"'A man lives as long as he lives,' [Conan] said to himself. 'Not a day more, not a day less.'" (19, p. 222)
Maybe we could compile a collection of quotations: the wisdom of Conan? This statement is a tautology. A man cannot live any longer or shorter than he lives. But the statement also expresses acceptance. And, implicitly, a rejection of the hereafter idea.
Mary Goodnight suggests the following epitaph for James Bond:
"'I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.'"
-Ian Fleming, You Only Live Twice (London, 1966), 20, p. 180.
A meeting of minds between Conan and Bond, two iconic twentieth century heroes, and a good place to end for this evening.
Well, that refers only to -this- life; it's compatible with an afterlife. And from Conan, it probably refers to his "fate", that he should die at a certain time and place.
ReplyDeleteKaor, Paul: Exactly, what Stirling said. What his Conan does not necessarily has to mean the Cimmerian denied belief in an afterlife.
ReplyDeleteAd astra! Sean