ET IN ARCADIA EGO
(I used to be in Arcadia too)

Among the works painted by Pousin(Nicolas) in the 17th century is a picture titled"Bergers en Arcadia". On a hill in Arcadia,on which Italian Renaissance poets composed their poetry as a utopia,are three young shepherds and a goddess repsented strictly composed.The three young,who are at their best in adolescence,are following the inscription on a tomb innocently and the goddess is giving a tender smile to them with the hand on one kid's shoulder. ÑüÑüyou see the inscription in Latin of "ET IN ARCADIA EGO" engraved on the tomb. The young men who are blind to what the death is like,the goddess who knowswell enevitable human mortality and this inscription on the tomb. By announcing "I used to be in Arcadia too" from inside the grave, is thedead person putting up a bluff implying "Me too,I led a happy life in thatparadise on earth. Like you all. You are also destined to..."? I would rather think otherwise. If the phrase was engraved by the dead person himself,it was when he was still alive.