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William Shakespeare on Success

1564–1616 England

← All quotes by William Shakespeare

13 quotes

They that stand high have many blasts to shake them;
And if they fall, they dash themselves to pieces.

Richard III (1591)

Such a nature,
Tickled with good success, disdains the shadow
Which he treads on at noon.

Be not afraid of greatness: some men are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them.

Didst thou never hear
That things ill-got had ever bad success?

But thou art fair, and at thy birth, dear boy,
Nature and Fortune join'd to make thee great.

King John (1598)

To climb steep hills
Requires slow pace at first.

Henry VIII (1613)

Your name is great
In mouths of wisest censure.

Othello (1603)

Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world
Like a Colossus, and we petty men
Walk under his huge legs and peep about
To find ourselves dishonorable graves.

Julius Cæsar (1599)

Ye gods, it doth amaze me,
A man of such a feeble temper should
So get the start of the majestic world,
And bear the palm alone.

Julius Cæsar (1599)

Are yet two Romans living such as these?
The last of all the Romans, fare thee well!

Julius Cæsar (1599)

In my stars I am above thee, but be not afraid of greatness. Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon 'em.

I have touched the highest point of all my greatness:
And, from that full meridian of my glory,
I haste now to my setting.

Henry VIII (1613)

Farewell! a long farewell, to all my greatness!
This is the state of man: to-day he puts forth
The tender leaves of hope; to-morrow blossoms,
And bears his blushing honours thick upon him:
The third day comes a frost, a killing frost,
And, when he thinks, good easy man, full surely
His greatness is a-ripening, nips his root,
And then he falls, as I do.

Henry VIII (1613)

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: William Shakespeare (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.