It is as good to be in the dark as without light.
Meaning: Darkness without awareness of it equals blindness; ignorance becomes comfortable when unexamined.
Origin: Recorded in A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases, an undated collection published in London by Whittaker & Co. around 1880 and credited to Thomas Preston. Its earlier history hasn't been traced.
More proverbs about Morality
- A dark man's a jewel in a fair woman's eye. — Beauty standards flip based on contrast; what seems ordinary gains value through its rari…
- Debt is the worst kind of poverty. — Owing money enslaves you to creditors more severely than lacking wealth alone ever could.
- A good dog deserves a good bone. — Faithful service and loyalty merit worthy rewards and recognition.
- It's a bad dog that deserves not a crust. — Even those with flaws deserve basic sustenance and kindness rather than complete abandonm…
- Better an empty house than a bad tenant. — An absent home causes less damage than one inhabited by someone destructive or unreliable.
- Enough is as good as a feast. — Contentment with sufficiency brings the same satisfaction as abundance without the excess.
From our idioms
- have someone's guts for garters — To punish someone severely, especially with angry or violent reprimand.
- spin one's wheels — To work hard without making any real progress toward a goal.
- Lord willing and the creek don't rise — Used to express contingency on circumstances beyond one's control, especially minor natur…