--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Not to have been born is undoubtedly…" description: "\"Not to have been born is undoubtedly best, but sound sleep is second best.\" — Iris Murdoch" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c35/iris-murdoch-993_born_not-to-have-been-born-is-undoubtedly-bes_1067813.png" --- # Not to have been born is undoubtedly best, but sound sleep… ![“Not to have been born is undoubtedly best, but sound sleep is second best.” quote by Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c35/iris-murdoch-993_born_not-to-have-been-born-is-undoubtedly-bes_1067813.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c35/iris-murdoch-993_born_not-to-have-been-born-is-undoubtedly-bes_1067813.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c35/iris-murdoch-993_born_not-to-have-been-born-is-undoubtedly-bes_1067813.png) > “Not to have been born is undoubtedly best, but sound sleep is second best.” [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. Being born is preferable to not existing; if alive, death is the next best relief. **In simple terms:** Life is better than non‑existence; death is a release. Key Takeaway Value life while acknowledging its impermanence. Themes existence death philosophy suffering Mood thoughtful somber Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - end‑of‑life care - mental health counseling - ethical debates - literary analysis Key Concepts Existentialism ethical reflection human condition Questions to Reflect On - What makes life worth living for you? - How do you reconcile suffering with meaning? A Different Perspective The view may overlook the value of living despite suffering. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Best Sound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/best-sound-1095306/) [Born](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/born/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Second best](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/second-best/) [Sleep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sleep/) [Sleep Second](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sleep-second-2643027/) [Sound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sound/) [Sound sleep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sound-sleep/) ## Related quotes > [The most fun I ever had in my life was hittin' a baseball. And the best sound I ever heard in my life was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-williams/the-most-fun-i-ever-had-in-my-life-was-hittin-a-baseball-and-the-best/) [Ted Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-williams/) > [The best sound is when you can hear smile in someone's voice while talking on phone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-best-sound-is-when-you-can-hear-smile-in-someone-s-voice-while/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Silence is the best sound ever.Nothing is said.Everything is understood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/silence-is-the-best-sound-ever-nothing-is-said-everything-is/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [I realize your laugh is the best Sound I have ever heard..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/i-realize-your-laugh-is-the-best-sound-i-have-ever-heard/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [To wake up to the sound of my son saying 'Mama, mama!' It's the best sound ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-kerr/to-wake-up-to-the-sound-of-my-son-saying-mama-mama-it-s-the-best/) [Miranda Kerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-kerr/) > [Money can help you to get medicines but not health. Money can help you to get soft pillows, but not sound sleep. Money can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sivananda/money-can-help-you-to-get-medicines-but-not-health-money-can-help-you/) [Sivananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sivananda/) > [“‎"The incapacity of sound sleep denotes a mind sorely wounded.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-brockden-brown/the-incapacity-of-sound-sleep-denotes-a-mind-sorely-wounded/) [Charles Brockden Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-brockden-brown/) > [“At day’s end I’m ready for sound sleep, For you, GOD, have put my life back together.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-h-peterson/at-day-s-end-i-m-ready-for-sound-sleep-for-you-god-have-put-my-life/) [Eugene H. Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-h-peterson/) > [“Think back to when you were a student. Someone likely told you to get a good night’s sleep and to eat a healthy breakfast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rath/think-back-to-when-you-were-a-student-someone-likely-told-you-to-get/) [Tom Rath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-rath/) > [O sleep! O gentle sleep! Nature's soft nurse, how have I frighted thee, That thou no more wilt weigh my eyelids down And steep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/o-sleep-o-gentle-sleep-nature-s-soft-nurse-how-have-i-frighted-thee/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“Hang tight,” he said. “I’ll be right there.” Marlboro Man was right there, in less than five minutes. Once I determined the white pickup…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ree-drummond/hang-tight-he-said-i-ll-be-right-there-marlboro-man-was-right-there/) [Ree Drummond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ree-drummond/) > [“Today I awoke from a sound sleep with curses of joy on my lips, with gibberish on my tongue, repeating to myself like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/today-i-awoke-from-a-sound-sleep-with-curses-of-joy-on-my-lips-with/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [I know only one thing. when i sleep, i know no fear, no, trouble no bliss. blessing on him who invented sleep. the common…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-tarkovsky/i-know-only-one-thing-when-i-sleep-i-know-no-fear-no-trouble-no-bliss/) [Andrei Tarkovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-tarkovsky/) > [Thou hast no figures nor no fantasies Which busy care draws in the brains of men; Therefore thou sleep'st so sound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/thou-hast-no-figures-nor-no-fantasies-which-busy-care-draws-in-the-2/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“She was in a sound sleep, Jude, dying of anxiety lest she should have caught a chill which might permanently injure her, was glad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/she-was-in-a-sound-sleep-jude-dying-of-anxiety-lest-she-should-have/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) ## 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 Born quotes > [My mother says I didn't open my eyes for eight days after I was born, but when I did, the first thing I saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-taylor/my-mother-says-i-didn-t-open-my-eyes-for-eight-days-after-i-was-born/) [Elizabeth Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-taylor/) > [I always thought if I was born 2000 years earlier, I would be a monk, probably carving a monastery or some giant pantheon buildings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenova-chen/i-always-thought-if-i-was-born-2000-years-earlier-i-would-be-a-monk/) [Jenova Chen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenova-chen/) > [The real world out there isn't nearly as nice as some people prefer it to be, so don't swallow everything your high-born teachers tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-real-world-out-there-isn-t-nearly-as-nice-as-some-people-prefer/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Anybody looking for a quiet life has picked the wrong century to born in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/anybody-looking-for-a-quiet-life-has-picked-the-wrong-century-to-born/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I was born and raised in Orlando, where the economy and culture has been powerfully shaped by tourism, and so I've long been interested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-van-den-berg/i-was-born-and-raised-in-orlando-where-the-economy-and-culture-has/) [Laura van den Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-van-den-berg/) > [I know that in the rap game you've got a lot of people, that come from poverty, was born in poverty and if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-connor/i-know-that-in-the-rap-game-you-ve-got-a-lot-of-people-that-come-from/) [Jon Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-connor/) > [Nothing old is ever reborn but neither does it totally disappear. And that which has once been born, will always reappear in a new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvar-aalto/nothing-old-is-ever-reborn-but-neither-does-it-totally-disappear-and/) [Alvar Aalto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvar-aalto/) > [I have lifted my plane . . . for perhaps a thousand flights and I have never felt her wheels glide from the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/i-have-lifted-my-plane-for-perhaps-a-thousand-flights-and-i-have/) [Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Must I go bound while you go free Must I love a manwho doesn't love me Must I be born with so little art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/must-i-go-bound-while-you-go-free-must-i-love-a-manwho-doesn-t-love/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [I'm not against gay people. I have a relative who is also gay. We can't help it if they were born that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manny-pacquiao/i-m-not-against-gay-people-i-have-a-relative-who-is-also-gay-we-can-t/) [Manny Pacquiao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manny-pacquiao/) > [“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/) > [For the glory born of Goodness Never dies, And its flag is not half-masted In the skies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-harte/for-the-glory-born-of-goodness-never-dies-and-its-flag-is-not-half/) [Bret Harte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-harte/) > [There are two kinds of beauty; there is a beauty which God gives at birth, and which withers as a flower. 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