--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When men are most sure and arrogant they…" description: "\"When men are most sure and arrogant they are commonly most mistaken.\" — David Hume" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af2/david-hume-538_arrogance_when-men-are-most-sure-and-arrogant-they_2300563.jpg" --- # When men are most sure and arrogant they are commonly most… ![“When men are most sure and arrogant they are commonly most mistaken.” quote by David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af2/david-hume-538_arrogance_when-men-are-most-sure-and-arrogant-they_2300563.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af2/david-hume-538_arrogance_when-men-are-most-sure-and-arrogant-they_2300563.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af2/david-hume-538_arrogance_when-men-are-most-sure-and-arrogant-they_2300563.jpg) > “When men are most sure and arrogant they are commonly most mistaken.” [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Overconfidence often masks error; arrogance can blind judgment. **In simple terms:** Arrogance leads to mistakes. Key Takeaway Check assumptions before acting. Themes humility critical thinking error confidence Mood cautious reflective Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - decision making - leadership - debate - public speaking Key Concepts cognitive bias overconfidence effect Questions to Reflect On - How do you recognize when confidence becomes arrogance? - What safeguards can prevent mistaken certainty? A Different Perspective Overconfidence can be justified by expertise. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Arrogance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arrogance/) [Arrogant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arrogant/) [Arrogant Commonly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arrogant-commonly-5192189/) [Commonly Mistaken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commonly-mistaken-5192192/) [Deliberation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deliberation/) [Greatness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatness/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Mistaken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistaken/) [Most arrogant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/most-arrogant/) [Stupidity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stupidity/) [Sure Arrogant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sure-arrogant-5192190/) ## Related quotes > [When men are most sure and arrogant they are commonly most mistaken, giving views to passion without that proper deliberation which alone can secure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/when-men-are-most-sure-and-arrogant-they-are-commonly-most-mistaken-2/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [“When men are most sure and arrogant, they are commonly the most mistaken, and have then giver views to passion, without that proper deliberation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/when-men-are-most-sure-and-arrogant-they-are-commonly-the-most/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [Nothing can be more unphilosophical than to be positive or dogmatical on any subject; and even if excessive scepticism could be maintained it would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/nothing-can-be-more-unphilosophical-than-to-be-positive-or-dogmatical/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [Nothing is so convenient as a decisive argument ... which must at least silence the most arrogant bigotry and superstition, and free us from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/nothing-is-so-convenient-as-a-decisive-argument-which-must-at-least/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [I am mistaken if a single epigram included fails to preserve at least some faint thrill of the emotion through which it had to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-quiller-couch/i-am-mistaken-if-a-single-epigram-included-fails-to-preserve-at-least/) [Arthur Quiller-Couch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-quiller-couch/) > [These are the most arrogant pricks in the world starting with Belichick on down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terrell-suggs/these-are-the-most-arrogant-pricks-in-the-world-starting-with/) [Terrell Suggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terrell-suggs/) > [When I think of competition it's like I try to create against the past. I think about Michelangelo and Picasso, you know, the pyramids.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kanye-west/when-i-think-of-competition-it-s-like-i-try-to-create-against-the/) [Kanye West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kanye-west/) > [I want to fall on the floor laughing - imagining Hillary Clinton working well in the Senate with everybody else! Oh, give me a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/i-want-to-fall-on-the-floor-laughing-imagining-hillary-clinton/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [Of all liars the most arrogant are biographers: those who would have us believe, having surveyed a few boxes full of letters, diaries, bank…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-n-wilson/of-all-liars-the-most-arrogant-are-biographers-those-who-would-have/) [A. N. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-n-wilson/) > [I found that of the senses, the eye is the most superficial, the ear the most arrogant, smell the most voluptuous, taste the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/i-found-that-of-the-senses-the-eye-is-the-most-superficial-the-ear/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [I am so credible and so influential and so relevant that I will change things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kanye-west/i-am-so-credible-and-so-influential-and-so-relevant-that-i-will/) [Kanye West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kanye-west/) > [Spiritual pride is the most dangerous and the most arrogant of all sorts of pride.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-richardson/spiritual-pride-is-the-most-dangerous-and-the-most-arrogant-of-all/) [Samuel Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-richardson/) > [Presumption is our natural and original malady. The most vulnerable and frail of all creatures is man, and at the same time the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/presumption-is-our-natural-and-original-malady-the-most-vulnerable/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [People whistle me because I am good-looking, rich and a great footballer. They are jealous of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristiano-ronaldo/people-whistle-me-because-i-am-good-looking-rich-and-a-great/) [Cristiano Ronaldo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristiano-ronaldo/) > [Liberals are some of the most arrogant, condescending smart alecks, but they're just pure ignorant, and they fit the bill of people who have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/liberals-are-some-of-the-most-arrogant-condescending-smart-alecks-but/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) ## More by David Hume > [“Beauty in things exists in the mind that contemplates them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/beauty-in-things-exists-in-the-mind-that-contemplates-them/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [“It is impossible for us to think of any thing, which we have not antecedently felt, either by our external or internal senses.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/it-is-impossible-for-us-to-think-of-any-thing-which-we-have-not/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [All morality depends upon our sentiments; and when any action or quality of the mind pleases us after a certain manner we say it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/all-morality-depends-upon-our-sentiments-and-when-any-action-or/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [And indeed nothing but the most determined scepticism, along with a great degree of indolence, can justify this aversion to metaphysics. For if truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/and-indeed-nothing-but-the-most-determined-scepticism-along-with-a/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [...virtue is attended by more peace of mind than vice, and meets with a more favourable reception from the world. I am sensible, that,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/virtue-is-attended-by-more-peace-of-mind-than-vice-and-meets-with-a/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [That the sun will not rise tomorrow is no less intelligible a proposition, and implies no more contradiction, than the affirmation, that it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/that-the-sun-will-not-rise-tomorrow-is-no-less-intelligible-a/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [We may conclude, therefore, that, in order to establish laws for the regulation of property, we must be acquainted with the nature and situation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/we-may-conclude-therefore-that-in-order-to-establish-laws-for-the/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [The observation of human blindness and weakness is the result of all philosophy, and meets us at every turn, in spite of our endeavours…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/the-observation-of-human-blindness-and-weakness-is-the-result-of-all/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [The religious hypothesis, therefore, must be considered only as a particular method of accounting for the visible phenomena of the universe: but no just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/the-religious-hypothesis-therefore-must-be-considered-only-as-a/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [Manufacturers...gradually shift their places, leaving those countries and provinces which they have already enriched, and flying to others, whether they are allured by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/manufacturers-gradually-shift-their-places-leaving-those-countries/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [We may observe that, in displaying the praises of any humane, beneficent man, there is one circumstance which never fails to be amply insisted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/we-may-observe-that-in-displaying-the-praises-of-any-humane/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [“The most perfect happiness, surely, must arise from the contemplation of the most perfect object.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/the-most-perfect-happiness-surely-must-arise-from-the-contemplation/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [“They all make up new species of crime and bring unhappiness in their train. When I hear a man is religious , I conclude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/they-all-make-up-new-species-of-crime-and-bring-unhappiness-in-their/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [There is not to be found, in all history, any miracle attested by a sufficient number of men, of such unquestioned good sense, education…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/there-is-not-to-be-found-in-all-history-any-miracle-attested-by-a/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [“But though there be naturally a wide difference in point of delicacy between one person and another, nothing tends further to encrease and improve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/but-though-there-be-naturally-a-wide-difference-in-point-of-delicacy/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) [Explore all 487 David Hume quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) ## More Arrogance quotes > [Perhaps no order of mammals presents us with so extraordinary a series of gradations as this \[step by step, from humans to apes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/perhaps-no-order-of-mammals-presents-us-with-so-extraordinary-a/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [wishes for sons by Lucille Clifton i wish them cramps. i wish them a strange town and the last tampon. I wish them no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucille-clifton/wishes-for-sons-by-lucille-clifton-i-wish-them-cramps-i-wish-them-a/) [Lucille Clifton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucille-clifton/) > [The structure of the Swiss ruling class is rock-hard, and unchanged since the time of Napoleon. They sit on their mountains and lecture the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-ziegler/the-structure-of-the-swiss-ruling-class-is-rock-hard-and-unchanged/) [Jean Ziegler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-ziegler/) > [What you see of me on TV and all of that, that is me - that's truly how I feel. I'm just multiplying it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-corbin/what-you-see-of-me-on-tv-and-all-of-that-that-is-me-that-s-truly-how/) [Baron Corbin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-corbin/) > [I don't join the New Atheists. So, for example, I wouldn't have the arrogance to lecture some mother who hopes to see her dying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-don-t-join-the-new-atheists-so-for-example-i-wouldn-t-have-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Never mistake someones quietness for their arrogance as you can surely miss out on an awsome personality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/never-mistake-someones-quietness-for-their-arrogance-as-you-can/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Most of us think of pride as self-centeredness, conceit, boastfulness, arrogance, or haughtiness. All of these are elements of the sin, but the heart,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson/most-of-us-think-of-pride-as-self-centeredness-conceit-boastfulness/) [Ezra Taft Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-taft-benson/) > [“I was consumed by a selfishness and arrogance that I didn't dare let go of until I found a new persona to hide behind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-koomson/i-was-consumed-by-a-selfishness-and-arrogance-that-i-didn-t-dare-let/) [Dorothy Koomson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-koomson/) > [Arrogance is the outgrowth of prosperity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/arrogance-is-the-outgrowth-of-prosperity/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [Timing and arrogance are decisive factors in the successful use of talent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-mannes/timing-and-arrogance-are-decisive-factors-in-the-successful-use-of/) [Marya Mannes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-mannes/) > [Some say work smarter, not harder, but the wisest are both. Whether you're more of a hard worker or a smart worker, if you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colby-tatem/some-say-work-smarter-not-harder-but-the-wisest-are-both-whether-you/) [Colby Tatem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colby-tatem/) > [Closed some doors, not because of pride, incapacity or arrogance, but simply because they no longer lead somewhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frenz-jeffrey/closed-some-doors-not-because-of-pride-incapacity-or-arrogance-but/) [Frenz Jeffrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frenz-jeffrey/) > [My success isn't a result of arrogance - it's a result of belief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-mcgregor/my-success-isn-t-a-result-of-arrogance-it-s-a-result-of-belief/) [Conor McGregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-mcgregor/) > [“...a great man who is vicious will only be a great doer of evil, and a rich man who is not liberal will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-cervantes/a-great-man-who-is-vicious-will-only-be-a-great-doer-of-evil-and-a/) [Miguel Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-cervantes/) > [An increasing number of people are growing uncomfortable with the gulf between the world's rich and the poor. Ostentatiously splashing your money around simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kalle-lasn/an-increasing-number-of-people-are-growing-uncomfortable-with-the/) [Kalle Lasn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kalle-lasn/) [Browse all 1,418 Arrogance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arrogance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When men are most sure and arrogant they are commonly most mistaken.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Hume" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/when-men-are-most-sure-and-arrogant-they-are-commonly-most-mistaken/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Arrogance" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/when-men-are-most-sure-and-arrogant-they-are-commonly-most-mistaken/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af2/david-hume-538_arrogance_when-men-are-most-sure-and-arrogant-they_2300563.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af2/david-hume-538_arrogance_when-men-are-most-sure-and-arrogant-they_2300563.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af2/david-hume-538_arrogance_when-men-are-most-sure-and-arrogant-they_2300563.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When men are most sure and arrogant they are commonly most mistaken.” — David Hume", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "David Hume", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When men are most sure and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/when-men-are-most-sure-and-arrogant-they-are-commonly-most-mistaken/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/when-men-are-most-sure-and-arrogant-they-are-commonly-most-mistaken/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```