A little knowledge is a dangerous thing

The Pierian spring in quot. 1711 refers to the classical tradition that the Muses were born in the Pieria region of northern Greece. The original learning is also used instead of knowledge.

A little Learning is a dang'rous Thing; Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian Spring.
[1711 Pope Essay on Criticism l. 215]

The sensible idea, that ‘A little learning is a dangerous thing!’
[1829 P. Egan Boxiana 2nd Ser. II. 4]

If a little knowledge is dangerous, where is the man who has so much as to be out of danger?
[1881 T. H. Huxley Science & Culture iv.]

His had been an intellectual decision founded on his conviction that if a little knowledge was a dangerous thing, a lot was lethal.
[1974 T. Sharpe Porterhouse Blue xviii.]

If a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, then extensive-but-incomplete knowledge is a constant torment.
[2002 Washington Post 14 Jan. D9]

Related to: ignorance; learning

Bibliography of major proverb collections and works cited from modern editions is available here.

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Also, a little learning is a dangerous thing. Knowing a little about something tempts one to overestimate one's abilities. For example, I know you've assembled furniture, but that doesn't mean you can build an entire wall system; remember, a little knowledge. This maxim, originally a line from Alexander Pope's An Essay on Criticism (1709), has been repeated with slight variations ever since. It is still heard, although less frequently, and sometimes shortened, as in the example.