--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Errors, to be dangerous, must have a…" description: "\"Errors, to be dangerous, must have a great deal of truth mingled with them. It is only from this alliance that they can ever obtain an extensive circul..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/716/sydney-smith-6523_alliance_errors-to-be-dangerous-must-have-a-great_1821392.png" --- # Errors, to be dangerous, must have a great deal of truth… ![“Errors, to be dangerous, must have a great deal of truth mingled with them. It is only from this alliance that they can ever obtain an extensive circulation.” quote by Sydney Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/716/sydney-smith-6523_alliance_errors-to-be-dangerous-must-have-a-great_1821392.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/716/sydney-smith-6523_alliance_errors-to-be-dangerous-must-have-a-great_1821392.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/716/sydney-smith-6523_alliance_errors-to-be-dangerous-must-have-a-great_1821392.png) > “Errors, to be dangerous, must have a great deal of truth mingled with them. It is only from this alliance that they can ever obtain an extensive circulation.” [Sydney Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Errors spread when they contain a kernel of truth, making them believable and shareable. **In simple terms:** Truth makes errors persuasive. Key Takeaway Check facts before sharing. Themes communication truth error media influence Mood cautious critical skeptical Type advisory informative When to use this quote - news reporting - social media - political discourse - public health messaging Key Concepts cognitive bias information spread social proof Questions to Reflect On - How do you verify information? - What makes a false claim seem credible? A Different Perspective Even true elements can be twisted, leading to misinformation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alliance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alliance/) [Alliances](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alliances/) [Mistake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistake/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [The idea that cinema can be dangerous is a great idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-moore/the-idea-that-cinema-can-be-dangerous-is-a-great-idea/) [Michael Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-moore/) > [It is more dangerous to be a great prophet or poet than to promote twenty companies for swindling simple folk out of their savings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/it-is-more-dangerous-to-be-a-great-prophet-or-poet-than-to-promote/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The freer the society gets, the more dangerous the great beast becomes and the more you have to be careful to cage it somehow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-freer-the-society-gets-the-more-dangerous-the-great-beast-becomes/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [It is being common-born that is dangerous, when the great lords play their game of thrones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-being-common-born-that-is-dangerous-when-the-great-lords-play/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I bet you’re not dangerous at all, are you? Are you, you great ugly brute?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-you-re-not-dangerous-at-all-are-you-are-you-you-great-ugly-brute/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“People who deal in truth themselves recognize it when they hear it, just as people who deal in diamonds recognize a real stone when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-duer-miller/people-who-deal-in-truth-themselves-recognize-it-when-they-hear-it/) [Alice Duer Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-duer-miller/) > [He is the Truth, and He wants us to deal in truth with ourselves and our loved ones. We want the truth about you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-cloud/he-is-the-truth-and-he-wants-us-to-deal-in-truth-with-ourselves-and/) [Henry Cloud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-cloud/) > [It is always easier to deal in truth and honesty and follow these to their legitimate ends, than it is to construct and adjust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lindbergh/it-is-always-easier-to-deal-in-truth-and-honesty-and-follow-these-to/) [Charles Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lindbergh/) > [I deal in truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-flores/i-deal-in-truth/) [Brian Flores](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-flores/) > [If you deal with truth and rights come some more into my sight. Whether you a pimpy or livin right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barrington-levy/if-you-deal-with-truth-and-rights-come-some-more-into-my-sight/) [Barrington Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barrington-levy/) > [If we took information only from sources with which we agreed on all issues, we would be left with merely quoting ourselves, and we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-edward-griffin/if-we-took-information-only-from-sources-with-which-we-agreed-on-all/) [G. Edward Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-edward-griffin/) > [A very great deal more truth can become known than can be proven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-p-feynman/a-very-great-deal-more-truth-can-become-known-than-can-be-proven/) [Richard P. Feynman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-p-feynman/) > [I think it's an Irish thing. We don't really care. We say it as we mean it, and you have to deal with it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-mcgregor/i-think-it-s-an-irish-thing-we-don-t-really-care-we-say-it-as-we-mean/) [Conor McGregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-mcgregor/) > [All I have is an opinion - I don't deal in Truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-louis/all-i-have-is-an-opinion-i-don-t-deal-in-truth/) [Jean Louis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-louis/) > [“Prosperity and American Energy Alliance,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/prosperity-and-american-energy-alliance/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Sydney Smith > [Live always in the best company when you read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-smith/live-always-in-the-best-company-when-you-read/) [Sydney Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-smith/) > [Scotland: That garret of the earth - that knuckle-end of England - that land of Calvin, oatcakes, and sulfur.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-smith/scotland-that-garret-of-the-earth-that-knuckle-end-of-england-that/) [Sydney Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-smith/) > [My living in Yorkshire was so far out of the way, that it was eleven miles away from a lemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-smith/my-living-in-yorkshire-was-so-far-out-of-the-way-that-it-was-eleven/) [Sydney Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-smith/) > [Poverty is no disgrace to a man, but it is confoundedly inconvenient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-smith/poverty-is-no-disgrace-to-a-man-but-it-is-confoundedly-inconvenient/) [Sydney Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-smith/) > [A comfortable house is a great source of happiness. It ranks immediately after health and a good conscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-smith/a-comfortable-house-is-a-great-source-of-happiness-it-ranks/) [Sydney Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-smith/) > [How can a bishop marry? How can he flirt? The most he can say is "I will see you in the vestry after service."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-smith/how-can-a-bishop-marry-how-can-he-flirt-the-most-he-can-say-is-i-will/) [Sydney Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-smith/) > [It is the greatest of all mistakes to do nothing because you can only do little - do what you can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-smith/it-is-the-greatest-of-all-mistakes-to-do-nothing-because-you-can-only/) [Sydney Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-smith/) > [Silence is a girl's loudest shout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-smith/silence-is-a-girl-s-loudest-shout/) [Sydney Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-smith/) > [A great deal of talent is lost to the world for want of a little courage. Every day sends to their graves obscure men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-smith/a-great-deal-of-talent-is-lost-to-the-world-for-want-of-a-little/) [Sydney Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-smith/) > [A man who wishes to make his way in life could do no better than go through the world with a boiling tea-kettle in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-smith/a-man-who-wishes-to-make-his-way-in-life-could-do-no-better-than-go/) [Sydney Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-smith/) > [ \[T\]he 47th proposition in Euclid might now be voted down with as much ease as any proposition in politics; and therefore if Lord Hawkesbury… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-smith/t-he-47th-proposition-in-euclid-might-now-be-voted-down-with-as-much/) [Sydney Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-smith/) > [Be what nature intended you for, and you will succeed; be anything else and you will be ten thousand times worse than nothing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-smith/be-what-nature-intended-you-for-and-you-will-succeed-be-anything-else/) [Sydney Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-smith/) > [To business that we love we rise bedtime, and go to't with delight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-smith/to-business-that-we-love-we-rise-bedtime-and-go-to-t-with-delight/) [Sydney Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-smith/) > [The schoolboy whips his taxed top; the beardless youth manages his taxed horse with a taxed bridle on a taxed road; and the dying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-smith/the-schoolboy-whips-his-taxed-top-the-beardless-youth-manages-his/) [Sydney Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-smith/) > [I always fear that creation will expire before teatime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-smith/i-always-fear-that-creation-will-expire-before-teatime/) [Sydney Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-smith/) [Explore all 98 Sydney Smith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-smith/) ## More Alliance quotes > [“Prosperity and American Energy Alliance,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/prosperity-and-american-energy-alliance/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There is no question of any alliance with the Congress party. The Congress have always neglected the people of Odisha.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naveen-patnaik/there-is-no-question-of-any-alliance-with-the-congress-party-the/) [Naveen Patnaik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naveen-patnaik/) > [You cannot lead an alliance if you say you're going alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/you-cannot-lead-an-alliance-if-you-say-you-re-going-alone/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [An alliance is like a chain. It is not made stronger by adding weak links to it. A great power like the United States…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-lippmann/an-alliance-is-like-a-chain-it-is-not-made-stronger-by-adding-weak/) [Walter Lippmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-lippmann/) > [The political alliance between the House of Saud and the conservative Wahhabi clerics is as old as the nation, and the alliance has resulted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-murphy/the-political-alliance-between-the-house-of-saud-and-the-conservative/) [Chris Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-murphy/) > [Prior to civil rights, the Democratic Party had been defined by an increasingly untenable alliance of ideological opposites - integrationist Northern liberals like Hubert…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-kornacki/prior-to-civil-rights-the-democratic-party-had-been-defined-by-an/) [Steve Kornacki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-kornacki/) > [Mr. Chamberlain desires to avert the threat to England's peace by making England, in alliance with Germany, stronger than her rivals and so to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernhard-von-bulow/mr-chamberlain-desires-to-avert-the-threat-to-england-s-peace-by/) [Bernhard von Bulow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernhard-von-bulow/) > [You know, for decades, U.S. and R.O.K. service members have fought side-by-side to defend the ideals of freedom. This alliance is founded on that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lloyd-austin/you-know-for-decades-u-s-and-r-o-k-service-members-have-fought-side/) [Lloyd Austin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lloyd-austin/) > [The United States, obviously, has a great interest in helping to maintain peace and security in Europe, and we have a formal alliance, NATO,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/the-united-states-obviously-has-a-great-interest-in-helping-to/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [BJP are opposed to a Muslim boy marrying a Hindu girl. Then how did BJP have an alliance with Mehbooba Mufti or Nitish Kumar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/uddhav-thackeray/bjp-are-opposed-to-a-muslim-boy-marrying-a-hindu-girl-then-how-did/) [Uddhav Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/uddhav-thackeray/) > [“When only one party makes a profit that's robbery when all parties make profit that's business.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/when-only-one-party-makes-a-profit-that-s-robbery-when-all-parties/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [I've been working with them for a couple years and a couple of projects. Essentially Robert F. 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