Epitaphs

"From Perth, Scotland"

"From Tatamagouche, Nova Scotia"

"From Nanuet, New York"

"From Évora, Portugal, in the Chapel of Bones"

"On a grave in a Kent cemetery"

"On a grave in New York"

"Here rests in honored glory an American soldier known but to God."

"Their name liveth forevermore."

"Alexander the Great (unknown)"

"British Soldier, Tobruk Commonwealth Cemetery, Libya"

"Australian soldier whose body is held in the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, Australia. By former Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating"

"To save your world you asked this man to die; Would this man, could he see you now, ask why?"

"And be the Spartan's epitaph on me— "Sparta hath many a worthier son than he.""

"Shrine of the mighty! can it be, That this is all remains of thee?"

"After your death you were better have a bad epitaph than their ill report while you live."

"Either our history shall with full mouth Speak freely of our acts, or else our grave, Like Turkish mute, shall have a tongueless mouth, Not worshipp'd with a waxen epitaph."

"You cannot better be employ'd, Bassanio, Than to live still and write mine epitaph."

"On your family's old monument Hang mournful epitaphs."

"And if your love Can labour aught in sad invention, Hang her an epitaph upon her tomb And sing it to her bones, sing it to-night."

"Of comfort no man speak: Let's talk of graves, of worms and epitaphs."

"Here lies the remains of James Pady, Brickmaker, in hope that his clay will be remoulded in a workmanlike manner, far superior to his former perishable materials."

"Stavo bene; per star meglio, sto qui."

"Sufficit huic tumulus, cui non suffecerit orbis."

"If Paris that brief flight allow, My humble tomb explore! It bears: "Eternity, be thou My refuge!" and no more."

"Here lies who, born a man, a grocer died."

"Here lies Anne Mann; she lived an Old maid and died an old Mann."

"And the voice of men shall call, "He is fallen like us all, Though the weapon of the Lord was in his hand:" And thine epitaph shall be— "He was wretched ev'n as we;" And thy tomb may be unhonoured in the land."

"Kind reader! take your choice to cry or laugh; Here HAROLD lies—but where's his Epitaph? If such you seek, try Westminster, and view Ten thousand, just as fit for him as you."

"Yet at the resurrection we shall see A fair edition, and of matchless worth, Free from erratas, new in heaven set forth."

"Loe here the precious dust is layd; Whose purely-temper'd clay was made So fine that it the guest betray'd. Else the soule grew so fast within, It broke the outward shell of sinne And so was hatch'd a cherubin."

"This Mirabeau's work, then, is done. He sleeps with the primeval giants. He has gone over to the majority: "Abiit ad plures.""

"It is so soon that I am done for, I wonder what I was begun for!"

"Ere sin could blight or sorrow fade, Death came with friendly care; The opening bud to Heaven conveyed, And bade it blossom there."

"Peas to his Hashes."

"Underneath this crust Lies the mouldering dust Of Eleanor Batchelor Shoven, Well versed in the arts Of pies, custards and tarts, And the lucrative trade of the oven. When she lived long enough, She made her last puff, A puff by her husband much praised, And now she doth lie And make a dirt pie, In hopes that her crust may be raised."

"What wee gave, wee have; What wee spent, wee had; What wee left, wee lost."

"Praised, wept, And honoured, by the muse he loved."

"And when I lie in the green kirkyard, With the mould upon my breast, Say not that she did well—or ill, "Only, She did her best.""

"O man! whosoever thou art, and whensoever thou comest, for come I know thou wilt, I am Cyrus, founder of the Persian empire. Envy me not the little earth that covers my body."

"Full many a life he saved With his undaunted crew; He put his trust in Providence, And Cared Not How It Blew."

"His form was of the manliest beauty, His heart was kind and soft, Faithful, below, he did his duty; But now he's gone aloft."

"For though his body's under hatches, His soul has gone aloft."

"This comes of altering fundamental laws and overpersuading by his landlord to take physic (of which he died) for the benefit of the doctor—Stavo bene (was written on his monument) ma per star meglio, sto qui."

"Here lies Du Vall; reader, if male thou art, Look to thy purse; if female, to thy heart."

"If e'er she knew an evil thought She spoke no evil word: Peace to the gentle! She hath sought The bosom of her Lord."

"Let there be no inscription upon my tomb. Let no man write my epitaph. No man can write my epitaph. I am here ready to die. I am not allowed to vindicate my character; and when I am prevented from vindicating myself, let no man dare calumniate me. Let my character and motives repose in obscurity and peace, till other times and other men can do them justice."

"Nemo me lacrumis decoret neque funera fletu faxit."

"Under this stone, reader, survey Dead Sir John Vanbrugh's house of clay: Lie heavy on him, earth! for he Laid many heavy loads on thee."

"Lie light upon him, earth! tho' he Laid many a heavy load on thee."

"The body of Benjamin Franklin, Printer, (Like the cover of an old book, its contents torn out and stript of its lettering and gilding), Lies here, food for worms; But the work shall not be lost, for it will (as he believed) appear once more in a new and more elegant edition, revised and corrected by the author."