The paths of glory lead to the grave
This is a well-known quotation from the famous Gray's Elegy. In the poem, the word glory has been used in
a special restricted sense. Here it means the fame a man earns by virtue of his birth in a wealthy family, his physical appearance and vigor, and his pride due to his earthly possessions. The sense and spirit of this utterance cannot be contested. There are some people who feel proud of their mere birth in a high, aristocratic family. There are others who are proud of their physical strength and yet others who earn fame because of their vast wealth. This kind of glory ends with the death of a person who possesses it because the source of this glory, such as, high birth, material wealth, and physical strength are themselves subject to death and decay. They are powerless in the face of the all-powerful death which devours everything without discrimination.
