No farther seek his merits to disclose,
Or draw his frailties from their dread abode,
(There they alike in trembling hope repose,)
The bosom of his Father and his God.
This is the last stanza of the epitaph attached to the end of "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard", composed by Thomas Gray, an eighteenth century poet. These lines suggest the poet's deep faith in God.
Before his death, Gray wrote his own epitaph which reflects that, like the unknown rustic villagers buried in the country churchyard, he thought he was unknown to the civil world. The villagers lived a peaceful life far from the madding crowd of the cities. They neither had opportunities to commit crimes nor had any chance to flourish their virtues. Similarly the poet did not have enough power to commit crimes or spread name and fame. He believed that he was unknown to the world. In these lines, he concludes saying that visitors to his grave should try to seek his merits to praise or seek his faults to blame since he is dead. Then, he says that he is lying in his grave with the half-hearted hope that God will forgive him for his faults. These lines reflect his modesty and complete submission to God. In keeping with the mourning mood of the poem, these concluding lines have the rare touches of solemnity and pathos.
