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Death

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• “I'm writing this book because we're all going to die — In the loneliness of my life, my father dead, my brother dead, my mother far away, my sister and my wife far away, nothing here but my own tragic hands that once were guarded by a world, a sweet attention, that now are left to guide and disappear their own way into the common dark of all our death, sleeping in me raw bed, alone and stupid...”

  Jack Kerouac (1922–1969) said by 1969 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “I will keep faith with death in my heart, yet will remember that faith with death and the dead is only wickedness and dark voluptuousness and enmity against humankind, if it is given power over our thought and contemplation. For the sake of goodness and love, man shall let death have no sovereignty over his thoughts. And with that, I wake up.”

  Thomas Mann (1875–1955) said by 1955 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “I, who am dead, have ways of knowing Of the crop of death that the quick are sowing. I, who was Pompey, cry it aloud From the dark of death, from the wind blowing. I, who was Pompey, once was proud, Now I lie in the sand without a shroud; I cry to Caesar out of my pain, "Caesar beware, your death is vowed.”

  John Masefield (1878–1967) said by 1967 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “I felt that I was dying, and perhaps I did die a little, or rather began to die in the way that the cocoon of the chrysalis cracks at the end of winter; but unfortunately I did not die so thoroughly that I achieved new life like a butterfly.”

  Halldór Laxness (1902–1998) said by 1998 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “Live or die, a man and a woman need love. There is a need in the race. We need to share. To belong. Perhaps you will die before the year is out. But remember this: to have may be taken from you, to have had never. it is far better to have tasted love before dying than to die alone.”

  David Gemmell (1948–2006) said by 2006 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “He disappeared in the dead of winter: The brooks were frozen, the airports almost deserted, And snow disfigured the public statues; The mercury sank in the mouth of the dying day. What instruments we have agree The day of his death was a dark cold day.”

  W. H. Auden (1907–1973) said by 1973 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “I am not the government`s spokesperson but I can say a few words concerning this (Ballali's) death. I would like to know the person who said the government is responsible for the death. What do you mean when you say the government is behind his death?... I will stand down as cabinet minister if it is proved that the government was indeed involved in the death.”

  Bernard Membe (1953–2023) first seen 2008 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: Quoted in "Govt behind Ballali death? I`ll resign..." The Guardian (2008-05-26)

• “The deepest and most organic death is death in solitude, when even light becomes a principle of death. In such moments you will be severed from life, from love, smiles, friends and even from death. And you will ask yourself if there is anything besides the nothingness of the world and your own nothingness.”

  Emil Cioran (1911–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “The ports of death are sins; of life, good deeds: Through which our merit leads us to our meeds. How willful blind is he then, that would stray, And hath it in his powers, to make his way! This world death's region is, the other life's: And here, it should be one of our first strifes, So to front death, as men might judge us past it. For good men but see death, the wicked taste it.”

  Ben Jonson (1572–1637) said by 1637 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “We are being accused of cruelty, ferocity and ruthlessness. Yes, we are cruel, we are fierce and ruthless, but only towards spies, towards the enemies of the Cause of Liberation. There is no mercy and forgiveness for such people: for them there is only one punishment, only one reward—"Death". Death to the spies, death to the traitors, death to all who stand in the way of the Cause!”

  Yane Sandanski (1872–1915) said by 1915 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: Cited in For Freedom and Perfection: The Life of Yané Sandansky (1988), p. 165

• “Death had won my three friends; Death had almost won me. But now I was the one who was going to win and I was going to win by outwitting Death over and over again ... To compete with Death, as I had discovered in the mountains, was to know one was alive.”

  Susan Howatch (born 1940) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “As the separation of the soul from the body is the death of the body, so the separation of God from the soul is the death of the soul. And this death of the soul is the true death.”

  Gregory Palamas (1296–1359) said by 1359 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “No man escapes Death. So Death must not be the enemy. Life must not be the prize. It must be the gameboard, on which Death teaches its savage lessons. You could heed those lessons, or ignore them, but never evade them. Death, then, was the ally. Not to be sought, but heeded.”

  Steven Barnes (born 1952) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “Crying the death day of another is crying your own death day. While we mourn for another, we mourn for ourselves. One’s death is the death of all mankind. Comfort! Comfort to us all, Comfort!”

  Efua Sutherland (1924–1996) said by 1996 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “In our wounds we celebrated the re-birth of the traffic-slain dead, the deaths and injuries of those we had seen dying by the roadside and the imaginary wounds and postures of the millions yet to die.”

  J. G. Ballard (1930–2009) said by 2009 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “The true disciple of philosophy is likely to be misunderstood by other men; they do not perceive that he is ever pursuing death and dying; and if this is true, why, having had the desire of death all his life long, should he repine at that which he has always been pursuing and desiring?”

  Socrates (470–399 BC) said by 399 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “And, you know, it's kind of like with people and the tarot cards. Just because you get the death card doesn't mean death or dying. It means transformation. It means changing things around and starting something new.”

  Conor Oberst (born 1980) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “Where there's life, death is inevitable. Dying's easy; it's living that's hard. The harder it gets, the stronger the will to live. And the greater the fear of death, the greater the struggle to keep on living.”

  Mo Yan (born 1955) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “Indulging sinful and vain desires always leads to obsession with them, and after the obsession comes slavery, which is death to everything spiritual. Those who allowed themselves to follow their desires and carnal mind became obsessed with them, enslaved by them, forgot God and eternity, and waster their earthly lives pointlessly, dying an eternal death.”

  Ignatius Brianchaninov (1807–1867) said by 1867 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “death death so much of her that it discourage the pride of dying”

  Miron Białoszewski (1922–1983) said by 1983 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “Death is only a word. Experience alone can first tell us what is the true meaning of the word. The appearance of the dying tells us nothing. What we see is merely the prelude to death. A dull unconsciousness is what strikes us. Whether this be so — how and when the spirit wakes to life again — this is what we wish to know, and which never can be known till it is experienced.”

  Wilhelm von Humboldt (attributed) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “We are often told "Colonialism is dead." Let us not be deceived or even soothed by that. I say to you, colonialism is not yet dead. How can we say it is dead, so long as vast areas of Asia and Africa are unfree.”

  Sukarno (1901–1970) said by 1970 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “But it’s always been that way. The leaders that men follow must always do away with the leaders that went before. ‘Great Pan is dead!’ They cried – not because he was dead, but because they wanted him to be dead.”

  Charles de Lint (born 1951) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “We hear of the dead past and the living present: we are bid (and we do well to remember that it is an American poet who so adapts the words) to let the dead past bury its dead. But surely the past lives in the present, the process by which we became what we are is a part of our living being; if we are cut off from what we were, we only half live.”

  William Stubbs (1825–1901) said by 1901 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “Morning wiping sleepy dust from eyes, Balthazar asked nannie why does everyone cry. Because your father has gone away. Where. To where people go. Where do they go. They pass away. Where. To be with God. Why. Because they are dead. What is dead. Dead is when your heart grows cold. Will my heart ever grow cold. Yes God love you little boy.”

  J. P. Donleavy (1926–2017) first seen 1970 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: Ch.2 - p.9 [Page numbers per the Penguin Books 1970 UK paperback (1972 reprint).]

• “The past was gone, the dead were dead and did not speak, and everybody dies; one day Oberg would be dead and silent, too, and that was as it should be: the broad and welcoming ocean of oblivion. It made life bearable. It was sacred. It should not be tampered with.”

  Robert Charles Wilson (born 1953) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “My Name is Katniss Everdeen. I am seventeen years old. My home is District 12. I was in The Hunger Games. I escaped. The Capitol hates me. Peeta was taken prisoner. He is thought to be dead. Most likely he is dead. It is probably best if he is dead...”

  Suzanne Collins (born 1962) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “It's better to fade away like an old soldier than to burn out. I don't appreciate worship of dead Sid Vicious or of dead James Dean or of dead John Wayne. It's the same thing. Making Sid Vicious a hero, Jim Morrison — it's garbage to me. I worship the people who survive. Gloria Swanson, Greta Garbo.”

  John Lennon (1940–1980) said by 1980 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “I kept hearing that metal is dead and Ozzy's dead and people that like Ozzy are dead. I have never had an empty seat. I've always sold out, so who's saying it's all over?”

  Ozzy Osbourne (1948–2025) first seen 1998 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: CNN May 26, 1998

• “the only man woman or child who wrote a simple declarative sentence with seven grammatical errors "is dead" beautiful Warren Gamaliel Harding "is" dead he's "dead”

  E. E. Cummings (1894–1962) said by 1962 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “If you annoy the Hog-nosed Snake enough, he will roll over on his back and play dead. If you turn him right-side up, he will roll over to prove that he is dead. [Footnote:] While he is playing dead, you can go straight up to him and step on his head or smash him with a big club.”

  Will Cuppy (1884–1949) said by 1949 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “When the Dead do walk, seek water’s run, For this the Dead will always shun. Swift river’s best or broadest lake To ward the Dead and haven make. If water fails thee, fire’s thy friend; If neither guards, it will be thy end.”

  Garth Nix (born 1963) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “I walk through rooms of the dead, streets of the dead, cities of the dead: men without eyes, men without voices; men with manufactured feelings and standard reactions; men with newspaper brains, television souls and high school ideals.”

  Charles Bukowski (1920–1994) first seen 1963 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: in Sunlight Here I Am: Interviews and Encounters, 1963-1993 (2003), p. 24

• “I do not understand your custom in this, but we do not intend to fight until all of us are dead. We desire very much that none of us be dead. And we will fight till all of you are dead only if it is absolutely necessary.”

  R. A. Lafferty (1914–2002) said by 2002 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “Jesus is dead. Moses is dead. Mohammed is dead. Buddha, deceased. Every one of these know-it-alls has turned to dust. That should be enough commentary on whether they were the final word on anything.”

  Jim Goad (1961–2026) said by 2026 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “I wish I was dead, And lay deep in the grave. I've a pain in my head, I wish I was dead. In a coffin of lead— With the Wise and the Brave— I wish I was dead, And lay deep in the grave.”

  Maurice Baring (1874–1945) said by 1945 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “The power of the dead is that we think they see us all the time. The dead have a presence. Is there a level of energy composed solely of the dead? They are also in the ground, of course, asleep and crumbling. Perhaps we are what they dream.”

  Don DeLillo (born 1936) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “Hard-hearted minds relent and rigor's tears abound, And envy strangely rues his end, in whom no fault was found. Knowledge her light hath lost, valor hath slain her knight, Sidney is dead, dead is my friend, dead is the world's delight.”

  Fulke Greville, 1st Baron Brooke (1554–1628) first seen 1593 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: Elegy on Sir Philip Sidney" (1593)

• “The body is never more alive than when it is dead; but it is alive in its units, and dead in its totality; alive as a congeries, dead as an organism.”

  Annie Besant (1847–1933) said by 1933 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “Few people differentiate between having 10 million dead, 50 million dead, or 100 million dead. It all seems too horrible.”

  Herman Kahn (1922–1983) said by 1983 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “Let the dead bury the dead? But, the dead can bury no one.”

  Alan Charles Kors (born 1943) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “Let the apologists for communists acknowledge the dead, bury the dead, and atone for the dead. Otherwise, let them be forgiven only when they have put out their eyes and wandered blind, away from Thebes.”

  Alan Charles Kors (born 1943) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “Moving among dead bodies These dead cried out to the dead: Dervishes, go on sleeping! There is no morning tomorrow.”

  Noon Meem Rashid (1910–1975) said by 1975 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “The dead they sleep a long, long sleep; The dead they rest, and their rest is deep; The dead have peace, but the living weep.”

  Samuel Hoffenstein (1890–1947) said by 1947 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “And that dismal cry rose slowly And sank slowly through the air, Full of spirit's melancholy And eternity's despair; And they heard the words it said,-- "Pan is dead! great Pan is dead! Pan, Pan is dead!”

  Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806–1861) said by 1861 at the latest bartlett, Public domain source

• “Immer von Beckett ist eine technische Reduktion bis zum äußersten. ... Aber diese Reduktion ist ja wirklich das was die Welt aus uns macht ... das heißt die Welt aus uns gemacht diese Stümpfe von Menschen also diese Menschen die eigentlich ihr ich ihr verloren haben die sind wirklich die Produkte der Welt in der wir leben.”

  Theodor Adorno (1903–1969) said by 1969 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “Was sollen aber die buntschäckigten Balletten in den Opern? Balletten, die auf die Oper nicht die geringste Beziehungen haben. Verderben sie nicht alle mögliche Wirkung, die sie in ihrem Gange gewaltsam unterbrechen? (32)”

  Joseph Martin Kraus (1756–1792) said by 1792 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “Die Entscheidung, sich zum ersten Mal zu küssen, ist die wichtigste in jeder Liebesbeziehung. Es verändert die Beziehung von zwei Menschen wesentlich stärker als letzendlich die Kapitulation; denn dieser Kuss trägt die Kapitulation schon in sich.”

  Emil Ludwig (1881–1948) first seen 1940 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: Of Life and Love (2005), p. 29 (Über das Glück und die Liebe, 1940)

• “See, the average number of people that die every year from taking herbs is zero. Every year about three people die from taking vitamins. Every year about 320 people die from taking over-the-counter drugs. About 9,000 people die from food-borne illnesses. And every year, 90,000 to 110,000 people die from taking correctly prescribed drugs. This is not counting the incorrectly prescribed!”

  Kent Hovind (born 1953) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “Liebt man sich wirklich, so ist es ja nicht schwer, die Toleranz zu üben, denn die Toleranz ist die Tochter der Liebe -- es ist die eigentlich christliche Eigenschaft, die freilich von der heutigen Christenwelt nicht geübt wird.”

  Rudolf Virchow (1821–1902) first seen 1839 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: in a letter to his father dated 7 April 1851, published in Briefe an seite Eltern, 1839 bis 1864 (1907).

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