And it came to pass, while they were in the way, that tidings came to David, saying, Absalom hath slain all the king's sons, and there is not one of them left. Absalom hath slain all the king's sons - Fame never lessens but always magnifies a fact. Report, contrary to the nature of all other things, gains strength by going.
Virgil has given, in his best manner, a fine personification of Fame or Evil Report. - Aen. iv., 173.
Extemplo Libyae magnas it Fama per urbes;
Fama, malum qua non aliud velocius ullum,
Mobilitate viget, viresque adquirit eundo, etc.
"Now Fame, tremendous fiend! without delay,
Through Libyan cities took her rapid way;
Fame, the swift plague, that every moment grows,
And gains new strength and vigor as she goes," etc.