Wreathe all her laurels round thy honour'd name,
High o'er thy tomb with chissel bold engrave,
"The truly noble are the good and brave."
[9]. Ambitio. Inordinate desire of fame. A carelessness about the opinions of others is said by Xenophon to be the source of impudence; certainly a proper regard for what others think of us frequently incites us to virtuous actions, and deters us from vicious ones; and increases our happiness by enlarging our sphere of sympathy, and by flattering our vanity.
Abstract what others feel, what others think,
All pleasures sicken, and all glories sink.
Pope.
When this reverie of ambition excites to conquer nations, or to enslave them, it has been the source of innumerable wars, and the occasion of a great devastation of mankind. Cæsar is reported to have boasted, that he had destroyed three millions of his enemies, and one million of his friends.
The works of Homer are supposed to have done great injury to mankind by inspiring the love of military glory. Alexander was said to sleep with them always on his pillow. How like a mad butcher amid a flock of sheep appears the hero of the Iliad, in the following fine lines of Mr. Pope, which conclude the twentieth book.
His fiery coursers, as the chariot rolls,