Fame, if not double-faced, is double-mouthed,
And with contrary blast proclaims most deeds;
On both his wings, one black, the other white,
Bears greatest names in his wild airy flight.

These lines are from Milton’s early masque (a courtly dramatic entertainment), *Comus* (first performed in 1634). In the poem, Milton draws on classical and Renaissance personifications of “Fame” as a winged, rumor-spreading power that can elevate or ruin reputations. The passage occurs amid reflections on virtue, reputation, and the unreliable public voice—concerns that fit the masque’s broader moral argument about chastity and inward integrity versus outward appearances. Milton, writing in his twenties and already ambitious for lasting literary renown, repeatedly returns in his early work to the tension between true worth and the fickle judgments of the crowd.

Milton depicts Fame as inherently contradictory: even if it is not “double-faced” (deceptive in appearance), it is “double-mouthed,” speaking with opposing voices. The “contrary blast” suggests that public acclaim and public condemnation often arise from the same noisy source—rumor—so that the same deed can be praised and blamed depending on who tells it. The image of two wings, one black and one white, underscores Fame’s moral ambivalence: it carries “greatest names” aloft while simultaneously staining or whitening them. The passage argues for skepticism toward reputation and implies that virtue should not depend on the unstable winds of public opinion.