There are two truths about death: first, it is certain; second, its significance has always been a mystery. Man may think of death in one of two ways. He may consider it the goal of life and dedicate himself to preparation for it; or he may consider it a hostile power that attacks and destroys life. The idea that death is a desirable goal was heightened by many romantics of the early nineteenth century to a fascinated interest in death—a kind of intoxication. For them life existed for the sake of death. But in their philosophy death was merely a phase of “Werden und Vergehen.” They longed for and often sought death because they saw beyond it “absolute life”, life unhampered by the limitations of individual existence. This romantic concept, of course, had nothing in common with the traditional Christian idea of immortality.