“Et in Arcadia ego” is a painting by artist Nicolas Poussin. This painting was created in 1637-1638 and was in the classical French Baroque style. It is currently housed in the Louvre Museum in Paris, France.
In the painting you will see four Arcadian shepherds looking at something on a tomb. The shepherds are looking at an inscription on the tomb which reads “et in Arcadia ego”. But what does this inscription mean? Roughly translated from Latin to English, the inscription means “I too lived in Arcadia” or “I too exist in paradise”.
Who is “I”? In this painting, “I” is death. Death exists in paradise. Death exists everywhere, happens to everyone eventually, and cannot be escaped. Death is being referred to in the first person and present tense because everyone can watch death unfold and it has gone on since the beginning of time, through today, and into the future.
With hospice care, we know death is an inevitable part of life and we strive to make it comfortable for the patient and provide resources for loved ones to care for their loved ones and grieve properly after the patient passes away. Hospice does not hasten death rather it enhances quality of life, even to the final moments. The clinicians of St. Anthony’s are experts in pain and symptom management to ensure our patients are physically, spiritually, emotionally, and socially comfortable.
For the family, St. Anthony’s offers bereavement services for 15 months after their loved ones passes away. And we even offer grief support to the community. These include camps, grief support groups, one-on-one grief counseling, and more. We want to be sure the family is emotionally supported while dealing with this difficult time.
If you or someone you know is in need of the extra care and support that hospice care provides, please give us a call at (270) 826-2326.
Sources for the painting: Image from google images.
Sources for information about painting: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/et%20in%20Arcadia%20ego
