“Remember that you will die someday.
There is no more certain philosophy of life than that.
Death keeps us awake.”
Schopenhauer, Socrates, Van Gogh, Oscar Wilde…
The last sentences I encountered at the end of a brilliant life

Every human being is equally granted one birth and one death.
If birth is a part of life, then death is also a part of life.
Yet, many people regard death primarily as a fearful and cold horror, the annihilation of a being, and they avoid it as an abstract task.

Author Hans Halter, who has worked as a doctor for decades and cared for patients at the crossroads of life and death, says that he learned 'how to live' through the 'dying' of countless people.
Like many people who have passed away before, there will come a day when death will inevitably become my lot, so I must live this moment without regrets.
The author began writing to inform people that “carpe diem” begins when we keep “memento mori” in mind, and published this book, “Death Asks, How Will You Live?” by compiling the lives and wills of world-renowned sages such as Schopenhauer, Oscar Wilde, and Vincent van Gogh, philosophers, writers, artists, and politicians.
The 84 stories of life and death naturally lead readers to ask themselves, "How should I live now?" and leave a lasting, deep resonance, maintaining its position as a German Amazon bestseller ever since its publication.


One day we will all scatter like waves.
That is why we must change our goal in life from living well to dying well.
Then a lot of things become clear.
When we realize the finiteness of life, we can empty our lives of the clutter and greed and focus on the essentials.
So we must remember that we all die.
There is no more certain philosophy of life than that.

Most people believe that death is not another transformation or a step closer to the essence of life, but rather the end itself, a step into emptiness.
On the other hand, we all feel a sense of fairness when it comes to the universal truth that 'all men must die'.
Perhaps this is the only equality that humans can have during their long journey through life.

--- p.8

I have researched and verified as much material as possible to ensure that the final statements the reader will encounter in this book are as accurate as possible.
Although the final words have been reproduced through such efforts, I believe there will be some who question their accuracy.
But a short piece about someone's life, achievements, and the circumstances of their death is enough to captivate us in its own right.
Because a person's life and his last words are one 'organism'.
A person's fundamental nature and the last words they leave behind are not always, but most of the time, consistent.
For this reason, the last words of famous people have been recorded throughout human history.
And many of them have persisted through the ages to this day.

--- p.10

Death does not blow its trumpet in advance.
So we cannot predict the last hours of our lives.
But as this book shows, death definitely gives us at least enough time to say our 'last words.'

--- p.12

On the day the Buddha's body was cremated, the monks had a big fight.
Looking at it that way, it seems that the Buddha's last words did not provide much comfort or guidance to his disciples.
Perhaps the Buddha had even anticipated such a situation.
Because his last words imply that all arguments on earth are futile.

“All things that are born are fleeting and will eventually die.”
--- p.22

Henry David Thoreau wandered the world from the age of 20, and at one time was an idealist who opposed canning and hunting.
He wrote several books, including 『Journey to Field and Wood』 and 『Walden』, and his representative work, 『Walden』, has been translated into many languages ​​around the world and is still greatly loved today.

All of Thoreau's works, which he had written before he died of tuberculosis, his chronic illness, were compiled into 11 volumes.
As he faced death, the pastor asked him if God had always been with him.
America's most influential naturalist writer, who usually dedicated all his works to God's creation, answered quietly.

“I have never argued with God.”
--- p.61

Genghis Khan, who caused the deaths of approximately 5 million people in the wars he started, met a very peaceful end in contrast to his rough life.
His last words were:
“I slept enough that I didn’t even know what death was.”
After that, Genghis Khan ascended to heaven.
His tomb, said to be hidden somewhere in the prairie, has never been discovered despite endless research and exploration.
Genghis Khan, the master of all horsemen, is said to have ordered thousands of horsemen to walk over his grave to hide forever the traces of his resting place.

--- p.79-80

In 1959, Hemingway bought a house in Ketchum, Idaho, where he suffered from severe depression and eventually shot himself with a hunting rifle.
His head, which usually boasted dazzling silver hair, was blown off his torso by the impact (and after his death, both his younger sister and younger brother committed suicide).
His will was not passed down separately, but instead, on the monument in Sun Valley, there is an eulogy he wrote for a friend who had passed away while he was still alive, which reads as follows:

“He loved autumn more than anything.
The leaves of the willow tree are turning yellow, and they float down the stream where the trout swim, and above the high hills there is only a blue sky without a breath of wind.
Now, may you remain as one of nature forever.”

--- p.111