# The Last Terrestrials explained — Last and First Men

> Chapter companion for Last and First Men by Olaf Stapledon.

## What happens

The Fifth Men, long-lived but mortal, grapple with the tragedy of death and the evanescence of all things. They discover that past events persist eternally, leading to a profound social melancholy. A sudden crisis with the moon's orbit threatens their existence, prompting a shift from past-focused despair to present and future concerns.

## Themes in this chapter

### Immortality and Death

The Fifth Men's struggle with mortality and their choice to forgo immortality for spiritual health.

### The Limits of Knowledge

The Fifth Men's scientific coherence is shattered by the unexpected lunar orbit change.

### Suffering and Redemption

The Fifth Men's despair over the eternal agony of the past and their search for a new vision.

### Cosmic Indifference and Meaning

The Fifth Men's confrontation with the brevity of mind's existence in the cosmos and their search for meaning.

## Character check-ins

### The Fifth Men

Central focus of the chapter; their culture, mortality, and philosophical struggles are explored.

### The Narrator

Provides the historical account of the Fifth Men's era.

### The First Men

Mentioned as having early knowledge of the moon's orbit.

### The Second Men

Referenced as having similar philosophical realizations about the brevity of mind's course.

## Key lines

> The Fifth Men had not been endowed with that potential immortality which their makers themselves possessed. And from the fact that they were mortal and yet long-lived, their culture drew its chief brilliance and poignancy.

The Fifth Men were mortal but lived for thousands of years, and this combination gave their culture a unique depth and beauty.

_Highlights the central tension of their existence._

> It was seen with pain, but also with exultation, that even love’s demand that the beloved should have immortal life is a betrayal of man’s paramount allegiance.

They realized that wanting loved ones to live forever was a disloyalty to the greater cause of humanity.

_Shows their philosophical evolution beyond personal attachment._

> The discovery that past events were after all persistent, and accessible, was of course for the Fifth Men a source of deep joy; but also it caused them a new distress.

Finding that the past was real and reachable brought both happiness and a new kind of pain.

_The dual-edged nature of their discovery._

> It was left to a future and more brilliant species to discover the connection between a planet’s gravitation and its cultural development.

A later, more advanced species would understand how a planet's gravity relates to its civilization's growth.

_Foreshadows future discoveries and the limits of the Fifth Men's knowledge._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/last_and_first_men_se/chapters/xii-the-last-terrestrials
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/last_and_first_men_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/last_and_first_men_se/chapters