I had ambition not only to go farther than any man had ever been before, but as far as it read more

I had ambition not only to go farther than any man had ever been before, but as far as it was possible for a man to go.

Ambition is an idol, on whose wings great minds are carried only to extreme; to be sublimely great or to read more

Ambition is an idol, on whose wings great minds are carried only to extreme; to be sublimely great or to be nothing.

But wild Ambition loves to slide, not stand,
And Fortune's ice prefers to Virtue's land.

But wild Ambition loves to slide, not stand,
And Fortune's ice prefers to Virtue's land.

Ambition breaks the ties of blood, and forgets the obligations of gratitude.

Ambition breaks the ties of blood, and forgets the obligations of gratitude.

When ambition ends, happiness begins.

When ambition ends, happiness begins.

Ambition never comes to an end.

Ambition never comes to an end.

Live neither in the past nor in the future, but let each day's work absorb your entire energies, and satisfy read more

Live neither in the past nor in the future, but let each day's work absorb your entire energies, and satisfy your widest ambition.

Nothing is too high for the daring of mortals: we would storm
heaven itself in our folly.
[Lat., read more

Nothing is too high for the daring of mortals: we would storm
heaven itself in our folly.
[Lat., Nil mortalibus arduum est:
Coelum ipsum petimus stultitia.]

A noble man compares and estimates himself by an idea which is higher than himself; and a mean man, by read more

A noble man compares and estimates himself by an idea which is higher than himself; and a mean man, by one lower than himself. The one produces aspiration; the other ambition, which is the way in which a vulgar man aspires.