Epitaph
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| - | :''[[Dom Bougre (full text)]]'' | + | '''Epitaph''' (epi-taphios "at,over-tomb" — literally: "''on the gravestone''") is a short text honoring a deceased person, strictly speaking that inscribed on their tombstone or plaque, but also used figuratively. Some are specified by the dead person beforehand, others chosen by those responsible for the burial. An epitaph may be in verse; [[poets]] have been known to compose their own epitaphs prior to their death, as [[W.B. Yeats]] did. |
| - | '''''Histoire de Dom Bougre, Portier des Chartreux''''' is a [[French language|French]] [[libertine novel]] from [[1741]] attributed to [[Jean-Charles Gervaise de Latouche|Gervaise de Latouche]]. The name Bougre refers to the French term ''boulgre'' meaning [[bugger]]. The novel mocks biblical injunctions, extols [[same-sex love]], [[incest]] and [[sodomy]] and assures us that the true vices are the province of the [[aristocracy]] and the [[clergy]]. | + | |
| - | Dom Bougre designated the famous [[Pierre Desfontaines|abbé Desfontaines]], who, accused of [[sodomy]], had spent time in prison in 1724, and spent time in exile. | + | 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]]. |
| - | The protagonists are [[Saturnin]], [[Suzon]], [[Polycarpe]], [[Monique]] and [[Toinette]]. Saturnin, tells of his [[sexual initiation]] to his sister Suzon. She in turn, tells her sexual adventures. The book does not use euphemisms and is full of explicitives. The book's "single driving argument is the naturalness of the joys of orgasm and everything conducive to or associated with it" (Brulotte, ''[[Encyclopedia of Erotic Literature]]''). | + | Some are quotes from holy texts, or [[aphorisms]]. An approach of many successful 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, as often it would require the reader to stand 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) but nearly all (excepting those including the [[Tomb of the Unknown Soldier]], where this is impossible) note name, year or date of birth and date of death. Many list family and their relation to them; such as Father / Mother / Son / Daughter etc of. |
| - | :"car quand on dit : Monsieur de.. est amoureux de madame..., c’est la même chose que si l’on disait : Monsieur de... a vu madame... ; sa vue a excité des désirs dans son cœur ; il brûle d’envie de lui mettre son vit dans le con. Voilà véritablement ce que cela veut dire ; mais comme la bienséance exige qu’on ne dise pas ces choses-là on est convenu de dire : Monsieur de... est amoureux." | + | == Notable epitaphs == |
| + | ''Go tell the Spartans, stranger passing by<br/>'' | ||
| + | ''that here, obedient to their law, we lie.'' | ||
| + | : — [[Simonides of Ceos|Simonides]]'s [[epigram]] at [[Battle of Thermopylae|Thermopylae]] | ||
| - | The story ends when Saturnin is castrated, having caught la [[syphilis]]. Dom Bougre imagines his own [[epitaph]], "Hic situs | + | ''I am ready to meet my Maker. <br/>'' |
| - | est Dom Bougre/Fututus, futuit," which roughly translates: "Here lies Dom Bougre, he fucked and got fucked." | + | ''Whether my Maker is prepared for the great ordeal'' |
| + | ''of meeting me is another matter.'' | ||
| + | : — [[Winston Churchill]] | ||
| - | The novel was republished in [[1778]] as ''Mémoires de Saturnin'' (Paris, Cazin) and variously illustrated by [[Paul Avril]] and [[François-Rolland Elluin]]. | + | ''To save your world you asked this man to die:<br/>'' |
| + | ''Would this man, could he see you now, ask why?'' | ||
| + | : — Epitaph for the [[Unknown Soldier]], written by [[W. H. Auden]] | ||
| - | In 1741, a dozen or so [[colporteur]]s were sent to the Bastille prison for some weeks or months in order to find the [[culprit]]s for the book. | + | ''AGAINST YOU I WILL FLING MYSELF, <br/>'' |
| - | == Excerpt == | + | ''UNVANQUISHED AND UNYIELDING, O DEATH! '' |
| - | :... Figurez-vous quel spectacle ce devait être Le père ne poussait aucun coup à ma mère qu'elle ne le lui rendît sur-le-champ au triple, et son cul, en retombant sur le mien, me faisait enfoncer dans le con de Madelon, ce qui faisait un ricochet de fouterie tout à fait divertissant; non pas pour nous, car nous étions trop occupés pour nous amuser à rire. Il n'eût tenu qu'à moi de me venger de Madelon, en laissant tomber le poids de trois corps sur le sien ; mais elle était trop amoureuse, travaillait de trop bon cœur pour me laisser concevoir une telle pensée. Je la soulageais de mon mieux; elle en eut pourtant la peine; mais ce Jut plutôt un surcroît de volupté pour elle, car ayant senti les délices de la décharge avant nos fouteurs d'en haut, le plaisir me rendit immobile. Gabrielle le sentit, et ses coups de cul, avec vivacité, faisaient pour moi ce que je n'étais plus en éiat de faire, et, en m'agitant, allaient donner de nouveaux ébranlements de plaisir à Madelon, qui déchargeait aussi. Nos fouteurs finirent et joignirent leur extase à la nôtre. Nos quatre corps n'en firent plus qu'un ; nous mourions, nous nous confondions l'un dans l'autre. | + | : — [[Virginia Woolf]] |
| - | == See also == | + | "Good friend for Jesus sake forbeare, |
| + | To dig the dust enclosed here. | ||
| + | Blessed be the man that spares these stones, | ||
| + | And cursed be he that moves my bones." | ||
| + | : - [[William Shakespeare]] | ||
| - | *[[History of Christianity and homosexuality]] | ||
| - | *[[Libertine novel]] | ||
| + | == See also == | ||
| + | * [[Funeral oration (ancient Greece)]] ("epitaphios logos") | ||
| + | * [[Chronogram]] | ||
| + | * [[Epigraph (archeology)|Epigraph]] | ||
| + | * [[Hero stone]] | ||
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Epitaph (epi-taphios "at,over-tomb" — literally: "on the gravestone") is a short text honoring a deceased person, strictly speaking that inscribed on their tombstone or plaque, but also used figuratively. Some are specified by the dead person beforehand, others chosen by those responsible for the burial. An epitaph may be in verse; poets have been known to compose their own epitaphs prior to their death, as W.B. Yeats did.
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. An approach of many successful 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, as often it would require the reader to stand 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) but nearly all (excepting those including the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, where this is impossible) note name, year or date of birth and date of death. Many list family and their relation to them; such as Father / Mother / Son / Daughter etc of.
Notable epitaphs
Go tell the Spartans, stranger passing by
that here, obedient to their law, we lie.
- — Simonides's epigram at Thermopylae
I am ready to meet my Maker.
Whether my Maker is prepared for the great ordeal
of meeting me is another matter.
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
AGAINST YOU I WILL FLING MYSELF,
UNVANQUISHED AND UNYIELDING, O DEATH!
"Good friend for Jesus sake forbeare, To dig the dust enclosed here. Blessed be the man that spares these stones, And cursed be he that moves my bones."
See also
- Funeral oration (ancient Greece) ("epitaphios logos")
- Chronogram
- Epigraph
- Hero stone
