Immortal -- A Series of Works by Milan Kundera

Author: Milan Kundera
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-06-01
Features: Goethe talked about immortality, of course, and it has nothing to do with the immortality of the soul. This is a different kind of worldly immortality, referring to the immortality of those who remain in people's memories after death. Anyone can achieve this kind of immortality, which varies in greatness and duration, and everyone can have this aspiration from their youth. In my childhood, I used to visit a Moravian village every Sunday to wander around; it was said that the village mayor kept an uncovered coffin in his living room, and at moments when he felt particularly satisfied with himself, he would lie inside it, imagining his own funeral. The most beautiful moments of his life were undoubtedly lying in the coffin, dreaming; in this way, he lived in his immortality. When it comes to immortality, people are unequal. It is necessary to distinguish between small immortality and great immortality. Small immortality refers to the memory left behind in the hearts of those who know a person (the immortality dreamed of by the Moravian mayor); great immortality refers to the memory left behind in the hearts of those who do not know the person. Some works can instantly grant one great immortality, of course, this is uncertain, and even very difficult, but undeniably possible: that is the work of artists and politicians.