94
death. Is being dead a manner of being? An act is mentioned in ζῶντες: living the death of those. That corresponds to the formula of Fr. 76: Fire lives the death of earth.
HEIDEGGER: In order to clarify τεθνεῶτες, understood in the active sense, we are reminded of Rilke's phrase, "to achieve death." But the question is whether τεθνεῶτες refers to an active dying in the present or to being dead (finished) in the perfect.
FINK: Dying in the present is the end phase of life. What is questionable is who or what lives or dies. In the phrase ἀθάνατοι θνητοί it is not decided whether ἀθάνατοι is a predicative determination of θνητοί or, conversely, whether θνητοί. is a predicative determination of ἀθάνατοι. At first, the immortals and the mortals are confronted with one another and tied up with one another ...
HEIDEGGER: ... and after that follows the illustration.
FINK: The phrase ἀθάνατοι θνητοί is no enumeration. For in that case, the reverse formulation would not be possible. We see that the immortals and the mortals stand in a relation. {155} The concept of the gods is untouched by death and nevertheless we conjecture a relationship to death. For it is said: while they live the death of those. To what does this phrase refer? What is the subject of ζῶντες? Is it the immortals or the mortals? And what is the subject of τεθνεῶτες? The gods live the death of humans. The gods are spectators and witnesses who accept the death of humans as offerings.
HEIDEGGER: And humans die the life of the gods.
FINK: Let us also include Fr. 88: ταὐτό τ’ ἕνι ζῶν καὶ τεθνηκὸς καὶ (τὸ) ἐγρηγορὸς καὶ καθεῦδον καὶ νέον καὶ γηραιόν· τάδε γὰρ μεταπεσόντα ἐκεῖνά ἐστι κἀκεῖνα πάλιν μεταπεσόντα ταῦτα. Diets translates: "And it is always one and the same, what dwells(?) within us: living and dead and waking and sleeping and young and old. For this is changed over to that and that changes back over to this." When Heraclitus says ταὐτό τ’ ἕνι ζῶν καὶ τεθνηκὸς, is living and dying or being dead ...
HEIDEGGER: ... or being able to die meant?
FINK: If the living and the dead are paralleled with the waking and sleeping, the young and old, then no ability is meant. Waking and sleeping, as alternating states, are the most alternating forms of the course of human life. Being young and being old are the initial and final times of the human course of life. The relation of waking and sleep, and of young and old, are certain parallels to the relationship of life and death. The relationship of life and death becomes still more complicated by them, ... {156}
HEIDEGGER: because the kind of the three distinctions is quite different.
FINK: Living and dying are one and the same; waking and sleeping