--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There can be no doubt that distrust of…" description: "\"There can be no doubt that distrust of words is less harmful than unwarranted trust in them. Besides, to distrust words, and indict them for the horror..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/908/vaclav-havel-2013_distrust_there-can-be-no-doubt-that-distrust-of-w_1823300.jpg" --- # There can be no doubt that distrust of words is less… ![“There can be no doubt that distrust of words is less harmful than unwarranted trust in them. Besides, to distrust words, and indict them for the horrors that might slumber unobtrusively within them --isn't this, after all, the true vocation of the intellectual?” quote by Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/908/vaclav-havel-2013_distrust_there-can-be-no-doubt-that-distrust-of-w_1823300.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/908/vaclav-havel-2013_distrust_there-can-be-no-doubt-that-distrust-of-w_1823300.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/908/vaclav-havel-2013_distrust_there-can-be-no-doubt-that-distrust-of-w_1823300.jpg) > “There can be no doubt that distrust of words is less harmful than unwarranted trust in them. Besides, to distrust words, and indict them for the horrors that might slumber unobtrusively within them --isn't this, after all, the true vocation of the intellectual?” [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Questioning the trust placed in language, suggesting skepticism is safer than blind belief. **In simple terms:** Distrusting words can protect you more than trusting them blindly. Key Takeaway Be critical of language and its promises. Themes trust skepticism language Mood thoughtful critical Type philosophical political When to use this quote - political discourse - media consumption - academic study Key Concepts philosophy critical thinking intellectual responsibility Questions to Reflect On - When is trust in words justified? - How can we balance skepticism and openness? A Different Perspective Blind trust can also be necessary in some contexts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Distrust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distrust/) [Distrust Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distrust-words-1793605/) [Doubt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubt/) [Doubt Distrust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubt-distrust-1793606/) [Horror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horror/) [Intellectual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectual/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Might](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/might/) [No doubt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/no-doubt/) [Slumber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slumber/) [Trust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trust/) [Trust Distrust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trust-distrust-840309/) [Vocation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vocation/) [Words Harmful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words-harmful-2212034/) ## Related quotes > [There can be no doubt that distrust of words is less harmful than unwarranted trust in them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/there-can-be-no-doubt-that-distrust-of-words-is-less-harmful-than/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [Alas! What is man? Whether he be deprived of that light which is from on high, of whether he discard it, a frail and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/alas-what-is-man-whether-he-be-deprived-of-that-light-which-is-from/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [Democracy is not about trust; it is about distrust. It is about accountability, exposure, open debate, critical challenge, and popular input and feedback from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-parenti/democracy-is-not-about-trust-it-is-about-distrust-it-is-about/) [Michael Parenti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-parenti/) > [You can say a thousand words in one day, some may trust you some may not, but what you have said in the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/you-can-say-a-thousand-words-in-one-day-some-may-trust-you-some-may/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [To stay in places and to leave, to trust, to distrust, to no longer believe and believe again, . . . to watch the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/to-stay-in-places-and-to-leave-to-trust-to-distrust-to-no-longer/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“You either trust or you distrust coincidence. It 's either small doses of magic pulling you to your appointed destiny or the devil trying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toby-barlow/you-either-trust-or-you-distrust-coincidence-it-s-either-small-doses/) [Toby Barlow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toby-barlow/) > [I don't know and probably never will know enough about the true nature of the universe to tell anyone else what to believe, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-hautman/i-don-t-know-and-probably-never-will-know-enough-about-the-true/) [Pete Hautman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-hautman/) > [I cannot imagine how any diplomat, or any dramatist, could improve on (Ronald Reagan's) words to Mikhail Gorbachev at the Geneva summit: 'Let me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/i-cannot-imagine-how-any-diplomat-or-any-dramatist-could-improve-on/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [Every temptation, directly or indirectly, is the temptation to doubt and distrust God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-macarthur/every-temptation-directly-or-indirectly-is-the-temptation-to-doubt/) [John Macarthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-macarthur/) > [Obey your soul, have perfect faith in yourself. Never think of yourself with doubt or distrust, or as one who makes mistakes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-d-wattles/obey-your-soul-have-perfect-faith-in-yourself-never-think-of-yourself/) [Wallace D. Wattles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-d-wattles/) > [“In the face of all this evidence, Wooden continued to insist that whatever violations had occurred on his watch were minor. “There’s as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-davis/in-the-face-of-all-this-evidence-wooden-continued-to-insist-that/) [Seth Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-davis/) > [“A young gratuitous smile; trust and distrust; Promiscuities of bed and board and road; The one assured treasure A life, in recollection, truly possessed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-wells/a-young-gratuitous-smile-trust-and-distrust-promiscuities-of-bed-and/) [Robert Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-wells/) > [None of us know all the potentialities that slumber in the spirit of the population, or all the ways in which that population can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/none-of-us-know-all-the-potentialities-that-slumber-in-the-spirit-of/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [Villainy that is vigilant will be an overmatch for virtue, if she slumber at her post.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/villainy-that-is-vigilant-will-be-an-overmatch-for-virtue-if-she/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [I went to a slumber party in a hotel. The whole hotel was rented out. The hotel was the party. It really was like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannyn-sossamon/i-went-to-a-slumber-party-in-a-hotel-the-whole-hotel-was-rented-out/) [Shannyn Sossamon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannyn-sossamon/) ## More by Vaclav Havel > [I am convinced that we will never build a democratic state based on rule of law if we do not at the same time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/i-am-convinced-that-we-will-never-build-a-democratic-state-based-on/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [People who live in the post-totalitarian system know only too well that the question of whether one or several political parties are in power,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/people-who-live-in-the-post-totalitarian-system-know-only-too-well/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [“For by this very fact, individuals confirm the system, fulfill the system, make the system, are the system.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/for-by-this-very-fact-individuals-confirm-the-system-fulfill-the/) [Václav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [Hope is not a feeling of certainty that everything ends well. Hope is just a feeling that life and work have a meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/hope-is-not-a-feeling-of-certainty-that-everything-ends-well-hope-is/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [This is a confusing and uncertain period, when a thousand wise words can go completely unnoticed, and one thoughtless word can provoke an utterly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/this-is-a-confusing-and-uncertain-period-when-a-thousand-wise-words/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [If by believing you mean praying to an anthropomorphic deity who created the world and half controls it and half observes it, then I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/if-by-believing-you-mean-praying-to-an-anthropomorphic-deity-who/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [Human beings are compelled to live within a lie, but they can be compelled to do so only because they are in fact capable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/human-beings-are-compelled-to-live-within-a-lie-but-they-can-be/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [Our country, if that is what we want, can now permanently radiate love, understanding, the power of the spirit and of ideas. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/our-country-if-that-is-what-we-want-can-now-permanently-radiate-love/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [I cannot imagine that I could strive for something if I did not carry hope in me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/i-cannot-imagine-that-i-could-strive-for-something-if-i-did-not-carry/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [People, your Government has returned to you!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/people-your-government-has-returned-to-you/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [A person who has been seduced by the consumer value system, whose identity is dissolved in an amalgam of the accouterments trappings of mass…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/a-person-who-has-been-seduced-by-the-consumer-value-system-whose/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [Whether all is really lost or not depends entirely on whether or not I am lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/whether-all-is-really-lost-or-not-depends-entirely-on-whether-or-not/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [Sober perseverance is more effective than enthusiastic emotions, which are all too capable of being transferred, with little difficulty, to something different each day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/sober-perseverance-is-more-effective-than-enthusiastic-emotions-which/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [The exercise of power is determined by thousands of interactions between the world of the powerful and that of the powerless, all the more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/the-exercise-of-power-is-determined-by-thousands-of-interactions/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [It's not true that you should first think up an idea for a better world and only then "put it into practice," but, rather,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/it-s-not-true-that-you-should-first-think-up-an-idea-for-a-better/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) [Explore all 190 Vaclav Havel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) ## More Distrust quotes > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [Distrust all those who love you extremely upon a very slight acquaintance and without any visible reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/distrust-all-those-who-love-you-extremely-upon-a-very-slight/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [At no time in the past century has public distrust of the government been so broadly distributed across the political spectrum, as it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-zimmermann/at-no-time-in-the-past-century-has-public-distrust-of-the-government/) [Phil Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-zimmermann/) > [So often do you see collegians enter life with high resolve and lofty purpose and then watch them shrink and shrink to sordid, selfish,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/so-often-do-you-see-collegians-enter-life-with-high-resolve-and-lofty/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [We believe a scientist because he can substantiate his remarks, not because he is eloquent and forcible in his enunciation. In fact, we distrust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i-a-richards/we-believe-a-scientist-because-he-can-substantiate-his-remarks-not/) [I. A. Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/i-a-richards/) > [Our own distrust gives a fair pretence for the knavery of other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/our-own-distrust-gives-a-fair-pretence-for-the-knavery-of-other-people/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [Let not the world see fear and sad distrust govern the motion of a kingly eye.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/let-not-the-world-see-fear-and-sad-distrust-govern-the-motion-of-a/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Excessive distrust is not less hurtfJul than its opposite. Most men become useless to him who is unwilling to risk being deceived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-de-clapiers/excessive-distrust-is-not-less-hurtfjul-than-its-opposite-most-men/) [Luc de Clapiers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-de-clapiers/) > [Objection, evasion, joyous distrust, and love of irony are signs of health; everything absolute belongs to pathology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/objection-evasion-joyous-distrust-and-love-of-irony-are-signs-of/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [On one thing, at least, men & women both agree: They both distrust women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/on-one-thing-at-least-men-women-both-agree-they-both-distrust-women/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [Our distrust of another justifies his deceit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/our-distrust-of-another-justifies-his-deceit/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [There is one safeguard known generally to the wise, which is an advantage and security to all, but especially to democracies as against despots.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demosthenes/there-is-one-safeguard-known-generally-to-the-wise-which-is-an/) [Demosthenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demosthenes/) > [When I arrived in America, though I had left the war physically far behind, in my mind, the soldiers were still chasing to kill…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loung-ung/when-i-arrived-in-america-though-i-had-left-the-war-physically-far/) [Loung Ung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loung-ung/) > [If you would improve, submit to be considered wihout sense and foolish with respect to externals. Wish to be considered to know nothing; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/if-you-would-improve-submit-to-be-considered-wihout-sense-and-foolish/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [You have to believe in something, and you have to believe in the things that you feel and find value in those things, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-choi/you-have-to-believe-in-something-and-you-have-to-believe-in-the/) [Roy Choi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-choi/) [Browse all 582 Distrust quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distrust/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There can be no doubt that distrust of words is less harmful than unwarranted trust in them. Besides, to distrust words, and indict them for the horrors that might slumber unobtrusively within them --isn't this, after all, the true vocation of the intellectual?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Vaclav Havel" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/there-can-be-no-doubt-that-distrust-of-words-is-less-harmful-than-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Distrust" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/there-can-be-no-doubt-that-distrust-of-words-is-less-harmful-than-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/908/vaclav-havel-2013_distrust_there-can-be-no-doubt-that-distrust-of-w_1823300.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/908/vaclav-havel-2013_distrust_there-can-be-no-doubt-that-distrust-of-w_1823300.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/908/vaclav-havel-2013_distrust_there-can-be-no-doubt-that-distrust-of-w_1823300.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There can be no doubt that distrust of words is less harmful than unwarranted trust in them. Besides, to…” — Vaclav Havel", "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": "Vaclav Havel", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There can be no doubt that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/there-can-be-no-doubt-that-distrust-of-words-is-less-harmful-than-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/there-can-be-no-doubt-that-distrust-of-words-is-less-harmful-than-2/#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 } } ] } ```