--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Fame requires every kind of excess. I…" description: "\"Fame requires every kind of excess. I mean true fame, a devouring neon, not the sombre renown of waning statesmen or chinless kings.\" — Don DeLillo" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a84/don-delillo-294_devouring_fame-requires-every-kind-of-excess-i-mea_267032.jpg" --- # Fame requires every kind of excess. I mean true fame, a… ![“Fame requires every kind of excess. I mean true fame, a devouring neon, not the sombre renown of waning statesmen or chinless kings.” quote by Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a84/don-delillo-294_devouring_fame-requires-every-kind-of-excess-i-mea_267032.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a84/don-delillo-294_devouring_fame-requires-every-kind-of-excess-i-mea_267032.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a84/don-delillo-294_devouring_fame-requires-every-kind-of-excess-i-mea_267032.jpg) > “Fame requires every kind of excess. I mean true fame, a devouring neon, not the sombre renown of waning statesmen or chinless kings.” [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Fame demands extreme, all‑consuming attention, not quiet respect. **In simple terms:** Fame needs intense, overwhelming exposure. Key Takeaway Seek meaningful impact, not just fame. Themes fame excess attention culture celebrity Mood critical analytical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - marketing - politics - entertainment - personal branding Key Concepts media saturation identity societal values Questions to Reflect On - Do you value fame or substance? - What costs are you willing to pay for fame? A Different Perspective Fame can erode authenticity and privacy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Excess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excess/) [Fame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fame/) [Kings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kings/) [Neon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neon/) [Statesmen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/statesmen/) ## Related quotes > [“Fame requires every kind of excess. I mean true fame, a devouring neon, not the somber renown of waning statesmen or chinless kings. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/fame-requires-every-kind-of-excess-i-mean-true-fame-a-devouring-neon-2/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [It's harder to maintain that internet kind of fame. It requires daily work, as opposed to a movie star who can make a movie…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-schulman/it-s-harder-to-maintain-that-internet-kind-of-fame-it-requires-daily/) Ariel Schulman > [Some for renown, on scraps of learning dote, And think they grow immortal as they quote.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-young/some-for-renown-on-scraps-of-learning-dote-and-think-they-grow/) [Edward Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-young/) > [The highest greatness, surviving time and stone, is that which proceeds from the soul of man. Monarchs and cabinets, generals and admirals, with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-sumner/the-highest-greatness-surviving-time-and-stone-is-that-which-proceeds/) [Charles Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-sumner/) > [He who wins a thousand common hearts is entitled to some renown; but he who keeps undisputed sway over the heart of a coquette…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/he-who-wins-a-thousand-common-hearts-is-entitled-to-some-renown-but/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [ For more than twenty years he \[Blanchard\] toiled on through the most fatiguing paths of literary composition, mostly in periodicals, often anonymously; pleasing and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-laman-blanchard/for-more-than-twenty-years-he-blanchard-toiled-on-through-the-most/) [Samuel Laman Blanchard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-laman-blanchard/) > [Renown is something people have always wanted, but maybe what's modern is that it's considered a virtue, this desire, rather than a vice. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-heti/renown-is-something-people-have-always-wanted-but-maybe-what-s-modern/) [Sheila Heti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-heti/) > [I'll plant and water, sow and weed, Till not an inch of earth shows brown, And take a vow of each small seed To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-nesbit/i-ll-plant-and-water-sow-and-weed-till-not-an-inch-of-earth-shows/) [E. Nesbit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-nesbit/) > [Science in England is not a profession: its cultivators are scarcely recognised even as a class. Our language itself contains no single term by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-babbage/science-in-england-is-not-a-profession-its-cultivators-are-scarcely/) [Charles Babbage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-babbage/) > [To set the cause above renown.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-newbolt/to-set-the-cause-above-renown/) [Henry Newbolt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-newbolt/) > [There are decades in the making of the one man of renown; Multitudes that go unnoticed who must wreathe for him a crown.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-paolini/there-are-decades-in-the-making-of-the-one-man-of-renown-multitudes/) [Christopher Paolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-paolini/) > [It is not possible to be regarded with tenderness, except by a few. That merit which gives greatness and renown diffuses its influence to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/it-is-not-possible-to-be-regarded-with-tenderness-except-by-a-few/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [He, who practices right, but in the hope of acquiring great renown, is very near to vice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/he-who-practices-right-but-in-the-hope-of-acquiring-great-renown-is/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [Wood burns because it has the proper stuff for that purpose in it; and a man becomes renowned because he has the necessary stuff…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/wood-burns-because-it-has-the-proper-stuff-for-that-purpose-in-it-and/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [There are believers who by God's grace, have climbed the mountains of full assurance and near communion, their place is with the eagle in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/there-are-believers-who-by-god-s-grace-have-climbed-the-mountains-of/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) ## More by Don DeLillo > [“We all know how the thing we secretly fear is not a secret at all but the open and eternal thing that predicts its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/we-all-know-how-the-thing-we-secretly-fear-is-not-a-secret-at-all-but/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [Everything is barely weeks. Everything is days. We have minutes to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/everything-is-barely-weeks-everything-is-days-we-have-minutes-to-live/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [The novel is the dream release, the suspension of reality that history needs to escape its own brutal confinements.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-novel-is-the-dream-release-the-suspension-of-reality-that-history/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“As I listened I thought a featureless baggy man was striking me in slow motion with a well-polished stone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/as-i-listened-i-thought-a-featureless-baggy-man-was-striking-me-in/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“Murray said, 'I don't trust anybody's nostalgia but my own. Nostalgia is a product of dissatisfaction and rage. It´s a settling of grievances between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/murray-said-i-don-t-trust-anybody-s-nostalgia-but-my-own-nostalgia-is/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“She is beginning to think it is possible that all creation is a spurt of blank matter that chances to make an emerald planet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/she-is-beginning-to-think-it-is-possible-that-all-creation-is-a-spurt/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“Those who have abandoned belief must still believe in us. They are sure that they are right not to believe but they know belief…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/those-who-have-abandoned-belief-must-still-believe-in-us-they-are/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“The plane had lost power in all three engines, dropped from thirty-four thousand feet to twelve thousand feet. Something like four miles. When the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-plane-had-lost-power-in-all-three-engines-dropped-from-thirty/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“Grass: I live in a great steel tower that reflects the blazing sun. People catch fire just walking by. The more bodies that pile…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/grass-i-live-in-a-great-steel-tower-that-reflects-the-blazing-sun/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“What people discard could make a nation”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/what-people-discard-could-make-a-nation/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“Marriage is something we make from available materials. In this sense it’s improvised, it’s almost offhand. Maybe this is why we know so little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/marriage-is-something-we-make-from-available-materials-in-this-sense/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [The true life is not reducible to words spoken or written, not by anyone, ever. The true life takes place when we're alone, thinking,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-true-life-is-not-reducible-to-words-spoken-or-written-not-by/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [I've come to think of Europe as a hardcover book, America as the paperback version.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/i-ve-come-to-think-of-europe-as-a-hardcover-book-america-as-the/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [There is a set of balances and rhythms to a novel that we can't experience in real life. So I think there is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/there-is-a-set-of-balances-and-rhythms-to-a-novel-that-we-can-t/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“There is no lie in war or preparation of war that can't be defended. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/there-is-no-lie-in-war-or-preparation-of-war-that-can-t-be-defended/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) [Explore all 699 Don DeLillo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) ## More Devouring quotes > [Introspection is a devouring monster. You have to feed it with much material, much experience, many people, many places, many loves, many creations, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/introspection-is-a-devouring-monster-you-have-to-feed-it-with-much/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [Science is the only truth and it is the great lie. It knows nothing, and people think it knows everything. It is misrepresented. People…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/remy-de-gourmont/science-is-the-only-truth-and-it-is-the-great-lie-it-knows-nothing/) [Remy de Gourmont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/remy-de-gourmont/) > [Do you know, I always imagine that the subway trains are dragons,' Rose said to Bear as they clung to his coat for support…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/regina-doman/do-you-know-i-always-imagine-that-the-subway-trains-are-dragons-rose/) [Regina Doman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/regina-doman/) > [The cruelty of a Fijian god, who, represented as devouring the souls of the dead, may be supposed to inflict torture during the process,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/the-cruelty-of-a-fijian-god-who-represented-as-devouring-the-souls-of/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [Marriage must perforce fight against the all-devouring monster of habit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/marriage-must-perforce-fight-against-the-all-devouring-monster-of/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [In the tension between devouring want or simple need it's clear the only lines between the ones we preserve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/as-i-lay-dying/in-the-tension-between-devouring-want-or-simple-need-it-s-clear-the/) As I Lay Dying > [We want something desperately and we try to force the God to give it up before it is ready. We want everything now. That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-want-something-desperately-and-we-try-to-force-the-god-to-give-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Men had better be without education than be educated by their rulers; for their education is but the mere breaking in of the steer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hodgskin/men-had-better-be-without-education-than-be-educated-by-their-rulers/) Thomas Hodgskin > [We have unmistakable proof that throughout all past time, there has been a ceaseless devouring of the weak by the strong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/we-have-unmistakable-proof-that-throughout-all-past-time-there-has/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [Growing up, I didn't have any comic books, at all. But my friend had a trunk full of them, so comic books were like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-spader/growing-up-i-didn-t-have-any-comic-books-at-all-but-my-friend-had-a/) [James Spader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-spader/) > [The pure present is an ungraspable advance of the past devouring the future. In truth, all sensation is already memory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-pure-present-is-an-ungraspable-advance-of-the-past-devouring-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Wolves and women are relational by nature, inquiring, possessed of great endurance and strength. They are deeply intuitive, intensely concerned with their young, their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarissa-pinkola-estes/wolves-and-women-are-relational-by-nature-inquiring-possessed-of/) [Clarissa Pinkola Estes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarissa-pinkola-estes/) > [It’s only when you’ve lost someone that you realize the nonsense of that phrase “It’s a small world”. It isn’t. It’s a vast, devouring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/it-s-only-when-you-ve-lost-someone-that-you-realize-the-nonsense-of/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [Precisely because the State has the monopoly of coercion it can be allowed the monopoly only of coercion. Only if the modern State can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hazlitt/precisely-because-the-state-has-the-monopoly-of-coercion-it-can-be/) [Henry Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hazlitt/) > [Society proceeds like the ocean. After a disaster, it resume its wonted level and rhythms; its devouring interests efface all traces of damage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/society-proceeds-like-the-ocean-after-a-disaster-it-resume-its-wonted/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) Browse all 112 Devouring quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Fame requires every kind of excess. 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