He burns to impress his name upon the age, and to challenge the gratitude of posterity. For this he enters the lists with voice, pen, or, it may be, the sword. Like Themistocles, he is sleepless from the laurels of those who have gone before; like Alexander, he sighs for some new world to conquer; like Cæsar, he pours fruitless tears, because, at the age of the dying Alexander, he has done nothing memorable; like Cicero, he dwells upon the applause of men, and draws from it fresh inspiration to labor; and even if he writes against Glory, it is, according to Pascal, for the Glory of writing well. This is the _Love of Glory_, a sentiment which lurks in every stage and sphere of life,--with the young, the middle-aged, and the old,--with the lowly, the moderate, and the great,--under as many _aliases_ as a culprit,--but, in all its different forms and guises, having one simple animating essence, the passion for the approbation of our fellow-men.[208] By a touch of exquisite nature, Dante reveals the suffering spirits, in the penal gloom and terror of another world, clothed in the weakness of mortal passion, and, unconscious of the true glories of Paradise, still tormented by the desire to be spoken of on earth.[209] And Pascal echoes Dante, when, with that point which is so much his own, he says that "we lose life itself with joy, provided men speak of the loss."[210] [208] "Nulla est ergo tanta humilitas, quæ dulcedine gloriæ non tangatur."--Val. Max., Lib. VIII. c. 14, § 5. [209] "Però se campi d 'esti luoghi bui, E torni a riveder le belle stelle, Quando ti gioverà dicere: l'fui, _Fa che di noi alla gente favelle_." _Inferno_, Canto XVI. 82-85. [210] Pensées, Part. I. Art. V. sec. 2: _Vanité de l'Homme_. This desire lies deep in the human heart. It is a sentiment implanted at birth. It is kindred to other sentiments and appetites, whose office is to provide for our protection. It is like the love of wealth or the love of power, desires which all feel in a certain degree to be part of their being. Recognizing it, then, as an endowment from the hand of God, we may hesitate to condemn its influence at all times and under all circumstances. Implanted for some good, it is our duty to comprehend its true function. This is not difficult.