When Goethe passed away, he is supposed to have said “More light!” (Mehr Licht).
We can’t know for certain that he actually said this. But having lived a life dedicated to enlightening himself and others, the image seems fitting…even if he was probably just asking for a window to be opened.
In his life, Goethe reflected on the possibility of what he called a “second life". One which begins as soon as we are dead, and we live on in other people’s memories. He even argued that true immortality could only be achieved through one’s work. Which is to say, that even though the body perished, one’s ideas could live on.
As he put it:
“You can think of life after death as a second life which you enter into as a portrait or inscription and in which you remain longer than you do in your actual living life.”
It’s a beautiful idea. The idea that once we die we become a “portrait” of ourselves, and idea that lives on in other people’s lives and minds. And that in so doing we live longer than we did in our lifetime.
Of course we cannot know whether we will be remembered, as posterity has a tendency to reward some artists and writers whilst condemning others to obscurity.
And maybe it’s not just about leaving a “legacy”. Maybe it’s about leading a good and decent life, quietly impacting the lives of those around us by leaving invisible traces that will outlive us when we’re gone.
Or, to put it in Tolstoy’s words, what if “more light” means nurturing a spark in others, loving them, and teaching them. And living on by lighting a light in their hearts.
“Just as one candle lights another and can light thousands of other candles, so one heart illuminates another heart and can illuminate thousands of other hearts.”
This, then, is a kind of second life. What one might call grace. The ability to live forever in and through our work and acts of kindness.
“more light”.
Julian
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Good essay. There has been some science fiction written exploring recreating someone who has deceased by programming everything recorded about them into a kind of hologram that you can talk to. I find it fascinating.
Beautiful.