J. P.

Exeter College, August 25th, 1719.

EPITAPH

The occasion of this epitaph was briefly thus:—­A gentleman, who had heard much in commendation of this dumb man, going accidentally to the churchyard where he was buried, and finding his grave without a tombstone, or any manner of memorandum of his death, he pulled out his pencil, and writ as follows:—­

   Pauper UBIQUE JACET.

   Near to this lonely unfrequented place,
   Mixed with the common dust, neglected lies
   The man that every muse should strive to grace,
   And all the world should for his virtue prize. 
   Stop, gentle passenger, and drop a tear,
   Truth, justice, wisdom, all lie buried here.

   What, though he wants a monumental stone,
   The common pomp of every fool or knave,
   Those virtues which through all his actions shone
   Proclaim his worth, and praise him in the grave. 
   His merits will a bright example give,
   Which shall both time and envy too outlive.

   Oh, had I power but equal to my mind,
   A decent tomb should soon this place adorn,
   With this inscription:  Lo, here lies confined
   A wondrous man, although obscurely born;
   A man, though dumb, yet he was nature’s care,
   Who marked him out her own philosopher.

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