The only certainty in life is death, from which there is no escape, so the act of living is a sort of transition in order to reach it. Today’s culture seems to be obsessed with avoiding the moment, it is filled with the existence of material possessions in order to escape in one way or another the inevitable moment when the permanence on this earthly plain ends.
While in life there existed revolutionary, transgressive and iconic people, before passing to the threshold of the unknown, great people exhaled a last sentence, words that were used to say goodbye to the world they helped transform and in which millions of people mourned for their absence. Not all of them poetically managed to leave this world, few are the lucky ones who can anticipate the moment of their death and shine even in their last moments. These are some great characters in history and their famous last words.
Winston Churchill
“I am bored about everything”
One of the most significant strategists and politicians of the United Kingdom, famous for his multiple talents (in addition to being a politician, he was a writer, orator and artist), and ironic to the point of exhaustion. Churchill exclaimed these words and then fell into a deep coma; dying nine days later.
Pancho Villa
“Don’t let me die like this, say I said something”
Alleged last words from “The Centaur of the North”, who after being fatally wounded in battle, wanted his death to be remembered with a great phrase, which ended up being his request.
Leonardo da Vinci
“I have offended God and humanity by doing so little with my life.”
Artist, botanist, scientist, sculptor, architect, philosopher and more. He left the first sketches of what could be the prototype of the helicopter, of the aquatic immersion equipment, creator of the most advanced anatomical models and the alleged inventor of the napkin (it is said that he was disgusted to see people wiping mouth and fingers on tablecloths). It seems that he was not happy with the result that his ideas had on the world. Despite this, da Vinci is considered, to this day, as one of the greatest minds of all time.
Vincent Van Gogh
With a life full of poverty, genius and melancholy, one of the world’s favorite contemporary painters bids farewell with the same pessimism that accompanied him for most of his life.
Gertrude Stein
“And first of all… what is the question?
A friend to the great artists at the beginning of the century, who helped launch the careers of geniuses such as Picasso, Matisse, Monet, Renoir and Gauguin. She left this world in the midst of a profound philosophical moment. Before dying, she enigmatically asked herself, “What is the answer?” and after a moment’s meditation, she said, “And above all, what is the question?”.
This story was originally published by Daniel Morales Olea in Spanish by Cultura Colectiva.