In-human immortality : a handful reflections on the idea of eternity in the poetry of Zbigniew Herbert

This article is an attempt at a philosophical reconstruction of the idea of eternal life in the poetry of Zbigniew Herbert. The author sets out to discuss the difficulties connected with the ideas of both heavenly (transcendent) eternity, which posits a new mode of existence, and earthly (immanent) everlastingness, based on immortal  fame or instants of eternity intermittently available to humans (in other words, a momentary cessation of the awareness of the passage of time). An example of heavenly eternity is the immortality of the soul or the resurrection of the body; according to Herbert, both possibilities signify a radically novel (perfect and infinite) mode of existence, which is totally alien to human (imperfect and finite) nature. This is why man does not desire an eternity of this kind, as it would entail a transformation of his nature into a different, non-human (divine, angelic) being. A paradigmatic example of earthly eternity can be found in profound experiences (such as aesthetic contemplation of beauty), when the contemplating subject loses the consciousness of the destructive power of time, or even of his own eventual demise, deluding himself for a moment that his being is everlasting. Herbert seems to embrace a third way, which is the way of the sceptics, who do not believe in either kind of eternity,  consequently living in a state of permanent suspension between the two other ways.