Thursday, 10 November 2011

A quadrilingual funerary monument

Richard Brett, rector of Quainton, Buckinghamshire, served the translators of the Authorised Version (the First Oxford Company: the Major and Minor Prophets) apparently as a linguist. The funerary monument for himself and his family starts with a Hebrew inscription, then a Greek one, then a Latin one, and finally one in English.

So far, I have only found the English text in full:
"Instead of weeping marble weepe for him
All ye his flock whom he did strive to winn
To Christ, to lyfe; so shall you duly sett
The most desired stone on Dr Brett."

The Latin apparently said that the best monumentfor a pastor is his congregation.

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