Famous inscriptions on the graves of stars. Epitaphs of domestic and foreign poets of the 19th-20th centuries. "The best is yet to come"
Biography and episodes of life Alexandra Griboyedova. When born and died Alexander Griboyedov, memorable places and dates of important events of his life. Playwright Quotes, images and videos.
Years of life of Alexander Griboyedov:
born January 4, 1795, died January 30, 1829
Epitaph
“Your mind and deeds are immortal in Russian memory, but why did my love survive you?”
The inscription made by A. Griboedov’s wife on his tombstone
Biography
Alexander Sergeevich Griboyedov left a mark on Russian literature as the author of one work - the famous play “Woe from Wit”. Everything he wrote before this work was still youthfully immature, and everything he wrote after it was not completed by the author. Meanwhile, Griboedov was a man of brilliant mind and versatile talents: he composed music, played the piano beautifully, wrote critical articles and essays, and became prominent in the diplomatic service. Perhaps, if his life had not ended so tragically, today his descendants would have inherited a much more extensive legacy of Griboyedov.
Griboedov was born in Moscow into a wealthy family and from childhood was distinguished by his lively and sharp mind and ability to learn. At the age of 6, Griboyedov spoke three foreign languages fluently, and later learned three more.
After graduating from university, Griboyedov devoted some time to military service, but soon left it for writing exercises, metropolitan life and, subsequently, a diplomatic career. Griboedov was sent to the east, then to the Caucasus, learned four more languages and continued to work on translations, poems and prose.
There, in Tiflis, Griboedov married a beautiful and noble girl, Princess Nina Chavchavadze. Alas, the young people managed to live together for only a few months.
The death of Griboyedov in the prime of his life was sudden and tragic. A crowd of religious fanatics destroyed the Russian embassy in Tehran and killed everyone who was there. Griboedov's body was so mutilated that he could be identified only by the mark of a duel wound on his hand.
Griboyedov was buried in Tiflis, near the Church of St. David on the slope of Mount Mtatsminda. On the centenary of his death in 1929, a pantheon was opened at the burial site of the playwright and his wife, where the remains of many outstanding public figures of Georgia rested.
Life line
January 4, 1795 Date of birth of Alexander Sergeevich Griboyedov.
1803 Admission to the Moscow University Noble Boarding School.
1805 Working on the first poems.
1806 Admission to the literature department of Moscow University.
1808 Receiving the title of Candidate of Literary Sciences, continuing studies in the moral-political, and then in the physics and mathematics departments.
1812 Joining the volunteer Moscow Hussar Regiment of Count Saltykov.
1814 First literary experiments (articles, essays, translations) while serving in the rank of cornet.
1815 Moving to St. Petersburg. Publication of the comedy “Young Spouses”.
1816 Leaving military service. Joining the Masonic Lodge. The emergence of the idea of a comedy in the verses “Woe from Wit.”
1817 Entry into the diplomatic service (provincial secretary, later - translator at the College of Foreign Affairs).
1818 Appointment to the position of secretary in Tehran (in Persia).
1821 Transfer to Georgia.
1822 Appointment to the position of secretary under General Ermolov, commander of the Russian army in Tiflis.
1823 Returning to homeland, life in St. Petersburg and Moscow.
1824 Completion of the comedy "Woe from Wit".
1825 Return to the Caucasus.
1826 Arrest on suspicion of belonging to the Decembrists, investigation in St. Petersburg, release and return to Tiflis.
1828 Appointment as Resident Minister in Iran, marriage to Princess Nina Chavchavadze.
January 30, 1829 Date of death of Alexander Griboyedov.
June 18, 1829 Griboedov's funeral in Tiflis, near the Church of St. David.
Memorable places
1. House No. 17 on Novinsky Boulevard in Moscow, where Griboyedov was born and raised (a replica of the original building).
2. Moscow University, where Griboyedov studied.
3. House No. 104 (Walkha apartment building) on the embankment. Griboyedov Canal (formerly the Catherine Canal) in St. Petersburg, where the playwright lived in 1816-1818.
4. House No. 25 on Kirova Ave. (former Athenskaya Hotel) in Simferopol, where Griboyedov lived in 1825.
5. House No. 22 on the street. Chubinashvili in Tbilisi (formerly Tiflis), now the house-museum of Ilya Chavchavadze, where his granddaughter Nina was married to Griboedov.
6. Mtatsminda Pantheon in Tbilisi, where Griboedov is buried.
Episodes of life
In 1817, the famous quadruple duel took place with the participation of Griboedov, the cause of which was the famous ballerina Istomin. Griboedov and his opponent Yakubovich fought a year later than the first pair of duelists, and in this duel Griboyedov was wounded in the arm.
The famous E minor waltz, written by Griboyedov, is considered the first Russian waltz, the score of which has survived to this day.
At the time of her wedding with Griboyedov, Nina Chavchavadze was only 15 years old, but after the death of her husband she remained faithful to him and mourned him until her own death at the age of 45, rejecting all advances. Loyalty to her deceased husband earned his widow respect and fame among the people of Tiflis.
Testaments
“Blessed is he who believes, he has warmth in the world.”
“You don’t watch happy hours.”
“Enjoyment of life is not the goal,
Our life is no consolation.”
Two waltzes by A. Griboyedov
Condolences
“It has never happened in my life to see in any nation a person who loved his fatherland so ardently, so passionately, as Griboyedov loved Russia.”
Thaddeus Bulgarin, writer and critic
“The blood of the heart always played on his face. No one will boast of his flattery; no one will dare to say that they heard a lie from him. He could deceive himself, but never deceive.”
Alexander Bestuzhev, writer and critic
“There is something wild in Griboedov, de farouche, de sauvage, in pride: at the slightest irritation it rears up, but he is smart, fiery, and always fun to be with.”
Pyotr Vyazemsky, poet and critic
George (Lord) Byron - "Epitaph to Myself"
Nature, youth and the omnipotent God
They wanted me to light my lamp,
But Romanelli the doctor is terrible in his stubbornness:
He defeated all three, my lamp is extinguished!
***
George (Lord) Byron - "Epitaph for William Pitt"
I am not spared from death's claws,
Under a cold stone it smolders;
He is glorified by lies in the ward,
He has a bed in the abbey.
***
K. N. Batyushkov - “Epitaph”
No inscriptions are needed for my stone,
Just say it here: he was and he is not!
***
A. A. Delvig - “Epitaph”
Passerby, don't stand here! run quickly, go away,
And even then I was on tiptoe and didn’t move at all.
The clerk is lying here - don't wake him!
Otherwise it will torture you! “As long as it’s like that.”
***
A. A. Delvig - “Epitaph”
What was his life like? heavy sleep.
What is death? awakening from terrible dreams.
Woke up, he smiled -
And again, maybe the dream began there.
***
A. A. Delvig - “Epitaph on the death of S. D. Ponomareva”
She played with earthly life like a baby with a toy.
She soon broke it: she was probably consoled there.
***
Rudyard Kipling - "Epitaphs"
I didn’t know how to work, I didn’t dare to rob,
All my life I have lied from the rostrum to the gullible and young,
He lied to the chicks.
Having met everyone I killed, everyone who was deceived by me,
I’ll ask them, the dead, if in the next world they hit you in the face
Are we liars?
I went to urinate not where the rest of the soldiers were.
And the sniper sent me to the next world at that very second.
I think you're wrong to make fun of me
The deceased in principle, without changing his rules.
Naval convoy commander
There is no worse job than herding fools.
The senselessly brave ones - even more so.
But I brought them to my native shores
By my posthumous will.
Epitaph for Canadians
Having given everything, I will not rise from the dust,
I don't need words or praise.
I didn't live dying of fear
I killed the fear in myself and fought.
Former clerk
Do not Cry! The army gave
Freedom for the timid slave.
Dragged by the collar
From the office to fate,
Where is he, having learned what it means to dare,
Got the courage to love
And, having fallen in love, he went to his death,
And he died. Fortunately, maybe.
They quickly gave up on me -
On the first day, the first bullet to the forehead.
Children love to jump up from their seats in the theater -
I forgot that this is a trench.
Rookie
Quickly, roughly and skillfully in a short earthly journey
Both my spirit and my body were trained by the war.
I wonder what God can do to me
Beyond what the sergeant major has already done?
I didn't dare look at death
Attacking in broad daylight
And people, blindfolded,
They took me to her at night.
Orderly
I knew that he was subordinate to me and would die to save me.
He died without knowing that everything should be the other way around!
A. - I was rich, like a Rajah.
B. - And I was poor.
Together. - But to the next world without luggage
We're both going.
***
Lermontov M. Yu. - “Epitaph”
(to the drowned player)
Who worked to dig a hole for others,
He fell into it himself - the scripture says so.
You justified it, my Boston eccentric,
He drowned people and drowned.
***
Lermontov M. Yu. - “Epitaph”
Sorry! will we see each other again?
And will death want to bring you together?
Two victims of the earth's lot,
Who knows! So forgive me, forgive me!..
You gave me life, but you didn’t give me happiness;
You yourself were persecuted in the world,
You have only tasted evil in people...
But we understand there was one.
And the one when sobbing
The crowd was leaning over you
He stood there without wiping his eyes,
Motionless, cold and mute.
And all, without knowing the reason,
They blamed him impudently,
It's like the moment of your death
It was a moment of happiness for him.
But what does their exclamation matter to him?
Madmen! couldn't understand
It's easier to cry than to suffer
Without any signs of suffering.
***
Lermontov M. Yu. - “Epitaph of Napoleon”
Yes, no one blames your shadow,
Man of rock! you are with people who have doom over you;
He who knew how to lead you, only he could overthrow you:
Nothing changes great things.
***
Maykov A. N. - “Epitaph”
Here in the valley of sorrow, to a peaceful abode
The earth accepts us:
The poor inhabitant of the world will lie down to rest
On my mother's chest.
Soon the moss will cover the inscription on the tomb
And the name will be erased;
But for those who are powerless, time is a wreck,
Whose memory
Will plunge you into thought and tears from your heart
Sweet ones will vomit.
***
Pushkin A. S. - “My epitaph”
Pushkin is buried here; he is with a young muse,
With love and laziness spent a cheerful century,
He did not do good, but he was a soul,
By God, a good man.
***
Pushkin A. S. - “Epitaph for a Baby”
In radiance, in joyful peace,
At the throne of the eternal creator,
With a smile he looks into earthly exile,
He blesses his mother and prays for his father.
“Every person is a world that is born with him and dies with him; beneath every gravestone lies world history.”
Heinrich Heine
"BE HAPPY WHILE YOU'RE ALIVE..."
One day, a young but very unhappy man decided to commit suicide. Namely, shoot yourself. Since this young man was not only unhappy, but also extremely shy, in order not to bother anyone or cause undue attention to himself, he chose the city cemetery as the place to commit suicide. I also chose the right time and date - midnight, on a full moon. And so, quietly walking through the moonlit cemetery, our young man began to look for a bench, sitting on which he could calmly settle scores with the villainess of fate. As luck would have it, or fortunately, there were no benches anywhere. Having passed several dozen graves, the young man suddenly almost screamed in surprise: in front of him, illuminated by the full moon, stood a girl, all in black clothes and... with wings behind her back. And only after looking closely, he sighed calmly: it was an ordinary monument. The kind that are often placed on the graves of children and young girls. The young man’s attention was involuntarily drawn to the text carved at the foot of the angel. The girl's name... date of birth and death... and - inscription in Latin:
“Heus tu, viator lasse, qui me praetereis.” Veni hoc et queiesce pusilu. Cum diu ambulareis, tamen hoc veniundum est tibi. Bene vive, propera..."
The young man knew Latin and, after reading the text, froze in even greater surprise. “Hey, passer-by, you’re obviously tired of walking. Rest here for a while. Your path is still long, although it will end here. Go and be happy while you are alive...” read the text of the epitaph.
These unusual words produced a magical effect: backing away from the black angel, bumping into fences and bushes, the young man took a revolver out of his pocket and threw it to the side. Then he turned and started to run away.
So a few words inscribed on the grave saved the life of Stefan Zweig, in the future - the famous Austrian writer.
“IF ONE DAY YOU FEEL THE HAPPIEST OF YOURSELF...”
What is an epitaph? This word consists of two Greek words: “epi” - “above” and “taphos” - “grave”. This is what was originally called a funeral oration in Ancient Greece, and later a funeral inscription. It is believed that the art of epitaphs arose in Ancient Greece, although numerous hieroglyphs that covered the sarcophagi of the ancient Egyptians, and grave inscriptions in Ancient Judea, Babylon, Parthia, not to mention Ancient China and, especially, Japan, where grave inscriptions acquired status of art.
Nowhere, perhaps, can one find such laconic and as beautiful sayings as in old Japanese cemeteries:
“It’s too late to cover a gravestone with a warm blanket”
"It's not hard to die, it's hard to live"
“Bad deeds are dust for eternity, good deeds are also dust. But how do you want to be remembered?”
One of the Russian television journalists who visited Japan spoke with delight about the beauty of Japanese cemeteries, citing unusual and wise inscriptions he read on the gravestones. One of them - it was the grave of a young woman - especially struck him. The text read:
“While you were alive, you did not appreciate me, my dear. How you died, whether you value it or not, I don’t care, my dear...”
An old French proverb teaches: “If one day you feel like the happiest person in the world, go to the cemetery. And when you feel most unhappy, go there again.” Philosophers and psychologists often like to give this advice. And for good reason: there, in the cemetery, in the uncomfortable silence, peering at the faded photographs of the dead, reading the mournful lines on the cold, gloomy slabs, you involuntarily sober up - both from the insane euphoria of happiness and from the debilitating mental pain.
Let us, dear reader, take a short walk through the cemeteries of the world and get acquainted with what people write on their graves. And, as it turns out, they write all sorts of things...
"WE ARE ALL SITTING IN THE GUTTER..."
Let's start with the epitaphs of famous people. Here is the beginning of the text inscribed on the slab under which the great physicist Newton is buried in Westminster Abbey:
“Here lies Isaac Newton, who, with his unparalleled strength of mind and the power of mathematics, first explained the movement of the planets, the paths of comets, the ebb and flow of the ocean...”
A stone's throw from Newton's grave lies the ashes of another outstanding scientist, Charles Darwin. On the wall there is a small bas-relief depicting Darwin and the inscription:
“Charles Darwin was born February 12, 1809. Died April 19, 1882. Author of “The Origin of Species” and other natural scientific works.”
On the tombstone of the great mathematician Leibniz there are only two words: “To the genius of Leibniz.”
“He snatched the lightning from the sky, and then the scepters from the tyrants,” is carved on the bust of Benjamin Franklin, an American philosopher, freedom fighter, naturalist, inventor of the lightning rod and rocking chair.
“He who stopped the sun moved the earth,” is written on the pedestal of the monument to Nicolaus Copernicus, which stands in the city of Toruń.
“Finally happy” - this short phrase, which has nothing to do with science or his services to it, was asked to be placed on his grave by one of the creators of the doctrine of electricity - Ampere.
On the grave of Vsevolod Bagritsky, who died in the Great Patriotic War, the lines of Marina Tsvetaeva are written:
“I don’t accept eternity!
Why was I buried?
I didn't want to go to the ground so bad
From my beloved land!
The inscription on the grave of Andrei Tarkovsky at the Russian cemetery of Sainte-Geneviève des Bois in Paris: “To the man who saw an angel.”
Here is a tombstone inscription from the Saltykov family cemetery, near the estate of the writer M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin Spas-Ugol: “Passer, you are walking, not lying down like me. Stay and rest on my coffin. Tear off the epic and remember fate. I'm home. You are visiting. Think about yourself. Like you, I was alive, You too will die, like me..."
On the monument to the legendary Moscow doctor Fyodor Gaaz, his famous motto is carved: “Hurry to do good!”
Another famous epitaph is inscribed on the grave of Alexander Griboyedov: “Your mind and deeds are immortal in Russian memory, but why did my love survive you” (To Alexander Griboyedov - Nina Griboyedova. Tbilisi.)
And finally, one of the most brilliant epitaphs adorns the grave of the English writer Oscar Wilde. This is one of his famous paradox quotes: “We are all sitting in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.”
“Memorabilia” of the Great Ones
The famous Hungarian mathematician, one of the creators of non-Euclidean geometry, Janos Bolyai, wrote in his modest will: “There is no need to erect any monument over my grave - only an apple tree in memory of three apples: two, Eve and Paris, who turned the Earth into hell, and an apple Newton, who again raised the Earth to the circle of celestial bodies." Alas, even this request of Boyai was not fulfilled. He died in terrible poverty and was buried in a common grave. And to the entry in the Reformed church, someone added: “His life was spent without any benefit...”
Something similar happened to the French writer Jules Renard. “In my monument,” he jokingly wrote in his Diary, “hollow out a small hole on the top of the head so that birds will fly there to drink.” He did not wait for the monument. He spent his last days in a hospital for the poor. Until the last day, he did not stop writing the Diary, with bitter irony noting in it his thoughts and feelings - the feelings of such a sick person that he was no longer able to control the discharge of natural needs...
Many of the famous writers, poets and artists composed their own epitaphs. They were not always actually intended for their future graves, but we will be curious to know what they reported in these, albeit often humorous, but largely true, “memos” about themselves.
Epitaph of the poet Konstantin Batyushkov:
No inscriptions are needed for my stone,
Just say it here: he was and he is not!
Epitaph of Alexander Pushkin:
Pushkin is buried here; he is with a young muse,
With love and laziness spent a cheerful century,
He did not do good, but he was a soul,
By God, good man.
Mikhail Lermontov came up with the following lines for himself:
Simple-hearted son of freedom,
He did not spare his life for his feelings;
And true features of nature
He often liked to copy.
He believed dark predictions
And talismans, and love,
And unnatural desires
He sacrificed his days.
And in it the soul kept a reserve
Bliss, torment and passion.
He died. Here is his grave.
It was not created for people.
The popular satirist poet of the early 20th century, Vladimir Solovyov, believed that the funeral lines about him should certainly be the simplest and at the same time moralizing:
Vladimir Soloviev
Lies in this place.
First there was a philosopher
And now he has become a skeleton.
Having been kind to others,
He was also an enemy to many;
But, loving madly,
He plunged into the ravine himself.
He lost his soul
Not to mention the body:
The devil took her
The dogs ate him.
Passerby! Learn from this example,
How destructive is love and how useful is faith.
TWO MOST BEAUTIFUL EPITAPHS
If we talk about Russian literary epitaphs, then, perhaps, the most beautiful of them were composed by two outstanding Russian poets - Ivan Bunin and Marina Tsvetaeva. Impeccably elegant, subtle, sensitive Bunin wrote many beautiful lines. Among them is the “Grave Inscription”:
There are no, Lord, sins and atrocities
Above Thy mercy!
Slave of the earth and vain desires
Forgive his sins for his sorrows.
I kept the covenant of love sacredly in my life:
In days of melancholy, in defiance of reason,
I did not harbor any enmity against my brother,
I have forgiven everything according to Your word.
I, who have known deathly silence,
I, who have accepted the sorrows of darkness,
From the depths of the earth I preach the gospel to the earth
Verbs of Unsunset Beauty!
And yet the most beautiful, in my opinion, epitaph belongs to the pen of Marina Tsvetaeva. This poem simply cannot be read and forgotten. Written in May 1913 in Koktebel, it fascinates with its simple rhythm and some otherworldly, incomprehensible, frighteningly alluring meaning:
You're coming, looking like me,
Eyes looking down.
I lowered them too!
Passerby, stop!
Read - night blindness
And picking a bouquet of poppies,
That my name was Marina
And how old was I?
Don't think that this is a grave
That I will appear, threatening...
I loved myself too much
Laugh when you shouldn't!
And the blood rushed to the skin,
And my curls curled...
I was there too, a passerby!
Passerby, stop!
Pluck yourself a wild stem
And a berry after him, -
Cemetery strawberries
It doesn't get any bigger or sweeter.
But just don't stand there sullenly.
Head down on his chest,
Think about me easily
It's easy to forget about me.
How the beam illuminates you!
You're covered in gold dust...
“A BEE HUMMED AT THE WINDOW...”
Let's return to real epitaphs. Some of them, despite their apparent simplicity and even unattractiveness, cannot be read without trembling. Perhaps these inscriptions are devoid of any artistic merit, but they are absolutely sincere, since they were not composed with a cold mind, but with a hot, aching heart. And therefore it is very difficult to read them in a calm and even voice.
Here, for example, are the touching words of a husband, widowed after thirty-three years of marriage, who complains that the death of his wife broke his heart.
“Oh, if heaven would have it that the fate that took you away should befall us both!” And then, just below, the words: “With her death, she upset me for the first time.”
The Roman aristocrat Julia Philemation, distinguished by her kindness and charity, earned the following elegant epitaph from her freedmen: “Her character, her beauty, all her happy gifts were sweeter than honey.”
Here is another inscription read in a Roman cemetery. Some woman, apparently not particularly jealous, but loving her husband, gives him the following advice from the depths of her grave:
“My friend, drive away the sadness, have fun and come to me.”
And here are several epitaphs from Perm cemeteries. One of Maria Zhuravleva’s relatives left the following farewell lines:
"Our life without you,
It's like midnight.
In a foreign and unknown land,
Oh sleep, our Manichka, sleep, dear,
With the Lord in the bright paradise."
A quiet, timid, powerless protest of a shocked consciousness breaks through the words of the epitaph of the Cherdyntsev merchants:
“Here the cold grave hid my father and mother. Your coffin of God is covered with earth, a white cross erected over you, it is consecrated with a heartfelt prayer, sprinkled with a sincere tear. Even if you are buried in a grave, even if you are forgotten by others, but at my call, dear ones, you, as before, alive, will quietly stand above me.”
On the tombstone cross of Countess Gendrikova and Goflektrix Schneider there is an inscription from which we learn that both women, courtiers of the last Tsarina Alexandra Romanova, were hostages of the Bolshevik regime, both were brutally killed. On their monument there are poems by an unknown author:
“...And at the threshold of the grave
Breathe into the mouths of your slaves
Superhuman powers
Pray meekly for your enemies."
The tombstone of children's writer E. F. Trutneva depicts an open book with the quatrain:
"A bee was buzzing at the window
And suddenly she flew into the school like a bullet.
She thinks about school:
“What a cheerful, noisy hive!”
“I’M SORRY THAT I WAS LEFT WITH AIR THAT YOU DIDN’T BREATH...”
The simple epitaph can be read on the tombstone of Anna Titova from the Bolsheokhtinskoye cemetery:
“In this place is laid the body of God’s servant, Anna, who was married for 16 years and 2 months to the St. Petersburg copper workshop master Yakov Titov. She died suddenly on the day of Alexander Nevsky's holiday at a gathering of guests, offering it to eight people at the end of the table, and went out with a glass to another room to serve it to others. And as she put it, she said: “Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God! Why has it become dark in my eyes? And she said to her husband: “Yakov Matveevich, sir! hold me, I’ll fall,” and having sunk like that, she died on August 30, 1776, at three o’clock in the afternoon. Her age was 32 years and 7 months...”
But here is the inscription on the surviving modest monument to Pavlik Permyakov. This artless epitaph, dedicated to a child (1887-1902), is also capable of touching any soul:
"Rest, dear child,
Only in death is the desired peace,
Only in death are eyelashes thick
They won’t flash a hot tear..."
The monument was erected by inconsolable parents. Like this one:
“The last gift to our dear children Bora and Misha Melnikov. Sleep, dear children, sound sleep. Everlasting memory"
This “gift” is a concrete cross on a roughly made stone quadrangle, the kind that was installed in the mid-20s.
Someone said: the meaning of any tombstone can be expressed in these words: “I’m sorry that during your life we did not give you bread, but after your death we gave you a stone.” Pay attention and think hard: regret (about not being given “bread”, attention, love...) sounds in almost every epitaph.
“Dear angel, I’m sorry - it’s my fault that I wasn’t with you at the hour of death.”
“Forgive me for bringing flowers to your stove under the starry sky. I'm sorry that I was left with the air that you didn't breathe..."
A few more touching epitaphs:
“Hush, birch trees, don’t make noise with the leaves, don’t wake up my son Seryozha!”
“You left us very early. No one could save you. There is a wound in our hearts forever. As long as we are alive, you are with us.”
“Your death burned my heart with grief. Without you, what is peace and worldly affairs to me.”
“You will not return, you will not look back, you will not become wise and gray-haired, you will remain in our memory, always alive and young.”
“That’s all... Your eyes are closed, your lips are compressed, there’s a shadow on your eyelashes, but you can’t believe your parent’s heart, that you, son, passed away on this day.”
AND LAUGHTER AND SIN
The compilers of the anthology “Russian Poetic Epitaph” write in the preface: “The moment of death of a loved one is always a shock that exacerbates the feeling of the fragility and fragility of human existence. A need to comprehend life appears, obeying which neither a philosopher nor a poet begins to philosophize and think in poetry.” This is how we correctly identify that part of the authors whose epitaphs cannot be read without smiling. For example:
“...How did you return home from the grave?
I've been sad for a long, long time.
I bent down to look at my chest - I lost you like my heart..."
Curiosities of this kind are not uncommon.
Here are excerpts from epitaphs from Moscow cemeteries:
“Sleep well, dear husband, candidate of economic sciences”
“To my dear husband - from my dear wife”
“From my wife and Mosenergo”
“(So-and-so), a merchant’s daughter. She lived in the world for eighty-two years, six months and four days without a break.”
Inscription on the Odessa cemetery:
“To Brother Monet from his sisters and brothers - as a good memory.”
At the cemetery in Jerusalem: “I loved you and you loved me, thank you for burying me.” “Sleep well, wife of the famous singer Rasul Tokumbayev” (surname changed).
Epitaphs from St. Petersburg cemeteries:
“Here lies the maiden Anna Lvovna Stallion. Cry, unfortunate sister, shed bitter tears, father. You, girl Anna Lvovna, sleep in your grave in cold blood.”
“I just lay down to rest. And the doctor immediately: - Dead? To the morgue!
Inscription in chalk on the grave of a woman of “easy virtue”:
“Deathly silence. This is the first time I’m lying alone.”
Here are some epitaphs from old English cemeteries (translated by Marshak). Inscription on the grave of an English soldier:
I, a grenadier, lie in the damp ground,
I caught a cold after drinking a glass of beer.
Don't drink beer when it's hot
Drink alcohol and you will live!
At the poet's grave:
Here under the slab lies a poet.
I've been waiting for trump cards in the deck for years,
and crosses and worms fell out.
Another inscription:
Lay down under the grave's canopy
careless Uncle Peter.
Only because on a May day
I left my sweater at home.
And here are literary translations of French epitaphs (translator - V. Vasiliev). On the grave of the wife of the poet Du Laurent:
“My wife sleeps here. Oh what
And she has peace, and I have peace!”
On the grave of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, who died of stone disease (the intendant of finance, under whom a cruel taxation system was introduced):
Here Colbert became a spoil of the earth,
a cruel illness struck him down.
Five stones were found in the autopsied corpse,
Of which the heart was the hardest.
On the grave of the unknown traveler:
Don't cry that you put it in this urn
The explorer Pierre is mortal dust.
Pierre traveled a lot around the world,
But I haven’t been to heaven yet.
At the pharmacist's grave:
“Here rests the one who all his life, without laziness, knelt before his behind.”
EPITAPHS FROM ALEXANDROVICH'S COLLECTION
Talking about various curious epitaphs, one cannot fail to mention the collection of the famous translator G. Aleksandrovich. Here are some of the most interesting ones:
“He lies down in a coffin of cypress wood and entertains the most exquisite worms.” (Epitaph on the grave of a rich man in the English city of Leeds.)
“Here old Martin Elginbrod Reposes on a hard bed. Have mercy on his sinful soul, O God! He would certainly place you in paradise, If only you were him, and he you.” (Epitaph on the grave of Martin Elginbrod in the Scottish city of Aberdeen.)
“They don’t pay chimney taxes in this house. Is it any wonder that old Rebecca couldn’t resist such a home.” (Epitaph on the grave of Rebecca Bogges in the English city of Folkestone.)
“The most terrible thing for him from all the torments of hell is that you are reading this epitaph on his grave for free.” (Epitaph on the grave of a moneylender. Père Lachaise cemetery.)
“He conquered all the flowers except the immortelle.” (Epitaph on the gardener's grave).
“May God forgive him some of his sins for the many thousands of tourists that he attracts to our city.” (Inscription on the grave of the famous robber Dick Turpin in the English city of York.)
“He never repaid any debts except those of nature.” (Epitaph on the grave of a spendthrift. Père Lachaise cemetery.)
“Even though he was universally recognized as mediocre, he was not elected to the Academy.” (Auto-epitaph of the 17th century French satirical poet Pyrrhon. Cemetery of Père Lachaise.)
“Here lies Esther Wright, whom God called to himself. Her disconsolate husband, Thomas Wright, the best stonemason in America, executed this inscription with his own hand and is ready to do the same for you for $250.” (Epitaph on the grave of Esther Wright in the American city of Minneapolis.)
“Here lies buried Mr. Gerald Bates, whose disconsolate widow Ann Bates resides at 7 Elmstreet and, at 24 years of age, has everything one could ask for in an ideal wife.” (Epitaph on the grave of J. Bates in Charleston, USA).
UNUSUAL EPITAPHS
Among the famous, touching and curious epitaphs, you can also find simply unusual ones. Here's one of them:
“Here lie the mortal remains of one who was handsome without vanity, strong without arrogance, courageous without daring, and who combined the virtues of manhood without the associated sins. This praise, which would be a vain boast over human dust, is worthy of the memory of a dog named Botswain, who was born in Newfoundland in May 1803, and died at Newstead Abbey November 18, 1808.”
The famous English poet Byron ordered this text to be written on the grave of his beloved dog.
Monuments to pets are not uncommon. In Europe and the USA, entire cemeteries for animals have long existed. On one of them you can find a funny - there is no other way to say it - epitaph for the regimental favorite:
“The regimental donkey Marsik is buried here. During his life he kicked 3 colonels, 7 majors, 11 captains, 26 lieutenants, 98 sergeants, 670 privates and one mine.”
The epitaph from the cat cemetery in Hildenborough (England) is sad and touching:
“Why do girls and cats leave home? Bobby slipped out of number six London Road, got hit by a car and sleeps here forever."
The following epitaph, created in 1844 by the Oryol poet I. Suslov, is no less touching:
Under this small tubercle,
Blooming in a low garden,
My crooked cat with a lame marmot
Buried in a thin box.
And yet, most of all, monuments are erected not to cats, marmots and donkeys, but to dogs. And this is understandable. As Blaise Pascle said, “The more I interact with people, the more I love my dog.” Here are some dog epitaphs:
“My dog is Ba-Ba. I will never forget you, and no one will replace you for me."
"Joe Follett. Not just a dog: a human being"
“Our gentle little and sweet Bleinheim.
You brought a ray of sunshine into our lives and took it away with you.”
“Here lies our dear Frou-Frou, a reliable friend and faithful companion. She enjoyed people and made people happy.”
But here is a completely human epitaph: “The Kingdom of Heaven to you, our dear Milchen! God be with you, faithful friend!
And finally, not an epitaph, but real poetry (quote from a poem by Lamartine, in prose translation):
“Come, my faithful friend, consolation of my days, Lick my tear-stained face, place your heart on my heart, and let us love each other - for the sake of love.”
But let's return to human graves. Mikhail Zoshchenko in his book “Before Sunrise” recalls the Hermitage librarian I.F. Luzhkov, who lived in St. Petersburg at the end of the 18th century. According to contemporaries, this librarian treated all funeral matters with extraordinary zeal and almost every day attended the funeral services of dead people completely unknown to him, dug graves for the poor in cemeteries for free, loved to write epitaphs and carved on the tombstone of one of his relatives:
Here is another unusual epitaph. In the necropolis of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra there is a burial place of a 17-year-old son of a famous noble family, who died in 1827. The monument explains, not without malice, why the boy died at such a young age:
“Here is buried the Artillery Junker School harness cadet Count Vasily Vasilyevich Orlov-Denisov. His life ceased from excessive diligence in science and excellent zeal for service; his good character and good character promised a faithful servant to the Emperor and a useful son to the Fatherland.”
But here is a barely visible inscription on the grave of a two-year-old girl (the epitaph belongs to the famous Russian historian Nikolai Karamzin. “One tender mother,” Karamzin recalled, “asked me to compose a gravestone inscription for her deceased two-year-old daughter. I offered her a choice... five epitaphs; she chose the last one and ordered it to be carved on the coffin...):
“Rest in peace, dear dust, until a joyful morning!”
A few more unusual epitaphs:
“He was not considered a sage,
And I was not known as a brave man,
But bow to him -
He was a man"
“Become a better person and understand who you are before you meet someone new and hope that they will understand you.”
“Born on a Tuesday, he entered the army on a Tuesday, received his resignation on a Tuesday, and finally died on a Tuesday.”
“We must live joyfully, colorfully, brightly,” is the motto-epitaph inscribed on the grave of the artist Pyotr Ivanovich Subbotin-Permyak.
"REAL ESTATE"
We began our story about epitaphs with the story of Stefan Zweig, the story of how a few words inscribed on a grave saved the life of a young writer. Having started "in good health", let's finish this sad topic on a major wave. To do this, let us quote a short story by the famous Russian poet Igor Guberman. He talks about how a comic epitaph he composed brought his friend back to life.
“My friend was approaching thirty when he got married. He adored his wife, and outwardly their happiness seemed complete and cloudless. But a year later he got divorced. I didn’t know the reasons and didn’t ask; we weren’t that close people. Married again. It was during this period that we became more friendly. And one day he came to me to say goodbye: he decided to die. And, of course, he told me the reason (now it will become clear). After listening to him, I lit a cigarette and slowly answered this:
Look, I have no right to interfere in your fate. You have decided - your business. But I want to warn you in a friendly way: I will ruin it, I will vulgarize and compromise your heroic departure with some dirty epitaph. So decide.
And by evening I had already brought him the epitaph:
Money, fame and power
neglected this dust and decay,
from real estate
The deceased only had a penis.
My friend was angry and laughed, called me bad names a couple of times, but was clearly thoughtful. And I left, I fulfilled my duty. And then the main thing happened: he recovered! And everything in his family became good. And that the reason for this is the mystical power of the epitaph is clear to everyone who understands...”
Alexander KAZAKEVICH
Monuments of impressive originality are often erected on the graves of people who were famous during their lifetime. The sculptural compositions are stunning in their magnificence and realism, and the memorable inscriptions make you think. Some celebrity burial places, on the contrary, look modest. The most famous cemeteries in the world even offer excursions so that everyone can see the memorial monuments with their own eyes. In this article we will tell you what the graves of great people of the past look like.
Père Lachaise Cemetery
One of the most famous cemeteries in Europe contains the remains of many legendary people.
At the grave of the great composer Federic Chopin there are always a lot of flowers. The monument represents the figure of the muse of lyrical poetry and music, Euterpe, bending over an instrument. The sculpture is installed on a high stand. Interestingly, it was Chopin who wrote the famous funeral march.
At the burial site of Oscar Wilde It was necessary to install a glass fence to protect the monument. The fact is that numerous fans of the writer leave imprints of their lipstick on the monument, which poses a threat to the monument, given the number of visitors. At the grave of the author of the saying “Everything can be survived except death” there is a monument with the image of a sphinx.
Before installing the fence:
With protective glass:
The most visited and “noisy” Père Lachaise grave - burial place of Jim Morrison, frontman of The Doors. The appearance of the burial site underwent numerous changes: the monument appeared, disappeared, and was painted by fans. Now the musician’s grave is decorated with a modest tombstone in a laconic style.
Quite modest for a famous person Tombstone of Honore de Balzac Many people visit every year. The monument is presented in the form of a bust of the writer mounted on a high pedestal.
Celebrity burial sites in Forest Low, Los Angeles
Forest Low is the final resting place of many famous people associated with Hollywood. The cemetery, located in the Hollywood hills, is more reminiscent of a park for serene walks, and does not at all evoke sad thoughts.
At Elizabeth Taylor's grave There is a tall marble sculpture of an angel, above which there is the inscription In Memoria, which means “In Memory”. The burial is located in the crypt.
Also at the famous Hollywood Cemetery Michael Jackson is buried. Access to the burial of the King of Pop is closed today, although it was free at first. Although the monument looks modest, it is always strewn with notes from fans.
Famous animator Walt Disney buried in the vicinity of the above-mentioned celebrities. There is a modest plaque hanging on the wall, and plants are planted near it and a small sculptural composition is installed.
Zentralfriedhof
Vienna's central cemetery is one of the largest in Europe. The place is attractive with a large number of graves of famous composers who had a huge influence on the development of music and forever went down in history. Musicians sometimes come here to perform great works in the presence of their idols.
Beethoven's grave is a modest-sized burial, however, superbly decorated with various elements. A gilded image of a musical instrument is placed on the marble monument. The monument is decorated with intricate carvings.
Monument to Mozart, contrary to popular belief, was not installed near the composer’s ashes. The remains rest in another Viennese cemetery. The high stone base is crowned with a sculpture.
The probable poisoner of Mozart also rests here - Antonio Salieri.
Composer Schubert has 2 graves since his ashes were transferred in 1881. Like other burials, fresh flowers appear here regularly.
The Vienna Central Cemetery is worth a visit for fans and connoisseurs of classical music. The invisible presence of the world's greatest composers creates a special atmosphere and leaves a lot of impressions.
Other celebrity graves
Highgate Cemetery in London is famous Karl Marx's grave. The burial site is visited daily by fans of Marxism from all over the world. Unknown people tried to blow up the tombstone twice. On the grave there is a stone statue with recognizable facial features of the famous figure.
Marilyn Monroe buried in Westwood Cemetery, Los Angeles. Fresh roses regularly appear on the modest grave - the actress’s favorite flowers.
The Great Shakespeare rests in a modest church, in the altar part of the building. The unusual choice is due to the location of the building in the writer’s hometown.
For visiting the burial Elvis Presley They recently started charging a fee, which angered fans.
Many people want to see with their own eyes the last resting places of great people. Visiting the grave of your idol allows you to express respect, lay flowers, and say words of gratitude.
Gravestone inscriptions
in memory of the best people
The inscriptions on tombstones are epitaphs, the last words dedicated to the dead. When choosing a monument, you need to think about what the material, shape, size will be, and also how you can complement the tombstone. As a rule, artistic elements are used, including inscriptions. It is very difficult to choose words that could reflect your feelings and tell about a person close to you. The site’s employees are ready to help and select the best epitaphs for the tombstone.
Short epitaphs
Stars don't die
They just go beyond the horizon...
***
He who is dear does not die,
Only it ceases to be with us...
***
Loved ones don't leave.
Only they stop being with us...
***
People can't live forever
But happy is he who remembers the name!
***
A terrible moment of cruel fate
Left us with lifelong sorrow...
***
The fate of your fate is cruel
Left us with lifelong pain...
***
May God grant them eternal peace,
And may eternal light shine upon them...
***
To the one who was dear during life
From those who remember and mourn.
***
I raised you, but I didn’t save you.
And now the grave will save you.
***
Again the sun is covered by clouds,
Once again we have no control over fate...
***
Living under the carpet of the Almighty
Under the shadow of the Almighty rests...
***
There is faith that conquers eternity
And man is in the immortality of the soul
***
To the one who was dear during life,
Whose memory is dear after death...
***
Without you the sun has dimmed for us
And the whole earth was empty...
***
From that world on the stone of faith
A cure for grief...
***
He who believes in God is blessed,
Even if he doesn’t know anything...
***
We start to admire late -
Almost always, as you need to leave.
Epitaphs - gravestone inscriptions
Quiet trees
Don't make noise with the leaves.
Mommy is sleeping
You won't wake her.
***
Don't wait for me
I won't come to you.
Don't write to me,
I'll wait for you...
***
Everything was in it -
Soul, talent and beauty.
Everything sparkled for us
Like a bright dream.
***
Time won't smooth it out
Your trace is deep.
Everything in the world exists
You're just not there.
***
We stand frozen
Under a tree without leaves
How much is it -
Bad and good -
Is there more to come?
But don't be afraid -
Open your heart
And boldly go ahead of successes and adversities
And I?
And I will follow you.
After all, we are me and you.
***
Can't reach with your hand
You won't be with me
Your death has separated
Forever you and me.
***
Our grief cannot be measured
And you can’t shed tears,
We make you feel alive
We will love forever.
***
We come here
To put flowers,
It’s very difficult, dear,
We can live without you.
***
They die forever!
And there will be no repetition...
Just a distant star
Receive our reflection.
***
In the hands of Almighty God,
Creator of life and death
I give my spirit...
***
Be happy people!
Life is like the sun - one!
Let neither the blizzards nor the heat cool down
A joyful moment of fire.
***
We are all grieving
That you are no longer with us,
But time will not go back.
We will cherish the memory forever
In our loving hearts.
***
Grief is not asked for
The grief is immeasurable
Everything precious in the world is lost...
***
Don't be ashamed passerby
Remember my ashes
Because I’m already home, and you’d still be visiting...
***
We lost you early
Separation from you is hard,
But your image is bright and sweet
Always in our memory.
***
When a loved one passes away,
There remains an emptiness in my soul,
Which nothing can heal.
***
Nobody could save you
Died very early
But the bright image is your dear
We will always remember.
***
Evil death has crept up on me,
I left you forever.
Oh, how I wish I could live
But such is my destiny
***
Love for you, dear son,
He will die only with us.
And our pain and our sorrow
Can't express it in words.
***
Like drops of dew on roses,
There are tears on my cheeks.
Sleep well, dear son,
We all love, remember and mourn you.
***
The Great Tribulation cannot be measured,
Tears won't help my grief.
You are not with us, but forever
You will not die in our hearts.
***
Your mother's tears will always be for you,
Father's sadness, brother's loneliness,
The grief of grandparents.
***
You left early without saying goodbye,
And without saying a word to us,
How can we continue to live, having made sure
That you won't come back again.
***
You left this life incomprehensibly early,
Parents are saddened.
There is a bleeding wound in their hearts.
Your little son is growing up without knowing the word “mother.”
***
Having passed away, you are still living
In our thoughts, dreams.
You cannot survive what fate has given you.
We remember you both in joy and in pain.
***
How hard it is to find words
To measure our pain with them.
We cannot believe in your death,
You will be with us forever.
***
To your untimely grave
Our path will not be overgrown.
Your dear image, dear image,
It will always lead us here.
***
The sorrow of the soul cannot be cried out with tears,
A damp grave cannot understand grief.
What a pity that your life
Was so short
But your memory will be eternal.
***
The will begins
The feeling continues
Reason, having brought it to the Absolute, completes.
***
What was, is now,
And what will happen has already happened.
And the dust will return to the ground as it was,
And the spirit will return to God who gave it.
***
O light of hope!
Oh, the black fears oppress!
Only one thing is true:
This life flows.
This is the truth, and everything else is a lie:
A flower that has faded will not bloom again.
***
We carry the burden of loss like a heavy burden,
We will preserve love and memory for years to come,
Time has no power over memory
And sorrow will never leave us.
***
The soul is tired of betrayals
General vanity and vanity
And should she look for evidence?
In defense of my innocence...
***
I wish I could see your beloved image at least once,
Hear your dear voice.
We would change everything for this
And they gave their lives without thinking.
***
Our melancholy and pain cannot be measured.
Never to see you, never to return.
And it’s unbearable to live like this,
And it’s hard for us to believe that you don’t exist.
***
People leave, they cannot be returned
And secret worlds cannot be revived...
And every time I want again
Scream from this irreversibility...
***
There is bitter sadness in my heart
Lies washed with tears.
It’s hard for us, we’re very sorry,
That you, dear (our dear), are not with us.
***
All of us, all of us in this world are perishable
Copper quietly pours from the maple leaves...
May you be blessed forever,
What has come to flourish and die.
***
My friend, don’t be sad about the past,
Don't let the irrevocable gnaw at you.
You can’t step into the same river...
Examples of epitaphs
The texts of gravestone inscriptions can be quotes from the Bible or other religious books. Excerpts chosen tend to relate to death or the afterlife. The text of an epitaph consisting of one phrase can sometimes say more than long, pompous phrases. The volume is not limited by anything, except perhaps naturally - by the size of monuments or tombstones. In addition to decoration, gravestone epitaphs serve as an outlet for the relatives and friends of the deceased. This is like the last opportunity to say that you didn’t have time or to express your feelings about death. They help to display emotions on the monument, which years later will become a sensory reminder of the deceased to new generations.
Tombstone inscriptions can be quotes from books, sayings of great people, and even poems. This could be a couple of lines written by yourself or a paragraph reflecting your emotions and feelings that arise from the loss of a loved one. Epitaphs are gravestone inscriptions that can be used to reflect pain, sorrow, and melancholy. The inscriptions on tombstones can characterize the deceased and be an expression of hope that the soul of the deceased is now in a better world.
