“A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one's birth.”
The Book of Ecclesiastes, 1611 · Ecclesiastes 7:1, King James Version
Chapter 5
On Being Remembered
“Surely he shall not be moved for ever: the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance.”
The Book of Psalms, 1611 · Psalm 112:6, King James Version
“The superior man dislikes the thought of his name not being mentioned after his death.”
Confucius, c. 479 BC · Chinese teacher and philosopher
“He who has a vehement desire for posthumous fame does not consider that every one of those who remember him will himself also die very soon.”
Marcus Aurelius, c. 170 AD · Roman emperor and Stoic philosopher
“Full many a gem of purest ray serene the dark unfathom'd caves of ocean bear. Full many a flower is born to blush unseen, and waste its sweetness on the desert air.”
Thomas Gray, 1751 · English poet, from Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard
“Remember me when I am gone away, gone far away into the silent land; when you can no more hold me by the hand, nor I half turn to go yet turning stay.”
Christina Rossetti, 1862 · English poet, from the sonnet Remember, written at nineteen
“Lives of great men all remind us we can make our lives sublime, and, departing, leave behind us footprints on the sands of time.”
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1839 · American poet, from A Psalm of Life
“I bequeath myself to the dirt to grow from the grass I love. If you want me again look for me under your boot-soles.”
Walt Whitman, 1892 · American poet, from the last section of Song of Myself
In dignity therapy, a dying person is interviewed about the life they have lived. The transcript is edited into a document they can leave to whoever they choose.
Harvey Chochinov and colleagues, 2005 · palliative care researchers who developed dignity therapy
In a trial across three countries, 441 dying patients tried three kinds of care. The one that let them record their life story was the one they most often called helpful.
Harvey Chochinov and colleagues, 2011 · randomised trial in Canada, the United States and Australia
Prompt people to think about how they will be remembered and they give more to environmental causes, intend more, and believe more. Wanting to leave something good is itself a motive that can be switched on.
Lisa Zaval, Ezra Markowitz and Elke Weber, 2015 · experiments on legacy motivation and long-term behaviour
Free to read, always. Liking a verse or leaving a comment happens in the app, so the conversation has a name attached to it.