--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: None save great men have been the authors…" description: "\"None save great men have been the authors of great heresies.\" — Saint Augustine" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6e/saint-augustine-328_books_none-save-great-men-have-been-the-author_1985489.png" --- # None save great men have been the authors of great heresies. ![“None save great men have been the authors of great heresies.” quote by Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6e/saint-augustine-328_books_none-save-great-men-have-been-the-author_1985489.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6e/saint-augustine-328_books_none-save-great-men-have-been-the-author_1985489.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6e/saint-augustine-328_books_none-save-great-men-have-been-the-author_1985489.png) > “None save great men have been the authors of great heresies.” [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Great heresies arise from powerful individuals, not from ordinary people **In simple terms:** Significant dissent often comes from influential leaders Key Takeaway Question authority and seek diverse perspectives Themes religion heretical thought power dynamics history Mood reflective critical Type philosophical historical When to use this quote - academic study - religious reform - political activism - media analysis Key Concepts theology political philosophy social influence Questions to Reflect On - Who are modern “great men” shaping controversial ideas? - How can grassroots movements counter elite-driven heresies? A Different Perspective Powerful figures can also suppress dissenting voices ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Authors Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authors-great-1244885/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Great Heresies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-heresies-3413627/) [Great men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-men/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Heresies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heresies-1102949/) [Heresy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heresy/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Men Authors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-authors-799753/) [Society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society/) ## Related quotes > [“Christianity is the heresy of heresies, the underlying cause of the weakness, lethargy, sickness, and failure of the modern church.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-j-leithart/christianity-is-the-heresy-of-heresies-the-underlying-cause-of-the/) [Peter J. Leithart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-j-leithart/) > [... the general consent of all that sect is that God (by his foreknowledge, counsel, and wisdom) has no assured election, neither yet any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-knox/the-general-consent-of-all-that-sect-is-that-god-by-his-foreknowledge/) [John Knox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-knox/) > [“The heresy of heresies was common sense. And what was terrifying was not that they would kill you for thinking otherwise, but that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-heresy-of-heresies-was-common-sense-and-what-was-terrifying-was/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Who does not see that heresies have some time prevailed, that reforms have already taken place? All this worldly wisdom might be regarded as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/who-does-not-see-that-heresies-have-some-time-prevailed-that-reforms/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The desire to rule is the mother of heresies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-john-chrysostom/the-desire-to-rule-is-the-mother-of-heresies/) [Saint John Chrysostom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-john-chrysostom/) > [“The heresy of heresies was common sense. And”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-heresy-of-heresies-was-common-sense-and/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [I abjure with a sincere heart and unfeigned faith, I curse and detest the said errors and heresies, and generally all and every error…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galileo-galilei/i-abjure-with-a-sincere-heart-and-unfeigned-faith-i-curse-and-detest/) [Galileo Galilei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galileo-galilei/) > [“Yes. But terrible heresies have proven to be grim truths many times before in the longer history of my Church, Sek Hardeen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/yes-but-terrible-heresies-have-proven-to-be-grim-truths-many-times/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [Islam united all heresies persecuted in Byzantine Empire and synthesised them well into a conseffion that later became a symbol of Arab self-affirmation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/islam-united-all-heresies-persecuted-in-byzantine-empire-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The faith a movement proclaims doesn't count: what counts is the hope it offers. All heresies are the banner of a reality, an exclusion.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/the-faith-a-movement-proclaims-doesn-t-count-what-counts-is-the-hope/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [...There is a school of thought, a heresy from the madhouse of heresies in the ninth century, that says God is good and is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-rush/there-is-a-school-of-thought-a-heresy-from-the-madhouse-of-heresies/) [Norman Rush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-rush/) > [The heresy of heresies was common sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-heresy-of-heresies-was-common-sense/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [The heresies we should fear are those which can be confused with orthodoxy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/the-heresies-we-should-fear-are-those-which-can-be-confused-with/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [Heresy is a word which, when it is used without passion, signifies a private opinion. So the different sects of the old philosophers, Academians,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hobbes/heresy-is-a-word-which-when-it-is-used-without-passion-signifies-a/) [Thomas Hobbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hobbes/) > [In a dead religion there are no more heresies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-suares/in-a-dead-religion-there-are-no-more-heresies/) [Andre Suares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-suares/) ## More by Saint Augustine > [Lust indulged became habit, and habit unresisted became necessity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/lust-indulged-became-habit-and-habit-unresisted-became-necessity/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [The playthings of our elders are called business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/the-playthings-of-our-elders-are-called-business/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [Do what you can and pray for what you cannot yet do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/do-what-you-can-and-pray-for-what-you-cannot-yet-do/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [For I did not know that the soul needs to be enlightened by light from outside itself, so that it can participate in truth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/for-i-did-not-know-that-the-soul-needs-to-be-enlightened-by-light/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [My mother spoke of Christ to my father, by her feminine and childlike virtues, and, after having borne his violence without a murmur or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/my-mother-spoke-of-christ-to-my-father-by-her-feminine-and-childlike/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [Wicked sons do not have the Holy Ghost in the same way as do beloved sons, and yet they do have Baptism. 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You give it to the poor, and God receives it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/god-has-no-need-of-your-money-but-the-poor-have-you-give-it-to-the/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [Nothing conquers except truth and the victory of truth is love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/nothing-conquers-except-truth-and-the-victory-of-truth-is-love/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [“O God, who is ever at work and ever at rest. May I be ever at work and ever at rest.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/o-god-who-is-ever-at-work-and-ever-at-rest-may-i-be-ever-at-work-and/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [Our Lord reserved to Himself certain things which He would do in due time in a manner outside the course and order of nature,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/our-lord-reserved-to-himself-certain-things-which-he-would-do-in-due/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [Give me chastity and continence, but not yet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/give-me-chastity-and-continence-but-not-yet/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [Nothing, therefore, happens unless the Omnipotent wills it to happen. 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