An ambitious man can get along much better when he is not hampered by a wife
and family, or by friends who hold him back. The quotation comes from Rudyard
Kipling’s poem, _The Winners_ , which he describes as a ‘heretical song’. Here
is part of the first verse:

> A friend at a pinch is a friend indeed,
> But a fool to wait for the laggard behind.
> Down to Gehenna or up to the Throne,
> He travels the fastest who travels alone.

##### See also:

* He that hath wife and children hath given hostages to fortune