Shortly before the death of Mozart, the musician, a stranger
brought him an anonymous letter in which a request for a requiem
was made. To its composition he gave the full strength of his
powers. The conviction seized him that he was composing a
requiem for his own obsequies. While engaged in this work and
under this strange inspiration, he gathered all his strength to
complete his work. And when the task was finished, a strange
fire lighted his eye, as the melody, even to his exquisite
sensibility, was perfect. It bore an unearthly sweetness that
was to him, too truly, a warning of his future and fast-coming
doom.
All our life work is, in a way, a preparation for death.
(2484)