I ask this because in the following quote by Marcus Tullius Cicero it seems that he's implying that ambition is harmful.
"A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within.
-Marcus Tullius Cicero
Is it just a translation quirk, or is he saying that ambitious people are detriments to society? If the later is true, why would he say that? We usually think of ambition as a positive trait
We usually think of ambition as a positive trait
But Cicero is not "we", he is a 1st century BC classical author writing in Latin, for whom "ambition", or ambitiō, has a different meaning, and different connotations.
The range of meanings includes soliciting of votes, corrupt practices in gaining favour, rivarly for honours, striving for popularity, self-interested advancement, partiality + favouritism, and vain display (a selection of meanings listing in the Oxford Latin Dictionary). amibitiō is generally a negative word in classical Latin.
But more problematic than this is the fact that it appears this is not a quote from Cicero, but is misattributed, and actually derives from a speech by Justice Millard Caldwell.