Where ignorance is bliss, ’tis folly to be wise.—Gray: Ode to Eton.
A little learning is a dangerous thing;
Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring.—Pope: On Criticism.
A little philosophy inclineth man’s mind to atheism, but depth in philosophy bringeth men’s minds about to religion.—Bacon: On Atheism.
In Paradise Lost, Book V. 601, we find the expression—
Thrones, dominations, princedoms, virtues, powers;
and in Book I. 261, this powerful passage put in the mouth of Satan:—
Here we may reign secure, and in my choice