In this essay Montaigne ponders our tendency to think about the future instead of the present
Some say, stop thinking about the future and live in the
moment. They say we cannot predict the future, that we have no grasp upon what
is to come, ‘even less than that which we have upon what is past’
This is a mistaken view, but it is a view that Nature
herself encourages, in order to continue her work. Nature is ‘more jealous of
our action than afraid of our knowledge’
The poet Rousseau says: ‘We are never present, but always
beyond ourselves’. He explains that fear, desire, and hope make us always think
about the future, and prevent us from enjoying the present moment.
The philosopher Plato says: ‘Do thine own work, and know
thyself.’
I like this quote. I think the two are related. He who does
his own work well will automatically come to know himself. And he who knows
himself well ‘will never mistake another man’s work for his own’. This person,
then, will love and improve himself, through his work. He will reject all other
work, which is not his. Thus (and this is important)
‘Wisdom, acquiescing in the present, is never dissatisfied
with itself’
The philosopher Epicurus told his followers: don’t think
ahead, don’t worry about the future.
Let me be specific now, and talk about death
Solon said that noone can be happy till they are dead.
Aristotle replied with the question that: If one has lived and died according
to his heart’s desire, but died leaving behind a bad reputation, can he be said
to be happy? We are preoccupied with our own whims in our life, but when we are
no more, we cannot communicate with those left behind. I agree with Solon then,
man is never happy till he is no more. Because we cannot ever wholly detach
ourselves from the idea of life, even in dying. We imagine, always, that there
is something in us that survives.
I’ll recount some stories now to illustrate something quite
strange – the fact that we ‘extend the concern of ourselves beyond this life’:
- Edward the First had won many battles. He insisted to his
son that his body, upon death, be boiled till the flesh parted from the bones.
And the flesh should then be buried but the bones carried with him in the army
‘as if destiny had inevitably attached victory, even to his remains’
- The king of Bohemia, similarly, asked for his skin to be
made into a drum to carry in war against his enemies. He thought this would
ensure continuation of the successes that he had enjoyed in war.
- Certain Indians in battle with Spaniards carried the bones
of their captains, in consideration of their former victories.
- Other men of the New World carry relics of brave men who
have died in battle ‘to incite their courage and advance their fortune … they
attribute to them a certain present and active power’.
- Captain Bayars found himself wounded to death. He
commanded to be set down at the foot of a tree so that he may die with his face
towards his enemies.
A personal example:
- A relative of mine, as he lay dying, spent his last hours
giving meticulous instructions on how his funeral should be carried out. He
made everyone promise they would be there, and presented several examples and
reasons why he was due this respect. Then, he died content. ‘I have seldom
heard of so persistent a vanity’. At the last moment, to contrive a ceremony in
honour of yourself
- A contrary example is of someone called Lepidus, who
forbade his heirs from even the most simple ceremony. It makes sense, after
all, to be temperate and frugal, ‘to avoid expense and pleasure of which the
use and knowledge are imperceptible to us’, for we are gone.
- The philosopher Lycon told his friends to dispose of his
body as they saw fit, and to have a ceremony that was neither extravagant nor
sparse.
My own funeral? I leave it up to those upon whom it will
fall. The care of death are ‘consolations to the living’ rather than any
support to the dead.
Socrates, when asked how he should be buried said ‘How you
will.’ He elaborated that if he were to concern himself ‘beyond the present
about this affair’ he would be tempted to ask for glorious ceremony and honours
beforehand, like those who have statues erected etc. in order to behold ‘their
own dead countenance in marble’.
Maybe it’s a fear of what happens when you die. Let me offer two observations on this matter.
Firstly, a quote be Seneca:
‘Dost ask where
thou shalt lie after death?
Where things not born lie, that never being had.’
And I leave you with this gem:
‘As nature demonstrates to us that several dead things
retain yet an occult relation to life; wine changes its flavour and complexion
in cellars … and the flesh of venison alters its condition in the powdering
tub, and its taste according to the laws of the living flesh of its kind.’
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