Note 63 — Chapter XVI
Reading edition
The above lines are taken from an epitaph written upon the Dowager Countess of Pembroke, sister to the celebrated Sir Philip Sidney one of the favourite courtiers of Queen Elizabeth, and author of a romance entitled “Arcadia,” which he dedicated to his sister the Countess. On this account it is frequently called “the Countess of Pembroke’s Arcadia.” This lady was noted for her great learning, in an age when classical knowledge was the common accomplishments of the court ladies. Her principal work was a translation of “Antonius,” a French tragedy.
“Underneath this marble hearse, Lies the subject of all verse. Sidney’s sister, Pembroke’s mother. Death, ere thou hast kill’d another, Fair, and learn’d, and good as she, Time shall throw a dart at thee.”