A LITTLE LEARNING IS A DANGEROUS THING
This oft-quoted proverbial line of Alexander Pope is spoken against less informed persons and quacks of all the professions and trades. Pope composed this line to lash out at those critics who tried to evaluate a work of art or a literary piece without sufficient knowledge of the subject. He stressed that learning which is incomplete always breeds danger.
Those who are misinformed and are not aware of their frailty, are always a source of laughing stock and a butt of satire. They start and parade their little knowledge and thus make themselves ridiculous. They do much harm to themselves and often mislead others. The field of knowledge is so vast that none can measure it. In the vast ocean of learning the erudites seem together pebbles on its shore.
It is, therefore, impossible for a person to have complete knowledge. However, one can cultivate sound and sufficient knowledge in a branch of study and thus one can do one's work fairly and fearlessly. Those are wise enough who are conscious of their weakness and limitation. They know that learning is like a distant star which allures them but is beyond their reach. Even then they make efforts and melt like a taper in pursuit of
knowledge and, more or less, they have their share of ownership. They are humble and are always ready to learn. They know that in their short span of life they can acquire only a small fraction of erudition. Obviously, immature and inadequate learning is dangerous for persons who have it and for them also who are victims of this little learning.
In many cases, the fool and the less learned people become proud and pretentious. Due to their limited knowledge, they do great harm to others. For instance, if a doctor is half-learned, he will be more qualified to kill patients than to cure them. The case of a pilot is also very miserable. Only a fault of his will lead hundreds of people to death - bed.
A driver who is a novice will hurt himself as well as other innocent dwellers. Teachers also are not an exception. With their little learning, they do great harm to students and often misguide them. Summing up, we can clearly say that learning is a dangerous thing from every point of view.
Related Information:
- Plot construction of 'She Stoops to Conquer'
- English Comedy before Goldsmith
- Sentimental Comedy: Reaction of Goldsmith against it
- Character and role of Miss Neville
- Discuss She Stoops to Conquer as a Sentimental Comedy
- Discuss Goldsmith's View of Sentimental Comedy
- Give an estimate of Goldsmith as a dramatist
- Contribution of Goldsmith as a Dramatist
- Oliver Goldsmith: Social and Political setting
- Life and works of Oliver Goldsmith
