Final words

A person's last words, their final articulated words stated prior to death or as death approaches, are often recorded because of the decedent's fame, but sometimes because of interest in the statement itself. (People dying of illness are frequently inarticulate at the end, and in such cases their actual last utterances may not be recorded or considered very important.) Last words may be recorded accurately, or, for a variety of reasons, may not. Reasons can include simple error or deliberate intent. Even if reported wrongly, putative last words can constitute an important part of the perceived historical records or demonstration of cultural attitudes toward death at the time.

Charles Darwin, for example, was reported to have disavowed his theory of evolution in favor of traditional religious faith at his death. This widely disseminated report served the interests of those who opposed Darwin's theory on religious grounds. However, the putative witness had not been at Darwin's deathbed or seen him at any time near the end of his life.

Both Eastern and Western cultural traditions ascribe special significance to words uttered at or near death, but the form and content of reported last words may depend on cultural context. There is a tradition in Hindu and Buddhist cultures of an expectation of a meaningful farewell statement; Zen monks by long custom are expected to compose a poem on the spot and recite it with their last breath. In Western culture particular attention has been paid to last words which demonstrate deathbed salvation – the repentance of sins and affirmation of faith.

Chronological list of last words

In rising chronological order, with death date specified. If relevant, also the context of the words or the circumstances of death are specified. If there is controversy or uncertainty concerning a person's last words, this is described in footnotes. For additional suicide notes, see Suicide note.

Pre-5th century

;"Wash me well, hold me to your breast, protect me from the earth (lying against) your breast."
:— Ḫattušili I, Hittite king (17th century BCE), probably addressing his wife or favorite concubine and expressing his fear of death while being gravely ill.

;"Draw thy sword, and slay me, that men say not of me, A woman slew him."
:()
:— Abimelech, king of Shechem (12th century BCE). Mortally wounded in battle by a stone thrown by a woman, he asked his armor-bearer to kill him.

;"Let me die with the Philistines."
:()
:— Samson, judge of the Israelites ( 1078 BCE), prior to bringing down pillars of the Philistine temple and killing 3000 people along with himself

;"Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and abuse me."
:()
:— Saul, king of Israel ( 1012 BCE), to his servant during the Battle of Mount Gilboa

;"My reputation carried me safe through Greece, but the envy it excited at home has been my ruin."
:— Anacharsis, Scythian philosopher (6th century BCE), mortally wounded with an arrow by his brother, King Caduidas

;"You know that during the long time I have been in the world, I have said and done many things; upon mature reflection, I find nothing of which I have cause to repent, excepting a case which I will now submit to your decision, that I may know whether I have acted properly or not.
;"On a certain occasion, I chanced to be one of three who sat in judgment on one of my own good friends, who, according to the laws, should have been punished with death. I was greatly embarrassed. One of two things was inevitable—either to violate the law or condemn my friend. After careful consideration, I devised this expedient. I delivered with such address all the most plausible arguments in behalf of the accused, that my two colleagues found no difficulty in acquitting him, and yet I, myself, condemned him to death without assigning any reason for my conduct. Thus I discharged two duties, those of friend and judge; yet I feel in my conscience something which makes me doubt whether my conduct was not criminal."
:— Chilon of Sparta, philosopher (6th century BCE), speaking to his friends before his death

;"It is better to perish here than to kill all these poor beans."
:— Pythagoras, Ionian Greek philosopher and founder of Pythagoreanism (495 BCE), refusing to escape with his students from the Crotonians through a fava bean field

;"All compounded things are subject to vanish. Strive with earnestness."
:()
:— Siddhārtha Gautama Buddha, Indian sage who founded Buddhism ( 483 BCE)

;"Heaven has turned against me. No wise ruler arises, and no one in the Empire wishes to make me his teacher. The hour of my death has come."
:— Confucius, Chinese philosopher who founded Confucianism (479 BCE)

;"Can you turn rainy weather into dry?"
:— Heraclitus, Greek philosopher ( 475 BCE), asking his physicians for relief from dropsy

;"For, no Athenian, through my means, ever wore mourning."
:— Pericles, Greek statesman (429 BCE), discussing with his friends what his greatest accomplishment had been

;"Give the boys a holiday.", cited in
:— Anaxagoras, Greek philosopher ( 428 BCE), in response to citizens of Lampsacus asking how they could honor his memory

;"This to the fair Critias."
:— Theramenes, Athenian statesman (404 BCE), after swallowing poison hemlock which he had been condemned to drink by Critias

;"Crito, we owe a cock to Asclepius. Please, don't forget to pay the debt."
:()
:— Socrates, Greek philosopher (399 BCE), just before his death by ingestion of poison hemlock which he was forced to drink as a death sentence

;"Men, it is good for me to die on this spot, where honor bids me; but for you, yonder your path lies. Hurry and save yourselves before the enemy can close with us."
:— Anaxibius, Spartan admiral (388 BCE), before being killed in Athenian ambush

;"Then I die happy."
:— Epaminondas, Greek general and statesman of Thebes (362 BCE). He pulled out the weapon with which he had been impaled in battle once he heard the enemy was fleeing.

;"But Alexander, whose kindness to my mother, my wife, and my children I hope the gods will recompense, will doubtless thank you for your humanity to me. Tell him, therefore, in token of my acknowledgement, I give him this right hand."
:— Darius III, Achaemenid King of Kings of Persia (330 BCE), to a man who gave him water as he was dying

;"How can the teeth of wild beasts hurt me, without consciousness?"
:()
:— Diogenes, Greek Cynic philosopher (323 BCE), asking for his body to be thrown outside the city wall for animals to eat

;"To the strongest."
:()
:— Alexander the Great, conqueror and king of Macedonia ( 11 June 323 BCE), when asked to whom his vast empire should belong after his death

;"Now, as soon as you please you may commence the part of Creon in the tragedy, and cast out this body of mine unburied. But, O gracious Neptune, I, for my part, while I am yet alive, arise up and depart out of this sacred place; though Antipater and the Macedonians have not left so much as thy temple unpolluted."
:— Demosthenes, Greek statesman and orator (12 October 322 BCE), to Archias of Thurii; Demosthenes had taken poison to avoid arrest by Archias

;"Ah! poor hump-back! thy many long years are at last conveying thee to the tomb; thou shalt soon see the palace of Pluto."
:— Crates of Thebes, Cynic philosopher ( 285 BCE), surveying himself when about to die

;"Now, farewell, and remember all my words!"
:— Epicurus, Greek philosopher (270 BCE); the majority of his writings are now lost

;"I come, I come, why dost thou call for me?"
:— Zeno of Citium, Greek philosopher and founder of Stoicism ( 262 BCE), quoting Aeschylus' play ''Niobe'' and striking the ground with his hand after sustaining a minor injury, which he considered a sign that he was about to die. He then killed himself.

;"Weep not, friend, for me, who dies innocent, by the lawless act of wicked men. My condition is much better than theirs."
:— Agis IV, king of Sparta (241 BCE), prior to execution by strangulation

;"O children, whither are you going?"
:— Cratesiclea, queen of Sparta (219 BCE), after seeing the children of her family executed and prior to her own execution

;"These, O Cephalon, are the wages of a king's love."
:— Aratus of Sicyon, Hellenistic Greek politician and military commander (213 BCE), after expectorating blood while allegedly being slowly poisoned on the orders of Philip V of Macedon, his former friend

;" Do not disturb my circles!"
:()
:— Archimedes, Greek mathematician ( 212 BCE), to a Roman soldier who interrupted his geometric experiments during the capture of Syracuse, whereupon the soldier killed him

;"Go and give the ass a drink of wine to wash down the figs."
:— Chrysippus, Greek philosopher ( 206 BCE), before dying of laughter

;"It is well that we have not been every way unfortunate."
:— Philopoemen, Greek general and statesman (183 BCE), sent a cup of poison to kill himself after being captured in battle. He asked the messenger with the poison about his cavalry and was told that most of them had escaped.

;"Let us ease the Roman people of their continual care, who think it long to await the death of an old man."
:()
:— Hannibal, Carthaginian general ( 182 BCE)

;"Let no one weep for me, or celebrate my funeral with mourning; for I still live, as I pass to and fro through the mouths of men."
:— Ennius, writer and poet of the Roman Republic ( 169 BCE); lines dictated to be engraved on his memorial. Only fragments of his works now survive.

;"It is a cold bath you give me."
:— Jugurtha, king of Numidia (104 BCE), being lowered by the Romans into a damp dungeon to starve to death

;"When will the republic find a citizen like me?"
:— Marcus Livius Drusus, Roman politician and reformer (91 BCE), after being stabbed by unknown assassin

;"Fear not true Pharisees, but greatly fear painted Pharisees."
:— Alexander Jannaeus, king of Judea ( 76 BCE), to his wife

;"O wretched head-band!—not able to help me even in this small thing!"
:— Monime, wife of Mithridates VI (72/71 BCE), after failing to hang herself by her crown's strings in fulfillment of her death sentence

;"I am not mistaken, surely, in believing you to have been formerly my fellow-soldier."
:— Pompey, Roman general and statesman (28 September 48 BCE), to Lucius Septimius, one of his assassins

;" You too, my child?"Suetonius, ''Julius'
82.2
/ref>
:()
:— Julius Caesar, Roman dictator (15 March 44 BCE), discovering that his stepson Brutus was among his murderers

;"O wretched virtue! thou art a bare name! I mistook thee for a substance; but thou thyself art the slave of fortune."
:— Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus, Roman general and politician, conspirator in Julius Caesar's assassination (September 43 BCE), quoting from Euripides prior to execution

;"I go no further: approach, veteran soldier, and, if you can at least do so much properly, sever this neck. ..What would you have done had you come to me as your first victim?"
:()
:— Cicero, Roman statesman (7 December 43 BCE), facing an assassin sent by an enemy

;"Through too much fondness of life, I have lived to endure the sight of my friend taken by the enemy before my face."
:— Gaius Cassius Longinus, Roman senator and general, one of Julius Caesar's assassins (3 October 42 BCE), erroneously believing his comrade Titinius had been captured by Mark Antony's forces at the Battle of Philippi. Cassius then killed himself.

;"Yes, indeed, we must fly; but not with our feet, but with our hands."
:— Marcus Junius Brutus, Roman senator and assassin of Julius Caesar (23 October 42 BCE), after defeat at the Battle of Philippi. He then bade his friends farewell before killing himself.

;"You must not pity me in this last turn of fate. You should rather be happy in the remembrance of our love, and in the recollection that of all men I was once the most famous and the most powerful, and now, at the end, have fallen not dishonorably, a Roman by a Roman vanquished."
:— Mark Antony, Roman politician and general (1 August 30 BCE); to Cleopatra before his suicide

;"Here thou art, then!"
:()
:— Cleopatra, pharaoh of Egypt (12 August 30 BCE), right before she reportedly committed suicide by letting an asp bite her

;"Extremely well, and as became the descendant of so many kings."
:— Charmion, servant to Cleopatra (12 August 30 BCE), when one of Emperor Augustus' men asked her, "Was this well done of your lady, Charmion?" She then fell dead.

;"Death twitches my ear. 'Live,' he says. 'I am coming.'"
:— Virgil, Roman poet (21 September 19 BCE)

;"Have I played the part well? Then applaud, as I exit."
:()
:— Augustus, First Roman Emperor (19 August 14 CE)

;" It is finished."
:()
:— Jesus, founder of Christianity ( 30 CE), right before his death by crucifixion

;"Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.Bible, Acts 7:59–60, English translation by King James Version
/ref> Lord, lay not this sin to their charge."
:— Saint Stephen, early Christian deacon and protomartyr ( 34 CE), while being stoned to death

;"I am still alive!"
:— Caligula, Roman emperor (24 January 41 CE), after being fatally stabbed

;"It is not painful, Pætus."
:()
:— Arria, Roman woman (42 CE), to her husband, Aulus Caecina Paetus. He had been condemned to death but given permission to kill himself; when he hesitated to do so, his wife stabbed herself first and handed the dagger to him.

;"Strike here! Level your rage against the womb which gave birth to such a monster."
:— Agrippina the Younger, mother of Nero (23 March 59 CE), to her murderer

;"Asunder flies the man— / No single wound the gaping rupture seems, / Where trickling crimson flows the tender streams; / But from an opening horrible and wide / A thousand vessels pour the bursting tide: / At once the winding channel's course was broke, / Where wandering life her mazy journey took."
:— Lucan, Roman poet (30 April 65 CE), forced to commit suicide after joining in a conspiracy against Nero. He died quoting lines from his own epic poem '' Pharsalia''.

;"Too late; is this your fidelity?"
:()
:— Nero, Roman emperor (9 June 68 CE), to a soldier trying to save him after his suicide

;"Strike, if it be for the Romans' good."
:()
:— Galba, Roman emperor (15 January 69 CE), prior to beheading by supporters of Otho

;"Go and show yourself to the soldiers, lest they cut you to pieces for being accessory to my death."
:— Otho, Roman emperor (16 April 69 CE), to a freedman, prior to committing suicide

;"Yet I was once your Emperor."
:— Vitellius, Roman emperor (22 December 69 CE), prior to his killing on the Gemonian stairs

;"Woe, I think I'm turning into a god... An emperor should die on his feet."
:()
:— Vespasian, Roman emperor (24 June 79 CE), ironically alluding to the Roman practice of posthumously deifying former emperors, before he collapsed and died when attempting to stand up

;"My life is taken from me, though I have done nothing to deserve it; for there is no action of mine of which I should repent, but one."
:— Titus, Roman emperor (13 September 81 CE)

;"One!"
:()
:— Rabbi Akiva, Jewish scholar and sage (28 September 135 CE), concluding his recitation of the Shema Yisrael while being executed by the Romans

;"O my poor soul, whither art thou going?"
:— Hadrian, Roman emperor (10 July 138 CE)

;"O Lord God Almighty, Father of Thy well-beloved Son, Jesus Christ, by whom we have received knowledge of Thee; God of angels, powers, and every creature that lives before Thee; I thank Thee that Thou hast graciously thought me worthy of this day and hour, that I may receive a portion in the number of Thy martyrs, and drink of Christ's cup, for the resurrection of both soul and body unto life eternal, in the incorruptibleness of the Holy Spirit. Among them may I be admitted this day, as an acceptable sacrifice, as Thou, O true and faithful God, hast prepared, foreshown, and accomplished. Wherefore, I praise Thee for all Thy mercies. I bless Thee. I glorify Thee, with Jesus Christ, Thy beloved Son, the Eternal, to Whom, with Thee and the Holy Spirit, be glory now and forever."
:— Polycarp, Christian bishop of Smyrna (155 CE), prior to martyrdom by burning and spearing

;"Equanimity."
:()
:— Antoninus Pius, Roman emperor (7 March 161 CE), giving the password for the night-watch

;"You may go home, the show is over."
:— Demonax, Greek Cynic philosopher (c. 170 CE)

;"Go to the rising sun, for I am setting. Think more of death than of me."
:— Marcus Aurelius, Roman emperor and philosopher (17 March 180 CE)

;"Hurry, if anything remains for me to do."
:()
:— Septimius Severus, Roman emperor (4 February 211 CE)

;"I am roasted,—now turn me, and eat me."
:()
:— Saint Lawrence, Christian deacon (10 August 258 CE), while being burned alive on a gridiron

;"God be thanked."
:— Cyprian, Christian bishop of Carthage and martyr (14 September 258 CE), sentenced to death by beheading

;"I am making my last effort to return that which is divine in me to that which is divine in the Universe."
:— Plotinus, Hellenistic philosopher (270 CE)

;"And let my word be kept secret by you, so that no one knows the place but you alone. For in the resurrection of the dead I shall receive my body incorruptible once again from the Savior. Distribute my clothing. To Bishop Athanasius give the one sheepskin and the cloak on which I lie, which he gave to me new, but I have by now worn out. And to Bishop Serapion give the other sheepskin, and you keep the hair garment. And now God preserve you, children, for Antony is leaving and is with you no longer."
:— Anthony the Great, Christian monk from Egypt (17 January 356 CE)

;"How am I advanced, despising you that are upon the earth!"
:— Marcus of Arethusa, Christian bishop and martyr (362 CE), hung up in a honey-smeared basket for bees to sting him to death

;"And yet Thou hast conquered, O Galilean!"
:()
:— Julian, Roman emperor (26 June 363 CE), mortally wounded in battle. He had rejected Christianity in favor of paganism; according to some accounts, he was assassinated by a Christian.

;"In peace I will sleep with Him and take my rest."
:— Saint Monica, mother of Augustine of Hippo (387 CE)

;"My dear one, with whom I lived in love so long, make room for me, for this is my grave, and in death we shall not be divided."
:— Severus of Ravenna, Bishop of Ravenna

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