Funeral reading
On His Books
Hilaire Belloc
“On His Books” by Hilaire Belloc is a poem read at a funeral or memorial service. It takes about 10 seconds read aloud, usually by the officiant. It is in the public domain, so the full text is printed on this page and goes straight into a ceremony script.
The full text
When I am dead, I hope it may be said: "His sins were scarlet, but his books were read."
Public domain, so these words can be printed in a ceremony script or an order of service.
What it is about
One pun, two lines, for someone who lived among books. A line to close on, not a piece to build a service around.
Read at a funeral or memorial service. Themes: his sins were scarlet but his books were read · a two-line epigram · a writer, a teacher, a great reader · a pun · a closing line rather than a reading · very short.
Questions about reading it aloud
How long does “On His Books” take to read aloud?
“On His Books” takes about 10 seconds read aloud at a ceremony pace, which is slower than conversation — roughly 130 words a minute. That is the figure the run-sheet uses when it works out the timing for the whole service.
Who usually reads “On His Books”?
Usually the officiant rather than a guest reader. “On His Books” runs about 10 seconds, which sits inside the part of the service the officiant is already leading, and keeping it there means it is carried by the person who has rehearsed it.
Can “On His Books” be printed in a ceremony script?
Yes. It is in the public domain, so the full text is on this page and can be printed in a script or an order of service.
Where this text was checked
Checked word for word against a full-text edition that is itself the authority — a Project Gutenberg or Wikisource transcription, a publisher’s own edition, or the issuing body’s page.
Checked
A reading is two minutes of the hour.
The rest is the welcome, the life, the remembrances, the committal — and knowing what comes next. Answer some questions about them and get the whole service, written out, with this reading in its place.