EPITAPH ON MR. VAUX, THE PHYSICIAN by WILLIAM BROWNE (1591-1643)

STAY! this grave deserves a tear;
'Tis not a corse, but life lies here:
May be thine own, at least some part,
And thou the walking marble art.
'Tis Vaux! whom Art and Nature gave
A power to pluck men from the grave;
When others' drugs made ghosts of men,
His gave them back their flesh agen;
'Tis he lies here, and thou and I
May wonder he found time to die;
So busied was he, and so rife,
Distributing both health and life.
Honour his marble with your tears,
You, to whom he hath added years;
You, whose life's light he was about
So careful, that his own went out.
Be you his living monument! or we
Will rather think you in the grave than he.

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