43 Life and Character of Nathaniel Bowditch. 



end, he manifested the same cheerfuhiess, nay pleasantry, which 

 he had when in heaUh, without, however, the least admixture of 

 levity. In his great kindness, he exerted himself to see many 

 friends, every one of whom, I believe, will bear testimony to his 

 calm, serene state of mind. The words which he spoke in those 

 precious interviews, they will gather up and treasure in their 

 memory, and will never forget them so long as they live. She 

 certainly will not, to whom, when on her taking leave of him 

 she had said " Good night," he replied, " No, my dear, say not 

 ' Good night,' but ' Good morning,' for the next time we meet 

 will be on the morning of the resurrection." 



One day, toward the close of his lingering illness, after he had 

 himself given up all hope of recovery, he asked one who stood by 

 him, what were the two Greek words which signify " easy 

 death." The word not immediately suggesting itself to the per- 

 son, and he having mentioned over several phrases and combina-" 

 tions of words. Dr. Bowditch said, " No, you have not got the 

 right word; but you will find it in Pope's Correspondence." 

 The person found the letter, which was the last that Dr. Arbuth- 

 not* wrote to his friend. The conclusion of it is as follows : 

 " A recovery, in my case, and at my age, is impossible. The 

 kindest wish of my friends is euthanasia." On hearing this read, 

 Dr. Bowditch said, " Yes, ili^t is the word, euthanasia. That 

 letter I read forty years ago, and I have not seen it since. It 

 made an impression on my mind which is still fresh. It struck 

 me, at the time I read it, that the good physician who wrote it 

 would certainly have an easy death. It could not be otherwise. 

 The excellent, the virtuous, must be happy in their death." He 

 afterwards frequently recurred to this subject, and the day previ- 

 ous to his departure, he said, " This is, indeed, euthanasia.'''' 



Through the whole of his illness he manifested the same happy 

 and delightful frame of mind. His room did not appear like the 

 -chamber of sickness and dissolution. The light of his serene 



* Dr. Arbutlmot was an eminent physician and brilliant wit in the time of Q,ueen 

 Anne, the contemporary and friend of Swift and Pope. He died in 1735. Dr. 

 Johnson, in his Life of Pope, says of him, " Arbuthnot was a man of great com- 

 prehension, skillful in his practice, versed in the sciences, acquainted with ancient 

 literature, and able to animate his mass of knowledge by a bright and active ima- 

 gination ; a scholar, with great brilliance of wit ; a wit, who, in the crowd of life, 

 retained and discovered a noble ardor of religious zeal; a man estimable for his 

 learning, amiable for his life, and venerable for his piety." 



