Muscatine journal. [volume] (Bloomington, Iowa) 1849-185?, 1853-06-17
Ambition: Acknowledgements

Ambition: Acknowledgements.
Every intelligent mind cherishes and sup
ports this habit of character called ambi-
| ton in some form or'another. Ever since
the creation of man it has found little is
land in the human heart upon which to rest
its potent bulwark, and sole monarch of the
whole, it has forbid the approach of either
| friend or foe. Ambition is double natured.
1t always prompts men to do deeds that shall
either benefit mankind or himself. The one
| is selfish and the other unselfish. The
one builds Empires and educatcs the people,
the other overthrows Kingdoms and en-
slaves its subjects. The one legslates for
the good of. the people, the other legislates
for the good of self.
There have been men in days by gone
that have spent their spleen in denouncing
ambition in toto. This is madness carried
| to unnatural excess. Divest humanity of
ambition and you remove the only incentive
to action you place an obstacle in the way
|
is can never surmountit. You light as well
| stop the wheels of time, and bid the world
return to its original chaos, as to remove
ambition from the human breast. Indeed
one is as facle as the other. We make the
assertion that there is nothing done by cre-
ated intelligence but that which is prompt
ed by ambition.
What mighty deeds of daring and bravery
it has accomplished What acts of chart
ty and works of philanthropy! What crimes,
what misery, what suffering, what horror,
woe and degradation 1t has moistened the
soil of the whole habitable globe, with hui
man gore it has caused tears to flow
which if gathered together would float q
mighty ship; did ambition produce nothing
but good it would be useless trait-a
worthless appendage to the human char.
acter.
The pages of recorded history both an.
cient and modern, are filed to ovnraowino
with illustrations of the workings of ambi
ton Perhaps this trait of character wa,
never more fully developed in mortal, thar
in Alexander the Great. His overwhelm
ing ambtion-great and powerful-un
loosed him from all those mild and centl,
tiaits which his countrymen admired in hi,
youth, and which led them to look FORWARD
with pleasant anticipations to the tim,
when he should mount the throne and com.
mand their armies. But no sooner had tb;,
long looked FOR and much desired even
happened, than he began to cherish dream,
of greatness that must be fulfilled. Tn,
castles of his boyhood were built in air. bu
in young manhood he erected foundation
beneath them which lasted for centuries
lie, like other generals that have had thei
day since his time, sought to reach thai
DARING height by piling up high mountain.
OF human beings, using human blood fo,
cement, and climbing up its slippery heights
until he reached the loftiest realization Of
his boyhooG dreams.
What cared he for few thousand
lives. il il would add an inch to his
mountain pile? VIVA. were the wild.
ow's tears and the orphans cries TO him
| Il he reached the goal Of his ambitiond
| What signiied it if cities burned an
innocent virtue plead in vain for protec-
lion, ii he only approached a single
step towards the golden throne he had
already formed far up in the dim .mazes
Of the future? What matter to him
if the fertile fields Of the husbandmen
were ravished Of their golden harvest
and the vast populace dying from star
walton II he consuma.ed his dearest
hopes? Why should all this trouble
him, il he conquered the world? All.
a fatal mistake. lie might stand on
| the shores Of the ocean and sigh for
more worlds TO conquer: he might sew
er in twain the Gordian Knot; he might
erect the proudest throne upon which
the light of heaven ever shone; he
might rule the world, and be mortal;
and yet with all this power he could
not command that boon which is worth
them oil = contentmeni. Alexander
could rule the vast world, and YET he
could not rule the little world within
himself. lie could bid the wealth Of the
Indies TO be laid at his feet, and still he
could not bid peace Of mind to enter his
own breast; he could demolish potent
empires at his will, but be co aid never
demolish the consciousness of being q
despot. What was all this grandeur 10
hin He had reached the proudest
height on the battle field, realized all his
dazzling an,icipations, and yet without
contentment was in worse condition
than the FILLER of the soil seated in the
doorway Of that lille cottage on yon-
der prairie.
Human ambition has never reached
a loflier height than did that Of Alexan
der Sole monarch Of nearly the whole
ha bitable globe-won by his own dread
full command-he demanded that his
subjects should call him God! Morals
can never aspire beyond Ibis. The fame
OF Alexander is eternal. Mighty Thebes
crumbling to ruins will forever tell the
world OF his rapacious glory. The in.
yasion OF Asia. for the sole purpose of
adding territorial power 10 his vast do
mains, will always afford evidence OF
his unrestrained ambition. The de.