--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Martyrdom is the only way in which a man…" description: "\"Martyrdom is the only way in which a man can become famous without ability.\" — George Bernard Shaw" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1b/george-bernard-shaw-68_fame_martyrdom-is-the-only-way-in-which-a-man_326561.png" --- # Martyrdom is the only way in which a man can become famous… ![“Martyrdom is the only way in which a man can become famous without ability.” quote by George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1b/george-bernard-shaw-68_fame_martyrdom-is-the-only-way-in-which-a-man_326561.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1b/george-bernard-shaw-68_fame_martyrdom-is-the-only-way-in-which-a-man_326561.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1b/george-bernard-shaw-68_fame_martyrdom-is-the-only-way-in-which-a-man_326561.png) > “Martyrdom is the only way in which a man can become famous without ability.” [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Fame without talent often comes from sacrifice or martyrdom. **In simple terms:** Fame can come from sacrifice. Key Takeaway Earn respect through skill, not suffering. Themes fame martyrdom talent Mood critical thought‑provoking Type philosophical satirical When to use this quote - political activism - career advancement - public speaking Key Concepts social critique ego Questions to Reflect On - Is sacrifice always noble? - What value does talent bring? A Different Perspective Martyrdom may glorify suffering without real impact. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fame/) [Famous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/famous/) [Famous Ability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/famous-ability-3067326/) [Man Famous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-famous-2338408/) [Martyrdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/martyrdom/) [Martyrdom Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/martyrdom-way-3067325/) ## Related quotes > [Martyrdom: The only way a man can become famous without ability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/martyrdom-the-only-way-a-man-can-become-famous-without-ability/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Martyrdom, sir, is what these people like: it is the only way in which a man can become famous without ability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/martyrdom-sir-is-what-these-people-like-it-is-the-only-way-in-which-a-2/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“Martyrdom, sir, is what these people like: it is the only way in which a man can become famous without ability. The Devil's Disciple,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/martyrdom-sir-is-what-these-people-like-it-is-the-only-way-in-which-a/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [I think that once you open the door and allow people in on a certain aspect, it's very hard to then control how far…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosie-o-donnell/i-think-that-once-you-open-the-door-and-allow-people-in-on-a-certain/) [Rosie O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosie-o-donnell/) > [A man was famous according as he had lifted up axes upon the thick trees.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bible/a-man-was-famous-according-as-he-had-lifted-up-axes-upon-the-thick/) [Bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bible/) > [I like Spider-Man because he's become the most famous. He's the one who's most like me - nothing ever turns out 100 percent OK;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stan-lee/i-like-spider-man-because-he-s-become-the-most-famous-he-s-the-one/) [Stan Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stan-lee/) > [Wood burns because it has the proper stuff in it; and a man becomes famous because he has the proper stuff in him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/wood-burns-because-it-has-the-proper-stuff-in-it-and-a-man-becomes/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Sir Alex has a special place in my life. In fact, he was the main man. I was not famous, I was not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristiano-ronaldo/sir-alex-has-a-special-place-in-my-life-in-fact-he-was-the-main-man-i/) [Cristiano Ronaldo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristiano-ronaldo/) > [When a heretic wishes to avoid martyrdom he speaks of "Orthodoxy, True and False" and demonstrates that the True is his heresy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/when-a-heretic-wishes-to-avoid-martyrdom-he-speaks-of-orthodoxy-true/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Martyrdom is the only path to immortality that requires no talent whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/martyrdom-is-the-only-path-to-immortality-that-requires-no-talent/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [I wanted to have money; I wanted to be special; I wanted people to like me; I wanted to be famous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-degeneres/i-wanted-to-have-money-i-wanted-to-be-special-i-wanted-people-to-like/) [Ellen DeGeneres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-degeneres/) > [If I had never gotten famous or rich, I think I'd be equally neurotic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-romano/if-i-had-never-gotten-famous-or-rich-i-think-i-d-be-equally-neurotic/) [Ray Romano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-romano/) > [Becoming famous is a really shocking thing, especially when you don't have aspirations to it. It got to the point where I would try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-moyet/becoming-famous-is-a-really-shocking-thing-especially-when-you-don-t/) [Alison Moyet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-moyet/) > [The News of the World made me more famous than being in Atomic Kitten.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-katona/the-news-of-the-world-made-me-more-famous-than-being-in-atomic-kitten/) [Kerry Katona](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-katona/) > [I don't want to be famous famous. I'm happy on the second tier, where I have autonomy on a professional level but I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-reece/i-don-t-want-to-be-famous-famous-i-m-happy-on-the-second-tier-where-i/) [Gabrielle Reece](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-reece/) ## More by George Bernard Shaw > [I love little children too but I don't cut off their heads and stick them in vases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/i-love-little-children-too-but-i-don-t-cut-off-their-heads-and-stick/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Blasphemy and sedition (meaning the truth about Church and State).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/blasphemy-and-sedition-meaning-the-truth-about-church-and-state/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [In the arts of life, man invents nothing; but in the arts of death he outdoes Nature herself, and produces by chemistry and machinery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-arts-of-life-man-invents-nothing-but-in-the-arts-of-death-he/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“My religious convictions and scientific views cannot at present be more specifically defined than as those of a believer in creative evolution. I desire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/my-religious-convictions-and-scientific-views-cannot-at-present-be/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [What a man believes may be ascertained, not from his creed, but from the assumptions on which he habitually acts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/what-a-man-believes-may-be-ascertained-not-from-his-creed-but-from/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [You are my inspiration and my folly. You are my light across the sea, my million nameless joys, and my day's wage. You are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/you-are-my-inspiration-and-my-folly-you-are-my-light-across-the-sea/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Men have to do some awfully mean things to keep up their respectability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/men-have-to-do-some-awfully-mean-things-to-keep-up-their/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The schoolmaster is the person who takes the children off the parents' hands for a consideration. That is to say, he establishes a child…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-schoolmaster-is-the-person-who-takes-the-children-off-the-parents/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [As long as I have a want, I have a reason for living. Satisfaction is death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/as-long-as-i-have-a-want-i-have-a-reason-for-living-satisfaction-is/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The camera can represent flesh so superbly that, if I dared, I would never photograph a figure without asking that figure to take its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-camera-can-represent-flesh-so-superbly-that-if-i-dared-i-would/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [A man who is not a communist at the age of twenty is a fool. Any man who is still communist at the age…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/a-man-who-is-not-a-communist-at-the-age-of-twenty-is-a-fool-any-man/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [But to admire a strong person and to live under that strong person’s thumb are two different things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/but-to-admire-a-strong-person-and-to-live-under-that-strong-person-s/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Socialism is the same as Communism, only better English.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/socialism-is-the-same-as-communism-only-better-english/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The person who is ignorant enough to believe that his nourishment depends on meat is in a horrible dilemma.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-person-who-is-ignorant-enough-to-believe-that-his-nourishment/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [In the arts of peace Man is a bungler.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-arts-of-peace-man-is-a-bungler/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) [Explore all 1,640 George Bernard Shaw quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## More Fame quotes > [Most celebrated men live in a condition of prostitution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-augustin-sainte-beuve/most-celebrated-men-live-in-a-condition-of-prostitution/) [Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-augustin-sainte-beuve/) > [I don't want to be famous famous. I'm happy on the second tier, where I have autonomy on a professional level but I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-reece/i-don-t-want-to-be-famous-famous-i-m-happy-on-the-second-tier-where-i/) [Gabrielle Reece](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-reece/) > [Some people say that 'Drag Race' is about glory and immortalizing yourself in the Hall of Fame. For me, it's about shaking RuPaul down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trixie-mattel/some-people-say-that-drag-race-is-about-glory-and-immortalizing/) [Trixie Mattel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trixie-mattel/) > [The News of the World made me more famous than being in Atomic Kitten.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-katona/the-news-of-the-world-made-me-more-famous-than-being-in-atomic-kitten/) [Kerry Katona](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-katona/) > [Becoming famous is a really shocking thing, especially when you don't have aspirations to it. It got to the point where I would try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-moyet/becoming-famous-is-a-really-shocking-thing-especially-when-you-don-t/) [Alison Moyet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-moyet/) > [Five World Series rings, 3000-plus hits, the fame, the fortune and playing for the second most historic franchise in baseball... These are just some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mookie-betts/five-world-series-rings-3000-plus-hits-the-fame-the-fortune-and/) [Mookie Betts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mookie-betts/) > [There's nothing like getting feedback that's positive and supportive. That's what I'm all about. I'm really just genuinely doing good music. I'm not looking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiffany-villarreal/there-s-nothing-like-getting-feedback-that-s-positive-and-supportive/) [Tiffany Villarreal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiffany-villarreal/) > [Don't crave fame, do what you do and just apply. I don't think many of them here today are that interested in fashion. Perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-wilson/don-t-crave-fame-do-what-you-do-and-just-apply-i-don-t-think-many-of/) [Louise Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-wilson/) > [If I had never gotten famous or rich, I think I'd be equally neurotic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-romano/if-i-had-never-gotten-famous-or-rich-i-think-i-d-be-equally-neurotic/) [Ray Romano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-romano/) > [Unfortunately, celebrity is a powerful thing. It can influence people, but if it can influence people in a good way, then that's a great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-furnish/unfortunately-celebrity-is-a-powerful-thing-it-can-influence-people/) [David Furnish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-furnish/) > [I think you either live a real life or you live a weird celebrity pseudolife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-michelle-gellar/i-think-you-either-live-a-real-life-or-you-live-a-weird-celebrity/) [Sarah Michelle Gellar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-michelle-gellar/) > [I am uninterested in Jennifer Aniston's take on anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-dillon/i-am-uninterested-in-jennifer-aniston-s-take-on-anything/) [Tim Dillon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-dillon/) > [The Baseball Hall of Fame is something every player dreams about, but being a member of God's Hall of Fame is the greatest achievement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-carter/the-baseball-hall-of-fame-is-something-every-player-dreams-about-but/) [Gary Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-carter/) > [I don't want to have anything to do with that: just the fame without personal respect for your privacy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucas-till/i-don-t-want-to-have-anything-to-do-with-that-just-the-fame-without/) [Lucas Till](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucas-till/) > [I wanted to have money; I wanted to be special; I wanted people to like me; I wanted to be famous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-degeneres/i-wanted-to-have-money-i-wanted-to-be-special-i-wanted-people-to-like/) [Ellen DeGeneres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-degeneres/) [Browse all 6,971 Fame quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fame/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Martyrdom is the only way in which a man can become famous without ability.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Bernard Shaw" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/martyrdom-is-the-only-way-in-which-a-man-can-become-famous-without/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Fame" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/martyrdom-is-the-only-way-in-which-a-man-can-become-famous-without/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1b/george-bernard-shaw-68_fame_martyrdom-is-the-only-way-in-which-a-man_326561.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1b/george-bernard-shaw-68_fame_martyrdom-is-the-only-way-in-which-a-man_326561.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1b/george-bernard-shaw-68_fame_martyrdom-is-the-only-way-in-which-a-man_326561.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Martyrdom is the only way in which a man can become famous without ability.” — George Bernard Shaw", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "George Bernard Shaw", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Martyrdom is the only way in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/martyrdom-is-the-only-way-in-which-a-man-can-become-famous-without/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/martyrdom-is-the-only-way-in-which-a-man-can-become-famous-without/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```