Real Last Words and death-bed quotes

The ultimate and final wisdom ?

"Go on, get out. Last words are for fools who haven't said enough."    — Karl Marx (1818-83) to his Housekeeper.

Antiquity

"Here's to the health of my beloved Critias !"    — Theramenes ( -404BCE), Athenian statesman, after being forced to drink a cup of hemlock.

"Crito, I owe a cock to Asclepius; will you remember to pay the debt ?"    — Socrates (c.469-399BCE).

"I foresee a great funeral contest over me."    — Alexander the Great (356-323BCE).

"You too, my son..."    — Julius Caesar (100-44BCE).

"I am still alive !"    — Gaius Caligula ( -41 AD), Roman Emperor, after being stabbed to death by his own guards.

"Dear me, I believe I am becoming a god. An emperor ought at least to die on his feet."    — Vespasian (9-79 AD), Roman emperor.

"I have made but one mistake."    — Titus (39-81 AD), Roman emperor.

Dark Ages

So dark indeed that they couldn't even write them down...

16th century

"I am curious to see what happens in the next world to one who dies unshriven."    — Pietro Perugino (1446—1523), Italian painter. Giving his reasons for refusing to see a priest as he lay dying.

"The king has been very good to me. He promoted me from a simple maid to be a marchioness. Then he raised me to be a queen. Now he will raise me to be a martyr."    — Anne Boleyn (1507-36), second wife of Henry VIII.

"The executioner is, I believe, very expert, and my neck is very slender."    — Anne Boleyn (1507-36).

"I have passed in ease and prosperity and in a state of pleasure such has been the lot of no monarch."    — Sultan Ghiyas-ud-Din Khilji (15th century), who had 15000 wives and concubines.

"I owe much; I have nothing; the rest I leave to the poor."    — François Rabelais (1483—1553), French satirist.

"You pronounce sentence upon me with greater fear than I receive it."    — Giordano Bruno (1548-1600), to his inquisitors before being burned at the stake.

17th century

"I have a long journey to take, and must bid the company farewell."    — Lord Walter Raleigh (1554—1618), English explorer.

"This is a sharp medicine, but it is a physician for all diseases and miseries."    — Walter Raleigh (1554—1618), upon seeing the axe that would behead him.

"Strike man, strike !"    — Walter Raleigh (1554—1618), just before being beheaded.

"All right, then, I'll say it: Dante makes me sick."    — Lope Félix de Vega Carpio (1562—1635), Spanish dramatist and poet. On being informed he was about to die.

"I have the consolation of leaving your kingdom in the highest degree of glory and of reputation."    — Cardinal Richelieu (1585-1642), written to Louis XIII just days before he died.

18th century

"Has God forgotten everything I've done for him ?"    — Louis XIV (1638—1715), French king.

"Why are you weeping ? Did you imagine that I was immortal ?"    — Louis XIV (1638—1715), noticing as he lay on his deathbed that his attendants were crying.

"Here am I, dying of a hundred good symptoms."    — Alexander Pope (1688—1744), British poet.

"Ah, a German and a genius ! A prodigy, admit him !"    — Jonathan Swift (1667—1745), Irish-born Anglican priest and writer. Learning of the arrival of the composer Handel.

"I feel nothing, apart from a certain difficulty in continuing to exist."    — Bernard de Fontenelle (1657—1757), French philosopher. Remark on his deathbed.

"It is high time for me to depart, for at my age I now begin to see things as they really are."    — Bernard de Fontenelle (1657—1757), French philosopher. Remark on his deathbed.

"Give Dayrolles a chair."    — Earl of Chesterfield (1694—1773), English statesman. Said on his deathbed when visited by his godson, Solomon Dayrolles.

"Now, now my good man, this is no time for making enemies."    — Voltaire (1694-1778), on his deathbed in response to a priest asking that he renounce Satan.

"A-t-on des nouvelles de Monsieur de Lapérouse ?"    — Louis XVI shortly before being executed.

"Farewell, my children, forever. I go to your Father."    — Marie Antoinette (1755-93).

"Show my head to the people, it is worth seeing."    — Georges Danton (1759-94), French political activist, to his executioner.

19th century

"Thank God I have done my duty // Drink, drink. Fan, fan. Rub, rub // Kiss me, Hardy."    — Lord Nelson (1758—1805), English admiral. Three different accounts of his last words.

"I think I could eat one of Bellamy's veal pies."    — William Pitt the Younger (1759—1806), British statesman.

"Cheer up, children, I am all right."    — Franz Joseph Haydn (1732—1809).

"Josephine..."    — Napoleon Bonaparte (1769—1821).

"A king should die standing."    — King Louis XVIII (1755—1824).

"Friends applaud, the comedy is over."    — Ludwig van Beethoven (1770—1827), sarcastic remarks after a priest's gave him the last rites.

"Nurse, it was I who discovered that leeches have red blood."    — Baron Georges Cuvier (1769—1832), French zoologist. On his deathbed when the nurse came to apply leeches.

"More light !"    — Goethe (1749—1832).

"I inhabit a weak, frail, decayed tenement; battered by the winds and broken in on by the storms, and, from all I can learn, the landlord does not intend to repair."    — John Quincy Adams (1767—1848), Sixth president of the USA. Said during his last illness.

"The earth is suffocating... Swear to make them cut me open, so that I won't be buried alive."    — Frédéric Chopin (1810-49), polish composer and pianist.

"God will pardon me. It is His trade."    — Heinrich Heine (1797—1856), German poet and writer.

"I did not know that we had ever quarreled."    — Henry David Thoreau (1817-62), US writer. On being urged to make his peace with God.

"Moose... Indian..."    — Henry David Thoreau (1817-62).

"Nonsense, they couldn't hit an elephant at this distance."    — John Sedgwick (1813-64), US general. In response to a suggestion that he should not show himself over the parapet during the Battle of the Wilderness.

"I do not have to forgive my enemies, I have had them all shot."    — Ramón Maria Narváez (1800-68), Spanish general and political leader. Said on his deathbed, when asked by a priest if he forgave his enemies.

"No, it is better not. She will only ask me to take a message to Albert."    — Benjamin Disraeli (1804-81), British statesman. On his deathbed, declining an offer of a visit from Queen Victoria.

"I think you're right, Wyatt. I can't see a God damn thing. "    — Morgan Earp (accepting his brother's belief that there is no life after Death).

"I've never felt better."    — Douglas Fairbanks.

"I am a Queen, but I have not the power to move my arms."    — Louise of Russia.

"Go on, get out. Last words are for fools who haven't said enough."    — Karl Marx (1818-83) to his Housekeeper.

"Hurrah for anarchy! This is the happiest moment of my life."    — George Engel (hung for the 1886 Chicago bombing).

"I haven't got time to be tired."    — Wilhelm I (1797—1888), King of Prussia and Emperor of Germany. Said during his last illness.

"How were the receipts today in Madison Square Garden ?"    — Phineas Taylor Barnum (1810-91), US showman.

"My God, don't shoot !"    — Soapy Smith (1860-1898), American conman.

"Either that wallpaper goes, or I do."    — Oscar Wilde (1854—1900), Irish-born British dramatist. As he lay dying in a drab Paris bedroom.

"I expect I shall have to die beyond my means."    — Oscar Wilde (1854—1900), Irish-born British dramatist. On accepting a glass of champagne on his deathbed.

20th century

"On the contrary !"    — Henrik Ibsen (1828—1906), Norwegian dramatist. His nurse had just remarked that he was feeling a little better.

"Even in the valley of the shadow of death, two and two do not make six."    — Leo Tolstoy (1828—1910), Russian writer. Refusing to reconcile himself with the Russian Orthodox Church as he lay dying.

"Turn up the lights, I don't want to go home in the dark."    — O. Henry (William Sidney Porter; 1862-1910), US short-story writer.

"I am just going outside and may be some time."    — Captain Lawrence Oates (1880—1912), British soldier and explorer. Before leaving the tent and vanishing into the blizzard on the ill-fated Antarctic expedition (1910-12). Oates was afraid that his lameness would slow down the others.

"We took risks. We knew we took them. Things have come out against us. We have no cause for complaint."    — Scott (1868—1912), found in his diary after his party froze in Antarctica.

"People should be aware of the dangers of killing themselves."    — Read in the 'letters to the editor' column of TIME in response to an article on teen suicide.

"Had we lived, I should have had a tale to tell of the hardihood, endurance, and courage of my companions which would have stirred the heart of every Englishman. These rough notes and our dead bodies must tell the tale."    — Scott (1868—1912), Message to the Public.

"Why fear death ? It is the most beautiful adventure in life."    — Charles Frohman (1860—1915), US theatre producer. Said before going down with the liner Lusitania, alluding to 'To die will be an awfully big adventure' from Barrie's Peter Pan, which Frohman had produced.

"Kaputt..."    — Manfred von Richthofen (1892-1918), the Red Baron, german fighter pilot, after landing his plane with a gunshot wound.

"Take a step forward, lads. It will be easier that way."    — Erskine Childers (1870—1922), British-born author and Irish patriot. Last words before being executed by firing squad, 24 Nov 1922.

"Don't let it end like this. Tell them I said something..."    — Pancho Villa (1877—1923) clutching a comrade.

"Goodbye, my friend, goodbye. My dear, you are in my heart. Predestined separation promises a future meeting."    — Sergei Esenin (1895-1925), Russian poet, suicide note.

"Well, gentlemen, you are about to see a baked Appel."    — George Appel, executed by electric chair in New York, 1928.

"They tried to get me — I got them first !"    — Vachel Lindsay (1879-1931), poet, suicide note.

"Oh my, it's very beautiful over there."    — Thomas Edison (1847—1931).

"My work is done. Why wait ?"    — George Eastman (1854—1932), US inventor and industrialist, suicide note.

"Goodbye, everybody !"    — Hart Crane (1899-1932), american poet, suicide note.

"If this is dying, I don't think much of it."    — Lytton Strachey (1880—1932), British writer.

"When I am dead, and over me bright April Shakes out her rain drenched hair, Tho you should lean above me broken hearted, I shall not care. For I shall have peace. As leafey trees are peaceful When rain bends down the bough. And I shall be more silent and cold hearted than you are now."    — Sara Teasdale (1884-1933), American poet, suicide note.

"When all usefulness is over, when one is assured of an unavoidable and imminent death, it is the simplest of human rights to choose a quick and easy death in place of a slow and horrible one."    — Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860-1935), writer, suicide note.

"Ich kann nicht mehr (I can do no more)."    — Toni Kurz ( -1936), while within touching distance of the rescue team, north face of Eiger.

"All fled — all done, so lift me on the pyre; The feast is over, and the lamps expire."    — Robert E. Howard (1906-1936), writer, suicide note.

"I have a feeling I shall go mad. I cannot go on longer in these terrible times. I shan't recover this time. I hear voices and cannot concentrate on my work. I have fought against it but cannot fight any longer."    — Virginia Woolf (1882-1941), British author, suicide note.

"Die ? I should say not, dear fellow. No Barrymore would allow such a conventional thing to happen to him."    — John Barrymore (1882—1942), US actor.

"Shoot me in the chest !"    — Benito Mussolini (1883-1944).

"To Harald, may God forgive you and forgive me too but I prefer to take my life away and our baby's before I bring him with shame or killing him, Lupe."    — Lupe Velez (1908-1944), mexican actress, suicide note.

"Shakespeare, I come !"    — Theodore Dreiser (1871—1945), US novelist. His intended last words.

"Go away... I'm alright."    — H. G. Wells (1866—1946).

"I have spent a lot of time searching through the Bible for loopholes."    — W. C. Fields (1880—1946), US comedian. Said during his last illness.

"You might make that a double."    — Neville Heath (1917-46), British murderer. Comment made when offered a drink before his execution.

"What is the answer ?... In that case, what is the question ?"    — Gertrude Stein (1874—1946), US writer.

"You can keep the things of bronze and stone and give me one man to remember me just once a year."    — Damon Runyon (1884—1946), US writer.

"Go away. I'm all right."    — H. G. Wells (1866—1946).

"Good-bye... why am I hemorrhaging ?"    — Boris Pasternak (1890—1950).

"Seventeen whiskeys. A record, I think."    — Dylan Thomas (1914-53), Welsh poet.

"I hope it won't take long."    — Enrico Fermi (1901—1954), Italian physicist, 10 days before dying of cancer.

"Too late for fruit, too soon for flowers."    — Walter De La Mare (1873—1956), British poet. On being asked, as he lay seriously ill, whether he would like some fruit or flowers.

"I should never have switched from Scotch to Martinis."    — Humphrey Bogart (1899—1957).

"The future is just old age and illness and pain... I must have peace and this is the only way."    — James Whale (1893-1957), movie director, suicide note.

"It is. But not as hard as farce."    — Edmund Gwenn (1875—1959), British actor. On his deathbed, in reply to the comment 'It must be very hard'.

"Beautifully done."    — Stanley Spencer (1891—1959), British artist. Said to the nurse who had injected him, just before he died.

"God bless... God damn."    — James Thurber (1894—1961), US humorist.

"An olive, with a pit..."    — Victor Feuger ( -1963), convicted of a kidnap-murder. Request for his last meal, reportedly saying he hoped the tree that symbolizes peace would sprout from his grave.

"Jakie, is it my birthday or am I dying ?"    — Viscountess Nancy Astor (1879—1964), American-born British politician. To her son on her death bed. He replied: 'A bit of both, Mum'.

"I am ready to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter."    — Winston Churchill (1874—1965).

"I'm so bored with it all."    — Winston Churchill (1874—1965).

"Let's cool it brothers . . ."    — Malcolm X ( -1966), Black leader, spoken to his assassins, 3 men who shot him 16 times.

"How about this for a headline for tomorrow's paper ? French fries."    — James French, executed in electric chair in Oklahoma, 1966.

"To leave this life, to me, is a sweet prospect. When you read this I will be quite dead and no answer will be possible. All I can say is that I offered you love, and the best I could. All I got in return in the end was a kick in the teeth. Thus I die alone and unloved. As you sowed, so shall you reap."    — David Ferrie (1918-1967), pilot, suicide note.

"Oh, shit !"    — Jim Madsen ( -1968), when rappelling off the end of his rope on El Cap's Dihedral Wall.

"Dear World, I am leaving you because I am bored. I feel I have lived long enough. I am leaving you with your worries in this sweet cesspool — good luck."    — George Sanders (1906-1972), actor, suicide note.

"Drink to me."    — Pablo Picasso (1881—1973).

"When I meet God, I am going to ask him two questions: Why relativity ? And why turbulence ? I really believe he will have an answer for the first."    — Werner Heisenberg (1901-1976), german physicist, on his deathbed.

"I must end it. There's no hope left. I'll be at peace. No one had anything to do with this. My decision totally."    — Freddie Prinze (1954-1977), comedian, suicide note.

"Damn it... Don't you dare ask God to help me."    — Joan Crawford ( -1977), actress, to her housekeeper who had begun to pray aloud.

"Don't worry it's not loaded."    — Terry Kath ( -1978), American rock musician, while playing Russian Roulette.

"Do you really think the IRA would think me a worthwhile target ?"    — Lord Mountbatten of Burma (1900-79), british admiral and colonial administrator.

"Vancouver! Vancouver! This is it !"    — David Johnston, volcanologist, during the explosion of Mt St Helens.

"Everybody has got to die, but I have always believed an exception would be made in my case. Now what ?"    — William Saroyan (1908-81), US dramatist.

"Well, the Lord is going to get another one."    — John Eldon Smith, executed by electric chair, 1983.

"That was the best ice-cream soda I ever tasted."    — Lou Costello.

"Can you believe this crap ?"    — Jon Erik Hexum (1957-1984), actor, shot himself with a blanks loaded gun.

"Why yes — a bulletproof vest."    — James Rodges, murderer, on his final request before the firing squad.

"I'd rather be fishing."    — Jimmy Glass ( -1987), executed in electric chair.

"What I cannot create, I do not understand."    — Written on Richard Feynman's blackboard at the time of his death.

"I'd hate to die twice. It's so boring."    — Richard P. Feynman (1918-88).

"It's too late. We can't win, they've gotten too powerful."    — Abbie Hoffman (1936-1989), Activist/author, suicide note.

"I'd like to thank my family for loving me and taking care of me. And the rest of the world can kiss my ass."    — Johnny Frank Garrett, executed by injection, 1992.

"You can be a king or a street sweeper, but everyone dances with the Grim Reaper."    — Robert Alton Harris, executed in California's gas chamber, 1992.

"Remember, the death penalty is murder."    — Robert Drew, executed on August 2, 1994.

"I had you all going, didn't I ?"    — Lt. Col. Kenneth Wilson ( -1994), about his 1912 photograph of the Loch Ness monster.

"Frances and Courtney, I'll be at your altar. Please keep going Courtney, for Frances for her life will be so much happier without me. I LOVE YOU. I LOVE YOU."    — Kurt Cobain (1967-1994), singer, suicide note.

"I did not get my Spaghetti-O's, I got spaghetti. I want the press to know this."    — Thomas J. Grasso, executed 1995.

"And now, in keeping with Channel 40's policy of always bringing you the latest in blood and guts, in living color, you're about to see another first — an attempted suicide."    — Chris Chubbuck, newscaster who shot herself during broadcast.

"I wonder why he shot me ?"    — Huey P. Long, governor in Louisiana.

"Oh no, oh no... don't lift me, don't lift me."    — Robert "Bobby" Kennedy.

"I don't believe that people should take their own lives without deep and thoughtful reflection over a considerable period of time."    — Wendy O. Williams (1949-1998), punk singer, suicide note.

"Don't mess with my money."    — Lowell Fulson (-2000), bluesman.

"For almost nine years I have thought about the death penalty, whether it is right or wrong, and I don't have any answers. But I don't think the world will be a better or safer place without me. If you had wanted to punish me you would have killed me the day after, instead of killing me now. You are not hurting me now. I have had time to get ready, to tell my family goodbye, to get my life where it needed to be."    — Last statement of Jeffery Doughtie, executed in 2001.

"Hey guys, watch this !"    — Todd Poller (-2001), who tried to swallow a live perch.

"And if I should ever die, God forbid, I hope you will say: 'Kurt is up in heaven now'. That's my favorite joke."    — Kurt Vonnegut (1922-2007), science-fiction author.

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