Cautionary Quotes
A little learning is a dangerous thing; Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring.
"A little learning is a dangerous thing; Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring."— Alexander Pope
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Meaning of this quote
Limited knowledge can create confidence that deeper study would temper.
Key takeaway:
Study beyond an appealing first impression.
Origin of the quote
The Complete Poetical Works of Alexander Pope — PDF page 107.
Who actually said this?
VerifiedExact wording matched in the consulted text; case, punctuation, spacing and typographic differences were normalized. Read the poem’s speaker and satire in context. Deduplication: a shorter or closely overlapping variant was removed. Deduplication: a shorter or closely overlapping variant was removed.



























