- English translation
You who keep reaching for greatness, though your hopes keep failing you.
- Literal wording
O you who seek the heights, O you whose hope has come to nothing.
- Meaning and lesson
The saying addresses someone ambitious and, in the same breath, names them as a person whose hopes have been dashed. Placing these two labels side by side exposes a mismatch between how high the person aims and what they actually achieve.
The advice is to stop holding on to lofty goals once hope has repeatedly proven empty. Unlike sayings that praise perseverance, it suggests that striving for eminence after clear disappointment is futile.
- When it is used
Suited to moments when someone keeps pursuing an ambitious aim despite repeated failure, as a pointed, rueful nudge to abandon unrealistic aspirations. Because it directly labels the listener a failed hoper, it can sound dismissive or mocking, so use it with care.
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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