From Saint Augustine – City of God
The full quote you found:
“It is honor that nourishes the arts; it is glory that kindles men to intellectual effort. All pursuits lose luster when they fall from general favor.”
—comes from Book V of The City of God, where Augustine analyzes the motivations behind human striving—particularly in pagan Rome—and contrasts them with Christian virtue.
“It is honor that nourishes the arts”
This means that recognition and social esteem are what keep the arts alive and flourishing. Artists, poets, and thinkers are often driven to create not just out of inner passion, but also because they’re valued and celebrated by society. Without honor, their work can wither in obscurity.
“It is glory that kindles men to intellectual effort”
Here, Augustine is saying that the pursuit of glory—being remembered, praised, and admired—is what sparks people to engage in intellectual work. In the Roman world especially, immortal fame was a huge motivator. Men studied philosophy, rhetoric, history, and science often with the hope of making a name for themselves.
“All pursuits lose luster when they fall from general favor”
This closing line is a bit more cynical. It means that once society stops valuing something—be it poetry, painting, philosophy, or any intellectual pursuit—those things fade in importance. Their brilliance is not intrinsic, but dependent on public interest. Without the support of the crowd, even great efforts seem dull.
What Augustine is really doing here:
He’s not praising this mindset—he’s critiquing it.
Augustine is showing how fleeting and fragile worldly motivations are. Honor, glory, and public approval might drive culture, but they are unstable and ultimately hollow if not rooted in the eternal. He’s contrasting human striving for praise with the Christian ideal: striving for truth, humility, and the glory of God—even if no one else sees or applauds it.
In short:
Augustine is saying that while honor and glory do drive artistic and intellectual greatness, these motives are fragile because they rely on external approval, not on eternal truth. If society stops caring, even great things lose their value—which is why true meaning must be grounded in God, not fame