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An epitaph (from Greek ''epitaphios'' "a funeral oration" from ἐπί ''epi'' "at, over" and τάφος ''taphos'' "tomb") is a short text honoring a deceased person. Strictly speaking, it refers to text that is inscribed on a tombstone or plaque, but it may also be used in a figurative sense. Some epitaphs are specified by the person themselves before their death, while others are chosen by those responsible for the burial. An epitaph may be in poem verse; poets have been known to compose their own epitaphs prior to their death, as William Shakespeare did.〔Photograph of William Shakespear's grave, 3 June 2007〕 Most epitaphs are brief records of the family, and perhaps the career, of the deceased, often with an expression of love or respect - "beloved father of ..." - but others are more ambitious. From the Renaissance to the 19th century in Western culture, epitaphs for notable people became increasingly lengthy and pompous descriptions of their family origins, career, virtues and immediate family, often in Latin. However, the Laudatio Turiae, the longest known Ancient Roman epitaph, exceeds almost all of these at 180 lines; it celebrates the virtues of a wife, probably of a consul. Some are quotes from holy texts, or aphorisms. One approach of many epitaphs is to 'speak' to the reader and warn them about their own mortality. A wry trick of others is to request the reader to get off their resting place, inasmuch as the reader would have to be standing on the ground above the coffin to read the inscription. Some record achievements (e.g., past politicians note the years of their terms of office). Nearly all (excepting those where this is impossible by definition, such as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier) note name, year or date of birth, and date of death. Many list family members and the relationship of the deceased to them (for example, "Father / Mother / Son / Daughter of"). == Notable epitaphs == ''Heroes and Kings your distance keep; ''In peace let one poor poet sleep, ''Who never flattered folks like you; ''Let Horace blush and Virgil too.'' : — Alexander Pope ''Wir müssen wissen. Wir werden wissen.'' In English: ''We must know. We will know.'' : — David Hilbert ''He never killed a man that did not need killing.'' : — Clay Allison ''Here lies One whose Name was writ in Water : — John Keats ''Sleep after toyle, port after stormie seas'', ''Ease after warre, death after life, does greatly please.'' : — Joseph Conrad (taken from Edmund Spenser's ''The Faerie Queene'') ''That's all folks.'' : — Mel Blanc ''I've finally stopped getting dumber.'' ((ハンガリー語:Végre nem butulok tovább.)) : — Paul Erdős ''Go tell the Spartans, stranger passing by '' ''that here, obedient to their law, we lie.'' : — Simonides's epigram at Thermopylae ''I told you I was ill.'' ((アイルランド語:Duirt me leat go raibh me breoite.)) : — Spike Milligan ''Here sleeps at peace a Hampshire Grenadier ''Who caught his early death by drinking cold small beer. ''Soldiers, be wise at his untimely fall, ''And when you're hot, drink strong or none at all.'' : — Thomas Thetcher tombstone epitaph in Winchester Cathedral ''To save your world you asked this man to die: '' ''Would this man, could he see you now, ask why?'' : — Epitaph for the Unknown Soldier, written by W. H. Auden ''There is borne an empty hearse'' ''covered over for such as appear not.'' ''Heroes have the whole earth for their tomb.'' : — Unknown Soldier's epitaph, Athens; passages taken from Pericles' Funeral Oration〔 Available online at the Perseus Project.〕〔 Available online at the Perseus Project.〕 ''Against you I will fling myself, unvanquished and unyielding, O Death!'' : — Virginia Woolf ''Good frend for Iesvs sake forebeare,'' ''To digg the dvst encloased heare.'' ''Bleste be man spares thes stones,'' ''And cvrst be he moves my bones.'' In modern spelling: Good friend for Jesus sake forbear, To dig the dust enclosed here. Blessed be the man that spares these stones, And cursed be he that moves my bones. : — William Shakespeare〔 File:Epitaph for heart of Frédéric Chopin in Holy Cross Church in Warsaw.PNG|Epitaph for heart of Frédéric Chopin Image:Grave of W. B. Yeats; Drumecliff, Co Sligo.jpg|Grave of W. B. Yeats; Drumecliff, Co. Sligo Image:Grabplatte Johann Wauer Hochkirch.jpg|Lengthy epitaph for Johann Wauer a (German pastor), died 1728, concluding with a short Biblical quotation Image:Mel Blanc 4-15-05.JPG|The epitaph on voice actor Mel Blanc's tombstone File:Plaque marking Heather O'Rourke's grave.jpg|Plaque marking Heather O'Rourke's interment File:Sahabi tomb.jpg|Ezzatollah Sahabi, Glory of Iran and his patriotic daughter Haleh 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「epitaph」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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