Honor
‹ 2 · Outline · 4 ›
3.The controversy over the worth of fame
3a.Fame as empty, fleeting and worthless
See also: Life and Death 2a · Time 6a
Ecclesiastes; or, The PreacherVol. 44
- p. 337No lasting remembrance awaits the wise man.read · scan
Plutarch, PericlesVol. 12
- p. 75–76Dying Pericles values above victories and trophies that no Athenian through him wore mourning, dismissing fame owed to fortune.read · scan
Epictetus, The Golden Sayings of EpictetusVol. 2
- p. 131Public honors, congratulations, and lasting name are vain; no one sacrifices for right desires.read · scan
- p. 131–132Fame and golden wreaths are trifles; a rose wreath serves as well.read · scan
- p. 180Fame is only the empty noise of madmen.read · scan
Marcus Aurelius, The Meditations of Marcus AureliusVol. 2
- p. 202Fame is vapoury, worthless; reputation rests on others' opinions.read · scan
- p. 204Fame is devoid of judgment and after-fame is oblivion.read · scan
- p. 209Posthumous fame is short and kept by mortals who will soon die.read · scan
- p. 211Fame torments only until one sees how soon everything is forgotten against infinite time.read · scan
- p. 217–218Fame is fleeting; famed names become antiquated and oblivion buries them, so even eternal remembrance is nothing.read · scan
- p. 230Things called honourable have been spurned.read · scan
- p. 231Fame is only sound and echo; things prized in life are empty, and soon one is ashes or a name.read · scan
- p. 231Good repute in such a world is empty.read · scan
- p. 231–232Orators on the Rostra care about things that are mere objects of concern to others.read · scan
- p. 234–235Men value praise of posterity they will never see yet withhold praise from contemporaries; absurd.read · scan
- p. 241Even great names are dust and unknown names no worse off.read · scan
- p. 243–244Many celebrated by fame are forgotten, and the celebrators long dead.read · scan
- p. 245–246Forgetfulness of us by all is near.read · scan
- p. 247Examine the minds of fame-seekers; events in life are soon covered by later ones like heaps of sand.read · scan
- p. 257Fame is fleeting, since remembered and rememberer both perish.read · scan
- p. 257Many are forgotten or survive only in fables.read · scan
- p. 260–261Those pursuing posthumous fame forget that later men are mortal and just like present ones.read · scan
- p. 270–271Posthumous name and reputation are worthless; many do not know thee and praisers will soon blame thee.read · scan
- p. 281Reputation is vanity, since all who were famous vanish.read · scan
- p. 283Those who praise, curse, and transmit fame are leaves too; posthumous fame is as transient.read · scan
- p. 299Famous and fortunate men are now smoke and ash; strained pursuit of fame is worthless.read · scan
Saint Augustine, The Confessions of St. AugustineVol. 7
- p. 18–19Applause for declamation is smoke and wind; men glory in praise for adorned accounts of disordered lives.read · scan
Stories from the Thousand and One NightsVol. 16
- p. 312Kings who ruled countries and led armies are now putrid corpses, their glory vain.read · scan
Dante Alighieri, HellVol. 20
- p. 13The world leaves these souls no fame.read · scan
- p. 32Virgil praises Dante's disdain of the arrogant Filippo Argenti, whose memory has no virtue; kings will leave horrible dispraise.read · scan
Dante Alighieri, PurgatoryVol. 20
- p. 187Worldly fame is a wind that shifts, briefer than a twinkling against eternity; Cimabue eclipsed by Giotto.read · scan
- p. 189–190Fame fades like the herb's color, withered by the power that brought it; worldly glory is transient.read · scan
Thomas à Kempis, The Imitation of ChristVol. 7
- p. 205–206Coveting honours and lifting ourselves up is vanity.read · scan
- p. 209–210The glory of the world passes quickly; the truly great count honour as nothing.read · scan
- p. 291Desire for honor and vain praise passes away with the world.read · scan
Michel de Montaigne, Of the Institution and Education of ChildrenVol. 32
- p. 45So many buried names and conquests make hope of perpetuating our own names ridiculous.read · scan
William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of DenmarkVol. 46
- p. 174–177Men die for a fantasy and trick of fame.read · scan
John Webster, The Duchess of MalfiVol. 47
- p. 821–823Glories like glow-worms afar bright but near neither heat nor light.read · scan
James Shirley, The Glories of Our Blood and State; The Last ConquerorVol. 40
- p. 349–350Glories, laurels and triumphs are shadows; only the actions of the just blossom in the dust.read · scan
John Milton, Paradise LostVol. 4
- p. 136Those who sought only the praise of men or lasting fame find their reward empty.read · scan
Andrew Marvell, PoemsVol. 40
- p. 376–377Men vainly amaze themselves to win crowns of fame that are just a single herb or tree.read · scan
Thomas Gray, PoemsVol. 40
- p. 451–453The ardour of the crowd is vain, the proud are little, the great indigent.read · scan
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, The Tragedy of Faust, Part IVol. 19
- p. 66–68Faust curses the cheat of glory and deathless fame.read · scan
Robert Burns, Poems and SongsVol. 6
- p. 222–224Coronets, ambition and laureate wreaths are satirised as 'naething'.read · scan
Thomas Carlyle, Sir Walter ScottVol. 25
- p. 403–404Lope de Vega and Kotzebue, hugely popular, faded utterly; fame is no sign of greatness.read · scan
John Keats, PoemsVol. 41
- p. 897–898Love and Fame sink to nothingness at the thought of death.read · scan
Alfred, Lord Tennyson, PoemsVol. 42
- p. 1003–1005Glory of warrior, orator and song is fleeting; Virtue aims not at gloryread · scan
Robert Browning, PoemsVol. 42
- p. 1071–1072Statesmen's and soldiers' fame amounts to a name scratched on Abbey stones.read · scan
Emily Brontë, PoemsVol. 42
- p. 1110–1111Lust of fame called a vanished dream.read · scan
James Russell Lowell, PoemsVol. 42
- p. 1386Fame and renown are fragile against oblivion, yet noble sacrifice and a people's noble anger leave imperishable gains.read · scan
Thomas Henry Huxley, Science and CultureVol. 28
- p. 209–210Fame, contemporary or posthumous, is not the highest good; Priestley valued knowledge's advancement more.read · scan
3b.The praise of the many and the judgment of the wise
Plutarch, AristidesVol. 12
- p. 81He prefers true commendation from the best men to the applause of those who pillaged the treasury.read · scan
Epictetus, The Golden Sayings of EpictetusVol. 2
- p. 176Fear of the multitude's judgment should not deter right action.read · scan
Marcus Aurelius, The Meditations of Marcus AureliusVol. 2
- p. 206Do not value praise from those who live against nature, who are not satisfied with themselves.read · scan
- p. 208Praise from the many is no rival to true good.read · scan
- p. 211–212Applause is empty and judges of praise are changeable; earth is a point and few will praise you.read · scan
- p. 234Praise of the many is only a clapping of tongues; fame is worthless.read · scan
- p. 242–243Questions the worth of the people men wish to please and why.read · scan
- p. 251Do not crave the approbation of others whose opinions and appetites are flawed.read · scan
- p. 263Praise from men ignorant of themselves or displeased with themselves is worthless to seek.read · scan
- p. 284Even a good and wise man is not spared others' relief at his death; esteem is fickle.read · scan
Benvenuto Cellini, The Autobiography of Benvenuto CelliniVol. 31
- p. 50Recognition of the vases by the best craftsmen is worth a hundred times the payment.read · scan
- p. 152–153Cellini rebukes Sansovino: men of worth shine when others praise them, not when they boast.read · scan
- p. 409He prides himself on the commendation of able artists, such as Bronzino's sonnets, and the city's acclaim.read · scan
- p. 409–411Cellini claims the Duke's praise and the school of Florence's acclaim as his richest reward, overpaying him already.read · scan
- p. 411–412Cellini scorns praise from Bandinello as a man who speaks ill of everybody.read · scan
Michel de Montaigne, Of the Institution and Education of ChildrenVol. 32
- p. 29Those who pass off borrowed learning as their own seek false repute among the ignorant, yet men of understanding, whose praise alone counts, detect the theft.read · scan
Sir Walter Raleigh, Preface to the History of the WorldVol. 39
- p. 91–92Honor to great men is worthless without inward love of their justice; the crowd applauds prosperity and confuses virtue with fortune.read · scan
Francis Bacon, Essays, Civil and MoralVol. 3
- p. 124–126Praise reflects virtue; popular fame is false and favors show, while praise from persons of judgment endures like fragrant ointment.read · scan
John Milton, Paradise RegainedVol. 4
- p. 384Satan urges glory as spur to high deeds; Christ dismisses popular fame as praise from a confused rabbleread · scan
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, The Tragedy of Faust, Part IVol. 19
- p. 47–48Faust says the crowd's applause is undeserved by father or son.read · scan
Robert Burns, Poems and SongsVol. 6
- p. 187–189Pleased by a patron's notice of the bard, yet scorns the senseless million who rate men by their cloak.read · scan
- p. 230–231Honest fame is the bard's reward, contrasted with servile flattery.read · scan
Thomas Carlyle, Sir Walter ScottVol. 25
- p. 402–403Popularity and wonder of the crowd cannot make a man great; it is transient, showing only what is in him.read · scan
Ralph Waldo Emerson, An Address Delivered before the Senior Class in Divinity CollegeVol. 5
- p. 39–40Society's praise is cheap; those too great for fame need no commendation.read · scan
Ralph Waldo Emerson, CompensationVol. 5
- p. 97–98Blame is safer than praise; praise leaves one unprotected.read · scan
3c.Fame as a spur to noble action
Homer, The OdysseyVol. 22
- p. 15–17Athene urges Telemachus to be valiant like Orestes so that men unborn will praise him.read · scan
- p. 35–38Nestor urges Telemachus to be valiant so that men unborn may praise him, like Orestes whose fame will be noised abroad.read · scan
Aeschylus, AgamemnonVol. 8
- p. 57–59The Chorus says all fame is happy, even famous death.read · scan
Marcus Tullius Cicero, On Old AgeVol. 9
- p. 74Great men undertook heavy labours for posthumous glory, implying a desire for immortal fame.read · scan
Virgil, The AeneidVol. 13
- p. 152Jove reproaches Aeneas for inglorious ease and for defrauding his son and Rome of fame.read · scan
- p. 232Paths of honor and love of country's good motivate heroes, including Brutus.read · scan
- p. 389She urges Turnus's immortal fame and the shame of an inglorious servile band.read · scan
Plutarch, AlcibiadesVol. 12
- p. 132Alcibiades refuses to return on the people's pity, resolving to come back with glory after some service.read · scan
Plutarch, CoriolanusVol. 12
- p. 149Marcius pursues fame, treating early distinctions as a pledge to surpass himself; noble natures are spurred by honor, small ones sated.read · scan
Pliny the Younger, Letters of PlinyVol. 9
- p. 192Glory should be the consequence, not the motive, of actions; the world suspects those who celebrate their own good deeds.read · scan
- p. 283–284Youths building fame and glory through the polite arts.read · scan
- p. 381–382Pliny urges Trajan to gain glory by finishing the canal a king left unfinished.read · scan
BeowulfVol. 49
- p. 43Beowulf holds that winning glory before death is the warrior's worthiest fate.read · scan
- p. 43–45Beowulf seeks doom of glory; Unferth lost his glory by not daring the deeps.read · scan
- p. 46A man should act thus whenever he hopes to win lasting fame and not fear for his life.read · scan
- p. 76–78Wiglaf reminds Beowulf of his youthful vow never to let his glory droop.read · scan
Songs from the Elder EddaVol. 49
- p. 429–430They win great fame by their might whether they die now or tomorrow.read · scan
The Story of the Volsungs and NiblungsVol. 49
- p. 284Regin lures Sigurd with great name and honour to be won by slaying the dragon.read · scan
- p. 291–293Sigurd returns with great honour and Regin urges the dragon-slaying to win great fame.read · scan
- p. 308–309Brynhild holds to warfare and the winning of all kinds of fame, shaping her aloofness from suitors.read · scan
Dante Alighieri, HellVol. 20
- p. 98Virgil urges Dante that fame is not won lying on down; those who waste their days leave no more trace than smoke or foam.read · scan
Dante Alighieri, PurgatoryVol. 20
- p. 216Followers of Aeneas who shunned toil chose life without glory.read · scan
Dante Alighieri, ParadiseVol. 20
- p. 360His bold cry smiting proud summits is no light argument of honourread · scan
William Caxton, Prefaces and EpiloguesVol. 39
- p. 15Noble Romans like the Scipios and Cato are held up as examples of public sacrifice.read · scan
- p. 15–16Translation intended so that many may come to honour and worship.read · scan
- p. 20Noble deeds bring good fame and renown; chivalry is offered as example.read · scan
Niccolò Machiavelli, The PrinceVol. 36
- p. 83The present abject condition of Italy offers an Italian hero the chance to win glory, as Moses, Cyrus and Theseus did.read · scan
Sir Philip Sidney, The Defense of PoesyVol. 27
- p. 27–28The lyric gives praise, the reward of virtue, to virtuous acts and awakens men to honorable enterprises.read · scan
Francis Bacon, Essays, Civil and MoralVol. 3
- p. 127Vain-glory helps perpetuate fame and spur courage; even great learned men had ostentation, which lends lasting varnish to reputation.read · scan
Samuel Daniel, Beauty, Time, and Love: Sonnets; To SleepVol. 40
- p. 219–220High attempts bring honour even in failure; the cautious live without a name.read · scan
Thomas Dekker, The Shoemaker's HolidayVol. 47
- p. 471Lincoln urges Lacy to win glory in France for the Lacy name, saying honour beckons and shame attends delay.read · scan
Thomas Hobbes, Of Man, Being the First Part of LeviathanVol. 34
- p. 370–371Desire of praise and posthumous fame prompts laudable actions, giving present delight through imagination.read · scan
René Descartes, Discourse on the Method of Rightly Conducting the Reason and Seeking the Truth in the SciencesVol. 34
- p. 25–26Reputation for having solved the inquiry spurs him to make himself worthy of it.read · scan
Blaise Pascal, ThoughtsVol. 48
- p. 118–119Desire of glory imparts a certain power to those possessed by it.read · scan
Thomas Gray, PoemsVol. 40
- p. 455–456The poet hopes to rise beyond a vulgar fate, below the Good but above the Great.read · scan
Sir William Jones, PoemsVol. 41
- p. 579Rewards that decorate the brave are worth seeking; folly to steal inglorious to the grave.read · scan
Friedrich Schiller, William TellVol. 26
- p. 432Rudenz laments that fame has not yet marked him and he cannot join glorious knights.read · scan
Sir Walter Scott, PoemsVol. 41
- p. 747–749One crowded hour of glorious life is worth an age without a name.read · scan
3d.Indifference to fame and honor
Confucius, The Sayings of ConfuciusVol. 44
- p. 6–7Grieve not at being unknown but at not knowing men.read · scan
- p. 13–14Seek to be worthy of note rather than fret at being unknown.read · scan
- p. 27Told he has made no name, he humbly proposes taking up charioteering.read · scan
- p. 28He would sell the jade at a good price: he waits for his price yet is not humble.read · scan
- p. 48–49Sorrow not at being unknown but at one's own shortcomings.read · scan
Plato, The Apology of SocratesVol. 2
- p. 17Pursuit of honor and reputation is set against care for wisdom.read · scan
Plato, PhaedoVol. 2
- p. 74–75Philosophers differ from lovers of power and honor who dread disgrace.read · scan
Buddhist WritingsVol. 45
- p. 596–598Patience means bearing honor or scorn from men evenly, like the earth.read · scan
Plutarch, ThemistoclesVol. 12
- p. 32Themistocles wants Athenians to see his credit with the king, but retreats to quiet life in Magnesia, courted and honored.read · scan
Plutarch, PericlesVol. 12
- p. 69Pericles bears lampoons and reproaches of cowardice rather than yield his judgment.read · scan
Plutarch, AristidesVol. 12
- p. 80–81He served without seeking riches or even glory.read · scan
- p. 102–103Aristides delights in the glory of being poor as much as in his trophies.read · scan
Plutarch, AlcibiadesVol. 12
- p. 115–116Hyperbolus, careless of glory and insensible to shame, shows impudence mistaken for courage.read · scan
Plutarch, Comparison of Alcibiades with CoriolanusVol. 12
- p. 188–189Those who truly do not value popular honors do not resent neglect; resentment reveals an overweening appetite for distinction, as in Coriolanus.read · scan
Epictetus, The Golden Sayings of EpictetusVol. 2
- p. 119Doing well while being ill spoken of is kingly; a man knows his own worth and should not stoop to weigh degrading acts.read · scan
Marcus Aurelius, The Meditations of Marcus AureliusVol. 2
- p. 195–196No vainglory in honours.read · scan
- p. 202Honour and dishonour are indifferent.read · scan
- p. 215Praise or blame does not alter a thing's worth.read · scan
- p. 237Antoninus disregarded empty fame.read · scan
- p. 242Lover of fame finds his good in another's activity, whereas the man of understanding finds it in his own acts.read · scan
- p. 253Fools look for reputation from good deeds.read · scan
- p. 253Throw away desire for empty fame and reputation as philosopher.read · scan
- p. 264Honour and dishonour are to be met with equanimity.read · scan
- p. 276–277Fame is a poor thing; keep the virtues without wanting others to call you by them.read · scan
- p. 293Socrates in a skin remains unashamed when friends draw back.read · scan
- p. 294–295He who disregards the flesh will not trouble about fame, raiment and show.read · scan
Stories from the Thousand and One NightsVol. 16
- p. 400The Sultan praises Ala-ed-Din as peerless, and he modestly disclaims such praise.read · scan
Thomas à Kempis, The Imitation of ChristVol. 7
- p. 287–288Do not trouble over a great name or the love and friendship of men.read · scan
William Roper, The Life of Sir Thomas MoreVol. 36
- p. 91More takes no pride in royal favour, knowing his head would be given for a French castle.read · scan
- p. 91He disregards slander, declining to punish those who rail against him.read · scan
Michel de Montaigne, The Author to the ReaderVol. 32
- p. 4Disclaims any aim at his own glory or at courting the world's favour in writing the book.read · scan
Miguel de Cervantes, The History of Don Quixote of the Mancha, Part IVol. 14
- p. 168Quixote says noble minds disregard trifles and that Dulcinea's beauty would surpass Helen's fame.read · scan
- p. 277Don Quixote refuses praise as adulation yet pledges his valour to the princess's service even to death.read · scan
Sir Walter Raleigh, Preface to the History of the WorldVol. 39
- p. 67Following Seneca, he despises fame and good repute, satisfying conscience and deserving well rather than seeking praise.read · scan
- p. 113–114Facing adversity, he disclaims flattery and seeks no favour from readers, having little left to fall from.read · scan
William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of King LearVol. 46
- p. 299–300Kent says being acknowledged is overpay, and asks not to be known yet.read · scan
Sir Henry Wotton, Elizabeth of Bohemia; Character of a Happy LifeVol. 40
- p. 287–289He is not tied to public fame and knows how praise wounds.read · scan
Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher, Philaster, or Love Lies A-BleedingVol. 47
- p. 682Philaster refuses to hide from Pharamond, since hiding would be a sin on his conscience and a stranger's boast.read · scan
Philip Massinger, A New Way to Pay Old DebtsVol. 47
- p. 908–910Overreach claims he weighs not what men report, dismissing reputation.read · scan
René Descartes, Discourse on the Method of Rightly Conducting the Reason and Seeking the Truth in the SciencesVol. 34
- p. 53Declines publication in his lifetime lest controversy or reputation waste his time.read · scan
- p. 57–58Indifferent to fame or forgetfulness, he prizes repose, yet seeks to avoid being ill-spoken of once he has a reputation.read · scan
- p. 61He does not seek worldly consideration and prefers undisturbed retirement to high preferments.read · scan
William Penn, Some Fruits of SolitudeVol. 1
- p. 353Honor and gain of public posts do not match the comfort of private life.read · scan
George Bubb Dodington, Lord Melcombe, Shorten SailVol. 40
- p. 463–464View envy's censure and flattery's praise with unmoved indifference.read · scan
Benjamin Franklin, His AutobiographyVol. 1
- p. 71His patience and modesty show the poverty of glory and the importance of regulating our minds.read · scan
Samuel Johnson, Preface to the English DictionaryVol. 39
- p. 205–206Johnson dismisses praise and censure with frigid tranquillity, having finished the work without patronage or the learned.read · scan
Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in FranceVol. 24
- p. 377He desires few honours, does not scorn fame, and does not fear obloquy.read · scan
Edmund Burke, A Letter to a Noble LordVol. 24
- p. 406Fame is a luxury of the at-ease, yet men instinctively shun disgrace, and instinct under reason is right.read · scan
Robert Burns, Poems and SongsVol. 6
- p. 25–26Though poor and obscure, he can hold up his head with the best.read · scan
- p. 130–132Reputation and decorum dismissed as concerns for those with character to lose.read · scan
- p. 220–222Pride climbing to fame and honours is rejected for humble domestic joys.read · scan
Friedrich Schiller, William TellVol. 26
- p. 432–434Rudenz says his thirst for fame was only love; he will renounce earth's pomps.read · scan
William Wordsworth, PoemsVol. 41
- p. 656–658Whether fame endures or he dies unnamed, he finds comfort in himself and in Heaven's applause.read · scan
Alessandro Manzoni, I Promessi Sposi (The Betrothed)Vol. 21
- p. 351He rejected marks of distinction and family dignity that others tried to press on him.read · scan
- p. 352–353Federigo dreaded ecclesiastical exaltation despite fame, family credit and prospects, refusing the archbishopric until commanded.read · scan
George Gordon, Lord Byron, PoemsVol. 41
- p. 787–789Youth's joys are preferred to laurels and a great name.read · scan
Thomas Carlyle, Sir Walter ScottVol. 25
- p. 414Scott, though an advocate, takes no airs and is always the gentleman, winning the farmers' ease.read · scan
- p. 419Scott valued fame as a superfluity, no necessity; unlike weakly men swept up by sudden fame, he stayed unharmed.read · scan
- p. 420–421Scott cared little for fame and its fantastic miseries.read · scan
- p. 433–434Ordinary man would grow buoyant among worshippers; Scott bears the adulation with composure and keeps working.read · scan
George Long, M. Aurelius AntoninusVol. 2
- p. 318A man should not trouble about what others think or say of him.read · scan
Thomas Babington Macaulay, MachiavelliVol. 27
- p. 398–399Machiavelli scorned society's decencies and opinions, yet dependence did not break his spirit.read · scan
Victor Hugo, Preface to CromwellVol. 39
- p. 386–387Author indifferent to critics' wrath and refuses to defend his work.read · scan
Ralph Waldo Emerson, The American ScholarVol. 5
- p. 15He must relinquish display and immediate fame, unlike astronomers whose splendid results bring honor.read · scan
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Man the ReformerVol. 5
- p. 57Great man sacrifices power and fame for a purer fame and greater power.read · scan
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-RelianceVol. 5
- p. 66Greatness means being misunderstood, as were Socrates, Jesus, Galileo and Newton.read · scan
- p. 67Emerson praises the great, self-reliant man whose character commands others' regard and whose lasting influence on posterity makes him venerable, while he scorns courting approval or pleasing visitors.read · scan
Ralph Waldo Emerson, HeroismVol. 5
- p. 124–125Heroism works against the voice of mankind and scorns being scorned.read · scan
Ralph Waldo Emerson, CharacterVol. 5
- p. 191–192Profound natures are not spoiled by praise; a man can neither be praised nor insulted.read · scan
Ralph Waldo Emerson, WorshipVol. 5
- p. 294Good or bad fame cannot help or hurt the man who needs only his own verdict.read · scan
Ralph Waldo Emerson, English TraitsVol. 5
- p. 386–387Private life is the English place of honor; glory and ambition are seldom spoken of; Nelson's call to duty.read · scan
Ralph Waldo Emerson, PoemsVol. 42
- p. 1241–1243Fame and shame are one to the universal spirit; flattery is scorned.read · scan
Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve, MontaigneVol. 32
- p. 113He disdained noisy dignities of office and glorious display; good done imperceptibly was his ideal, above fame.read · scan
- p. 113–114Actions done quietly and noiselessly have most charm and are later brought into light by others for their own sake.read · scan
John Stuart Mill, AutobiographyVol. 25
- p. 190–191Mill feels no humiliation at rejection, outweighed by expressions of regret from many people and Liberal members.read · scan
Robert Browning, PoemsVol. 42
- p. 1087He is indifferent to men's praise or blame, yet aware of being judged lesser.read · scan
3e.The ambivalence of the pursuit of glory
Virgil, The AeneidVol. 13
- p. 293Nisus and Euryalus seek fame and a memorable name; Euryalus would give up life, over-sold to purchase fame.read · scan
Plutarch, AlcibiadesVol. 12
- p. 141Ruined by his own glory: continual success raised expectations so that any failure was blamed on neglect.read · scan
Plutarch, Comparison of Alcibiades with CoriolanusVol. 12
- p. 188Passion for distinction combined with pride turns into savageness; men scorn honors from the people yet resent not getting them.read · scan
Plutarch, CiceroVol. 12
- p. 222Cicero learns his Sicilian glory sank unnoticed in Rome and sees glory as an infinite pursuit with no fixed end, yet stays fond of praise.read · scan
- p. 244Desire of glory washes philosophy out of souls and imprints the passions of the crowd on politicians.read · scan
Plutarch, CaesarVol. 12
- p. 310Caesar's passion for glory drives him to outdo his past deeds, planning conquests of the Parthians and beyond.read · scan
Dante Alighieri, ParadiseVol. 20
- p. 309Spirits in Mercury sought honour and renown, and their misdirected desires slacken true love.read · scan
Benvenuto Cellini, The Autobiography of Benvenuto CelliniVol. 31
- p. 250–252Glory is ironically said to steep her sons in gloom; worthy deeds bring imprisonment.read · scan
John Milton, Poems Written at Horton, 1632-1638Vol. 4
- p. 72Fame is the last infirmity of noble mind; Phoebus replies true fame lives not on earth but in the judgment of all-judging Jove.read · scan
John Milton, Paradise RegainedVol. 4
- p. 371Worth, glory and popular praise are the rocks on which great men are wreckedread · scan
John Milton, Samson AgonistesVol. 4
- p. 415Dalila reflects on fame as double-mouthed, expecting renown among Philistines and tomb honors while defamed among Israelites; accepts public rewards.read · scan
Blaise Pascal, ThoughtsVol. 48
- p. 131Pursuit of glory is man's greatest baseness and greatest mark of excellence; he is unsatisfied without men's esteem.read · scan
Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, Minna von Barnhelm, or The Soldier's FortuneVol. 26
- p. 325–326Tellheim, discharged and suspected, no longer the man with a thirst for glory, refuses to hold Minna to her word.read · scan
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, EgmontVol. 19
- p. 332–333Egmont recalls the dangerous path of fame and the laurel crown.read · scan
George Gordon, Lord Byron, PoemsVol. 41
- p. 789–791Fame and garlands are worthless to the old; fame was prized only as it won the beloved's regard.read · scan
- p. 794–796Fame made him a name, yet was not the end he pursued.read · scan
Thomas Carlyle, Sir Walter ScottVol. 25
- p. 420Byron's torture at petty attacks shows the misery of founding one's life on fame; a man of letters who does so follows Lucifer.read · scan
William Makepeace Thackeray, Jonathan SwiftVol. 28
- p. 23Swift, hailed by wits, statesmen and all Ireland as patriot, is nonetheless wretched despite his fame.read · scan
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