He was a man full of vanity and self-conceit; a man who, instead of sober despatches to his superiors in England, wrote flowery accounts of himself and his wonderful doings;

他虚荣心很强，自命不凡，他不能清醒地对英格兰的长官述职，而喜欢用华丽的辞藻描述自己的漂亮工作；

youdao

My thesaurus lists vanity, conceit, self-importance and self-absorption.

BBC: Viewpoint: In defence of narcissism