"A wise man is cured of ambition by ambition itself; his aim is so exalted that riches, office, fortune, and favor cannot satisfy him. He sees nothing sufficient to engage his affections and to render it deserving of his cares and his desires. ... The only thing that might tempt him is that kind of honor which should attend a wholly pure and unaffected virtue; but men but rarely grant it, so he does without it."
Les Caractères

January 1, 1970

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Added on April 10, 2026
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Original Language: English

Sources

“Of Personal Merit,” #43

https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Les_Caract%C3%A8res