--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Thus when we fondly flatter our desires…" description: "\"Thus when we fondly flatter our desires, Our best conceits do prove the greatest liars.\" — Michael Drayton" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/450/michael-drayton-28036_conceit_thus-when-we-fondly-flatter-our-desires_2956817.jpg" --- # Thus when we fondly flatter our desires, Our best conceits… ![“Thus when we fondly flatter our desires, Our best conceits do prove the greatest liars.” quote by Michael Drayton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/450/michael-drayton-28036_conceit_thus-when-we-fondly-flatter-our-desires_2956817.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/450/michael-drayton-28036_conceit_thus-when-we-fondly-flatter-our-desires_2956817.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/450/michael-drayton-28036_conceit_thus-when-we-fondly-flatter-our-desires_2956817.jpg) > “Thus when we fondly flatter our desires, Our best conceits do prove the greatest liars.” [Michael Drayton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-drayton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He warns that flattering desires deceive, making us liars to ourselves. **In simple terms:** Flattering desires cause self-deception. Key Takeaway Beware of self‑deception from desire. Themes self‑deception desire truth Mood cautionary reflective Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - personal ambition - marketing promises - political rhetoric Key Concepts vanity psychology literature Questions to Reflect On - How do desires cloud judgment? - What truths are hidden by self‑flattery? A Different Perspective May underestimate rational self‑interest. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conceit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conceit/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Liars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liars/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [As far as Ted Cruz, he's one of the greatest liars and biggest liars I've ever known.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/as-far-as-ted-cruz-he-s-one-of-the-greatest-liars-and-biggest-liars-i/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [Quacks are the greatest liars in the world except their patients.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/quacks-are-the-greatest-liars-in-the-world-except-their-patients/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [The camera is one of the greatest liars of our time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gunther/the-camera-is-one-of-the-greatest-liars-of-our-time/) [John Gunther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gunther/) > [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/) > [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 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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [“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/) ## More by Michael Drayton > [Better sit still, than rise to meet the devil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-drayton/better-sit-still-than-rise-to-meet-the-devil/) [Michael Drayton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-drayton/) > [It is your virtue, being men, to try; And it is ours, by virtue to deny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-drayton/it-is-your-virtue-being-men-to-try-and-it-is-ours-by-virtue-to-deny/) [Michael Drayton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-drayton/) > [O blessed bounty, giving ail content! The only fautress of all noble arts That lend'st success to every good intent. A grace that rests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-drayton/o-blessed-bounty-giving-ail-content-the-only-fautress-of-all-noble/) [Michael Drayton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-drayton/) > [With much we surfeit; plenty makes us poor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-drayton/with-much-we-surfeit-plenty-makes-us-poor/) [Michael Drayton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-drayton/) > [Must, bid the Morn awake! Sad Winter now declines, Each bird doth choose a mate; This day's Saint Valentine's. For that good bishop's sake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-drayton/must-bid-the-morn-awake-sad-winter-now-declines-each-bird-doth-choose/) [Michael Drayton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-drayton/) > [The falcon and the dove sit there together, and the one of them doth prune the other's feather.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-drayton/the-falcon-and-the-dove-sit-there-together-and-the-one-of-them-doth/) [Michael Drayton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-drayton/) > [“Since there's no help, come, let us kiss and part, Nay, I have done, you get no more of me, And I am glad,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-drayton/since-there-s-no-help-come-let-us-kiss-and-part-nay-i-have-done-you/) [Michael Drayton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-drayton/) > [“Since there is no help let us kiss and part. - Sonnet LXI”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-drayton/since-there-is-no-help-let-us-kiss-and-part-sonnet-lxi/) [Michael Drayton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-drayton/) > [The Falcon and the Dove sit there together, And th 'one of them doth prune the others feather.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-drayton/the-falcon-and-the-dove-sit-there-together-and-th-one-of-them-doth/) [Michael Drayton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-drayton/) > [Here when the labouring fish does at the foot arrive, And finds that by his strength but vainly he doth strive; His tail takes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-drayton/here-when-the-labouring-fish-does-at-the-foot-arrive-and-finds-that/) [Michael Drayton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-drayton/) > [When Time shall turne those Amber Lockes to Gray.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-drayton/when-time-shall-turne-those-amber-lockes-to-gray/) [Michael Drayton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-drayton/) > [WhenTime shall turn those amber locks to grey, My verse again shall gild and make them gay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-drayton/whentime-shall-turn-those-amber-locks-to-grey-my-verse-again-shall/) [Michael Drayton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-drayton/) > [The mind is free, whate'er afflict the man, A King's a King, do Fortune what she can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-drayton/the-mind-is-free-whate-er-afflict-the-man-a-king-s-a-king-do-fortune/) [Michael Drayton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-drayton/) > [All transitory titles I detest; a virtuous life I mean to boast alone. Our birth's our sires'; our virtues be our own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-drayton/all-transitory-titles-i-detest-a-virtuous-life-i-mean-to-boast-alone/) [Michael Drayton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-drayton/) > [So in all humours sportively I range; My muse is rightly of the English strain, That cannot long one fashion entertain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-drayton/so-in-all-humours-sportively-i-range-my-muse-is-rightly-of-the/) [Michael Drayton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-drayton/) [Explore all 20 Michael Drayton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-drayton/) ## 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": "Thus when we fondly flatter our desires, Our best conceits do prove the greatest liars.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michael Drayton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-drayton/thus-when-we-fondly-flatter-our-desires-our-best-conceits-do-prove/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Conceit" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-drayton/thus-when-we-fondly-flatter-our-desires-our-best-conceits-do-prove/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/450/michael-drayton-28036_conceit_thus-when-we-fondly-flatter-our-desires_2956817.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/450/michael-drayton-28036_conceit_thus-when-we-fondly-flatter-our-desires_2956817.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/450/michael-drayton-28036_conceit_thus-when-we-fondly-flatter-our-desires_2956817.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Thus when we fondly flatter our desires, Our best conceits do prove the greatest liars.” — Michael Drayton", "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": "Michael Drayton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-drayton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Thus when we fondly flatter our...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-drayton/thus-when-we-fondly-flatter-our-desires-our-best-conceits-do-prove/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-drayton/thus-when-we-fondly-flatter-our-desires-our-best-conceits-do-prove/#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 } } ] } ```