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Last Words Uttered by Famous Persons Just Before Their Death

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June 6, 2024

Last Words Uttered by Famous Persons Just Before Their Death

Last Words Uttered by Famous Persons Just Before Their Death

Last Words Uttered by Famous Persons Just Before Their Death

Compiled & Edited by
Menonim Menonimus

www.menonimus.org

‘Last Words Uttered by Famous Persons Just Before Their Death’ is a collection of speeches uttered by dying persons comprising of famous personalities since 500 BC, collected from various sources such as books, magazines, journals, memoirs including the internet, edited by Menonim Menonimus.

Preface

I have a curiosity about knowing and studying the last words uttered by reputed persons just before their death. Though the last words of some persons are funny yet they reflect what they were. Here the last words of some reputed persons are compiled from various sources. After my study of the last words of some reputed persons, I have come to know that the last words of a person often reflect his commitment to worldly affairs.

Last Words Uttered by Famous Persons Just Before Their Death

“Wash me well, hold me to your breast, protect me from the earth.” — Attusili I, Hittite king (17th century BCE). (probably he uttered the words addressing his wife. The words express his fear of death.)
“Let me die with the Philistines.”— Samson, judge of the Israelites (c. 1078 BCE).
“Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and abuse me.”— Saul, king of Israel (c. 1012 BCE), to his servant during the Battle of Mount Gilboa.
“My reputation carried me safely through Greece, but the envy it excited at home has been my ruin.”— Anacharsis, Scythian philosopher (6th century BCE), mortally wounded with an arrow by his brother, King Caduidas.
“It is better to perish here than to kill all these poor beans.”— Pythagoras. Ionian Greek philosopher and founder of Pythagoreanism (495 BCE), refusing to escape with his students from the Crotonians through a bean field.
.”All compounded things are subject to vanish. Strive with earnestness.”— Siddhartha Gautama Buddha, the Indian sage who founded Buddhism (c. 483 BCE)
“Heaven has turned against me. No wise ruler arises, and no one in the Empire wishes to make me his teacher. The hour of my death has come.”— Confucius, a Chinese philosopher who founded Confucianism (479 BCE)
“Can you turn rainy weather into dry?”— Heraclitus, Greek philosopher (c.?475 BCE), asking his physicians for relief from dropsy.
“Give the boys a holiday.”— Anaxagoras, Greek philosopher (c. 428 BCE), in response to citizens of Lampsacus asking how they could honor his memory
“Crito, we owe a cock to Asclepius. Would you pay the debt.”— Socrates, Greek philosopher (399 BCE), just before his death by ingestion of poison hemlock which he was forced to drink as a death sentence
“Men, it is good for me to die on this spot, where honor bids me; but for you, yonder your path lies. Hurry and save yourselves before the enemy can close with us.”— Anaxibius, Spartan admiral (388 BCE), before being killed in an Athenian ambush
“Then I die happy.”— Epaminondas, Greek general and statesman of Thebes (362 BCE). He pulled out the weapon with which he had been impaled in battle once he heard the enemy was fleeing.
.”But Alexander, whose kindness to my mother, my wife, and my children I hope the gods will recompense, will doubtless thank you for your humanity to me. Tell him, therefore, in token of my acknowledgment, I give him this right hand.”— Darius III, Achaemenid King of Kings of Persia (330 BCE), to a man who gave him water as he was dying
“How can the teeth of wild beasts hurt me, without consciousness?”— Diogenes, Greek Cynic philosopher (323 BCE), asking for his body to be thrown outside the city wall for animals to eat.
“To the strongest.”— Alexander the Great, conqueror and king of Macedonia (c. 11 June 323 BCE), when asked to whom his vast empire should belong after his death.
“Ah! poor hump-back! thy many long years are at last conveying thee to the tomb; thou shalt soon see the palace of Pluto.”— Crates of Thebes, Cynic philosopher (c.?285 BCE), surveying himself when about to die
“Now, farewell, and remember all my words!”— Epicurus, Greek philosopher (270 BCE); the majority of his writings are now lost.
“I come, I come, why dost thou call for me?”— Zeno of Citium, Greek philosopher and founder of Stoicism (262 BCE), quoting Aeschylus’ play Niobe and striking the ground with his hand after sustaining a minor injury, which he considered a sign that he was about to die. He killed himself.
“Weep not, friend, for me, who dies innocent, by the lawless act of wicked men. My condition is much better than theirs.”— Agis IV, king of Sparta (241 BCE), prior to execution by strangulation
“O children, whither are you going?”— Cratesiclea, queen of Sparta (219 BCE), after seeing the children of her family executed and prior to her own execution. Last Words Uttered by Famous Persons Just Before Their Death
“These, O Cephalon, are the wages of a king’s love.”— Aratus of Sicyon, Hellenistic Greek politician and military commander (213 BCE), after expectorating blood while allegedly being slowly poisoned on the orders of Philip V of Macedon, his former friend.
“Do not disturb my circles!”— Archimedes, Greek mathematician (c.?212 BCE), to a Roman soldier who interrupted his geometric experiments during the capture of Syracuse, whereupon the soldier killed him.
“Go and give the ass a drink of wine to wash down the figs.”— Chrysippus, Greek philosopher (c. 206 BCE), before dying of laughter.
“It is well that we have not been every way unfortunate.”— Philopoemen, a Greek general and statesman (183 BCE) sent a cup of poison to kill himself after being captured in battle. He asked the messenger with the poison about his cavalry and was told that most of them had escaped.
“Let us ease the Roman people of their continual care, who think it long to await the death of an old man.”— Hannibal, Carthaginian general (c. 182 BCE)
“It is a cold bath you give me.”— Jugurtha, king of Numidia (104 BCE), being lowered by the Romans into a damp dungeon to starve to death.
“When will the republic find a citizen like me?”— Marcus Livius Drusus, Roman politician and reformer (91 BCE), after being stabbed by an unknown assassin.
“Fear not true Pharisees, but greatly fear painted Pharisees.”— Alexander Jannaeus, king of Judea (c. 76 BCE), to his wife.
“O wretched head-band!—not able to help me even in this small thing!”— Monime, wife of Mithridates VI (72/71 BCE), after failing to hang herself by her crown’s strings in fulfillment of her death sentence.
“I am not mistaken, surely, in believing you to have been formerly my fellow soldier.”— Pompey, Roman general, and statesman (28 September 48 BCE), to Lucius Septimius, one of his assassins.
“You too, my child?”— Julius Caesar, Roman dictator (15 March 44 BCE), discovering that his stepson Brutus was among his murderers
“O wretched virtue! thou art a bare name! I mistook thee for a substance, but thou thyself art the slave of fortune.”— Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus, Roman general and politician, conspirator in Julius Caesar’s assassination (September 43 BCE), quoting from Euripides prior to execution.
“I go no further: approach, veteran soldier, and, if you can at least do so much properly, sever this neck. […] What would you have done had you come to me as your first victim?”— Cicero, a Roman statesman (7 December 43 BCE), facing an assassin sent by an enemy.
“You must not pity me in this last turn of fate. You should rather be happy in the remembrance of our love, and in the recollection that of all men I was once the most famous and the most powerful, and now, in the end, have fallen not dishonorably, a Roman by a Roman vanquished.”— Mark Antony, Roman politician and general (1 August 30 BCE); to Cleopatra before his suicide.
“Death twitches my ear. ‘Live,’ he says. ‘I am coming.”— Virgil, Roman poet (21 September 19 BCE).
“Have I played the part well? Then applaud, as I exit.”— Augustus, First Roman Emperor (19 August 14 CE)
“It is finished.”
— Jesus, founder of Christianity (c. 30 CE), right before his death by crucifixion.
“I am still alive!”— Caligula, Roman emperor (24 January 41 CE), after being fatally stabbed.
“Strike here! Level your rage against the womb which gave birth to such a monster.”— Agrippina the Younger, mother of Nero (23 March 59 CE), to her murderer. Last Words Uttered by Famous Persons Just Before Their Death
“Too late; is this your fidelity?”— Nero, Roman emperor (9 June 68 CE), to a soldier trying to save him after his suicide.
“Strike, if it is for the Romans’ good.”— Galba, Roman emperor (15 January 69 CE), prior to beheading by supporters of Otho.
“Go and show yourself to the soldiers, lest they cut you to pieces for being accessory to my death.” — Otho, Roman emperor (16 April 69 CE), to a freedman, prior to committing suicide.
“Yet I was once your Emperor.”— Vitellius, Roman emperor (22 December 69 CE), prior to his killing on the Gemonian stairs.
“Woe, I think I’m turning into a god… An emperor should die on his feet.”— Vespasian, Roman emperor (24 June 79 CE), ironically alluding to the Roman practice of posthumously deifying former emperors, before he collapsed and died when attempting to stand up.
“My life is taken from me, though I have done nothing to deserve it; for there is no action of mine of which I should repent, but one.”— Titus, Roman emperor (13 September 81 CE)
“O my poor soul, whither art thou going?”— Hadrian, Roman emperor (10 July 138 CE)
“You may go home, the show is over.”— Demonax, Greek Cynic philosopher (c. 170 CE)
“Go to the rising sun, for I am setting. Think more of death than of me.”— Marcus Aurelius, Roman emperor, and philosopher (17 March 180 CE)
“Hurry, if anything remains for me to do.” — Septimius Severus, Roman emperor (4 February 211 CE)
“I am roasted,—now turn me, and eat me.” — Saint Lawrence, Christian deacon (10 August 258 CE), while being burned alive on a gridiron.
“God be thanked.”— Cyprian, Christian bishop of Carthage and martyr (14 September 258 CE), sentenced to death by beheading.
“How am I advanced, despising you that are upon the earth!” — Marcus of Arethusa, Christian bishop, and martyr (362 CE), hung up in a honey-smeared basket for bees to sting him to death
“And yet Thou hast conquered, O Galilean!”— Julian, Roman emperor (26 June 363 CE), mortally wounded in battle. He had rejected Christianity in favor of paganism; according to some accounts, he was assassinated by a Christian.
“In peace, I will sleep with Him and take my rest.”— Saint Monica, mother of Augustine of Hippo (387 CE).
“My dear one, with whom I lived in love so long, make room for me, for this is my grave, and in death, we shall not be divided.”— Severus of Ravenna, Bishop of Ravenna (c. 348 CE). According to a traditional story, Severus laid himself in his family tomb alongside his dead wife and daughter and then died.
“Old though he be, he is the best of all.” — Ambrose, Bishop of Milan (4 April 397 CE), when Simplician was mentioned as his successor.
“What dost thou here, thou cruel beast?” — Martin of Tours, third bishop of Tours (8 November 397 CE).
“Glory to God for all things!— John Chrysostom, Early Church Father and Archbishop of Constantinople (14 September 407), while traveling deeper into exile.
“Here must I stop. What follows, let Baithen write.”— Columba, Irish abbot and missionary evangelist (8 June 597), ceasing to transcribe a Psalter. Last Words Uttered by Famous Persons Just Before Their Death
“Oh Allah, the Friend Most High! — Muhammad, Prophet of Allah in Islam (8 June 632)
“You speak the truth, all is finished now. Glory to God.”— Bede, English Benedictine monk (26 May 735); to a scribe to whom he was dictating a translation of the Gospel of John
“Lord, into Thy hands I commend my spirit.”— Charlemagne, European monarch (28 January 814), quoting Jesus.
“Thou my dear son set thee now beside me, and I will deliver thee true instructions. My son, I feel that my hour is coming. My countenance is wan. My days are almost done. We must now part. I shall to another world, and thou shalt be left alone in all my wealth. I pray thee (for thou art my dear child) strive to be a father and a lord to thy people. Be thou the children’s father, and the widow’s friend. Comfort thou the poor, and shelter the weak; and, with all thy might, right that which is wrong. And, son, govern thyself, by law; then shall the Lord love thee, and God above all things shall be thy reward. Call thou upon him to advise thee in all thy need, and so shall he help thee, the better to compass that which thou wouldest.”— Alfred the Great, king of the Anglo-Saxons (26 October 899), to his son, Edward the Elder.
“O man! place not thy confidence in this present world!”— Abd al-Rahman III, first Caliph of Córdoba (15 October 961).
“You urge me in vain. I am not the man to provide Christian flesh for pagan teeth to devour, and it would be so acting if I delivered unto you that which the poor have laid by for their subsistence.”— Archbishop of Canterbury (19 April 1012), refusing to pay a ransom before being killed by his Danish captors.
“How shameful it is that I, who could not die in so many battles, should have been saved for the ignominious death of a cow! At least clothe me in my impenetrable breastplate, gird me with my sword, place my helmet on my head, my shield in my left hand, my gilded battle-axe in my right, that I, the bravest of soldiers, may die like a soldier.” — Siward, Earl of Northumbria (1055), dying of dysentery.
“I have loved justice and hated iniquity; therefore I die in exile.”— Pope Gregory VII (25 May 1085), in exile in Salerno due to his conflicts with Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor.
“Then to our blessed Lady Mary, the mother of God, I commend myself. May she, by her holy intercessions, reconcile me to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. God be merciful to ….” — William the Conqueror, King of England (9 September 1087), after hearing the bell ringing.
“I shall not long hesitate between conscience and the Pope, for I shall soon appear in the presence of God, to be acquitted, I hope; to be condemned, I fear.”— Berengar of Tours, French Christian theologian (6 January 1088), dying in ascetic solitude on the island of Saint-Cosme near Tours.
“Shoot, Walter, in the devil’s name!” — William II of England (2 August 1100), to Walter Tirel, who allegedly shot the king in a hunting accident.
“Yes, if it is His will, I shall obey it willingly. But were He to let me stay with you a little longer till I have resolved a problem about the origin of the soul, I would gladly accept the boon; for I do not know whether anyone will work it out when I am gone. If I could but eat, I think I should pick up a little strength. I feel no pain in any part of my body; only I cannot retain nourishment, and that exhausts me.” — Anselm of Canterbury, Archbishop of Canterbury (21 April 1109)
“I wished to do more harm than I could.” — Ranulf Flambard, Norman Bishop of Durham and government minister (5 September 1128).
“May God’s will be done.”— Bernard of Clairvaux, Burgundian abbot (20 August 1153), on being told he was dying.
“In death, at last, let me rest with Abelard.” — Heloise, a French nun, philosopher, writer, scholar, and abbess (16 May 1163–?).
“For the name of Jesus and the protection of the church I am ready to embrace death.” — Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury (29 December 1170), to his murderers.
“Lord, have mercy upon me. Wilt thou break a bruised reed?”— Andronikos I Komnenos, Byzantine Emperor (12 September 1185), lynched by his former subjects.
“Now let the world go as it will; I care for nothing more.”— Henry II of England (6 July 1189), on being told his son John was one of those conspiring against him.
“When I am buried, carry my winding sheet on the point of a spear, and say these words: Behold the spoils which Saladin carries with him! Of all his victories, realms, and riches, nothing remains to him but this.”— Saladin, the first sultan of Egypt and Syria (4 March 1193)
“Youth, I forgive thee! Take off his chains, give him 100 shillings, and let him go.” — Richard I of England (6 April 1199), with reference to the young man who had mortally wounded him with a crossbow. Last Words Uttered by Famous Persons Just Before Their Death
“I have sinned against my brother, the ass.” — Francis of Assisi, Italian Catholic friar (3 October 1226)
“Let not my end disarm you, and on no account weep or keen for me, lest the enemy be warned of my death.”— Genghis Khan, warlord and khan of Mongolia (18 August 1227)
“I see my God. He calls me to Him.” — Anthony of Padua, Portuguese Catholic priest and Franciscan friar (13 June 1231)
“Don’t cut my face.”— Skule Bardsson, Norwegian nobleman (24 May 1240), before being killed by supporters of King Haakon IV of Norway.
“By the arm of St. James, it is time to die.”— Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester (4 August 1265), before dying at the Battle of Evesham.
“O, my mother! how deep will be thy sorrow at the news of this day!”— Conradin, last direct heir of the House of Hohenstaufen (29 October 1268), prior to execution by beheading at the age of 16.
“I will enter thy house. I will worship in Thy sanctuary.”— Louis IX of France (25 August 1270).
“I am on the way to Spires to visit the kings, my predecessors.” — Rudolf I of Germany (15 July 1291); he was buried at Speyer Cathedral.
“Carry my bones before you on your march, for the rebels will not be able to endure the sight of me, alive or dead.” — Edward I of England (7 July 1307), to his son, Edward II of England while dying during a war with Scotland.
“King of heaven, do thou have mercy on me, for the king of the earth hath forsaken me.”— Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster (22 March 1322), before beheading for treason against his cousin, Edward II of England.
“I have not told half of what I saw.” — Marco Polo, Venetian traveler in Asia (c. January 9, 1324), responding to skepticism about the content of his memoir, ‘The Travels of Marco Polo’.
“I give thee thanks, O God, for all thy benefits, and with all the pains of my soul I humbly beseech thy mercy to give me remission of those sins I have wickedly committed against thee; and of all mortal men whom willingly or ignorantly I have offended, with all my heart I desire forgiveness.”— Edward the Black Prince, heir to the English throne (8 June 1376)
“I am a dead man! Lord, have mercy upon me!” — Gaston III, Count of Foix (1391)
“Never yet has death been frightened away by screaming.”— Timur, Turco-Mongol conqueror, founder of the Timurid Empire (17–19 February 1405)
“O, holy simplicity!” — Jan Hus, Czech theologian and church reformer (6 July 1415). While being burned at the stake for heresy, he saw an old woman throw a small amount of brushwood onto the fire.
“O Lord God, Father Almighty, have mercy upon me, and be merciful unto mine offenses, for thou knowest how sincerely I have loved Thy truth.” — Jerome of Prague, Czech scholastic philosopher and theologian (30 May 1416), burned for heresy.
“Make my skin into drumheads for the Bohemian cause.”— Jan Zizka, Czech general (11 October 1424)[note 42]
“Hold the cross high so I may see it through the flames!” — Joan of Arc, French military leader and mystic (30 May 1431), while she was burning at the stake.
“Fie on life! Speak no more of it to me.”— Margaret Stewart, Dauphine of France (16 August 1445)
“O Gabriel, Gabriel, better would it have been for you to have been neither pope, nor cardinal, nor bishop, but to have finished your days as you commenced them, following peaceably in the monastery the exercises of your order.” — Pope Eugene IV (born Gabriele Condulmer) (23 February 1447). Last Words Uttered by Famous Persons Just Before Their Death
“Will not all my riches save me? What, is there no bribing? — Henry Beaufort (11 April 1447), Cardinal, Bishop of Winchester.
“Were I born the son of a farmer, and became a friar of the Abrojo, and not the king of Castile.” — John II of Castile (22 July 1454), King of Castile.
“I was born as a lily in the garden, and like the lily I grew, as my age advanced I became old and had to die, and so I withered and died.” — Pachacuti (c. 1471/1472), Sapa Inca and founder of the Inca Empire, poem composed on his deathbed
“I know only Jesus the crucified.” — Wessel Gansfort, Dutch theologian and humanist (4 October 1489)
“I hope never again to commit a mortal sin, nor even a venial one, if I can help it.”— Charles VIII of France (7 April 1498)
“My Lord died innocent of all crimes, for my sins; and shall not I willingly give my soul for the love of Him.” — Girolamo Savonarola, Italian Dominican friar (23 May 1498), when asked before his execution if he was resigned to death.
“I come. I come. It is right. Wait a moment.” — Pope Alexander VI (18 August 1503).
“Into Your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.” — Christopher Columbus, Italian explorer (20 May 1506), quoting Jesus
“I have taken care of everything in life, only not for death—and now I have to die completely unprepared.” — Cesare Borgia, Italian politician and condottiero (12 March 1507)
“We heartily desire our executors to consider how befoolled it is to be prayed for.” — Henry VII of England (21 April 1509)
“That is false. I always have served my king loyally and sought to add to his domains.” — Vasco Nunez de Balboa, Spanish explorer, governor, and conquistador (January 1519), on hearing a herald call him a “usurper of the rights of the Crown” while on the way to his execution by decapitation
“I have offended God and mankind because my work did not reach the quality it should have.” — Leonardo da Vinci, Italian artist and scientist (2 May 1519), to King Francis I of France
“I have been murdered; no remedy can prevent my speedy death.” — Pope Leo X (1 December 1521), rumored to have died by poison.
“I am curious to see what happens in the next world to one who dies unshriven.”— Pietro Perugino, Italian artist (1523), declining the last rites.
“I have already confessed my sins to God.” — Franz von Sickingen, German knight and Protestant leader (7 May 1523), when his chaplain asked if he wanted to confess prior to his death defending his castle.
“At least I may die facing the enemy.” — Pierre Terrail, seigneur de Bayard, French knight (30 April 1524), mortally wounded at the Battle of the Sesia (1524)
“I desire to go to hell, and not to heaven. In the former place I shall enjoy the company of popes, kings, and princes, while in the latter are only beggars, monks, hermits, and apostles.” — Niccolò Machiavelli (21 June 1527), Italian Renaissance diplomat, philosopher, and writer.
“How long, Lord, shall darkness cover this land? How long wilt thou suffer this tyranny of men? Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” — Patrick Hamilton, Scottish churchman (29 February 1528), while being burned at the stake.
“And, Master Kingston, had I but served God as diligently as I have served the king, he would not have given me over in my gray hairs. But this is my just reward for my pains and study, not regarding my service to God, but only my duty to my Prince.” — Thomas Wolsey, English archbishop, statesman, and cardinal (29 November 1530); to the Lieutenant of the Tower of London, after falling ill on the way to London under arrest for treason.
“I give your brothers to your keeping. Be faithful to them and all the people.” — Babur, founder of the Mughal Empire and first Emperor of the Mughal dynasty (26 December 1530). Last Words Uttered by Famous Persons Just Before Their Death
“I pray you, good people, be not the worse to these men on my account, as though they were the authors of my death.” — Thomas Bilney, English Christian martyr (19 August 1531). While he awaited burning for heresy, the friars and people present argued over who was responsible for Bilney’s death; the friars threatened to withhold alms from the people if they were blamed.
“Can this be considered a calamity? Well! They can, indeed, kill the body, but they are not able to kill the soul.” — Huldrych Zwingli, priest and leader of the Reformation in Switzerland (11 October 1531), mortally wounded at the Battle of Kappel.
“O ye papists: behold, ye look for miracles, and here now ye may see a miracle, for in this fire I feel no more pain than if I were in a bed of down, but it is to me as sweet as a bed of roses.” — James Bainham, English lawyer and Protestant reformer (30 April 1532), while burning at the stake for heresy.
“That is enough to last till I get to Heaven.”— William Warham, Archbishop of Canterbury (22 August 1532), when a servant told him he had thirty pounds left.
“Father, into Thy hands I commend my spirit.” Ludovica Albertoni, an Italian noblewoman, professed member of the Third Order of Saint Francis (31 January 1533), quoting Jesus.
“This is not my home.” — Ludovico Ariosto, Italian poet (6 July 1533).
“What have I done, or my children, that I should meet such a fate? And from your hands, too, you who have met with friendship and kindness from my people who have received nothing but benefits from my hands.” — Atahualpa, last Sapa Inca of the Inca Empire (26 July 1533), prior to execution by strangling.
“Begone thou wretched beast, which hast utterly undone me.” — Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, German polymath, and occultist (18 February 1535), to his black dog (allegedly his familiar).
“I die the King’s good servant, and God’s first.” — Thomas More, Lord High Chancellor of Britain (6 July 1535), prior to beheading for treason.
.”My eyes desire thee only. Farewell.” — Catherine of Aragon, Queen of England (7 January 1536), closing her last letter to her former husband, Henry VIII of England.
“Masters, I pray you to pray for me, for I have deserved this death.” — Mark Smeaton, a musician in the household of Queen Anne Boleyn (17 May 1536), prior to beheading for alleged treason and adultery.
“Oh God, have pity on my soul. Oh God, have pity on my soul.” — Anne Boleyn, Queen of England (19 May 1536), prior to her execution by beheading.
“Lord! Lord! make an end! make an end!” — Erasmus, Dutch Catholic priest and humanist scholar (12 July 1536).
“Lord, open the King of England’s eyes.” — William Tyndale, English scholar and Bible translator (c. 6 October 1536), before being strangled and burned at the stake for heresy.
“None but Christ! None but Christ!” — John Lambert, English Protestant martyr (22 November 1538), while being burned at the stake.
“May an avenger arise from my bones.” — Filippo Strozzi the Younger, Florentine banker (18 December 1538). He carved this line from Virgil’s Aeneid on a mantelpiece with his sword as his suicide note.
“Death cannot destroy us, for it is destroyed already by Him for Whose sake we suffer.” — Jerome Russell, Franciscan friar (1539), burned for heresy in Scotland.
“God be merciful to me, a sinner; Lord Jesus receive my spirit! — Thomas Forret, vicar of Dollar, Clackmannanshire, burned for heresy (28 February/1 March 1539), quoting Psalm 51.
“Did you envy my happiness?” — Francisco de San Roman, Spanish merchant and Protestant martyr (1540). While burning at the stake, he moved his head in a way that caused the friars to believe he had recanted. Upon his removal from the flames, he asked them this question and was then returned to the fire.
“I die in the traditional faith.” — Thomas Cromwell, 1st Earl of Essex (28 July 1540), prior to beheading for treason and heresy. Last Words Uttered by Famous Persons Just Before Their Death
“I trust in no good works that ever I did, but only in the death of Christ. I do not doubt but through Him to inherit the kingdom of Heaven. But imagine not that I speak against good works, for they are to be done, and verily they that do them not shall never enter into the kingdom of God.”— Robert Barnes, English reformer and Protestant martyr (30 July 1540), while being burned at the stake for heresy.
“Blessed are they who suffer persecution for righteousness’ sake.”— Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury (27 May 1541), quoting Matthew 5:10[80] while an incompetent executioner attempted to behead her.
“Jesu!” — Francisco Pizarro, Spanish conquistador (26 June 1541), after being stabbed by assassins.
“It [the Crown of Scotland] came with a lass, and it will go with a lass.” — James V of Scotland (15 December 1542), on being informed of the birth of his daughter and successor, Mary, Queen of Scots.
“Now, O Lord, set thy servant free.”— Nicolaus Copernicus, mathematician and astronomer (24 May 1543), paraphrasing Luke 2:29.
“We are beggars, this is true.” — Martin Luther, a German theologian who started the Protestant Reformation (18 February 1546).
“Lo! here is a token that I forgive thee; my heart, do thine office.” — George Wishart, Scottish Protestant reformer and martyr (1 March 1546), kissing one of his executioners on the cheek after the man asked for his forgiveness.
“I am a priest; I am a priest! Fie! Fie! All is gone.” — David Beaton, Archbishop of St Andrews, final Scottish Cardinal prior to the Scottish Reformation (29 May 1546), during his assassination.
“I came not hither to deny my Lord and Master.” — Anne Askew, English writer and poet (16 July 1546), when offered a letter of pardon before being burned at the stake for heresy.
“All is lost! Monks, monks, monks!” — Henry VIII, King of England (28 January 1547)
“Farewell, and remember me.” — Margaret of Valois-Angouleme, Queen of Navarre (21 December 1549).
“Jesu, Maria!” — George Martinuzzi, Archbishop of Esztergom (16 December 1551), while being assassinated.
“Bring down the curtain, the farce is played out.” — François Rabelais, French writer, and physician (1553).
“Lord take my spirit.” — Edward VI of England (6 July 1553).
“Jesus, Son of the eternal God, have mercy on me!” — Michael Servetus, Spanish theologian, physician, and humanist (27 October 1553), while being burned at the stake for heresy on a pyre of his own books.
“Lord, into Thy hands I commend my spirit.” — Lady Jane Grey, de facto Queen of England and Ireland (12 February 1554), quoting Jesus prior to her beheading.
“What I then said I unsay now, and what I now say is the truth.” — Thomas Wyatt the Younger, English politician and leader of Wyatt’s rebellion (11 April 1554), exculpating Princess Elizabeth and Edward Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon, prior to execution by beheading for treason.
“Lord, receive my spirit.” — John Rogers, English clergyman, Bible translator and commentator (4 February 1555), prior to burning at the stake for heresy.
“Welcome the cross of Christ! welcome everlasting life!”— Laurence Saunders, English Protestant martyr (8 February 1555), kissing the stake at which he was to be burned.
“If you love my soul, away with it!” — John Hooper, Anglican Bishop of Gloucester and Worcester, Protestant martyr (9 February 1555), refusing a pardon prior to burning at the stake for heresy. Last Words Uttered by Famous Persons Just Before Their Death
“Merciful Father of heaven, for Jesus Christ my Savior’s sake, receive my soul into Thy hand.” — Rowland Taylor, English Protestant martyr (9 February 1555), while being burned at the stake for heresy.
“I am not afraid. Lord, Lord, Lord, receive my spirit!” — William Hunter, English silk-weaver and Protestant martyr (27 March 1555), while being burned at the stake for heresy.
“Be of good comfort, brother, for we shall have a merry supper with the Lord this night: if there be any way to heaven on horseback or in fiery chariots, this is it.” — John Bradford, English Reformer and Protestant martyr (1 July 1555), to John Leaf, a fellow martyr, prior to being burned at the stake.
“Let the flames come near me. I cannot burn! I cannot burn!” — Nicholas Ridley, Bishop of London (16 October 1555). While burning at the stake for heresy, only his lower limbs burned away.
“Be of good comfort, Master Ridley, and play the man; we shall this day light such a candle by God’s grace in England as (I trust) shall never be put out.” — Hugh Latimer, former Bishop of Worcester (16 October 1555); to Nicholas Ridley while they were burning at the stake for heresy.
“Like Peter, I have erred, unlike Peter, I have not wept.” — Stephen Gardiner, English bishop and politician (12 November 1555)
“Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. I see the heavens open and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.” — Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury (21 March 1556), alluding to Acts 7:56 prior to execution by burning.
“Now I’m oiled. Keep me from the rats.” — Pietro Aretino, Italian writer and blackmailer (21 October 1556), after receiving the last rites.
“Lord Jesu!” — Albert Alcibiades, Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach (8 January 1557).
“Lord, have mercy upon me! Pray, people, while there is time.” — Walter Milne, the last Protestant martyr burned in Scotland before the Scottish Reformation (28 April 1558).
“Now, Lord, I go! Ay, Jesus!” — Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (21 September 1558), looking at a crucifix.
“After I am dead, you will find Calais written upon my heart.” — Mary I of England (17 November 1558). French forces had captured Calais from England earlier that year.
“Nothing else but heaven.” — Philip Melanchthon, German Lutheran reformer (19 April 1560), when asked if he wanted anything.
“Farewell, thou who art so beautiful and so cruel; who killest me and whom I cannot cease to love.” — Pierre de Bocosel de Chastelard, French poet (22 February 1563), addressing the window of Holyrood Palace before being hanged for hiding under the bed of Mary, Queen of Scots.
“I’m still learning.” — Michelangelo, Italian artist, and poet (18 February 1564).
“Thou, Lord, bruisest me; but I am abundantly satisfied since it is from thy hand.” — John Calvin, French theologian and Protestant reformer, principal developer of Calvinism (27 May 1564).
“Tomorrow, at sunrise, I shall no longer be here.” — Nostradamus, French seer (2 July 1566), correctly predicting his death.
“I desire to die and be with Christ.” — Roger Ascham, English scholar and didactic writer (30 December 1568).
“Victory! Victory!” — Bartolomeo Bartocci, Italian trader (25 May 1569), while burning at the stake for heresy.
“I am he; respect my gray hairs, young man!” — Gaspard II de Coligny, Admiral of France (24 August 1572), in response to one of his assassins asking, “Art thou Coligny?” Last Words Uttered by Famous Persons Just Before Their Death
“Now it is come.” — John Knox, founder of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland (24 November 1572).
“Nurse, nurse, what murder! what blood! Oh! I have done wrong. God pardon me!” — Charles IX of France (30 May 1574).
“Royal freedom will only be lost with life” — Sebastian of Portugal (4 August 1578), when being advised to surrender, and to hand over his sword to the victors of the Battle of Alcacer Quibir.
“It matters little to me; for if I am but once dead they may bury me or not bury me as they please. They may leave my corpse to rot where I die if they wish.” — George Buchanan, Scottish historian and humanist scholar (28 September 1582), when his servant asked who would pay for his burial after Buchanan told him to distribute his property among the poor.
“Over my spirit flash and float in divine radiancy the bright and glorious visions of the world to which I go.” — Teresa of Avila, Spanish Carmelite nun, mystic and author.
“Too late.”— Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba (11 December 1582), on learning that the King was to visit him.
“We are as nearer to Heaven by sea as by land.” — Humphrey Gilbert, English adventurer and explorer (9 September 1583), prior to the sinking of HMS Squirrel with all hands.
“God have mercy upon me, and upon this poor nation.” — William the Silent, Prince of Orange (10 July 1584), assassinated by Balthasar Gerard.
“Jesus! I pardon you.” — Vittoria Accoramboni, Italian noblewoman (22 December 1585), kneeling before a crucifix.
“The murder of the Queen had been represented to me as a deed lawful and meritorious. I die a firm Catholic.” — Anthony Babington, English gentleman, and conspirator in the Babington Plot (20 September 1586), prior to being hanged, drawn and quartered for high treason.
“Take it; thy need is greater than mine.” — Philip Sidney, English poet and soldier (17 October 1586), mortally wounded at the Battle of Zutphen, passing a cup of water to another wounded soldier.
“Let the pulse beat as it may, we know the mercy of God will never fail.” — Frederick II of Denmark (4 April 1588).
“It is time for Matins.” — John of the Cross, Spanish Catholic priest and mystic (14 December 1591), dying at the stroke of midnight.
“A bishop ought to die on his legs.” — John Woolton, Bishop of Exeter (13 March 1594).
“Lord, into Thy hands I commend my spirit.” — Torquato Tasso, Italian poet (25 April 1595), quoting Jesus.
“Life or death is welcome to me, and I desire not to live, but so far as I may be serviceable to God and His church.” — William Whitaker, Calvinistic Anglican churchman, academic, and theologian (4 December 1595)
“Do not announce my death.” — Yi Sun-sin, Korean naval commander (16 December 1598), telling his nephew to hide his death by a gunshot from his soldiers to avoid demoralizing them during the Battle of Noryang.
“I die a martyr and willingly — my soul shall mount up to heaven in this chariot of smoke.” — Giordano Bruno, Italian Dominican friar (17 February 1600), prior to burning at the stake for heresy.
“Good Doctor, God hath heard my daily petitions, for I am at peace with all men, and He is at peace with me; and from that blessed assurance, I feel that inward joy which this world can neither give nor take from me.— Richard Hooker, English priest and theologian (3 November 1600).
“May I not seem to have lived in vain.” — Tycho Brahe, Danish astronomer (24 October 1601), to his assistant Johannes Kepler. Last Words Uttered by Famous Persons Just Before Their Death
“All my possessions for a moment of time.” — Elizabeth I, queen regnant of England (24 March 1603).
“I cannot bear that any misunderstanding should subsist between you and those who have for so many years shared in my toils and been the companions of my glory.” — Akbar, third Mughal emperor (27 October 1605), to his nobles and his son, Jahangir; he then asked their forgiveness if he had ever wronged them
“Stand by me, Tom, and we will die together.” — Robert Catesby, leader of the Gunpowder Plot (8 November 1605). Catesby and Thomas Percy were shot by armed men led by Sir Richard Walsh.
“Now I am going.” — Paolo Farinati, Italian Mannerist painter (1606), on his deathbed. His wife replied, “I will bear you company, my dear husband,” and also died.
“I begin to perceive and feel the joys of eternal life. I shall soon behold Him, who was sacrificed for men; I long for the blessed sight. All else is to me as dross: there is nothing that could make me wish to live one hour longer.” — Joseph Justus Scaliger, French Calvinist religious leader and scholar (21 January 1609).
“I am wounded.” — Henry IV of France (14 May 1610), while being assassinated by stabbing.
“I receive absolution upon this condition.” — Francois Ravaillac, French Catholic zealot, the assassin of Henry IV of France (27 May 1610), receiving conditional absolution prior to his execution due to his insistence that he had no accomplices. — Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, English statesman (24 May 1612)
“I would say ‘somewhat,’ but I cannot utter it.” — Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales (6 November 1612), when asked if he was in pain.
“If there be here any hidden Catholics, let them pray for me, but the prayers of heretics I will not have.” — John Ogilvie SJ (10 March 1615), hanged, drawn and quartered at Glasgow Cross because of having preached the Catholic religion, then illegal in Scotland, and for refusing to pledge allegiance to King James VI of Scotland.
“I am Sanada Nobushige, no doubt an adversary quite worthy of you, but I am exhausted and can fight no longer. Go on, take my head as your trophy.” — Sanada Yukimura, Japanese samurai warrior (3 June 1615), to his foes prior to his death at the Battle of Tennoji.
“Already my foot is in the stirrup.” — Miguel de Cervantes, Spanish novelist (22 April 1616).
“Come, Lord Jesu, come quickly, finish in me the work that Thou has begun; into Thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit, for Thou has redeemed me. O God of truth, save me Thy servant, who hopes and confides in Thee alone; let Thy mercy, O Lord, be shown unto me; in Thee have I trusted, O Lord, let me not be confounded for ever.” — Robert Abbot, Anglican clergyman and academic (2 March 1617).
“What dost thou fear? Strike, man, strike!” — Walter Raleigh, English poet, soldier, and courtier (29 October 1618), as he lay ready to be beheaded at the Palace of Westminster.
“They sweat in extremes, for fear of the unwarlike; I am dying undisturbed” — Lucilio Vanini, Italian philosopher, physician and freethinker (9 February 1619), prior to execution by strangling and burning for atheism and blasphemy.
“Make it short. Make it short.” — Johan van Oldenbarnevelt, Dutch statesman (13 May 1619), to his executioner
“Oh, would to God I had never reigned! Oh, that those years I have spent in my kingdom I had lived a solitary life in the wilderness! Oh, that I had lived alone with God! How much more secure should I now have died! With how much more confidence should I have gone to the throne of God! What doth all my glory profit, but that I have so much the more torment in my death?” — Philip III of Spain (31 March 1621)
“Now I have overcome.” — Johann Arndt, German Lutheran theologian (11 May 1621), to his wife
“Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.” — Robert Bellarmine, Italian Jesuit and Roman Catholic cardinal (17 September 1621).
“All my life I have carried myself gracefully.” — Rodrigo Calderón, Count of Oliva (21 October 1621), when his confessor chastised him for his attention to his appearance prior to his execution by beheading.
“Be thou everlasting.” — Paolo Sarpi, Venetian historian, prelate, scientist, canon lawyer and statesman (15 January 1623), referring to Venice. Last Words Uttered by Famous Persons Just Before Their Death
“Thy creatures, O Lord, have been my books, but Thy Holy Scriptures much more. I have sought Thee in the fields and gardens, but I have found Thee, O God, in Thy Sanctuary—Thy Temple.” — Francis Bacon, English philosopher and statesman (9 April 1626).
“Blessed be God, though I change my place, I shall not change my company; for I have walked with God while living, and now I go to rest with God.” — John Preston, Anglican minister, master of Emmanuel College, Cambridge (20 July 1628).
“Villaine!” — George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham (23 August 1628); to his assassin, John Felton, after being stabbed by him.
“Hold your tongue; your wretched style only makes me out of conceit with them.” — Francois de Malherbe, French poet, critic and translator (16 October 1628), listening on his deathbed to his confessor describing the glories of heaven
“I am the man.” — John Felton, the assassin of George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham (29 November 1628), referring to the killing of Buckingham.
“I do bless.—May Jesus and Mary bless, rule and govern.” — Pierre de Berulle, French Roman Catholic cardinal and statesman (2 October 1629), blessing his congregation while celebrating Mass.
“It comes at last, the happy day: Let thanks be given to God in heaven, while we learn pleasure in His way.” — Agrippa d’Aubigne, French poet, soldier, propagandist, and chronicler (29 April 1630).
“I were miserable if I might not die.” — John Donne, English poet, scholar and soldier, Dean of St Paul’s (31 March 1631).
“Now, God be with you, my dear children; I have breakfasted with you, and shall sup with my Lord Jesus Christ this night.” — Robert Bruce of Kinnaird, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland (27 July 1631).
“I have enough, brother; try to save your own life.” — Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden (16 November 1632), mortally wounded at the Battle of Lutzen (1632).
“I am now ready to die. Lord, forsake me not, now my strength faileth me; but grant me mercy for the merits of my Jesus. Lord, now receive my soul.”— George Herbert, Welsh-born poet, orator, and priest of the Church of England (1 March 1633).
“Thy kingdom comes, thy will be done.” — Edward Coke, English barrister, judge and politician (3 September 1634).
“All right then, I’ll say it. Dante makes me sick.” — Lope de Vega, Spanish playwright (27 August 1635).
“I have kept the faith once given to the saints; for which cause I have also suffered these things; but I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed to Him against that day.” — William Bedell, Anglican Lord Bishop of Kilmore (7 February 1642), dying from exposure after being imprisoned and tortured by rebels.
“Absolutely, and I pray God to condemn me if I have had any other aim than the welfare of God and the state.” — Cardinal Richelieu, French clergyman and statesman (4 December 1642), when asked whether he pardoned his enemies.
“O Lord, save my country! O Lord, be merciful to …” — John Hampden, English landowner and politician (24 June 1643), mortally wounded at the Battle of Chalgrove Field six days before his death.
“I, feeble and of small virtue, have offended against Heaven; the rebels have seized my capital because my ministers deceived me. Ashamed to face my ancestors, I die. Removing my imperial cap and with my hair disheveled about my face, I leave to the rebels the dismemberment of my body. Let them not harm my people!” — Chongzhen Emperor, the last emperor of the Ming Dynasty (24 April 1644).
“Lord, receive my soul.” — William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury (10 January 1645), spoken as the signal to the executioner at his beheading for treason
“Be serious.” — Hugo Grotius, Dutch humanist, diplomat, lawyer, theologian and writer (28 August 1645).
“Ungrateful traitors!” — Masaniello, Italian fisherman and revolutionary leader (16 July 1647), to his assassins. Last Words Uttered by Famous Persons Just Before Their Death
“Ay! but I have been nearer to you, my friends, many a time, and you have missed me.” — George Lisle, Royalist leader in the English Civil War (28 August 1648), when the officer in charge of his firing squad said they would hit him.
“Stay for the sign.” — Charles I of England (30 January 1649), asking for his executioner to await his signal before beheading him.
“The covenant which I took, I own it and adhere to it. Bishops, I do not care for them. I never intended to advance their interests.” — James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose (21 May 1650), prior to execution by hanging, beheading and quartering.
“Lord Jesus, receive me!” — Eusebius Andrews, English royalist (22 August 1650), prior to execution by beheading for treason.
“How sweet it is to rest!” — John Taylor, English poet (December 1653).
“You see what is man’s life.” — Pierre Gassendi, French philosopher, Catholic priest, astronomer and mathematician (24 October 1655).
“O Lord, forgive me especially my sins of omission.” — James Ussher, Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland (21 March 1656).
“It is not my design to drink or to sleep, but my design is to make what haste I can to be gone.” — Oliver Cromwell, English general and statesman, Lord Protector (3 September 1658).
“I never thought that it was so easy a matter to laugh at the approach of death.” — Paul Scarron, French poet, dramatist, and novelist (6 October 1660).
“O, my poor soul, what is to become of thee? Whither wilt thou go?” — Cardinal Mazarin, Italian cardinal, diplomat, and politician (9 March 1661).
“I bless the Lord that he gave me counsel.” — Samuel Rutherford, Scottish pastor (29 March 1661).
“I die not only a Protestant, but with a heart-hatred of popery, prelacy, and all superstition. Lord Jesus, receive me into Thy glory.” — Archibald Campbell, 1st Marquess of Argyll, Scottish nobleman (27 May 1661), before execution by beheading.
“I take God to record upon my soul that I would not exchange this scaffold with the palace or mitre of the greatest prelate in Britain. The covenants, the covenants shall yet be Scotland’s reviving.” — James Guthrie, Scottish Presbyterian minister (1 June 1661), prior to execution by hanging for high treason.
“Jesus, oh Jesus, you are my God, my justice, my strength, my all.” — Marie Angelique Arnauld, Abbess of the Abbey of Port-Royal (6 August 1661).
“It is a bad cause which cannot bear the words of a dying man.” — Henry Vane the Younger, English politician, statesman and colonial governor (14 June 1662), prior to execution by beheading for treason.
“My God, forsake me not.”— Blaise Pascal, French mathematician, physicist and theologian (19 August 1662).
“My heart is fixed, O God! my heart is fixed where true joy is to be found.” — Robert Sanderson, English theologian and casuist (29 January 1663).
“Abba, the Father, accept this, Thy poor sinful servant, coming unto Thee through the merits of Jesus Christ. O pray, pray! praise, praise!” — Archibald Johnston, Scottish judge and statesman (22 July 1663), before execution by hanging.
“Monsieur de Montaigu, consider what I owe to God, the favor He has shown me, and the great indulgence for which I am beholden to Him. Observe how they are swelled; time to depart.” — Anne of Austria, former Queen of France (20 January 1666), looking at her formerly beautiful hands.
“And now I begin my intercourse with God, which shall never be broken off. Farewell, father and mother, friends and relations; farewell, the world and all delights; farewell, sun, moon and stars! Welcome, God and Father; welcome, sweet Jesus Christ, the mediator of the new covenant; welcome, blessed Spirit of grace, the God of all consolation; welcome, glory; welcome, eternal life; and welcome, death.” — Hugh Mackail, Scottish martyr (22 December 1666), prior to execution by hanging. Last Words Uttered by Famous Persons Just Before Their Death
“My trust is in God.” — Jeremy Taylor, Anglican divine (13 August 1667).
“Vex me not with this thing, but give me a simple cross, that I may adore it, both as it is in itself and as I can figure it in my mind.” — Alonso Cano, Spanish painter, architect and sculptor (3 September 1667), asking a priest to take away a badly carved crucifix.
“I shall have to ask leave to desist when I am interrupted by so great an experiment as dying.”? — William Davenant, English poet and playwright (7 April 1668), setting aside the manuscript of a new poem.
“Far from well, yet far better than my iniquities deserve.” — Richard Mather, Puritan minister (22 April 1669), when asked about his health.
“Lord!”— John Cosin, English churchman (15 January 1672), raising his hand.
“Well, my friend, what news from the Great Mogul?” — Francois de La Mothe Le Vayer, French writer (9 May 1672), to physician and traveler Francois Bernier, who had come to say goodbye to him.
“Bad, bad! To judge by what I now endure, the hand of death grasps me sharply.” — Salvator Rosa, Italian artist and poet (15 March 1673), when asked how he was.
“Death is the great key that opens the palace of Eternity.” — John Milton, English epic-poet and intellectual (8 November 1674).
“I did not mean to be killed today.”— Henri de La Tour d’Auvergne, Viscount of Turenne (27 July 1675), struck by a cannonball at the Battle of Sulzbach.
“I would never have married had I known that my time would be so brief. If I had known that, I would not have taken upon myself double tears.” — Alexis of Russia, Russian Tsar (8 February 1676).
“I have seen the glories of the world.”— Isaac Barrow, English Christian theologian and mathematician (4 May 1677).
“Well, ladies, if I were one hour in heaven, I would not be again with you, as much as I love you.” — Mary Rich, Countess of Warwick (12 April 1678).
“How beautiful!” — Giovan Battista Nani, Venetian ambassador, librarian and historian (5 November 1678).
“I shall be happy.” — James Sharp, Archbishop of St Andrews (3 May 1679).
“Now I am about to take my last voyage, a great leap in the dark.” — Thomas Hobbes, English philosopher (4 December 1679).
“The only objection against the Bible is a bad life.” — John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester, English poet and courtier (26 July 1680).
“I do not fear death.” — Thomas Blood, Anglo-Irish officer and desperado (24 August 1680).
“I do forgive you.” — William Howard, 1st Viscount Stafford (29 December 1680), to his executioner prior to beheading for alleged treason.
“Now the bitterness of death is past.” — William Russell, Lord Russell (21 July 1683), after bidding farewell to his wife prior to execution by beheading for treason.
“Stop. Change that to say, ‘I am yet in the land of the dying, but I hope soon to be in the land of the living.” — John Owen, English Nonconformist church leader and theologian (24 August 1683), when his secretary had written “I am still in the land of the living” in a letter in his name. Last Words Uttered by Famous Persons Just Before Their Death
“I know that my Redeemer liveth. I die for the good old cause.” — Algernon Sidney, English politician (7 December 1683), prior to execution by beheading for treason.
“My God, my Father, and my Friend, do not forsake me in the end.” — Wentworth Dillon, 4th Earl of Roscommon, Anglo-Irish landlord, Irish peer, and poet (18 January 1685), quoting from his own translation of the “Dies Irae”.
“I have been a most unconscionable time dying, but I beg you to excuse it.” — Charles II of England (6 February 1685)
“There are six guineas for you and do not hack me as you did my Lord Russell. I have heard that you struck him three or four times. My servant will give you more gold if you do your work well.” — James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, an illegitimate son of Charles II of England (15 July 1685), to Jack Ketch, his executioner. Ketch was nervous and took several blows to behead Scott.
“Lord, into Thy hands I commend my spirit; for Thou hast redeemed me, Lord God of truth.” — James Renwick, Scottish minister (17 February 1688), before execution by hanging.
“Take me, for I come to Thee.” — John Bunyan, English writer and preacher (31 August 1688).
“O, come in glory! I have long waited for Thy coming. Let no dark cloud rest on the work of the Indians. Let it live when I am dead. Welcome joy!” — John Eliot, Puritan missionary to the American Indians, and founder of Roxbury Latin School (21 May 1690).
“I need nothing but God, and to lose myself in the heart of Jesus.” — Margaret Mary Alacoque, French Roman Catholic nun, promoter of devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus (17 October 1690).
“Never heed; the Lord’s power is over all weakness and death.” — George Fox, English Dissenter, founder of the Religious Society of Friends (13 January 1691).
“I know that it will be well with me.” — John Flavel, English Presbyterian clergyman and author (26 June 1691).
“Death, death. O I thank Him, I thank Him. The Lord teach you to die.” — Richard Baxter, English Puritan church leader, poet, hymnodist and theologian (8 December 1691).
“You are a liar. I am no more a Witch than you are a Wizard, and if you take away my Life, God will give you Blood to drink.” — Sarah Good, American woman accused of witchcraft during the Salem witch trials (29 July [O.S. 19 July] 1692), to Reverend Nicholas Noyes prior to execution by hanging.
“More weight.”— Giles Corey, English-born American farmer (19 September 1692), before being pressed to death during the Salem witch trials.
“Oh, that this were for Ireland.” — Patrick Sarsfield, 1st Earl of Lucan, Irish soldier (21 August 1693), mortally wounded at the Battle of Landen.
“My Lord, why do you not go on? I am not afraid to die.” — Mary II of England (28 December 1694), when the clergyman reading the prayers for the sick paused due to being overcome by grief.
“O death, where is thy ……” — Philip Henry, English Nonconformist clergyman and diarist (24 June 1696), quoting 1 Corinthians 15:55.
“Let no one weep for me, or celebrate my funeral with mourning; for I still live, as I pass to and fro through the mouths of men.” — Ennius, writer and poet of the Roman Republic (c. 169 BC); lines dictated to be engraved on his memorial. Only fragments of his works now survive.
“Let all brave Prussians follow me!” — Field Marshal Kurt Christoph Graf von Schwerin (6 May 1757), at the Battle of Prague, immediately before being struck by a cannonball.
“They couldn’t hit an elephant at this distance! All right, my man; go to your place.” — General John Sedgwick (9 May 1864) at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House shortly before being killed by enemy fire.
“Sergeant, the Spanish bullet isn’t made that will kill me.” — Captain Buckey O’Neill (1 July 1898), one of Theodore Roosevelt’s Rough Riders, just before being shot in the mouth prior to charge up Kettle Hill. Last Words Uttered by Famous Persons Just Before Their Death
“I think I’m going to make it.” — Richard A. Loeb (28 January 1936), after being slashed 56 times with a razor in a prison fight.
“I’ll show you that it won’t shoot.” — Johnny Ace (25 December 1954), American musician, playing with an A-32 caliber revolver.
“What do you think I’m gonna do? Blow my brains out?” — Terry Kath (23 January 1978), of the band Chicago, just before putting a supposedly unloaded semi-automatic 9-mm pistol to his temple and pulling the trigger.
“I told you I was hardcore, you are so fucking stupid” — Brandon Vedas (12 January 2003), American computer enthusiast talking on IRC during a drug overdose.
“You’re a lifesaver, Andy.” — William Donaldson, British satirist and playboy (22 June 2005), to the caretaker of his building, who had collected pills for him Independently.
“Do not disturb my circles!” — Archimedes, Greek mathematician (212 BCE), to a Roman soldier who interrupted his geometric experiments during the capture of Syracuse, whereupon the soldier killed him.
“It is finished.”— Jesus, founder of Christianity (c. 30 CE), right before his death by crucifixion
“Death to fascism! Freedom to the people!”— Stjepan Filipovic, Yugoslav communist (22 May 1942), seconds before execution by hanging.
“I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe.” — Eric Garner, American former horticulturist (17 July 2014), after being put in a chokehold by an arresting NYPD officer.
“Hey Ram’’— Mahatma Gandhi, Father of the Indian nation, Freedom fighter, and advocate of Hindu-Muslim unity. He was shot dead by Nathuram Godse.
I’ll call back soon.’’— Hemant Karkare. He was the Chief of Mumbai’s Anti-terrorists Squad. Right before being killed by terrorists during the atrocious 26/11 attacks in Mumbai, he spoke on the phone with his wife and told her that he’ll call her back soon.
“It’s time. Pack up’’— Ramesh Khanna. He was a superstar of Bollywood. He made sure that he left for the heavenly abode in complete style!
“I am alright. But If you call a doctor, I shall have a real heart attack.”— Kishore Kumar. Kishore Kumar was a reputed Indian singer.
“Namaste.”-Indira Gandhi. She was the third Prime Minister of India. Indira Gandhi greeted her guards with a ‘Namaste!’ before they gunned her down in front of her own home.
“Do not worry. Relax.”-Rajiv Gandhi. He was the elder son of Indira Gandhi and Firoze Gandhi . He became the 6th Prime Minister of India after the assassination of his mother, Indira Gandhi.
“Chandan, my last wish is to die in your arms.”-Meena Kumari. Meena Kumari was a cinema actress. She died of complications related to liver cirrhosis but made sure to let the world know about her love for her husband. She wanted him to be by her side till her last breath.
“I will return soon.”-Dev Anand. Dev Anand, an Indian actor, took a flight to England from India and passed away due to a cardiac arrest in a hotel in London. Before leaving, he told his wife that he will return soon.
“Krishna, I am going, I am going…goodbye, goodbye.-Raj Kapoor. Raj Kapoor was an Indian actor. When he was being wheeled into the hospital after his lungs gave up, he glanced at his wife and said the quoted words.
“I have offended God and mankind because my work did not reach the quality it should have.” – Leonardo da Vinci, Italian Painter.
“Pardonnez-moi, monsieur.”- Marie Antoinette, made the words stepping on her executioner’s foot on her way to the guillotine. Last Words Uttered by Famous Persons Just Before Their Death
“Swing low, sweet chariot.”- Harriet Tubman, uttered the words when was dying in 1913, she gathered her family around and they sang together.
“I’ll show you that it won’t shoot.”- Johnny Ace, an R&B singer, died in 1954 while playing with a pistol during a break in his concert set.
“This dying is boring.”- Richard Feynman, a physicist, author, musician, professor, and traveler died in Los Angeles in 1988.
“A dying man can do nothing easy.”- Benjamin Franklin, uttered the words as he lay dying at the age of 84, his daughter told him to change position in bed so he could breathe more easily.
“You are wonderful,” then clutched his chest and died.’’- Arthur Conan Doyle, he wrote the Sherlock Holmes stories, died at age 71 in his garden. He said these words turning to his wife just before his death.
“Valerie,” – T.S. Eliot, was only able to whisper one word as he died: the name of his wife.
“God damn the whole friggin’ world and everyone in it but you, Carlotta.”- W.C. Fields, Actor and comedian died in 1946. At the time of dying he was speaking to Carlotta Monti, his longtime mistress.
“You’re the only one I like.”- Percy Grainger, an Australian composer told his last words to his wife Ella,
“You’re right. It’s time. I love you all.”- Michael Landon, a British actor best known for Little House on the Prairie and Highway to Heaven, died of cancer in 1991. He uttered these words while his family gathered around his bed, and his son said it was time to move on.
“Happy anniversary. I love you.”- Vince Lombardi, football coach died of cancer in 1970. As he died, Lombardi turned to his wife Marie and said these words.
“The following is a report on the measurement of the velocity of light made at the Irvine Ranch, near Santa Ana, California, during the period of September 1929 to—.”- Albert Abraham Michelson, dedicated his life to measuring the speed of light and was the first American to win the Nobel Prize in Physics. Even as he was dying at age 78, he was measuring light. He wrote these words in his log.
“I’ve never forgiven that smart-alecky reporter who named me Butterfingers. To me, it’s not funny.”- Thomas B Moran, a pickpocket, known by the nickname “Butterfingers.” He reportedly stole as many as 50,000 wallets in his career. He died in Miami in 1971.
“Bring me a bullet-proof vest.”- James W. Rodgers, a murderer, was put in front of a firing squad in Utah and asked if he had a last request.
“Capital punishment means those without the capital get the punishment.”- John Arthur Spenkelink, he was executed in Florida in 1979. He spent his final days writing these last words on various pieces of mail.
“I did not get my Spaghetti-O’s; I got spaghetti. I want the press to know this.”- Thomas J. Grasso, a convicted murderer, used his last words to complain about his last meal.
“Snooks, will you please turn this way? I like to look at your face.”- McIntyre was an American reporter. He died at age 53 and spoke his last words to his wife Maybelle.
“I knew it! I knew it! Born in a hotel room and, goddamn it, dying in a hotel room.”- Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Eugene O’Neill, he was born in a room at the Broadway Hotel on what is now Times Square. He died at age 65 in a Boston hotel.
“I’d like to thank the Academy for my lifetime achievement award that I will eventually get.”-O’Connor, a singer, dancer, and actor known for his role in Singin’ in the Rain. He also hosted the Academy Awards in 1954. O’Connor died at age 78 with his family gathered around him.
“Remember, Honey, don’t forget what I told you. Put in my coffin a deck of cards, a mashie niblick, and a pretty blonde.” – Groucho’s brother Leonard, who was better known as Chico Marx, gave instructions to his wife as his last words.
“Be nice to people on the way up because you’ll meet the same people on the way down.”- Mizner, best known for his bon mots, though he was a successful playwright, too. Last Words Uttered by Famous Persons Just Before Their Death
“One never knows the ending. One has to die to know exactly what happens after death, although Catholics have their hopes.”- Alfred Hitchcock.
“One hundred and forty-four.”- Thomas Fantet de Lagny, a mathematician. On his deathbed, he was asked, “What is the square of 12?” Then he uttered these words.
“I want the world to be filled with white fluffy duckies.”- Jarman, an artist, writer, and filmmaker.
“I’m bored with it all.”- Winston Churchill, former Prime Minister of England.
“Damn it! Don’t you dare ask God to help me!”- Actress Joan Crawford yelled at her housekeeper, who was praying as Crawford died.
“Wow.”- Bo Diddley, died giving a thumbs-up as he listened to the song, ‘Walk Around Heaven.’
“How did the Mets do today?”- Baseball player.
“I must go in, for the fog is rising.”- Emily Dickinson, American Poetess.
“Good dog.”- Vladimir Ilych Lenin (technically, he said vot sobaka.) He said this to a dog that brought him a dead bird.
“Mama— Mama— Mama.”- Truman Capote.
“Stopped.”- Surgeon Joseph Henry Green was checking his own pulse as he lay dying.
“Oh wow. Oh wow. Oh wow.”- Steve Jobs.
“Dictionary.”- Wright, a linguist, edited the English Dialect Dictionary.
“I love you very much, my dear Beaver.”- Philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre turned to his partner Simone de Beauvoir and said the words.
“A party! Let’s have a party.”- Birth control advocate Margaret Sangerlast.
“I don’t want the doctor’s death. I want to have my own freedom.”- Rainer Maria Rilke.
“Happy.”- Italian artist Raphael.
“Mozart!”- Composer Gustav Mahler, died in bed, conducting an imaginary orchestra.
“I’m going, but I’m going in the name of the Lord.”- Blues singer Bessie Smith.
“What the devil do you mean to sing to me, priest? You are out of tune.”- Composer Jean-Philippe Rameau objected to a song sung at his bedside. Last Words Uttered by Famous Persons Just Before Their Death
“I’m losing it.”- Frank Sinatra died after saying,
“At 50, everyone has the face he deserves.” – George Orwell. He died at age 46.
“Nothing, only ‘love one another.”- William Henry Seward, U.S. secretary of state and architect of the Alaska Purchase, He said the words when he was asked if he had any final words.
“Tomorrow, at sunrise, I shall no longer be here.” – Nostradamus, French philosopher. He was right.
“A certain butterfly is already on the wing.”- Author Vladimir Nabokov, an entomologist, particularly interested in butterflies.
“God bless Captain Vere!”- Author Herman Melville, died saying the words, referencing his then-unpublished novel Billy Budd, found in a breadbox after he died.
“I don’t know what I may seem to the world. But as to myself, I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore and diverting myself now and then in finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than the ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.”- Sir Isaac Newton.
“Of course, I know who you are. You’re my girl. I love you.”- John Wayne, died at age 72 in L.A. He turned to his wife and said these words.
“Goodbye, kid. Hurry back. Here’s looking at you, kid,” – Humphrey Bogart.
“Goodnight, my kitten.”- Ernest Hemingway, an American novelist, before committing suicide, told these words addressing his wife Mary.
“Oh, you young people act like old men. You are no fun.”- Josephine Baker.
“And now for a final word from our sponsor—.”- Gussman, was a writer and TV announcer who wrote the pilot episode of Days of Our Lives, among other shows. As he became ill, he said he wanted his last words to be memorable. When his daughter reminded him of this, he gently removed his oxygen mask and whispered the words.
“This is no way to live!”- Groucho Marx.
“Well, Jan, we were lucky at that.”- Edward R. Murrow, died while patting his wife’s hand. 0 0 0.

Last Words Uttered by Famous Persons Just Before Their Death

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