“It is unsafe to take your reader for more of a fool than he is.”
W. Somerset Maugham book Ten Novels and Their Authors
Ten Novels and Their Authors (1954)
“To a Father,” letter 5.
Advice to Young Men (1829)
“It is unsafe to take your reader for more of a fool than he is.”
W. Somerset Maugham book Ten Novels and Their Authors
Ten Novels and Their Authors (1954)
Richard Crashaw (1612–1649) British writer
Epitaph upon Mr. Ashton, reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919).
Sheri S. Tepper (1929–2016) American fiction writer
Guardian Camwar, in Ch. 4 : the cooper<!-- p. 42 -->
Source: The Visitor (2002)
Context: You asked for wisdom? Hear these words. Nothing limits intelligence more than ignorance; nothing fosters ignorance more than one's own opinions; nothing strengthens opinions more than refusing to look at reality.
“No tool is more beneficial than intelligence. No enemy is more harmful than ignorance.”
Al-Shaykh Al-Mufid (948–1022) scholar
http://encarta.msn.com/quote_561557126/Intelligence_No_tool_is_more_beneficial_than.html
The Book of Guidance into the Lives of the Twelve Imams, 1981, "The Life of the Commander of the Faithful" (I. K. A. Howard (tr.)).
Ken MacLeod book Learning the World
Source: Learning the World (2005), Chapter 21 “But The Sky, My Lady! The Sky!” (p. 358)
Gene Wolfe (1931–2019) American science fiction and fantasy writer
Endangered Species (1989), Introduction
Nonfiction
“To be truly ignorant, be content with your own knowledge.”
Zhuangzi (-369–-286 BC) classic Chinese philosopher