So I continue this miserable existence–truly<\/p>\n\n\n\n
miserable, as my body is so sensitive that my condition<\/p>\n\n\n\n
can change rapidly from very good to very bad. Patience–<\/p>\n\n\n\n
that must be my guide, as I am determined, and I hope will<\/p>\n\n\n\n
always remain so, to endure until it pleases the inexorable <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Parcae to break the thread. Perhaps my lot will improve,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
perhaps not–at the age of 28 I was compelled to become<\/p>\n\n\n\n
a philosopher. It has not been easy, and more difficult for<\/p>\n\n\n\n
an artist than for anyone else. Oh God, you look down<\/p>\n\n\n\n
on my inner soul, and know that it is filled with love of<\/p>\n\n\n\n
humanity and the desire to do good, Oh my fellow men,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
when you read this someday, reflect that you have done<\/p>\n\n\n\n
me wrong, and let him who is unfortunate comfort himself<\/p>\n\n\n\n
with the thought that he has found someone equally<\/p>\n\n\n\n
unfortunate who, despite all the burdens placed on him<\/p>\n\n\n\n
by nature, did all which was in his power to earn a place<\/p>\n\n\n\n
among worthy artists and human beings.–You, my<\/p>\n\n\n\n
brothers Carl and——, as soon as I am dead, if Professor<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Schmidt is still living, ask him in my name to describe my<\/p>\n\n\n\n
disease, and add the paper I have written here to the docu-<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ments of my illness, so that after my death the world<\/p>\n\n\n\n
will be reconciled with me as far as possible.–At the same<\/p>\n\n\n\n
time I hereby nominate you both as heirs to my little<\/p>\n\n\n\n
property [if it can be so called] ; share it honestly, live in<\/p>\n\n\n\n
harmony and help each other. You know that the harm <\/p>\n\n\n\n
you did me has long since been forgiven. I thank you<\/p>\n\n\n\n
brother Carl, in particular, for the goodness you have<\/p>\n\n\n\n
shown me of late. My wish is that your lives will be<\/p>\n\n\n\n
better and less careladen than mine. Urge your children<\/p>\n\n\n\n
to follow the path of virtue, as that alone can bring<\/p>\n\n\n\n
happiness–money cannot. I speak from experience, as<\/p>\n\n\n\n
virtue alone has sustained me in my misery, and it was<\/p>\n\n\n\n
thanks to virtue, together with my art, that I did not end<\/p>\n\n\n\n
my life by committing suicide. Farewell, and love one<\/p>\n\n\n\n
another.– I thank all my friends, especially Prince Lich-<\/p>\n\n\n\n
nowsky and Professor Schmidt.–I wish Prince Lich-<\/p>\n\n\n\n
nowsky’s instruments to be kept safely by one of you, but<\/p>\n\n\n\n
do not make them an occasion for strife between you ;<\/p>\n\n\n\n
as soon as they can serve you in a more useful way, sell<\/p>\n\n\n\n
them–how happy I shall be if, in my grave, I can still be<\/p>\n\n\n\n
of use to you both! So be it, I go joyfully towards death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If it comes before I have had the chance to develop all my<\/p>\n\n\n\n
artistic abilities, that will be too soon for me, despite my<\/p>\n\n\n\n
hard fate, and I would wish it to be postponed– yet should<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I not be satisfied, would it not release me from a condition<\/p>\n\n\n\n
of endless suffering? Come when you will death, I will<\/p>\n\n\n\n
meet you resolutely. Farewell, and do not entirely forget<\/p>\n\n\n\n
me when I am dead : I have deserved to be remembered<\/p>\n\n\n\n
by you, as I have often thought of you during my lifetime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
May you be happy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ludwig van Beethowen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Heiligenstadt. 6th October 1802.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Beethoven had two younger brothers, Carl and Johann, yet he <\/p>\n\n\n\n
left a blank space in lieu of Johann’s name in his will; interesting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Also interesting is the fact that he wrote his will some <\/p>\n\n\n\n
twenty-four years before his death on March 26th, 1827.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Islander.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
So I continue this miserable existence–truly miserable, as my body is so sensitive that my condition can change rapidly from very good to very bad. Patience– that must be my guide, as I am determined, and I hope will always remain so, to endure until it pleases the inexorable Parcae to break the thread. Perhaps … Continue reading “The Heiligenstadt Testament [part two]”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1864","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewalrussaid.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1864","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewalrussaid.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewalrussaid.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewalrussaid.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewalrussaid.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1864"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thewalrussaid.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1864\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1865,"href":"https:\/\/thewalrussaid.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1864\/revisions\/1865"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewalrussaid.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1864"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}