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.

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.

Fame, we may understand, is no sure test of merit, but only a
probability of such: it is an read more

Fame, we may understand, is no sure test of merit, but only a
probability of such: it is an accident, not a property of a man.

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.

The Duke of Wellington brought to the post of first minister
immortal fame; a quality of success which would read more

The Duke of Wellington brought to the post of first minister
immortal fame; a quality of success which would almost seem to
include all others.

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.

It is strange to be known so universally and yet to be so lonely.

It is strange to be known so universally and yet to be so lonely.

Fame is the thirst of youth.

Fame is the thirst of youth.

And what after all is everlasting fame? Altogether vanity.

And what after all is everlasting fame? Altogether vanity.