Fame _vs._ Riches

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The Greeks had genius,--'t was a gift
  The Muse vouchsafed in glorious measure;
The boon of Fame they made their aim
  And prized above all worldly treasure.

But _we_,--how do we train _our_ youth?
  _Not_ in the arts that are immortal,
But in the greed for gains that speed
  From him who stands at Death's dark portal.

Ah, when this slavish love of gold
  Once binds the soul in greasy fetters,
How prostrate lies,--how droops and dies
  The great, the noble cause of letters!

© Eugene Field