The Romans could have some fun with an epitaph.
This memorial was made for Marcus Caecilius.
Thank you, my dear guest, for stopping at my abode.
Good luck and good health to you. Sleep without a care.
Gravestone pictured above, c. 140 BCE
Isn’t that sweet?
A lot of Roman graves want to pull aside the living and give them a bit of insight. That insight being – “thanks for swinging by my grave – now go enjoy living!”
It’s an Epicurean approach – which isn’t the hedonistic free-for-all we’ve been lead to believe. It did prioritize pleasure, but in a much more mindful way – finding joy in the simple life. Not forever struggling and competing, but appreciating the only thing you really have – this life at this moment.
Hence the NFFNSNC vibe.
No? Not terribly catchy, but it stands for “Non Fui, Fui, Non Sum, Non Curo”
“I was not, I was, I am not, I care not.”
Supposedly the words of Epicurus, though probably not quite exact, as he was a Greek fella who spoke in, well, Greek.
Imagine, next time you’re strolling through a graveyard or cemetery, that every tombstone there is saying, “Hey – thanks for visiting, but don’t forget to go live!” Not a bad way to honor both the departed and the living. Because you will “non cura” once you’re gone.
And if you can’t afford a nice tomb to affix your epitaph, a bit of graffiti can do the trick:
Death Becomes You 