Epitaph Quotes

“A man's character is best described in his epitaph”

“All things considered, the happiest epitaph to have etched on one's headstone is this: 'He never knew what hit him'.”

“Would you like me to [kill you] now?" asked Snape, his voice heavy with irony. "Or would you like a few moments to compose an epitaph?”

“It had been a bad trip ... fast and wild in some moments, slow and dirty in others, but on balance it looked like a bummer. On my way back to San Francisco, I tried to compose a fitting epitaph. I wanted something original, but there was no escaping the echo of Mistah Kurtz' final words from the heart of darkness: "The horror! The horror! ... Exterminate all the brutes!”

“Reader one moment stop and think,That I am in eternity and you are on the brink.”

“I tried and failed. I tried again and again and succeeded.[Epitaph from Gail Borden's gravestone.]”

“If there's no sea-gull there's no meeting, Wicklow had said. No sea-gull means abort. That's my epitaph, thought Barley. 'There was no sea-gull, so he aborted.”

“She is brave and strong and broken all at once. As she speaks it is as if her existence is no longer real to her in itself, more like a living epitaph to a life that was.”

“O Stranger, send the news home to the people of Sparta that here weAre laid to rest: the commands they gave us have been obeyed.Ὦ ξεῖν', ἀγγέλλειν Λακεδαιμονίοις ὅτι τῇδεκείμεθα, τοῖς κείνων ῥήμασι πειθόμενοι.[Epitaph of the 300 Spartans at Thermopylae]”

“Which epitaph would you choose for your grave-stone: "He made lots of money." or "He saved the Earth"? And don't think I'm being sarcastic, because for once, I'm not. We're all going to die. What will be your legacy? Smaug-loads of money? or Saving the Earth? It's your choice.”