--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have grown to believe that there is no…" description: "\"I have grown to believe that there is no dangerous idea, which does not become less dangerous when written out in sincere and careful English.\" — Willi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34f/william-butler-yeats-350_believe_i-have-grown-to-believe-that-there-is-no_3070900.png" --- # I have grown to believe that there is no dangerous idea… ![“I have grown to believe that there is no dangerous idea, which does not become less dangerous when written out in sincere and careful English.” quote by William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34f/william-butler-yeats-350_believe_i-have-grown-to-believe-that-there-is-no_3070900.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34f/william-butler-yeats-350_believe_i-have-grown-to-believe-that-there-is-no_3070900.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34f/william-butler-yeats-350_believe_i-have-grown-to-believe-that-there-is-no_3070900.png) > “I have grown to believe that there is no dangerous idea, which does not become less dangerous when written out in sincere and careful English.” [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing ideas clearly reduces their power to mislead or cause harm. **In simple terms:** Clear writing makes dangerous ideas safer. Key Takeaway Write with precision and honesty. Themes communication ethics clarity Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - drafting speeches - editing articles - teaching writing Key Concepts language power dangerous ideas responsible expression Questions to Reflect On - Can honesty always neutralize harmful concepts? - When does clarity fail to prevent danger? A Different Perspective Even careful language can be misused intentionally. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Danger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/danger/) [Dangerous ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dangerous-ideas/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Sincere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sincere/) ## Related quotes > [For me, the key question is what's behind the dangerous idea. If it's simply to stir things up and appear radical, I'm not interested.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-livermore/for-me-the-key-question-is-what-s-behind-the-dangerous-idea-if-it-s/) [David Livermore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-livermore/) > [Yesterday's dangerous idea is today's orthodoxy and tomorrow's cliché.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/yesterday-s-dangerous-idea-is-today-s-orthodoxy-and-tomorrow-s-clich/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“(I) only write it now because I have grown to believe that there is no dangerous idea, which does not become less dangerous when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-b-yeats/i-only-write-it-now-because-i-have-grown-to-believe-that-there-is-no/) [W.B. Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-b-yeats/) > [I don't believe that there are dangerous writers: the danger of certain books is not in the books themselves but in the passions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/i-don-t-believe-that-there-are-dangerous-writers-the-danger-of/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [But there is some way in which poets believe that and this is dangerous, too believe that their calling gives them a certain freedom.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-davison/but-there-is-some-way-in-which-poets-believe-that-and-this-is/) [Peter Davison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-davison/) > [“Are you baiting me, Miss Dantonville?" "I wouldn't dream of it!" "Oh, I believe you are! That's a dangerous game to play with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tima-maria-lacoba/are-you-baiting-me-miss-dantonville-i-wouldn-t-dream-of-it-oh-i/) [Tima Maria Lacoba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tima-maria-lacoba/) > [As a society, we pick words that are offensive based on what we're most afraid of. We associate sounds with some dangerous idea, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dooling/as-a-society-we-pick-words-that-are-offensive-based-on-what-we-re/) [Richard Dooling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dooling/) > [A man haunted by a fixed idea is insane. He is dangerous even if that idea is the idea of justice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramandeep-singh/a-man-haunted-by-a-fixed-idea-is-insane-he-is-dangerous-even-if-that/) [Ramandeep Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramandeep-singh/) > [Socialism is the antithesis of opportunity and it's time to reject this failed and dangerous idea once and for all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-campos-duffy/socialism-is-the-antithesis-of-opportunity-and-it-s-time-to-reject/) [Rachel Campos-Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-campos-duffy/) > [I think what's dangerous is the idea that someone can wash away your sins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/i-think-what-s-dangerous-is-the-idea-that-someone-can-wash-away-your/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [The notion that the species can be improved in some way, that everyone could live in harmony, is a really dangerous idea. Those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-notion-that-the-species-can-be-improved-in-some-way-that-everyone/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“Nothing is more dangerous than an idea if it's the only one you have. • Emil-Auguste Chartier, Propos sur la religion, 1938 Engineers”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-hunt/nothing-is-more-dangerous-than-an-idea-if-it-s-the-only-one-you-have/) [Andrew Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-hunt/) > [Nothing is more dangerous than an idea when it is the only one you have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/nothing-is-more-dangerous-than-an-idea-when-it-is-the-only-one-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The only thing more dangerous than an idea is a belief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-vowell/the-only-thing-more-dangerous-than-an-idea-is-a-belief/) [Sarah Vowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-vowell/) > [The Contessa was surely way ahead of her time, too, in believing that men were not only usless and idiotic, but downright dangerous. That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/the-contessa-was-surely-way-ahead-of-her-time-too-in-believing-that/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) ## More by William Butler Yeats > [Time can but make her beauty over again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/time-can-but-make-her-beauty-over-again/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [I would have touched it like a child But knew my finger could but have touched Cold stone and water. I grew wild, Even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/i-would-have-touched-it-like-a-child-but-knew-my-finger-could-but/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [You know what the Englishman's idea of compromise is? He says, Some people say there is a God. Some people say there is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/you-know-what-the-englishman-s-idea-of-compromise-is-he-says-some/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [Beloved, let your eyes half close, and your heart beat Over my heart, and your hair fall over my breast, Drowning love's lonely hour…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/beloved-let-your-eyes-half-close-and-your-heart-beat-over-my-heart/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [That toil of growing up; The ignominy of boyhood; the distress Of boyhood changing into man; The unfinished man and his pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/that-toil-of-growing-up-the-ignominy-of-boyhood-the-distress-of/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [I see a schoolboy when I think of him, With face and nose pressed to a sweet-shop window.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/i-see-a-schoolboy-when-i-think-of-him-with-face-and-nose-pressed-to-a/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [Only God, my dear, Could love you for yourself alone And not your yellow hair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/only-god-my-dear-could-love-you-for-yourself-alone-and-not-your/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [We can only begin to live when we conceive life as Tragedy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/we-can-only-begin-to-live-when-we-conceive-life-as-tragedy/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [I know that I shall meet my fate somewhere among the clouds above; those that I fight I do not hate, those that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/i-know-that-i-shall-meet-my-fate-somewhere-among-the-clouds-above/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [Great literature has always been written in a like spirit, and is, indeed, the Forgiveness of Sin, and when we find it becoming the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/great-literature-has-always-been-written-in-a-like-spirit-and-is/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [Where the wave of moonlight glosses The dim gray sands with light, Far off by furthest Rosses We foot it all the night, Weaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/where-the-wave-of-moonlight-glosses-the-dim-gray-sands-with-light-far/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [His element is so fine Being sharpened by his death, To drink from the wine-breath While our gross palates drink from the whole wine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/his-element-is-so-fine-being-sharpened-by-his-death-to-drink-from-the/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [We poets would die of loneliness but for women, and we choose our men friends that we may have somebody to talk about women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/we-poets-would-die-of-loneliness-but-for-women-and-we-choose-our-men/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [Love is created and preserved by intellectual analysis, for we love only that which is unique, and it belongs to contemplation, not to action,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/love-is-created-and-preserved-by-intellectual-analysis-for-we-love/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [Who dreamed that beauty passes like a dream? For these red lips, with all their mournful pride, Mournful that no new wonder may betide,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/who-dreamed-that-beauty-passes-like-a-dream-for-these-red-lips-with/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) [Explore all 652 William Butler Yeats quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) ## More Believe quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. You have to be hyper, hyper aware of what's going on around you. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-moore/i-actually-think-acting-is-a-form-of-self-hypnosis-you-have-to-be/) [Julianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-moore/) > [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/) [Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/) > [The truth seems to be that propaganda on its own cannot force its way into unwilling minds; neither can it inculcate something wholly new;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-truth-seems-to-be-that-propaganda-on-its-own-cannot-force-its-way/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Resist discouragement by speaking His Word over your future. Keep standing. Keep hoping; keep believing because He is working behind the scenes. He's going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/resist-discouragement-by-speaking-his-word-over-your-future-keep/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [I can't believe that I'm sitting in meetings with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Annette Bening. I want to take on that responsibility to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-can-t-believe-that-i-m-sitting-in-meetings-with-steven-spielberg/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [There is no such word as item girl in the dictionary. People have created this word and I don't believe that I am an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shefali-zariwala/there-is-no-such-word-as-item-girl-in-the-dictionary-people-have/) [Shefali Zariwala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shefali-zariwala/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I don't really like too much credit. I know nobody's going to believe this, but I'd rather be able to score goals and nobody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bradley-wright-phillips/i-don-t-really-like-too-much-credit-i-know-nobody-s-going-to-believe/) [Bradley Wright-Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bradley-wright-phillips/) > [“What I have a problem with is not so much religion or god, but faith. When you say you believe something in your heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/what-i-have-a-problem-with-is-not-so-much-religion-or-god-but-faith/) [Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/) > [Bush reiterated his stand to conservatives opposing his decision on stem cell research. He said today he believes life begins at conception and ends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/bush-reiterated-his-stand-to-conservatives-opposing-his-decision-on/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [Never underestimate the power of the human mind to believe what it wants to believe, no matter the conflicting evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-herbert/never-underestimate-the-power-of-the-human-mind-to-believe-what-it/) [Brian Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-herbert/) > [To believe in love, to be ready to give up anything for it, to be willing to risk your life for it, is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/to-believe-in-love-to-be-ready-to-give-up-anything-for-it-to-be/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) > [That's why I don't generally talk about endorsements because I don't believe we have to tell people who to vote for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-iii/that-s-why-i-don-t-generally-talk-about-endorsements-because-i-don-t/) [Martin Luther King III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-iii/) > [Mankind have been slow to believe that order reigns in the universe-that the world is a cosmos and a chaos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/mankind-have-been-slow-to-believe-that-order-reigns-in-the-universe/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [We instantly believe everything we think. Isn't that insane? It's good for us to explore the depravity of our minds, so we know we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krishna-das/we-instantly-believe-everything-we-think-isn-t-that-insane-it-s-good/) [Krishna Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krishna-das/) Browse all 47,704 Believe quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I have grown to believe that there is no dangerous idea, which does not become less dangerous when written out in sincere and careful English.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Butler Yeats" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/i-have-grown-to-believe-that-there-is-no-dangerous-idea-which-does/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Believe" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/i-have-grown-to-believe-that-there-is-no-dangerous-idea-which-does/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34f/william-butler-yeats-350_believe_i-have-grown-to-believe-that-there-is-no_3070900.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34f/william-butler-yeats-350_believe_i-have-grown-to-believe-that-there-is-no_3070900.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34f/william-butler-yeats-350_believe_i-have-grown-to-believe-that-there-is-no_3070900.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I have grown to believe that there is no dangerous idea, which does not become less dangerous when written…” — William Butler Yeats", "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": "William Butler Yeats", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I have grown to believe that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/i-have-grown-to-believe-that-there-is-no-dangerous-idea-which-does/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/i-have-grown-to-believe-that-there-is-no-dangerous-idea-which-does/#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 } } ] } ```