Tag: Epicurus

A dread misplaced

Published on by Maciej ModzelewskiLeave a comment

ἐπειδήπερ ὅταν μὲν ἡμεῖς ὦμεν, ὁ θάνατος οὐ πάρεστιν· ὅταν δ᾽ ὁ θάνατος παρῇ, τόθ᾽ ἡμεῖς οὐκ ἐσμέν.
Epicurus, Letter to Menoeceus

Whether it’s a casual game of chess on the beach
or a night spent waiting at Helen Rivington House,
when they suddenly say ‘I’m afraid of death’,
people may actually mean they are afraid of dying—
a slippage that’s probably not as bizarre as kissing
in a confession booth to Gesang der Jünglinge
or replacing a cheval mirror in the boudoir
with its Conté sketch à la Seurat,
with one caveat:
you have never tried to explain death
to your kid.

More words to ponder at maciejmodzelewski.com

a magpie on a window sill watches a man writing at a table

A magpie’s squawk is worth a slice of honeydew

Published on by Maciej Modzelewski1 Comment

If dirt can kill you, so can a life that is sterile. But, to be honest, I have never really been afraid
of death, and I can only repeat after a sage: why should I? What terrifies me is the act of dying,
where the pain—which only eases a little with a dose of morphine—takes away the last vestiges
of dignity. It happened to my father, so it makes me think about what my end will be. Perhaps
eating a slice of honeydew melon while writing these lines is not exactly the height of decorum
and profundity, but the magpie squawking on my windowsill does not mind either. We are both
creatures of casual transience.