quote · Legacy record
All fame is foreign, but of true desert; Plays round the head, but comes not near the heart; One self-approving hour whole years outweighs Of stupid starers, and of loud huzzas; And more true joy Marcellus exil’d feels, Than Cæsar with a senate at his heels. ***** And what is fame? the meanest have their day; The greatest can but blaze, and pass away.
All fame is foreign, but of true desert; Plays round the head, but comes not near the heart; One self-approving hour whole years outweighs Of stupid starers, and of loud huzzas; And more true joy Marcellus exil’d feels, Than Cæsar with a senate at his heels. ***** And what is fame? the meanest have their day; The greatest can but blaze, and pass away.
Approximate author period: c. 1716 AD · early modern
Meaning not yet available
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Begin with source-checked readings and explanations ↗Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Alexander Pope
Attribution: attributed - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Approximate author period: c. 1716 AD · early modern
author lifetime midpoint (1688–1744)
An author lifetime, approximate period or collection date is not necessarily the date when these words were first written or spoken. - Recorded source
- A Cyclopædia of Sacred Poetical Quotations (catalogued1888) (1888 AD)
Page 216 · printed citation: Pope · subject: FAME
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.