Francis Bacon – On Ambition
Ambition is like bile, which makes a person enterprising, fervent, prepared, and diligent, if nothing stops them. However, if they are stopped and cannot achieve what they desire, ambition shrinks and becomes dangerous and toxic. Ambitious individuals, if they see an open path to their progress, go forward freely and are more diligent than dangerous. But if their desires are restrained, they become internally dissatisfied and cast a wicked gaze upon people and tasks, deriving the most pleasure when things go wrong, which is the worst quality for someone in the service of a king or state. Therefore, if a ruler employs ambitious individuals, it is wise to treat them in a way that enables their progression rather than regression. However, since this cannot happen without discomfort, it would be best to not have any dealings with such people at all. For if they do not advance in their service, they will work in a manner that brings about the downfall of the service along with them.
Although we have stated that it would not be good to employ ambitious individuals unless absolutely necessary, it is fitting to we should say in which cases such people are necessary. Good commanders are necessary for war, no matter how ambitious they may be, because the benefits of their services compensate for everything else; and taking a soldier without ambition is the same as taking away his spurs. Similarly, ambitious people are of great use to rulers as a shield from everything that carries danger and envy within them; because no one wants to be in the position of a blinded pigeon that keeps flying higher and higher because it cannot see anything around it. Such people are useful in bringing down the greatness of any subject who has become too elevated, as Tiberius used Macro to bring down Sejanus.
Therefore, since they must be used in such circumstances, we must say how to restrain them to be less dangerous. The danger is less if they are of a lower, less noble lineage, if they are of a rougher nature than gentle and popular, and if they are novices, not hardened in cunning and firmly established in their greatness. Some believe that it is a weakness of a ruler to have favorites, but of all the Among the remedies against ambitious magnates, this one is the best. Because when the distribution of favor or disfavor is left to favorites, it is impossible for them to excessively promote anyone. They can also be restrained by placing equally vain people as a counterweight to them. However, there must be several intermediaries to maintain stability because without them, the ship of state would rock too much. At the very least, the ruler can encourage and train some less important people to become, so to speak, a whip for the ambitious. As for the fact that such people are prone to downfall, if they are timid by nature, then it can turn out well, but if they are persistent and bold, it can accelerate their intentions and prove dangerous. As for their overthrow, if circumstances require it, and if it cannot be done securely and suddenly, the only way is to constantly alternate signs of favor and disfavor, because then they will not know what to expect and will feel confused. Of all types of ambition, It is more harmful to have ambition related to larger things than to have ambition present in everything; because it causes confusion and disrupts work. However, it is less dangerous to have an ambitious person who meddles in affairs in service, than a person who has many subordinates. Someone who strives to stand out among capable people takes on difficult tasks, but it is always good for the people. But someone who dreams of becoming the only number among zeros is the downfall of an entire era.
Ambition encompasses three things: a favorable position for doing good, access to kings and influential personalities, and the possibility of increasing one’s own happiness. Someone who possesses the best of these intentions and strives upwards is an honorable person, and a ruler who can discern the intentions of such a person is a wise ruler.