---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Death comes equally to us all, and makes…"
description: "\"Death comes equally to us all, and makes us all equal when it comes.\" — John Donne"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/806/john-donne-933_death_death-comes-equally-to-us-all-and-makes_624572.png"
---

#  Death comes equally to us all, and makes us all equal when…

![“Death comes equally to us all, and makes us all equal when it comes.” quote by John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/806/john-donne-933_death_death-comes-equally-to-us-all-and-makes_624572.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/806/john-donne-933_death_death-comes-equally-to-us-all-and-makes_624572.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/806/john-donne-933_death_death-comes-equally-to-us-all-and-makes_624572.png)

> “Death comes equally to us all, and makes us all equal when it comes.”

[John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/)

## 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 great equalizer, removing all distinctions and uniting everyone in the same fate.

**In simple terms:** Death makes everyone the same.

Key Takeaway

Accept mortality as a shared human condition.

Themes

mortality equality humility

Mood

somber contemplative

Type

poetic philosophical

When to use this quote

- life planning
- spiritual practice
- social justice

Key Concepts

egalitarianism philosophy

Questions to Reflect On

- How does this perspective affect your daily choices?
- What can you do to honor this equality?

A Different Perspective

Focusing on death may cause anxiety.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Comes Equally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comes-equally-5046752/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Death Comes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death-comes/) [Equal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/equal/) [Equal Comes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/equal-comes-2151608/) [Equality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/equality/) [Equally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/equally/) [Equally Makes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/equally-makes-5046753/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/)

## Related quotes

> [There is no wisdom equal to that which comes after the event](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-jewsbury/there-is-no-wisdom-equal-to-that-which-comes-after-the-event/)

[Geraldine Jewsbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-jewsbury/)

> [A man who tells nothing, or who tells all, will equally have nothing told him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/a-man-who-tells-nothing-or-who-tells-all-will-equally-have-nothing/)

[Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/)

> [“Death comes after a short or long period of time some times it can be just hours some times years,but when the time is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinesh/death-comes-after-a-short-or-long-period-of-time-some-times-it-can-be/)

[Dinesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinesh/)

> [Every man's death is standing in for every other. And since death comes to all there is no way to abate the fear of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/every-man-s-death-is-standing-in-for-every-other-and-since-death/)

[Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/)

> [Why should we postpone our joy to another world? Let us get all we can of the good between the cradle and the grave,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/why-should-we-postpone-our-joy-to-another-world-let-us-get-all-we-can/)

[Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/)

> [“Where I grew up, death is a constant visitor. A virus, bacteria, a parasite; drought and famine; soldiers, and torturers; could bring it to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayaan-hirsi-ali/where-i-grew-up-death-is-a-constant-visitor-a-virus-bacteria-a/)

[Ayaan Hirsi Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayaan-hirsi-ali/)

> [“Have patience, Margaret, and trouble not thyself. Death comes for us all; even at our birth—death does but stand aside a little. And every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bolt/have-patience-margaret-and-trouble-not-thyself-death-comes-for-us-all/)

[Robert Bolt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bolt/)

> [Death comes to those who wait. And to those who don't. So either way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darynda-jones/death-comes-to-those-who-wait-and-to-those-who-don-t-so-either-way/)

[Darynda Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darynda-jones/)

> [They say death comes like a thief in the night, where is he? I'll hug his neck.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/they-say-death-comes-like-a-thief-in-the-night-where-is-he-i-ll-hug/)

[Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/)

> [“Death comes for us. You may get ten minutes on this earth or you may get eighty years but nobody gets out alive. Accepting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-levy/death-comes-for-us-you-may-get-ten-minutes-on-this-earth-or-you-may/)

[Ariel Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-levy/)

> [Life is not a Race to Chase, but we realize it only when Death comes face-to-face.-RVM](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rvm/life-is-not-a-race-to-chase-but-we-realize-it-only-when-death-comes/)

[RVM](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rvm/)

> [When death comes, it's just like winter. We don't say, "There ought not to be winter." That the winter season, when the leaves fall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/when-death-comes-it-s-just-like-winter-we-don-t-say-there-ought-not/)

[Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/)

> [Death comes to us all; we can only choose how to face it when it comes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jordan/death-comes-to-us-all-we-can-only-choose-how-to-face-it-when-it-comes/)

[Robert Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jordan/)

> [come he slow or come he fast it is but death that comes at last](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/come-he-slow-or-come-he-fast-it-is-but-death-that-comes-at-last/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“When death comes you do not stay for one minute in the place it has visited. Many things arrive after death-sadness, questions, and policemen-…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-cleave/when-death-comes-you-do-not-stay-for-one-minute-in-the-place-it-has/)

[Chris Cleave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-cleave/)

## More by John Donne

> [Our critical day is not the very day of our death; but the whole course of our life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/our-critical-day-is-not-the-very-day-of-our-death-but-the-whole/)

[John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/)

> [But I do nothing upon myself, and yet I am my own executioner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/but-i-do-nothing-upon-myself-and-yet-i-am-my-own-executioner/)

[John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/)

> [All mankind is of one author, and is one volume; when one man dies, one chapter is not torn out of the book, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/all-mankind-is-of-one-author-and-is-one-volume-when-one-man-dies-one/)

[John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/)

> [We study health, and we deliberate upon our meats and drink and air and exercises, and we hew and we polish every stone that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/we-study-health-and-we-deliberate-upon-our-meats-and-drink-and-air/)

[John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/)

> [Commemoration of Pandita Mary Ramabai, Translator of the Scriptures, 1922 A memory of yesterday's pleasures, a fear of tomorrow's dangers, a straw under my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/commemoration-of-pandita-mary-ramabai-translator-of-the-scriptures/)

[John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/)

> [Various content To your eyes, ears, and tongue, and every part. If then your body go, what need you a heart?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/various-content-to-your-eyes-ears-and-tongue-and-every-part-if-then/)

[John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/)

> [“Batter my heart, three-person'd God ; for you As yet but knock ; breathe, shine, and seek to mend ; That I may rise,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/batter-my-heart-three-person-d-god-for-you-as-yet-but-knock-breathe/)

[John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/)

> [Young men mend not their sight by using old men's spectacles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/young-men-mend-not-their-sight-by-using-old-men-s-spectacles/)

[John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/)

> [That which attempts to elevate the ugly to the level of beauty becomes neither; but an obscenity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/that-which-attempts-to-elevate-the-ugly-to-the-level-of-beauty/)

[John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/)

> [For I am every dead thing In whom love wrought new alchemy For his art did express A quintessence even from nothingness, From dull…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/for-i-am-every-dead-thing-in-whom-love-wrought-new-alchemy-for-his/)

[John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/)

> [As states subsist in part by keeping their weaknesses from being known, so is it the quiet of families to have their chancery and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/as-states-subsist-in-part-by-keeping-their-weaknesses-from-being/)

[John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/)

> [All Kings, and all their favorites, All glory of honors, beauties, wits, The sun itself, which makes times, as they pass, Is elder by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/all-kings-and-all-their-favorites-all-glory-of-honors-beauties-wits/)

[John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/)

> [On a huge hill, Cragged, and steep, Truth stands, and hee that will Reach her, about must, and about must goo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/on-a-huge-hill-cragged-and-steep-truth-stands-and-hee-that-will-reach/)

[John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/)

> [How many times go we to comedies, to masques, to places of great and noble resort, nay even to church only to see the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/how-many-times-go-we-to-comedies-to-masques-to-places-of-great-and/)

[John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/)

> [Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men, And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell, And poppy, or charms, can make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/thou-art-slave-to-fate-chance-kings-and-desperate-men-and-dost-with/)

[John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/)

[Explore all 325 John Donne quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/)

## 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": "Death comes equally to us all, and makes us all equal when it comes.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "John Donne"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/death-comes-equally-to-us-all-and-makes-us-all-equal-when-it-comes/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Death"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/death-comes-equally-to-us-all-and-makes-us-all-equal-when-it-comes/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/806/john-donne-933_death_death-comes-equally-to-us-all-and-makes_624572.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/806/john-donne-933_death_death-comes-equally-to-us-all-and-makes_624572.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/806/john-donne-933_death_death-comes-equally-to-us-all-and-makes_624572.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Death comes equally to us all, and makes us all equal when it comes.” — John Donne",
                "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": "John Donne",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Death comes equally to us all,...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/death-comes-equally-to-us-all-and-makes-us-all-equal-when-it-comes/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/death-comes-equally-to-us-all-and-makes-us-all-equal-when-it-comes/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
