--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In all our quest of greatness, like…" description: "\"In all our quest of greatness, like wanton boys, whose pastime is their care, we follow after bubbles, blown in the air.\" — John Webster" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/579/john-webster-7470_adventure_in-all-our-quest-of-greatness-like-wanto_2930070.png" --- # In all our quest of greatness, like wanton boys, whose… ![“In all our quest of greatness, like wanton boys, whose pastime is their care, we follow after bubbles, blown in the air.” quote by John Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/579/john-webster-7470_adventure_in-all-our-quest-of-greatness-like-wanto_2930070.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/579/john-webster-7470_adventure_in-all-our-quest-of-greatness-like-wanto_2930070.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/579/john-webster-7470_adventure_in-all-our-quest-of-greatness-like-wanto_2930070.png) > “In all our quest of greatness, like wanton boys, whose pastime is their care, we follow after bubbles, blown in the air.” [John Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-webster/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Pursuing empty distractions leads away from true purpose and self‑control. **In simple terms:** Bubbles distract from real goals. Key Takeaway Focus on substance over fleeting thrills. Themes discipline purpose temptation self‑control Mood serious reflective Type philosophical warning When to use this quote - career planning - financial investing - personal relationships - education Key Concepts theatre human folly moral lesson Questions to Reflect On - What “bubbles” dominate your attention? - How can you refocus on lasting values? A Different Perspective Ignoring practical duties can cause ruin. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adventure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adventure/) [Care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/care/) [Greatness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatness/) ## Related quotes > [Quickly, Holly," said Artemis urgently. "Follow those bubbles." Holly opened the throttle. 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When I was reverting back into my, let's say, perversions, he would say: 'Let's… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/it-took-the-love-of-a-good-man-to-heal-when-i-was-reverting-back-into/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [Youth must be wanton, youth must be quick, Dance to the candle while lasteth the wick.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-williams/youth-must-be-wanton-youth-must-be-quick-dance-to-the-candle-while/) [Tennessee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-williams/) > [Take heed thou trust not the deceitful lap Of wanton Dalilah; the world's a trap.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-quarles/take-heed-thou-trust-not-the-deceitful-lap-of-wanton-dalilah-the/) [Francis Quarles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-quarles/) > [My prophecy is but half his journey yet, For yonder walls, that pertly front your town, Yon towers, whose wanton tops do buss the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/my-prophecy-is-but-half-his-journey-yet-for-yonder-walls-that-pertly/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [They call me "a teacher, a fomenter of violence." I would say point blank, "That is a lie. I'm not for wanton violence, I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/they-call-me-a-teacher-a-fomenter-of-violence-i-would-say-point-blank/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [War means blind obedience, unthinking stupidity, brutish callousness, wanton destruction, and irresponsible murder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-berkman/war-means-blind-obedience-unthinking-stupidity-brutish-callousness/) [Alexander Berkman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-berkman/) > [Capricious, wanton, bold, and brutal Lust Is meanly selfish; when resisted, cruel; And, like the blast of Pestilential Winds, Taints the sweet bloom of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/capricious-wanton-bold-and-brutal-lust-is-meanly-selfish-when/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [As love is full of unbefitting strains, All wanton as a child, skipping and vain, Form'd by the eye and therefore, like the eye,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/as-love-is-full-of-unbefitting-strains-all-wanton-as-a-child-skipping/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [We ought never to sport with pain and distress in any of our amusements, or treat even the meanest insect with wanton cruelty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-blair/we-ought-never-to-sport-with-pain-and-distress-in-any-of-our/) [Hugh Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-blair/) > [The wondrous thing about nature, her gift to us, is her wanton promiscuity. She reproduces herself with abandon, with teeming infinite generosity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-ozeki/the-wondrous-thing-about-nature-her-gift-to-us-is-her-wanton/) [Ruth Ozeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-ozeki/) > [Discipline means protection from one's own wanton interest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-vaughan/discipline-means-protection-from-one-s-own-wanton-interest/) [Bill Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-vaughan/) > [The tongue of slander is too prompt with wanton malice to wound the stranger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/the-tongue-of-slander-is-too-prompt-with-wanton-malice-to-wound-the/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) ## More by John Webster > [Sorrow is held the eldest child of sin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-webster/sorrow-is-held-the-eldest-child-of-sin/) [John Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-webster/) > [All the damnable degrees Of drinking have you staggered through.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-webster/all-the-damnable-degrees-of-drinking-have-you-staggered-through/) [John Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-webster/) > [“Cover her face; mine eyes dazzle. She died young.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-webster/cover-her-face-mine-eyes-dazzle-she-died-young/) [John Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-webster/) > [A powerful portfolio of physiological and behavioural evidence now exists to support the case that fish feel pain and that this feeling matters. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-webster/a-powerful-portfolio-of-physiological-and-behavioural-evidence-now/) [John Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-webster/) > [“We make desire, not truth, the real clue to what’s valuable. 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I'd love to get the thrill of speaking actors making my work even funnier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-howard/i-m-trying-to-write-a-film-with-my-friend-i-d-love-to-get-the-thrill/) [Russell Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-howard/) > [I painted the words "GREAT ADVENTURE" in Beijing, Dallas, San Francisco, Copenhagen, and Japan. What it means to me is completely different to everybody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-eine/i-painted-the-words-great-adventure-in-beijing-dallas-san-francisco/) [Ben Eine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-eine/) > [I've used the Phoenix Centrifuge to replicate what the body's going to go through on the flight up. I've also done some gravity tests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-ve-used-the-phoenix-centrifuge-to-replicate-what-the-body-s-going/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [I have lifted my plane . . . for perhaps a thousand flights and I have never felt her wheels glide from the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/i-have-lifted-my-plane-for-perhaps-a-thousand-flights-and-i-have/) [Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/) > [I am attracted to looking at the different things language can mean even in one sometimes quite ordinary utterance. Writing is partly about listening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/i-am-attracted-to-looking-at-the-different-things-language-can-mean/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [What a thrill. You know you've entered new territory when you realise that your outfit cost more than your film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-yu/what-a-thrill-you-know-you-ve-entered-new-territory-when-you-realise/) Jessica Yu > [“So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-supertramp-chris-mccandless/so-many-people-live-within-unhappy-circumstances-and-yet-will-not/) Alexander Supertramp Chris McCandless > [A common fallacy in much of the adverse criticism to which science is subjected today is that it claims certainty, infallibility and complete emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/a-common-fallacy-in-much-of-the-adverse-criticism-to-which-science-is/) [Cyril Norman Hinshelwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/) > [“Exactly. I think the original tantric Buddhists took notice of was some very wise old people who never studied in their youth, but took…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-niemczura/exactly-i-think-the-original-tantric-buddhists-took-notice-of-was/) [Joe Niemczura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-niemczura/) > [As an adventurer...I try to protect against the downside. I make sure I have covered as many eventualities as I can. In the end,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/as-an-adventurer-i-try-to-protect-against-the-downside-i-make-sure-i/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [“Love can give you such happiness, then can break the very heart it filled, leaving a hole that can never be fixed or protected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mcleod/love-can-give-you-such-happiness-then-can-break-the-very-heart-it/) Kevin McLeod > [“It always gave Wolf a peculiar thrill thus to tighten his grip upon his stick, thus to wrap himself more closely in his faded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cowper-powys/it-always-gave-wolf-a-peculiar-thrill-thus-to-tighten-his-grip-upon/) [John Cowper Powys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cowper-powys/) > [“It all had to be squeezed and squeezed again, to provide a thrill, to provide enjoyment. 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