Posterity is a most limited assembly. Those gentlemen who reach posterity are not much more numerous than the planets.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Disraeli notes that only a very small number of people achieve lasting remembrance after death, comparing them to the rarity of planets.
- In plain terms
- Very few people are remembered after they die.
- What can you take from it?
- Lasting fame is extremely rare.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Do you want to be remembered after you die?
- What value does being remembered have?
Another view
Many contribute significantly without formal historical recognition.
More from Benjamin Disraeli
How much easier it is to be critical than to be correct.
Permalink to quote #25 He seems to think that posterity is a pack-horse, always ready to be loaded.
Permalink to quote #27 Finality is not the language of politics.
Permalink to quote #24
Related quotes
'Look at Van Gogh. He couldn`t sell a painting to save his life while he was alive. The poor guy had to give them away. Same with Basquiat. They used to call h…
Christina AguileraChristina Aguilera quote #14 O combien d'actions, combien d'exploits celebres Sont demeures sans gloire au milieu des tenebres.
Pierre CorneillePierre Corneille quote #17 Till the Future dares Forget the Past, his fate and fame shall be An echo and a light unto eternity!
Percy Bysshe ShelleyPercy Bysshe Shelley quote #137