--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One may live as a conqueror, a king, or a…" description: "\"One may live as a conqueror, a king, or a magistrate; but he must die a man. The bed of death brings every human being to his pure individuality, to th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ae/daniel-webster-2347_bed_one-may-live-as-a-conqueror-a-king-or-a_2156991.jpg" --- # One may live as a conqueror, a king, or a magistrate; but… ![“One may live as a conqueror, a king, or a magistrate; but he must die a man. The bed of death brings every human being to his pure individuality, to the intense contemplation of that deepest and most solemn of all relations - the relations between the creature and his Creator.” quote by Daniel Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ae/daniel-webster-2347_bed_one-may-live-as-a-conqueror-a-king-or-a_2156991.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ae/daniel-webster-2347_bed_one-may-live-as-a-conqueror-a-king-or-a_2156991.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ae/daniel-webster-2347_bed_one-may-live-as-a-conqueror-a-king-or-a_2156991.jpg) > “One may live as a conqueror, a king, or a magistrate; but he must die a man. The bed of death brings every human being to his pure individuality, to the intense contemplation of that deepest and most solemn of all relations - the relations between the creature and his Creator.” [Daniel Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-webster/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Death equalizes all, revealing each person's true self and relationship with the divine. **In simple terms:** Death strips away status, leaving only humanity and spiritual reflection. Key Takeaway Recognize humility and spiritual connection. Themes humility spirituality mortality Mood contemplative solemn Type philosophical spiritual When to use this quote - personal loss - end‑of‑life care - ethical decision making Key Concepts existentialism theology Questions to Reflect On - How does awareness of mortality change daily priorities? - What does “pure individuality” mean to you? A Different Perspective May overlook cultural variations in belief about afterlife. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bed/) [Bed Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bed-death-304798/) [Conqueror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conqueror/) [Contemplation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contemplation/) [Contemplation Deepest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contemplation-deepest-4559738/) [Creator](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creator/) [Creatures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creatures/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Death Brings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death-brings-469863/) [Dies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dies/) [Human beings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-beings/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Individuality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individuality/) [Intense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intense/) [Intense Contemplation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intense-contemplation-4559739/) [Kings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kings/) [Magistrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/magistrates/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Pure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pure/) [Relation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relation/) [Solemn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solemn/) ## Related quotes > [“ This morning, on the avenue, my death was walking next to me, under the plane-trees. I came back home, lied on the bed.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-bobin/this-morning-on-the-avenue-my-death-was-walking-next-to-me-under-the/) [Christian Bobin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-bobin/) > [I'm trying to surround myself during my life with the eight people I'd surround my bed with on my death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-goff/i-m-trying-to-surround-myself-during-my-life-with-the-eight-people-i/) [Bob Goff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-goff/) > [Corruption of morals is rapid enough in any country without a bounty from government. And...the Chief Magistrate of the United States should be the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-webster/corruption-of-morals-is-rapid-enough-in-any-country-without-a-bounty/) [Daniel Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-webster/) > [“It seems to me that if you or I must choose between two courses of thought or action, we should remember our dying and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/it-seems-to-me-that-if-you-or-i-must-choose-between-two-courses-of/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“Proximity to death brings with it a corresponding proximity to life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/proximity-to-death-brings-with-it-a-corresponding-proximity-to-life/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [To go abroad has something of the same sense that death brings. I am no longer of ye-what ye say of me is now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/to-go-abroad-has-something-of-the-same-sense-that-death-brings-i-am/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“...so to live that our death brings no pleasure to the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/so-to-live-that-our-death-brings-no-pleasure-to-the-world/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“The death of these people might have changed the world, Grace, so we might have changed the world, Grace, so we sometimes have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-l-naeole/the-death-of-these-people-might-have-changed-the-world-grace-so-we/) [S.L. Naeole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-l-naeole/) > [“Death brings release & removal from all evil, every tragedy & all difficulty. Death is not an enemy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/death-brings-release-removal-from-all-evil-every-tragedy-all/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“There's something about dealing in death that brings out the maternal in me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-langtry/there-s-something-about-dealing-in-death-that-brings-out-the-maternal/) [Leslie Langtry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-langtry/) > [“Sometimes a god comes," Selver said. "He brings a new way to do a thing, or a new thing to be done. A new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/sometimes-a-god-comes-selver-said-he-brings-a-new-way-to-do-a-thing/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“Yes, Death brings us again to our friends. They are waiting for us, and we shall not long delay. They have gone before us,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/yes-death-brings-us-again-to-our-friends-they-are-waiting-for-us-and/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [Death brings heartache no one can heal. Love brings memories no one can steal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/death-brings-heartache-no-one-can-heal-love-brings-memories-no-one/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The most mighty of nature's laws is this, that out of Death she brings Life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/the-most-mighty-of-nature-s-laws-is-this-that-out-of-death-she-brings/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [“Death brings us together, but yet tears us apart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-price-billy/death-brings-us-together-but-yet-tears-us-apart/) [Ray Price Billy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-price-billy/) ## More by Daniel Webster > [In the nature of things, those who have no property and see their neighbors possess much more than they think them to need, cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-webster/in-the-nature-of-things-those-who-have-no-property-and-see-their/) [Daniel Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-webster/) > [“Liberty and Union, now and for ever, one and inseparable!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-webster/liberty-and-union-now-and-for-ever-one-and-inseparable/) [Daniel Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-webster/) > [If we work on marble it will perish. If we work on brass, time will efface it. If we raise temples, they will crumble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-webster/if-we-work-on-marble-it-will-perish-if-we-work-on-brass-time-will/) [Daniel Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-webster/) > [This is the Book. I have read the Bible through many times, and now make it a practice to read it through once every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-webster/this-is-the-book-i-have-read-the-bible-through-many-times-and-now/) [Daniel Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-webster/) > [Men hang out their signs indicative of their respective trades; shoe makers hang out a gigantic shoe; jewelers a monster watch, and the dentist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-webster/men-hang-out-their-signs-indicative-of-their-respective-trades-shoe/) [Daniel Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-webster/) > [There is something on earth greater than arbitrary or despotic power. The lightning has its power, and the whirlwind has its power, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-webster/there-is-something-on-earth-greater-than-arbitrary-or-despotic-power/) [Daniel Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-webster/) > [Faith puts God between us and our circumstances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-webster/faith-puts-god-between-us-and-our-circumstances/) [Daniel Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-webster/) > [Failure is more frequently from want of energy than want of capital.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-webster/failure-is-more-frequently-from-want-of-energy-than-want-of-capital/) [Daniel Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-webster/) > [The Bible is a book of faith, and a book of doctrine, and a book of religion, of special revelation from God; but it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-webster/the-bible-is-a-book-of-faith-and-a-book-of-doctrine-and-a-book-of/) [Daniel Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-webster/) > [Our destruction, should it come at all, will be from...the inattention of the people to the concerns of their government, from their carelessness and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-webster/our-destruction-should-it-come-at-all-will-be-from-the-inattention-of/) [Daniel Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-webster/) > [When the spotless ermine of the judicial robe fell on John Jay, it touched nothing less spotless than itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-webster/when-the-spotless-ermine-of-the-judicial-robe-fell-on-john-jay-it/) [Daniel Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-webster/) > [If the Union was formed by accession of States then the Union may be dissolved by the secession of States.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-webster/if-the-union-was-formed-by-accession-of-states-then-the-union-may-be/) [Daniel Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-webster/) > [A solemn and religious regard to spiritual and eternal things is an indispensable element of all true greatness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-webster/a-solemn-and-religious-regard-to-spiritual-and-eternal-things-is-an/) [Daniel Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-webster/) > [Philosophic argument, especially that drawn from the vastness of the universe, in comparison with the apparent insignificance of this globe, has sometimes shaken my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-webster/philosophic-argument-especially-that-drawn-from-the-vastness-of-the/) [Daniel Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-webster/) > [We are all agents of the same supreme power, the people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-webster/we-are-all-agents-of-the-same-supreme-power-the-people/) [Daniel Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-webster/) [Explore all 170 Daniel Webster quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-webster/) ## More Bed quotes > [When man of slender visits you / Nothing on earth that one can do / In well he’ll hide, or watery hole / And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-goldstein/when-man-of-slender-visits-you-nothing-on-earth-that-one-can-do-in/) [Jack Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-goldstein/) > [Your idea of fidelity is not having more than one man in bed at the same time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-raphael/your-idea-of-fidelity-is-not-having-more-than-one-man-in-bed-at-the/) [Frederic Raphael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-raphael/) > [The beginning of love is all about the butterflies, but the end of it is when you can't get out of bed in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/the-beginning-of-love-is-all-about-the-butterflies-but-the-end-of-it/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [Home is behind, the world ahead, And there are many paths to tread Through shadows to the edge of night, Until the stars are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/home-is-behind-the-world-ahead-and-there-are-many-paths-to-tread/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I wish I had as much in bed as I get in the newspapers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-ronstadt/i-wish-i-had-as-much-in-bed-as-i-get-in-the-newspapers/) [Linda Ronstadt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-ronstadt/) > [ Leave a cavity behind the \[wall\] facings, and on the inside build walls two feet thick, made of red dimension stone or burnt brick… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-vitruvius-pollio/leave-a-cavity-behind-the-wall-facings-and-on-the-inside-build-walls/) [Marcus Vitruvius Pollio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-vitruvius-pollio/) > [Why couldn't Jesus command us to obsess over everything, to try to control and manipulate people, to try not to breathe at all, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/why-couldn-t-jesus-command-us-to-obsess-over-everything-to-try-to/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“To all the secret writers, late-night painters, would-be singers, lapsed and scared artists of every stripe, dig out your paintbrush, or your flute, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shauna-niequist/to-all-the-secret-writers-late-night-painters-would-be-singers-lapsed/) [Shauna Niequist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shauna-niequist/) > [“In the parking lot, she drove and parked in a dark area with no other cars around. She reclined her seat, and listened to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tao-lin/in-the-parking-lot-she-drove-and-parked-in-a-dark-area-with-no-other/) [Tao Lin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tao-lin/) > [It wasn't really touching to be young; it was touching not to be young, because you had less of life left. Touching to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-macaulay/it-wasn-t-really-touching-to-be-young-it-was-touching-not-to-be-young/) [Rose Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-macaulay/) > [I have to meditate before I go to bed, always. I have to let the day go and let the eternal in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bellamy-young/i-have-to-meditate-before-i-go-to-bed-always-i-have-to-let-the-day-go/) [Bellamy Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bellamy-young/) > [Sometimes by a woodland stream he watched the water rush over the pebbled bed, its tiny modulations of bounce and flow. 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I didn't know you had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/june-allyson/i-always-wanted-to-be-a-movie-star-i-thought-it-meant-being-famous/) [June Allyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/june-allyson/) [Browse all 4,159 Bed quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bed/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "One may live as a conqueror, a king, or a magistrate; but he must die a man. 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