Geniuses and figures, even in their epitaphs

Epitaphs are, above all, a literary tribute that the living pay to the dead.. This is a text that is generally inscribed on a person’s grave or tombstone. In the past it was very common to make an epitaph, especially if the person who had died was a personality or someone famous.

However, funeral rites have been simplified. Death, in one way or another, has become a topic that few want to know about. You don’t talk about her unless she shows up.

Almost everyone wants to avoid the issue at all costs. That’s why epitaphs have fallen into disuse and now only temporary and impersonal graves are seen in cemeteries.

It is a real shame because in addition to being a beautiful literary genre, it also represents a guide, a light to remember that person who is gone. Sometimes The epitaphs also show great ingenuity and creativity. Proof of this are some famous people, like the ones we share below.

Epitaphs of poets and writers

men of letters have often created their own epitaphs

They are almost always, on their own, literary pieces and they remember, in a beautiful way, the essence of his work. Here are some of them:

“Here lies the poet Vicente Huidobro. Open his tomb, under his tomb you can see the sea“. Vicente Huidobro. “What silent steps you bring, oh! cold death, because with quiet feet you equal everything.” Quevedo.“When you pass by the tomb where my ashes are consumed, oh!, moisten its dust with a tear” Lord Byron.“… and when I leave the birds will be left singing…” Juan Ramón Jiménez.“I just ask God to have mercy on the soul of this atheist.” Miguel de Unamuno. “If I didn’t live longer, it was because I didn’t have time.” Marquis de Sade. “Either the wallpaper goes, or I go” Oscar Wilde.“Light, more light” Goethe. “Here lies Molière the king of actors. In these moments he plays the dead and he really does it well.” Molière.“Let the curtain come down, the farce is over“. Rabelais. “With a cold look at life, at death. Rider, come in!” WB Yeats.

Epitaphs of famous men

Out of vanity or as a statement of reasons, many of the great men of history have designed their own epitaphs to be remembered. Other times it is his trusted men, his followers or even his own enemies or victims who have taken on this task. Here are some examples:

“This earth covers Plato’s body. Heaven contains his soul. Man, whoever you are, respect his virtues if you are honest.”This tomb is enough, for whom the world was not enough”, tomb of Alexander the Great. “To Castilla and León: Columbus gave a new world.” Tomb of Christopher Columbus. “I am willing to meet my Creator. Whether my Creator is prepared for the great test of meeting me is another question.” Sir Winston Churchill.”Do not envy the peace of the dead” Nostradamus. “Invoked or not invoked, the Lord is present.” Carl Gustav Jung. “I have played my role well. So bid me farewell to the scene, friends, with your applause.” Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian AUGUSTUS.”I expect nothing, I fear nothing, I am free“. Nikos Kazantzakis: “He snatched the lightning from the heavens and the scepter from the kings.” Benjamin Franklin.

Anonymous and ingenious epitaphs

There are hundreds of tombs and tombstones in the world that house surprising epitaphs. Some of them give an account of some aspect of the life of the person who lies there, or of their loved ones. Others represent almost revenge.

Most show great ingenuity and face death creatively. Here are some examples:

“With love from all your children, except Ricardo who gave nothing.” In a tomb in the Salamanca cemetery.”Here lies my wife, cold as always.”“Here lies one who was devoutly faithful to art and honor. “It was no big deal in life and now it is absolutely nothing.” (A friend writes it on Castelli’s tombstone)You bring as much peace as you leave rest.““We brought nothing, we took nothing, we lost nothing.” “It took me a lifetime to get here.” “That’s All Folks!” (This is all friends)

That final declaration of the epitaph has the ineffable flavor of eternal goodbye. Death, finally, gives a definitive meaning to each life, which the epitaph captures.

Perhaps an interesting way to synthesize our own life would be to try making our own epitaph. I, for example, would say “I always wanted to go one step further…” And yours? What would be your epitaph?

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