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Ambition has but one reward for all:
A little power, a little transient fame,
A grave to rest in, and a fading name.

— William Winter

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Ambition

More quotes by William Winter

When will the dead world cease to dream,
When will the morning break?

His love was like the liberal air,—
Embracing all, to cheer and bless;
And every grief that mortals share
Found pity in his tenderness.

Though all the bards of earth were dead,
And all their music passed away,
What Nature wishes should be said
She’ll find the rightful voice to say.

Life is arched with changing skies:
Rarely are they what they seem:
Children we of smiles and sighs—
Much we know, but more we dream.

Light and Shadow. in Hoyt's New Cyclopedia Of Practical Quotations (1922)

Fierce for the right, he bore his part
In strife with many a valiant foe;
But Laughter winged his polished dart,
And kindness tempered every blow.

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Men accept servility in order to acquire wealth; as if they could acquire anything of their own when they cannot even assert that they belong to themselves.

Étienne de La Boétie Discourse on Voluntary Servitude (1548)

To rank the effort above the prize may be called love.

Confucius

The poor, by thinking unceasingly of money, reach the point of losing the spiritual advantages of non-possession, thereby sinking as low as the rich.

Emil Cioran The Trouble With Being Born (1973)

A wise man is cured of ambition by ambition itself; his aim is so exalted that riches, office, fortune, and favor cannot satisfy him.

Jean de La Bruyère Les Caractères (1688)

Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: William Winter (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.