119 Death Quotes That Will Bring Relief

By Maxime Lagacé

Maxime is the founder of WisdomQuotes. He has been collecting quotes since 2004. His goal? To help you develop a calm and peaceful mind. Learn more about him on his about page.

After losing my girlfriend in 2004,

I made a list of the most inspiring death quotes I could find.

You’ll find here the top 119.

What’s my goal?

To bring you some relief and make you feel (hopefully) a little bit better.

You’ll find authors like Buddha, Thoreau, Rumi, Einstein, and lots more.

Hope you’ll like them.

death quotes opposite life part haruki murakami wisdom

Death is not the opposite of life, but a part of it. Haruki Murakami

death quotes we all die goal live forever goal create something that will chuck palahniuk wisdom

We all die. The goal isn’t to live forever, the goal is to create something that will. Chuck Palahniuk

death quotes that will never come again what makes life sweet emily dickinson wisdom

That it will never come again is what makes life so sweet. Emily Dickinson

death quotes the length life ralph waldo emerson wisdom

It is not length of life, but depth of life. Ralph Waldo Emerson

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To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure. J.K. Rowling

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death quotes people living deeply have fear anais nin wisdom

People living deeply have no fear of death. Anaïs Nin

death quotes live your life work then take hat henry david thoreau wisdom

Live your life, do your work, then take your hat. Henry David Thoreau

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For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one. Kahlil Gibran

death quotes with outward courage dares man with inner courage dares live lao tzu wisdom

A man with outward courage dares to die; a man with inner courage dares to live. Lao Tzu

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No one is actually dead until the ripples they cause in the world die away. Terry Pratchett

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He who is not busy being born is busy dying. Bob Dylan

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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

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Whatever you want to do, do it now. There are only so many tomorrows. Michael Landon

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Mostly it is loss which teaches us about the worth of things. Arthur Schopenhauer

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As soon as you’ll realize it was a gift, you’ll be free. Maxime Lagacé

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The Best Death Quotes

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death quotes well spent day brings happy sleep life used leonardo da vinci wisdom nature

As a well spent day brings happy sleep, so life well used brings happy death. Leonardo da Vinci

Our dead are never dead to us, until we have forgotten them. George Eliot

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

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death quotes distant rumour young andrew rooney wisdom woman

Death is a distant rumor to the young. Andrew A. Rooney

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

Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die. Unknown

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

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

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.
death quotes man should fear should never beginning live marcus aurelius wisdom woman looking

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

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 fear of death is the most unjustified of all fears, for there’s no risk of accident for someone who’s dead. Albert Einstein

death quotes afraid die just dont want there when happens woody allen wisdom nature mountain

I’m not afraid to die, I just don’t want to be there when it happens. Woody Allen

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

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

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 Helen Keller was blind)

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, and backgrounds.
death quotes life hard after kills you katharine hepburn wisdom nature forest

Life is hard. After all, it kills you. Katharine Hepburn

Death pays all debts. William Shakespeare

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

Death makes equal the high and low. John Heywood

The fear of death is the beginning of slavery. Robert Anton Wilson

Death takes no bribes. Benjamin Franklin

Death is the ultimate boundary of human matters. Horace

Though death be poor, it ends a mortal woe. William Shakespeare

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Neither the sun, nor death can be looked at steadily. François de La Rochefoucauld

Because I have loved life, I shall have no sorrow to die. Amelia Burr

Life has more meaning in the face of death. Robert Greene

The meaning of life is that it stops. Franz Kafka

The phoenix must burn to emerge. Janet Fitch

Take nothing for granted. Keep in mind that it can come at anytime. Even today. Maxime Lagacé

It’s better to burn out than to fade away. Neil Young

Every exit is an entry somewhere else. Tom Stoppard

I shall not die of a cold. I shall die of having lived. Willa Cather

The idea is to die young as late as possible. Ashley Montagu

It is nothing to die. It is frightful not to live. Victor Hugo

Even trees do not die without a groan. Henry David Thoreau

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Inspirational Death Sayings (Some Are Comforting)

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death quotes highest tribute dead grief gratitude thornton wilder wisdom lake woman

The highest tribute to the dead is not grief but gratitude. Thornton Wilder

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

Let life be beautiful like summer flowers and death like autumn leaves. Rabindranath Tagore

By becoming deeply aware of our mortality, we intensify our experience of every aspect of life. Robert Greene

Death and pain are windows to great insight if you have the strength to look through them. James Pierce (Source)

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

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: 79 Positive Quotes To Uplift Yourself

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

Losing is discovering, which is living. Maxime Lagacé

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

Death ends a life, not a relationship. Mitch Albom

Related: 5 Powerful Ways To Deal With Death, Grief & Loss (YouTube video)

Wise Death Sayings

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death quotes beautiful when seen law accident henry david thoreau wisdom nature

Death is beautiful when seen to be a law, and not an accident. Henry David Thoreau

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

We owe respect to the living; to the dead we owe only truth. Voltaire

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)

The harder the pain, the longer the path to recovery, the better the opportunity to learn. Maxime Lagacé

To the most trivial actions, attach the devotion and mindfulness of a hundred monks. To matters of life and death, attach a sense of humor. Zhuangzi

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

Life is for the living. Death is for the dead. Let life be like music. And death a note unsaid. Langston Hughes

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

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

Key Takeaways

  • Death gives value to life.
  • Death is hard, but part of life. Accept.
  • The question is not “How long did you live?”. The question is “Did you give?”.
  • We can’t forget someone so we don’t truly lose them.
  • What’s the most important lesson when you lose someone?
    • That you still have your life to live.

A few thoughts on death…

Back in 2004, I lost my girlfriend in a car accident.

I was shocked, devastated, and 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 into 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.

Further Readings

Hope you found a few quotes that gave you some relief.

If you did, please share them with a friend who could benefit from them too.

Did you lose someone recently? Which quote did you relate to the most? Please let us know in the comment section below.

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Author Bio

maxime lagace

Maxime Lagacé started collecting quotes in 2004 after he lost his girlfriend in a car accident.

In search of meaning, he dived in the self-improvement world, psychology and trail running.

Books, blogs, quotes and nature became his guide.

He started journaling, reflecting, writing his thoughts, feelings and quotes.

His goal was to understand his pain, his depression, his fears, his lack of motivation and inspiration.

He finished his software engineering degree in 2007 at the École de Technologie Supérieure de Montréal.

A few years later, he started his first website to share his love of quotes.

Maxime is a father of two, husband, and INFJ.

Other notable interests of Maxime are health (mental and physical), meditation, bananas, SEO, human potential, and education.

You can find him on X, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, YouTube.

Last update

May 4, 2022

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