--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: conceit is the devil's horse, and…" description: "\"conceit is the devil's horse, and reformers generally ride it when they are in a hurry.\" — Margaret Deland" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/934/margaret-deland-7843_conceit_conceit-is-the-devil-s-horse-and-reforme_2145547.png" --- # conceit is the devil's horse, and reformers generally ride… ![“conceit is the devil's horse, and reformers generally ride it when they are in a hurry.” quote by Margaret Deland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/934/margaret-deland-7843_conceit_conceit-is-the-devil-s-horse-and-reforme_2145547.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/934/margaret-deland-7843_conceit_conceit-is-the-devil-s-horse-and-reforme_2145547.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/934/margaret-deland-7843_conceit_conceit-is-the-devil-s-horse-and-reforme_2145547.png) > “conceit is the devil's horse, and reformers generally ride it when they are in a hurry.” [Margaret Deland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-deland/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reformers often cling to conceit, using it as a quick‑fix horse, which can lead to hasty, misguided changes. **In simple terms:** Reformers use pride as a shortcut, causing rushed reforms. Key Takeaway Check ego before acting. Themes reform pride urgency ethics Mood cautious thoughtful Type ethical political When to use this quote - legislation - organizational change - social movements - personal development Key Concepts moral hazard policy making Questions to Reflect On - When does pride hinder progress? - How to ensure thoughtful reform? A Different Perspective Hasty reforms may cause harm. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conceit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conceit/) [Conceit Devil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conceit-devil-4487176/) [Devil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/devil/) [Horse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horse/) [Horse Reformers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horse-reformers-4487177/) [Reformers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reformers/) [Reformers Generally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reformers-generally-4487178/) [Self importance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-importance/) ## Related quotes > [“Arrogant men with knowledge make more noise from their mouth than making a sense from their mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/arrogant-men-with-knowledge-make-more-noise-from-their-mouth-than/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [Often Satan injects pride into the believer's spirit, evoking in him an attitude of self-importance and of self-conceit. He causes him to esteem himself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/watchman-nee/often-satan-injects-pride-into-the-believer-s-spirit-evoking-in-him/) [Watchman Nee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/watchman-nee/) > [There are a sort of men, whose visages Do cream and mantle, like a standing pond; And do a willful stillness entertain, With purpose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/there-are-a-sort-of-men-whose-visages-do-cream-and-mantle-like-a/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [A man who keeps company with glaciers comes to feel tolerably insignificiant by and by. The Alps and the glaciers together are able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/a-man-who-keeps-company-with-glaciers-comes-to-feel-tolerably-2/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“The only time I've ever learned anything from a review was when John Lanchester wrote a piece in the Guardian about my second novel,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/the-only-time-i-ve-ever-learned-anything-from-a-review-was-when-john/) [Colm Tóibín](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) > [“Ego is an illusion of I.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/ego-is-an-illusion-of-i/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [... perhaps there is no conceit so arrogant as the conceit which follows a conviction of emancipation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-deland/perhaps-there-is-no-conceit-so-arrogant-as-the-conceit-which-follows/) [Margaret Deland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-deland/) > [“At a deeper psychological level, the reformers' ideas of salvation introduced a major change in the way people saw their world. They could no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fiona-macdonald/at-a-deeper-psychological-level-the-reformers-ideas-of-salvation/) [Fiona MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fiona-macdonald/) > [Whether our reformers admit it or not, the economic and social inferiority of women is responsible for prostitution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/whether-our-reformers-admit-it-or-not-the-economic-and-social/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [“All of the Reformers agreed among themselves and with Rome on the point that the Supper lies at the heart of the person of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-s-horton/all-of-the-reformers-agreed-among-themselves-and-with-rome-on-the/) [Michael S. Horton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-s-horton/) > [I believe that what so saddens the reformer is not his sympathy with his fellows in distress, but, though he be the holiest son…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-believe-that-what-so-saddens-the-reformer-is-not-his-sympathy-with/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [We will meet our challenges head on and we will do it by rejecting the politics of mediocrity and corruption. You voted for change;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-blagojevich/we-will-meet-our-challenges-head-on-and-we-will-do-it-by-rejecting/) [Rod Blagojevich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-blagojevich/) > [“Luther, the hero of Worms, the champion of the sacred rights of conscience, was, in words, the most violent, but in practice, the least…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-schaff/luther-the-hero-of-worms-the-champion-of-the-sacred-rights-of/) [Philip Schaff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-schaff/) > [“This is perhaps as good a place as any to point out that what distinguishes many reformers from those who cannot accept their proposals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hazlitt/this-is-perhaps-as-good-a-place-as-any-to-point-out-that-what/) [Henry Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hazlitt/) > [Dr. Arnold . . . the admired reformer of public schools, came across some cranks who thought it a mistake to flog boys. Anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/dr-arnold-the-admired-reformer-of-public-schools-came-across-some/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) ## More by Margaret Deland > [What I object to in Mother is that she wants me to think her thoughts. Apart from the question of hypocrisy, I prefer my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-deland/what-i-object-to-in-mother-is-that-she-wants-me-to-think-her-thoughts/) [Margaret Deland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-deland/) > [Age, per se, may claim tenderness and pity, but not respect; that only comes when the years have brought humanity and wisdom and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-deland/age-per-se-may-claim-tenderness-and-pity-but-not-respect-that-only/) [Margaret Deland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-deland/) > [War is wicked, beause it is murder and hate. And it is foolish, because hate and murder can only destroy people's bodies, not change…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-deland/war-is-wicked-beause-it-is-murder-and-hate-and-it-is-foolish-because/) [Margaret Deland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-deland/) > [there are few things that are more endearing than the grace of listening with attention; indeed, it is more than endearing, it is impressive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-deland/there-are-few-things-that-are-more-endearing-than-the-grace-of/) [Margaret Deland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-deland/) > [the attempt to break a habit of years is necessarily experimental.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-deland/the-attempt-to-break-a-habit-of-years-is-necessarily-experimental/) [Margaret Deland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-deland/) > [Self-sacrifice which denies common sense is not a virtue. It's a spiritual dissipation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-deland/self-sacrifice-which-denies-common-sense-is-not-a-virtue-it-s-a/) [Margaret Deland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-deland/) > [Age, with shamefaced relief, has learned the solvent quality of Time. It is this quality which makes possible the contemplation of certain embarrassing heavenly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-deland/age-with-shamefaced-relief-has-learned-the-solvent-quality-of-time-it/) [Margaret Deland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-deland/) > [Hearts don't come when Reason whistles to 'em.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-deland/hearts-don-t-come-when-reason-whistles-to-em/) [Margaret Deland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-deland/) > [I have no faith in a human critter who hasn't one or two bad habits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-deland/i-have-no-faith-in-a-human-critter-who-hasn-t-one-or-two-bad-habits/) [Margaret Deland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-deland/) > [Isn't there any statute of limitation in things spiritual? I don't believe any large mind dwells on its sins, any more than on its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-deland/isn-t-there-any-statute-of-limitation-in-things-spiritual-i-don-t/) [Margaret Deland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-deland/) > [To talk over a quarrel, with its inevitable accompaniment of self-justification, is too much like handling cobwebs to be very successful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-deland/to-talk-over-a-quarrel-with-its-inevitable-accompaniment-of-self/) [Margaret Deland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-deland/) > [... some of the things floating about in the Well of Memory are not worth recording.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-deland/some-of-the-things-floating-about-in-the-well-of-memory-are-not-worth/) [Margaret Deland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-deland/) > [... safety that depends on an apron-string is very unsafe!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-deland/safety-that-depends-on-an-apron-string-is-very-unsafe/) [Margaret Deland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-deland/) > [a great moment raises most of the people who experience it, to its own level; and that is why they do not always recognize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-deland/a-great-moment-raises-most-of-the-people-who-experience-it-to-its-own/) [Margaret Deland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-deland/) > [Of all the bitter and heavy things in this sorry old world, the not being necessary is the bitterest and heaviest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-deland/of-all-the-bitter-and-heavy-things-in-this-sorry-old-world-the-not/) [Margaret Deland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-deland/) [Explore all 87 Margaret Deland quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-deland/) ## More Conceit quotes > [“A session of boasting won't attract any real friends.  It will set you up on a pedestal, however, making you a clearer target.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/a-session-of-boasting-won-t-attract-any-real-friends-it-will-set-you/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [Most of us think of pride as self-centeredness, conceit, boastfulness, arrogance, or haughtiness. All of these are elements of the sin, but the heart,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson/most-of-us-think-of-pride-as-self-centeredness-conceit-boastfulness/) [Ezra Taft Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-taft-benson/) > [Conceit is a sure sign of insecurity; humility denotes awareness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sivaya-subramuniyaswami/conceit-is-a-sure-sign-of-insecurity-humility-denotes-awareness/) [Sivaya Subramuniyaswami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sivaya-subramuniyaswami/) > [Conceit is a weird disease - it makes everybody sick except the guy who has it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dobson/conceit-is-a-weird-disease-it-makes-everybody-sick-except-the-guy-who/) [James Dobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dobson/) > [Be very slow to believe that you are wiser than all others; it is a fatal but common error. Where one has been saved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/be-very-slow-to-believe-that-you-are-wiser-than-all-others-it-is-a/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [History repeats the old conceits, the glib replies, the same defeats.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elvis-costello/history-repeats-the-old-conceits-the-glib-replies-the-same-defeats/) [Elvis Costello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elvis-costello/) > [Being carefree, you can fit in anywhere. If you’re not carefree you keep on bumping up against things. Your life becomes so narrow, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tsoknyi-rinpoche/being-carefree-you-can-fit-in-anywhere-if-you-re-not-carefree-you/) [Tsoknyi Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tsoknyi-rinpoche/) > [This man, who for twenty-five years has been reading and writing about art, and in all that time has never understood anything about art,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/this-man-who-for-twenty-five-years-has-been-reading-and-writing-about/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [There is nothing like a good bit of pain for taking the conceit out of one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-welsh-carlyle/there-is-nothing-like-a-good-bit-of-pain-for-taking-the-conceit-out/) [Jane Welsh Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-welsh-carlyle/) > [If you want to conquer conceit, do not desire praise, laurels, nice garments, respect, favor, but like to be blamed and slandered by people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-aleksandrovich-antonov/if-you-want-to-conquer-conceit-do-not-desire-praise-laurels-nice/) [Vladimir Aleksandrovich Antonov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-aleksandrovich-antonov/) > [The smaller the mind, the greater the ego.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-clancy/the-smaller-the-mind-the-greater-the-ego/) [Tom Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-clancy/) > [If a man thinks he is not conceited, he is very conceited indeed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-a-man-thinks-he-is-not-conceited-he-is-very-conceited-indeed/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There is simple ignorance, which is the source of lighter offenses, and double ignorance, which is accompanied by a conceit of wisdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/there-is-simple-ignorance-which-is-the-source-of-lighter-offenses-and/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Jesus regularly visualized the success of his efforts ... 'I always do what pleases God.' ... Was this conceit? Or was it enlightened creativity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-beth-jones/jesus-regularly-visualized-the-success-of-his-efforts-i-always-do/) [Laurie Beth Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-beth-jones/) > [“Took long enough,” she called out, not wanting to admit how the sight of him made her throat hitch, how the man was so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-mcintyre/took-long-enough-she-called-out-not-wanting-to-admit-how-the-sight-of/) [Katherine McIntyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-mcintyre/) [Browse all 360 Conceit quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conceit/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "conceit is the devil's horse, and reformers generally ride it when they are in a hurry.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Margaret Deland" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-deland/conceit-is-the-devil-s-horse-and-reformers-generally-ride-it-when/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Conceit" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-deland/conceit-is-the-devil-s-horse-and-reformers-generally-ride-it-when/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/934/margaret-deland-7843_conceit_conceit-is-the-devil-s-horse-and-reforme_2145547.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/934/margaret-deland-7843_conceit_conceit-is-the-devil-s-horse-and-reforme_2145547.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/934/margaret-deland-7843_conceit_conceit-is-the-devil-s-horse-and-reforme_2145547.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“conceit is the devil's horse, and reformers generally ride it when they are in a hurry.” — Margaret Deland", "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": "Margaret Deland", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-deland/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "conceit is the devil's horse, and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-deland/conceit-is-the-devil-s-horse-and-reformers-generally-ride-it-when/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-deland/conceit-is-the-devil-s-horse-and-reformers-generally-ride-it-when/#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 } } ] } ```