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.
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Nothing can cover his high fame but Heaven;
No pyramids set off his memories,
But the eternal read more
Nothing can cover his high fame but Heaven;
No pyramids set off his memories,
But the eternal substance of his greatness,--
To which I leave him.
The present condition of fame is merely fashion.
The present condition of fame is merely fashion.
Scarcely two hundred years back can Fame recollect articulately
at all; and there she but maunders and mumbles.
Scarcely two hundred years back can Fame recollect articulately
at all; and there she but maunders and mumbles.
Folly loves the martyrdom of Fame.
Folly loves the martyrdom of Fame.
A celebrity is one who is known to many persons he is glad he doesn't know.
A celebrity is one who is known to many persons he is glad he doesn't know.
What shall I do to be forever known,
And make the age to come my own?
What shall I do to be forever known,
And make the age to come my own?
Men the most infamous are fond of fame,
And those who fear not guilt, yet start at shame.
Men the most infamous are fond of fame,
And those who fear not guilt, yet start at shame.
If fame is only to come after death, I am in no hurry for it.
If fame is only to come after death, I am in no hurry for it.
If you come to fame not understanding who you are, it will define who you are.
If you come to fame not understanding who you are, it will define who you are.
