"HONOR, NOT HONORS", a poem

HAST thou for honor laid ambition down?
     Honor, itself, shall be thy sure reward,
     A guard more certain than a flaming sword,—
A crown above a crown.

Since it is honor stays thy lofty quest,
     Welcome the high defeat thy spirit dares!
     Aye, wear it proudly as a victor wears
The star upon his breast!

"Honor, not Honors" by Florence Earle Coates. Published in Lyrics of Life (1909) and Poems (1916) Volume II.

"Honor, not Honors" is the motto of Sir Richard Burton.