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Quotes about fame

81 quotes from 64 people

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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.
Joseph Addison1672–1719The Spectator (1711–1714), No. 255 (22 December 1711)
All the illustrious persons of antiquity, and indeed of every age in the world, have passed through this fiery persecution. There is no defense against reproach but obscurity.
Joseph Addison1672–1719The Spectator (1711–1714), No. 101 (26 June 1711)
All is ephemeral — fame and the famous as well.
Marcus Aurelius121–180IV, 35
I have learned to regard fame as a will-o-the-wisp which, when caught, is not worth the possession; but to please a child is a sweet and lovely thing that warms one’s heart and brings its own reward.
L. Frank Baum1856–1919Personal inscription on a copy of Mother Goose in Prose (1897) which he gave to his sister, Mary Louise Baum Brewster, as quoted in The Making of the Wizard of Oz (1998) by Aljean Harmetz, p. 317
- Children
Fame is a form⁠—perhaps the worst form⁠—of incomprehension.
Jorge Luis Borges1899–1986“Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote”
I think fame itself is not a rewarding thing. The most you can say is that it gets you a seat in restaurants.
David Bowie1947–2016Interviewed in Q magazine (April 1990)
Happy the man who hath never known what it is to taste of fame⁠—to have it is a purgatory, to want it is a hell!
Edward Bulwer-Lytton1803–1873The Last of the Barons (1843), Book V, Chapter I
Folly loves the martyrdom of fame.
Lord Byron1788–1824Monody on the Death of Sheridan (1816), Line 68.
I awoke one morning and found myself famous.
Lord Byron1788–1824Memorandum reference to the instantaneous success of Childe Harold and quoted in Letters and Journals of Lord Byron by Thomas Moore (1830), chapter 14.
I know now, I understand at last, Constantine, that for us, whether we write or act, it is not the honour and glory of which I have dreamt that is important, it is the strength to endure. One must know how to bear one’s cross, and one must have faith.
Anton Chekhov1860–1904The Seagull (1896), Act IV, spoken by NinaIn context
- Faith
For the bliss of being a writer or an actress I could endure want, and disillusionment, and the hatred of my friends, and the pangs of my own dissatisfaction with myself; but I should demand in return fame, real, resounding fame!
Anton Chekhov1860–1904The Seagull (1896), Act II, spoken by NinaIn context
To my dying day I shall hear people say: “Clever and pretty; clever and pretty,” and nothing more; and when I am gone, those that knew me will say as they pass my grave: “Here lies Trigorin, a clever writer, but he was not as good as Turgenieff.”
Anton Chekhov1860–1904The Seagull (1896), Act II, spoken by TrigorinIn context
- Writing
True glory strikes root, and even extends itself; all false pretensions fall as do flowers, nor can anything feigned be lasting.
Cicero107–43 BCDe Officiis – On Duties (44 BC), Book II, section 43
- Truth & Lies
If I went to jail, at least I wouldn’t have to sign autographs.
KCKurt Cobain1967–1994As quoted in Details (February 1992)
In the media age, everybody was famous for 15 minutes. In the Wikipedia age, everybody can be an expert in five minutes.
Stephen Colbertborn 1964Wired Magazine article (14 August 2006)
- Internet