--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Nineteenth-century preacher Henry Ward…" description: "\"“Nineteenth-century preacher Henry Ward Beecher's last words were \"Now comes the mystery.\" The poet Dylan Thomas, who liked a good drink at least as mu..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b4/john-green-12_death_nineteenth-century-preacher-henry-ward-b_317597.jpg" --- # Nineteenth-century preacher Henry Ward Beecher's last… ![“Nineteenth-century preacher Henry Ward Beecher's last words were "Now comes the mystery." The poet Dylan Thomas, who liked a good drink at least as much as Alaska, said, "I've had eighteen straight whiskeys. I do believe that's a record," before dying. Alaska's favorite was playwright Eugene…” quote by John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b4/john-green-12_death_nineteenth-century-preacher-henry-ward-b_317597.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b4/john-green-12_death_nineteenth-century-preacher-henry-ward-b_317597.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b4/john-green-12_death_nineteenth-century-preacher-henry-ward-b_317597.jpg) > ““Nineteenth-century preacher Henry Ward Beecher's last words were "Now comes the mystery." The poet Dylan Thomas, who liked a good drink at least as much as Alaska, said, "I've had eighteen straight whiskeys. I do believe that's a record," before dying. Alaska's favorite was playwright Eugene O'Neill: "Born in a hotel room, and--God damn it--died in a hotel room." Even car-accident victims sometimes have time for last words. Princess Diana said, "Oh God. What's happened?" Movie star James Dean said, "They've got to see us," just before slamming his Porsche into another car. I know so many last words. But I will never know hers.”” [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Last words, whether profound or mundane, reveal humanity’s desire for meaning at life’s end. **In simple terms:** People’s final words show their need for significance. Key Takeaway Listen to final words for insight. Themes mortality legacy humor celebrity humanity Mood somber thoughtful humorous Type reflective cultural When to use this quote - hospital bedside - celebrity interviews - historical documentaries Key Concepts philosophy psychology culture Questions to Reflect On - What makes a last word memorable? - How do we honor diverse endings? A Different Perspective Not all last words are recorded or accurate, limiting conclusions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Last Word](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/last-word/) [Last words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/last-words/) [Movie star](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/movie-star/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) ## Related quotes > [“Anyway,” Alaska said to me. “I thought the way he treated you was just awful. I wanted to cry. I just wanted to kiss…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/anyway-alaska-said-to-me-i-thought-the-way-he-treated-you-was-just/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Undiluted industrial-strength blue number-five hair dye" Alaska said.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/undiluted-industrial-strength-blue-number-five-hair-dye-alaska-said/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [The bad news is that 50 people died in a hotel fire; the good news is that we got exclusive footage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-savitch/the-bad-news-is-that-50-people-died-in-a-hotel-fire-the-good-news-is/) [Jessica Savitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-savitch/) > [I knew it. I knew it. Born in a hotel room - and God damn it - died in a hotel room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-o-neill/i-knew-it-i-knew-it-born-in-a-hotel-room-and-god-damn-it-died-in-a/) [Eugene O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-o-neill/) > [“Everybody said to me back home, what do you want to go to Alaska for, and I said, because I've never been there, isn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/everybody-said-to-me-back-home-what-do-you-want-to-go-to-alaska-for/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) > [“Freedom of speech i can guarantee ,but freedom after speech i can't guarantee ,so watch the the type of words that comes from your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lexis-smigz/freedom-of-speech-i-can-guarantee-but-freedom-after-speech-i-can-t/) [lexis smigz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lexis-smigz/) > [Thought is not merely expressed in words, it comes into existence through them](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-s-vygotsky/thought-is-not-merely-expressed-in-words-it-comes-into-existence/) [Lev S. Vygotsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-s-vygotsky/) > [Something that you don't like to hear better just let it be, if not the words will comes to you again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/something-that-you-don-t-like-to-hear-better-just-let-it-be-if-not/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The feeling for words comes at an early age--or rather it is lost in most cases at any early age, leaving the rest poets" (170).”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-feeling-for-words-comes-at-an-early-age-or-rather-it-is-lost-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“What were you doing with her?” The words burst from my lips. Before I can take them back, he stares at me. I stare…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-jayne/what-were-you-doing-with-her-the-words-burst-from-my-lips-before-i/) L. Jayne > [My mother sent me to speech classes, but the other kids still teased me. I was shy. I stooped. Instead of talking, I kept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colman-domingo/my-mother-sent-me-to-speech-classes-but-the-other-kids-still-teased/) [Colman Domingo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colman-domingo/) > [“This century will be called Darwin 's century. He was one of the greatest men who ever touched this globe. He has explained more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/this-century-will-be-called-darwin-s-century-he-was-one-of-the/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [“A person without a sense of humor is like a wagon without springs. It's jolted by every pebble on the road. Henry Ward Beecher”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/a-person-without-a-sense-of-humor-is-like-a-wagon-without-springs-it/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [“Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anybody else expects of you. Never excuse yourself. Never pity yourself. Be a hard master to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-meadows/hold-yourself-responsible-for-a-higher-standard-than-anybody-else/) [Martin Meadows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-meadows/) > [“Henry Ward Beecher expressed the thought this way: "I can forgive but I cannot forget is another way of saying I cannot forgive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-w-kimball/henry-ward-beecher-expressed-the-thought-this-way-i-can-forgive-but-i/) [Spencer W. Kimball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-w-kimball/) ## More by John Green > [Issac:"I dislike living in a world without Augustus Waters." Computer: "I don't understand-" Issac: "Me neither. Pause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/issac-i-dislike-living-in-a-world-without-augustus-waters-computer-i/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“I just want to stay away from people and read books and think”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-just-want-to-stay-away-from-people-and-read-books-and-think/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [She smiled with all the delight of a kid on Christmas morning and said, "Y'all smoke to enjoy it. I smoke to die." -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/she-smiled-with-all-the-delight-of-a-kid-on-christmas-morning-and/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [A Margo for each of us--and each more mirror than window.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/a-margo-for-each-of-us-and-each-more-mirror-than-window/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“No one ever says good-bye unless they want to see you again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/no-one-ever-says-good-bye-unless-they-want-to-see-you-again/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Neither novels or their readers benefit from any attempts to divine whether any facts hide inside a story. Such efforts attack the very idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/neither-novels-or-their-readers-benefit-from-any-attempts-to-divine/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Traffic's not too bad on Sheridan, and I'm cornering the car like it's the Indy 500, and we're listening to my favorite NMH song,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/traffic-s-not-too-bad-on-sheridan-and-i-m-cornering-the-car-like-it-s/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Praise God for good nurses.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/praise-god-for-good-nurses/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [So I was ugly. I was never fat, really, and I never wore headgear or had zits or anything. But I was ugly. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/so-i-was-ugly-i-was-never-fat-really-and-i-never-wore-headgear-or-had/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Nothing has ever looked like that ever in all of human history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/nothing-has-ever-looked-like-that-ever-in-all-of-human-history/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“said to him quietly, as if I couldn’t hear or something. Dad was about to respond but I interrupted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/said-to-him-quietly-as-if-i-couldn-t-hear-or-something-dad-was-about/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I believe humans have souls, and I believe in the conservation of souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-believe-humans-have-souls-and-i-believe-in-the-conservation-of-souls/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“He was hot. A nonhotboy stares at you relentlessly and it is, at best, awkward and, at worst, a form of assault. But a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/he-was-hot-a-nonhotboy-stares-at-you-relentlessly-and-it-is-at-best/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I think if you keep the box closed long enough you do kill the cat, actually.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-think-if-you-keep-the-box-closed-long-enough-you-do-kill-the-cat/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Imagining the future is a kind of nostalgia. (...) You spend your whole life stuck in the labyrinth, thinking about how you'll escape it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/imagining-the-future-is-a-kind-of-nostalgia-you-spend-your-whole-life/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) [Explore all 3,614 John Green quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## More Death quotes > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [I do not want to live at the cost of the life even of a snake. I should let him bite me to death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-to-live-at-the-cost-of-the-life-even-of-a-snake-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“It was beautiful. He thought he had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life; that, having seen it, he could die content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/it-was-beautiful-he-thought-he-had-never-seen-anything-so-beautiful/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [Retirement? You're talking about death, right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-altman/retirement-you-re-talking-about-death-right/) [Robert Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-altman/) > [With multiplayer, permanent death, and an ever-changing world to explore and conquer, 'A Valley Without Wind' might be the place you're looking for if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-manuel/with-multiplayer-permanent-death-and-an-ever-changing-world-to/) [Rob Manuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-manuel/) > [“What did you see?” she asked gently. His brow furrowed, as if he could not understand the question. Then his eyes turned to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-anthony-torino/what-did-you-see-she-asked-gently-his-brow-furrowed-as-if-he-could/) J. Anthony Torino > [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“I practice Dying--every night-- But have not learned to, still-- Though Talented--by Mortal bones-- For such a common Skill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-powers/i-practice-dying-every-night-but-have-not-learned-to-still-though/) Alan W. Powers > [“You must understand the pain and grief of losing someone is nothing more than a function of survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/you-must-understand-the-pain-and-grief-of-losing-someone-is-nothing/) [Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/) > [I am not a depressive person at all, but I reflect a lot on my life, and life in general, from the perspective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/i-am-not-a-depressive-person-at-all-but-i-reflect-a-lot-on-my-life/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [“Death is a reality that calls the rest of life and all of our assorted strivings into sharp relief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/death-is-a-reality-that-calls-the-rest-of-life-and-all-of-our/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [I love life. I love life to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuelle-riva/i-love-life-i-love-life-to-death/) [Emmanuelle Riva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuelle-riva/) > [I think when you’re dying you start looking for important things in the corners. You can’t let anything that seems even semi-important pass, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-crutcher/i-think-when-you-re-dying-you-start-looking-for-important-things-in/) [Chris Crutcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-crutcher/) [Browse all 39,127 Death quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Nineteenth-century preacher Henry Ward Beecher's last words were \"Now comes the mystery.\" The poet Dylan Thomas, who liked a good drink at least as much as Alaska, said, \"I've had eighteen straight whiskeys. I do believe that's a record,\" before dying. Alaska's favorite was playwright Eugene O'Neill: \"Born in a hotel room, and--God damn it--died in a hotel room.\" Even car-accident victims sometimes have time for last words. Princess Diana said, \"Oh God. What's happened?\" Movie star James Dean said, \"They've got to see us,\" just before slamming his Porsche into another car. I know so many last words. But I will never know hers.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Green" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/nineteenth-century-preacher-henry-ward-beecher-s-last-words-were-now/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Death" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/nineteenth-century-preacher-henry-ward-beecher-s-last-words-were-now/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b4/john-green-12_death_nineteenth-century-preacher-henry-ward-b_317597.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b4/john-green-12_death_nineteenth-century-preacher-henry-ward-b_317597.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b4/john-green-12_death_nineteenth-century-preacher-henry-ward-b_317597.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Nineteenth-century preacher Henry Ward Beecher's last words were \"Now comes the mystery.\" The poet Dylan…” — John Green", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "John Green", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Nineteenth-century preacher Henry Ward Beecher's last...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/nineteenth-century-preacher-henry-ward-beecher-s-last-words-were-now/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/nineteenth-century-preacher-henry-ward-beecher-s-last-words-were-now/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```