What is the end of Fame? 'tis but to fill
A certain portion of uncertain paper:
Some read more

What is the end of Fame? 'tis but to fill
A certain portion of uncertain paper:
Some liken it to climbing up a hill,
Whose summit, like all hills, is lost in vapour:
For this men write, speak, preach, and heroes kill,
And bards burn what they call their "midnight taper,"
To have, when the original is dust,
A name, a wretched picture, and worse bust.

In the very books in which philosophers bid us scorn fame, they inscribe their names.

In the very books in which philosophers bid us scorn fame, they inscribe their names.

Fame is the inheritance not of the dead, but of the living. It is we who look back with lofty read more

Fame is the inheritance not of the dead, but of the living. It is we who look back with lofty pride to the great names of antiquity.

Read but o'er the Stories
Of men most fam'd for courage or for counsaile
And you shall read more

Read but o'er the Stories
Of men most fam'd for courage or for counsaile
And you shall find that the desire of glory
Was the last frailty wise men put of;
Be they presidents.

The talent of success is nothing more than doing what you can do well, and doing well whatever you do read more

The talent of success is nothing more than doing what you can do well, and doing well whatever you do without thought of fame. If it comes at all it will come because it is deserved, not because it is sought after.

Were not this desire of fame very strong, the difficulty of
obtaining it, and the danger of losing it read more

Were not this desire of fame very strong, the difficulty of
obtaining it, and the danger of losing it when obtained, would be
sufficient to deter a man from so vain a pursuit.

Even the best things are not equal to their fame.

Even the best things are not equal to their fame.

Fame is a fickle food Upon a shifting plate.

Fame is a fickle food Upon a shifting plate.

Lives of great men all remind us we can make our lives sublime. And, departing, leave behind us footprints on read more

Lives of great men all remind us we can make our lives sublime. And, departing, leave behind us footprints on the sands of time.