--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Ambition, in a private man is a vice, is…" description: "\"Ambition, in a private man is a vice, is in a prince the virtue.\" — Philip Massinger" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d8/philip-massinger-9358_ambition_ambition-in-a-private-man-is-a-vice-is-i_1510478.jpg" --- # Ambition, in a private man is a vice, is in a prince the… ![“Ambition, in a private man is a vice, is in a prince the virtue.” quote by Philip Massinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d8/philip-massinger-9358_ambition_ambition-in-a-private-man-is-a-vice-is-i_1510478.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d8/philip-massinger-9358_ambition_ambition-in-a-private-man-is-a-vice-is-i_1510478.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d8/philip-massinger-9358_ambition_ambition-in-a-private-man-is-a-vice-is-i_1510478.jpg) > “Ambition, in a private man is a vice, is in a prince the virtue.” [Philip Massinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-massinger/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Ambition is praised in leaders but condemned in ordinary people, highlighting double standards in moral judgment. **In simple terms:** Leaders praised, others condemned. Key Takeaway Recognize bias in how ambition is judged. Themes power morality leadership Mood critical thoughtful Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - political ambition - career advancement - personal goals Key Concepts social hierarchy virtue ethics Questions to Reflect On - How does context change the perception of ambition? - Can ambition be both vice and virtue? A Different Perspective Ambition can be harmful if unchecked. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ambition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition/) [Ambition Private](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition-private-3229815/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Man Vice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-vice-676948/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Prince Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prince-virtue-5558947/) [Vice Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vice-prince-5558948/) [Vices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vices/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) ## Related quotes > [It is simple to follow the easy and familiar path of personal ambition and private gain. It is more comfortable to sit content in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-webster/it-is-simple-to-follow-the-easy-and-familiar-path-of-personal/) [Daniel Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-webster/) > [It is my ambition to be, as a private individual, abolished and voided from history, leaving it markless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/it-is-my-ambition-to-be-as-a-private-individual-abolished-and-voided-2/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [It is my ambition to be, as a private individual, abolished and voided from history, leaving it markless, no refuse save the printed books.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/it-is-my-ambition-to-be-as-a-private-individual-abolished-and-voided/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [Golf - a young man's vice and an old man's penance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-s-cobb/golf-a-young-man-s-vice-and-an-old-man-s-penance/) [Irvin S. Cobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-s-cobb/) > [Sin is a thing that writes itself across a man's face. It cannot be concealed. People talk sometimes of secret vices, there are no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/sin-is-a-thing-that-writes-itself-across-a-man-s-face-it-cannot-be-2/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [It is false to say that you are a vicious man, Zoilus; you are not a vicious man, you are vice itself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/it-is-false-to-say-that-you-are-a-vicious-man-zoilus-you-are-not-a/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [“Show me a man without vice and I'll show you one without virtue!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pittacus-lore/show-me-a-man-without-vice-and-i-ll-show-you-one-without-virtue/) [Pittacus Lore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pittacus-lore/) > [“If a wretched man has a vice, it shows itself in the lines of his mouth, the droop of his eyelids, the moulding of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/if-a-wretched-man-has-a-vice-it-shows-itself-in-the-lines-of-his/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Virtue, thou in rags, may challenge more than vice set off with all the trim of greatness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-massinger/virtue-thou-in-rags-may-challenge-more-than-vice-set-off-with-all-the/) [Philip Massinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-massinger/) > [Though ambition may be a fault in itself, it is often the mother of virtues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintilian/though-ambition-may-be-a-fault-in-itself-it-is-often-the-mother-of/) [Quintilian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quintilian/) > [It is said that any virtue when taken to an extreme can become a vice. Overscheduling our days would certainly qualify for this. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-f-uchtdorf/it-is-said-that-any-virtue-when-taken-to-an-extreme-can-become-a-vice/) [Dieter F. Uchtdorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-f-uchtdorf/) > [A government by the passions of the multitude, or, no less correctly, according to the vices, and ambitions of their leaders is a democracy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fisher-ames/a-government-by-the-passions-of-the-multitude-or-no-less-correctly/) [Fisher Ames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fisher-ames/) > [Never can true courage dwell with them, Who, playing tricks with conscience, dare not look At their own vices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/never-can-true-courage-dwell-with-them-who-playing-tricks-with/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [Memory is like fiction; or else it's fiction that's like memory. This really came home to me once I started writing fiction, that memory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/memory-is-like-fiction-or-else-it-s-fiction-that-s-like-memory-this/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Wise men will apply their remedies to vices, not to names; to the causes of evil which are permanent, not to the occasional organs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/wise-men-will-apply-their-remedies-to-vices-not-to-names-to-the/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) ## More by Philip Massinger > [You may boldly say, you did not plough Or trust the barren and ungrateful sands With the fruitful grain of your religious counsels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-massinger/you-may-boldly-say-you-did-not-plough-or-trust-the-barren-and/) [Philip Massinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-massinger/) > [The sum of all that makes a just man happy Consists in the well choosing of his wife: And there, well to discharge it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-massinger/the-sum-of-all-that-makes-a-just-man-happy-consists-in-the-well/) [Philip Massinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-massinger/) > [Virtue, thou in rags, may challenge more than vice set off with all the trim of greatness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-massinger/virtue-thou-in-rags-may-challenge-more-than-vice-set-off-with-all-the/) [Philip Massinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-massinger/) > [Pleasures of worse natures Are gladly entertained, and they that shun us Practice in private sports the stews would blush at.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-massinger/pleasures-of-worse-natures-are-gladly-entertained-and-they-that-shun/) [Philip Massinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-massinger/) > [He is not valiant that dares lie; but he that boldly bears calamity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-massinger/he-is-not-valiant-that-dares-lie-but-he-that-boldly-bears-calamity/) [Philip Massinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-massinger/) > [If you like not hanging, drown yourself; Take some course for your reputation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-massinger/if-you-like-not-hanging-drown-yourself-take-some-course-for-your/) [Philip Massinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-massinger/) > [He that knows no guilt can know no fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-massinger/he-that-knows-no-guilt-can-know-no-fear/) [Philip Massinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-massinger/) > [Without good company all dainties Lose their true relish, and like painted grapes, Are only seen, not tasted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-massinger/without-good-company-all-dainties-lose-their-true-relish-and-like/) [Philip Massinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-massinger/) > [How sweetly sounds the voice of a good woman! It is so seldom heard that, when it speaks,it ravishes all senses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-massinger/how-sweetly-sounds-the-voice-of-a-good-woman-it-is-so-seldom-heard/) [Philip Massinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-massinger/) > [He is not valiant that dares die, but he that boldly bears calamity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-massinger/he-is-not-valiant-that-dares-die-but-he-that-boldly-bears-calamity/) [Philip Massinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-massinger/) > [Like a rough orator, that brings more truth Than rhetoric, to make good his accusation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-massinger/like-a-rough-orator-that-brings-more-truth-than-rhetoric-to-make-good/) [Philip Massinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-massinger/) > [He that would govern others, first should be Master of himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-massinger/he-that-would-govern-others-first-should-be-master-of-himself/) [Philip Massinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-massinger/) > [Many good purposes lie in the churchyard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-massinger/many-good-purposes-lie-in-the-churchyard/) [Philip Massinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-massinger/) > [Cheerful looks make every dish a feast, and it is that which crowns a welcome.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-massinger/cheerful-looks-make-every-dish-a-feast-and-it-is-that-which-crowns-a/) [Philip Massinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-massinger/) > [As the index tells us the contents of stories and directs to the particular chapter, even so does the outward habit and superficial order…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-massinger/as-the-index-tells-us-the-contents-of-stories-and-directs-to-the/) [Philip Massinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-massinger/) [Explore all 73 Philip Massinger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-massinger/) ## 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": "Ambition, in a private man is a vice, is in a prince the virtue.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Philip Massinger" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-massinger/ambition-in-a-private-man-is-a-vice-is-in-a-prince-the-virtue/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ambition" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-massinger/ambition-in-a-private-man-is-a-vice-is-in-a-prince-the-virtue/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d8/philip-massinger-9358_ambition_ambition-in-a-private-man-is-a-vice-is-i_1510478.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d8/philip-massinger-9358_ambition_ambition-in-a-private-man-is-a-vice-is-i_1510478.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d8/philip-massinger-9358_ambition_ambition-in-a-private-man-is-a-vice-is-i_1510478.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Ambition, in a private man is a vice, is in a prince the virtue.” — Philip Massinger", "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": "Philip Massinger", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-massinger/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Ambition, in a private man is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-massinger/ambition-in-a-private-man-is-a-vice-is-in-a-prince-the-virtue/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-massinger/ambition-in-a-private-man-is-a-vice-is-in-a-prince-the-virtue/#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 } } ] } ```