--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One has to pay dearly for immortality…" description: "\"One has to pay dearly for immortality; one has to die several times while one is still alive.\" — Friedrich Nietzsche" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/915/friedrich-nietzsche-15_alive_one-has-to-pay-dearly-for-immortality-on_1754057.jpg" --- # One has to pay dearly for immortality; one has to die… ![“One has to pay dearly for immortality; one has to die several times while one is still alive.” quote by Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/915/friedrich-nietzsche-15_alive_one-has-to-pay-dearly-for-immortality-on_1754057.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/915/friedrich-nietzsche-15_alive_one-has-to-pay-dearly-for-immortality-on_1754057.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/915/friedrich-nietzsche-15_alive_one-has-to-pay-dearly-for-immortality-on_1754057.jpg) > “One has to pay dearly for immortality; one has to die several times while one is still alive.” [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Immortality demands repeated metaphorical deaths, implying profound transformation and sacrifice. **In simple terms:** Immortality costs repeated deaths. Key Takeaway Embrace transformative sacrifice. Themes immortality transformation philosophy Mood thought‑provoking serious Type philosophical existential When to use this quote - personal growth - creative work - spiritual practice - life challenges Key Concepts existentialism self‑overcoming suffering Questions to Reflect On - What are you willing to die for? - Is true immortality desirable? A Different Perspective Pursuing immortality may lead to endless suffering. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [Dearly Immortality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dearly-immortality-681560/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Die Times](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/die-times-571347/) [Immortality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immortality/) [Immortality Die](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immortality-die-681561/) [Pay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pay/) [Pay Dearly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pay-dearly-392670/) ## Related quotes > [“One must pay dearly for immortality; one has to die several times while still alive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/one-must-pay-dearly-for-immortality-one-has-to-die-several-times/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [We pay dearly for immortality: we die for it more than once during our lifetimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/we-pay-dearly-for-immortality-we-die-for-it-more-than-once-during-our/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Tis immortality to die aspiring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-chapman/tis-immortality-to-die-aspiring/) [George Chapman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-chapman/) > [One pays dearly for being immortal: one must die many times during his life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/one-pays-dearly-for-being-immortal-one-must-die-many-times-during-his/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [If a God, he could not suffer death, for immortality cannot die, and as a man his death could be no more than the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/if-a-god-he-could-not-suffer-death-for-immortality-cannot-die-and-as/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Tis immortality to die aspiring, As if a man were taken quick to heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-chapman/tis-immortality-to-die-aspiring-as-if-a-man-were-taken-quick-to-heaven/) [George Chapman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-chapman/) > [As long as you keep getting born, it's alright to die some times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/as-long-as-you-keep-getting-born-it-s-alright-to-die-some-times/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [A good artist is willing to die many times over. What's funny is, I've died so many times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-corgan/a-good-artist-is-willing-to-die-many-times-over-what-s-funny-is-i-ve/) [Billy Corgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-corgan/) > [“You have to die a few times before you actually live.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/you-have-to-die-a-few-times-before-you-actually-live/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [A coward can die many times, but love can only die once.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-hyun-joong/a-coward-can-die-many-times-but-love-can-only-die-once/) [Kim Hyun-joong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-hyun-joong/) > [You have to die a few times before you can really live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/you-have-to-die-a-few-times-before-you-can-really-live/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [Cowards die many times before their actual deaths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-caesar/cowards-die-many-times-before-their-actual-deaths/) [Julius Caesar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-caesar/) > [Most men die many times in their lives. The man we become invariably slaughters the child we once were. His knowledge of the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/most-men-die-many-times-in-their-lives-the-man-we-become-invariably/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [I shall never alter my ways, not even if I have to die many times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/i-shall-never-alter-my-ways-not-even-if-i-have-to-die-many-times/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [“There are always consequences for our actions, and sometimes we pay dearly if we fail to make good choices with our lives.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-h-fowler/there-are-always-consequences-for-our-actions-and-sometimes-we-pay/) [H.H. Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-h-fowler/) ## More by Friedrich Nietzsche > [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“Every select man strives instinctively for a citadel and a privacy, where he is FREE from the crowd, the many, the majority-- where he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/every-select-man-strives-instinctively-for-a-citadel-and-a-privacy/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“It breaks my heart. Better than your words, your eye tells me all your peril. You are not yet free, you still search for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/it-breaks-my-heart-better-than-your-words-your-eye-tells-me-all-your/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“79. A soul which knows that it is loved, but does not itself love, betrays its sediment: its dregs come up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/79-a-soul-which-knows-that-it-is-loved-but-does-not-itself-love/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [We deceive ourselves when giving respect to the person for whom we have surrendered ourselves, when we respectively expect them to be as we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/we-deceive-ourselves-when-giving-respect-to-the-person-for-whom-we/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“The great periods of our life occur when we gain the courage to rechristen what is bad about us as what is best.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-great-periods-of-our-life-occur-when-we-gain-the-courage-to/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“What is life? Life - that is: continually shedding something that wants to die. Life - that is: being cruel and inexorable against everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/what-is-life-life-that-is-continually-shedding-something-that-wants/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [It is thus only this personal feeling of misery that we get rid of by acts of pity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/it-is-thus-only-this-personal-feeling-of-misery-that-we-get-rid-of-by/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“Writers whose thoughts are expressed with clarity and precision are assumed by readers to be superficial. Where the meaning is obscured, then readers give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/writers-whose-thoughts-are-expressed-with-clarity-and-precision-are/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“he does not wear a twitching, mobile, human face, but rather a mask, as it were, with its features in dignified equilibrium; he does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/he-does-not-wear-a-twitching-mobile-human-face-but-rather-a-mask-as/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Chastity is a virtue with some, but with many it is almost a vice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/chastity-is-a-virtue-with-some-but-with-many-it-is-almost-a-vice/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [The earth is like the breasts of a woman: useful as well as pleasing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-earth-is-like-the-breasts-of-a-woman-useful-as-well-as-pleasing/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“Of all that is written I love only what a man has written in his own blood.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/of-all-that-is-written-i-love-only-what-a-man-has-written-in-his-own/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [No shepherd and one herd! Everybody wants the same, everybody is the same: whoever feels different goes voluntarily into a madhouse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/no-shepherd-and-one-herd-everybody-wants-the-same-everybody-is-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Pain makes hens and poets cackle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/pain-makes-hens-and-poets-cackle/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) [Explore all 3,486 Friedrich Nietzsche quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) ## More Alive quotes > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) [Adam Ant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-ant/) > [I don't crave applause. I'm not one of those guys who comes alive on stage. I'm much more alive at home, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-don-t-crave-applause-i-m-not-one-of-those-guys-who-comes-alive-on/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [We must master our egoism, and through this mastery, step outside ourselves and educate ourselves in giving. Fasting requires that we rediscover all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/we-must-master-our-egoism-and-through-this-mastery-step-outside/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [I can't say that there are 'things' that make me come alive. There are thoughts that make me come alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-can-t-say-that-there-are-things-that-make-me-come-alive-there-are/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [We're like the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-re-like-the-wicked-witch-we-promise-gingerbread-then-eat-the/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [If Jovan Belcher didn't possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/if-jovan-belcher-didn-t-possess-a-gun-he-and-kasandra-perkins-would/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) > [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [I think adoption becomes complicated whenever the biological parents are alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haven/i-think-adoption-becomes-complicated-whenever-the-biological-parents/) [James Haven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haven/) > [The pain of love is the pain of being alive. It is a perpetual wound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/the-pain-of-love-is-the-pain-of-being-alive-it-is-a-perpetual-wound/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [If Melanchthon were alive today, he might not weep because of controversies that surround the Lord's Supper, but he might well sorrow because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-w-lutzer/if-melanchthon-were-alive-today-he-might-not-weep-because-of/) [Erwin W. Lutzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-w-lutzer/) > [If you’re alive, don’t move, if you’re dead, don’t worry about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/if-you-re-alive-don-t-move-if-you-re-dead-don-t-worry-about-it/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [Here Greek and Roman find themselves alive along these crowded shelves; and Shakespeare treads again his stage, and Chaucer paints anew his age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/here-greek-and-roman-find-themselves-alive-along-these-crowded/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [You're alive!" Fezzik cried. The man in black sat immobile, like a ventriloquist's dummy, just his mouth moving. "That is perhaps the most childishly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/you-re-alive-fezzik-cried-the-man-in-black-sat-immobile-like-a/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) [Browse all 7,282 Alive quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "One has to pay dearly for immortality; one has to die several times while one is still alive.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Friedrich Nietzsche" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/one-has-to-pay-dearly-for-immortality-one-has-to-die-several-times/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Alive" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/one-has-to-pay-dearly-for-immortality-one-has-to-die-several-times/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/915/friedrich-nietzsche-15_alive_one-has-to-pay-dearly-for-immortality-on_1754057.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/915/friedrich-nietzsche-15_alive_one-has-to-pay-dearly-for-immortality-on_1754057.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/915/friedrich-nietzsche-15_alive_one-has-to-pay-dearly-for-immortality-on_1754057.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“One has to pay dearly for immortality; one has to die several times while one is still alive.” — Friedrich Nietzsche", "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": "Friedrich Nietzsche", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "One has to pay dearly for...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/one-has-to-pay-dearly-for-immortality-one-has-to-die-several-times/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/one-has-to-pay-dearly-for-immortality-one-has-to-die-several-times/#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 } } ] } ```