--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: O my vanity I am an arrogant man, is this…" description: "\"“O my vanity I am an arrogant man, is this weakness, is it just a dream of power? Must I betray myself for a seat on the council? Is this sensible and ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d28/salman-rushdie-153_dreams_o-my-vanity-i-am-an-arrogant-man-is-this_1585482.jpg" --- # O my vanity I am an arrogant man, is this weakness, is it… ![“O my vanity I am an arrogant man, is this weakness, is it just a dream of power? Must I betray myself for a seat on the council? Is this sensible and wise or is it hollow and self-loving? I don’t even know if the Grandee is sincere. Does he know? Perhaps not even he. I am weak and he’s strong, the…” quote by Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d28/salman-rushdie-153_dreams_o-my-vanity-i-am-an-arrogant-man-is-this_1585482.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d28/salman-rushdie-153_dreams_o-my-vanity-i-am-an-arrogant-man-is-this_1585482.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d28/salman-rushdie-153_dreams_o-my-vanity-i-am-an-arrogant-man-is-this_1585482.jpg) > ““O my vanity I am an arrogant man, is this weakness, is it just a dream of power? Must I betray myself for a seat on the council? Is this sensible and wise or is it hollow and self-loving? I don’t even know if the Grandee is sincere. Does he know? Perhaps not even he. I am weak and he’s strong, the offer gives him many ways of ruining me. But I, too, have much to gain. The souls of the city, of the world, surely they are worth three angels? Is Allah so unbending that he will not embrace three more to save the human race?”” [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A ruler wrestles with pride, loyalty, and the cost of power, questioning whether personal ambition justifies betrayal for the greater good. **In simple terms:** Power and pride clash with duty and doubt. Key Takeaway Weigh ambition against moral responsibility. Themes ambition loyalty power faith politics Mood conflicted reflective Type philosophical political When to use this quote - Leadership decisions - religious counsel - personal sacrifice - political negotiation Key Concepts Moral dilemma hubris political intrigue Questions to Reflect On - What are the limits of personal ambition for the greater good? - How does faith influence political choices? A Different Perspective The quote assumes power can be used for good, ignoring potential corruption. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Allah Unbending](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/allah-unbending-5997477/) [Angels Allah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/angels-allah-5997476/) [Arrogant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arrogant/) [Arrogant Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arrogant-man/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Human race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-race/) [Islam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/islam/) [Pride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pride/) [Vanity Arrogant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vanity-arrogant-2057877/) ## Related quotes > [Call it vanity, call it arrogant presumption, call it what you wish, but I would grope for the nearest open grave if I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-considine/call-it-vanity-call-it-arrogant-presumption-call-it-what-you-wish-but/) [Bob Considine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-considine/) > [Because arrogance is born in personal vanity, arrogant people are driven without mercy. They can never get enough power to fill the soul's needs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/because-arrogance-is-born-in-personal-vanity-arrogant-people-are/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) > [The modest man has everything to gain, and the arrogant man everything to lose; for modesty has always to deal with generosity, and arrogance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-rivarol/the-modest-man-has-everything-to-gain-and-the-arrogant-man-everything/) [Antoine Rivarol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-rivarol/) > [I have always been an arrogant man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rishi-kapoor/i-have-always-been-an-arrogant-man/) [Rishi Kapoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rishi-kapoor/) > [“James Joyce seemed like the most arrogant man who ever lived, had both his eyes wide open and great faculty of speech, but what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/james-joyce-seemed-like-the-most-arrogant-man-who-ever-lived-had-both/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [The arrogant man is unteachable, for he is full of emptiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ore-abayomi/the-arrogant-man-is-unteachable-for-he-is-full-of-emptiness/) [Ore Abayomi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ore-abayomi/) > [Only an arrogant man will claim to be independent of everybody else and be self-contained.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/only-an-arrogant-man-will-claim-to-be-independent-of-everybody-else/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [The landscape painter must walk in the fields with a humble mind. No arrogant man was ever permitted to see Nature in all her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-constable/the-landscape-painter-must-walk-in-the-fields-with-a-humble-mind-no/) [John Constable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-constable/) > [“The arrogant man probably thought his path to heaven was already assured, and that he acted in accordance to God’s will just by breathing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-banks/the-arrogant-man-probably-thought-his-path-to-heaven-was-already/) [Maya Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-banks/) > [“sigh, for her returning life was a tonic to his soul. Whatever she suffered, whatever loss came to her, she would throw it off,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-graham/sigh-for-her-returning-life-was-a-tonic-to-his-soul-whatever-she/) [Winston Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-graham/) > [“What is soft power? It is the ability to get what you want through attraction rather than coercion or payments. It arises from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-s-nye-jr/what-is-soft-power-it-is-the-ability-to-get-what-you-want-through/) [Joseph S. Nye Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-s-nye-jr/) > [“An arrogant man knows his own worth, and if he is clever as well, knows yours.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-alexander/an-arrogant-man-knows-his-own-worth-and-if-he-is-clever-as-well-knows/) [Victoria Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-alexander/) > [I was an arrogant man. I not only thought I could manage my life without help, I wanted it that way. I had best-selling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-bruce-cameron/i-was-an-arrogant-man-i-not-only-thought-i-could-manage-my-life/) [W. Bruce Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-bruce-cameron/) > [An arrogant man will still feel immortal, even on his death bed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/an-arrogant-man-will-still-feel-immortal-even-on-his-death-bed/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) > [“Although he called himself a Christian, I had a hard time correlating his vicious gossip, bigoted expressions, and arrogant manner as such. I often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-c-tillery/although-he-called-himself-a-christian-i-had-a-hard-time-correlating/) [C.C. Tillery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-c-tillery/) ## More by Salman Rushdie > [If my child had prejudice in his head, I'd be ashamed. I would see it as my failure as a parent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-my-child-had-prejudice-in-his-head-i-d-be-ashamed-i-would-see-it/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [It's a terrible thing that your life turns into a good story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/it-s-a-terrible-thing-that-your-life-turns-into-a-good-story/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [Sometimes by a woodland stream he watched the water rush over the pebbled bed, its tiny modulations of bounce and flow. A woman's body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/sometimes-by-a-woodland-stream-he-watched-the-water-rush-over-the/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I want to write novels. I want to write stories. I want to do the stuff that I became a writer to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-want-to-write-novels-i-want-to-write-stories-i-want-to-do-the-stuff/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [If you want to be a serious writer, then you have to write what there is to write about. If you're going to pull…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-you-want-to-be-a-serious-writer-then-you-have-to-write-what-there/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“Después de exigir mi marcha, ya no posees jurisdicción en lo concerniente a mi salud.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/despu-s-de-exigir-mi-marcha-ya-no-posees-jurisdicci-n-en-lo/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [If there is a choice between absolute safety and freedom, then freedom must always prevail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-there-is-a-choice-between-absolute-safety-and-freedom-then-freedom/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I'm not a prophet, but I always thought it was natural for dictatorships to fall. I remember in 1989, two months before the fall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-m-not-a-prophet-but-i-always-thought-it-was-natural-for/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I'd wanted to create a storm so that I could become more famous and richer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-d-wanted-to-create-a-storm-so-that-i-could-become-more-famous-and/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [Who what am I? My answer: I am the sum total of everything that went before me, of all I have been seen done,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/who-what-am-i-my-answer-i-am-the-sum-total-of-everything-that-went/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“...proving once again that there was no escape from recurrence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/proving-once-again-that-there-was-no-escape-from-recurrence/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“information, in a stream-of-consciousness soliloquy that revealed the extent to which he had internalised the adversarial fragmentation of American culture and made it a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/information-in-a-stream-of-consciousness-soliloquy-that-revealed-the/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [A little bit of one story joins onto an idea from another, and hey presto, . . . not old tales but new ones.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/a-little-bit-of-one-story-joins-onto-an-idea-from-another-and-hey/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I'm a novelist. Fortunately I don't have to rule the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-m-a-novelist-fortunately-i-don-t-have-to-rule-the-world/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [The First Amendment defends all forms of speech including hate speech, which is why groups like Ku Klux Klan are allowed to utter their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/the-first-amendment-defends-all-forms-of-speech-including-hate-speech/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) [Explore all 1,087 Salman Rushdie quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) ## More Arrogant quotes > [How arrogant - how very far from humility - would be the self-satisfied, smug assurance that God, a tidy-up-after-us God will come and clean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/how-arrogant-how-very-far-from-humility-would-be-the-self-satisfied/) [Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/) > [ \[T\]he tax code has been piling up, year after year, a symbol of everything gone wrong in America, of arrogant rulers and lost freedom,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-armey/t-he-tax-code-has-been-piling-up-year-after-year-a-symbol-of/) [Dick Armey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-armey/) > [What I would say to filmmakers, if I may be so bold or so arrogant, is to draw inspiration from other filmmakers, but go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-bender/what-i-would-say-to-filmmakers-if-i-may-be-so-bold-or-so-arrogant-is/) [Lawrence Bender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-bender/) > [In politics we face the choice between warmongering, nation-state loving, big-business agents on one hand; and risk-blind, top-down, epistemic arrogant big servants of large…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/in-politics-we-face-the-choice-between-warmongering-nation-state/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [I absolutely hate arrogant people, irks me to no end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-absolutely-hate-arrogant-people-irks-me-to-no-end/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Splutter, splutter. Yes - we're off - we're rising. But why start off with an engine like that? But it smooths out now, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/splutter-splutter-yes-we-re-off-we-re-rising-but-why-start-off-with/) [Anne Morrow Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [Mourinho is a bit arrogant, but you've got to like him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-nicol/mourinho-is-a-bit-arrogant-but-you-ve-got-to-like-him/) [Steve Nicol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-nicol/) > [Some say work smarter, not harder, but the wisest are both. Whether you're more of a hard worker or a smart worker, if you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colby-tatem/some-say-work-smarter-not-harder-but-the-wisest-are-both-whether-you/) [Colby Tatem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colby-tatem/) > [I was spoiled and I was arrogant. I was very demanding, had an overblown image of who I was and got a reputation for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judge-reinhold/i-was-spoiled-and-i-was-arrogant-i-was-very-demanding-had-an/) [Judge Reinhold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judge-reinhold/) > [We are not being arrogant or complacent when we are said that our country, as a united nation, has never in its entire history,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thabo-mbeki/we-are-not-being-arrogant-or-complacent-when-we-are-said-that-our/) [Thabo Mbeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thabo-mbeki/) > [“So you intend to go through life never loving anyone? Just … things?” “No. I’m looking for something more.” “More than love?” “Yes.” “Is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renee-ahdieh/so-you-intend-to-go-through-life-never-loving-anyone-just-things-no-i/) [Renee Ahdieh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renee-ahdieh/) > [People are tired of wasteful government programs and welfare chiselers, and they are angry about the constant spiral of taxes and government regulations, arrogant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/people-are-tired-of-wasteful-government-programs-and-welfare/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [“He was a man. Handsome as sin, arrogant as fuck, and in need of at least one woman to prove he wasn’t God’s gift…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-blue/he-was-a-man-handsome-as-sin-arrogant-as-fuck-and-in-need-of-at-least/) [Melissa Blue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-blue/) > [Being nice to people gets you nowhere. Being arrogant gets you nowhere. Blackmail, now that's a thing that will get you everywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-nice-to-people-gets-you-nowhere-being-arrogant-gets-you-nowhere/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's amusing how arrogant people can be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-amusing-how-arrogant-people-can-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 1,146 Arrogant quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arrogant/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“O my vanity I am an arrogant man, is this weakness, is it just a dream of power? Must I betray myself for a seat on the council? Is this sensible and wise or is it hollow and self-loving? I don’t even know if the Grandee is sincere. Does he know? Perhaps not even he. I am weak and he’s strong, the offer gives him many ways of ruining me. But I, too, have much to gain. 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