There's a famous tale of overenthusiasm (literally "overreaching") told by Ovid in his Metamorphoses.
You may have heard it, especially if you're a James Joyce fan. In the original Greek story, Daedalus and his son Icarus find themselves trapped on the island of Crete. Daedalus, a master craftsman, created wings for himself and his son by gluing feathers together with wax.
Before they flew away, Daedalus warned his son not to fly too high, for the sun would melt the wax and the wings would fall apart. Once safely away from Crete, the temptation to fly ever higher proved too much for Icarus. Up, up he went, until the heat of the sun melted the wax, causing his wings to disintegrate. For all his youthful zest – his overenthusiasm – Icarus fell into the sea and drowned.
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