I might point out the difference between a passion for excellence and a passion for power. The desire for excellence is a gift of God, much needed in society. It is characterized by respect for quality and a yearning to use God’s gifts in a way that pleases him. Recall the words of Antonio Stradivari, the seventeenth-century violin maker whose name in its Latin form, Stradivarius, has become synonymous with excellence:
When any master holds ’twixt chin and hand a violin of mine, he will be glad that Stradivari lived, made violins and made them of the best... If my hand slacked I should rob God, since he is the fullest good.... But he could not make Antonio Stradivari’s violins without Antonio.