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 recordsRobin Winks, quoted at 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.
Cultural traditions around the world 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 salvationthe 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 BC), 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 BC). 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 BC), 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 BC), 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 BC), 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 BC), 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 BC), 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, Shakya sage who founded Buddhism ( 483 BC)
"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 BC)
"Can you turn rainy weather into dry?" —Heraclitus, Greek philosopher ( 475 BC), asking his physicians for relief from dropsy
"For, no Athenian, through my means, ever wore mourning." —Pericles, Greek statesman (429 BC), discussing with his friends what his greatest accomplishment had been
"Give the boys a holiday.", cited in —Anaxagoras, Greek philosopher ( 428 BC), in response to citizens of Lampsacus asking how they could honor his memory
"This to the fair Critias." —Theramenes, Athenian statesman (404 BC), 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 BC), 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 BC), before being killed in Athenian ambush
"Then I die happy." —Epaminondas, Greek general and statesman of Thebes (362 BC). 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 BC), 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 BC), 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 BC), 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 BC), to Archias of Thurii; Demosthenes had taken poison to avoid arrest by Archias
""You are going, dear hunchback, you are off to the house of Hades, – bent crooked by old age."." —Crates of Thebes, Cynic philosopher ( 285 BC), chanting when about to die
"Now, farewell, and remember all my words!" —Epicurus, Greek philosopher (270 BC); 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 BC), 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 BC), prior to execution by strangulation
"O children, whither are you going?" —Cratesiclea, queen of Sparta (219 BC), after seeing the children of her family executed 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 BC), 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 BC), 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 BC), before dying of laughter
"It is well that we have not been every way unfortunate." —Philopoemen, Greek general and statesman (183 BC), 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 BC), in a suicide note
"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 BC); 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 BC), 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 BC), after being stabbed by unknown assassin
"Fear not true Pharisees, but greatly fear painted Pharisees." —Alexander Jannaeus, king of Judea ( 76 BC), to his wife
"O wretched head-band!—not able to help me even in this small thing!" —Monime, wife of Mithridates VI (72/71 BC), after failing to hang herself by her crown's strings in fulfillment of her death sentence
"I am free and the subject of a free state." —Dumnorix, Gallic chieftain, ( 54 BC), before being killed by Roman cavalry.
"Surely I am not mistaken, and you are an old comrade of mine!" —Pompey, Roman general and statesman (28 September 48 BC), to Lucius Septimius, one of his assassins
"The imperator is doing well." () —Metellus Scipio, Roman senator and military commander (46 BC), before committing suicide to evade capture following his defeat in the Battle of Hippo Regius.
"You too, my child?"Suetonius, Julius 82.2 () —Julius Caesar, Roman dictator (15 March 44 BC), discovering that his stepson Brutus was among his murderers.
""O wretched Valour, thou wert but a name, And yet I worshipped thee as real indeed; But now, it seems, thou wert but Fortune's slave."" —Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus, Roman general and politician, conspirator in Julius Caesar's assassination (September 43 BC), 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?"Seneca, Suasoria 6:18 (http://www.attalus.org/translate/suasoria6.html ) () —Cicero, Roman statesman (7 December 43 BC), 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 BC), erroneously believing his comrade Titinius had been captured by Mark Antony's forces at the Battle of Philippi. Cassius then killed himself.
"By all means must we fly; not with our feet, however, but with our hands." —Marcus Junius Brutus, Roman senator and assassin of Julius Caesar (23 October 42 BC), after defeat at the Battle of Philippi. He then bade his friends farewell before killing himself.