Emily Dickinson Lexicon

AS-PIRE, v.i. [L. aspiro, to breathe. See Aspirate.]

1. To desire with eagerness; to pant after an object, great, noble or spiritual; followed by to or after; as, to aspire to a crown, or after immortality.
2. To aim at something elevated; to rise or tower with desire. Aspiring to be Gods, if angels fell; / Aspiring to be angels, men rebel. – Pope.