 The poem described the heroic past of Lithuania and <unk> its people to care for the land , care for humanity , and live in honor . Kudirka also urged the country to become a source of enlightenment and virtue . Without a melody , Kudirka took the time to compose the music just before dying of tuberculosis . Both the melody and the lyrics were printed in Varpas in September 1898 . Upon his death in 1899 , Kudirka 's tomb was engraved with the second stanza of the anthem ( later destroyed by the authorities ) . 
