noon
Sorrow and misfortune have dimmed it in its birth , and now it is waning towards its decline . '' `` Its decline ! '' repeated his companion , `` no , rather its meridian . You are in the vigor of your years , the noon of your prosperity , the height of your intellect and knowledge ; you require only an effort to add to these blessings the most lasting of all , -- Fame ! '' `` Well , '' said Mordaunt , and a momentary light flashed over his countenance , `` the effort will be made . I do not pretend not to have felt ambition . No man should make it his boast , for it often gives to our frail and earth-bound virtue both its weapon and its wings ; but when the soil is exhausted its produce fails ; and when we have forced our hearts to too great an abundance , whether it be of flowers that perish or of grain that endures , the seeds of after hope bring forth but a languid and scanty harvest .