--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Read it wisely, Little One, for the power…" description: "\"“Read it wisely, Little One, for the power of ignorance is great.”\" — Stephen Fry" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f8/stephen-fry-573_ignorance_read-it-wisely-little-one-for-the-power_715625.png" --- # Read it wisely, Little One, for the power of ignorance is… ![“Read it wisely, Little One, for the power of ignorance is great.” quote by Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f8/stephen-fry-573_ignorance_read-it-wisely-little-one-for-the-power_715625.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f8/stephen-fry-573_ignorance_read-it-wisely-little-one-for-the-power_715625.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f8/stephen-fry-573_ignorance_read-it-wisely-little-one-for-the-power_715625.png) > ““Read it wisely, Little One, for the power of ignorance is great.”” [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Ignorance can be powerful, so seek knowledge and use it wisely. **In simple terms:** Ignorance is powerful; seek knowledge. Key Takeaway Learn and act wisely. Themes knowledge power responsibility Mood thoughtful cautious Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - education - personal growth - decision making Key Concepts critical thinking wisdom Questions to Reflect On - How does knowledge change power dynamics? - When is ignorance beneficial? A Different Perspective Ignorance can also protect innocence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ignorance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) ## Related quotes > [Govern wisely, and as little as possible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-houston/govern-wisely-and-as-little-as-possible/) [Sam Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-houston/) > [“Is knowledge power? Is ignorance bliss?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irene-assiba-d-almeida/is-knowledge-power-is-ignorance-bliss/) Irene Assiba d'Almeida > [Knowledge is power. Ignorance is bliss. Tough choice!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/knowledge-is-power-ignorance-is-bliss-tough-choice/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Evil is not power; it is ignorance and misuse of good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-allen/evil-is-not-power-it-is-ignorance-and-misuse-of-good/) [James Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-allen/) > [It is a common sentence that knowledge is power; but who hath duly considered or set forth the power of ignorance? Knowledge slowly builds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/it-is-a-common-sentence-that-knowledge-is-power-but-who-hath-duly/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Elective ignorance was a great survival skill, perhaps the greatest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/elective-ignorance-was-a-great-survival-skill-perhaps-the-greatest/) [Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) > [“The calculation of ignorance is too great for any calculator, only someone who has experienced bliss and genuine ignorance can determine valid or not,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-ozee/the-calculation-of-ignorance-is-too-great-for-any-calculator-only/) [Aaron Ozee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-ozee/) > [The pleasures of ignorance are as great, in their way, as the pleasures of knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/the-pleasures-of-ignorance-are-as-great-in-their-way-as-the-pleasures/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [My boyhood life in New York City has impressed me with the popular ignorance and also with the great need of something better than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cleveland-abbe/my-boyhood-life-in-new-york-city-has-impressed-me-with-the-popular/) [Cleveland Abbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cleveland-abbe/) > [I never considered I might make a career out of writing as I was going to school, so when I did turn my attentions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-harrison/i-never-considered-i-might-make-a-career-out-of-writing-as-i-was/) [Kim Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-harrison/) > [“And I would sit there, smiling stupidly and realizing they had no idea how rare and lucky they were, and realizing further that this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-currie-jr/and-i-would-sit-there-smiling-stupidly-and-realizing-they-had-no-idea/) [Ron Currie Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-currie-jr/) > [In infamy, it is wisely provided that he who stands highest in the ranks of society has the heaviest load to sustain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-godwin/in-infamy-it-is-wisely-provided-that-he-who-stands-highest-in-the/) [William Godwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-godwin/) > [It is best to love wisely, no doubt; but to love foolishly is better than not to be able to love at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/it-is-best-to-love-wisely-no-doubt-but-to-love-foolishly-is-better/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [“You and I, we don't love too wisely, but too well.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edie-kerouac-parker/you-and-i-we-don-t-love-too-wisely-but-too-well/) Edie Kerouac-Parker > [“...choose your battles wisely and remember, what the heart knows, walks afar from reason. It simply is.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angelo-tsanatelis/choose-your-battles-wisely-and-remember-what-the-heart-knows-walks/) [Angelo Tsanatelis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angelo-tsanatelis/) ## More by Stephen Fry > [“...Catholic versus Protestant, essentially. It's that kind of fight. ... And it goes on to this day. Will we never learn? Who knows? Religion.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/catholic-versus-protestant-essentially-it-s-that-kind-of-fight-and-it/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [How dare you? How dare you create a world in which there is such misery that is not our fault? It's not right, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/how-dare-you-how-dare-you-create-a-world-in-which-there-is-such/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [“Look at the kind of people who most object to the childishness and cheapness of celebrity culture. Does one really want to side with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/look-at-the-kind-of-people-who-most-object-to-the-childishness-and/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [“The object of love should feel honoured or flattered, responsible in some way. Instead he felt insulted, degraded and revolted. More than that, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/the-object-of-love-should-feel-honoured-or-flattered-responsible-in/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [The only people who are obsessed with food are anorexics and the morbidly obese. That, in erotic terms, is the Catholic church, in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/the-only-people-who-are-obsessed-with-food-are-anorexics-and-the/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [To me, reason is as spiritual as anything else, the beauty of reason seems to me indelible and ineffable and numinous... the spirit is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/to-me-reason-is-as-spiritual-as-anything-else-the-beauty-of-reason/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [The stranger might laugh and seem to enjoy the writing, but you hug to yourself the thought that they didn't quite understand its force…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/the-stranger-might-laugh-and-seem-to-enjoy-the-writing-but-you-hug-to/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [“The future is a much bigger deal than the past,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/the-future-is-a-much-bigger-deal-than-the-past/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [I gather a repulsive nobody writing in a paper no one of any decency would be seen dead with has written something loathesome and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/i-gather-a-repulsive-nobody-writing-in-a-paper-no-one-of-any-decency/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [I've never had any illusions about being a lead actor in films, because lead actors have to be of a certain kind. Apart from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/i-ve-never-had-any-illusions-about-being-a-lead-actor-in-films/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [Because, let's face it, I do not get offered the parts that Brad Pitt has just turned down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/because-let-s-face-it-i-do-not-get-offered-the-parts-that-brad-pitt/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [I will defend the absolute value of Mozart over Miley Cyrus, of course I will, but we should be wary of false dichotomies. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/i-will-defend-the-absolute-value-of-mozart-over-miley-cyrus-of-course/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [You can't just say there is a god because the world is beautiful. You have to account for bone cancer in children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/you-can-t-just-say-there-is-a-god-because-the-world-is-beautiful-you/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [If you know someone who's depressed, please resolve never to ask them why. Depression isn't a straightforward response to a bad situation; depression just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/if-you-know-someone-who-s-depressed-please-resolve-never-to-ask-them/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [It's as if scientists exert every effort of will they possess deliberately to find the least significant problems in the world and explain them.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/it-s-as-if-scientists-exert-every-effort-of-will-they-possess/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) [Explore all 466 Stephen Fry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) ## 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": "“Read it wisely, Little One, for the power of ignorance is great.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stephen Fry" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/read-it-wisely-little-one-for-the-power-of-ignorance-is-great/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ignorance" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/read-it-wisely-little-one-for-the-power-of-ignorance-is-great/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f8/stephen-fry-573_ignorance_read-it-wisely-little-one-for-the-power_715625.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f8/stephen-fry-573_ignorance_read-it-wisely-little-one-for-the-power_715625.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f8/stephen-fry-573_ignorance_read-it-wisely-little-one-for-the-power_715625.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Read it wisely, Little One, for the power of ignorance is great.” — Stephen Fry", "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": "Stephen Fry", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Read it wisely, Little One, for...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/read-it-wisely-little-one-for-the-power-of-ignorance-is-great/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/read-it-wisely-little-one-for-the-power-of-ignorance-is-great/#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 } } ] } ```