--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What is life? It departs covertly. Like a…" description: "\"What is life? It departs covertly. Like a thief Death took him.\" — John Gunther" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b36/john-gunther-24750_death_what-is-life-it-departs-covertly-like-a_448537.jpg" --- # What is life? It departs covertly. Like a thief Death took… ![“What is life? It departs covertly. Like a thief Death took him.” quote by John Gunther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b36/john-gunther-24750_death_what-is-life-it-departs-covertly-like-a_448537.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b36/john-gunther-24750_death_what-is-life-it-departs-covertly-like-a_448537.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b36/john-gunther-24750_death_what-is-life-it-departs-covertly-like-a_448537.jpg) > “What is life? It departs covertly. Like a thief Death took him.” [John Gunther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gunther/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life slips away unnoticed, like a thief stealing time. **In simple terms:** Life passes silently like a thief. Key Takeaway Live fully before time fades. Themes life mortality time Mood urgent reflective Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - aging - near-death experiences Key Concepts impermanence reflection urgency Questions to Reflect On - What moments do you cherish? - How can you make each day count? 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The hand of death is about to take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/until-that-time-i-had-understood-death-as-something-entirely-separate/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [Here lies William Trollope, Who made these stones roll up; When death took his soul up, His body filled this hole up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanislaw-jerzy-lec/here-lies-william-trollope-who-made-these-stones-roll-up-when-death/) [Stanislaw Jerzy Lec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanislaw-jerzy-lec/) > [Looked in the face of death and took its mask off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-wayne/looked-in-the-face-of-death-and-took-its-mask-off/) [Lil Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lil-wayne/) > [A thought Of that late death took all my heart for speech.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/a-thought-of-that-late-death-took-all-my-heart-for-speech/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [Looked in the face of death, and took his mask off](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-wayne/looked-in-the-face-of-death-and-took-his-mask-off/) [Lil Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lil-wayne/) > [“Life and Death took a break, weary from their burdensome role. 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What is life for, if not for the living of it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-voigt/you-must-not-let-yourself-become-too-respectable-keep-yourself-a/) [Cynthia Voigt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-voigt/) > [“Life is intelligent energy combined in symbiosis with the material world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sahara-sanders/life-is-intelligent-energy-combined-in-symbiosis-with-the-material/) [Sahara Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sahara-sanders/) ## More by John Gunther > [Ours is the only country deliberately founded on a good idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gunther/ours-is-the-only-country-deliberately-founded-on-a-good-idea/) [John Gunther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gunther/) > [New York city, the incomparable, the brilliant star city of cities, the forty-ninth state, a law unto itself, the Cyclopean Paradox, the inferno with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gunther/new-york-city-the-incomparable-the-brilliant-star-city-of-cities-the/) [John Gunther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gunther/) > [God is what's good in me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gunther/god-is-what-s-good-in-me/) [John Gunther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gunther/) > [ \[Chicago\] is the greatest and most typically American of all cities. 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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. 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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 > [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. 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