The Cobbler, under the
fear of death, confessed that he had no knowledge of medicine, and was only made famous by the stupid clamors of the crowd.
It is worthy the observing, that there is no passion in the mind of man, so weak, but it mates, and masters, the
fear of death; and therefore, death is no such terrible enemy, when a man hath so many attendants about him, that can win the combat of him.
All these baffling head-reaches after immortality are but the panics of souls frightened by the
fear of death, and cursed with the thrice-cursed gift of imagination.
Crito, who is a disinterested person not having the
fear of death before his eyes, shall answer this for him.
said Bildad, lifting his eyes and hands, thou thyself, as I myself, hast seen many a perilous time; thou knowest, Peleg, what it is to have the
fear of death; how, then, can'st thou prate in this ungodly guise.
This is seeing life in the best view, and this unwillingness to quit our friends is the most amiable motive from which we can derive the
fear of death; and yet the longest enjoyment which we can hope for of this kind is of so trivial a duration, that it is to a wise man truly contemptible.
"It is a balsam," answered Don Quixote, "the receipt of which I have in my memory, with which one need have no
fear of death, or dread dying of any wound; and so when I make it and give it to thee thou hast nothing to do when in some battle thou seest they have cut me in half through the middle of the body- as is wont to happen frequently,- but neatly and with great nicety, ere the blood congeal, to place that portion of the body which shall have fallen to the ground upon the other half which remains in the saddle, taking care to fit it on evenly and exactly.
As imagination grew it is likely that the
fear of death increased until the Folk that were to come projected this fear into the dark and peopled it with spirits.
But if they are to be courageous, must they not learn other lessons besides these, and lessons of such a kind as will take away the
fear of death? Can any man be courageous who has the
fear of death in him?
The king heard of all that had passed between me and my friends upon this occasion, and rallied me very pleasantly; wishing I could send a couple of STRULDBRUGS to my own country, to arm our people against the
fear of death; but this, it seems, is forbidden by the fundamental laws of the kingdom, or else I should have been well content with the trouble and expense of transporting them.
With celerity born of the
fear of death the boy clambered into the branches of the tree, and a moment later the king of beasts entered the clearing and approached the carcass of an antelope which, until now, the boy had not seen.
He had seen him pass along the crowded street, amidst the execration of the throng; and marked his quivering lip, and trembling limbs; the ashy hue upon his face, his clammy brow, the wild distraction of his eye--the
fear of death that swallowed up all other thoughts, and gnawed without cessation at his heart and brain.