I don’t believe in an afterlife, although I am bringing a change of underwear.
—Woody Allen, 1971Quotes
When a man dies, and his kin are glad of it, they say, “He is better off.”
—Edgar Watson Howe, 1911It is noble to die before doing anything that deserves death.
—Anaxandrides, c. 376The life of the dead consists in the recollection cherished of them by the living.
—Marcus Tullius Cicero, 43 BCThere is no man so fortunate that there shall not be by him when he is dying some who are pleased with what is going to happen.
—Marcus Aurelius, c. 175Anyone who’s never watched somebody die is suffering from a pretty bad case of virginity.
—John Osborne, 1956If a man will observe as he walks the streets, I believe he will find the merriest countenances in mourning coaches.
—Jonathan Swift, 1706You are dust, and to dust you shall return.
—Book of Genesis, c. 800 BCDeath renders all equal.
—Claudian, c. 395I was born without knowing why, I have lived without knowing why, and I am dying without either knowing why or how.
—Pierre Gassendi, 1655What is death? A scary mask. Take it off—see, it doesn’t bite.
—Epictetus, c. 110Let my epitaph be, “Here lies Joseph, who failed in everything he undertook.”
—Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II, 1790I 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 BC