--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Death, after all, is the common…" description: "\"Death, after all, is the common expectation from birth. Neither heroes nor cowards can escape it.\" — Ellis Peters" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03c/ellis-peters-8392_birth_death-after-all-is-the-common-expectatio_2635029.jpg" --- # Death, after all, is the common expectation from birth… ![“Death, after all, is the common expectation from birth. Neither heroes nor cowards can escape it.” quote by Ellis Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03c/ellis-peters-8392_birth_death-after-all-is-the-common-expectatio_2635029.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03c/ellis-peters-8392_birth_death-after-all-is-the-common-expectatio_2635029.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03c/ellis-peters-8392_birth_death-after-all-is-the-common-expectatio_2635029.jpg) > “Death, after all, is the common expectation from birth. Neither heroes nor cowards can escape it.” [Ellis Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellis-peters/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Death is inevitable for everyone, regardless of bravery or cowardice. **In simple terms:** All die, heroes or not. Key Takeaway Accept mortality as a universal truth. Themes mortality inevitability heroism Mood somber thoughtful Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - war - old age - life planning Key Concepts philosophy existentialism Questions to Reflect On - How does awareness of death shape your actions? - Do heroes view death differently? A Different Perspective Some may find meaning despite death. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Birth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birth/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Escape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/escape/) [Expectations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expectations/) [Hero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hero/) ## Related quotes > [I believe that this is not only the view of the people on both sides of the Strait. It is also the common expectation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chen-shui-bian/i-believe-that-this-is-not-only-the-view-of-the-people-on-both-sides/) [Chen Shui-bian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chen-shui-bian/) > [“Death is a common destination.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/death-is-a-common-destination/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“People say that love and death are two common and universal human journeys. There is a difference though, love is more powerful and lasts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-seaver/people-say-that-love-and-death-are-two-common-and-universal-human/) Jeffrey Seaver > [Death has more in common with Love than you might imagine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/death-has-more-in-common-with-love-than-you-might-imagine/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [“Death is a common destiny.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/death-is-a-common-destiny/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [Most death now happens in hospitals. It's been medicalized. It happens away from where we deal with it directly. And that's a huge change.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/most-death-now-happens-in-hospitals-it-s-been-medicalized-it-happens/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“the political scientist James Payne suggests that ancient peoples put a low value on other people’s lives because pain and death were so common…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/the-political-scientist-james-payne-suggests-that-ancient-peoples-put/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [Those men who, in war, seek to preserve their lives at any rate commonly die with shame and ignominy, while those who look upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/xenophon/those-men-who-in-war-seek-to-preserve-their-lives-at-any-rate/) [Xenophon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/xenophon/) > [“We’re all heroes at something, and cowards at something else.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-t-kiyosaki/we-re-all-heroes-at-something-and-cowards-at-something-else/) [Robert T. Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-t-kiyosaki/) > [“Action separates the heroes from the cowards, the achievers from the complainers, the successful from the mere dreamers, the happy from the envious; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-maraboli/action-separates-the-heroes-from-the-cowards-the-achievers-from-the/) [Steve Maraboli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-maraboli/) > [Great occasions do not make heroes or cowards; they simply unveil them to the eyes. Silently and imperceptibly, as we wake or sleep, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brooke-westcott/great-occasions-do-not-make-heroes-or-cowards-they-simply-unveil-them/) [Brooke Westcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brooke-westcott/) > [Would we be the heroes or the cowards of the piece? Would we follow orders or stick to our principles, if those two things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-cleave/would-we-be-the-heroes-or-the-cowards-of-the-piece-would-we-follow/) [Chris Cleave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-cleave/) > [Heroes and cowards feel the same fear and action creates opportunities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-wynn/heroes-and-cowards-feel-the-same-fear-and-action-creates-opportunities/) [Garrison Wynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrison-wynn/) > [Heroes and cowards feel exactly the same fear. Heroes just react to it differently.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cus-d-amato/heroes-and-cowards-feel-exactly-the-same-fear-heroes-just-react-to-it/) [Cus D'Amato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cus-d-amato/) > [“We play the part of heroes because we're cowards, the part of saints because we're wicked: we play the killer's role because we're dying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/we-play-the-part-of-heroes-because-we-re-cowards-the-part-of-saints/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) ## More by Ellis Peters > [The mountains of today are the molehills of tomorrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellis-peters/the-mountains-of-today-are-the-molehills-of-tomorrow/) [Ellis Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellis-peters/) > [“Once, I remember, Father Abbot said that our purpose is justice, and with God lies the privilege of mercy. But even God, when he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellis-peters/once-i-remember-father-abbot-said-that-our-purpose-is-justice-and/) [Ellis Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellis-peters/) > [“... What is done matters, but what is yet to do matters far more.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellis-peters/what-is-done-matters-but-what-is-yet-to-do-matters-far-more/) [Ellis Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellis-peters/) > [Nothing is more pleasing and engaging than the sense of having conferred benefits. Not even the gratification of receiving them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellis-peters/nothing-is-more-pleasing-and-engaging-than-the-sense-of-having/) [Ellis Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellis-peters/) > [“... there are as holy persons outside orders as ever there are in, and not to trifle with truth, as good men out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellis-peters/there-are-as-holy-persons-outside-orders-as-ever-there-are-in-and-not/) [Ellis Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellis-peters/) > [“Innocence is an infinitely fragile thing and thought can sometimes injure, even destroy it. - Pg. 254”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellis-peters/innocence-is-an-infinitely-fragile-thing-and-thought-can-sometimes/) [Ellis Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellis-peters/) > [“When I want to hear my echo,” said Brother Cadfael, “I will at least speak first.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellis-peters/when-i-want-to-hear-my-echo-said-brother-cadfael-i-will-at-least/) [Ellis Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellis-peters/) > [You cannot demand truth, and then select half and throw the inconvenient remainder away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellis-peters/you-cannot-demand-truth-and-then-select-half-and-throw-the/) [Ellis Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellis-peters/) > [What are wits for unless a man uses them?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellis-peters/what-are-wits-for-unless-a-man-uses-them/) [Ellis Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellis-peters/) > [Despair is deadly sin, but worse, it is mortal folly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellis-peters/despair-is-deadly-sin-but-worse-it-is-mortal-folly/) [Ellis Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellis-peters/) > [I do believe I begin to grasp the nature of miracles! For would it be a miracle, if there was any reason for it?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellis-peters/i-do-believe-i-begin-to-grasp-the-nature-of-miracles-for-would-it-be/) [Ellis Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellis-peters/) > [Truth is a hard master, and costly to serve, but it simplifies all problems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellis-peters/truth-is-a-hard-master-and-costly-to-serve-but-it-simplifies-all/) [Ellis Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellis-peters/) > [“Nothing learned is ever quite wasted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellis-peters/nothing-learned-is-ever-quite-wasted/) [Ellis Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellis-peters/) > [“Questions are as supple as willow wands, it's easy to brush by them and slip them aside, and no one the worse for it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellis-peters/questions-are-as-supple-as-willow-wands-it-s-easy-to-brush-by-them/) [Ellis Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellis-peters/) > [Here I begin to know that blessedness is what can be snatched out the passing day and put away to think of afterwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellis-peters/here-i-begin-to-know-that-blessedness-is-what-can-be-snatched-out-the/) [Ellis Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellis-peters/) [Explore all 81 Ellis Peters quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellis-peters/) ## More Birth quotes > [“Conception is the beginning of human life. From the time that an ovum is fertilized a new life begins that is neither that of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/declaration-on-procured-abortion-congregation-for-the-doctrine-of-the-faith-1974/conception-is-the-beginning-of-human-life-from-the-time-that-an-ovum/) Declaration on Procured Abortion Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith 1974 > [In the entire history of the universe, let alone in your own history, there has never been another day just like today, and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/in-the-entire-history-of-the-universe-let-alone-in-your-own-history/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [The greatest mystery in life is not life itself, but death. Death is the culmination of life, the ultimate blossoming of life. In death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/the-greatest-mystery-in-life-is-not-life-itself-but-death-death-is/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [Guns have little or nothing to do with juvenile violence. The causes of youth violence are working parents who put their kids into daycare,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-delay/guns-have-little-or-nothing-to-do-with-juvenile-violence-the-causes/) [Tom DeLay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-delay/) > [“Every child is born as angel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/every-child-is-born-as-angel/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [Nirvana is a word that means enlightenment, being beyond the illusion of birth and death, the illusion of pain, the illusion of love, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/nirvana-is-a-word-that-means-enlightenment-being-beyond-the-illusion/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [It was no accident, no coincidence, that the seasons came round and round year after year. It was the Lord speaking to us all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-rivers/it-was-no-accident-no-coincidence-that-the-seasons-came-round-and/) [Francine Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-rivers/) > [We do not want to be reminded that it is we, the indigenous people, who are poor and exploited in the land of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-biko/we-do-not-want-to-be-reminded-that-it-is-we-the-indigenous-people-who/) [Steven Biko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-biko/) > [There are two kinds of beauty; there is a beauty which God gives at birth, and which withers as a flower. And there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-kuyper/there-are-two-kinds-of-beauty-there-is-a-beauty-which-god-gives-at/) [Abraham Kuyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-kuyper/) > [Always keep the smile, because the smile is the beginning of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-imad/always-keep-the-smile-because-the-smile-is-the-beginning-of-love/) Adam Imad > [The wailing of the newborn infant is mingled with the dirge for the dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucretius/the-wailing-of-the-newborn-infant-is-mingled-with-the-dirge-for-the/) [Lucretius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucretius/) > [I gave birth to most of them MC's... So when it comes around to the month of May, Send me your royalty check for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxanne-shante/i-gave-birth-to-most-of-them-mc-s-so-when-it-comes-around-to-the/) Roxanne Shante > [“A Beautiful verse takes birth when "U"n"I" VERSE.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajesh-walecha/a-beautiful-verse-takes-birth-when-u-n-i-verse/) [Rajesh Walecha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajesh-walecha/) > [“There is no born evil, only a corruptible canvas darkened by a formidable perpetrator.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yefon-isabelle/there-is-no-born-evil-only-a-corruptible-canvas-darkened-by-a/) [Yefon Isabelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yefon-isabelle/) > [I've always thought that the most extraordinary special effect you could do is to buy a child at the moment of its birth, sit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/i-ve-always-thought-that-the-most-extraordinary-special-effect-you/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) [Browse all 6,183 Birth quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birth/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Death, after all, is the common expectation from birth. Neither heroes nor cowards can escape it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ellis Peters" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellis-peters/death-after-all-is-the-common-expectation-from-birth-neither-heroes/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Birth" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellis-peters/death-after-all-is-the-common-expectation-from-birth-neither-heroes/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03c/ellis-peters-8392_birth_death-after-all-is-the-common-expectatio_2635029.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03c/ellis-peters-8392_birth_death-after-all-is-the-common-expectatio_2635029.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03c/ellis-peters-8392_birth_death-after-all-is-the-common-expectatio_2635029.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Death, after all, is the common expectation from birth. Neither heroes nor cowards can escape it.” — Ellis Peters", "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": "Ellis Peters", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellis-peters/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Death, after all, is the common...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellis-peters/death-after-all-is-the-common-expectation-from-birth-neither-heroes/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellis-peters/death-after-all-is-the-common-expectation-from-birth-neither-heroes/#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 } } ] } ```