I mean a man whose hopes and aims may sometimes lie (as most men's sometimes do, I dare say) above the ordinary level, but to whom the ordinary level will be high enough after all if it should prove to be a way of usefulness and good service leading to no other. All generous spirits are ambitious, I suppose, but the ambition that calmly trusts itself to such a road, instead of spasmodically trying to fly over it, is of the kind I care for.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the importance of humble ambition and finding meaning in ordinary pursuits.
Charles Dickens reflects on the nature of ambition, suggesting that true ambition involves a calm and constructive approach to one's goals. Instead of striving for unattainable heights, one should find value in the journey toward usefulness and service to others, even if that path seems ordinary. This perspective champions a steady, purposeful approach to life's aspirations, valuing genuine contributions over mere lofty dreams.
In practice
In a motivational speech about pursuing meaningful careers.
I recollected one story there was in the village, how that on a certain night in the year (it might be that very night for anything I knew), all the dead people came out of the ground and sat at the heads of their own graves till morning.
A silent look of affection and regard when all other eyes are turned coldly away-the consciousness that we possess the sympathy and affection of one being when all others have deserted us-is a hold, a stay, a comfort, in the deepest affliction, which no wealth could purchase, or power bestow.
Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts. I was better after I had cried, than before--more sorry, more aware of my own ingratitude, more gentle.
There are not a few among the disciples of charity who require, in their vocation, scarcely less excitement than the votaries of pleasure in theirs.
You might, from your appearance, be the wife of Lucifer,” said Miss Pross, in her breathing. “Nevertheless, you shall not get the better of me. I am an Englishwoman.
Christmas is a poor excuse every 25th of December to pick a man's pockets.
The answers were maddeningly absent—it was like trying to remember a song that you knew made you feel a certain way, without a title, artist, or even a few bars to bring it back.
When you spring to an idea, and decide it is truth, without evidence, you blind yourself to other possibilities.
Legends die hard. They survive as truth rarely does.
Eminence without merit earns deference without esteem.
How easy it is to see your brother's faults, How hard it is to face your own.
You've got to love what's lovable, and hate what's hateable. It takes brains to see the difference.
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