"An epitaph is a belated advertisement for a line of goods that has been discontinued"

This quote by Irvin S. Cobb is an amusing method of looking at an epitaph. An epitaph is a short expression or poem composed on a tombstone to commemorate the life of the deceased. However, Cobb is suggesting that an epitaph is like an advertisement for an item that is no longer readily available. In other words, the person has died and is no longer able to be valued in life. The epitaph is a way of remembering the person and their achievements, however it is too late to benefit from them. It is a pointer of what might have been, but is now gone. Cobb's quote is a creative method of looking at the finality of death and how it can be viewed as a tip of what has actually been lost.