As honour, love, obedience, troops of friends, / I must not look to have; but, in their stead, / Curses, not loud but deep, mouth-honour, breath, / Which the poor heart would fain deny, and dare not" (5.3.25-28).
William ShakespeareRead
Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself And falls on the other side
Interpretation
What this quote means
Ambition can lead one to reach beyond their limits, often resulting in failure.
This quote from Shakespeare reflects on the nature of unchecked ambition. It suggests that when individuals aspire to achieve more than what is reasonable or possible, they risk overextending themselves, which can lead to their downfall. The metaphor of 'vaulting' implies a leap that goes beyond control, illustrating that ambition must be balanced with wisdom to avoid adverse outcomes.
Themes
AmbitionLimitsFailureWisdomCaution
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about setting realistic goals, one could say: 'Remember, vaulting ambition can lead us to overreach and face failure.'
More from William Shakespeare
All quotes βLove bears it out even to the edge of doom.
William ShakespeareRead
Good company, good wine, good welcome, can make good people.
William ShakespeareRead
Absence doth sharpen love, presence strengthens it; the one brings fuel, the other blows it till it burns clear.
William ShakespeareRead
Lord, Lord, how this world is given to lying!
William ShakespeareRead
Give it an understanding, but no tongue.
William ShakespeareRead
Similar quotes
Those who can win a war well can rarely make a good peace and those who could make a good peace would never have won the war.
Winston ChurchillRead
There is, in fact, nothing about religious opinions that entitles them to any more respect than other opinions get. On the contrary, they tend to be noticeably silly.
H. L. MenckenRead
Ethics evolve naturally, and we trample upon them with laws created by reason and experience.
Winston ChurchillRead
Begin with dhyana, with meditation, and end in samadhi, in ecstasy, and you will know what God is. It is not a hypothesis, it is an experience. You have to LIVE it - that is the only way to know it.
RajneeshRead
We have to distinguish between a man as he is in essence, and as he is in ego or personality. In essence, every person is perfect, fearless, and in a loving unity with the entire cosmos; there is no conflict within the person between head, heart, and stomach or between the person and others. Then something happens: the ego begins to develop, karma accumulates, there is a transition from objectivity to subjectivity; man falls from essence into personality.
Oscar IchazoRead
I hold that gentleman to be the best-dressed whose dress no one observes.
Anthony TrollopeRead