Orphani, Viduae, Muſuae, Medicinaque Iugent
Mr. ISAAC SPOFFORD
Practitioner in Phyſic and
Surgery
Obiit Aetatis 35 June 14th
AD 1786
Candidus inſuetum miratur limen Olympi,
sub pedibuſque videt nubes & ſidera Daphnis
This rather extraordinary inscription is in Beverly, Massachusetts, in the old Abbot Street Cemetery. There are several noteworthy aspects to it. Clearly Dr. Spofford was a Mason; this is uncommon but appears from time to time. The harp and the bird are remarkable; I have no idea what significance they have but I suspect they are too distinctive to be just the whim of the carver.
The manicule points to the gravestone of Mrs. Spofford and their two small children, which stands several feet away.
Latin phrases occur from time to time in these burying grounds; the odes of Horace are frequently quoted. Here the epitaph is from Virgil’s fifth Eclogue; here is David Ferry’s translation: “Radiant Daphnis wonders at heaven’s threshold / Seeing the stars and clouds beneath his feet.” This strikes me as a lovely, if slightly pagan, image of a man who has left this world and now is standing at heaven’s threshold.
I believe the words on the tympanum mean something like: “Orphans, Widows, Muses, and Doctors all join together” [ in the grave and/or in mourning his passing]
What a quirky fellow Isaac Spofford must have been!
