--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Teach me, dear creature, how to think and…" description: "\"Teach me, dear creature, how to think and speak; Lay open to my earthy-gross conceit, Smother'd in errors, feeble, shallow, weak, The folded meaning of..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e83/william-shakespeare-4_conceit_teach-me-dear-creature-how-to-think-and_795971.jpg" --- # Teach me, dear creature, how to think and speak; Lay open… ![“Teach me, dear creature, how to think and speak; Lay open to my earthy-gross conceit, Smother'd in errors, feeble, shallow, weak, The folded meaning of your words' deceit.” quote by William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e83/william-shakespeare-4_conceit_teach-me-dear-creature-how-to-think-and_795971.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e83/william-shakespeare-4_conceit_teach-me-dear-creature-how-to-think-and_795971.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e83/william-shakespeare-4_conceit_teach-me-dear-creature-how-to-think-and_795971.jpg) > “Teach me, dear creature, how to think and speak; Lay open to my earthy-gross conceit, Smother'd in errors, feeble, shallow, weak, The folded meaning of your words' deceit.” [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A speaker critiques another's shallow thinking and deceptive language. **In simple terms:** Criticizes shallow, dishonest speech. Key Takeaway Seek depth, avoid pretension. Themes criticism language intellect Mood reflective serious Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - debates - education - personal growth Key Concepts rhetoric self‑awareness philosophy Questions to Reflect On - What makes words genuine? - How can you improve your own expression? A Different Perspective May overlook the speaker's own biases. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conceit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conceit/) [Creatures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creatures/) [Dear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dear/) [Dear Creature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dear-creature-1864914/) [Deceit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deceit/) [Errors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/errors/) [Feeble Shallow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feeble-shallow-6103910/) [Gross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gross/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [Shallow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shallow/) [Shallow Weak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shallow-weak-6103911/) [Speak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speak/) [Teach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teach/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Weak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weak/) [Words Deceit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words-deceit-6103909/) ## Related quotes > [“You, my dear, are a creature of the night, you are a vampire.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-hammond/you-my-dear-are-a-creature-of-the-night-you-are-a-vampire/) [Lauren Hammond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-hammond/) > [It is one of Heaven's best gifts to hold such a dear creature in one's arms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/it-is-one-of-heaven-s-best-gifts-to-hold-such-a-dear-creature-in-one/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [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/) > [They are but beggars that can count their worth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/they-are-but-beggars-that-can-count-their-worth/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Conceit in weakest bodies works the strongest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/conceit-in-weakest-bodies-works-the-strongest/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I am not in the roll of common men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-am-not-in-the-roll-of-common-men/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [One whom the music of his own vain tongue doth ravish like enchanting harmony.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/one-whom-the-music-of-his-own-vain-tongue-doth-ravish-like-enchanting/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Conceit, more rich in matter than in words, brags of his substance: they are but beggars who can count their worth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/conceit-more-rich-in-matter-than-in-words-brags-of-his-substance-they/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Conceit, more rich in matter than in words, Brags of his substance, not of ornament: They are but beggars that can count their worth;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/conceit-more-rich-in-matter-than-in-words-brags-of-his-substance-not/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [And do so, love, yet when they have devised What strainèd touches rhetoric can lend, Thou, truly fair, wert truly sympathized In true plain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/and-do-so-love-yet-when-they-have-devised-what-strain-d-touches/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [You cannot make gross sins look clear: To revenge is no valour, but to bear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/you-cannot-make-gross-sins-look-clear-to-revenge-is-no-valour-but-to/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Free from gross passion or of mirth of anger constant spirit, not swerving with the blood, garnish'd and deck'd in modest compliment, not working…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/free-from-gross-passion-or-of-mirth-of-anger-constant-spirit-not/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Free from gross passion or of mirth or anger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/free-from-gross-passion-or-of-mirth-or-anger/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [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 William Shakespeare > [Let us kill all lawyers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/let-us-kill-all-lawyers/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-horse-a-horse-my-kingdom-for-a-horse/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [O tiger's heart wrapped in a woman's hide!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/o-tiger-s-heart-wrapped-in-a-woman-s-hide/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Time hath not yet so dried this blood of mine, Nor age so eat up my invention, Nor fortune made such havoc of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/time-hath-not-yet-so-dried-this-blood-of-mine-nor-age-so-eat-up-my/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Divers philosophers hold that the lips is parcel of the mouth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/divers-philosophers-hold-that-the-lips-is-parcel-of-the-mouth/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Short time seems long in sorrow's sharp sustaining.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/short-time-seems-long-in-sorrow-s-sharp-sustaining/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“Love is a smoke made with the fume of sighs; Being purg'd, a fire sparkling in lovers' eyes; Being vex'd, a sea nourish'd with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/love-is-a-smoke-made-with-the-fume-of-sighs-being-purg-d-a-fire/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I, measuring his affections by my own, Which then most sought where most might not be found, Being one too many by my weary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-measuring-his-affections-by-my-own-which-then-most-sought-where/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Ask God for temp'rance. That's th' appliance only Which your disease requires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/ask-god-for-temp-rance-that-s-th-appliance-only-which-your-disease/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“Thou hast no figures nor no fantasies Which busy care draws in the brains of men; Therefore thou sleep’st so sound. Julius Caesar (2.1.248-251)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/thou-hast-no-figures-nor-no-fantasies-which-busy-care-draws-in-the/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Truth needs no color; beauty, no pencil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/truth-needs-no-color-beauty-no-pencil/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Have you not heard it said full oft, A woman's nay doth stand for naught?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/have-you-not-heard-it-said-full-oft-a-woman-s-nay-doth-stand-for/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Omittance is no quittance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/omittance-is-no-quittance/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“Yes, madam: yet I cannot choose but laugh, To think it should leave crying and say 'Ay.' And yet, I warrant, it had upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/yes-madam-yet-i-cannot-choose-but-laugh-to-think-it-should-leave/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I take thee at thy word: Call me but love, and I'll be new baptized; Henceforth I never will be Romeo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-take-thee-at-thy-word-call-me-but-love-and-i-ll-be-new-baptized/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) [Explore all 5,604 William Shakespeare quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) ## 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": "Teach me, dear creature, how to think and speak; Lay open to my earthy-gross conceit, Smother'd in errors, feeble, shallow, weak, The folded meaning of your words' deceit.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Shakespeare" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/teach-me-dear-creature-how-to-think-and-speak-lay-open-to-my-earthy/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Conceit" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/teach-me-dear-creature-how-to-think-and-speak-lay-open-to-my-earthy/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e83/william-shakespeare-4_conceit_teach-me-dear-creature-how-to-think-and_795971.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e83/william-shakespeare-4_conceit_teach-me-dear-creature-how-to-think-and_795971.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e83/william-shakespeare-4_conceit_teach-me-dear-creature-how-to-think-and_795971.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Teach me, dear creature, how to think and speak; Lay open to my earthy-gross conceit, Smother'd in errors…” — William Shakespeare", "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": "William Shakespeare", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Teach me, dear creature, how to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/teach-me-dear-creature-how-to-think-and-speak-lay-open-to-my-earthy/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/teach-me-dear-creature-how-to-think-and-speak-lay-open-to-my-earthy/#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 } } ] } ```