--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Death, he had come to believe, was a…" description: "\"“Death, he had come to believe, was a corrosive thing, and the more he was around it , the more it gnawed away at who he was.”\" — Christopher Paolini" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/997/christopher-paolini-622_corrosive_death-he-had-come-to-believe-was-a-corro_2755258.png" --- # Death, he had come to believe, was a corrosive thing, and… ![“Death, he had come to believe, was a corrosive thing, and the more he was around it , the more it gnawed away at who he was.” quote by Christopher Paolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/997/christopher-paolini-622_corrosive_death-he-had-come-to-believe-was-a-corro_2755258.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/997/christopher-paolini-622_corrosive_death-he-had-come-to-believe-was-a-corro_2755258.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/997/christopher-paolini-622_corrosive_death-he-had-come-to-believe-was-a-corro_2755258.png) > ““Death, he had come to believe, was a corrosive thing, and the more he was around it , the more it gnawed away at who he was.”” [Christopher Paolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-paolini/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote reflects how constant exposure to death erodes personal identity and humanity. **In simple terms:** Death erodes who we are when we dwell on it. Key Takeaway Guard your sense of self against morbid preoccupation. Themes mortality identity psychology Mood somber reflective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - grief counseling - war zones - terminal illness - creative writing - philosophical debate Key Concepts existentialism selfhood nihilism Questions to Reflect On - How does confronting mortality shape your values? - Can you maintain identity despite loss? A Different Perspective It may overstate the influence of death, ignoring resilience and meaning‑making. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Corrosive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corrosive/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) ## Related quotes > [“The termites of reduction have always gnawed away at life: even the greatest love ends up as a skeleton of feeble memories.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-termites-of-reduction-have-always-gnawed-away-at-life-even-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [The teeth of self-pity had gnawed away her essential self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-gibbs/the-teeth-of-self-pity-had-gnawed-away-her-essential-self/) [Willa Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-gibbs/) > [Distraction is the most corrosive disease of the 20th century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-victore/distraction-is-the-most-corrosive-disease-of-the-20th-century/) [James Victore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-victore/) > [Save your skin from the corrosive acids from the mouths of toxic people. Someone who just helped you to speak evil about another person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/save-your-skin-from-the-corrosive-acids-from-the-mouths-of-toxic/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't believe money is evil, but it can be terribly corrosive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-charles-wilson/i-don-t-believe-money-is-evil-but-it-can-be-terribly-corrosive/) [Robert Charles Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-charles-wilson/) > [“It is for your own good to love a dare-devil rather than a holy coward. A dare-devil is a unique devil, battling your fears,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/it-is-for-your-own-good-to-love-a-dare-devil-rather-than-a-holy/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [It's such a corrosive chemical: fame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-berg/it-s-such-a-corrosive-chemical-fame/) [Gertrude Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-berg/) > [Corrosive hallowing the hand stiffened I eat away](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/static-x/corrosive-hallowing-the-hand-stiffened-i-eat-away/) [Static-x](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/static-x/) > [Money is becoming one of the most corrosive elements of politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trent-lott/money-is-becoming-one-of-the-most-corrosive-elements-of-politics/) [Trent Lott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trent-lott/) > [Corporate tax dodging impacts us across generations and over time. It is corrosive. It is unethical. It is unsustainable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-p-hoffa/corporate-tax-dodging-impacts-us-across-generations-and-over-time-it/) [James P. Hoffa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-p-hoffa/) > [“The shame that tormented me was all the more corrosive for having no very clear origin: I didn't know why I felt so tainted,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/the-shame-that-tormented-me-was-all-the-more-corrosive-for-having-no/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [Fraud is corrosive, but so is claiming fraud where there is none.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-devine/fraud-is-corrosive-but-so-is-claiming-fraud-where-there-is-none/) [Miranda Devine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-devine/) > [“It's not as if we're running a hospital for sick children down here, let's put it that way. Where's the nobility in patching up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/it-s-not-as-if-we-re-running-a-hospital-for-sick-children-down-here/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“Inequality is corrosive. It rots societies from within.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-judt/inequality-is-corrosive-it-rots-societies-from-within/) [Tony Judt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-judt/) > [Care is no cure, but rather corrosive, For things that are not to be remedied.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/care-is-no-cure-but-rather-corrosive-for-things-that-are-not-to-be/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) ## More by Christopher Paolini > [Life is pain...anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-paolini/life-is-pain-anyone-who-tells-you-otherwise-is-selling-something/) [Christopher Paolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-paolini/) > [“Understanding breeds empathy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-paolini/understanding-breeds-empathy/) [Christopher Paolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-paolini/) > [If he fancied her anymore," Saphira said to both Eragon and Roran, "I'd be trying to kiss Arya myself." "Saphira!" Mortified, Eragon swatted her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-paolini/if-he-fancied-her-anymore-saphira-said-to-both-eragon-and-roran-i-d/) [Christopher Paolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-paolini/) > [“Clear your mind of such thoughts. They cannot be answered and will make you no happier.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-paolini/clear-your-mind-of-such-thoughts-they-cannot-be-answered-and-will/) [Christopher Paolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-paolini/) > [We are about to change history, said Saphira. We’re throwing ourselves off a cliff without knowing how deep the water below is. Ah, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-paolini/we-are-about-to-change-history-said-saphira-we-re-throwing-ourselves/) [Christopher Paolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-paolini/) > [I don't discuss my own beliefs in public, but I will say the beliefs I've given my characters do not necessarily represent what I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-paolini/i-don-t-discuss-my-own-beliefs-in-public-but-i-will-say-the-beliefs-i/) [Christopher Paolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-paolini/) > [I've never been helpless, I just have powerful enemies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-paolini/i-ve-never-been-helpless-i-just-have-powerful-enemies/) [Christopher Paolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-paolini/) > [“Islanzadi sighed, and suddenly appeared tired. “Ormomis may have been your proper teacher, but you have proved yourself to be Brom’s heir, not Oromis’s.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-paolini/islanzadi-sighed-and-suddenly-appeared-tired-ormomis-may-have-been/) [Christopher Paolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-paolini/) > [Regardless of whether I can shift my affections to another - and the heart, as you observed, is a notoriously fickle beast - the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-paolini/regardless-of-whether-i-can-shift-my-affections-to-another-and-the/) [Christopher Paolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-paolini/) > [“You worry about a crack in the floor while the whole mountain is about to come down on us!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-paolini/you-worry-about-a-crack-in-the-floor-while-the-whole-mountain-is/) [Christopher Paolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-paolini/) > [“The only thing she could be certain of was that she existed. All else was suspect, even her own thoughts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-paolini/the-only-thing-she-could-be-certain-of-was-that-she-existed-all-else/) [Christopher Paolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-paolini/) > [“But you possess one quality that no one else does. Oh? Your identity. Your history, deeds and situation. Use those to shape your creation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-paolini/but-you-possess-one-quality-that-no-one-else-does-oh-your-identity/) [Christopher Paolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-paolini/) > [“Left weaponless, Roran was forced to retreat before the remaining soldier. He stumbled over a corpse, cutting his calf on a sword as he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-paolini/left-weaponless-roran-was-forced-to-retreat-before-the-remaining/) [Christopher Paolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-paolini/) > [“Let go of your worries and focus only on the task at hand. The future will be what it will, and fretting about it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-paolini/let-go-of-your-worries-and-focus-only-on-the-task-at-hand-the-future/) [Christopher Paolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-paolini/) > [I've always been very grateful that enough people have enjoyed reading what I've written that I've been able to pursue writing professionally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-paolini/i-ve-always-been-very-grateful-that-enough-people-have-enjoyed/) [Christopher Paolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-paolini/) [Explore all 393 Christopher Paolini quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-paolini/) ## More Corrosive quotes > [Care is no cure, but rather corrosive, For things that are not to be remedied.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/care-is-no-cure-but-rather-corrosive-for-things-that-are-not-to-be/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“Inequality is corrosive. It rots societies from within.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-judt/inequality-is-corrosive-it-rots-societies-from-within/) [Tony Judt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-judt/) > [“It's not as if we're running a hospital for sick children down here, let's put it that way. Where's the nobility in patching up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/it-s-not-as-if-we-re-running-a-hospital-for-sick-children-down-here/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [Fraud is corrosive, but so is claiming fraud where there is none.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-devine/fraud-is-corrosive-but-so-is-claiming-fraud-where-there-is-none/) [Miranda Devine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-devine/) > [“The shame that tormented me was all the more corrosive for having no very clear origin: I didn't know why I felt so tainted,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/the-shame-that-tormented-me-was-all-the-more-corrosive-for-having-no/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [Corporate tax dodging impacts us across generations and over time. It is corrosive. It is unethical. It is unsustainable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-p-hoffa/corporate-tax-dodging-impacts-us-across-generations-and-over-time-it/) [James P. Hoffa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-p-hoffa/) > [Money is becoming one of the most corrosive elements of politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trent-lott/money-is-becoming-one-of-the-most-corrosive-elements-of-politics/) [Trent Lott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trent-lott/) > [Corrosive hallowing the hand stiffened I eat away](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/static-x/corrosive-hallowing-the-hand-stiffened-i-eat-away/) [Static-x](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/static-x/) > [It's such a corrosive chemical: fame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-berg/it-s-such-a-corrosive-chemical-fame/) [Gertrude Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-berg/) > [“It is for your own good to love a dare-devil rather than a holy coward. A dare-devil is a unique devil, battling your fears,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/it-is-for-your-own-good-to-love-a-dare-devil-rather-than-a-holy/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [I don't believe money is evil, but it can be terribly corrosive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-charles-wilson/i-don-t-believe-money-is-evil-but-it-can-be-terribly-corrosive/) [Robert Charles Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-charles-wilson/) > [Save your skin from the corrosive acids from the mouths of toxic people. Someone who just helped you to speak evil about another person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/save-your-skin-from-the-corrosive-acids-from-the-mouths-of-toxic/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Distraction is the most corrosive disease of the 20th century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-victore/distraction-is-the-most-corrosive-disease-of-the-20th-century/) [James Victore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-victore/) > [“There is nothing more corrosive to character than money.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-simonson/there-is-nothing-more-corrosive-to-character-than-money/) [Helen Simonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-simonson/) > [The most corrosive piece of technology that I've ever seen is called television - but then, again, television, at its best, is magnificent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/the-most-corrosive-piece-of-technology-that-i-ve-ever-seen-is-called/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) [Browse all 21 Corrosive quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corrosive/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Death, he had come to believe, was a corrosive thing, and the more he was around it , the more it gnawed away at who he was.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Christopher Paolini" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-paolini/death-he-had-come-to-believe-was-a-corrosive-thing-and-the-more-he/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Corrosive" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-paolini/death-he-had-come-to-believe-was-a-corrosive-thing-and-the-more-he/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/997/christopher-paolini-622_corrosive_death-he-had-come-to-believe-was-a-corro_2755258.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/997/christopher-paolini-622_corrosive_death-he-had-come-to-believe-was-a-corro_2755258.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/997/christopher-paolini-622_corrosive_death-he-had-come-to-believe-was-a-corro_2755258.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Death, he had come to believe, was a corrosive thing, and the more he was around it , the more it gnawed…” — Christopher Paolini", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Christopher Paolini", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-paolini/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Death, he had come to believe,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-paolini/death-he-had-come-to-believe-was-a-corrosive-thing-and-the-more-he/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-paolini/death-he-had-come-to-believe-was-a-corrosive-thing-and-the-more-he/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```