Fame is but an inscription on a grave, and glory the melancholy blazon on a coffin lid.
Interpretation
Fame and glory are fleeting and ultimately insignificant, represented only by their association with death.
This quote suggests that the pursuit of fame and glory is ultimately hollow, as these accolades are merely superficial inscriptions that have no lasting value. In the end, they serve only as reminders of mortality, emphasizing the fleeting nature of life and the futility of seeking external validation through public recognition.
In practice
In a speech about the importance of authenticity over fame, one might use this quote to illustrate the pitfalls of seeking public approval.
Looking forward into an empty year strikes one with a certain awe, because one finds therein no recognition. The years behind have a friendly aspect, and they are warmed by the fires we have kindled, and all their echoes are the echoes of our own voices.
My garden, with its silence and pulses of fragrance that come and go on the airy undulations, affects me like sweet music. Care stops at the gates, and gazes at me wistfully through the bars.
Love is but the discovery of ourselves in others, and the delight in the recognition.
The world is not so much in need of new thoughts as that when thought grows old and worn with usage it should, like current coin, be called in, and, from the mint of genius, reissued fresh and new.
Books are a finer world within the world. (1863)
A man does not plant a tree for himself; he plants it for posterity.
Every day my conscience makes confession relying on the hope of Your mercy as more to be trusted than its own innocence.
Other people can talk about how to expand the destiny of mankind. I just want to talk about how to fix a motorcycle. I think that what I have to say has more lasting value.
And yet, and yet, in these our ghostly lives, Half night, half day, half sleeping, half awake, How if our waking life, like that of sleep, Be all a dream in that eternal life To which we wake not till we sleep in death
A man's liberties are none the less aggressed upon because those who coerce him do so in the belief that he will be benefited.
It is my eyes which see, and the sight of my eyes grants beauty to the earth. It is my ears which hear, and the hearing of my ears gives its song to the world. It is my mind which thinks, and the judgement of my mind is the only searchlight that can find the truth. It is my will which chooses, and the choice of my will is the only edict I must respect.
Detainees were not allowed to talk to each other, but we enjoyed looking at each other. The punishment for talking was hanging the detainee by his hands with the feet barely touching the ground.
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