Wednesday, December 12, 2007 @ 21:47
number three hundred and eleven
"...Seggendo in piumain
fama non si vien, né sotto coltre,
sanza la qual chi sua vita consuma
cotal vestigo in terra di sé lascia
qual fummo in aere ed in acqua la schiuma."
"Lying in a featherbed will bring you no fame,
nor staying beneath the quilt,
and he who uses up his life without achieving fame
leaves no more vestige of himself on Earth
than smoke in the air or foam upon the water."
Dante, "The Divine Comedy: The Inferno", Canto XXIV
i just happened to remember reading this last time and managed to get it off Wikiquote and i think it makes a lot of sense. however, it seems that the more people get known, the more engulfed they are by their own fame/pride/big-headed supposed importance. and they'll forget about everything else. which is really quite annoying.
it is true that people yearn for recognition. okay perhaps yearn is too strong a word, but all of them would want some attention every now and then. be it from everyone else, or someone else. but i think it's important to remember the ones who helped you before, and brought you to where you are today.
饮水思源, yes that's it.
no matter how high you stand, you're nobody without the people that wake you from your featherbed and remove your quilt. but it's really very annoying how unfair the world is. tsktsktsk. such childish complains, haha but it's true aye?
so come on, tell me.