--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Man passes away; his name perishes from…" description: "\"Man passes away; his name perishes from record and recollection; his history is as a tale that is told, and his very monument becomes a ruin.\" — Washin..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e05/washington-irving-1386_history_man-passes-away-his-name-perishes-from-r_1729057.png" --- # Man passes away; his name perishes from record and… ![“Man passes away; his name perishes from record and recollection; his history is as a tale that is told, and his very monument becomes a ruin.” quote by Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e05/washington-irving-1386_history_man-passes-away-his-name-perishes-from-r_1729057.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e05/washington-irving-1386_history_man-passes-away-his-name-perishes-from-r_1729057.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e05/washington-irving-1386_history_man-passes-away-his-name-perishes-from-r_1729057.png) > “Man passes away; his name perishes from record and recollection; his history is as a tale that is told, and his very monument becomes a ruin.” [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Fame and legacy fade after death, leaving only stories and ruins. **In simple terms:** Names and monuments vanish over time. Key Takeaway Remember deeds, not just names. Themes mortality legacy memory Mood melancholic reflective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - family - family Key Concepts impermanence historical narrative Questions to Reflect On - What can we do to preserve meaning beyond our names? - How does storytelling keep a person alive? A Different Perspective ; ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Monument](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monument/) [Monument Ruin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monument-ruin-1411535/) [Names](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/names/) [Passes Away](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passes-away/) [Passing away](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passing-away/) [Recollection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/recollection/) [Records](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/records/) [Ruin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ruin/) [Ruins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ruins/) [Tales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tales/) [Told Monument](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/told-monument-1411536/) ## Related quotes > [(Man's) history is a tale that is told, and his very monument becomes a ruin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/man-s-history-is-a-tale-that-is-told-and-his-very-monument-becomes-a/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [What is fair in men, passes away, but not so in art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/what-is-fair-in-men-passes-away-but-not-so-in-art/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [Oh, how swiftly the glory of the world passes away!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-kempis/oh-how-swiftly-the-glory-of-the-world-passes-away/) [Thomas a Kempis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-kempis/) > [However, everything has an end, everything passes away, even the hunger of people who have not eaten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-verne/however-everything-has-an-end-everything-passes-away-even-the-hunger/) [Jules Verne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-verne/) > [Light, when suddenly let in, dazzles and hurts and almost blinds us: but this soon passes away, and it seems to become the only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustus-william-hare/light-when-suddenly-let-in-dazzles-and-hurts-and-almost-blinds-us-but/) [Augustus William Hare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustus-william-hare/) > [I don't believe that grief passes away. It has its time and place forever. More time is added to it; it becomes a story…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/i-don-t-believe-that-grief-passes-away-it-has-its-time-and-place/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Every time a value is born, existence takes on a new meaning; every time one dies, some part of that meaning passes away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-wood-krutch/every-time-a-value-is-born-existence-takes-on-a-new-meaning-every/) [Joseph Wood Krutch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-wood-krutch/) > [Oh, how quickly the world's glory passes away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-kempis/oh-how-quickly-the-world-s-glory-passes-away/) [Thomas a Kempis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-kempis/) > [Hodie mihi cras tibi, said the inscription. Sic transit gloria mundi. My turn today, yours tomorrow. And thus passes away the glory of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/hodie-mihi-cras-tibi-said-the-inscription-sic-transit-gloria-mundi-my/) [Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/) > [It's always difficult when someone close to you passes away. But it's really tough when they're on top of you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-jeselnik/it-s-always-difficult-when-someone-close-to-you-passes-away-but-it-s/) [Anthony Jeselnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-jeselnik/) > [No reliance can be placed on the friendship of kings, nor vain hope put in the melodious voice of boys; for that passes away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saadi/no-reliance-can-be-placed-on-the-friendship-of-kings-nor-vain-hope/) [Saadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saadi/) > [Everything beautiful has its moment and then passes away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-cernuda/everything-beautiful-has-its-moment-and-then-passes-away/) [Luis Cernuda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-cernuda/) > [The pain others give passes away in their later kindness, but that of our own blunders, especially when they hurt our vanity, never passes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/the-pain-others-give-passes-away-in-their-later-kindness-but-that-of/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [Sometimes this world comes between us and what we love. But if we are patient, when this world passes away, there will be no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmin-mogahed/sometimes-this-world-comes-between-us-and-what-we-love-but-if-we-are/) [Yasmin Mogahed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmin-mogahed/) > [Pain does two things: It teaches you, tells you that you're alive. Then it passes away and leaves you changed. It leaves you wiser,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/pain-does-two-things-it-teaches-you-tells-you-that-you-re-alive-then/) [Jim Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-butcher/) ## More by Washington Irving > [Some minds corrode and grow inactive under the loss of personal liberty; others grow morbid and irritable; but it is the nature of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/some-minds-corrode-and-grow-inactive-under-the-loss-of-personal/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [Language gradually varies, and with it fade away the writings of authors who have flourished their allotted time; otherwise, the creative powers of genius…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/language-gradually-varies-and-with-it-fade-away-the-writings-of/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [A woman's life is a history of the affections.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/a-woman-s-life-is-a-history-of-the-affections/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [A father may turn his back on his child, brothers and sisters may become inveterate enemies, husbands may desert their wives, wives their husbands.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/a-father-may-turn-his-back-on-his-child-brothers-and-sisters-may/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [Over no nation does the press hold a more absolute control than over the people of America, for the universal education of the poorest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/over-no-nation-does-the-press-hold-a-more-absolute-control-than-over/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [I have never found, in anything outside of the four walls of my study, an enjoyment equal to sitting at my writing desk with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/i-have-never-found-in-anything-outside-of-the-four-walls-of-my-study/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [There is no character in the comedy of human life more difficult to play well than that of an old bachelor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/there-is-no-character-in-the-comedy-of-human-life-more-difficult-to/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [He who thinks much says but little in proportion to his thoughts. He selects that language which will convey his ideas in the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/he-who-thinks-much-says-but-little-in-proportion-to-his-thoughts-he/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [A woman's whole life is a history of the affections. The heart is her world: it is there her ambition strives for empire; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/a-woman-s-whole-life-is-a-history-of-the-affections-the-heart-is-her/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [Redundancy of language is never found with deep reflection. Verbiage may indicate observation, but not thinking. He who thinks much says but little in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/redundancy-of-language-is-never-found-with-deep-reflection-verbiage/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [History fades into fable; fact becomes clouded with doubt and controversy; the inscription molders from the tablet: the statue falls from the pedestal. Columns,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/history-fades-into-fable-fact-becomes-clouded-with-doubt-and/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [There is a majestic grandeur in tranquillity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/there-is-a-majestic-grandeur-in-tranquillity/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [There rise authors now and then, who seem proof against the mutability of language, because they have rooted themselves in the unchanging principles of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/there-rise-authors-now-and-then-who-seem-proof-against-the-mutability/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [There is nothing in England that exercises a more delightful spell over my imagination than the lingerings of the holiday customs and rural games…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/there-is-nothing-in-england-that-exercises-a-more-delightful-spell/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [It is but seldom that any one overt act produces hostilities between two nations; there exists, more commonly, a previous jealousy and ill will,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/it-is-but-seldom-that-any-one-overt-act-produces-hostilities-between/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) [Explore all 244 Washington Irving quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) ## More History quotes > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/histories-never-conclude-they-just-pause-their-prose-their-stories/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [It is said that history turns on small hinges. A human career, too, results from an accumulating series of decisions about large and small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/it-is-said-that-history-turns-on-small-hinges-a-human-career-too/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [In the entire history of the universe, let alone in your own history, there has never been another day just like today, and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/in-the-entire-history-of-the-universe-let-alone-in-your-own-history/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [The NBA is my history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penny-hardaway/the-nba-is-my-history/) [Penny Hardaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penny-hardaway/) > [History has often showed us the strength of the forces that are unleashed by the yearning for freedom. It moved people to overcome their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-merkel/history-has-often-showed-us-the-strength-of-the-forces-that-are/) [Angela Merkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-merkel/) > [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [What is history after all? History is facts which become lies in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/what-is-history-after-all-history-is-facts-which-become-lies-in-the/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [Things live and die, and then someone processes them into edible portions. This is a complete telling of the story, 'Food.' The basic plot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-fahrenthold/things-live-and-die-and-then-someone-processes-them-into-edible/) [David Fahrenthold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-fahrenthold/) > [History is a certain way, but you just change the point of view a little bit, and you discover a whole new side of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-schroeder/history-is-a-certain-way-but-you-just-change-the-point-of-view-a/) [Allison Schroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-schroeder/) > [We're at a point in history were we have to become a part of the neighborhood of inhabited planets, like a neighborhood of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/we-re-at-a-point-in-history-were-we-have-to-become-a-part-of-the/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [Today is a reality, tomorrow's a promise, and yesterday's history!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-blanks/today-is-a-reality-tomorrow-s-a-promise-and-yesterday-s-history/) [Billy Blanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-blanks/) > [Truth be told from compulsive liars with a history/Everything must change 2nd chances are a mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-dash/truth-be-told-from-compulsive-liars-with-a-history-everything-must/) [C-DASH](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-dash/) > [Every army in the history of the world has always had some deserters, usually much greater than we have today, because once again every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-hilferty/every-army-in-the-history-of-the-world-has-always-had-some-deserters/) [Bryan Hilferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-hilferty/) > [“To those great geniuses now in petticoats, who shall write novels for the beloved reader's children, these men and things will be as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/to-those-great-geniuses-now-in-petticoats-who-shall-write-novels-for/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) [Browse all 27,263 History quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Man passes away; his name perishes from record and recollection; his history is as a tale that is told, and his very monument becomes a ruin.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Washington Irving" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/man-passes-away-his-name-perishes-from-record-and-recollection-his/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "History" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/man-passes-away-his-name-perishes-from-record-and-recollection-his/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e05/washington-irving-1386_history_man-passes-away-his-name-perishes-from-r_1729057.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e05/washington-irving-1386_history_man-passes-away-his-name-perishes-from-r_1729057.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e05/washington-irving-1386_history_man-passes-away-his-name-perishes-from-r_1729057.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Man passes away; his name perishes from record and recollection; his history is as a tale that is told, and…” — Washington Irving", "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": "Washington Irving", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Man passes away; his name perishes...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/man-passes-away-his-name-perishes-from-record-and-recollection-his/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/man-passes-away-his-name-perishes-from-record-and-recollection-his/#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 } } ] } ```