Christopher Hitchens - Carl Sagan - William Shakespeare - Aesop - Leo Tolstoy - Bruce Barton - Hartman Rector - Louisa May Alcott - Johnny Unitas - Ellen Terry - Michael Drayton - Proverbs 26:16 - Romans 12:16 - Francis Bacon -
The prince’s [Charles] official job description as king will be ‘defender of the faith’, which currently means the state-financed absurdity of the Anglican Church, but he has more than once said publicly that he wants to be anointed as defender of all faiths – another indication of the amazing conceit he has developed in six decades of performing the only job allowed him by the hereditary principle: that of waiting for his mother to expire. Christopher Hitchens
There is perhaps no better a demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. Carl Sagan, Time magazine 9 January 1995, re Pale Blue Dot image taken by Voyager 1 spacecraft 6 billion kilometres from Earth 1990
Conceit, more rich in matter than in words,
Brags of his substance, not of ornament
They are but beggars that can count their worth. William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet II iv 90-93, Juliet to Romeo and Friar Laurence
And yet I know not how conceit may rob
The treasury of life, when life itself
Yields to the theft. William Shakespeare, The History of King Lear IV v 42-43, Edgar
The smaller the mind the greater the conceit. Aesop
Conceit is incompatible with understanding. Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy
Conceit is God’s gift to little men. Bruce Barton
Self-esteem is different from conceit. Conceit is the weirdest disease in the world. It makes everyone sick except the one who has it. Hartman Rector junior
Conceit spoils the finest genius. There is not much danger that real talent or goodness will be overlooked long; even if it is, the consciousness of possessing and using it well should satisfy one, and the great charm of all power is modesty. Louisa May Alcott
Conceit is bragging about yourself. Confidence means you believe you can get the job done. Johnny Unitas
Conceit is an insuperable obstacle to all progress. Ellen Terry
Thus when we fondly flatter our desires,
Our best conceits do prove the greatest liars. Michael Drayton, 1563-1631
The sluggard is wiser in his own conceit than seven men that can render a reason. Proverbs 26:16
Be not wise in your own conceits. Romans 12:16
Words are the tokens current and accepted for conceits, as monkeys are for values. Francis Bacon, 1561-1626, The Advancement of Learning