ec/plato-103_desire_herein-is-the-evil-of-ignorance-that-he_3128470.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ec/plato-103_desire_herein-is-the-evil-of-ignorance-that-he_3128470.jpg) > “Herein is the evil of ignorance, that he who is neither good nor wise is nevertheless satisfied with himself: he had no desire for that of which he feels no want.” [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. Ignorance is evil when one is content with it, lacking desire for true knowledge. **In simple terms:** Being content with ignorance is harmful. Key Takeaway Seek knowledge, question complacency. Themes ignorance wisdom self‑awareness Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - education - personal development - leadership - policy making Key Concepts philosophy epistemology ethics Questions to Reflect On - What drives you to pursue knowledge? - How can society encourage curiosity? A Different Perspective Some may resist learning despite benefits. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Ignorance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance/) [Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wise/) ## Related quotes > [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/) > [If you make love with the divine now, in the next lifeyou will have the face of satisfied desire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kabir/if-you-make-love-with-the-divine-now-in-the-next-lifeyou-will-have/) [Kabir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kabir/) > [To be excited and at the same time satisfied; to desire and possess -that has been described somewhere as the wise man's idea of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alec-waugh/to-be-excited-and-at-the-same-time-satisfied-to-desire-and-possess/) [Alec Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alec-waugh/) > [Memory is satisfied desire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-fuentes/memory-is-satisfied-desire/) [Carlos Fuentes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-fuentes/) > [“But there was nothing except this languid contentment of satisfied desire, as if the rules had changed or the world wasn't the same anymore.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-b-gordon/but-there-was-nothing-except-this-languid-contentment-of-satisfied/) [G.B. Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-b-gordon/) > [Shall ignorance of good and ill Dare to direct the eternal will? Seek virtue, and of that possest, To Providence resign the rest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gay/shall-ignorance-of-good-and-ill-dare-to-direct-the-eternal-will-seek/) [John Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gay/) > [“The evil that is in the world always comes of ignorance, and good intentions may do as much harm as malevolence, if they lack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-evil-that-is-in-the-world-always-comes-of-ignorance-and-good-3/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [There is a danger, increasingly, that we're in a post-fact society where it seems my ignorance is as good as your facts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-sagan/there-is-a-danger-increasingly-that-we-re-in-a-post-fact-society/) [Nick Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-sagan/) > [“The evil that is in the world always comes of ignorance, and good intentions may do as much harm as malevolence, if they lack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-evil-that-is-in-the-world-always-comes-of-ignorance-and-good-2/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Through ignorance of what is good and what is bad, the life of men is greatly perplexed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/through-ignorance-of-what-is-good-and-what-is-bad-the-life-of-men-is/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [“What good are laws that cannot be read or understood, or a tongue that spews only hatred or ignorance? What good is the written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/delores-phillips/what-good-are-laws-that-cannot-be-read-or-understood-or-a-tongue-that/) [Delores Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/delores-phillips/) > [“The evil that is in the world comes out of ignorance, and good intentions may do as much harm as malevolence, if they lack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-evil-that-is-in-the-world-comes-out-of-ignorance-and-good/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [The evil that is in the world always comes of ignorance, and good intentions may do as much harm as malevolence, if they lack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-evil-that-is-in-the-world-always-comes-of-ignorance-and-good/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Evil (ignorance) is like a shadow-- it has no real substance of its own, it is simply a lack of light. You cannot cause…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakti-gawain/evil-ignorance-is-like-a-shadow-it-has-no-real-substance-of-its-own/) [Shakti Gawain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakti-gawain/) > [In many cases, ignorance is a good thing : the mind retains its freedom of investigation and does not stray along roads that lead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-henri-fabre/in-many-cases-ignorance-is-a-good-thing-the-mind-retains-its-freedom/) [Jean-Henri Fabre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-henri-fabre/) ## 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 Desire quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) Ted Martinez > [Passion is what you need to be good, an unforgiving passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-easton/passion-is-what-you-need-to-be-good-an-unforgiving-passion/) [David Easton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-easton/) > [I want the municipality to be a helping hand to the man with a desire of sympathy, to help the fallen when it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burns/i-want-the-municipality-to-be-a-helping-hand-to-the-man-with-a-desire/) [John Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burns/) > [Ye youths and virgins, when your generous blood Has drunk the warmth of fifteen summers, now The loves invite; now to new rapture wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/ye-youths-and-virgins-when-your-generous-blood-has-drunk-the-warmth/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [“THE ESSENCE OF YOUR DESIRE IS A FEELING”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-laporte/the-essence-of-your-desire-is-a-feeling/) [Danielle LaPorte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-laporte/) > [On the brink of being satiated, desire still appears infinite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rostand/on-the-brink-of-being-satiated-desire-still-appears-infinite/) [Jean Rostand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rostand/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [He caught her, she fell, he caught her in his arms, he held her tightly unconscious of what he was doing. He held her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-caught-her-she-fell-he-caught-her-in-his-arms-he-held-her-tightly/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three \[great teachers\] did not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-the-arts-since-the-medium-is/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“The deepest urge in human nature is the desire to be important.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-deepest-urge-in-human-nature-is-the-desire-to-be-important/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [In discovering books, you became free to explore the full range of human motives, desires, secrets, and lies. All my life, people have scolded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/in-discovering-books-you-became-free-to-explore-the-full-range-of/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) > [I have never been in, nor have I had any strong particular desire to be in, what is termed a costume drama, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-freeman/i-have-never-been-in-nor-have-i-had-any-strong-particular-desire-to/) [Martin Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-freeman/) > [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“from THE DEVIL YOU KNOW : She wanted him too. He could see it in the rapid rise of her breasts. He could smell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emery-lee/from-the-devil-you-know-she-wanted-him-too-he-could-see-it-in-the/) [Emery Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emery-lee/) [Browse all 15,155 Desire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Herein is the evil of ignorance, that he who is neither good nor wise is nevertheless satisfied with himself: he had no desire for that of which he feels no want.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Plato" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/herein-is-the-evil-of-ignorance-that-he-who-is-neither-good-nor-wise/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Desire" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/herein-is-the-evil-of-ignorance-that-he-who-is-neither-good-nor-wise/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ec/plato-103_desire_herein-is-the-evil-of-ignorance-that-he_3128470.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ec/plato-103_desire_herein-is-the-evil-of-ignorance-that-he_3128470.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ec/plato-103_desire_herein-is-the-evil-of-ignorance-that-he_3128470.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Herein is the evil of ignorance, that he who is neither good nor wise is nevertheless satisfied with…” — 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": "Herein is the evil of ignorance,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/herein-is-the-evil-of-ignorance-that-he-who-is-neither-good-nor-wise/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/herein-is-the-evil-of-ignorance-that-he-who-is-neither-good-nor-wise/#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 } } ] } ```