It doesn't help to say no

Board

Placement in the painting

The painting ends with this board in Danish:

Det Hielper ey at sige Ney
Med døden maa vi wandre
Ald Werdsens gang
den vey saa trang
tillige med Hverandre.

It doesn't help to say no
We must walk with Death
The way of all flesh
that road so narrow
together with each other.

Tvis Church

The same text is on the clerk's pulpit in Tvis Church (pictured right), which is from approx. 1760. Below the text on the pulpit is a picture of Death fetching the miser.

The text seems to be based on old proverbs: "Døden er hver mands alfarvej, det hjælper ej at sige nej" (Death is every man's highway, it doesn't help to say no) and old hymns:

Naar vi skulle fare all Verdsens Gang,
Oc reyse met Døden den Vey saa trang,
[…]

When we shall go the way of all flesh,
and travel with Death on the road so narrow,
[…]

Giff mig aff Verden en salig Affgang
Naar min Tid er tilstede,
At ieg skal vandre den Vey saa trang
Hielp mig til Himmeriges Glæde.

Give me a blessed departure from the world
When my time is here,
That I shall walk that Way so narrow
Help me to Heaven's bliss.

"It doesn't help you to say no"

The sentence is also reminiscent of »det hielper eder inthet ath sige ney«, "It doesn't help you to say no", spoken by Death to the congregation in Copenhagen's Dance of Death.