...would we have truly advanced as much as we have? Sure, the European Middle Ages had their down side, but eventually new cultures and societies emerged that surpassed the Empire in many ways. Most Romans, with a few notable exceptions, were not big on science much outside of engineering.

Governments do not want the people to have too much knowledge, or then they would not want to be led. But a world full of mostly ignorant people is far more dangerous in the end.

"Widespread intellectual and moral docility may be convenient for leaders in the short term, but it is suicidal for nations in the long term.

"One of the criteria for national leadership should therefore be a talent for understanding, encouraging, and making constructive use of vigorous criticism."

- Carl Sagan, Chapter 14, "The Common Enemy"

Billions and Billions: Thoughts of Life and Death at the Brink of the Millenium (1997)

http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Carl_Sagan