President James Garfield
(1831-81) Assassinated
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Life’s race well run,
Life’s work well done,
Life’s victory won,
Now cometh rest.
年初在威尼斯﹐目睹了一場溫馨的告別式。早上十點半多沿著運河漫步之際﹐眼前突然聚集了一群盛裝的人士﹐無法前進。隨著他們的注視﹐視線停留於岸邊的一只小船上。兩三位西裝筆挺的男士﹐小心翼翼地將一副精緻的棺木從船上卸下。接下來﹐先前圍觀的大夥人﹐簇擁著被高高抬舉的棺木﹐往街角的小教堂慢慢行進。棺木抵達教堂門口﹐停留許久﹐隨著教堂鐘聲的響起﹐漸漸地沒入了那兩扇小門。
街角的石壁上﹐貼著這位老伯伯的相片與簡介。我沒有跟隨著進入教堂﹐而選擇站在拱橋上﹐靜靜地繼續觀望這一切。與老伯伯素昧平生﹐但此時此刻相逢必是有緣﹐我默默遞上了最誠心的祝福。
前日逛書店﹐看到一本收錄墓誌銘的書《The Little Book of Epitaphs》﹐愛不釋手﹐隨即買回家來繼續研讀。不知為何﹐我對墓園有著極高的興趣。走訪歐洲各城市之際﹐總喜歡踏入較具特色的墓園一探究竟﹐透過墓碑上的紀念碑文及照片﹐猜想此人生前的種種喜好與事跡。這些墓誌銘雖然簡短﹐但感情充份流露﹐令人動容。
英國最早的墓誌銘﹐起史於十六世紀的宗教改革 (the Reformation)﹐從之前制式的『為某某亡魂禱告』﹐漸漸流行對往生者如詩詞般的歌頌。之後的碑文更是花樣百出﹐極具幽默、諷刺與啟發性。有些看了還真令人搖頭嘆氣﹐可憐往生者死後仍被唾棄﹐不得安息。
以下是《The Little Book of Epitaphs》中令我印象深刻的墓誌銘﹐轉載於此與各位分享。
Robert Philip
(died 1793) St Andrew, Isleham
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here lie I at the Chancel door
Here lie I because I’m poor
The further in the more you’ll pay
Here lie I as warm as they.
Emily White
(20th century) Huddersfield
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here lies the body of Emily White,
She signalled left, and then turned right.
Mike O’Day
(dates unknown)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is the grave of Mike O’Day
Who died maintaining his right of way.
His right was clear, his will was strong.
But he’s just as dead as if he’d been wrong.
Sir John Strange
(1696-1754)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here lies an honest lawyer,-
That is Strange.
Hallenbeck family
(1950s)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The family of Robert T. Hallenbeck
None of us ever voted for
Roosevelt or Truman.
George Johnson
(dates unknown) Tombstone, Arizona
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hanged by mistake
Gordon Hamilton-Fairley
(1930-75) Killed by an IRA bomb
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
First Professor Clinical Oncology
Killed by a terrorist bomb
It matters not how a man dies but how he lives
影像﹕捷克國家墓園 (Vysehrad Cemetery)﹐攝於布拉格南郊維爾他瓦河畔高堡山丘上。
此墓園於 1869 年設立﹐許多捷克聲譽卓著的藝術家﹐如捷克音樂之父史麥塔納 (Bedrich Smetana) 及其子弟德弗札克 (Antonin Dvorak) 均長眠於此。史麥塔納的音樂對捷克的民族復興運動有極深遠的影響﹐被視為捷克人的驕傲。去年五月十二日我飛抵布拉格的首日﹐正是史麥塔納的逝世紀念日。每年在布拉格舉行的國際音樂節盛宴﹐總是於五月十二日由他的交響詩《我的祖國》在市政廳前揭開序幕﹐而於六月二日以貝多芬的第九號交響曲閉幕。
註﹕《The Little Book of Epitaphs》﹐edited by Esme Hawes; published and distributed by Siena, 1999.
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