--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Life will be wonderful when men no longer…" description: "\"Life will be wonderful when men no longer fear dying. When the last superstitions are thrown out and we meet death with the same equanimity as life. No..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f9/gore-vidal-466_bliss_life-will-be-wonderful-when-men-no-longe_923447.jpg" --- # Life will be wonderful when men no longer fear dying. When… ![“Life will be wonderful when men no longer fear dying. When the last superstitions are thrown out and we meet death with the same equanimity as life. No longer will children's minds be twisted by evil gods whose fantastic origin is in those barbaric tribes who feared death and lightning, who feared…” quote by Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f9/gore-vidal-466_bliss_life-will-be-wonderful-when-men-no-longe_923447.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f9/gore-vidal-466_bliss_life-will-be-wonderful-when-men-no-longe_923447.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f9/gore-vidal-466_bliss_life-will-be-wonderful-when-men-no-longe_923447.jpg) > “Life will be wonderful when men no longer fear dying. When the last superstitions are thrown out and we meet death with the same equanimity as life. No longer will children's minds be twisted by evil gods whose fantastic origin is in those barbaric tribes who feared death and lightning, who feared life. That's it: life is the villain to to those who preach reward in death, through grace and eternal bliss, or through dark revenge.” [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) ## 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 argues that fear of death fuels superstition and violence, and that overcoming that fear leads to a more rational, compassionate humanity. **In simple terms:** Overcoming death fear reduces superstition and cruelty. Key Takeaway Embrace mortality to foster peace. Themes death fear superstition compassion rationality Mood reflective serious Type philosophical critical inspirational When to use this quote - education reform - secular governance - personal meditation - conflict resolution Key Concepts existentialism psychology ethics Questions to Reflect On - How would society change if death were accepted without fear? - What personal practices can reduce death anxiety? A Different Perspective Human nature often clings to comforting myths despite evidence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bliss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bliss/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Dark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Equanimity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/equanimity/) [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Fantastic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fantastic/) [Grace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grace/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Lightning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lightning/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Revenge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revenge/) [Rewards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rewards/) [Superstitions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/superstitions/) [Tribes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tribes/) [Villain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/villain/) [Wonderful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wonderful/) ## Related quotes > [I'd killed him in the end, but revenge only makes things all better in the movies. 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Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-j-hill/) > [Sometimes it seemed that the human heart, this side of Eden, feared life more than death, light more than darkness, freedom more than surrender.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/sometimes-it-seemed-that-the-human-heart-this-side-of-eden-feared/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [“Finding other methods to deal with what I feared in life, and how I perceivedmy own story, was now my new mission. First, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fearne-cotton/finding-other-methods-to-deal-with-what-i-feared-in-life-and-how-i/) [Fearne Cotton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fearne-cotton/) > [I did not myself know what I wanted: I feared life, desired to escape from it, yet still hoped something of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/i-did-not-myself-know-what-i-wanted-i-feared-life-desired-to-escape/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“Kyle took in a breath. “While you were doing freaky stuff with Adam—as fine as he is—did you figure out where he is?” I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/kyle-took-in-a-breath-while-you-were-doing-freaky-stuff-with-adam-as/) [Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/) > [With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weinberg/with-or-without-religion-you-would-have-good-people-doing-good-things/) [Steven Weinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weinberg/) > [“Gnostics and Manichaeans argued that the good god created the spirit and the soul, whereas matter and bodies are the creation of the evil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/gnostics-and-manichaeans-argued-that-the-good-god-created-the-spirit/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) ## More by Gore Vidal > [There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party...and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat. Republicans are a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/there-is-only-one-party-in-the-united-states-the-property-party-and/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Many people in the United States happen to believe that United States policy is wrong in Vietnam and the Vietcong are correct in wanting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/many-people-in-the-united-states-happen-to-believe-that-united-states/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [“It is curious how little interested we are in the sexual desires of those who do not attract us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/it-is-curious-how-little-interested-we-are-in-the-sexual-desires-of/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [This separation was absolute in our original Republic. But the sky-godders do not give up easily. In the 1950s they actually got the phrase…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/this-separation-was-absolute-in-our-original-republic-but-the-sky/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say, and not giving a damn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/style-is-knowing-who-you-are-what-you-want-to-say-and-not-giving-a/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [The oligarchs think that the people are both dangerous and stupid. Their point is moot. But we do know that the oligarchs are a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-oligarchs-think-that-the-people-are-both-dangerous-and-stupid/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [It is curious how often one prefers his enemies to his friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/it-is-curious-how-often-one-prefers-his-enemies-to-his-friends/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [As societies grow decadent, the language grows decadent, too. Words are used to disguise, not to illuminate, action: you liberate a city by destroying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/as-societies-grow-decadent-the-language-grows-decadent-too-words-are/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Rome ... at its most decadent, had never thought of hiring an actor to go through the motions of being an emperor while the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/rome-at-its-most-decadent-had-never-thought-of-hiring-an-actor-to-go/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [History is nothing but gossip about the past, with the hope that it might be true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/history-is-nothing-but-gossip-about-the-past-with-the-hope-that-it/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [The malady of civilized man is his knowledge of death. The good artist, like the wise man, addresses himself to life and invests with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-malady-of-civilized-man-is-his-knowledge-of-death-the-good-artist/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Sex is a continuum. You go through different phases along life's way... and if you don't, you've been sort of cheated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/sex-is-a-continuum-you-go-through-different-phases-along-life-s-way/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [All I want is that Americans still be able to read the alphabet in a hundred years. I am not very ambitious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/all-i-want-is-that-americans-still-be-able-to-read-the-alphabet-in-a/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [I do not admire 'the people,' as such. No one really does. Their folk wisdom is usually false, their instincts predatory. Even their sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/i-do-not-admire-the-people-as-such-no-one-really-does-their-folk/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [“One of the problems of a society as tightly controlled as ours is that we get so little information about what those of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/one-of-the-problems-of-a-society-as-tightly-controlled-as-ours-is/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) [Explore all 539 Gore Vidal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) ## More Bliss quotes > [Ignorance is not bliss — it is oblivion. 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And he wanted it to last as long as possible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ringle/being-around-her-now-was-nine-parts-bliss-and-one-part-torment-and-he/) [Molly Ringle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ringle/) > [“He was still a mystery to me. And God, did I want to play Nancy Drew.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cora-carmack/he-was-still-a-mystery-to-me-and-god-did-i-want-to-play-nancy-drew/) [Cora Carmack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cora-carmack/) > [Eating, drinking, sleeping a little laughter ! much weeping! Is that all ? Do not die here like a worm. Wake up! Attain immortal bliss!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sivananda/eating-drinking-sleeping-a-little-laughter-much-weeping-is-that-all/) [Sivananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sivananda/) > [How do you find the divine power in yourself? The word enthusiasm means 'filled with a god,' so what makes you enthusiastic? 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