“Death is a mystery, and burial is a secret.”

“Leisure without books is death, and burial of a man alive.”

“Truly man is the king of beasts, for his brutality exceeds them. We live by the death of others. We are burial places.”

“Between birth and burial, we find ourselves in a comedy of mysteries. If you don't think life is mysterious, if you believe you have it all mapped out, you aren't paying attention or you've anesthetized yourself with booze or drugs, or with a comforting ideology. And if you don't think life's a comedy - well, friend, you might as well hurry along to that burial. The rest of us need people with whom we can laugh.”

“Death and burial were a public spectacle. Shakespeare may have seen for himself the gravediggers at St Ann's, Soho, playing skittles with skulls and bones.”

“The mystery of love is greater than the mystery of death.”