“It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live.”Marcus Aurelius
Living FullyStoicism
Death Quotes
200 FAMOUS QUOTES · DEATH
Death Quotes
Read 200 of the best death quotes about life, mortality, grief and remembrance from Marcus Aurelius, Rabindranath Tagore, John Donne, Kahlil Gibran, Helen Keller and more.
“What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal.”
Albert Pike
LegacyService
“Love has no age, no limit; and no death.”
John Galsworthy
LoveEternity
“Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.”
John Donne
HumanityConnection
“Each day is a little life: every waking and rising a little birth, every fresh morning a little youth, every going to rest and sleep a little death.”
Arthur Schopenhauer
LifeEach Day
“The idea is to die young as late as possible.”
Ashley Montagu
Staying YoungWit
“Even death is not to be feared by one who has lived wisely.”Buddha
“Life and death are one thread, the same line viewed from different sides.”Lao Tzu
Life And DeathPhilosophy
“I intend to live forever, or die trying.”Groucho Marx
FunnyWit
“Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life.”
Steve Jobs
PrioritiesChoices
“Some people die at 25 and aren't buried until 75.”Benjamin Franklin
Living FullyWit
“Death is not extinguishing the light; it is only putting out the lamp because the dawn has come.”Rabindranath Tagore
HopeLight
“As a well-spent day brings happy sleep, so a life well spent brings happy death.”Leonardo da Vinci
Life Well LivedPeace
“Death may be the greatest of all human blessings.”Socrates
PhilosophyMystery
“Every parting is a form of death, as every reunion is a type of heaven.”
Tryon Edwards
GoodbyesReunion
“I believe that laughter is the only cure for grief. And I believe that love is stronger than death.”
Robert Fulghum
LoveGrief
“Cowards die many times before their deaths; the valiant never taste of death but once.”William Shakespeare
“No evil can happen to a good man, either in life or after death.”Socrates
GoodnessPhilosophy
“Intellectual growth should commence at birth and cease only at death.”
Albert Einstein
Lifelong LearningGrowth
“The report of my death was an exaggeration.”
Mark Twain
FunnyFamous Lines
“Death is nothing, but to live defeated and inglorious is to die daily.”Napoleon Bonaparte
Living FullyCourage
“Our dead are never dead to us, until we have forgotten them.”
George Eliot
RemembranceMemory
“The life of the dead is placed in the memory of the living.”
Cicero
RemembranceMemory
“Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity.”
Horace Mann
PurposeLegacy
“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
MysteryLife And Death
Related Topics
About Death Quotes
Death is the one experience every human being shares, and for thousands of years poets, philosophers and spiritual teachers have tried to make sense of it. Thinking about mortality isn't morbid; it often helps us live more fully, love more openly and focus on what truly matters. And when we lose someone, the right words can bring comfort, remind us that love outlives loss, and help us honour their memory.
This collection brings together 200 of the best quotes about death, life, grief and remembrance from Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, Rabindranath Tagore, John Donne, Kahlil Gibran, Helen Keller and many more, along with a little gentle wit. If you're grieving right now, please be kind to yourself and reach out to people who care about you. For more, explore our [Life Quotes](/topics/life-quotes) and [Moving On Quotes](/topics/moving-on-quotes).
Frequently asked questions
Quick answers about Death quotes.
What is a comforting quote about death for someone grieving?
Henry Scott Holland wrote, "Death is nothing at all. I have only slipped away into the next room." Mitch Albom's "Death ends a life, not a relationship" is another gentle reminder that love continues.
What is the most famous quote about death?
John Donne's "never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee" is one of the most famous. Benjamin Franklin's line that nothing is certain "except death and taxes" is another classic.
Did Joseph Stalin say "One death is a tragedy; one million is a statistic"?
There's no reliable evidence that Stalin said it; the idea appears earlier in other writers' work. We've left it out of our collection.
What is a good quote to share at a funeral or memorial?
Thomas Campbell's "To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die," Rossiter Worthington Raymond's "death is only a horizon," and Laurence Binyon's "we will remember them" are often read at memorials.
What do Indian thinkers say about death?
Rabindranath Tagore wrote that death "is only putting out the lamp because the dawn has come." Thiruvalluvar compared death to sleep and birth to waking from sleep.
What is a short quote about death?
Try "Memento mori," "So it goes," "Death, be not proud," "It is not length of life, but depth of life" or "Grief is the price we pay for love."