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Ignorance and error are necessary to life, like bread and water.

— Anatole France

L'ignorance et l'erreur sont nécessaires à la vie comme le pain et l'eau.

Original text (French)

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Notes from Wikiquote

Pierre Nozière (1899), book II: Notes écrites par Pierre Nozière en marge de son gros Plutarque

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Knowledge

More quotes by Anatole France

The gods conform scrupulously to the sentiments of their worshippers: they have reasons for so doing.

The White Stone (1905)

To accomplish great things we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.

Archangel Michael, and you, Powers, Thrones, and Dominations, swear all of you to be faithful to your God.

The Revolt of the Angels (1914)

Innocence most often is a good fortune and not a virtue.

Irony is the gaiety of reflection and the joy of wisdom.

All Anatole France quotes →

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It is not in the books of the Philosophers, but in the religious symbolism of the Ancients, that we must look for the footprints of Science, and re-discover the Mysteries of Knowledge.

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Men are born ignorant, not stupid; they are made stupid by education.

Bertrand Russell

Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Anatole France (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.