--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All who have been great and good without…" description: "\"All who have been great and good without Christianity would have been much greater and better with it. If there be, amongst the sons of men, a single e..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b3/charles-caleb-colton-270_ambition_all-who-have-been-great-and-good-without_2010249.jpg" --- # All who have been great and good without Christianity… ![“All who have been great and good without Christianity would have been much greater and better with it. If there be, amongst the sons of men, a single exception to this maxim, the divine Socrates may be allowed to put in the strongest claim. It was his high ambition to deserve, by deeds, not by…” quote by Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b3/charles-caleb-colton-270_ambition_all-who-have-been-great-and-good-without_2010249.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b3/charles-caleb-colton-270_ambition_all-who-have-been-great-and-good-without_2010249.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b3/charles-caleb-colton-270_ambition_all-who-have-been-great-and-good-without_2010249.jpg) > “All who have been great and good without Christianity would have been much greater and better with it. If there be, amongst the sons of men, a single exception to this maxim, the divine Socrates may be allowed to put in the strongest claim. It was his high ambition to deserve, by deeds, not by creeds, an unrevealed heaven, and by works, not by faith, to enter an unpromised land.” [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Greatness without Christianity is possible, but Christianity would amplify it; exceptions are rare and must be justified. **In simple terms:** Christianity enhances greatness; exceptions are rare. Key Takeaway Consider spiritual influences on achievement. Themes religion philosophy ethics history Mood contemplative analytical Type theological philosophical When to use this quote - education - interfaith dialogue - personal growth - historical analysis Key Concepts theodicy human potential Questions to Reflect On - How does faith shape moral achievement? - Are there non‑Christian paths to greatness? A Different Perspective Not all cultures share Christian values. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ambition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition/) [Christianity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christianity/) [Creeds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creeds/) [Deeds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deeds/) [Divine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divine/) [Heaven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heaven/) [High ambition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/high-ambition/) [Maxims](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/maxims/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Son](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/son/) ## Related quotes > [Civilization - and by this I do not mean talking cinemas and tinned food, nor even surgery and hygienic houses, but the whole moral…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/civilization-and-by-this-i-do-not-mean-talking-cinemas-and-tinned/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [“any given system is as good as the next. First, we call it Christianity, then democracy, and now we call it the Method. Always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juli-zeh/any-given-system-is-as-good-as-the-next-first-we-call-it-christianity/) [Juli Zeh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juli-zeh/) > [I have high ambitions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicklas-bendtner/i-have-high-ambitions/) [Nicklas Bendtner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicklas-bendtner/) > [Who's more likely to succeed - someone with high skill and no ambition, or no skill and high ambition? If you're an entrepreneur, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-mckeown/who-s-more-likely-to-succeed-someone-with-high-skill-and-no-ambition/) [Max McKeown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-mckeown/) > [“It was our passion for words and our ardent desire to write that drew me and Michael together, and the same that drove us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-forsyth/it-was-our-passion-for-words-and-our-ardent-desire-to-write-that-drew/) [Kate Forsyth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-forsyth/) > [It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/it-is-not-the-critic-who-counts-not-the-man-who-points-out-how-the-3/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [Oh, September! It is so soon for you to lose your friends to good work and strange loves and high ambitions. 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Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [If the leader is filled with high ambition and if he pursues his aims with audacity and strength of will, he will reach them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-von-clausewitz/if-the-leader-is-filled-with-high-ambition-and-if-he-pursues-his-aims/) [Carl von Clausewitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-von-clausewitz/) > [You must have high ambitions and high ambitions scare small-minded people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-toney/you-must-have-high-ambitions-and-high-ambitions-scare-small-minded/) [Ivan Toney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-toney/) > [Laziness is the road to progress, but only when it is allied to intelligent thought and high ambition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-koch/laziness-is-the-road-to-progress-but-only-when-it-is-allied-to/) [Richard Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-koch/) > [I've always had high ambitions and aspirations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dashner/i-ve-always-had-high-ambitions-and-aspirations/) [James Dashner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dashner/) > [Nothing is too high for the daring of mortals: we storm heaven itself in our folly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/nothing-is-too-high-for-the-daring-of-mortals-we-storm-heaven-itself/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Oh that I were seated as high as my ambition, I'd place my naked foot on the necks of monarchs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-walpole/oh-that-i-were-seated-as-high-as-my-ambition-i-d-place-my-naked-foot/) [Horace Walpole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-walpole/) > [Science in England is not a profession: its cultivators are scarcely recognised even as a class. Our language itself contains no single term by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-babbage/science-in-england-is-not-a-profession-its-cultivators-are-scarcely/) [Charles Babbage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-babbage/) > [In a certain reign there was a lady not of the first rank whom the emperor loved more than any of the others. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murasaki-shikibu/in-a-certain-reign-there-was-a-lady-not-of-the-first-rank-whom-the/) [Murasaki Shikibu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murasaki-shikibu/) ## More by Charles Caleb Colton > [Villainy that is vigilant will be an overmatch for virtue, if she slumber at her post.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/villainy-that-is-vigilant-will-be-an-overmatch-for-virtue-if-she/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [A beautiful woman, if poor, should use double circumspection; for her beauty will tempt others, her poverty herself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/a-beautiful-woman-if-poor-should-use-double-circumspection-for-her/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [Were the life of man prolonged, he would become such a proficient in villainy, that it would become necessary again to drown or to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/were-the-life-of-man-prolonged-he-would-become-such-a-proficient-in/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [To dare to live alone is the rarest courage; since there are many who had rather meet their bitterest enemy in the field, than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/to-dare-to-live-alone-is-the-rarest-courage-since-there-are-many-who/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [It is doubtful whether mankind are most indebted to those who like Bacon and Butler dig the gold from the mine of literature, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/it-is-doubtful-whether-mankind-are-most-indebted-to-those-who-like/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [Be very slow to believe that you are wiser than all others; it is a fatal but common error. 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There must be love and a vocation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessye-norman/one-needs-more-than-ambition-and-talent-to-make-a-success-of-anything/) [Jessye Norman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessye-norman/) > [I just think my own ambition would not allow me to sit on the gifts that my creator had given me. And so that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/i-just-think-my-own-ambition-would-not-allow-me-to-sit-on-the-gifts/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [A man's worth is no greater than the worth of his ambitions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-man-s-worth-is-no-greater-than-the-worth-of-his-ambitions/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm hungry and ambitious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julen-lopetegui/i-m-hungry-and-ambitious/) [Julen Lopetegui](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julen-lopetegui/) > [“I was ambitious and desperate to direct my first film, so I capitulated and blew it. Never again. Never fucking again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-ferguson/i-was-ambitious-and-desperate-to-direct-my-first-film-so-i/) [Craig Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-ferguson/) > [I was always attracted most to joining City, and I am pleased to be at such a good club with such a big ambition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edin-dzeko/i-was-always-attracted-most-to-joining-city-and-i-am-pleased-to-be-at/) [Edin Dzeko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edin-dzeko/) > [Work towards your goal and dont watch the post size,its either they hate,or like you.there is no room for both sides.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-buabeng/work-towards-your-goal-and-dont-watch-the-post-size-its-either-they/) [Isaac Buabeng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-buabeng/) > [“But young men have not only this frivolous ambition of being thought masters of execution, inciting them on the one hand, but also their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-young-men-have-not-only-this-frivolous-ambition-of-being-thought/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I almost never have a plan for myself... I'm not ambitious in that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-plimpton/i-almost-never-have-a-plan-for-myself-i-m-not-ambitious-in-that-way/) [Martha Plimpton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-plimpton/) > [I play for high stakes and given an audience - there is no act too daring or too noble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/i-play-for-high-stakes-and-given-an-audience-there-is-no-act-too/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [There's nothing worse than a leader who lacks ambition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-s-nothing-worse-than-a-leader-who-lacks-ambition/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If i can't even protect my captain's dream, then whatever ambition i have is nothing but talk..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoro/if-i-can-t-even-protect-my-captain-s-dream-then-whatever-ambition-i/) [Zoro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoro/) > [It may seem unattainable but if you put actions, your heart and your mind into it, you will prevail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/london-mond/it-may-seem-unattainable-but-if-you-put-actions-your-heart-and-your/) [London Mond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/london-mond/) > [Obligation is what's leading us to toward successful, and what keeps us moving towards the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wazim-shaw/obligation-is-what-s-leading-us-to-toward-successful-and-what-keeps/) [Wazim Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wazim-shaw/) [Browse all 4,601 Ambition quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "All who have been great and good without Christianity would have been much greater and better with it. 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