ПАМЯТЬ

This is a kind of madness: giving your own names to buildings, fields, baths and considering this the greatest consolation for yourself, chasing the shadow instead of the truth. If you, a person, want to acquire an eternal memory for yourself, then do not give your names to buildings, but erect trophies of good deeds, which will preserve your name in the present life and will give you eternal peace in the future. If you wish and strive to leave behind a memory, then I will show you the path to it, true and undoubted: try to be virtuous. Nothing makes a person's name immortal like virtue. This is proven by the martyrs, the remains of the apostles prove this, and the memory of those who lived virtuously proves this. How many kings erected cities, built piers, gave them their names, and after death did not receive any benefit for themselves, were consigned to silence and oblivion? And the fisherman Peter, who did nothing of the kind, but was devoted to virtue, occupied the royal city and after death shines brighter than the sun. But what you are doing is ridiculous and shameful. These very monuments not only do not make you famous, but even make you ridiculous, opening everyone’s lips against you. While your covetousness might in time be consigned to oblivion, these buildings stand everywhere, like pillars and trophies, testifying to your covetousness (2). Tell me, what could be crazier than people who work on tombs and monuments and are amazed at the inscriptions of other people's names? Nothing leaves a memory of us except one virtue, not a house, not a statue, not children, and nothing else like that. A house is the work of a builder, a statue is the work of an artist, children are the work of nature, but this has nothing to do with your glory (2). The deeds that are desirable are that they preserve our memory immortal and do not allow it to be consigned to oblivion... The name of virtue is better than the name of sons and daughters, not only because the memory of us is preserved, but also because we are famous for our good deeds and are not subject to punishment due to a false opinion. If someone acquires a name through evil deeds, then the memory of such will perish as a result of forgetting about evil deeds. Judas is known in the universe, but to his own evil and destruction; Paul is also glorious, but for the good and benefit of those who remember. It was not in vain that I said this - I see many creators of majestic palaces erecting beautiful funerary monuments for themselves for no other reason than to leave a name and memory for themselves through the buildings in this world after death. But by doing such things they gain themselves useless and false consolation. How will decorated buildings benefit the deceased? Even if many people said: this palace or this tomb belongs to such and such, however, there is no benefit in this, and even great harm. Such [a person] is accused as being stingy, poor, cowardly, a predator, robbing orphans and widows in order to build himself a tomb or erect a monument. And this monument stands as a useless image, being an accuser of his own evil, a monument to his crimes. Even those who would willingly take pity on the deceased will not now; he did nothing more than leave an immortal accusation for the living, leaving a monument useless for name and glory. Take care, man, to leave yourself a name and memory in the person of remembering people, who would sometimes proclaim your virtues, who would say: we lived through you, through you we were freed from disasters, through you we received consolations and got rid of misfortunes. This is memory, this name - when people who remember and are wise enjoy benefits, and not stone, not lime, not earth, that is, people who give thanks to God for your sake (4). You might be interested in: