NewPhilosopheringviews:if the deadretainnofeel-
ingwhatever,mybrotherhasescaped
fromallthetroublesoflife,hasbeen
restoredtotheplacewhich heoccu-
piedbefore hisbirth,and,beingfree
fromeverykindofill,canneitherfear,
nordesire,nor suffer:what madness
then for me never to cease grieving
foronewhowillnever grieveagain?
If thedeadhaveanyfeeling,thenmy
brotheris nowlikeonewhohasbeen
let out of a prison in which he has
longbeenconfined,whoatlastis free
andhis ownmaster,andwhoenjoys
himself,amuseshimselfwithviewing
theworksofNature,andlooksdown
fromabovetheearthuponallhuman
things,whilehelooksat thingsdivine,
whosemeaninghehaslongsoughtinvain,froma muchnearerstandpoint.
Why then am I wasting away with
grief for one who is either in bliss
ornon-existent?It would beenvyto
weepforonewhois inbliss,it would
bemadnesstoweepforonewhohas
noexistencewhatever.Areyouaffected
bythethoughtthatheappearstohave
beendeprivedofgreatblessingsjustat
themomentwhenthey camecrowd-
ing upon him? After thinking how
muchhe has lost,call to mind how
muchmorehehasceasedto fear:anger
willnevermore wringhis heart,dis-
easewillnotcrushhim,suspicionwill
notdisquiethim,thegnawingpainof
envywhichwefeelatthesuccessesof
otherswillnotattendhim,terrorwill
not make him wretched, the fickle-nessoffortunewhoquicklytransfers
herfavoursfromonemantoanother
will not alarm him.If you reckon it
upproperly,hehasbeensparedmore
than he has lost. He will not enjoy
wealth,oryourinfluenceatCourt,or
hisown:he willnot receivebenefits,
andwillnotconferthem:doyouim-
aginehimtobeunhappy,becausehe
haslostthesethings,orhappybecause
he does not miss them?Believe me,
hewhodoesnotneedgoodfortuneis
happierthanheonwhomit attends:
all those good things which charm
usbytheattractivebutunrealpleas-
ureswhichtheyafford,suchasmoney,
highoffice,influence,andmanyother
thingswhich dazzlethestupidgreed
of mankind, require hard labour toOn grief
Why then am I wasting away with grief for one who is
either in bliss or non-existent?
Death of a peasant, 1911, by Henry Lamb