by Ben Jonson (1572 - 1637)
Epitaph
Language: English
Wouldst thou hear what man can say In a little? Reader, stay. Underneath this stone doth lie As much beauty as could die; Which in life did harbour give To more virtue than doth live. If at all she had a fault, Leave it buried in this vault. One name was Elizabeth, Th' other let it sleep with death: Fitter, where it died to tell, Than that it liv'd at all. Farewell.
View text with all available footnotes
Researcher for this page: Johann Winkler
Authorship:
- by Ben Jonson (1572 - 1637), "Epitaph" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Richard Stöhr (1874 - 1967), "Epitaph", op. 110 (Twelve Songs) no. 3 (1944-1945) [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Johann Winkler
This text was added to the website: 2021-09-12
Line count: 12
Word count: 72