I feel, however, that I have
sufficiently trespassed upon the attention of the reader.
CHAPTER XIII: THE VIEWS OF THE EREWHONIANS CONCERNING DEATH
The Erewhonians regard death with less abhorrence than disease. If it is
an offence at all, it is one beyond the reach of the law, which is
therefore silent on the subject; but they insist that the greater number
of those who are commonly said to die, have never yet been born--not, at
least, into that unseen world which is alone worthy of consideration. As
regards this unseen world I understand them to say that some miscarry in
respect to it before they have even reached the seen, and some after,
while few are ever truly born into it at all--the greater part of all the
men and women over the whole country miscarrying before they reach it.
And they say that this does not matter so much as we think it does.
As for what we call death, they argue that too much has been made of it.
The mere knowledge that we shall one day die does not make us very
unhappy; no one thinks that he or she will escape, so that none are
disappointed. We do not care greatly even though we know that we have
not long to live; the only thing that would seriously affect us would be
the knowing--or rather thinking that we know--the precise moment at which
the blow will fall.
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