--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is no error so monstrous that it…" description: "\"There is no error so monstrous that it fails to find defenders among the ablest men. Imagine a congress of eminent celebrities, such as More, Bacon, Gr..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/658/lord-acton-3040_congress_there-is-no-error-so-monstrous-that-it-f_2295700.jpg" --- # There is no error so monstrous that it fails to find… ![“There is no error so monstrous that it fails to find defenders among the ablest men. Imagine a congress of eminent celebrities, such as More, Bacon, Grotius, Pascal, Cromwell, Bossuet, Montesquieu, Jefferson, Napoleon, Pitt, etc. The result would be an Encyclopedia of Error.” quote by Lord Acton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/658/lord-acton-3040_congress_there-is-no-error-so-monstrous-that-it-f_2295700.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/658/lord-acton-3040_congress_there-is-no-error-so-monstrous-that-it-f_2295700.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/658/lord-acton-3040_congress_there-is-no-error-so-monstrous-that-it-f_2295700.jpg) > “There is no error so monstrous that it fails to find defenders among the ablest men. Imagine a congress of eminent celebrities, such as More, Bacon, Grotius, Pascal, Cromwell, Bossuet, Montesquieu, Jefferson, Napoleon, Pitt, etc. The result would be an Encyclopedia of Error.” [Lord Acton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-acton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Powerful individuals can rationalize even the gravest mistakes, creating a collective acceptance of error. **In simple terms:** Even great minds can defend big mistakes. Key Takeaway Question authority and seek evidence. Themes power error rationalization Mood skeptical concerned Type critical historical When to use this quote - political debate - academic discourse - media analysis Key Concepts political philosophy psychology Questions to Reflect On - How do you verify claims from experts? - What safeguards prevent collective error? A Different Perspective Even the wise can be swayed by bias. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Congress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/congress/) [Congress Eminent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/congress-eminent-5411449/) [Cromwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cromwell/) [Defenders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defenders/) [Encyclopedia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/encyclopedia/) [Encyclopedia Error](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/encyclopedia-error-5411448/) [Error Monstrous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/error-monstrous-2796562/) [Errors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/errors/) [Etc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/etc/) [Failing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failing/) [Fails Defenders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fails-defenders-3944943/) [Imagine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagine/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Monstrous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monstrous/) [Montesquieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/montesquieu/) [Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pascal/) [Results](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/results/) [Would be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/would-be/) ## Related quotes > [There is no error so monstrous that it fails to find defenders among the ablest men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-acton/there-is-no-error-so-monstrous-that-it-fails-to-find-defenders-among-2/) [Lord Acton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-acton/) > [Error's monstrous shapes from earth are driven They fade, they fly--but truth survives the flight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-c-bryant/error-s-monstrous-shapes-from-earth-are-driven-they-fade-they-fly-but/) [William C. Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-c-bryant/) > [ Montesquieu well knew, and justly admired, the happy constitution of this country \[Great Britain\], where fixed and known laws equally restrain monarchy from tyranny… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/montesquieu-well-knew-and-justly-admired-the-happy-constitution-of/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [Montesquieu had the style of a genius; Buffon, the genius of style.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-melchior-baron-von-grimm/montesquieu-had-the-style-of-a-genius-buffon-the-genius-of-style/) [Friedrich Melchior, Baron von Grimm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-melchior-baron-von-grimm/) > [We may like well to know what is Plato’s and what is Montesquieu’s or Goethe’s part, and what thought was always dear to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/we-may-like-well-to-know-what-is-plato-s-and-what-is-montesquieu-s-or/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [ \[Montesquieu\] lifted the veil from the venerable errors which enslaved opinion, and pointed the way to those luminous truths of which he had but… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/montesquieu-lifted-the-veil-from-the-venerable-errors-which-enslaved/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [Many a person who could not comprehend Rousseau, and would be puzzled by Montesquieu, could understand Paine as an open book. He wrote with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-edison/many-a-person-who-could-not-comprehend-rousseau-and-would-be-puzzled/) [Thomas A. Edison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-edison/) > [After Montesquieu, the next great addition to Sociology (which is the term I may be allowed to invent to designate Social Physics) was made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/auguste-comte/after-montesquieu-the-next-great-addition-to-sociology-which-is-the/) [Auguste Comte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/auguste-comte/) > [“according to Montesquieu, the persons, the liberties, the property, mankind itself, are nothing but materials to exercise the sagacity of lawgivers." Rousseau.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/according-to-montesquieu-the-persons-the-liberties-the-property/) [Frédéric Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [A father of the church said that property was theft, many centuries before Proudhon was born. 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They agreed with Montesquieu, Lock and Hume and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-demille/jefferson-madison-and-many-others-taught-that-complex-laws-and-codes/) [Oliver DeMille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-demille/) > [The late Président de Montesquieu told me that he knew how to be blind--he had been so for such a long time--but I swear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/the-late-pr-sident-de-montesquieu-told-me-that-he-knew-how-to-be/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [ \[John\] Adams identified himself with the political theories of \[James\] Harrington, \[John\] Locke, and \[Charles-Louis\] Montesquieu, whose ideas of constitutionalism, he believed, were applicable… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-s-wood/john-adams-identified-himself-with-the-political-theories-of-james/) [Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-s-wood/) ## More by Lord Acton > [The history of institutions is often a history of deception and illusions; for their virtue depends on the ideas that produce and on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-acton/the-history-of-institutions-is-often-a-history-of-deception-and/) [Lord Acton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-acton/) > [A liberal is only a bundle of prejudices until he has mastered, has understood, experienced the philosophy of Conservatism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-acton/a-liberal-is-only-a-bundle-of-prejudices-until-he-has-mastered-has/) [Lord Acton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-acton/) > [Every class is unfit to govern.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-acton/every-class-is-unfit-to-govern/) [Lord Acton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-acton/) > [Fanaticism displays itself in the masses; but the masses were rarely fanaticised; and the crimes ascribed to it were commonly due to the calculations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-acton/fanaticism-displays-itself-in-the-masses-but-the-masses-were-rarely/) [Lord Acton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-acton/) > [In England Parliament is above the law. 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