Full Idea
Scholars are usually ingenious enough to find ways of spreading darkness even in things which are obvious by themselves, and which the peasants are not ignorant of.
Gist of Idea
Clever scholars can obscure things which are obvious even to peasants
Source
René Descartes (Rules for the Direction of the Mind [1628], 12)
Book Reference
Descartes,René: 'Rules for the Direction of the Mind' [Newcomb Library 2023], p.42
A Reaction
Wonderful! I see it everywhere in philosophy. It is usually the result of finding ingenious and surprising grounds for scepticism. The amazing thing is not their lovely arguments, but that fools then take their conclusions seriously. Modus tollens.