In the just worth of that well-deserver,
Master John Webster,
and upon this masterpiece of tragedy
[The Duchess of Malfi]
In this thou imitat’st one rich and wise,
That sees his good deeds done before he dies;
As he by works, thou by this work of fame
Hast well provided for thy living name.
To trust to others’ honorings is worth’s crime;
Thy monument is raised in thy lifetime.
And ’tis most just, for every worthy man
Is his own marble, and his merit can
Cut him to any figure and express
More art than death’s cathedral palaces,
Where royal ashes keep their court. Thy note
Be ever plainness; ’tis the richest coat.
Thy epitaph only the title be:
Write ‘Duchess’, that will fetch a tear for thee —
For who e’er saw this duchess live and die,
That could get off under a bleeding eye?