— From A Guide to the Good Life – The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy by WILLIAM B. IRVINE
A primary motive in going to Walden, he tells us, was his fear that he would, “when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”
“Is this what the person who died would want me to do? Of course not! She would want me to be happy! The best way to honor her memory is to leave off grieving and get on with life.”
On the way to his execution, when someone asked about his state of mind, Canus replied that he was preparing himself to observe the moment of death in order to learn whether, in that moment, the spirit is aware that it is leaving the body.”