Greatness of men who make mark on history lives after them
Ask yourself why must you be remembered long after your death
In 1904, the great English philosopher Bertrand Russell wrote a beautiful essay headed, On History.
If you ever wondered whether your life has any worth, please read it.
Russell advises that we must “from time to time view the present as already past, and ... examine what elements it contains that will add to the world’s store of permanent possessions, that will live and give life when we and all our generation have perished”.
This applies both to individuals and nations.
There are two kinds of human beings: those whose names are forgotten soon after their death, and those whose lives render it impossible for posterity to forget their existence.
Those belonging to the first category (the soon-to-beforgotten ones) follow a life pattern that is dull and void of grand pursuit. Their lives manifest a simplicity that has come to be accepted as the normal rhythm of human life.
The genius of modern society has designed a stultifying framework for the average human being of our day. You go to school after birth; you find a job upon graduation, or when you reach employable age; you marry, build a family and raise children; and you die. Your friends and relatives cry and forget you afterwards.
Among the soon-to-beforgotten are those who assuage their guilt by convincing themselves that they will be remembered after death through their children.
We all know that Nelson Mandela had a father, but who is interested in the father? Very few of us know the father’s name.
People who lead professional lives tend to think that, unlike the unemployed, they are involved in some grand pursuit. It does indeed feel fulfilling to wear a suit and tie and go to work every day, but history has no room for suits and ties.
After a few years following his death, a good professional clerk is forgotten in the same way as a pauper. History sees no difference between he who used to dine in trendy restaurants and a vagrant who ate from dustbins.
The fact that the vagrant was a pedestrian and you drove a BMW X5 makes no difference when you are both dead. There are many millionaires who lived like kings, died and disappeared as if they never existed.
Yet a poor person like Karl Marx continues to live long after his death. Even though he died young and poor, history will never forget Steve Biko. This is what Russell means when he says we must “from time to time view the present as already past”.
What is it about your life that is worth remembering 50 years after your death?
Such a question will never be answered through your children’s lives. They will have to answer the same question through their own lives.
Those belonging to the soon-to-be-forgotten will not appear when history walks around with a torch searching for important records.
Those in the second category are conscious of the ephemerality of life and the significance of adding a component to the ever-unfolding chain of human existence.
To examine the elements of your life that will add to the world’s store of permanent possessions is to discover the true essence of humankind.
Unlike animals and plants, we are the only species that makes history. The lasting monuments that project the grandeur of the collective soul of different nations are products of historic actors who want future generations to remember them.
The products of man’s mind and hands that live beyond the author’s death have little connection with his person, things that man produces for the benefit of his nation.
The work of Elon Musk, a ground-breaking SA-born space scientist operating in the US, will be remembered more than 100 years from now.
In the realm of ideas, it is authors of books that contain fundamental and timeless truths about the human condition that gain immortal currency. Shakespeare is as relevant today as he was when he wrote his tragedies.
In politics, it is personages who cause great revolutions who etch themselves permanently in the annals of history. So, here is a question: Why must you be remembered after your death?