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Only those with great ambitions know what great fears drive them forward.

— Peter Ackroyd The Last Testament of Oscar Wilde (1983)

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Ambition

More quotes by Peter Ackroyd

I believe that the gods themselves are frightened of the world which they have fashioned.

The Last Testament of Oscar Wilde (1983)

One can forgive Shakespeare anything, except one's own bad lines.

The Last Testament of Oscar Wilde (1983)

The English can laugh and at the same time strike you down, without the least compunction. It is the secret of their success as a nation.

The Last Testament of Oscar Wilde (1983)

He had the satisfied countenance of a man who has never succeeded in boring himself.

The Last Testament of Oscar Wilde (1983)

London goes beyond any boundary or convention. It contains every wish or word ever spoken, every action or gesture ever made, every harsh or noble statement ever expressed. It is illimitable. It is Infinite London.

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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: Peter Ackroyd (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.