But the iniquity of oblivion blindly scattereth her poppy, and deals with the memory of men without distinction to merit of perpetuity. Who can but pity the founder of the Pyramids? Herostratus lives that burnt the Temple of Diana, he is almost lost that built it.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Oblivion often forgets the good and remembers the wicked unfairly.
- In plain terms
- History sometimes forgets builders and remembers destroyers.
- What can you take from it?
- Memory is unfair and often ignores merit.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Does history remember the right people?
Another view
Some societies actively preserve merit over infamy.
More from Sir Thomas Browne
To be nameless in worthy deeds exceeds an infamous history.
Permalink to quote #45 Who knows whether the best of men be known? or whether there be not more remarkable persons forgot, than any that stand remembered in the known account of time…
Permalink to quote #47 What song the Syrens sang, or what name Achilles assumed when he hid himself among women, though puzzling questions, are not beyond all conjecture.
Permalink to quote #44
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