--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A death is the most terrible of facts." description: "\"A death is the most terrible of facts.\" — Iris Murdoch" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/703/iris-murdoch-993_death_a-death-is-the-most-terrible-of-facts-21_2123070.png" --- # A death is the most terrible of facts. ![“A death is the most terrible of facts.” quote by Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/703/iris-murdoch-993_death_a-death-is-the-most-terrible-of-facts-21_2123070.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/703/iris-murdoch-993_death_a-death-is-the-most-terrible-of-facts-21_2123070.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/703/iris-murdoch-993_death_a-death-is-the-most-terrible-of-facts-21_2123070.png) > “A death is the most terrible of facts.” [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) ## 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 the ultimate, unavoidable reality, confronting us with its stark finality. **In simple terms:** Death is the worst fact we face. Key Takeaway Accept mortality to value life. Themes mortality existence truth philosophy human condition Mood somber thoughtful Type philosophical existential When to use this quote - Grief counseling - end‑of‑life care - personal reflection - artistic creation Key Concepts Existential realism ethical reflection human finitude Questions to Reflect On - What does confronting death teach you about living? - How do you cope with the inevitability of death? A Different Perspective Denial can obscure the truth of death. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Death Terrible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death-terrible-1168990/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Terrible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrible/) [Terrible Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrible-facts-4340866/) ## Related quotes > [“Death is still the terrible yet amusing entity that establishes a compromise between memory and a sense of humor, and between the sense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-monsivais/death-is-still-the-terrible-yet-amusing-entity-that-establishes-a/) [Carlos Monsivais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-monsivais/) > [Everything ends in death, everything. Death is terrible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/everything-ends-in-death-everything-death-is-terrible/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“There is romantic nonsense these days about the beauty of death, about the terrible end becoming the lovely beginning, and I think that’s wrong,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-bass/there-is-romantic-nonsense-these-days-about-the-beauty-of-death-about/) [Rick Bass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-bass/) > [Oncoming death is terrible enough, but worse still is oncoming death with time to spare, time in which all the happiness that was yours…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/oncoming-death-is-terrible-enough-but-worse-still-is-oncoming-death/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“If some persons died and others did not die death would indeed be a terrible affliction.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/if-some-persons-died-and-others-did-not-die-death-would-indeed-be-a/) [Jean de La Bruyère](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [There are some similarities, of course (between Iraq and Vietnam). Death is terrible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/there-are-some-similarities-of-course-between-iraq-and-vietnam-death/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [Death is terrible, tho' borne on angels' wings!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/death-is-terrible-tho-borne-on-angels-wings/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [My life was sweeter than other people's and my death will be more terrible by the same degree.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/my-life-was-sweeter-than-other-people-s-and-my-death-will-be-more/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [My father's death was the most terrible thing that happened to me in my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-garland/my-father-s-death-was-the-most-terrible-thing-that-happened-to-me-in/) [Judy Garland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-garland/) > [If some persons died, and others did not die, death would be a terrible affliction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/if-some-persons-died-and-others-did-not-die-death-would-be-a-terrible/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [What is it that renders death terrible? Sin. We must therefore fear sin, not death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alphonsus-liguori/what-is-it-that-renders-death-terrible-sin-we-must-therefore-fear-sin/) [Alphonsus Liguori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alphonsus-liguori/) > [Most people come to fear not death itself, but the many terrible ways of dying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/polly-toynbee/most-people-come-to-fear-not-death-itself-but-the-many-terrible-ways/) [Polly Toynbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/polly-toynbee/) > [What's wrong with death sir? What are we so mortally afraid of? Why can't we treat death with a certain amount of humanity and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/what-s-wrong-with-death-sir-what-are-we-so-mortally-afraid-of-why-can/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [What was so terrible about grief was not grief itself, but that one got over it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-d-james/what-was-so-terrible-about-grief-was-not-grief-itself-but-that-one/) [P. D. James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-d-james/) > [It is a sad fact that 50 percent of marriages in this country end in divorce. But hey, the other half end in death.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-jeni/it-is-a-sad-fact-that-50-percent-of-marriages-in-this-country-end-in/) [Richard Jeni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-jeni/) ## More by Iris Murdoch > [Falling out of love is chiefly a matter of forgetting how charming someone is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/falling-out-of-love-is-chiefly-a-matter-of-forgetting-how-charming/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [One doesn't have to get anywhere in a marriage. It's not a public conveyance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/one-doesn-t-have-to-get-anywhere-in-a-marriage-it-s-not-a-public/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [“I think being a woman is like being Irish... Everyone says you're important and nice, but you take second place all the time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/i-think-being-a-woman-is-like-being-irish-everyone-says-you-re/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [Art is the final cunning of the human soul which would rather do anything than face the gods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/art-is-the-final-cunning-of-the-human-soul-which-would-rather-do/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [The sending of a letter constitutes a magical grasp upon the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/the-sending-of-a-letter-constitutes-a-magical-grasp-upon-the-future/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [emotions really exist at the bottom of the personality or at the top. in the middle they are acted. this is why all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/emotions-really-exist-at-the-bottom-of-the-personality-or-at-the-top/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [I have used the word "attention," which I borrow from Simone Weil, to express the idea of a just and loving gaze directed upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/i-have-used-the-word-attention-which-i-borrow-from-simone-weil-to/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [Starting a novel is opening a door on a misty landscape; you can still see very little but you can smell the earth and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/starting-a-novel-is-opening-a-door-on-a-misty-landscape-you-can-still/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [Art and morality are, with certain provisos…one. Their essence is the same. The essence of both of them is love. Love is the perception…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/art-and-morality-are-with-certain-provisos-one-their-essence-is-the/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [being homosexual doesn't determine a man's whole character any more than being heterosexual does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/being-homosexual-doesn-t-determine-a-man-s-whole-character-any-more/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [All artists dream of a silence which they must enter, as some creatures return to the sea to spawn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/all-artists-dream-of-a-silence-which-they-must-enter-as-some/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [“Oh if only I could take my mother away and never know of these things again. But it was impossible, the machine would go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/oh-if-only-i-could-take-my-mother-away-and-never-know-of-these-things/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [We defend ourselves by descriptions and tame the world by generalizing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/we-defend-ourselves-by-descriptions-and-tame-the-world-by-generalizing/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [“I'm sorry I was awful. I'm so full of terrors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/i-m-sorry-i-was-awful-i-m-so-full-of-terrors/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [I live, I live, with an absolutely continuous sense of failure. I am always defeated, always. Every book is the wreck of a perfect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/i-live-i-live-with-an-absolutely-continuous-sense-of-failure-i-am/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) [Explore all 306 Iris Murdoch quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) ## More Death quotes > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [I do not want to live at the cost of the life even of a snake. I should let him bite me to death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-to-live-at-the-cost-of-the-life-even-of-a-snake-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“It was beautiful. He thought he had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life; that, having seen it, he could die content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/it-was-beautiful-he-thought-he-had-never-seen-anything-so-beautiful/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [Retirement? You're talking about death, right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-altman/retirement-you-re-talking-about-death-right/) [Robert Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-altman/) > [With multiplayer, permanent death, and an ever-changing world to explore and conquer, 'A Valley Without Wind' might be the place you're looking for if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-manuel/with-multiplayer-permanent-death-and-an-ever-changing-world-to/) [Rob Manuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-manuel/) > [“What did you see?” she asked gently. His brow furrowed, as if he could not understand the question. Then his eyes turned to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-anthony-torino/what-did-you-see-she-asked-gently-his-brow-furrowed-as-if-he-could/) [J. Anthony Torino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-anthony-torino/) > [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“I practice Dying--every night-- But have not learned to, still-- Though Talented--by Mortal bones-- For such a common Skill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-powers/i-practice-dying-every-night-but-have-not-learned-to-still-though/) [Alan W. Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-w-powers/) > [“You must understand the pain and grief of losing someone is nothing more than a function of survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/you-must-understand-the-pain-and-grief-of-losing-someone-is-nothing/) [Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/) > [I am not a depressive person at all, but I reflect a lot on my life, and life in general, from the perspective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/i-am-not-a-depressive-person-at-all-but-i-reflect-a-lot-on-my-life/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [“Death is a reality that calls the rest of life and all of our assorted strivings into sharp relief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/death-is-a-reality-that-calls-the-rest-of-life-and-all-of-our/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [I love life. I love life to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuelle-riva/i-love-life-i-love-life-to-death/) [Emmanuelle Riva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuelle-riva/) > [I think when you’re dying you start looking for important things in the corners. You can’t let anything that seems even semi-important pass, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-crutcher/i-think-when-you-re-dying-you-start-looking-for-important-things-in/) [Chris Crutcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-crutcher/) [Browse all 39,127 Death quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A death is the most terrible of facts.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Iris Murdoch" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/a-death-is-the-most-terrible-of-facts/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Death" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/a-death-is-the-most-terrible-of-facts/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/703/iris-murdoch-993_death_a-death-is-the-most-terrible-of-facts-21_2123070.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/703/iris-murdoch-993_death_a-death-is-the-most-terrible-of-facts-21_2123070.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/703/iris-murdoch-993_death_a-death-is-the-most-terrible-of-facts-21_2123070.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A death is the most terrible of facts.” — Iris Murdoch", "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": "Iris Murdoch", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A death is the most terrible...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/a-death-is-the-most-terrible-of-facts/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/a-death-is-the-most-terrible-of-facts/#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 } } ] } ```