HONOUR, I say, or honest fame, I mean the substance, not the name; (Not that light heap of tawdry wares, Of ermine, coronets, and stars, Which often is by merit sought, By gold and flattery oftener bought; The shade, for which ambition looks In Selden's or in Ashmole's books:) But the true glory, which proceeds, Reflected bright, from honest deeds, Which we in our own breast perceive, And kings can neither take nor give. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...BALLADE AGAINST THE ENEMIES OF FRANCE by FRANCOIS VILLON A DAY DREAM by EMILY JANE BRONTE STOPPING BY WOODS ON A SNOWY EVENING by ROBERT FROST TAM I' THE KIRK by VIOLET JACOB KENTUCKY BELLE by CONSTANCE FENIMORE WOOLSON THE SPIRIT AND THE CUP by A. E. ANDERSON THE FEAST OF THE DEAD by CHARLOTTE BECKER |