When I look upon the tombs of the great, every emotion of envy dies in me; when I read the epitaphs of the beautiful, every inordinate desire goes out; when I meet with the grief of parents upon a tombstone, my heart melts with compassion; when I see the tomb of the parents themselves, I consider the vanity of grieving for those whom we must quickly follow; when I see kings lying by those who deposed them, when I consider rival wits placed side by side, or the holy men that divided the world with their contests and disputes, I reflect with sorrow and astonishment on the little competitions, factions and debates of mankind. When I read the several dates of the tombs, of some that died yesterday, and some six hunderd years ago, I consider that great when we shall all of us be contemporaries, and make our appearance together.

Excerpt from Westminster Abbey by Joseph Addison

参考译文

当我瞻仰伟人的坟墓，心中所有的嫉妒顿时烟消云散；当我读到伟人的悼文，所有的非分之想顷刻消失殆尽；当我遇见在墓碑旁悲痛欲绝的父母亲，我的心中也满怀同情；当我看到那些父母亲自己的坟墓，我不禁感慨：既然我们很快都要追随逝者的脚步，悲伤又有何用。当我看到国王与那些将他们废黜的人躺在一起，当我想到那些争斗一生的智者，或是那些通过竞争和争执将世界分裂的圣人们被后人并排葬在一起，我对人类的那些微不足道的竞争、内讧和争论感到震惊和悲伤。当我看到一些坟墓上的日期，有的死于昨日，而有的死于六百年前，我不禁想到，有那么一天我们都会在同一个时代同时出现在世人眼前。