‘Death, be not proud’

By Herbert Vego

IN anticipation of the commemoration of All Saints Day on Saturday (Nov. 1), I thought of reviewing the “Death, Be not Proud” poem of the famous English poet John Donne (1572 –1631), which begins, “Death, be not proud, though some have called thee Mighty and dreadful, for thou are not so.”

The sonnet describes death as “a short sleep” that is destined to be “no more” as eternal life unfolds.

I see it as a healthy antidote to morbid thoughts about death.

The American movie “About Schmidt” also comes to my mind.  Here, actor Jack Nicholson plays the role of Warren Schmidt, a widower saddened by retirement from his job as insurance actuary.

Left alone after his only daughter marries and finding no more purpose in life, he screams, “What if I die? It’s as if I have never lived at all!”

Don’t we often think so, too, whenever we feel the end is near?

We realize that everything that lives is meant to die. Lower forms of animals and plants die. Why should human beings be any different?

But we may turn around to say, “Thank God there’s God. This is not the end of the road.”

However, if we’re a hundred percent sure there’s paradise up there, why is everybody afraid to go?

Shouldn’t we welcome death for being our gateway to life everlasting?

But nobody is rushing to ascend to heaven! Is it because we are actually unsure of what happens after death?

The Bible, as if affirming the above morbid thought of Schmidt, says, “For the living know that they shall die; but the dead know nothing” (Ecclesiastes 9:5).

In a sense, death is a homecoming because it brings us back to where we were in the beginning: “Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return” (Genesis 3:19).

While it was a part of the body, this dust was stamped with our personality. We speak of it as our body, though the elements which compose it are constantly changing and are entirely decomposed in death. As a matter of fact, within seven years, the dead body undergoes an entire change.

If we believe in no God at all, that would truly be unsettling.

The intensity of our fear of death mirrors the degree of our uncertainty of life beyond the grave. Some Christians believe they would have to wait for Christ’s “second coming” before being resurrected into eternity, either in heaven or in hell.

The thought of hell, which is generally viewed as perpetual torment for sinners in a lake of fire, should have been enough to deter Christians from killing, stealing and raping. But the failure of the Christian religion to reform society gives us doubt whether we really see Judgment Day as a reality.

Other Christians embrace the Platonic view of an immortal soul or ghost that “wanders” upon the body’s death. But if this were so, resurrection would be unthinkable.

Another religion, Hinduism, preaches the cycle of continuous reincarnation. Under the law of karma, the good would enjoy better rebirth; whereas, the bad could be reborn in the body of a non-human, say a cockroach.

Scientists contend that higher life forms live by the death of the lower ones. While plants can draw their food directly from the soil, animals cannot extract their food from the earth directly. They must live by the death of other animals or plants. The food we eat is eloquent on this point. It is only by dying that the seed we sow can sprout. And this imparted life is lost again when the grain is used as food.

-oOo-

TRUCK RAMS MORE POWER POLE

THOUSANDS of residents of 11 barangays in Arevalo, Iloilo City literally spent a black night because of a freak accident that damaged a pole of MORE Power at barangay Sooc last Sunday.

A hauling truck had rammed the pole at around 7 p.m., compelling immediate response by MORE Power linemen who removed the cracked concrete post and replaced it with a new one.

So the truck owner may know, he and his driver may be held liable for the damage of the utility pole, since they are presumed to have control over the vehicle.

The utility company may file a civil case for damages based on Article 2184 (Motor Vehicle Mishaps) of the Civil Code of the Philippines. Indi bala Atorni?