--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Ambition is a vice, but it may be the…" description: "\"Ambition is a vice, but it may be the father of virtue.\" — Quintilian" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c91/quintilian-7306_ambition_ambition-is-a-vice-but-it-may-be-the-fat_1810661.jpg" --- # Ambition is a vice, but it may be the father of virtue. ![“Ambition is a vice, but it may be the father of virtue.” quote by Quintilian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c91/quintilian-7306_ambition_ambition-is-a-vice-but-it-may-be-the-fat_1810661.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c91/quintilian-7306_ambition_ambition-is-a-vice-but-it-may-be-the-fat_1810661.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c91/quintilian-7306_ambition_ambition-is-a-vice-but-it-may-be-the-fat_1810661.jpg) > “Ambition is a vice, but it may be the father of virtue.” [Quintilian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quintilian/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Ambition can be morally dubious yet also inspire virtuous outcomes. **In simple terms:** Ambition can be both harmful and helpful. Key Takeaway Channel ambition toward virtuous goals. Themes morality ambition virtue Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - leadership - personal development - career planning Key Concepts ethics human nature Questions to Reflect On - How can ambition be guided to serve virtue? - When does ambition become a vice? A Different Perspective Ambition may foster selfishness if unchecked. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ambition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) [Motivation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motivation/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Vice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vice/) [Vices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vices/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) ## Related quotes > [Though ambition itself be a vice, yet it is often times the cause of virtues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintilian/though-ambition-itself-be-a-vice-yet-it-is-often-times-the-cause-of/) [Quintilian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quintilian/) > [Though ambition in itself is a vice, yet it is often the parent of virtues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/though-ambition-in-itself-is-a-vice-yet-it-is-often-the-parent-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Though ambition in itself is a vice, it often is also the parent of virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/though-ambition-in-itself-is-a-vice-it-often-is-also-the-parent-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Though ambition in itself is a vice, yet it is often the parent of virtues. \[Lat., Licet ipsa vitium sit ambitio, frequenter tamen causa…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintilian/though-ambition-in-itself-is-a-vice-yet-it-is-often-the-parent-of-2/) [Quintilian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quintilian/) > [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/) > [“Ambition is a path, not a destination, and it is essentially the same path for everybody. No matter what the goal is, the path…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/ambition-is-a-path-not-a-destination-and-it-is-essentially-the-same-2/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [Ambition is not a vice of little people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/ambition-is-not-a-vice-of-little-people/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [“Ambition is a path, not a destination, and it is essentially the same path for everybody. No matter what the goal is, the path…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/ambition-is-a-path-not-a-destination-and-it-is-essentially-the-same/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [There is scarce any passion so heartily decried by moralists and satirists, as AMBITION; and yet, methinks, ambition is not a vice but in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulke-greville-1st-baron-brooke/there-is-scarce-any-passion-so-heartily-decried-by-moralists-and/) [Fulke Greville, 1st Baron Brooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulke-greville-1st-baron-brooke/) > [Drunkenness does not create vice; it merely brings it into view.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/drunkenness-does-not-create-vice-it-merely-brings-it-into-view/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Vice is its own reward. It is virtue which, if it is to be marketed with consumer appeal, must carry Green Shield stamps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/vice-is-its-own-reward-it-is-virtue-which-if-it-is-to-be-marketed/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) > [...virtue is attended by more peace of mind than vice, and meets with a more favourable reception from the world. I am sensible, that,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/virtue-is-attended-by-more-peace-of-mind-than-vice-and-meets-with-a/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [Vice is man's nature: virtue is a habit--or a mask.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/vice-is-man-s-nature-virtue-is-a-habit-or-a-mask/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Every virtue is a mean between two extremes, each of which is a vice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/every-virtue-is-a-mean-between-two-extremes-each-of-which-is-a-vice/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Chastity is a virtue with some, but with many it is almost a vice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/chastity-is-a-virtue-with-some-but-with-many-it-is-almost-a-vice/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) ## More by Quintilian > [“In writing are the roots, in writing are the foundations of eloquence; by writing resources are stored up, as it were, in a sacred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintilian/in-writing-are-the-roots-in-writing-are-the-foundations-of-eloquence/) [Quintilian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quintilian/) > [Virtue, though she gets her beginning from nature, yet receives her finishing touches from learning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintilian/virtue-though-she-gets-her-beginning-from-nature-yet-receives-her/) [Quintilian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quintilian/) > [Vain hopes are like certain dreams of those who wake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintilian/vain-hopes-are-like-certain-dreams-of-those-who-wake/) [Quintilian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quintilian/) > [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 easier to do many things than to do one thing continuously for a long time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintilian/it-is-easier-to-do-many-things-than-to-do-one-thing-continuously-for/) [Quintilian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quintilian/) > [We excuse our sloth under the pretext of difficulty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintilian/we-excuse-our-sloth-under-the-pretext-of-difficulty/) [Quintilian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quintilian/) > [One thing, however, I must premise, that without the assistance of natural capacity, rules and precepts are of no efficacy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintilian/one-thing-however-i-must-premise-that-without-the-assistance-of/) [Quintilian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quintilian/) > [Medicine for the dead is too late](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintilian/medicine-for-the-dead-is-too-late/) [Quintilian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quintilian/) > [Our minds are like our stomaches; they are whetted by the change of their food, and variety supplies both with fresh appetite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintilian/our-minds-are-like-our-stomaches-they-are-whetted-by-the-change-of/) [Quintilian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quintilian/) > [A laugh costs too much when bought at the expense of virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintilian/a-laugh-costs-too-much-when-bought-at-the-expense-of-virtue/) [Quintilian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quintilian/) > [The soul languishing in obscurity contracts a kind of rust, or abandons itself to the chimera of presumption; for it is natural for it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintilian/the-soul-languishing-in-obscurity-contracts-a-kind-of-rust-or/) [Quintilian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quintilian/) > [He who speaks evil only differs from his who does evil in that he lacks opportunity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintilian/he-who-speaks-evil-only-differs-from-his-who-does-evil-in-that-he/) [Quintilian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quintilian/) > [That which offends the ear will not easily gain admission to the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintilian/that-which-offends-the-ear-will-not-easily-gain-admission-to-the-mind/) [Quintilian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quintilian/) > [In almost everything, experience is more valuable than precept.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintilian/in-almost-everything-experience-is-more-valuable-than-precept/) [Quintilian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quintilian/) > [Though ambition itself be a vice, yet it is often times the cause of virtues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintilian/though-ambition-itself-be-a-vice-yet-it-is-often-times-the-cause-of/) [Quintilian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quintilian/) [Explore all 92 Quintilian quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quintilian/) ## 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 is a vice, but it may be the father of virtue.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Quintilian" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintilian/ambition-is-a-vice-but-it-may-be-the-father-of-virtue/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ambition" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintilian/ambition-is-a-vice-but-it-may-be-the-father-of-virtue/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c91/quintilian-7306_ambition_ambition-is-a-vice-but-it-may-be-the-fat_1810661.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c91/quintilian-7306_ambition_ambition-is-a-vice-but-it-may-be-the-fat_1810661.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c91/quintilian-7306_ambition_ambition-is-a-vice-but-it-may-be-the-fat_1810661.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Ambition is a vice, but it may be the father of virtue.” — Quintilian", "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": "Quintilian", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quintilian/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Ambition is a vice, but it...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintilian/ambition-is-a-vice-but-it-may-be-the-father-of-virtue/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintilian/ambition-is-a-vice-but-it-may-be-the-father-of-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 } } ] } ```