alter, change, modify - cause to change; make different; cause a transformation; "The advent of the automobile may have altered the growth pattern of the city"; "The discussion has changed my thinking about the issue"
I might relate of thousands, and thir names Eternize here on Earth; but those elect Angels contented with thir fame in Heav'n Seek not the praise of men: the other sort In might though wondrous and in Acts of Warr, Nor of Renown less eager, yet by doome Canceld from Heav'n and sacred memorie, Nameless in dark oblivion let them dwell.
(519) Given the narrator's simultaneous contempt and admiration for Funes, it is possible to claim that the passage both celebrates the marvel of Funes's memory and renders its shortcomings evident: Funes's memory makes the flower eternal, removing it from the flow of time (much like art does), but it is also a machine-like contraption that eternizes absolutely everything that enters it, even a simple flower.