--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Some handsome and ambitious men believe…" description: "\"Some handsome and ambitious men believe they are above all morality, and a woman's virtue becomes a mere challenge to them.\" — William Safire" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f2/william-safire-5116_ambitious_some-handsome-and-ambitious-men-believe_1031437.png" --- # Some handsome and ambitious men believe they are above all… ![“Some handsome and ambitious men believe they are above all morality, and a woman's virtue becomes a mere challenge to them.” quote by William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f2/william-safire-5116_ambitious_some-handsome-and-ambitious-men-believe_1031437.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f2/william-safire-5116_ambitious_some-handsome-and-ambitious-men-believe_1031437.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f2/william-safire-5116_ambitious_some-handsome-and-ambitious-men-believe_1031437.png) > “Some handsome and ambitious men believe they are above all morality, and a woman's virtue becomes a mere challenge to them.” [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He notes that some powerful men view morality as optional, treating women's virtue as a challenge to overcome. **In simple terms:** Power can corrupt moral standards toward women. Key Takeaway Uphold ethical behavior regardless of status. Themes ethics gender power morality Mood critical serious Type analytical inspirational When to use this quote - workplace culture - political discourse - media commentary Key Concepts masculinity ethical leadership Questions to Reflect On - How can institutions enforce ethical standards? - What role does education play in shaping respect? A Different Perspective Not all men share this view; many act ethically. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ambitious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambitious/) [Ambitious man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambitious-man/) [Ambitious Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambitious-men-1627678/) [Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) [Challenges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/challenges/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Handsome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/handsome/) [Handsome Ambitious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/handsome-ambitious-2358437/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Men Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-believe/) [Mere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mere/) [Morality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morality/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) [Woman Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/woman-virtue-1191938/) ## Related quotes > [When ambitious men find an open passage, they are rather busy than dangerous; and if well watched in their proceedings, they will catch them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-quarles/when-ambitious-men-find-an-open-passage-they-are-rather-busy-than/) [Francis Quarles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-quarles/) > [Ambitious men spend their youth in rendering themselves worthy of patronage; it is their great mistake. While the foolish creatures are laying in stores…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/ambitious-men-spend-their-youth-in-rendering-themselves-worthy-of/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [ They \[i.e. ambitious men\] may not cease, but as a dog in a wheel, a bird in a cage, or a squirrel in a… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-burton/they-i-e-ambitious-men-may-not-cease-but-as-a-dog-in-a-wheel-a-bird/) [Robert Burton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-burton/) > [Thinking men cannot be ruled; ambitious men do not stagnate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/thinking-men-cannot-be-ruled-ambitious-men-do-not-stagnate/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [But I have noticed this about ambitious men, or men in power, that they fear even the slightest and least likely threat to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-stewart/but-i-have-noticed-this-about-ambitious-men-or-men-in-power-that-they/) [Mary Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-stewart/) > [Every woman whether rich or poor, married or single, has a circle of influence within which, according to her character, she is exerting a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-angell-james/every-woman-whether-rich-or-poor-married-or-single-has-a-circle-of/) [John Angell James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-angell-james/) > [When virtue was spoken of in the classical sense, for men, it always meant bravery or protecting others or being an adventurer and going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-crabapple/when-virtue-was-spoken-of-in-the-classical-sense-for-men-it-always/) [Molly Crabapple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-crabapple/) > [To be slow in words is a woman's only virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/to-be-slow-in-words-is-a-woman-s-only-virtue/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Woman's virtue is man's greatest invention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-otis-skinner/woman-s-virtue-is-man-s-greatest-invention/) [Cornelia Otis Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-otis-skinner/) > [In a self-respecting India, is not every woman's virtue as much every man's concern as his own sister's?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/in-a-self-respecting-india-is-not-every-woman-s-virtue-as-much-every/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“Consider, that no jewel upon earth is comparable to a woman of virtue and honor; and, that the honor of the sex consists in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/consider-that-no-jewel-upon-earth-is-comparable-to-a-woman-of-virtue/) [Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) > [“A woman desires to be a man's last romance, her baby's first love and a person who can live with dignity all her life.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/purba-chakraborty/a-woman-desires-to-be-a-man-s-last-romance-her-baby-s-first-love-and/) [Purba Chakraborty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/purba-chakraborty/) > [A true woman of virtue is one who will socialize with every man on earth, and doesn't share her body with any of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-true-woman-of-virtue-is-one-who-will-socialize-with-every-man-on/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A man should never boast of his courage, nor a woman of her virtue, lest their doing so should be the cause of calling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marguerite-gardiner-countess-of-blessington/a-man-should-never-boast-of-his-courage-nor-a-woman-of-her-virtue/) [Marguerite Gardiner, Countess of Blessington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marguerite-gardiner-countess-of-blessington/) > [Modesty in woman is a virtue most deserving, since we do all we can to cure her of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/modesty-in-woman-is-a-virtue-most-deserving-since-we-do-all-we-can-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by William Safire > [The Republicans do not look on the Democrats as the evil empire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/the-republicans-do-not-look-on-the-democrats-as-the-evil-empire/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [Last, but not least, avoid cliches like the plague.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/last-but-not-least-avoid-cliches-like-the-plague/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [Decide on some imperfect Somebody and you will win, because the truest truism in politics is: You can't beat Somebody with Nobody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/decide-on-some-imperfect-somebody-and-you-will-win-because-the-truest/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [Knowing how things work is the basis for appreciation, and is thus a source of civilized delight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/knowing-how-things-work-is-the-basis-for-appreciation-and-is-thus-a/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [What a joy it is to see really professional media manipulation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/what-a-joy-it-is-to-see-really-professional-media-manipulation/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [What do you call a co-worker these days? Neither teammate nor confederate will do, and partner is too legalistic. The answer brought from academia…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/what-do-you-call-a-co-worker-these-days-neither-teammate-nor/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [This is what it's all about. From what I could see, you could get a bunch of people together, whip up the press and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/this-is-what-it-s-all-about-from-what-i-could-see-you-could-get-a/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [When I need to know the meaning of a word, I look it up in a dictionary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/when-i-need-to-know-the-meaning-of-a-word-i-look-it-up-in-a-dictionary/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [A man who lies, thinking it is the truth, is an honest man, and a man who tells the truth, believing it to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/a-man-who-lies-thinking-it-is-the-truth-is-an-honest-man-and-a-man/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [The Latin motto over Poindexter's new Pentagon office reads Scientia Est Potentia - "knowledge is power." Exactly: the government's infinite knowledge about you is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/the-latin-motto-over-poindexter-s-new-pentagon-office-reads-scientia/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [English is a stretch language; one size fits all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/english-is-a-stretch-language-one-size-fits-all/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [Today, war of necessity is used by critics of military action to describe unavoidable response to an attack like that on Pearl Harbor that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/today-war-of-necessity-is-used-by-critics-of-military-action-to/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [To communicate, put your words in order; give them a purpose; use them to persuade, to instruct, to discover, to seduce.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/to-communicate-put-your-words-in-order-give-them-a-purpose-use-them/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [“Chandler’s “She was blonde enough to make a bishop kick a hole through a stained-glass window”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/chandler-s-she-was-blonde-enough-to-make-a-bishop-kick-a-hole-through/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [You don't overturn a previous court's decisions lightly and I think most Americans are somewhere in the middle on abortion and there's not going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/you-don-t-overturn-a-previous-court-s-decisions-lightly-and-i-think/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) [Explore all 103 William Safire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) ## More Ambitious quotes > [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 want my squad to be confident, ambitious. They have to believe in big things and we have to set targets internally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-howe/i-want-my-squad-to-be-confident-ambitious-they-have-to-believe-in-big/) [Eddie Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-howe/) > [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/) > [“Getting rich is easy, staying rich is impressive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-trip/getting-rich-is-easy-staying-rich-is-impressive/) [Don Trip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-trip/) > [Trying to be perfect may be inevitable for people who are smart and ambitious and interested in the world and its good opinion...What is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/trying-to-be-perfect-may-be-inevitable-for-people-who-are-smart-and/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Business is always a struggle. There are always obstacles and competitors. There is never an open road, except the wide road that leads to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-kirubi/business-is-always-a-struggle-there-are-always-obstacles-and/) [Chris Kirubi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-kirubi/) > [I am ambitious to do more than what has been offered me. I want to be the best in whatever career I choose and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/uday-chopra/i-am-ambitious-to-do-more-than-what-has-been-offered-me-i-want-to-be/) [Uday Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/uday-chopra/) > [There are four varieties in society — the lovers, the ambitious, observers, and fools. The fools are the happiest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hippolyte-taine/there-are-four-varieties-in-society-the-lovers-the-ambitious/) [Hippolyte Taine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hippolyte-taine/) > [People who are ambitious - politicians who crave power - think that they're in control of it, but at some point, the movement that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-liu/people-who-are-ambitious-politicians-who-crave-power-think-that-they/) [Ken Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-liu/) > [I'm not ambitious. Not a bit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/i-m-not-ambitious-not-a-bit/) [Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/) > [Aggressive and hard-charging women violate unwritten rules about acceptable social conduct. Men are continually applauded for being ambitious and powerful and successful, but women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/aggressive-and-hard-charging-women-violate-unwritten-rules-about/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [I understood early on that I was not the best-looking girl in the room. But I knew my advantage was a hard work ethic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-o-connor/i-understood-early-on-that-i-was-not-the-best-looking-girl-in-the/) [Erin O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-o-connor/) > [It is ordained that to the ambitious, who derive no satisfaction from the gifts of life and the beauty of the world, life shall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/it-is-ordained-that-to-the-ambitious-who-derive-no-satisfaction-from/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [If Reagan and John Paul II were linked by anything, it was a grand, ambitious, and generous idea of Western political civilization, one in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-applebaum/if-reagan-and-john-paul-ii-were-linked-by-anything-it-was-a-grand/) [Anne Applebaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-applebaum/) > [To talk only about national security, national defense, means to be selfish, ambitious. It is discrimination, isolation. "It is just me. What do I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evo-morales/to-talk-only-about-national-security-national-defense-means-to-be/) [Evo Morales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evo-morales/) [Browse all 1,269 Ambitious quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambitious/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Some handsome and ambitious men believe they are above all morality, and a woman's virtue becomes a mere challenge to them.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Safire" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/some-handsome-and-ambitious-men-believe-they-are-above-all-morality/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ambitious" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/some-handsome-and-ambitious-men-believe-they-are-above-all-morality/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f2/william-safire-5116_ambitious_some-handsome-and-ambitious-men-believe_1031437.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f2/william-safire-5116_ambitious_some-handsome-and-ambitious-men-believe_1031437.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f2/william-safire-5116_ambitious_some-handsome-and-ambitious-men-believe_1031437.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Some handsome and ambitious men believe they are above all morality, and a woman's virtue becomes a mere…” — William Safire", "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": "William Safire", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Some handsome and ambitious men believe...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/some-handsome-and-ambitious-men-believe-they-are-above-all-morality/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/some-handsome-and-ambitious-men-believe-they-are-above-all-morality/#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 } } ] } ```