Here rests his head upon the lap of Earth
A Youth, to Fortune and to Fame unknown;
Fair Science frown'd not on his humble birth,
And Melancholy mark'd him for her own.
These are the first four lines of the epitaph attached to the end of the poem "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard", composed by Thomas Gray, an eighteenth century poet. The epitaph that still stands near his grave contains these lines. Here the poet speaks about himself.
Before his death, Gray wrote twelve lines for the epitaph of his own grave. These lines suggest that he accepted his oncoming death with stoic resignation as he accepted his chequered life. During his lifetime he was not happy with his name and fame. For this reason, he says here very modestly that he was unknown to name and fame. He was learned though he came of an unknown family. However, he was never happy in life, especially with his friends. As a result, he remained down hearted in the last few years of his life. These four lines, thus, is a brief sketch of his life. These lines are full of modesty and pathos well matched with the mourning mood of the poem. Here the life and death of the humble rural people have been glorified.
