Fireduck

1999.09.02

Something I wrote for english. I thought it should go here also:

In "The Wanderer", an Anglo-Saxon poem of unknown origin, I found what I consider and very beautifully and profound statement.

"A wise man must fathom how frightening it will be
When all the riches of the world stand waste."

These two lines make me think about what we do here. What will there be left after we are gone? What will be remembered? Will it matter? This statement reminds us that maybe in 100 years no one will remember our names and maybe in 1000 years no one will remember our language or our works. It puts me in a mindset of doing what I can now and today in case it does make a different and my actions are not forgotten. It is easy to forget those who came before us and consider ourselves better than the past, but we must also think, what will future generations think of us. The past is past and should be learned from, but those we must justify ourselves to are our children.

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