AMBITION QUOTES III

quotations about ambition

Ambition is like choler; which is an humor that maketh men active, earnest, full of alacrity, and stirring, if it be not stopped. But if it be stopped, and cannot have his way, it becometh adust, and thereby malign and venomous.

SIR FRANCIS BACON

"Of Ambition", Essays, or Counsels Civil and Moral

Tags: Sir Francis Bacon


On what strange stuff ambition feeds!

ELIZA COOK

Thomas Hood

Tags: Eliza Cook


It seems idle to rail at ambition merely because it is a boundless passion; or rather is not this circumstance an argument in its favor? If one would be employed or amused through life, should we not make choice of a passion that will keep one long in play?

WILLIAM SHENSTONE

Essays on Men and Manners

Tags: passion


With the ambitious, the failure of one expedient is the suggestion of another; but with the irresolute, defeat usually occasions abandonment of purpose.

NORMAN MACDONALD

Maxims and Moral Reflections

Tags: Norman Macdonald, defeat


Ambition is like choler; which is an humor that maketh men active, earnest, full of alacrity, and stirring, if it be not stopped. But if it be stopped, and cannot have his way, it becometh a dust, and thereby malign and venomous. So ambitious men, if they find the way open for their rising, and still get forward, they are rather busy than dangerous; but if they be checked in their desires, they become secretly discontent, and look upon men and matters with an evil eye, and are best pleased, when things go backward; which is the worst property in a servant of a prince, or state.

FRANCIS BACON

"Of Ambition", The Essays or Counsels, Civil and Moral

Tags: Francis Bacon


Ambition displeases when it has been sated ... having reached the peak, it aspires to descend.

PIERRE CORNEILLE

Cinna

Tags: Pierre Corneille


A man without ambition is worse than dough that has no yeast in it to raise it.

HENRY WARD BEECHER

Proverbs from Plymouth Pulpit

Tags: Henry Ward Beecher


An ambition which has conscience in it will always be a laborious and faithful engineer, and will build the road, and bridge the chasms between itself and eminent success by the most faithful and minute performances of duty.

HENRY WARD BEECHER

Life Thoughts

Tags: Henry Ward Beecher, conscience


Ambition is but Avarice on stilts and masked.

WALTER SAVAGE LANDOR

Imaginary Conversations

Tags: Walter Savage Landor


Ambition spells the difference between those who are content to let random circumstances determine their journey through life, and those who would like to have a say in where they end up.

RACHEL BRIDGE

Ambition: Why It's Good to Want More and How to Get It


Ambition is all very well, my lad, but you must cloak it.

JONATHAN STROUD

The Amulet of Samarkand


Never permit restless ambition. Whenever you feel the force of ambition, direct your mind at once in a calm, determined manner upon that which you really want to accomplish in life. Make this a daily practice, and you will steadily train all your faculties and powers not only to work for the realization of that ambition, but become more and more efficient in that direction.

CHRISTIAN LARSON

Your Forces and How to Use Them


Ambition is a Dead Sea fruit, and the greatest peril to the soul is that one is likely to get precisely what he is seeking.

EDWARD DAHLBERG

Alms for Oblivion

Tags: Edward Dahlberg


If you're like me, accolades make you want more accolades. Though responsible for great success and progress, ambition can also cause feelings of worthlessness, mania and anxiety.... At its worst, ambition mirrors the sick cycle of addiction.

CAROLINE BEATON

"Addicted To Ambition: 3 Ways Millennials Can Manage Their Stress", Forbes, February 10, 2016


The burden of ambition is the strain of seeking approval. It is the taxing effort to earn the envy of others, many of whom are in competition with us. It is the weight of self-imposed anxiety over the recognition we believe is due us. The burden of ambition is the back-breaking labor required to maintain our place on the record board and defend it against all comers. It is the grief we feel when someone else matches or surpasses our achievement.

JOHN KOESSLER

The Radical Pursuit of Rest: Escaping the Productivity Trap


There are some who question the scale of our ambitions, who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short, for they have forgotten what this country has already done, what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.

BARACK OBAMA

Inaugural Address, Jan. 20. 2009

Tags: Barack Obama, imagination


They that soar too high, often fall hard.

WILLIAM PENN

Some Fruits of Solitude

Tags: William Penn


Like a goddess on her azure hill, the star of my ambition, the mistress of my dream; a thing apart, that we can worship, but not touch; a wild desire, that, in the madness of the thought, soars higher in its dignity, and leaves me weeping in the dust.

WILLIAM BATCHELDER GREENE

"Ambition", Imogen and Other Poems

Tags: William Batchelder Greene


Ambition must be made to counteract ambition.

JAMES MADISON

The Federalist, Feb. 6, 1788

Tags: James Madison


Selfish ambition is idolatry and self-worship.

DAN DUMAS

Live Smart: Preparing for the Future God Wants for You