Cascade XII
The Cascade of Legacy
What is left when the person is gone: the planting, the telling, the small kindnesses that outlive the hand that did them.
On What Remains
“There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after.” The Book of Ecclesiastes, 1611
On Giving
“It is more blessed to give than to receive.” The Acts of the Apostles, 1611
On Planting for Others
“Asked for whom he was planting, the old farmer answered: for the immortal gods, whose will it was that I should not merely receive these things from my ancestors, but should also hand them on to the next generation.” Cicero, c. 44 BC
On Death
“It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart.” The Book of Ecclesiastes, 1611
On Being Remembered
“A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one's birth.” The Book of Ecclesiastes, 1611
On Last Lessons
“I go the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and shew thyself a man.” King David, 1611
On the Long View
“One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever.” The Book of Ecclesiastes, 1611
On Passing It On
“Only take heed to thyself, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons.” The Book of Deuteronomy, 1611