--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A cunning mind emphatically delights in…" description: "\"A cunning mind emphatically delights in its own cunning, and is the ready prey of cunning.\" — Anna Brownell Jameson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ff/anna-brownell-jameson-10406_cunning_a-cunning-mind-emphatically-delights-in_76257.jpg" --- # A cunning mind emphatically delights in its own cunning… ![“A cunning mind emphatically delights in its own cunning, and is the ready prey of cunning.” quote by Anna Brownell Jameson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ff/anna-brownell-jameson-10406_cunning_a-cunning-mind-emphatically-delights-in_76257.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ff/anna-brownell-jameson-10406_cunning_a-cunning-mind-emphatically-delights-in_76257.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ff/anna-brownell-jameson-10406_cunning_a-cunning-mind-emphatically-delights-in_76257.jpg) > “A cunning mind emphatically delights in its own cunning, and is the ready prey of cunning.” [Anna Brownell Jameson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-brownell-jameson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Self‑conscious cleverness becomes a trap, as the pride in one's own wit blinds one to being outwitted. **In simple terms:** Pride in cleverness invites deception. Key Takeaway Overconfidence in cunning is self‑defeating. Themes pride self‑awareness deception hubris intelligence Mood cautious reflective wry Type aphorism observation warning When to use this quote - strategic negotiations - political maneuvering - personal relationships - competitive environments Key Concepts cunning self‑delight vulnerability Practical Applications - counseling on humility - training in critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - How does self‑praise affect judgment? - When might humility protect you from being outsmarted? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Delight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/delight/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) ## Related quotes > [All my own experience of life teaches me the contempt of cunning, not the fear. 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This is the cunning mind which goes on saying: Don’t go in this direction –…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osho/people-behave-as-if-they-were-blind-and-deaf-this-is-the-cunning-mind/) [Osho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osho/) > [Stratagem is the right hand of cunning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-william-curtis/stratagem-is-the-right-hand-of-cunning/) [George William Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-william-curtis/) > [“Till swollen with cunning, of a self-conceit, His waxen wings did mount above his reach, And melting heavens conspired his overthrow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-marlowe/till-swollen-with-cunning-of-a-self-conceit-his-waxen-wings-did-mount/) [Christopher Marlowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-marlowe/) > [Treason and murder ever kept together, As two yoke-devils sworn to either's purpose, Working so grossly in a natural cause That admiration did not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/treason-and-murder-ever-kept-together-as-two-yoke-devils-sworn-to/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [It is sometimes necessary to play the fool to avoid being deceived by cunning men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/it-is-sometimes-necessary-to-play-the-fool-to-avoid-being-deceived-by/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [Art is the final cunning of the human soul which would rather do anything than face the gods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/art-is-the-final-cunning-of-the-human-soul-which-would-rather-do/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [Why do some die and some live? The answer was clearly, that on the whole the best fitted live. From the effects of disease…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-russel-wallace/why-do-some-die-and-some-live-the-answer-was-clearly-that-on-the/) [Alfred Russel Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-russel-wallace/) > [That humanity and sincerity which dispose men to resist injustice and tyranny render them unfit to cope with the cunning and power of those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/that-humanity-and-sincerity-which-dispose-men-to-resist-injustice-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The terrible immoralities are the cunning ones hiding behind masks of morality, such as exploiting people while pretending to help them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernon-howard/the-terrible-immoralities-are-the-cunning-ones-hiding-behind-masks-of/) [Vernon Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernon-howard/) > [It is a pity that, commonly, more care is had--yea, and that among very wise men--to find out rather a cunning man for their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ascham/it-is-a-pity-that-commonly-more-care-is-had-yea-and-that-among-very/) [Roger Ascham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ascham/) > [Life is a battle of wits, and many people have to fight it unarmed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-esar/life-is-a-battle-of-wits-and-many-people-have-to-fight-it-unarmed/) [Evan Esar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-esar/) > [Charm is a cunning self-forgetfulness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-stead/charm-is-a-cunning-self-forgetfulness/) [Christina Stead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-stead/) ## More by Anna Brownell Jameson > [Reputation being essentially contemporaneous, is always at the mercy of the Envious and the Ignorant. But Fame, whose very birth is posthumous, and which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-brownell-jameson/reputation-being-essentially-contemporaneous-is-always-at-the-mercy/) [Anna Brownell Jameson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-brownell-jameson/) > [Opinion has ever been stronger than law.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-brownell-jameson/opinion-has-ever-been-stronger-than-law/) [Anna Brownell Jameson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-brownell-jameson/) > [What we truly and earnestly aspire to be, that in some sense we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-brownell-jameson/what-we-truly-and-earnestly-aspire-to-be-that-in-some-sense-we-are-2/) [Anna Brownell Jameson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-brownell-jameson/) > [He that seeks popularity in art closes the door on his own genius: as he must needs paint for other minds, and not for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-brownell-jameson/he-that-seeks-popularity-in-art-closes-the-door-on-his-own-genius-as/) [Anna Brownell Jameson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-brownell-jameson/) > [Conflict, which rouses up the best and highest powers in some characters, in others not only jars the whole being, but paralyzes the faculties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-brownell-jameson/conflict-which-rouses-up-the-best-and-highest-powers-in-some/) [Anna Brownell Jameson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-brownell-jameson/) > [Satan--the impersonation of that mixture of the bestial, the malignant, the impious, and the hopeless, which constitute the fiend--the enemy of all that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-brownell-jameson/satan-the-impersonation-of-that-mixture-of-the-bestial-the-malignant/) [Anna Brownell Jameson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-brownell-jameson/) > [Nature and truth are one, and immutable, and inseparable as beauty and love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-brownell-jameson/nature-and-truth-are-one-and-immutable-and-inseparable-as-beauty-and/) [Anna Brownell Jameson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-brownell-jameson/) > [A good taste in art feels the presence or the absence of merit; a just taste discriminates the degree--the poco piu and the poco…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-brownell-jameson/a-good-taste-in-art-feels-the-presence-or-the-absence-of-merit-a-just/) [Anna Brownell Jameson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-brownell-jameson/) > [Avarice is to the intellect what sensuality is to the morals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-brownell-jameson/avarice-is-to-the-intellect-what-sensuality-is-to-the-morals/) [Anna Brownell Jameson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-brownell-jameson/) > [The moment one begins to solder right and wrong together, one's conscience becomes like a piece of plated goods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-brownell-jameson/the-moment-one-begins-to-solder-right-and-wrong-together-one-s/) [Anna Brownell Jameson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-brownell-jameson/) > [In our relations with the people around us, we forgive them more readily for what they do, which they can help, than for what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-brownell-jameson/in-our-relations-with-the-people-around-us-we-forgive-them-more/) [Anna Brownell Jameson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-brownell-jameson/) > [I have much more confidence in the charity which begins in the home and diverges into a large humanity, than in the world-wide philanthropy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-brownell-jameson/i-have-much-more-confidence-in-the-charity-which-begins-in-the-home/) [Anna Brownell Jameson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-brownell-jameson/) > [When we talk of leaving our childhood behind us, we might as well say that the river flowing onward to the sea had left…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-brownell-jameson/when-we-talk-of-leaving-our-childhood-behind-us-we-might-as-well-say/) [Anna Brownell Jameson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-brownell-jameson/) > [If we can still love those who have made us suffer, we love them all the more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-brownell-jameson/if-we-can-still-love-those-who-have-made-us-suffer-we-love-them-all/) [Anna Brownell Jameson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-brownell-jameson/) > [Modesty and chastity are twins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-brownell-jameson/modesty-and-chastity-are-twins/) [Anna Brownell Jameson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-brownell-jameson/) [Explore all 66 Anna Brownell Jameson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-brownell-jameson/) ## More Cunning quotes > [Charm is a cunning self-forgetfulness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-stead/charm-is-a-cunning-self-forgetfulness/) [Christina Stead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-stead/) > [Life is a battle of wits, and many people have to fight it unarmed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-esar/life-is-a-battle-of-wits-and-many-people-have-to-fight-it-unarmed/) [Evan Esar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-esar/) > [It is a pity that, commonly, more care is had--yea, and that among very wise men--to find out rather a cunning man for their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ascham/it-is-a-pity-that-commonly-more-care-is-had-yea-and-that-among-very/) [Roger Ascham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ascham/) > [The terrible immoralities are the cunning ones hiding behind masks of morality, such as exploiting people while pretending to help them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernon-howard/the-terrible-immoralities-are-the-cunning-ones-hiding-behind-masks-of/) [Vernon Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernon-howard/) > [That humanity and sincerity which dispose men to resist injustice and tyranny render them unfit to cope with the cunning and power of those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/that-humanity-and-sincerity-which-dispose-men-to-resist-injustice-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Why do some die and some live? The answer was clearly, that on the whole the best fitted live. From the effects of disease…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-russel-wallace/why-do-some-die-and-some-live-the-answer-was-clearly-that-on-the/) [Alfred Russel Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-russel-wallace/) > [Art is the final cunning of the human soul which would rather do anything than face the gods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/art-is-the-final-cunning-of-the-human-soul-which-would-rather-do/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [It is sometimes necessary to play the fool to avoid being deceived by cunning men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/it-is-sometimes-necessary-to-play-the-fool-to-avoid-being-deceived-by/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [Treason and murder ever kept together, As two yoke-devils sworn to either's purpose, Working so grossly in a natural cause That admiration did not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/treason-and-murder-ever-kept-together-as-two-yoke-devils-sworn-to/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“Till swollen with cunning, of a self-conceit, His waxen wings did mount above his reach, And melting heavens conspired his overthrow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-marlowe/till-swollen-with-cunning-of-a-self-conceit-his-waxen-wings-did-mount/) [Christopher Marlowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-marlowe/) > [Stratagem is the right hand of cunning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-william-curtis/stratagem-is-the-right-hand-of-cunning/) [George William Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-william-curtis/) > [“When a man possesses the innocence of a child, we call him a fool. When a child possesses the cunning of a man, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-scott-bakker/when-a-man-possesses-the-innocence-of-a-child-we-call-him-a-fool-when/) [R. Scott Bakker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-scott-bakker/) > [“Would you like to sit?" Kellen asked her. "You'd better do it soon," Owen whispered close to her ear, "or I'm going to bend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-cunning/would-you-like-to-sit-kellen-asked-her-you-d-better-do-it-soon-owen/) [Olivia Cunning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-cunning/) > [I am defined by my will to survive, not by intelligence or cunning or money or good looks. The Creator didn't see her way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaune-quick-to-see-smith/i-am-defined-by-my-will-to-survive-not-by-intelligence-or-cunning-or/) [Jaune Quick–to–See Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaune-quick-to-see-smith/) > [On the television planet, where men make up the tribe, the law of the caveman rules. So, for a woman coming from another world,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristina-saralegui/on-the-television-planet-where-men-make-up-the-tribe-the-law-of-the/) [Cristina Saralegui](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristina-saralegui/) Browse all 535 Cunning quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A cunning mind emphatically delights in its own cunning, and is the ready prey of cunning.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anna Brownell Jameson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-brownell-jameson/a-cunning-mind-emphatically-delights-in-its-own-cunning-and-is-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cunning" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-brownell-jameson/a-cunning-mind-emphatically-delights-in-its-own-cunning-and-is-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ff/anna-brownell-jameson-10406_cunning_a-cunning-mind-emphatically-delights-in_76257.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ff/anna-brownell-jameson-10406_cunning_a-cunning-mind-emphatically-delights-in_76257.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ff/anna-brownell-jameson-10406_cunning_a-cunning-mind-emphatically-delights-in_76257.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A cunning mind emphatically delights in its own cunning, and is the ready prey of cunning.” — Anna Brownell Jameson", "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": "Anna Brownell Jameson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-brownell-jameson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A cunning mind emphatically delights in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-brownell-jameson/a-cunning-mind-emphatically-delights-in-its-own-cunning-and-is-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-brownell-jameson/a-cunning-mind-emphatically-delights-in-its-own-cunning-and-is-the/#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 } } ] } ```