--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When Alexander The Great was alive the…" description: "\"“When Alexander The Great was alive the world was not big enough to contain his ambition but while Alexander chafed at the confines of the world in lif..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f97/juvenal-918_alexander_when-alexander-the-great-was-alive-the-w_1413735.png" --- # When Alexander The Great was alive the world was not big… ![“When Alexander The Great was alive the world was not big enough to contain his ambition but while Alexander chafed at the confines of the world in life, in death, “a coffin was enough.” quote by Juvenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f97/juvenal-918_alexander_when-alexander-the-great-was-alive-the-w_1413735.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f97/juvenal-918_alexander_when-alexander-the-great-was-alive-the-w_1413735.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f97/juvenal-918_alexander_when-alexander-the-great-was-alive-the-w_1413735.png) > ““When Alexander The Great was alive the world was not big enough to contain his ambition but while Alexander chafed at the confines of the world in life, in death, “a coffin was enough.”” [Juvenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juvenal/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Alexander’s boundless ambition outgrew the world in life, yet in death a modest coffin sufficed, highlighting the limits of earthly power. **In simple terms:** Great ambition meets inevitable mortality. Key Takeaway Remember humility despite ambition. Themes ambition mortality legacy humility power Mood reflective melancholic thoughtful Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - political leadership - personal legacy - historical analysis - philosophical discourse Key Concepts classical satire historical reflection human limits Questions to Reflect On - How does ambition shape your life goals? - What does humility mean after great achievements? A Different Perspective Even the greatest conquerors cannot escape death; material achievements fade. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [Alexander III of Macedon is known as Alexander the Great because he killed more people of more different kinds than any other man of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-cuppy/alexander-iii-of-macedon-is-known-as-alexander-the-great-because-he/) [Will Cuppy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-cuppy/) > [ “...no one should marvel at the ease with which Alexander \[the Great\] kept possession of Asia, or at the difficulties which others, like Pyrrhus… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/machiavelli-niccolo/no-one-should-marvel-at-the-ease-with-which-alexander-the-great-kept/) [Machiavelli Niccolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/machiavelli-niccolo/) > [Of course, Alexander the Great was a hero, but why smash the chairs?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-gogol/of-course-alexander-the-great-was-a-hero-but-why-smash-the-chairs/) [Nikolai Gogol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-gogol/) > [I like to think I am the best there is at what I do, and so I have conquered the world like Alexander. 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It helped that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-de-haas/alexander-the-great-was-not-worried-about-what-other-people-would/) Ingrid de Haas > [Where did he go!” he bellowed, gloved hands clenching. “I had him in a snare that would take Alexander the Great a lifetime to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-harrison/where-did-he-go-he-bellowed-gloved-hands-clenching-i-had-him-in-a/) [Kim Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-harrison/) > [I honestly never wanted to direct. 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While we are calling for flowers and wine and women, old age…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juvenal/the-short-bloom-of-our-brief-and-narrow-life-flies-fast-away-while-we/) [Juvenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juvenal/) > [Some men make money not for the sake of living, but ache In the blindness of greed and live just for their fortune's sake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juvenal/some-men-make-money-not-for-the-sake-of-living-but-ache-in-the/) [Juvenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juvenal/) > [Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? - Who will watch the watchers?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juvenal/quis-custodiet-ipsos-custodes-who-will-watch-the-watchers/) [Juvenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juvenal/) > [All things may be bought in Rome with money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juvenal/all-things-may-be-bought-in-rome-with-money/) [Juvenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juvenal/) > [Who is to guard the guards themselves?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juvenal/who-is-to-guard-the-guards-themselves/) [Juvenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juvenal/) > [Dedicate one's life to truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juvenal/dedicate-one-s-life-to-truth/) [Juvenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juvenal/) > [A sound mind in a sound body is a thing to be prayed for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juvenal/a-sound-mind-in-a-sound-body-is-a-thing-to-be-prayed-for/) [Juvenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juvenal/) > [Only death reveals what a nothing the body of man is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juvenal/only-death-reveals-what-a-nothing-the-body-of-man-is/) [Juvenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juvenal/) > [“show me the apartment 235 that lets you sleep! In this city sleep costs millions, and that’s the root of the trouble.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juvenal/show-me-the-apartment-235-that-lets-you-sleep-in-this-city-sleep/) [Juvenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juvenal/) > [ When a man's life is at stake no delay is too long. \[Lat., Nulla unquam de morte cunctatio longa est.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juvenal/when-a-man-s-life-is-at-stake-no-delay-is-too-long-lat-nulla-unquam/) [Juvenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juvenal/) > [What man have you ever seen who was contented with one crime only?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juvenal/what-man-have-you-ever-seen-who-was-contented-with-one-crime-only/) [Juvenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juvenal/) [Explore all 328 Juvenal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juvenal/) ## More Alexander quotes > [I actually sat down and started three Alexanders at the same time. 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I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-abbott/i-am-acting-then-continued-alexander-only-on-the-defensive-the-gods/) [Jacob Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-abbott/) > [Lucius Cassius ille quem populus Romanus verissimum et sapientissimum iudicem putabat identidem in causis quaerere solebat 'cui bono' fuisset. The famous Lucius Cassius, whom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/lucius-cassius-ille-quem-populus-romanus-verissimum-et-sapientissimum/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [“That valiant Macedonian supreme commander and emperor Alexander, in his thirties and the future Indian captain-general and emperor Chandragupta just on the threshold of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/savarkar/that-valiant-macedonian-supreme-commander-and-emperor-alexander-in/) Savarkar > [“Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds. 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One”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-freeman/as-alexander-would-confess-years-later-sex-and-sleep-more-than/) [Philip Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-freeman/) > [I'm a London girl, so I grew up on Alexander McQueen and Vivienne Westwood... Dior, Chanel, the usual suspects.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-dormer/i-m-a-london-girl-so-i-grew-up-on-alexander-mcqueen-and-vivienne/) [Natalie Dormer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-dormer/) > [When I did 'Racing Demon' by David Hare, I worked with Paul Giamatti, who had stacks of books in his dressing room. I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-o-hare/when-i-did-racing-demon-by-david-hare-i-worked-with-paul-giamatti-who/) [Denis O'Hare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-o-hare/) > [Alexander III of Macedon is known as Alexander the Great because he killed more people of more different kinds than any other man of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-cuppy/alexander-iii-of-macedon-is-known-as-alexander-the-great-because-he/) [Will Cuppy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-cuppy/) > [“Alexander's mere name and the fame of his feats raised rulers and realms across virtually the whole world. 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