Where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise.若说无知便是福,那么有知反为愚。
此句的Where也可以改为When或If。有时可以变为另一句:Ignorance is bliss.(无知是福)。
此谚语来自十八世纪英国诗人Thomas Gray的诗“Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College”。诗人看到一群青年学生无忧无虑,毫不担心以后命运,于是作诗慨叹:
Yet, ah!why should they know their fate,
Since sorrow never comes too late,
And happiness too swiftly flies?
Thought would destroy their paradise!
No more; where ignorance is bliss,
'Tis folly to be wise.
意思相近的还有一句:
What the eye doesn't see the heart doesn't grieve over.
眼不见,心不愁。(俗语谓“眼不见为净”)
清代文学家、书画家郑板桥碰到当时不合理的一些社会现象,心中觉得无奈,就有“难得糊涂”这名言,基本上也是本谚语的意思。