And for a further manifestation of his humble thoughts and desires,
they may appear to the Reader by another part of his Will which
follows.
"As for my corruptible body, I bequeath it to the earth whence it was
taken, to be decently buried in the Parish Church of Buckden,
towards the upper end of the Chancel, upon the second, or--at the
furthest--the third day after my decease; and that with as little
noise, pomp, and charge as may be, without the invitation of any
person how near soever related unto me, other than the inhabitants
of Buckden; without the unnecessary expense of escutcheons, gloves,
ribbons, &c., and without any blacks to be hung any where in or about
the house or Church, other than a pulpit cloth, a hearse-cloth, and
a mourning gown for the Preacher; whereof the former--after my body
shall be interred--to be given to the Preacher of the Funeral Sermon,
and the latter to the Curate of the Parish for the time being. And
my will further is that the Funeral Sermon be preached by my own
household Chaplain, containing some wholesome discourse concerning
Mortality, the Resurrection of the Dead and the Last Judgment; and
that he shall have for his pains 5_l._ upon condition that he speak
nothing at all concerning my person, either good or ill, other than
I myself shall direct; only signifying to the auditory that it was my
express will to have it so. And it is my will, that no costly monument
be erected for my memory, but only a fair flat marble stone to be laid
over me, with this inscription in legible Roman characters, DEPOSITUM
ROBERTI SANDERSON NUPER LINCOLNIENSIS EPISCOPI, QUI OBIIT ANNO DOMINI
MDCLXII. ET ÆTATIS SUÆ SEPTUAGESIMO SEXTO, HIC REQUIESCIT IN SPE BEATE
RESURRECTIONIS. This manner of burial, although I cannot but foresee
it will prove unsatisfactory to sundry my nearest friends and
relations, and be apt to be censured by others, as an evidence of
my too much parsimony and narrowness of mind, as being altogether
unusual, and not according to the mode of these times: yet it is
agreeable to the sense of my heart, and I do very much desire my Will
may be carefully observed herein, hoping it may become exemplary to
some or other: at least however testifying at my death--what I have so
often and earnestly professed in my life time--my utter dislike of the
flatteries commonly used in Funeral Sermons, and of the vast expenses
otherwise laid out in Funeral solemnities and entertainments, with
very little benefit to any; which if bestowed in pious and charitable
works, might redound to the public or private benefit of many
persons."
[Sidenote: His death]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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