Lyric Poem · Death & Loss

Epitaphium

by Percy Bysshe Shelley

Reading room

1[LATIN VERSION OF THE EPITAPH IN GRAY'S ELEGY.]

2Hic sinu fessum caput hospitali

3Cespitis dormit juvenis, nec illi

4Fata ridebant, popularis ille

5Nescius aurae.

6Musa non vultu genus arroganti

7Rustica natum grege despicata,

8Et suum tristis puerum notavit

9Sollicitudo.

10Indoles illi bene larga, pectus

11Veritas sedem sibi vindicavit,

12Et pari tantis meritis beavit

13Munere coelum.

14Omne quad moestis habuit miserto

15Corde largivit lacrimam, recepit

16Omne quod coelo voluit, fidelis

17Pectus amici.

18Longius sed tu fuge curiosus

19Caeteras laudes fuge suspicari,

20Caeteras culpas fuge velle tractas

21Sede tremenda.

22Spe tremescentes recubant in illa

23Sede virtutes pariterque culpae,

24In sui Patris gremio, tremenda

25Sede Deique.

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“Epitaphium” by Percy Bysshe Shelley — quilloak.com/poems/epitaphium

Quick facts

Poem: Epitaphium
Poet: Percy Bysshe Shelley
Length: 25 lines
Form: Lyric Poem
Themes: Death & Loss

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Shape: 25 lines · 7 stanzas of 1–4 lines

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Author record: Percy Bysshe Shelley1792–1822
Source record: PoetryDBEpitaphium by percy-bysshe-shelley, PoetryDB transcription
Display decision: Full text · United States · reviewed 2026-07-18
Publication record: Not recorded in the imported source
Text fingerprint: SHA-256 510fb11c7c205b4b…
Editorial handling: Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.

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Lyric Poem Death & Loss

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