'all the best men are dead'

[wibblewobble]

I heard this spoken recently, as thought it were a quote taken from a book or a film....any ideas where it's from?

[infelice]

There is a quote from the classics, "whom the gods love die young" It is probably worth checking a Latin website for the exact translation from latin. Hope this helps.

[geofbob]

Perhaps you're thinking of the wonderful Scottish toast quoted in the film Days of Glory - "Here's to us. Who's like us? Damn few - and they're dead!"

[wibblewobble]

thanks for the suggestions...i have subsequently found this quote, which apparently appeared in Punch in 1893(!): "Nearly all our best men are dead! Carlyle, Tennyson, Browning, George Eliot! I'm not feeling very well myself!" ...trouble is, i have no idea what it means!.....anyone care to explain?

[keithtoo]

Just a thought. This saying may be derived from a famous related quote. De Gaulle once said, when told that a certain man was 'indispensable' for a certain position; "The graveyards are full of indispensable men".

[Rissa]

Wibblewobble, the writer is implying that he is one of the "best men", and may also be soon to die.