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A belief in hell and the knowledge that every ambition is doomed to frustration at the hands of a skeleton have never prevented the majority of human beings from behaving as though death were no more than an unfounded rumour. Aldous Huxley
Pride went before, ambition follows him. William Shakespeare, The First Part of the Contention II Henry VI I i 178, Salisbury to others
Ah, my gracious Lord, these days are dangerous.
Virtue is choked with foul ambition,
And charity chased hence by rancour’s hand. ibid. III i 142-144, Gloucester
Such men as he be never at heart’s ease,
Whiles they behold a greater than themselves,
And therefore are they very dangerous.
I rather tell thee what is to be feared
Than what I fear, for always I am Caesar. William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar I ii 207
Ambition’s debt is paid. ibid. III i 83
The noble Brutus
Hath told you Caesar was ambitious;
If it were so, it was a grievous fault;
And grievously hath Caesar answered it. ibid. III ii 83
When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept;
Ambition should be made of sterner stuff. ibid. III ii 97
On the Lupercal
I thrice presented him a kingly crown
Which he did thrice refuse: was this ambition? ibid. II ii 101
Who doth ambition shun
And loves to live i’ the sun,
Seeking the food he eats,
And pleased with what he gets. William Shakespeare, As You Like It II v 38
For the very substance
Of the ambitious is merely the shadow of a dream. William Shakespeare, Hamlet II ii 253-254
I am myself indifferent honest. But yet I could accuse me of such things, that it were better my mother had not borne me. I am very proud, revengeful, ambitious; with more offences at by beck than I have thoughts to put them in, imagination to give them shape, or time to act them in. What should such fellows as I do crawling between earth and heaven? We are arrant knaves all; believe none of us. Go thy ways to a nunnery. ibid. III i 123-140, Hamlet to Ophelia
I have no spur
To prick the sides of my intent, but only
Vaulting ambition which o’erleaps itself
And falls on th’ other. William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Macbeth I vii @25, Macbeth
Cromwell, I charge thee, fling away ambition:
By that sin fell the angels. William Shakespeare, Henry VIII III ii 441
Every man has, some time in his life, an ambition to be a wag. Samuel Johnson
Learn from me, if not by my precepts, at least by my example, how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge and how much happier that man is who believes his native town to be the world, than he who aspires to become greater than his nature will allow. Mary Shelley, Frankenstein, The Modern Prometheus ch4 p38
Seek happiness in tranquillity and avoid ambition. ibid. ch24 p200
Young, stubborn, proud, Michelangelo is devoured by an extraordinary ambition. Michelangelo: Heart and Stone starring Rutger Hauer
At the age of six I wanted to be a cook. At seven I wanted to be Napoleon. And my ambition has been growing steadily ever since. Salvador Dali
My ambition is limited to capturing something transient. Berthe Morisot
Ambition is a dream with a V8 engine. Elvis Presley
Keep away from those who try to belittle your ambitions; small people always do that, but the really great make you believe that you too can become great. Mark Twain
Ambition is the last refuge of failure. Mark Twain
I don’t really have no ambition you know. I only have one thing I’d really like to see happen: I’d like to see Mankind live together. Marley 2012 starring Bob Marley, director Kevin Macdonald, Bob
Forgive my ambitions for you but they have been such from the day you were born. The Borgias: The Moor s1e3, Rodrigo to Cesare, Showtime 2011
What rules this family, mother? Ambition. The Borgias: Siblings s3e3
We cannot seek achievement for ourselves and forget about progress and prosperity for our community ... Our ambitions must be broad enough to include the aspirations and needs of others, for their sakes and for our own. Cesar Chavez
Ambition is not a vice of little people. Michel de Montaigne
Ambition, in a private man a vice,
Is in a prince the virtue. Paul Massinger, The Bashful Lover
Ambition is like love – impatient both of delays and rivals. Buddha
Ambition first sprung from your blest abodes;
The glorious fault of angels and of gods. Alexander Pope, Elegy to the Memory of an Unfortunate Lady
Great ambition is the passion of a great character. Those endowed with it may perform very good or very bad acts. All depends on the principles which direct them. Napoleon Bonaparte
Men rise from one ambition to another: first, they seek to secure themselves against attack, and then they attack others. Niccolo Machiavelli
Big results require big ambitions. (Ambition & Result) Heraclitus
Our ambition should be to rule ourselves, the true kingdom for each one of us; and true progress is to know more, and be more, and to do more. Oscar Wilde
Ambition may be defined as the willingness to receive any number of hits on the nose. Wilfred Owen
The universe is not required to be in perfect harmony with human ambition. Carl Sagan
When ambition ends, happiness begins. Thomas Merton
Ambition is a drug that makes its addicts potential madmen. Emile M Cioran
Most people would succeed in small things if they were not troubled with great ambitions. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
All ambitions are lawful except those which climb upward on the miseries or credulities of mankind. Joseph Conrad
I have two ambitions in life: one is to drink every pub dry, the other is to sleep with every woman on earth. Oliver Reed
Ambition is a poor excuse for not having sense enough to be lazy. Milan Kundera
My mouth is full of decayed teeth and my soul of decayed ambitions. James Joyce