On fame

I’ve been reading some Stoic philosophy lately, and I came across a quote from Marcus Aurelius that I found quite interesting.

“He who has a vehement desire for posthumous fame does not consider that every one of those who remember him will himself also die very soon; then again also they who have succeeded them, until the whole remembrance shall have been extinguished as it is transmitted through men who foolishly admire and perish. But suppose that those who will remember are even immortal, and that the remembrance will be immortal, what then is this to thee? And I say not what is it to the dead, but what is it to the living?”

I find it funny that this quote comes from one of the most beloved emperors of one of the greatest empires in human history. I don’t think he’s wrong, but if any example were used to argue against his thinking here, it would probably be Marcus Aurelius himself.