You seek for knowledge and wisdom, as I once did; and I ardently hope that the gratification of your wishes may not be a serpent to sting you.
Victor compares fulfilled ambition to a serpent, turning success into venom. The simile links curiosity with the Fall, echoing the novel’s biblical texture. Wariness shades every word; he wants Walton to crave less than he did. Shelley frames exploration as morally double-edged: discovery can enlighten or poison. The caution lands because we, too, glorify the next horizon. It’s a soft plea against the intoxication of “more.”