This monument is
erected in memory of
Mr. NATHANIEL
FERRY
who died July 15, 1794
Aged 86 years
Trees cast their leaves and spring again
Man’s leaf once cast doth so remain
Sun being set returns with light
Man’s light is short, long lasting night
This is a noteworthy choice of epitaph, for several reasons. First of all, there is no suggestion of the Resurrection and the promise of a better life to come hereafter, nor even (for that matter) any threat of hell. It is an almost pre-Christian, Classical, lament. Unlike trees, the poet cries, once our winter comes there is no Spring to follow. This sentiment is expressed from time to time in these graveyards, but it is not typical.
Secondly, the source text is fascinating. It occurs in Book I, Chapter II, Section 5 of Laurence Echard’s abridgement of Sir Walter Raleigh’s History of the World. Raleigh was an Elizabethan courtier, explorer, and writer of note. His Historie of the World was published in 1677. Echard (1670-1730) was an English cleric, translator of the Classics, and historian who wrote his own history of England. I spent a little time comparing Echard’s work to Raleigh’s original, and discovered that he did more than just abridge Raleigh; he substantially re-wrote or “improved” the original when he had a mind to. Ferry’s epitaph is a direct quotation of Echard’s poem; Raleigh’s original (which he makes clear is inspired by a minor Latin Elegy) reads:
The Plants and Trees made poor and old
By Winter envious,
The Spring-time bounteous
Covers again from shame and cold:
But never man repair’d again
His youth and beauty lost,
Though Art, and care, and cost,
Do promise Nature’s help in vain.
I daresay there is scholarly work to be done, comparing Echard’s changes to Raleigh’s original. But I am not the one to do it. It is enough for me to observe that Nathaniel Ferry’s epitaph was chosen from Echard, not Raleigh, and thus to conclude that someone in Granby had access to this abridged edition.
Note the blank curved space above the soul-effigy. I can’t tell if this is intended to be part of the design (an extended head-dress of some sort?) or a place to inscribe “Momento Mori” that was left blank for some reason. Your guess, dear reader, is as good as mine.
