“Death takes the mean man with the proud;
The fatal urn has room for all.”
John Conington (1825–1869) British classical scholar
Book III, ode i
Translations, The Odes and Carmen Saeculare of Horace (1863)
“Death takes the mean man with the proud;
The fatal urn has room for all.”
John Conington (1825–1869) British classical scholar
Book III, ode i
Translations, The Odes and Carmen Saeculare of Horace (1863)
Albert Nolan (1934) South African priest and activist
Source: Jesus Before Christianity: The Gospel of Liberation (1976), p. 46.
“I have no fear nor shrinking; I have seen death so often that it is not strange or fearful to me.”
Edith Cavell (1865–1915) British nurse
Last statements (1915)
Mitt Romney (1947) American businessman and politician
press statement, , quoted in * 2012-09-12
What They Said, Before and After the Attack in Libya
The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/09/12/us/politics/libya-statements.html
2012-09-18
2012
“Beyond the cloud-wrapt chambers of western gloom and Aethiopia's other realm there stands a motionless grove, impenetrable by any star; beneath it the hollow recesses of a deep and rocky cave run far into a mountain, where the slow hand of Nature has set the halls of lazy Sleep and his untroubled dwelling. The threshold is guarded by shady Quiet and dull Forgetfulness and torpid Sloth with ever drowsy countenance. Ease, and Silence with folded wings sit mute in the forecourt and drive the blustering winds from the roof-top, and forbid the branches to sway, and take away their warblings from the birds. No roar of the sea is here, though all the shores be sounding, nor yet of the sky; the very torrent that runs down the deep valley nigh the cave is silent among the rocks and boulders; by its side are sable herds, and sheep reclining one and all upon the ground; the fresh buds wither, and a breath from the earth makes the grasses sink and fail. Within, glowing Mulciber had carved a thousand likenesses of the god: here wreathed Pleasure clings to his side, here Labour drooping to repose bears him company, here he shares a couch with Bacchus, there with Love, the child of Mars. Further within, in the secret places of the palace he lies with Death also, but that dread image is seen by none. These are but pictures: he himself beneath humid caverns rests upon coverlets heaped with slumbrous flowers, his garments reek, and the cushions are warm with his sluggish body, and above the bed a dark vapour rises from his breathing mouth. One hand holds up the locks that fall from his left temple, from the other drops his neglected horn.”
Stat super occiduae nebulosa cubilia Noctis
Aethiopasque alios, nulli penetrabilis astro,
lucus iners, subterque cavis graue rupibus antrum
it uacuum in montem, qua desidis atria Somni
securumque larem segnis Natura locavit.
limen opaca Quies et pigra Oblivio servant
et numquam vigili torpens Ignauia vultu.
Otia vestibulo pressisque Silentia pennis
muta sedent abiguntque truces a culmine ventos
et ramos errare vetant et murmura demunt
alitibus. non hic pelagi, licet omnia clament
litora, non ullus caeli fragor; ipse profundis
vallibus effugiens speluncae proximus amnis
saxa inter scopulosque tacet: nigrantia circum
armenta omne solo recubat pecus, et nova marcent
germina, terrarumque inclinat spiritus herbas.
mille intus simulacra dei caelaverat ardens
Mulciber: hic haeret lateri redimita Voluptas,
hic comes in requiem vergens Labor, est ubi Baccho,
est ubi Martigenae socium puluinar Amori
obtinet. interius tecti in penetralibus altis
et cum Morte jacet, nullique ea tristis imago
cernitur. hae species. ipse autem umentia subter
antra soporifero stipatos flore tapetas
incubat; exhalant vestes et corpore pigro
strata calent, supraque torum niger efflat anhelo
ore vapor; manus haec fusos a tempore laevo
sustentat crines, haec cornu oblita remisit.
Source: Thebaid, Book X, Line 84 (tr. J. H. Mozley)
Gautama Buddha (-563–-483 BC) philosopher, reformer and the founder of Buddhism
Nagara Sutta, Samyutta Nikaya II.124, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu
Pali Canon, Sutta Pitaka, Samyutta Nikaya (Connected Discourses)
Diogenes Laërtius (180–240) biographer of ancient Greek philosophers
Pyrrho, 8.
The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers (c. 200 A.D.), Book 9: Uncategorized philosophers and Skeptics
“Again, therefore, the wretched remnant, sending to Aetius, a powerful Roman citizen, address him as follow:—"To Aetius, now consul for the third time: the groans of the Britons". And again a little further, thus:—"The barbarians drive us to the sea; the sea throws us back on the barbarians: thus two modes of death await us, we are either slain or drowned."”
Igitur rursum miserae mittentes epistolas reliquiae ad Agitium Romanae potestatis virum, hoc modo loquentes: ""Agitio ter consuli gemitus Britannorum""; et post pauca querentes: ""repellunt barbari ad mare, repellit mare ad barbaros; inter haec duo genera funerum aut iugulamur aut mergimur"".
Gildas De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae
Igitur rursum miserae mittentes epistolas reliquiae ad Agitium Romanae potestatis virum, hoc modo loquentes: "Agitio ter consuli gemitus Britannorum"; et post pauca querentes: "repellunt barbari ad mare, repellit mare ad barbaros; inter haec duo genera funerum aut iugulamur aut mergimur".
Section 20.
These "Groans of the Britons" were sent to the Roman military leader Flavius Aetius in Gaul, in response to the invasion of Britain by the Angles and Saxons.
De Excidio Britanniae (On the Ruin of Britain)
Caspar David Friedrich (1774–1840) Swedish painter
in original language - German: Warum, die Frag' ist oft zu mir ergangen / Wählst du zum Gegenstand der Malerei / So oft den Tod, Vergänglichkeit und Grab? / Um ewig einst zu leben / Muss man sich oft dem Tod ergeben.
Quote c. 1812; from Caspar David Friedrich, William Vaughn; London: Tate Gallery, 1972, p. 16–17
1794 - 1840
Michael Klaper (1947) American physician
"Interview with Michael Klaper, M.D." https://web.archive.org/web/20141113185517/https://www.healthscience.org/about/nha-history/books-and-publications/health-science-summer-2013/interview-michael-klaper-md by Mark Huberman, National Health Association (29 April 2014).
Oliver Lodge (1851–1940) British physicist
Raymond, p. 298 https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=loc.ark:/13960/t80k3mq4s;view=1up;seq=340 <br class="br">Raymond, or Life and Death (1916)
John McCain (1936–2018) politician from the United States
"Bin Laden’s death and the debate over torture" in The Washington Post (11 May 2011) http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/bin-ladens-death-and-the-debate-over-torture/2011/05/11/AFd1mdsG_story.html <br class="br">2010s, 2011
Henry Morgenthau, Sr. (1856–1946) American diplomat
I was sent to Athens http://www.hri.org/docs/Morgenthau/
Wong Shun Leung (1935–1997) martial artist
Wong Shun Leung: "Your hand is able to reach your opponent long before your foot." <br class="br">Practical Fighting Concepts <br class="br">Source: Interview with Wong Shun Leung, by: Erle Montaigue http://www.vingtsunupdate.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=44&Itemid=77
Thomas Moore (1779–1852) Irish poet, singer and songwriter
The Minstrel Boy, st. 1. <br class="br"> Irish Melodies http://www.musicanet.org/robokopp/moore.html (1807–1834)
Letitia Elizabeth Landon (1802–1838) English poet and novelist
The Golden Violet - The Broken Spell
The Golden Violet (1827)
Michel Seuphor (1901–1999) designer, draughtsman, painter
Source: Abstract Painting (1964), pp. 100-101
Peter Farb (1929–1980) American academic and writer
Man's Rise to Civilization (1968)
Jimmy Carter (1924) American politician, 39th president of the United States (in office from 1977 to 1981)
Page 82
Post-Presidency, Our Endangered Values (2005)
Ann Coulter (1961) author, political commentator
"That was no lady — That was my husband" (28 June 2007).
2007
Ralph Peters (1952) American military officer, writer, pundit
Fox News interview (20 August 2014)
2010s
Ernst Bloch (1885–1977) German philosopher
Denn wir müssen sterben, mit kurzem Verzug, und vielleicht brauchen die Leichen keinen so weiten Faltenwurf, den Weg alles Fleisches zu gehen. Der brüderlich innere Reichtum wird nicht minder kurzer Spuk, verwest zu Baumrinde wie Rübezahls falsche Schätze: zeigt sich in ihm keine Kraft, gar den Tod zu bestehen, zu besiegen, mithin nicht nur von unten an hindurch zu gehen, sondern auch an sich selbst ein kräftig oberer Teil zu sein und das Wesenselement des ewigen Lebens.
Source: Man on His Own: Essays in the Philosophy of Religion (1959), p. 41
“Mourning is a hard business," Cesare said. "If people knew there'd be less death.”
Bernard Malamud (1914–1986) American author
"Life is Better than Death", in Idiots First (1963), p. 85
Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican scholastic philosopher of the Roman Catholic Church
in Aquinas: Selected Political Writings (Basil Blackwell: 1974), p. 183
Commentary on the Sentences of Peter Lombard
George William Curtis (1824–1892) American writer
1850s, The Present Aspect of the Slavery Question (1859)
Jack Layton (1950–2011) Leader of the New Democratic Party of Canada
During the federal election campaign, May 26, 2004[citation needed]
Oriana Fallaci (1929–2006) Italian writer
A Sermon for the West">From "A Sermon for the West" By Oriana Fallaci - Oct. 22, 2002 Address to an audience at the American Enterprise Institute
Frederick William Robertson (1816–1853) British writer and theologian
Source: Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers (1895), P. 119.
Letitia Elizabeth Landon (1802–1838) English poet and novelist
21st January 1826) Io triumphe (under the pen name Iole
The London Literary Gazette, 1826
“"Amused to Death" on Amused to Death (Roger Waters, 1992)”
Roger Waters (1943) English songwriter, bassist, and lyricist of Pink Floyd
Anthony Burgess (1917–1993) English writer
Non-Fiction, Homage to QWERT YUIOP: Selected Journalism 1978-1985 (1986)
Joseph Strutt (1749–1802) British engraver, artist, antiquary and writer
pg. 49
The Sports and Pastimes of the People of England (1801), Danes
Omar Khayyám (1048–1131) Persian poet, philosopher, mathematician, and astronomer
The Rubaiyat (1120)
Sid Vicious (1957–1979) English bassist and vocalist
Reported in George Gimarc, Punk Diary: The Ultimate Trainspotter's Guide to Underground Rock, 1970-1982 (2005), p 183.
Clement Attlee (1883–1967) Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Broadcast (22 April 1936), quoted in "Mr. Attlee on a war budget", The Times (23 April 1936), p. 16.
1930s
Jean-Étienne Montucla (1725–1799) French mathematician
This way of stating it will, no doubt, create a desire in most minds to discover the method of solving the problem; and however little taste people may possess for real science, they will be tempted to try iheir ingenuity in finding the answer to such a question at this. <br class="br">Source: Preface to Recreations in Mathematics and Natural Philosophy. (1803), p. ii; As cited in: Tobias George Smollett. The Critical Review: Or, Annals of Literature http://books.google.com/books?id=T8APAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA410, Volume 38, (1803), p. 410
Pierre Teilhard De Chardin book The Phenomenon of Man
pp. 273, 287–289 https://archive.org/stream/ThePhenomenonOfMan/phenomenon-of-man-pierre-teilhard-de-chardin#page/n137/mode/1up/, <br class="br">The Phenomenon of Man (1955)
Donald Miller book Blue Like Jazz: nonreligious thoughts on Christian spirituality
Blue Like Jazz (2003, Nelson Books)
Ron Paul (1935) American politician and physician
Fox Business Network, October 14, 2008 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qzUtPq8pLE <br class="br">2000s, 2006-2009
John G. Bennett (1897–1974) British mathematician and author
Source: Witness: the Story of a Search (1962), p. 90–91 cited in: "Gurdjieff’s Temple Dances by John G. Bennett", Gurdjieff International Review, on gurdjieff.org; About Fontainebleau 1923
Bernice King (1963) American minister, daughter of Martin Luther King, Jr.
King Center CEO Bernice A. King Statement on the Death of Nelson Mandela (06 December 2013) http://www.thekingcenter.org/news/2013-12-king-center-ceo-bernice-king-statement-death-nelson-mandela
Rousas John Rushdoony (1916–2001) American theologian
Source: Writings, The Institutes of Biblical Law (1973), p. 236
Ken Ham (1951) Australian young Earth creationist
"Kentucky Baptist Church allows first 'Gay Marriage'" http://blogs.answersingenesis.org/blogs/ken-ham/2014/07/11/kentucky-baptist-church-allows-its-first-gay-marriage/, Around the World with Ken Ham (July 11, 2014) <br class="br">Around the World with Ken Ham (May 2005 - Ongoing)
Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804–1864) American novelist and short story writer (1804 – 1879)
"The Artist of the Beautiful" (1844)
Arnold Hauser (1892–1978) Hungarian art historian
The Social History of Art, Volume I. From Prehistoric Times to the Middle Ages, 1999, Chapter III. Greece and Rome
Theodore L. Cuyler (1822–1909) American minister
Source: Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers (1895), P. 183.
Edgar Rice Burroughs book Tarzan of the Apes
Source: Tarzan of the Apes (1912), Ch. 12 : Man's Reason
Jane Roberts (1929–1984) American Writer
Session 396, Page 197
The Early Sessions: Sessions 1-42, 1997, The Early Sessions: Book 8
Thomas Ligotti (1953) American horror author
The Conspiracy Against the Human Race: A Contrivance of Horror (2010)
Miyamoto Musashi (1584–1645) Japanese martial artist, writer, artist
Variant translation: First, as is often said, a samurai must have both literary and martial skills: to be versed in the two is his duty. Even if he has no natural ability, a samurai must train assiduously in both skills to a degree appropriate to his status. On the whole, if you are to assess the samurai's mind, you may think it is simply attentiveness to the manner of dying.
Go Rin No Sho (1645), The Ground Book
Arthur Schopenhauer book Parerga and Paralipomena
Vol. 2, Ch. 26, sect. 311a
Parerga and Paralipomena (1851), Counsels and Maxims
Warren Farrell book The Myth of Male Power
Source: The Myth of Male Power (1993), Part II: The Glass Cellars of the disposable sex, p. 116.
Peter Benenson (1921–2005) English human rights activist
Source: Amnesty International (2002) The Amnesty International Report. p. 22
Eric Hoffer book The True Believer
Section 113, Ch. 17 The Practical Men of Action
The True Believer (1951), Part Four: Beginning and End
Letitia Elizabeth Landon (1802–1838) English poet and novelist
The Golden Violet - The Ring
The Golden Violet (1827)
H. G. Wells book The Invisible Man
Source: The Invisible Man (1897), Chapter 27: The Seige of Kemp's House
Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811–1896) Abolitionist, author
"Life's Mystery", reported in Charlotte Fiske Rogé, The Cambridge Book of Poetry and Song (1832), p. 544.
“Build your nest upon no tree here, for ye see that God hath sold the forest to death.”
Samuel Rutherford (1600–1661) Scottish Reformed theologian
Source: Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers (1895), P. 206.
Mikhail Bulgakov book The Master and Margarita
Book Two in 'Absolution and Eternal Refuge', MG. (Note: Alternate translation of above passage ('Gods, my gods...'))
The Master and Margarita (1967)
Robert N. Proctor (1954) American historian
Source: Racial Hygiene: Medicine Under the Nazis, 1988, p. 182
Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) 3rd President of the United States of America
"A death-bed Adieu from Th. J. to M. R." Jefferson's poem to his eldest child, Martha "Patsy" Randolph, written during his last illness in 1826. http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/prespoetry/tj.html Two days before his death, Jefferson told Martha that in a certain drawer in an old pocket book she would find something intended for her. https://books.google.com/books?id=1F3fPa1LWVQC&pg=PA429&dq=%22in+a+certain+drawer+in+an+old+pocket+book%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=NDa2VJX_OYOeNtCpg8gM&ved=0CCQQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=%22in%20a%20certain%20drawer%20in%20an%20old%20pocket%20book%22&f=false The "two seraphs" refer to Jefferson's deceased wife and younger daughter. His wife, Martha (nicknamed "Patty"), died in 1782; his daughter Mary (nicknamed "Polly" and also "Maria," died in 1804 <br class="br">1820s
Francesco Petrarca Il Canzoniere
Il sonno è veramente, qual uom dice,
parente de la morte, e 'l cor sottragge
a quel dolce penser che 'n vita il tene.
Canzone 226, st. 3
Il Canzoniere (c. 1351–1353), To Laura in Life
Charlotte Salomon (1917–1943) German painter
Charlotte's 4th ending, written page in brush, related to no. 4923v https://charlotte.jck.nl/detail/M004923/part/character/theme/keyword/M004923JHM: (555) 'Life? or Theater..', p. 820 <br class="br">Charlotte Salomon - Life? or Theater?
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) English writer
1754
Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919), Life of Johnson (Boswell)
J. S. Holliday (1924–2006) American historian
About disagreements in which routes to take on the way to California
The West (1996)
“The death of our close friends and relatives proves that how close the death is to us!”
Javad Alizadeh (1953) cartoonist, journalist and humorist
Quoted in Humor & Caricature (January 1996), p. 3
Laurell K. Hamilton (1963) Novelist
musings of Princess Meredith; p. 41
Merry Gentry series, A Stroke of Midnight (2005)
Diogenes Laërtius (180–240) biographer of ancient Greek philosophers
Anarcharsis, 5.
The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers (c. 200 A.D.), Book 2: Socrates, his predecessors and followers
K. S. Lal book Theory and Practice of Muslim State in India
Source: Theory and Practice of Muslim State in India (1999), Chapter 6
Richard Dawkins (1941) English ethologist, evolutionary biologist and author
FFRF 2012 National Convention, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJTQiChzTNI?t=43m19s
“And suns grow meek, and the meek suns grow brief,
And the year smiles as it draws near its death.”
William Cullen Bryant (1794–1878) American romantic poet and journalist
October. A Sonnet http://www.gutenberg.org/files/16341/16341-h/16341-h.htm#page115 (1866)
Tawakkol Karman (1979) Yemeni journalist, politician, human rights activist, and Nobel Peace Prize recipient
2000s, Youth Q&A on the U.N. High-Level Panel on the Post-2015 Agenda Report (2009)
Nassim Nicholas Taleb (1960) Lebanese-American essayist, scholar, statistician, former trader and risk analyst
Source: The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable (2007), p. 185
Garrett Fort (1900–1945) screenwriter
Dracula, talking to Lucy and Mina at the opera
Dracula (1931)
Wolfram von Eschenbach book Parzival
Du hôrtst och vor dir sprechen ie,
swer dem andern half daz er genas,
daz er sîn vîent dâ nâch was.
Bk. 10, st. 525, line 2; p. 266.
Parzival
Hubert Selby Jr. book The Room
The Room (1971)