--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All ambitions are lawful except those…" description: "\"All ambitions are lawful except those that climb upward on the miseries or credulities of mankind.\" — Henry Ward Beecher" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e8/henry-ward-beecher-175_ambition_all-ambitions-are-lawful-except-those-th_231859.png" --- # All ambitions are lawful except those that climb upward on… ![“All ambitions are lawful except those that climb upward on the miseries or credulities of mankind.” quote by Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e8/henry-ward-beecher-175_ambition_all-ambitions-are-lawful-except-those-th_231859.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e8/henry-ward-beecher-175_ambition_all-ambitions-are-lawful-except-those-th_231859.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e8/henry-ward-beecher-175_ambition_all-ambitions-are-lawful-except-those-th_231859.png) > “All ambitions are lawful except those that climb upward on the miseries or credulities of mankind.” [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Ambitions that exploit others' suffering or gullibility are immoral, even if they seem legal. **In simple terms:** Exploiting others is wrong. Key Takeaway Avoid harming others for personal gain. Themes ethics ambition exploitation Mood reflective serious Type moral philosophical When to use this quote - politics - business - personal goals - charitable work Key Concepts moral philosophy social responsibility Questions to Reflect On - How do you ensure your goals respect others? - What defines a just ambition? A Different Perspective Legal actions can still be unethical. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ambition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition/) [Mankind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mankind/) ## Related quotes > [All ambitions are lawful except those which climb upward on the miseries or credulities of mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/all-ambitions-are-lawful-except-those-which-climb-upward-on-the/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [All ambitions are lawful except those which climb upward upon the miseries and credulities of mankind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/all-ambitions-are-lawful-except-those-which-climb-upward-upon-the/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [All ambitions are lawful except those which climb upward on the miseries or credulities of mankind. All intellectual and artistic ambitions are permissible, up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/all-ambitions-are-lawful-except-those-which-climb-upward-on-the-2/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [The Lord is anxious to lead us to the safety of higher ground, away from the path of physical and spiritual danger. His upward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-b-eyring/the-lord-is-anxious-to-lead-us-to-the-safety-of-higher-ground-away/) [Henry B. Eyring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-b-eyring/) > [Man's upward progress means ever increasing difficulty, which is to be welcomed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/man-s-upward-progress-means-ever-increasing-difficulty-which-is-to-be/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Here's to opening and upward... and to yourself and up with you and up with and up with laughing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/here-s-to-opening-and-upward-and-to-yourself-and-up-with-you-and-up/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Look upward to him Look to him for everything Look to him for help Look to him for comfort”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/april-nichole/look-upward-to-him-look-to-him-for-everything-look-to-him-for-help/) [April Nichole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/april-nichole/) > [Try to bring me down, but you will never succeed because I'm always moving upward. Maybe not before, but now ... I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-carter/try-to-bring-me-down-but-you-will-never-succeed-because-i-m-always/) [Aaron Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-carter/) > [Those who are lifting the world upward and onward are those who encourage more than criticize.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/those-who-are-lifting-the-world-upward-and-onward-are-those-who/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The New Testament persistently presses us upward, toward higher motives for being good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-yancey/the-new-testament-persistently-presses-us-upward-toward-higher/) [Philip Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-yancey/) > [Devotion, like fire, goeth upward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoroaster/devotion-like-fire-goeth-upward/) [Zoroaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoroaster/) > [“You flourish when you move upward and forward.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anyaele-sam-chiyson/you-flourish-when-you-move-upward-and-forward/) Anyaele Sam Chiyson > [.. every step of the upward way is strewn with wreckage of body, mind, and morals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-stanley-hall/every-step-of-the-upward-way-is-strewn-with-wreckage-of-body-mind-and/) [G. Stanley Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-stanley-hall/) > [“The real ladder of opportunity is ascending levels of consciousness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/the-real-ladder-of-opportunity-is-ascending-levels-of-consciousness/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [We can go up or we can do down. I think generally the world is going on an upward swing. We're in a part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-harrison/we-can-go-up-or-we-can-do-down-i-think-generally-the-world-is-going/) [George Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-harrison/) ## More by Henry Ward Beecher > [Astronomers have built telescopes which can show myriads of stars unseen before; but when a man looks through a tear in his own eye,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/astronomers-have-built-telescopes-which-can-show-myriads-of-stars/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [A lie always needs a truth for a handle to it. The worst lies are those whose blade is false, but whose handle is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/a-lie-always-needs-a-truth-for-a-handle-to-it-the-worst-lies-are/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [Miracles are like candles lit up until the sun rises, and then blown out. Therefore, I am amused when I hear sects and churches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/miracles-are-like-candles-lit-up-until-the-sun-rises-and-then-blown/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [Even a liar tells a hundred truths to one lie; he has to, to make the lie good for anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/even-a-liar-tells-a-hundred-truths-to-one-lie-he-has-to-to-make-the/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [Laws are not masters but servants, and he rules them who obey them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/laws-are-not-masters-but-servants-and-he-rules-them-who-obey-them/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [Our sweetest experiences of affection are meant to be suggestions of that realm which is the home of the heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/our-sweetest-experiences-of-affection-are-meant-to-be-suggestions-of/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [In America there is not one single element of civilization that is not made to depend, in the end, upon public opinion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/in-america-there-is-not-one-single-element-of-civilization-that-is/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [The best lessons a man ever learns are from his mistakes. It is not for want of schoolmasters that we are still ignorant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/the-best-lessons-a-man-ever-learns-are-from-his-mistakes-it-is-not/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [I never knew an early-rising, hard-working, prudent man, careful of his earnings, and strictly honest who complained of bad luck.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/i-never-knew-an-early-rising-hard-working-prudent-man-careful-of-his/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [THERE are joys which long to be ours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/there-are-joys-which-long-to-be-ours/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [People may talk about the equality of the sexes! They are not equal. The silent smile of a sensible, loving woman will vanquish ten…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/people-may-talk-about-the-equality-of-the-sexes-they-are-not-equal/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [Mirthfulness is in the mind and you cannot get it out. It is just as good in its place as conscience or veneration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/mirthfulness-is-in-the-mind-and-you-cannot-get-it-out-it-is-just-as/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [Mirth is God's medicine. Everybody ought to bathe in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/mirth-is-god-s-medicine-everybody-ought-to-bathe-in-it/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [Some of God's noblest sons, I think, will be selected from those that know how to take wealth, with all its temptations, and maintain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/some-of-god-s-noblest-sons-i-think-will-be-selected-from-those-that/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [You have seen a ship out on the bay, swinging with the tide, and seeming as if it would follow it; and yet it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/you-have-seen-a-ship-out-on-the-bay-swinging-with-the-tide-and/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) [Explore all 990 Henry Ward Beecher quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) ## More Ambition quotes > [Ambition drives you on, ability certainly helps, but the fickle finger of fate and luck are great things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fergus-henderson/ambition-drives-you-on-ability-certainly-helps-but-the-fickle-finger/) [Fergus Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fergus-henderson/) > [One needs more than ambition and talent to make a success of anything, really. 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 ambitions are lawful except those that climb upward on the miseries or credulities of mankind.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Henry Ward Beecher" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/all-ambitions-are-lawful-except-those-that-climb-upward-on-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ambition" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/all-ambitions-are-lawful-except-those-that-climb-upward-on-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e8/henry-ward-beecher-175_ambition_all-ambitions-are-lawful-except-those-th_231859.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e8/henry-ward-beecher-175_ambition_all-ambitions-are-lawful-except-those-th_231859.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e8/henry-ward-beecher-175_ambition_all-ambitions-are-lawful-except-those-th_231859.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“All ambitions are lawful except those that climb upward on the miseries or credulities of mankind.” — Henry Ward Beecher", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Henry Ward Beecher", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "All ambitions are lawful except those...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/all-ambitions-are-lawful-except-those-that-climb-upward-on-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/all-ambitions-are-lawful-except-those-that-climb-upward-on-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```