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Thomas Hobbes Quotes about Ignorance

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Ignorance of the law is no good excuse, where every man is bound to take notice of the laws to which he is subject.

Ignorance of the law is no good excuse, where every man is bound to take notice of the laws to which he is subject.

Thomas Hobbes
Ignorance, Men, Law
Thomas Hobbes (1750). “The Moral and Political Works To which is Prefixed the Autors Life, Extracted from that Said to be Written by Himself ... Illustr. by the Ed. - London 1750”, p.209

So easy are men to be drawn to believe any thing, from such men as have gotten credit with them; and can with gentleness and dexterity take hold of their fear and ignorance.

Thomas Hobbes
Believe, Ignorance, Men
Thomas Hobbes (1750). “The Moral and Political Works of Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury: Never Before Collected Together : To which is Prefixed, the Author's Life, Extracted from that Said to be Written by Himself, ...”, p.145

The source of every crime, is some defect of the understanding; or some error in reasoning; or some sudden force of the passions. Defect in the understanding is ignorance; in reasoning, erroneous opinion.

Thomas Hobbes
Ignorance, Passion, Errors
Thomas Hobbes (2008). “Leviathan”, p.217, Simon and Schuster

Opinion of ghosts, ignorance of second causes, devotion to what men fear, and talking of things casual for prognostics, consisteth the natural seeds of religion

Thomas Hobbes
Ignorance, Men, Talking

But if one Subject giveth Counsell to another, to do anything contrary to the Lawes, whether that Counsell proceed from evil intention, or from ignorance onely, it is punishable by the Common-wealth; because igorance of the Law, is no good excuse, where every man is bound to take notice of the Lawes to which he is subject.

Thomas Hobbes
Ignorance, Men, Law
"Leviathan". Book by Thomas Hobbes. The Second Part, Chapter 25, 1651.

When it happeneth that a man signifieth unto us two contradictory opinions whereof the one is clearly and directly signified, andthe other either drawn from that by consequence, or not known to be contradictory to it; then (when he is not present to explicate himself better) we are to take the former of his opinions; for that is clearly signified to be his, and directly, whereas the other might proceed from error in the deduction, or ignorance of the repugnancy.

Thomas Hobbes
Ignorance, Men, Errors
Thomas Hobbes, John Charles Addison Gaskin (1999). “The Elements of Law, Natural and Politic: Part I, Human Nature, Part II, De Corpore Politico ; with Three Lives”, p.77, Oxford University Press, USA

And in these four things, opinion of ghosts , ignorance of second causes, devotion towards what men fear , and taking of things casual for prognostics , consisteth the natural seed of religion ; which by reason of the different fancies, judgments and passions of several men, has grown up into ceremonies so different, that those which are used by one man, are for the most part ridiculous to another.

Thomas Hobbes
Ignorance, Passion, Men
Thomas Hobbes (2008). “Leviathan”, p.90, Simon and Schuster

The Enemy has been here in the night of our natural ignorance, and sown the tares of spiritual errors.

Thomas Hobbes
Spiritual, Ignorance, Night
1651 Leviathan, pt.4, ch.44.

But they that hold God to be [an incorporeal substance]do absolutely make God to be nothing at all. But how? Were they atheists? No. For though by ignorance of the consequence they said that which was equivalent to atheism, yet in their hearts they thought God a substanceSo that this atheism by consequence is a very easy thing to be fallen into, even by the most godly men of the church.

Thomas Hobbes
Atheist, Heart, Ignorance

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