Alexander Pope on Ambition
← Back to Alexander Pope Profile
βAwake, my St. John! leave all meaner things To low ambition and the pride of Kings.β
βAmbition first sprung from your blest abodes; The glorious fault of Angels and of Gods.β
βBut see how oft ambition's aims are cross'd, And chiefs contend 'til all the prize is lost!β
βWho knows but He, whose hand the lightning forms. Who heaves old ocean, and who wings the storms, Pours fierce ambition in a CΓ¦sar's mind.β
βOh, sons of earth! attempt ye still to rise. By mountains pil'd on mountains to the skies? Heav'n still with laughter the vain toil surveys, And buries madmen in the heaps they raise.β
QuotesCosmos Cross-Civilizational Archive
Explore Related Wisdom Pillars, Worldviews & Canonical Works
Discover how humanity's greatest philosophers, sacred scriptures, and literary masterpieces address the core questions of existence.
30 Wisdom Pillars
22 Worldviews & Traditions
Canonical Books & Scriptures