There never is absolute birth nor complete death, in the strict sense, consisting in the separation of the soul from the body. What we call births are developments and growths, while what we call deaths are envelopments and diminutions.
—Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, 1714Quotes
A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest.
—Book of Proverbs, c. 350 BCThe play is the tragedy “Man,” And its hero the conqueror worm.
—Edgar Allan Poe, 1843I’m doomed to die, right? Why should I care if I go to Hades either with gout in my leg or a runner’s grace? Plenty of people will carry me there.
—Nicharchus, c. 90I think it makes small difference to the dead if they are buried in the tokens of luxury. All this is an empty glorification left for those who live.
—Euripides, 415 BCLet my epitaph be, “Here lies Joseph, who failed in everything he undertook.”
—Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II, 1790We and the dead ride quick at night.
—Gottfried August Bürger, 1773I looked and there was a pale green horse! Its rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed with him.
—Book of Revelations, c. 90Life is a farce, and should not end with a mourning scene.
—Horace Walpole, 1784What is death? A scary mask. Take it off—see, it doesn’t bite.
—Epictetus, c. 110I imagined it was more difficult to die.
—Louis XIV, 1715Nobody, sir, dies willingly.
—Antiphanes, c. 370 BCIt is noble to die before doing anything that deserves death.
—Anaxandrides, c. 376