The November issue of Standpoint magazine carries a short Dalrymple essay on graveyards:
“…I feel irritated by the ruination of modern graveyards by vulgarity. The fact is that death has not been so much democratised (the rule has always been one man, one death) as demoticised. The tombstones are now all of shiny black stone of the kind that people like as working surfaces in their kitchens – as though death were the continuation of domestic life by other means…”
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The Skeptical Doctor
Dedicated to the work of Theodore Dalrymple
“The tombstones are now all of shiny black stone of the kind that people like as working surfaces in their kitchens.”
Perhaps it’s the influence of all those DIY shows on TV. Watch for cremations to be done in top-of-the-line, energy-efficient convection ovens.
Thanks for putting this site together. The list of books and the links to MP3s and videos are especially welcome.