Here are 145 of the best death quotes I could find. What’s my goal? To bring you some relief and make you feel (hopefully) a little bit better.
You are reading: quotes of life and death
Death is not the opposite of life, but a part of it. Haruki Murakami
We all die. The goal isn’t to live forever, the goal is to create something that will. Chuck Palahniuk
That it will never come again is what makes life so sweet. Emily Dickinson
It is not length of life, but depth of life. Ralph Waldo Emerson
To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure. J.K. Rowling
People living deeply have no fear of death. Anaïs Nin
Live your life, do your work, then take your hat. Henry David Thoreau
For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one. Kahlil Gibran
A man with outward courage dares to die; a man with inner courage dares to live. Lao Tzu
No one is actually dead until the ripples they cause in the world die away. Terry Pratchett
He who is not busy being born is busy dying. Bob Dylan
Tell your friend that in his death, a part of you dies and goes with him. Wherever he goes, you also go. He will not be alone. Jiddu Krishnamurti
Whatever you want to do, do it now. There are only so many tomorrows. Michael Landon
Mostly it is loss which teaches us about the worth of things. Arthur Schopenhauer
As soon as you’ll realize it was a gift, you’ll be free. Maxime Lagacé
Related quote topics: strength, pain, Zen
A few thoughts on death…
Back in 2004, I lost my girlfriend in a car accident.
I was shocked, devastated and felt confused for many months.
I was 22 at the time and I never thought something like that could happen to me.
Before that, I was the confident guy, succeeding at most things I started.
Then, suddenly, my life was filled with darkness and my family and friends couldn’t recognize me.
I tried hard to get out of that hole but apparently I wasn’t able.
That event changed me over the years and today I’m happy to say I accepted it 100%.
The best part?
I couldn’t say that at that time, but it’s probably the best thing that could happen to me. Truly.
It may seem narcissistic, but it transformed me in who I am today, more humble and more grounded.
That being said, I wish you one thing:
to spend quality time with people who are still in your life.
Deal?
The Best Death Quotes
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As a well spent day brings happy sleep, so life well used brings happy death. Leonardo da Vinci Click to tweet
Our dead are never dead to us, until we have forgotten them. George Eliot
I feel monotony and death to be almost the same. Charlotte Brontë
Death is a challenge. It tells us not to waste time… It tells us to tell each other right now that we love each other. Leo Buscaglia
What we have once enjoyed deeply we can never lose. All that we love deeply becomes a part of us. Helen Keller
I don’t want to die without any scars. Chuck Palahniuk
A normal human being does not want the Kingdom of Heaven: he wants life on earth to continue. George Orwell
They say you die twice. One time when you stop breathing and a second time, a bit later on, when somebody says your name for the last time. Banksy
Man cannot possess anything as long as he fears death. But to him who does not fear it, everything belongs. Leo Tolstoy
You’ll drift apart, it’s true, but you’ll be out in the open, part of everything alive again. Philip Pullman
Death is a distant rumor to the young. Andrew A. Rooney Click to tweet
Maybe all one can do is hope to end up with the right regrets. Arthur Miller
Goodbyes are only for those who love with their eyes. Because for those who love with heart and soul there is no such thing as separation. Rumi
What would life be worth if there were no death? Who would enjoy the sun if it never rained? Who would yearn for the day if there were no night? Glenn Ringtved
It matters not how a man dies, but how he lives. The act of dying is not of importance, it lasts so short a time. Samuel Johnson
See Also: 100 Best Sailing Quotes To Get You Out On The Water
Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die. Unknown Click to tweet
Our minds are too small to comprehend something as huge as death. Let it go. Maxime Lagacé
Death commences too early – almost before you’re half-acquainted with life – you meet the other. Tennessee Williams
Do not fear death so much but rather the inadequate life. Bertolt Brecht Click to tweet
There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition, and of unspeakable love. Washington Irving
Neither fire nor wind, birth nor death can erase our good deeds. Buddha
The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and where the other begins? Edgar Allan Poe
Why should I fear death? If I am, death is not. If death is, I am not. Why should I fear that which cannot exist when I do? Epicurus
Death never takes the wise man by surprise, he is always ready to go. Jean de La Fontaine
Related: Calm Quotes That Will Bring You Peace
Part 2. Death Quotes That Are…
The Most Famous Death Quotes
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Searching for a famous death quote? Check out those ones by Einstein, Emerson, Aurelius, Mark Twain, Helen Keller, etc. 
It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live. Marcus Aurelius
Death is nothing, but to live defeated is to die every day. Napoleon Bonaparte Click to tweet
Cowards die many times before their deaths; The valiant never taste of death but once. William Shakespeare
No one really knows why they are alive until they know what they’d die for. Martin Luther King Jr
If you’re not ready to die for it, take the word “freedom” out of your vocabulary. Malcolm X
Death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be because death is very likely the single best invention of life. It is life’s change agent, it clears out the old to make way for the new. Steve Jobs
The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time. Mark Twain
The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated. Mark Twain
The fear of death is the most unjustified of all fears, for there’s no risk of accident for someone who’s dead. Albert Einstein
I’m not afraid to die, I just don’t want to be there when it happens. Woody Allen Click to tweet
You needn’t die happy when your time comes, but you must die satisfied, for you have lived your life from the beginning to the end. Stephen King
While I thought that I was learning how to live, I have been learning how to die. Leonardo da Vinci
If we lose love and self respect for each other, this is how we finally die. Maya Angelou
Death is nothing else but going home to God, the bond of love will be unbroken for all eternity. Mother Teresa
Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever. Mahatma Gandhi Click to tweet
Death is so terribly final, while life is full of possibilities. George R.R. Martin (Game of Thrones)
To die will be an awfully big adventure. Peter Pan
It is the secret of the world that all things subsist and do not die, but retire a little from sight and afterwards return again. Ralph Waldo Emerson
My mama always used to tell me: ‘If you can’t find somethin’ to live for, you best find somethin’ to die for’. Tupac Shakur
I’m the one that’s got to die when it’s time for me to die, so let me live my life the way I want to. Jimi Hendrix
No one here gets out alive. Jim Morrison
Death is no more than passing from one room into another. But there’s a difference for me, you know. Because in that other room I shall be able to see. Helen Keller (Remember that Helen Keller was blind)
Each night, when I go to sleep, I die. And the next morning, when I wake up, I am reborn. Mahatma Gandhi Click to tweet
The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. J.K. Rowling
Related: The Most Famous Quotes of All Time
Short Death Quotes
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One-liners, thoughts, sayings and captions for your bio, social status, self-talk, motto, mantra, signs, posters, wallpapers, backgrounds. 
Life is hard. After all, it kills you. Katharine Hepburn
Death pays all debts. William Shakespeare
When I shall die, let it be doing that I had designed. Ovid
We are born from a quiet sleep, and we die to a calm awakening. Zhuangzi
For some moments in life there are no words. David Seltzer
I want to be all used up when I die. George Bernard Shaw Click to tweet
All men think that all men are mortal but themselves. Edward Young
Give me liberty or give me death. Patrick Henry
Death makes equal the high and low. John Heywood
The hardest thing you overcome are the ones that give the most meaning. Maxime Lagacé
The fear of death is the beginning of slavery. Robert Anton Wilson
Death is the ultimate boundary of human matters. Horace
Though death be poor, it ends a mortal woe. William Shakespeare
Death takes no bribes. Benjamin Franklin
Death is never an apology. Soul King
Neither the sun, nor death can be looked at steadily. François de La Rochefoucauld Click to tweet
Because I have loved life, I shall have no sorrow to die. Amelia Burr
Religion is the human response to being alive and having to die. Forrest Church
Life has more meaning in the face of death. Robert Greene Click to tweet
In my end is my beginning. Mary, Queen of Scots
The phoenix must burn to emerge. Janet Fitch
Everyone dies. But not everyone really lives. Unknown
Take nothing for granted. Keep in mind that it can come at anytime. Even today. Maxime Lagacé
The meaning of life is that it stops. Franz Kafka
See Also: 35 Must-Have Inspirational Quotes in Spanish to Share on Social Media
It’s better to burn out than to fade away. Neil Young
Every exit is an entry somewhere else. Tom Stoppard
No art is possible without a dance with death. Kurt Vonnegut
Everyone dies but not everyone lives. William Wallace Click to tweet
I shall not die of a cold. I shall die of having lived. Willa Cather
Life without an ideal is spiritual death. Emma Goldman
The idea is to die young as late as possible. Ashley Montagu
Life is like a very short visit to a toy shop between birth and death. Desmond Morris
It is nothing to die. It is frightful not to live. Victor Hugo
Even trees do not die without a groan. Henry David Thoreau Click to tweet
More short quotes
Inspirational Death Sayings (Some Are Comforting)
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The highest tribute to the dead is not grief but gratitude. Thornton Wilder
Let life be beautiful like summer flowers and death like autumn leaves. Rabindranath Tagore Click to tweet
Death is not extinguishing the light; it is only putting out the lamp because the dawn has come. Rabindranath Tagore
If life must not be taken too seriously, then so neither must death. Samuel Butler
By becoming deeply aware of our mortality, we intensify our experience of every aspect of life. Robert Greene
I wanted a perfect ending. Now I’ve learned, the hard way, that some poems don’t rhyme, and some stories don’t have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what’s going to happen next. Delicious ambiguity. Gilda Radner
I discovered to my joy, that it is life, not death, that has no limits. Gabriel García Márquez
Death? Be as proud as you want: bore me later, because Love is sovereign here. Life never ends. Joy comes in the morning. Glory hallelujah. And let it be so. Anne Lamott
Those men who, in war, seek to preserve their lives at any rate commonly die with shame and ignominy, while those who look upon death as common to all, and unavoidable, and are only solicitous to die with honour, oftener arrive at old age and, while they live, live happier. Xenophon
Whether or not there’s an afterlife, screw it. Just live your life right here right now before it’s too late. Maxime Lagacé
Try as much as possible to be wholly alive with all your might, and when you laugh, laugh like hell. And when you get angry, get good and angry. Try to be alive. You will be dead soon enough. William Saroyan
Related quotes: Positive Quotes That Will Make Your Day Wonderful, Beautiful Quotes That Will Make Your Day Magical
Let children walk with Nature, let them see the beautiful blendings and communions of death and life, their joyous inseparable unity, as taught in woods and meadows, plains and mountains and streams of our blessed star, and they will learn that death is stingless indeed, and as beautiful as life. John Muir
I would rather die a meaningful death than to live a meaningless life. Corazon Aquino
When we finally know we are dying, and all other sentient beings are dying with us, we start to have a burning, almost heartbreaking sense of the fragility and preciousness of each moment and each being, and from this can grow a deep, clear, limitless compassion for all beings. Sogyal Rinpoche
Death is not the biggest fear we have; our biggest fear is taking the risk to be alive – the risk to be alive and express what we really are. Miguel Angel Ruiz
Yea, all things live forever, though at times they sleep and are forgotten. H. Rider Haggard
Good men must die, but death cannot kill their names. Unknown (Submitted by the Wisdom Quotes Community)
There is only one god and his name is Death, and there is only one thing we say to Death: ‘Not today’. Syrio Forel (Games Of Thrones)
Do not fear death. Death is always at our side. When we show fear, it jumps at us faster than light. But, if we do not show fear, it casts its eye upon us gently and then guides us into infinity. Laughing Bull
Death must be so beautiful. To lie in the soft brown earth, with the grasses waving above one’s head, and listen to silence. To have no yesterday, and no to-morrow. To forget time, to forget life, to be at peace. Oscar Wilde
Here is the test to find whether your mission on Earth is finished: if you’re alive, it isn’t. Richard Bach
A word is dead when it is said, some say. I say it just begins to live that day. Emily Dickinson
After your death, you will be what you were before your birth. Arthur Schopenhauer
Death ends a life, not a relationship. Mitch Albom
See also: 5 Powerful Ways To Deal With Death, Grief & Loss (YouTube video) or Helping Someone Who’s Grieving (helpguide.org)
Wise Death Sayings
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Death is beautiful when seen to be a law, and not an accident. Henry David Thoreau Click to tweet
Anything I’ve done that was ultimately worthwhile initially scared me to death. Betty Bender
We owe respect to the living; to the dead we owe only truth. Voltaire
The harder the pain, the longer the path to recovery, the better the opportunity to learn. Maxime Lagacé
Death: something like birth, a natural mystery, elements that split and recombine. Not an embarrassing thing. Not an offense to reason, or our nature. Marcus Aurelius
All good is hard. All evil is easy. Dying, losing, cheating, and mediocrity is easy. Stay away from easy. Scott Alexander
I could just remember how my father used to say that the reason for living was to get ready to stay dead a long time. William Faulkner
For life be, after all, only a waitin’ for somethin’ else than what we’re doin’; and death be all that we can rightly depend on. Bram Stoker (Dracula)
Losing your life is not the worst thing that can happen. The worst thing is to lose your reason for living. Jo Nesbø
Life is so beautiful that death has fallen in love with it, a jealous, possessive love that grabs at what it can. But life leaps over oblivion lightly, losing only a thing or two of no importance, and gloom is just a passing shadow of a cloud. Yann Martel (Life of Pi) (Related quote topic: sad love)
Die happily and look forward to taking up a new and better form. Like the sun, only when you set in the west can you rise in the east. Rumi
That’s what literature is. It’s the people who went before us, tapping out messages from the past, from beyond the grave, trying to tell us about life and death! Listen to them! Connie Willis
When people don’t express themselves, they die one piece at a time. Laurie Halse Anderson
Life is for the living. Death is for the dead. Let life be like music. And death a note unsaid. Langston Hughes Click to tweet
It is the fate — the genetic and neural fate — of every human being to be a unique individual, to find his own path, to live his own life, to die his own death. Oliver Sacks
Man always thinks about the past before he dies, as if he were frantically searching for proof that he truly lived. Jet Black
It is said that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die. That is true, it’s called Life. Terry Pratchett
Do not seek death. Death will find you. But seek the road which makes death a fulfillment. Dag Hammarskjold
Since we’re all going to die, it’s obvious that when and how don’t matter. Albert Camus
More words of wisdom
See also: Coping With Grief: 5 Lessons Learned From Death (thelawofattraction.com)
Part 3. Conclusion
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Death comes to all, but great achievements build a monument which shall endure until the sun grows cold. Ralph Waldo Emerson
Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming “Wow! What a Ride! Hunter S. Thompson
Call to action: Check out The Grieving Process: Coping with Death (YouTube video)
Hope you found a few quotes about death that gave you some relief. If you did, please share them with a friend who could benefit from them too.
See Also: 20 Life Poems That Will Change Your Attitude about Life and Its Challenges