Stephen Spender Quotes

The appellation of a Scottish Bard is by far my highest pride; to continue to deserve it is my most exalted ambition.

Only ambitious nonentities and hearty mediocrities exhibit their rough drafts. It's like passing around samples of sputum.

It is not because the touch of genius has roused genius to production, but because the admiration of genius has made talent ambitious, that the harvest is still so abundant.

When my mouth shall be filled with dust, and the worm shall feed, and feed sweetly upon me, when the ambitious man shall have no satisfaction if the poorest alive tread upon him, nor the poorest receive any contentment in being made equal to princes, for they shall be equal but in dust.

One day, I will be a poet. Water will depend on my visions.

God help the troubadour who tries to be a star. The more that you try to find success, the more that you will fail.

[French] authors are more afraid of offending delicacy and rules, than ambitious of sublimity.

I would be the first to admit that I have incredibly high, ambitious standards for my life and my career, and I've had those my entire life. It's something that was just instilled in me by my parents.

I do think I might scare some guys, because I'm like, 'I want to change the world! I have dreams! What do you want to do?' But I only know how to be me.

But women are very differently situated with respect to eachother - for they are all rivals (...) Is it then surprising that when the sole ambition of woman centres in beauty, and interest gives vanity additional force, perpetual rivalships should ensue? They are all running the same race, and would rise above the virtue of morals, if they did not view each other with a suspicious and even envious eye.

What inspires me is the desire to be on. The desire to be successful. The desire to reach people through my music and make a living off it and never have to do anything else. Being able to do music full time and travel the world and share this music with everybody. That's the dream.

The love of fame is the last weakness which even the wise resign.

As a typically ambitious player, I did what all others of that ilk do: Everything I could do to gain advantage for my PCs and rise in level as rapidly as possible.

I sung from an early age and I was always given nice parts in school musicals, but I definitely wasn't the golden girl. I didn't have the guts. You've got to have a real confidence in yourself to be like: "I'm gonna be a singer and write songs." I never thought it would go anywhere because it's so unattainable to be a singer.

He who would write heroic poems should make his whole life a heroic poem.

Vain the ambition of kings Who seek by trophies and dead things To leave a living name behind, And weave but nets to catch the wind.

Anybody who is an ambitious politician would never ever aspire to a Vice Presidency. And yet, people find themselves in that position, and so, therein lies the rub.

I encourage first time filmmakers to be ambitious and take chances and risks, because you never know where your career is going to go.

The ambitious deceive themselves in proposing an end to their ambition; that end, when attained, becomes a means.

All the lousy little poets coming around trying to sound like Charles Manson.

People who want to rise above a well-cooked meal and a well-tailored garment, are out of their spiritual minds.

I also became a poet, and for one year lived in a Paradise of my own creation; I imagined that I also might obtain a niche in the temple where the names of Homer and Shakespeare are consecrated.

A small artist is content with art; a great artist is content with nothing except everything.

The quest for glory can never be satisfied, it must be extinguished.

I’m just sick of ego, ego, ego. My own and everybody else’s. I’m sick of everybody that wants to get somewhere, do something distinguished and all, be somebody interesting. It’s disgusting.