--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All ambitions are lawful except those…" description: "\"All ambitions are lawful except those which climb upward upon the miseries and credulities of mankind\" — Joseph Conrad" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd9/joseph-conrad-336_ambition_all-ambitions-are-lawful-except-those-wh_1364075.jpg" --- # All ambitions are lawful except those which climb upward… ![“All ambitions are lawful except those which climb upward upon the miseries and credulities of mankind” quote by Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd9/joseph-conrad-336_ambition_all-ambitions-are-lawful-except-those-wh_1364075.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd9/joseph-conrad-336_ambition_all-ambitions-are-lawful-except-those-wh_1364075.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd9/joseph-conrad-336_ambition_all-ambitions-are-lawful-except-those-wh_1364075.jpg) > “All ambitions are lawful except those which climb upward upon the miseries and credulities of mankind” [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) ## 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 are immoral; true progress respects humanity. **In simple terms:** Exploiting suffering for ambition is wrong; respect others. Key Takeaway Pursue goals that uplift, not oppress. Themes ethics ambition humanity Mood reflective serious Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - business - politics - personal goals Key Concepts moral philosophy social responsibility power structures Questions to Reflect On - What ambitions might harm others? - How can you ensure ethical progress? A Different Perspective Ambition can be justified by outcomes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ambition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition/) [Ambitions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambitions/) [Ambitions Lawful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambitions-lawful-1978861/) [Credulities Mankind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/credulities-mankind-1978862/) [Miseries Credulities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/miseries-credulities-1978864/) [Upward Miseries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/upward-miseries-1978863/) ## 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 that climb upward on the miseries or credulities of mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/all-ambitions-are-lawful-except-those-that-climb-upward-on-the/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [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 ambitions are wake up, breathe, keep breathing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-blackman/the-ambitions-are-wake-up-breathe-keep-breathing/) [Nicole Blackman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-blackman/) > [When I was young, my ambitions were very modest. I thought, "If only I could play at the battle of the bands at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-peart/when-i-was-young-my-ambitions-were-very-modest-i-thought-if-only-i/) [Neil Peart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-peart/) > [“Ambitions and dreams put you at a drinking table with unexpected companions. Cups were filled and refilled, making you drunk with the illusion of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-gavriel-kay/ambitions-and-dreams-put-you-at-a-drinking-table-with-unexpected/) [Guy Gavriel Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-gavriel-kay/) > [“If anyone rises to power, it's not only because he could, but also because the stars were aligned in his favor. Many with apparent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/if-anyone-rises-to-power-it-s-not-only-because-he-could-but-also/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [There are points in your life, especially if you have creative ambitions, where selfishness is necessary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kris-kristofferson/there-are-points-in-your-life-especially-if-you-have-creative/) [Kris Kristofferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kris-kristofferson/) > [My ambitions have ambitions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/behdad-sami/my-ambitions-have-ambitions/) [Behdad Sami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/behdad-sami/) > [When you've accomplished a certain amount in your career, you're not so focused on your ambitions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-douglas/when-you-ve-accomplished-a-certain-amount-in-your-career-you-re-not/) [Michael Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-douglas/) > [Success needs to be measured according to the ambitions and the resources of each designer. And many aren't interested in being a megabrand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-gunn/success-needs-to-be-measured-according-to-the-ambitions-and-the/) [Tim Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-gunn/) > [There are a lot of goals and ambitions that I have in life, things I want to accomplish. Who knows? I mean - it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-tebow/there-are-a-lot-of-goals-and-ambitions-that-i-have-in-life-things-i/) [Tim Tebow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-tebow/) > [It's interesting when you wind up distilling all your ambitions and your goals and dreams into one single person. It's giving that person a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damien-chazelle/it-s-interesting-when-you-wind-up-distilling-all-your-ambitions-and/) [Damien Chazelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damien-chazelle/) > [“Why should some foul word-slinging curb my ambitions?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronika-carnaby/why-should-some-foul-word-slinging-curb-my-ambitions/) [Veronika Carnaby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronika-carnaby/) > [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/) ## More by Joseph Conrad > [“Hunters for gold or pursuers of fame, they all had gone out on that stream, bearing the sword, and often the torch, messengers of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/hunters-for-gold-or-pursuers-of-fame-they-all-had-gone-out-on-that/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [The good author is he who contemplates without marked joy or excessive sorrow the adventures of his soul amongst criticisms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/the-good-author-is-he-who-contemplates-without-marked-joy-or/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [“Let the earth and the sea each have its own.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/let-the-earth-and-the-sea-each-have-its-own/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [He hated all this, and somehow he couldn't get away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/he-hated-all-this-and-somehow-he-couldn-t-get-away/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [“A fool, what with sheer fright and fine sentiments, is always safe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/a-fool-what-with-sheer-fright-and-fine-sentiments-is-always-safe/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [“The mind of man is capable of anything-because everything is in it, all the past as well as all the future. What was there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/the-mind-of-man-is-capable-of-anything-because-everything-is-in-it/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [Few men realize that their life, the very essence of their character, their capabilities and their audacities, are only the expression of their belief…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/few-men-realize-that-their-life-the-very-essence-of-their-character/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [“Perhaps on some quiet night the tremor of far-off drums, sinking, swelling, a tremor vast, faint; a sound weird, appealing, suggestive and wild -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/perhaps-on-some-quiet-night-the-tremor-of-far-off-drums-sinking/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [“All that mysterious life of the wilderness that stirs in the forest, in the jungles, in the hearts of wild men.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/all-that-mysterious-life-of-the-wilderness-that-stirs-in-the-forest/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [“The fascination of the abomination—you know.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/the-fascination-of-the-abomination-you-know/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [It's only those who do nothing that make no mistakes, I suppose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/it-s-only-those-who-do-nothing-that-make-no-mistakes-i-suppose/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [“Thieving was not a sheer absurdity. It was a form of human industry, perverse indeed, but still an industry exercised in an industrious world;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/thieving-was-not-a-sheer-absurdity-it-was-a-form-of-human-industry/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [I found myself back in the sepulchral city resenting the sight of people hurrying through the streets to filch a little money from each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/i-found-myself-back-in-the-sepulchral-city-resenting-the-sight-of/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [Society was calling to its accomplished child to come, to be taken care of, to be instructed, to be judged, to be condemned; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/society-was-calling-to-its-accomplished-child-to-come-to-be-taken/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [I was constantly watching myself, my secret self, as dependent on my actions as my own personality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/i-was-constantly-watching-myself-my-secret-self-as-dependent-on-my/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) [Explore all 645 Joseph Conrad quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) ## 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 which climb upward upon the miseries and credulities of mankind", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joseph Conrad" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/all-ambitions-are-lawful-except-those-which-climb-upward-upon-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ambition" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/all-ambitions-are-lawful-except-those-which-climb-upward-upon-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd9/joseph-conrad-336_ambition_all-ambitions-are-lawful-except-those-wh_1364075.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd9/joseph-conrad-336_ambition_all-ambitions-are-lawful-except-those-wh_1364075.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd9/joseph-conrad-336_ambition_all-ambitions-are-lawful-except-those-wh_1364075.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“All ambitions are lawful except those which climb upward upon the miseries and credulities of mankind” — Joseph Conrad", "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": "Joseph Conrad", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "All ambitions are lawful except those...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/all-ambitions-are-lawful-except-those-which-climb-upward-upon-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/all-ambitions-are-lawful-except-those-which-climb-upward-upon-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 } } ] } ```