Why do we say "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing"?

Well-Known Expressions

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing

Meaning:

Incomplete knowledge of a subject can be more dangerous than no knowledge.

Background:

Way back in the first century B.C. Publilius Syrus wrote, "Better be ignorant of a matter than half know it." Publilius, a Syrian (Aramean), was brought to Italy as a slave, but won the favor of his master who both freed and educated him.

It took a further eighteen centuries before Alexander Pope (1688-1744) coined the proverb that is close to what we use today: "a little learning is a dang'rous thing" in his 1711 poem, An Essay on Criticism. This same work is also the earliest known source of other popular expressions including: “To err is human; to forgive, divine” and “For fools rush in where angels fear to tread.”)

More expressions and their source

Challenge yourself with BookBrowse Wordplays

BookBrowse Book Club

Book Jacket
Before Dorothy
by Hazel Gaynor
Before Oz, Aunt Em leaves Chicago for Kansas in a powerful tale of courage, change, and new beginnings by Hazel Gaynor.

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket

    The Whyte Python World Tour
    by Travis Kennedy

    Rikki Thunder, drummer for '80s metal band Whyte Python, is on the verge of fame, love—and a spy mission he didn’t expect.

  • Book Jacket

    The Original
    by Nell Stevens

    In a grand English country house in 1899, an aspiring art forger must unravel whether the man claiming to be her long-lost cousin is an impostor.

  • Book Jacket

    Angelica
    by Molly Beer

    A women-centric view of revolution through the life of Angelica Schuyler Church, Alexander Hamilton's influential sister-in-law.

Who Said...

Dictators ride to and fro on tigers from which they dare not dismount. And the tigers are getting hungry.

Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

E H L the B

and be entered to win..

Your guide toexceptional          books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.