The slave has but one master; the ambitious man has as many as can help in making his fortune. Jean de La Bruyere
Ambition is pitiless. Any merit that it cannot use it finds despicable. Joseph Joubert
All rising to a great place is by a winding stair. Francis Bacon
At the age of six I wanted to be a cook. At seven I wanted to be Napoleon. And my ambition has been growing steadily ever since. Salvador Dali
Ambition breaks the ties of blood, and forgets the obligations of gratitude. Sir Walter Scott
Ambition often puts men upon doing the meanest offices; so climbing is performed in the same posture with creeping. Jonathan Swift
Most people would succeed in small things if they were not troubled with great ambitions. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
All ambitions are lawful except those which climb upward on the miseries or credulities of mankind. Joseph Conrad
Ambition, old as mankind, the immemorial weakness of the strong. Vita Sackville-West
Though ambition itself be a vice, yet it is often times the cause of virtues. Quintilian
The world continues to offer glittering prizes to those who have stout hearts and sharp swords. F E Smith
Where ambition can cover its enterprises, even to the person himself, under the appearance of principle, it is the most incurable and inflexible of passions. Angela Carter
I always wanted to be somebody, but I should have been more specific. Lily Tomlin
Like dogs in a wheel, birds in a cage, or squirrels in a chain, ambitious men still climb and climb, with great labor, and incessant anxiety, but never reach the top. Robert Burton
Ambition, like love, can abide no lingering; and ever urgeth on his own successes, hating nothing but what may stop them. Sir Philip Sidney
Ambition if it feeds at all, does so on the ambition of others. Susan Sontag
Ambition: n. An overmastering desire to be vilified by enemies while living, and made ridiculous by friends when dead. Ambrose Bierce
Well is it known that ambition can creep as well as soar. Edmund Burke