‘A little wit, among foolish people, will pass a man for a great genius’ (T. Fielding Proverbs of all Nations (1824) 23); also used of ability as well as wit. Cf. [Erasmus Adages iii. iv.] in regione caecorum rex est luscus, in the kingdom of the blind the one-eyed man is king.
An one eyed man is Well syghted when He is amonge blynde men.
[1522 J. Skelton Works (1843) II. 43]
In the kingdome of blind men the one ey'd is king.
[1640 G. Herbert Outlandish Proverbs no. 469]
The one-eyed person is a beauty in the country of the blind.
[1830 J. L. Burckhardt Arabic Proverbs 34]
Through his thoughts ran this old proverb‥‘In the Country of the Blind, the One-Eyed Man is king.’
[1904 H. G. Wells in Strand Apr. 405]
You exaggerate the alleged compliment paid to me by the Bengal Govt. in wanting to retain my services. ‘In the country of the blind the one-eyed man is king.’
[1937 W. H. Saumarez smith Letter 7 Mar. in Young Man's Country (1977) ii.]
His success with crime-solving suggested an extraordinary intelligence, but he could never know from his limited vantage point in provincial Brunswick whether he was merely the one-eyed man in the land of the blind and the Jekyl Island Club solution a fluke.
[2002 B. Monahan Sceptred Isle Club i. 9]
Related to: ignorance; rulers and ruled
Bibliography of major proverb collections and works cited from modern editions is available here.
