Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
An essay about fame
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: An essay about fame
Boethius examines the different factors that drive individuals to chase after celebrity among others by using the voice of philosophy to create dialogue, in which he discovers the futility of fame. The Consolation of Philosophy warns readers to shy away from the enticing tactics of fame by claiming that no matter the level of notoriety one achieves, an individual’s name will never be dispersed among all nations; furthermore, any fame attained will eventually prove fruitless as all people are mortal. Lady Philosophy asserts that people who fall into the trap of fame need to be reminded of their finite nature and she changes the reader’s perspective as she insists that incentives to succeed cannot be rooted in selfish desires for fame. In order …show more content…
He deems that although fortune determines much of one’s life, “she never associates with good men and does not turn into good men those with whom she associates” (Boethius 40). From this quote, one can determine that fortune is also interwoven into the backstory of an individual’s fame because fortune favors those who are not necessarily good people. Comparatively, Boethius continues his discussion of fortune following his conversation about fate. It is interesting to observe how Boethius’ opinion on fortune changes after exploring the influences concerning fame. He expounds upon his original interpretation of fame by stating that “bad fortune is more useful than good fortune,” as bad fortune is always truthful and people can learn from its teachings (Boethius 44). He realizes that good fortune could allow one to be highly recognized in society, yet allows that the individual becomes consumed with increasing his celebrity among peoples. For example, Nero was not expected to rise to the throne. Through a bout of good fortune and many unexpected family deaths, Nero was able to become emperor. Although this fortune brought him the crown, it also stripped him of his ability to reason as a man and Nero began to regard himself as a deity. He exhibited this mindset through poisoning people to stay in power, which shows that he was unwilling to let go of his fame as emperor. Good fortune brought Nero the throne, but also resulted in the loss of his reasoning as a man and led him to chase after empty fame. Comparatively, bad fortune can allow for one to have a realistic mindset and not be concerned with his reputation as he is not constantly in the limelight. Ultimately, this example and the dialogue surrounding the topic allows for a greater understanding of all the factors that come into play concerning
What follows is a further isolation of Plutarch's opinions and lessons from within The Lives of Crassus and Caesar. " Certainly the Romans say that in the case of Crassus many virtues were obscured by one vice, namely avarice; and it did seem that he had only one vice, since it was such a predominant one that other evil propensities which he may have had were scarcely noticeable. " Beginning the Life of Crassus with this statement, Plutarch starts the reader off with a negative feeling of who Crassus was. This statement is very strong because it not only points out Crassus's largest shortcoming, but also implies that it was so prevalent that it outweighed all his virtues as well as his other faults.
The choices we make define the destiny of our lives. Since the beginning of time, man has always been an imperfect being full of flaws. Man is faced with different situations that can end up bringing disgrace to himself and his family if the situations are not well handled. In the texts Book II of the Aeneid by Virgil, Antigone by Sophocles, Oedipus the king by Sophocles, and Book XXII from the Iliad by Homer; Creon, the Trojan people, Hector, Achilles, and Oedipus embody what can lead to a man’s downfall through their own choices. Through these texts we are able to learn from the mistakes people made in the past and lead good moral lives. The texts illustrate how pride, lack of empathy, and ignorance lead to the destruction of man.
The idea of falling victim to one’s own flaws is often closely associated with the Aristotelian definition of tragedy, particularly the concepts of hamartia (a tragic or fatal flaw) and hubris (pride before a fall). Although The Winter’s Tale, The Great Gatsby and The Remains of the Day are not widely considered to be tragedies, yet there are elements of the definition that are relevant. This c...
Fate seems to lurk in the shadows of these characters very being and it is this force in which they acknowledge their mortality as human beings. Boethius wrote The Consolation of Philosophy, which may be very helpful in interpreting the meaning of fate in the epic poem Beowulf. Boethius creates fate as a female character that attempts to heal the mind of a troubled man. Richard Green translates some of Boethius’s work in the introduction and interprets this woman’s role as, “She represented fate as a random, uncontrollable force, to be feared or courted, opposed or despised” (xvi). Green is trying to unfold the meaning of fate and Boethius’s intent to illustrate its effects on a man’s life. Boethius himself says that, “Fate moves the heavens and the stars, governs the elements in their mixture, and transforms them by mutual change, it renews all things that are born and die by the reproduction of similar offspring and seeds. This same power binds the actions and fortunes of men in an unbreakable chain of causes and, since these causes have their own origins in an unchangeable providence, they too must necessarily be
Emperor Nero, infamously known as one of the most malevolent, oppressive, and tyrannical leader throughout history, was the last ruler of the Julio-Claudian Dynasty. He was born outside Rome in Antium and his mother married his great uncle, Emperor Claudius, in order for her son to be the next Emperor of Rome. It wasn’t apparent that her son was to become one of the most feared and cruel leaders in Roman history from 54 CE to 68 CE. By examining his achievements and failures as an emperor, his influences and changes over the entire economic, political and social spectrum are revealed.
While Suetonius’s scriptures of Nero may pose a risk of bias, similar perversions were discussed within Edward Champlin’s ‘Nero Reconsidered’. Champlin discuses Nero’s descent into debauchery and malfeasance; how his personal exploits gradually began to corrupt his political and military affairs (Champlin, 1990). Nero began alienating and persecuting much of the elite for higher interests in personal concerns, as well as neglecting military advances and affairs completely. Nero’s exorbitant personal affairs and expenditures left the treasury thoroughly exhausted. His period was riddled with deflation as shortage of money began to emerge (Champlin, 1990). Nero’s adolescence and unruly upbringing was largely contributory to his inadequacy during his years as Roman Emperor. While Nero contributed significantly to the city, his reign demonstrated the unravelling of the Roman
Around 524, the Christian philosopher Boethius awaited his death. During the last stage of his life, he composed one of the most influential writings of the Medieval period: The Consolation of Philosophy. C.S. Lewis says of the work, "To acquire a taste for it is almost to become naturalized in the Middle Ages" (Lewis 75). Over 800 years later, Geoffrey Chaucer, one of the most highly praised authors in the English language, would draw upon Boethius to compose his finest work, Troilus and Criseyde.
Despite Boethius’s initial resistance, Lady Philosophy shows that because Boethius did not own his wealth or position, he was subject to Fortune’s transitory...
Nero’s infatuation with building and acting was the mark of a man that exploited his role of emperor to pursue his passions and desires. It is possible that the ancient sources had sensationalised aspects of Nero’s life. However, the way his eccentricities were documented and seemingly affected his reign will be discussed. It will be argued that Nero was much more than an extravagant fantasist but an astute individual that used his power for his own gain. Yet, when analysing Nero’s decline it can be attributed to his eccentricities as well as a culmination of poor decisions that he had made.
A foundational belief in Christianity is the idea that God is perfectly good. God is unable to do anything evil and all his actions are motives are completely pure. This principle, however, leads to many questions concerning the apparent suffering and wrong-doing that is prevalent in the world that this perfect being created. Where did evil come from? Also, how can evil exist when the only eternal entity is the perfect, sinless, ultimately good God? This question with the principle of God's sovereignty leads to even more difficult problems, including human responsibility and free will. These problems are not limited to our setting, as church fathers and Christian philosophers are the ones who proposed some of the solutions people believe today. As Christianity begins to spread and establish itself across Europe in the centuries after Jesus' resurrection, Augustine and Boethius provide answers, although wordy and complex, to this problem of evil and exactly how humans are responsible in the midst of God's sovereignty and Providence.
She continues that the gifts of fortune were never for him to keep at all, health, wealth honor and power can all be quickly snatched away and convinces Boethius not to trust in the vagaries of Lady Fortune, as it is unwise to become too attached with ephemeral goods. The ‘cure’ Lady Philosophy continues is in the belief that true happiness is not in the nature of earthly goods, but something beyond. At this point it is imperative to describe fortune and why Lady Philosophy thus loathes the concept. She begins in Book II, in what she describes, as ‘persuasive powers of sweet sounding rhetoric’ to gently attempt to heal is illness and pull him out of his grief. She echoes her words again regarding the fickle trustworthiness of Fortune.
A man has many defining characteristics - some positive and some negative. At times, a potentially positive characteristic may cause his eventual downfall. This concept can be directly related to the story Oedipus Rex. Aristotle stated, “the tragic hero falls into bad fortune because of some flaw in his character of the kind found in men of high reputation and good fortune such as Oedipus.” Essentially, he is telling us that Oedipus has a flaw that, under normal circumstances, would be a beneficial characteristic, but in his case, causes his demise. The defining characteristics of pride and determination can be attributed to the downfall of Oedipus.
It is not good to haul your fellowmen in danger or do bad things to them if you don’t want chaos came rushing back on you and to the people important to you sooner or later than you’d expected. It is also hard to accept defeat because we all know that it’ll crush your pride out of your entire existence but we also know that it is one of the ways in which we can actually experience or feel acceptance and true happiness to what is and what’s not. Even so, I saw that the antagonists in the story didn’t realized it sooner and that their enviousness and plans have actually didn’t worked for an ignorant and feeble creature like Edmond Dantes whom had a very huge pot of luck hanging around with him. Yes, he’d managed to have some bloody and absurd kind of revenge over to those who’d done terrible things to him; sure you can also have revenge like he did but it will not do you any good because it’ll eat all your Christian values and standards and it’s like you’re putting yourself in a place where you took judgment in your hands all of a sudden where it shouldn’t
The ambition possessed by each character, leads Caesar, Brutus, and Cassius to power. It will be the same ambition, that quest for power, that makes each one susceptible to their own weakness. For Caesar, it will be his ego and inability to heed warnings, Brutus his love of Rome, and Cassius his dedication to power. These qualities prove that although intentions may be noble, ambition can make a person ruthless and blind them to their original goals. Ambition kills those who lose sight of their conscience and although it may prove beneficial in many instances, in this case, it leads the characters to lose all that they
" Dickinson point is that it’s better to be somebody than a nobody. In addition, she thinks being a famous celebrity would be dreary. When you are always in the public eye, you tend to lose yourself during the process. People who want to be someone are show offs. Not only that, but they are not true to their real selves.