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Of Death
By Francis Bacon
MEN fear death, as children fear to go in the dark; and as that natural fear in children is increased with tales, so is the other. Certainly, the contemplation of death, as the wages of sin and passage to another world, is holy and religious; but the fear of it, as a tribute due unto nature, is weak. Yet in religious meditations there is sometimes mixture of vanity and of superstition. You shall read in some of the friars’ books of mortification, that a man should think with himself what the pain is if he have but his finger’s end pressed or tortured, and thereby imagine what the pains of death are, when the whole body is corrupted and dissolved; when many times death passeth with less pain than the torture of a limb; for the most vital parts are not the quickest of sense.
And by him that spake only as a philosopher and natural man, it was well said, Pompa mortis magis terret, quam mors ipsa [It is the accompaniments of death that are frightful rather than death itself]. Groans and convulsions, and a discolored face, and friends weeping, and blacks, and obsequies, and the like, show death terrible. It is worthy the observing, that there is no passion in the mind of man so weak, but it mates and masters the fear of death; and therefore death is no such terrible enemy when a man hath so many attendants about him that can win the combat of him. Revenge triumphs over death; love slights it; honor aspireth to it; grief flieth to it; fear pre-occupateth it; nay, we read, after Otho the emperor had slain himself, pity (which is the tenderest of affections) provoked many to die, out of mere compassion to their sovereign, and as the truest sort of followers.
Nay, Seneca adds niceness and satiety: Cogita quamdiu eadem feceris; mori velle, non tantum fortis aut miser, sed etiam fastidiosus potest [Think how long thou hast done the same thing; not only a valiant man or a miserable man, but also a fastidious man is able to wish for death]. A man would die, though he were neither valiant nor miserable, only upon a weariness to do the same thing so oft over and over. It is no less worthy to observe, how little alteration in good spirits the approaches of death make; for they appear to be the same men till the last instant. Augustus Cæsar died in a compliment; Livia, conjugii nostri memor, vive et vale [Farewell, Livia; and forget not the days of our marriage]. Tiberius in dissimulation; as Tacitus saith of him, Jam Tiberium vires et corpus, non dissimulatio, deserebant [His powers of body were gone, but his power of dissimulation still remained]. Vespasian in a jest, sitting upon the stool; Ut puto deus fio [As I think, I am becoming a god].
Galba with a sentence; Feri, si ex re sit populi Romani [Strike, if it be for the good of Rome]; holding forth his neck. Septimius Severus in despatch; Adeste si quid mihi restat agendum [Be at hand, if there is anything more for me to do]. And the like. Certainly the Stoics bestowed too much cost upon death, and by their great preparations made it appear more fearful. Better saith he, qui finem vitæ extremum inter munera ponat naturæ [who accounts the close of life as one of the benefits of nature]. It is as natural to die as to be born; and to a little infant, perhaps, the one is as painful as the other. He that dies in an earnest pursuit, is like one that is wounded in hot blood; who, for the time, scarce feels the hurt; and therefore a mind fixed and bent upon somewhat that is good doth avert the dolers of death.
But, above all, believe it, the sweetest canticle is, Nunc dimittis [Now lettest thou … depart]; when a man hath obtained worthy ends and expectations. Death hath this also; that it openeth the gate to good fame, and extinguisheth envy. Extinctus amabitur idem [The same man that was envied while he lived, shall be loved when he is gone].
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死亡论
作者：佛朗西斯·培根
成年人怕死，犹如孩童惧怕行走于黑暗之中；孩童天性怕死程度会随着所听到的离奇故事而日益加剧，成年人亦如此。当然，把死作为罪恶的报应或通往另一世界来看待，乃超凡入圣且具有宗教色彩；但把对死亡的恐惧视为向造物主供奉的祭品，则是胆小懦弱的表现。参禅打坐有时会掺杂一些虚无缥缈和荒诞迷信的东西。大家不妨看看天主教修道士的禁欲书，其中有这样一句话，人应自省其身，当指尖被碾压或者受刑折磨之时，苦痛如何？进而试想全身腐烂消散之时，死亡之痛又如何？千死万死都不如某个肢体受折磨来得更痛苦，因为人体要害部位并非最为敏感。
只以哲学家和平常人身份自居的那位古人（赛尼卡）说得好，“死亡本身并不恐怖，恐怖的是伴随死亡接踵而来的附加之物。”呻吟、抽搐、失去光泽的脸庞，亲朋好友的哭泣、玄皂青苍的装饰以及殡仪葬礼等等，都给人们呈现出死亡的可怕景象。值得注意的是，人类心中的激情并非如此软弱，还不至于被死亡的恐惧而击败并掌控；因此，一个人有许多侍从跟随他并打赢胜仗时，死亡就算不上是多么可怕的敌人了。复仇之火战胜死亡；怜爱之心蔑视死亡；荣誉之感渴望死亡；悲伤之情飞向死亡；恐惧之态预示死亡。我们还可以读到，奥索皇帝自戕后，悲悯之心（这是最温柔的那种情感）曾激怒了多少追随者为其牺牲，纯粹为了拥戴并效忠他们这位君王。
赛尼卡接着就苛求和厌腻补充说：“念及周而复始所做重复之事，欲赴黄泉者，并非因其为勇敢之辈或可怜之流，还有那些活腻寻死之人。”人之将死，既非勇猛也非可怜，而是对所做单调重复之事而心生厌倦。同样值得人们注意的是，死神降临之际，他们不动声色，直到生命最后一刻，看上去依然镇定如故。奥古斯特·凯撒临终之际与妻子话别时说：“好好活着，莉薇娅，请记住我们夫妻共度的那些美好日子。”提伯瑞思临死之际仍隐瞒其病情已入膏肓，坦森特思如是说：“其体力早已殆尽，而隐瞒之力尚存。”韦斯巴芗临终之前坐在一个小板凳上时，还在开玩笑：“我觉得要升仙了。”
伽尔巴临死留下一句话：“如果这样有益于罗马，你们就砍吧。”话音刚落，引颈自刎，塞普蒂米乌斯·塞维鲁临死之前仍在调兵遣将：“若还有我未办之事，请呈上来。”诸如此类，不胜枚举。当然斯多葛学派认为死亡代价过高，因为他们为迎接死亡而准备过多，使得死亡看起来更为可怕。另一位古人说得好：“生命之结束乃造物主提供之福利。”生死皆自然现象，对于襁褓幼婴，生死也许同样痛苦。在不懈追求中死亡，如同浴血奋战而负伤，暂时不会觉得苦痛。
因此，怀有坚定信念和决心向善之人必然会躲过死亡之哀痛。但是最美的圣歌莫过于当一个人实现崇高理想并且不负所望时，然后唱着：“现在是我该走的时候了…”死亡打开名声大门，并消除嫉妒。“生前遭妒之人死后必得世人爱戴。”
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