The Book Of EulogiesPhyllis Theroux This invaluable anthology is the first and only collection dedicated to the art of the eulogy. For the past several years, Phyllis Theroux has collected the most eloquent and moving writing commemorating a death, assessing a life, or offering solace to the bereaved. Ranging from Thomas Jefferson's magisterial eulogy for George Washington to Anna Quindlen's affectionate memorial for her grandmother; from Helen Keller's words about her dear friend Mark Twain to Adlai Stevenson's about Eleanor Roosevelt, The Book of Eulogies establishes that great eulogies are a celebration of remarkable lives that can illuminate, confirm, inspire, and redirect our own. Theroux has included some of the world's most well-known tributes, such as Pericles' Funeral Oration, Jules Michelet's appreciation of Jeanne d'Arc, Victor Hugo's ringing words on the one hundredth anniversary of Voltaire's death, Cardinal Suenens's eulogy for Pope John XXIII. But most of the eulogized assembled here are eighteenth- to twentieth-century Americans, and the stories of their lives illuminate our history with a particularly intimate light. In Robert Kennedy's extemporaneous remarks upon hearing of the death of Martin Luther King, or Eugene McCarthy's tribute to his friend and colleague, Hubert Humphrey, the values, wisdom, and spirit of both the eulogized and the eulogizer are revealed. The Book of Eulogies is a sourcebook for anyone who must find words of solace, understanding, and inspiration on the occasion of a beloved's death. It is also a treasury of astonishing eloquence, passion, and humanity -- a record of extraordinary lives, seen through the eyes of those who knew and loved them. |
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Abraham Lincoln Ambrose Bierce American Annie Sullivan asked Beatrice beautiful Beecher believe Bishop Pike born brave brother C. S. Lewis called child church dark daughter dead dear death Debs Decca died E. B. White eulogy eyes face father fear feel funeral gift girl gone grief H. L. Mencken hand heart Henry Ward Beecher honor human John Joseph Brodsky Kennedy knew learned letter light live look lost Marian Anderson Marilyn Monroe memory mind mother Nadezhda Mandelstam nature never night once pain passion peace permission person poet poor president remember Reprinted Robert seemed sexual sister slave slavery smile someone soul spirit story suffering talk tell things thought tion told tribute Voltaire W. H. Auden William woman wonderful words write wrote young