“Mors Patet, Hora Latet.”  So reads the Latin inscription on a small mausoleum wall at 1 Chamberlain Road, Edinburgh. “Death is sure, the hour is obscure.”

It’s the mausoleum of an apothecary called John Livingstone (The crest on the gravestone is the Livingstone crest) who died in 1645, likely as a result of the plague that swept through the city killed up to half the population.  The other inscription on the gravestone still speaks to us today about how to live amidst a time of pandemic disease and fears.

“This saint, whose corpse lies buried here,

Let all posterity admire

For upright life in godly fear.

 

When judgments did this land surround

He, with God, was walking found

For which, from midst of fears, he’s crowned.

 

Here to be interred both he

And friends by providence agree

No age shall lose his memory.

His age 53

Died 1645

For more information about this location, visit Historic Environment Scotland’s website.

TO dig deeper, visit ScotlandsForgottenHistory.com