From Leonardo da Vinci comes the proverb, full of profound wisdom, "Seek what you are capable of, and be capable of what you seek." No norm of life seems more fitting for those who are victims of the illusion that their capabilities are adequate for the achievement of a seductive goal. One must not desire more than one can achieve, but first the mainspring of the will must be strained to the utmost, so that Leonardo's dictum does not degenerate into a justification of sloth or pettiness. There will always be some who think the greater a man's ambition, the better; only thus can he improve. This opinion is valid, however, only in so far as a man is is profoundly conscientious, and as he watches every step in order to preserve the notion of a boundary between the possible and the impossible. The Biblical maxim that "no man shall add a cubit to his height" must be kept in mind. But if the individual goes through life obsessed with the idea of superiority at all costs, and with no other purpose than to dominate others simply for the pleasure of it, then his soul will always be restless and on the defensive, and fearful that his lie will be discovered.
Samuel Ramos, in Profile of Man and Culture in Mexico (1933)
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