The Is The Most Important Quality - 1438 Words

â€Å"When the gods wish to take vengeance on a man for his crimes they usually grant him considerable success and a period of impunity, so that when his fortune is reversed he will feel it all the more bitterly.â€Å"- Julius Caesar. Everyone wishes to be fortunate, and that word has many differing and contradicting meanings, each suited to one or two particular people with that set of goals in their lives. Therefore it is no surprise that humanity has a natural tendency to be ambitious, and to strive to great heights. While this is a beneficial trait, society as a collective whole has brainwashed humanity to believe that ambition is the most important quality an individual can possess. This has caused a conundrum in many great people; that even†¦show more content†¦Even though the witches may have been lying, and most definitely did not have Macbeth and Banquo’s best interests in mind, the two friends believed the prophecy, and their belief was strengthened when M acbeth becomes Thane of Cawdor at the request of the King Duncan. While the title was certainly prestigious it didn’t satiate Macbeth’s aspirations to be great, especially now that the idea that he would be King was planted in his mind. In order to achieve his goals he would forego basic humanity and morality, betraying the trust of the King, the honor of his comrades, and the sanctity of friendship. Ambition to be greater than what was destined is what killed Macbeth, not some concept of the wrong kind of ambition. The want or drive to be great is not inherently good nor evil, simply a desire, and Macbeth’s natural yearning to be great was spurred into overdrive with the idea that he could actually achieve it. However what happens to many great men is that once they stumble upon or actually accomplish their goals, they are not satisfied and must have more. This is their downfall, their inability to be happy with what they have achieved, their ambition to have o r be more that what they feasibly can have or be, this is what causes the greatest of men to fall. According to an article on Forbes.com by Steve Forbes and John Prevas, â€Å"Left unchecked, ambition can cross the line, mutating into arrogance and avarice, two of the most destructive