To vilify a great man is the readiest way in which a little man can himself attain greatness.
Source: Marginalia, in Southern Literary Messenger (Richmond), Jul 1849.
-- Edgar Allan Poe, (Jan 19 1809-1849), US poet, short-story writer; He is famous for his mysterious, macabre stories and poems, e.g., The Gold Bug, 1843 and The Raven, 1845.