--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am as one Who doth attempt some lofty…" description: "\"I am as one Who doth attempt some lofty mountain's height, And having gained what to the upcast eye The summit's point appear'd, astonished sees Its cl..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1a/joanna-baillie-13550_ambition_i-am-as-one-who-doth-attempt-some-lofty_1342718.png" --- # I am as one Who doth attempt some lofty mountain's height… ![“I am as one Who doth attempt some lofty mountain's height, And having gained what to the upcast eye The summit's point appear'd, astonished sees Its cloudy top, majestic and enlarged, Towering aloft, as distant as before.” quote by Joanna Baillie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1a/joanna-baillie-13550_ambition_i-am-as-one-who-doth-attempt-some-lofty_1342718.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1a/joanna-baillie-13550_ambition_i-am-as-one-who-doth-attempt-some-lofty_1342718.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1a/joanna-baillie-13550_ambition_i-am-as-one-who-doth-attempt-some-lofty_1342718.png) > “I am as one Who doth attempt some lofty mountain's height, And having gained what to the upcast eye The summit's point appear'd, astonished sees Its cloudy top, majestic and enlarged, Towering aloft, as distant as before.” [Joanna Baillie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-baillie/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Climbing a lofty goal feels awe‑inspiring, yet the peak can seem distant even after achievement. **In simple terms:** Great achievements can feel both grand and remote. Key Takeaway Celebrate progress while staying grounded. Themes ambition achievement perspective humility Mood inspirational poetic Type literary motivational When to use this quote - career milestones - academic pursuits - creative projects - personal growth Key Concepts mountaineering poetry self‑reflection Questions to Reflect On - What does the summit symbolize for you? - How do you stay connected after reaching a goal? A Different Perspective Success can breed complacency or isolation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ambition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition/) [Appear Astonished](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appear-astonished-4541777/) [Cloudy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cloudy/) [Enlarged Towering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enlarged-towering-4541775/) [Eye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eye/) [Height](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/height/) [Lofty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lofty/) [Majestic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/majestic/) [Mountain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mountain/) [Sees Cloudy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sees-cloudy-4541778/) [Summit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/summit/) [Towering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/towering-842423/) [Towering Aloft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/towering-aloft-4541776/) ## Related quotes > [Towering is the confidence of twenty-one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/towering-is-the-confidence-of-twenty-one/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [When I was as you are now, towering in the confidence of twenty-one, little did I suspect that I should be at forty-nine, what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-i-was-as-you-are-now-towering-in-the-confidence-of-twenty-one/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Towering genius distains a beaten path.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/towering-genius-distains-a-beaten-path/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [“Towering pines and hemlocks, was it? I thought, clambering over the burled knots of a fallen tree. The monstrous trunks rose so high that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/towering-pines-and-hemlocks-was-it-i-thought-clambering-over-the/) [Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/) > [What may appear as a towering peak to one may seem but an ordinary eminence to another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cargill-gilston-knott/what-may-appear-as-a-towering-peak-to-one-may-seem-but-an-ordinary/) [Cargill Gilston Knott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cargill-gilston-knott/) > [You will always be here with me; As long as I live, A towering figure of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/you-will-always-be-here-with-me-as-long-as-i-live-a-towering-figure/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [The gallantry of his grief did put me into a towering passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/the-gallantry-of-his-grief-did-put-me-into-a-towering-passion/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [There were instances when high offices like that of the President, Vice-President and even Prime Minister could have been within Kalaignar's reach. He humbly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-k-stalin/there-were-instances-when-high-offices-like-that-of-the-president/) [M. K. Stalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-k-stalin/) > [Morality without religion is only a kind of dead reckoning - an endeavor to find our place on a cloudy sea by measuring the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/morality-without-religion-is-only-a-kind-of-dead-reckoning-an/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [I always dreamed of playing the NBA, but along the way, the road got a little cloudy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scottie-pippen/i-always-dreamed-of-playing-the-nba-but-along-the-way-the-road-got-a/) [Scottie Pippen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scottie-pippen/) > [In October, a maple tree before your window lights up your room like a great lamp. Even on cloudy days, its presence helps to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/in-october-a-maple-tree-before-your-window-lights-up-your-room-like-a/) [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) > [“On a cloudy night, when nothing seems above, still, there is love. Always love. For something, from someone. It's never done. Never.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-rana/on-a-cloudy-night-when-nothing-seems-above-still-there-is-love-always/) [Deepak Rana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-rana/) > [“But I’m pretty sure he could say potato right now and I’d think that was hot too, so my opinion is a little cloudy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/micalea-smeltzer/but-i-m-pretty-sure-he-could-say-potato-right-now-and-i-d-think-that/) [Micalea Smeltzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/micalea-smeltzer/) > [“The sky is always beautiful. Even when it's dark or rainy or cloudy, it's still beautiful to look at. It's my favourite thing because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-hoover/the-sky-is-always-beautiful-even-when-it-s-dark-or-rainy-or-cloudy-it/) [Colleen Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-hoover/) > [Slow buds the pink dawn like a rose From out night's gray and cloudy sheath; Softly and still it grows and grows, Petal by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-chauncey-woolsey/slow-buds-the-pink-dawn-like-a-rose-from-out-night-s-gray-and-cloudy/) [Sarah Chauncey Woolsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-chauncey-woolsey/) ## More by Joanna Baillie > [It ever is the marked propensity of restless and aspiring minds to look into the stretch of dark futurity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-baillie/it-ever-is-the-marked-propensity-of-restless-and-aspiring-minds-to/) [Joanna Baillie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-baillie/) > [Think'st thou there are no serpents in the world But those who slide along the grassy sod, And sting the luckless foot that presses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-baillie/think-st-thou-there-are-no-serpents-in-the-world-but-those-who-slide/) [Joanna Baillie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-baillie/) > [The bliss even of a moment still is bliss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-baillie/the-bliss-even-of-a-moment-still-is-bliss/) [Joanna Baillie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-baillie/) > [If my heart were not light, I would die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-baillie/if-my-heart-were-not-light-i-would-die/) [Joanna Baillie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-baillie/) > [Busy work brings after ease; Ease brings sport and sport brings rest; For young and old, of all degrees, The mingled lot is best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-baillie/busy-work-brings-after-ease-ease-brings-sport-and-sport-brings-rest/) [Joanna Baillie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-baillie/) > [Ah! happy is the man whose early lot Hath made him master of a furnish'd cot; Who trains the vine that round his window…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-baillie/ah-happy-is-the-man-whose-early-lot-hath-made-him-master-of-a-furnish/) [Joanna Baillie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-baillie/) > [Oh swiftly glides the bonnie boat, Just parted from the shore, And to the fisher's chorus-note Soft moves the dipping oar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-baillie/oh-swiftly-glides-the-bonnie-boat-just-parted-from-the-shore-and-to/) [Joanna Baillie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-baillie/) > [My day is closed! the gloom of night is come! a hopeless darkness settles over my fate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-baillie/my-day-is-closed-the-gloom-of-night-is-come-a-hopeless-darkness/) [Joanna Baillie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-baillie/) > [Still on it creeps, Each little moment at another's heels, Till hours, days, years, and ages are made up Of such small parts as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-baillie/still-on-it-creeps-each-little-moment-at-another-s-heels-till-hours/) [Joanna Baillie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-baillie/) > [War is honorable In those who do their native rights maintain; In those whose swords an iron barrier are Between the lawless spoiler and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-baillie/war-is-honorable-in-those-who-do-their-native-rights-maintain-in/) [Joanna Baillie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-baillie/) > [Me care for te laws when te laws care for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-baillie/me-care-for-te-laws-when-te-laws-care-for-me/) [Joanna Baillie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-baillie/) > [But dreams full oft are found of real events The form and shadows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-baillie/but-dreams-full-oft-are-found-of-real-events-the-form-and-shadows/) [Joanna Baillie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-baillie/) > [He that will not give some portion of his ease, his blood, his wealth, for others' good, is a poor, frozen churl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-baillie/he-that-will-not-give-some-portion-of-his-ease-his-blood-his-wealth/) [Joanna Baillie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-baillie/) > [This will be triumph! This will be happiness! Yea, that very thing, happiness, which I have been pursuing all my life, and have never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-baillie/this-will-be-triumph-this-will-be-happiness-yea-that-very-thing/) [Joanna Baillie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-baillie/) > [She who only finds her self-esteem In others' admiration, begs an alms; Depends on others for her daily food, And is the very servant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-baillie/she-who-only-finds-her-self-esteem-in-others-admiration-begs-an-alms/) [Joanna Baillie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-baillie/) [Explore all 50 Joanna Baillie quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-baillie/) ## 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": "I am as one Who doth attempt some lofty mountain's height, And having gained what to the upcast eye The summit's point appear'd, astonished sees Its cloudy top, majestic and enlarged, Towering aloft, as distant as before.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joanna Baillie" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-baillie/i-am-as-one-who-doth-attempt-some-lofty-mountain-s-height-and-having/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ambition" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-baillie/i-am-as-one-who-doth-attempt-some-lofty-mountain-s-height-and-having/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1a/joanna-baillie-13550_ambition_i-am-as-one-who-doth-attempt-some-lofty_1342718.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1a/joanna-baillie-13550_ambition_i-am-as-one-who-doth-attempt-some-lofty_1342718.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1a/joanna-baillie-13550_ambition_i-am-as-one-who-doth-attempt-some-lofty_1342718.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I am as one Who doth attempt some lofty mountain's height, And having gained what to the upcast eye The…” — Joanna Baillie", "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": "Joanna Baillie", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-baillie/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I am as one Who doth...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-baillie/i-am-as-one-who-doth-attempt-some-lofty-mountain-s-height-and-having/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-baillie/i-am-as-one-who-doth-attempt-some-lofty-mountain-s-height-and-having/#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 } } ] } ```