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"I cannot allow your ignorance, however great, to take precedence over my knowledge, however small."

— Misquotations

January 1, 1970

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Added on April 10, 2026

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Original Language: English

Sources

Versions of this are attributed to William James. A version of this was apparently spoken by Leonard Bacon, although the earliest known source is from 1898, seven years after Bacon's death, and there is significant variation between the wording of these and other early sources. Bacon's great-grandson confirms a version of this quotation in his own autobiography. The misattribution to James might originate, ironically, from the 1994 book Telling the Truth about History by Joyce Appleby, Lynn Hunt

https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Misquotations

Versions of this are attributed to William James. A version of this was apparently spoken by Leonard Bacon, although the earliest known source is from 1898, seven years after Bacon's death, and there is significant variation between the wording of these and other early sources. Bacon's great-grandson confirms a version of this quotation in his own autobiography. The misattribution to James might originate, ironically, from the 1994 book Telling the Truth about History by Joyce Appleby, Lynn Hunt