"is in his owne conceit

14:07 Aug 9, 2014 

I think the other instance of that is the Book of Common Prayer.

12:50 Aug 9, 2014 

Thanks for pointing that out!

For me, the King James version is always superior. The only instance of great literature written by a committee that I'm aware of.

12:46 Aug 9, 2014 

You've mixed up two different verses:

King James: Proverbs 26:16:
"The sluggard is wiser in his own conceit than seven men that can render a reason."

English Standard Version 26:16
"The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who can answer sensibly."

King James: Proverbs 28:11:
"The rich man is wise in his owne conceit: but the poore that hath vnderstanding searcheth him out."

English Standard Version 28:11:
"A rich man is wise in his own eyes, but a poor man who has understanding will find him out."

The King James was certainly superior!

16:36 Aug 8, 2014 

"conceit" has changed over the centuries. The King James "The rich man is wise in his owne conceit: but the poore that hath understanding searcheth him out." is now the more prosaic "The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who can answer sensibly". It used to be just "conception/understanding" but now has a more pejorative usage.

15:46 Aug 8, 2014 

'Fancies himself the only shake-scene in the country,' would be another similar phrase that captures the meaning in modern vocab.

I'm not sure to what extent conceit is free of a pejorative vibe in itself in its context, i.e. does 'his own conceit' already imply that Shakespeare is conceited, or does it only say he conceives of himself as the only author who matters, the negative judgement of which is left up to the reader to form. DLyons help me here? (Just being curious on a Friday evening.)