--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Great men, unknown to their generation…" description: "\"Great men, unknown to their generation, have their fame among the great who have preceded them, and all true worldly fame subsides from their high esti..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/482/henry-david-thoreau-20_beyond-the-stars_great-men-unknown-to-their-generation-ha_2971969.jpg" --- # Great men, unknown to their generation, have their fame… ![“Great men, unknown to their generation, have their fame among the great who have preceded them, and all true worldly fame subsides from their high estimate beyond the stars.” quote by Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/482/henry-david-thoreau-20_beyond-the-stars_great-men-unknown-to-their-generation-ha_2971969.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/482/henry-david-thoreau-20_beyond-the-stars_great-men-unknown-to-their-generation-ha_2971969.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/482/henry-david-thoreau-20_beyond-the-stars_great-men-unknown-to-their-generation-ha_2971969.jpg) > “Great men, unknown to their generation, have their fame among the great who have preceded them, and all true worldly fame subsides from their high estimate beyond the stars.” [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True fame endures beyond one's own era, persisting among those who came before and beyond ordinary limits. **In simple terms:** Enduring fame transcends time Key Takeaway Seek lasting impact beyond fame Themes fame legacy history Mood thoughtful reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - historical research - legacy projects - educational curricula Key Concepts philosophy literature Questions to Reflect On - What legacy do you wish to leave? - How does history judge greatness? A Different Perspective Fame can be fleeting without substance ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beyond the stars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beyond-the-stars/) [Fame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fame/) [Great men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-men/) [Greatness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatness/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Stars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stars/) ## Related quotes > [Worldly fame is but a breath of wind that blows now this way, and now that, and changes name as it changes direction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dante-alighieri/worldly-fame-is-but-a-breath-of-wind-that-blows-now-this-way-and-now/) [Dante Alighieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dante-alighieri/) > [The Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame was a great idea when it started, but I think they ought to close it, I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iggy-pop/the-rock-n-roll-hall-of-fame-was-a-great-idea-when-it-started-but-i/) [Iggy Pop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iggy-pop/) > [Ah woe is me, through all my daysWisdom and wealth I both have got,And fame and name and great men's praise;But Love, ah! Love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-cuyler-bunner/ah-woe-is-me-through-all-my-dayswisdom-and-wealth-i-both-have-got-and/) [Henry Cuyler Bunner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-cuyler-bunner/) > [Fame has also this great drawback, that if we pursue it, we must direct our lives so as to please the fancy of men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baruch-spinoza/fame-has-also-this-great-drawback-that-if-we-pursue-it-we-must-direct/) [Baruch Spinoza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baruch-spinoza/) > [Fame is great when everything in your life is going well. But when it goes wrong, when you're having to jump on a bus,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-kemp/fame-is-great-when-everything-in-your-life-is-going-well-but-when-it/) [Martin Kemp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-kemp/) > [The charm of fame is so great that we like every object to which it is attached, even death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/the-charm-of-fame-is-so-great-that-we-like-every-object-to-which-it/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [The fame of great men ought to be judged always by their big, fancy names.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/the-fame-of-great-men-ought-to-be-judged-always-by-their-big-fancy/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [I love celebrities, and I love the concept of fame, but it took me getting fame to realize that it doesn't exist, which was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-needles/i-love-celebrities-and-i-love-the-concept-of-fame-but-it-took-me/) [Sharon Needles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-needles/) > [All this worldly wisdom was once the unamiable heresy of some wise man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/all-this-worldly-wisdom-was-once-the-unamiable-heresy-of-some-wise-man/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [When it was proposed to me to go abroad, rub oft some rust, and better my condition in a worldly sense, I fear lest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/when-it-was-proposed-to-me-to-go-abroad-rub-oft-some-rust-and-better/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I think that I cannot preserve my health and spirits, unless I spend four hours a day at least - and it is commonly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-think-that-i-cannot-preserve-my-health-and-spirits-unless-i-spend/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [It gets laughed at because it is a small town, I know, but nevertheless it is a place where great men may be born…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/it-gets-laughed-at-because-it-is-a-small-town-i-know-but-nevertheless/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“Simple accident: a zombie-crewed containership from Southern Kath wrecked in a storm. The containership had been hired to transport a horror from beyond the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-gladstone/simple-accident-a-zombie-crewed-containership-from-southern-kath/) [Max Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-gladstone/) > [“To return to the general analysis of the Rosicrucian outlook. Magic was a dominating factor, working as a mathematics-mechanics in the lower world, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-a-yates/to-return-to-the-general-analysis-of-the-rosicrucian-outlook-magic/) Frances A. Yates > [“This was not the velvet embracing desert sky at El Geneina; this was infinite space. 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You may depend on it, that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/in-proportion-as-our-inward-life-fails-we-go-more-constantly-and/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I had three chairs in my house; one for solitude, two for friendship, three for society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-had-three-chairs-in-my-house-one-for-solitude-two-for-friendship/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The still youthful energies of the globe have only to be directed in their proper channel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-still-youthful-energies-of-the-globe-have-only-to-be-directed-in/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Concord's little arch does not span all our fate, nor is what transpires under it law for the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/concord-s-little-arch-does-not-span-all-our-fate-nor-is-what/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The lumberers rarely trouble themselves to put out their fires, such is the dampness of the primitive forest; and this is one cause, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-lumberers-rarely-trouble-themselves-to-put-out-their-fires-such/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“When he has obtained those things which are necessary to life, there is another alternative than to obtain the superfluities; and that is, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/when-he-has-obtained-those-things-which-are-necessary-to-life-there/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Wealth is measured by the level of experience in all aspects of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/wealth-is-measured-by-the-level-of-experience-in-all-aspects-of-life/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) [Explore all 3,376 Henry David Thoreau quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## More Beyond the stars quotes > [“This was not the velvet embracing desert sky at El Geneina; this was infinite space. 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