Portuguese Epitaphs and Sayings
A noble Portuguee lies here,
By name Don Vasco Cid Figuere,
Not in bloodshed
Died he, he fled
From wars and Moors, and did all he could
To die in bed as a gentleman should.
Here lies who once lived and is now dead, and although he died, he lives, for the world trembles at the sound of his name.
Here lies the body of Senhor Vasco Barreto,
He died by God’s will and much against his own.
Breathe an Ave Maria for the repose of his soul.
Here lies Alfonso Galego. He died for the glory of God in spite of the Devil.
A Portuguese preacher once said: “The Moors are our neighbours, and the Jews are our neighbours, and even the Castilians are also our neighbours.”
Another time a Portuguese friar, preaching on the anniversary of a great battle, said: “The Christians were on one side of the river, and the Castilians on the other.”
(Seventeenth Century).