---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To that which is born, death is certain…"
description: "\"To that which is born, death is certain; to that which is dead, birth is certain.\" — L.E. Modesitt Jr"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e2/l-e-modesitt-jr-12954_birth_to-that-which-is-born-death-is-certain-t_3157755.png"
---

#  To that which is born, death is certain; to that which is…

![“To that which is born, death is certain; to that which is dead, birth is certain.” quote by L.E. Modesitt Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e2/l-e-modesitt-jr-12954_birth_to-that-which-is-born-death-is-certain-t_3157755.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e2/l-e-modesitt-jr-12954_birth_to-that-which-is-born-death-is-certain-t_3157755.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e2/l-e-modesitt-jr-12954_birth_to-that-which-is-born-death-is-certain-t_3157755.png)

> “To that which is born, death is certain; to that which is dead, birth is certain.”

[L.E. Modesitt Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-e-modesitt-jr/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Life’s cycles are mirrored: birth follows death and death follows birth, emphasizing perpetual renewal.

**In simple terms:** Birth and death are linked, creating endless cycles.

Key Takeaway

Embrace change as part of life’s flow.

Themes

life cycles renewal

Mood

contemplative hopeful

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- personal growth
- storytelling
- spiritual practice

Key Concepts

mortality rebirth philosophical

Questions to Reflect On

- What personal cycles have you observed?
- How can you use this view to handle loss?

A Different Perspective

Overemphasis on cycles may ignore linear progress.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Birth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birth/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Death Is Certain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death-is-certain/)

## Related quotes

> [Death is certain of that which is born. Birth is certain of that which is dead. Therefore, you should not lament over the inevitable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murali-iyengar/death-is-certain-of-that-which-is-born-birth-is-certain-of-that-which/)

[Murali Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murali-iyengar/)

> [Because, death is certain for the one who is born, and birth is certain for the one who dies. Therefore, you should not lament…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhagavad-gita/because-death-is-certain-for-the-one-who-is-born-and-birth-is-certain/)

[Bhagavad Gita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhagavad-gita/)

> [Since death is certain and the time of death is uncertain, what is the most important thing?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/since-death-is-certain-and-the-time-of-death-is-uncertain-what-is-the/)

[Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/)

> [Death is certain. Life is uncertain. Be AWARE. Be good. Be Kind Hearted. Be Grateful. Be Compassionate. Be Loving. Be Gentle. Be Helpful. Be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/death-is-certain-life-is-uncertain-be-aware-be-good-be-kind-hearted/)

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

> [If you fight with all your might, there is a chance of life; where as death is certain if you cling to your corner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/if-you-fight-with-all-your-might-there-is-a-chance-of-life-where-as/)

[Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/)

> [Life is uncertain; death is certain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/life-is-uncertain-death-is-certain/)

[Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/)

> [We never stop reading, although every book comes to an end, just as we never stop living, although death is certain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/we-never-stop-reading-although-every-book-comes-to-an-end-just-as-we/)

[Roberto Bolano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/)

> [Life flows on over death as water closes over a stone dropped into a pool. ... Fate is certain; death is certain; but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winifred-holtby/life-flows-on-over-death-as-water-closes-over-a-stone-dropped-into-a/)

[Winifred Holtby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winifred-holtby/)

> [Everything is possible but death is certain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hqlinesme/everything-is-possible-but-death-is-certain/)

HQLinesme

> [“Change is automatic, but progress is not. Death is certain, but LIVING a good life is a CHOICE”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sesan-kareem/change-is-automatic-but-progress-is-not-death-is-certain-but-living-a/)

[Sesan Kareem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sesan-kareem/)

> [Before you turn 40 you think, 'everyone else is going to die, but not me,' then you realize death is certain for everyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ol-parker/before-you-turn-40-you-think-everyone-else-is-going-to-die-but-not-me/)

[Ol Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ol-parker/)

> [“Living is uncertain and death is certain.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-price-billy/living-is-uncertain-and-death-is-certain/)

[Ray Price Billy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-price-billy/)

> [“There is one truth that we all are born with, The Death. In between the birth and the death, we are given an opportunity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ankitmishra/there-is-one-truth-that-we-all-are-born-with-the-death-in-between-the/)

AnkitMishra

> [All ends are temporary and all life is born from death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-pike/all-ends-are-temporary-and-all-life-is-born-from-death/)

[Christopher Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-pike/)

> [“The moment you are born your death is foretold by your newly minted cells as your mother holds you up, then hands you to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-conroy/the-moment-you-are-born-your-death-is-foretold-by-your-newly-minted/)

[Pat Conroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-conroy/)

## More by L.E. Modesitt Jr

> [Love of another is merely empty flattery and self-deception for one who cannot accept himself without pretense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-e-modesitt-jr/love-of-another-is-merely-empty-flattery-and-self-deception-for-one/)

[L.E. Modesitt Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-e-modesitt-jr/)

> [“Don’t ever settle for just survival, son. Survival isn’t life…”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-e-modesitt-jr/don-t-ever-settle-for-just-survival-son-survival-isn-t-life/)

[L.E. Modesitt Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-e-modesitt-jr/)

> [Without power, knowledge is useless. without knowledge, faith is tyranny. Without understanding, humanity is blind, and without all four, it is doomed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-e-modesitt-jr/without-power-knowledge-is-useless-without-knowledge-faith-is-tyranny/)

[L.E. Modesitt Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-e-modesitt-jr/)

> [“love no one until you can love yourself, for love of another is merely empty flattery and self-deception for one who cannot accept himself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-e-modesitt-jr/love-no-one-until-you-can-love-yourself-for-love-of-another-is-merely/)

[L.E. Modesitt Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-e-modesitt-jr/)

> [“It’s often hard to consider the future when you are struggling with the present,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-e-modesitt-jr/it-s-often-hard-to-consider-the-future-when-you-are-struggling-with/)

[L.E. Modesitt Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-e-modesitt-jr/)

> [“technology enabled mercy,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-e-modesitt-jr/technology-enabled-mercy/)

[L.E. Modesitt Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-e-modesitt-jr/)

> [“Too often, no matter what simpering savants say, there is no real choice. Not if life is to have meaning.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-e-modesitt-jr/too-often-no-matter-what-simpering-savants-say-there-is-no-real/)

[L.E. Modesitt Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-e-modesitt-jr/)

> [“Up early. Must be important.” Her smile was nice, too.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-e-modesitt-jr/up-early-must-be-important-her-smile-was-nice-too/)

[L.E. Modesitt Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-e-modesitt-jr/)

> [“some people learned only from what they experienced personally.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-e-modesitt-jr/some-people-learned-only-from-what-they-experienced-personally/)

[L.E. Modesitt Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-e-modesitt-jr/)

> [Hatred is a form of faith, distilled by passion to remove all rationality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-e-modesitt-jr/hatred-is-a-form-of-faith-distilled-by-passion-to-remove-all/)

[L.E. Modesitt Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-e-modesitt-jr/)

> [“one of the ways to be successful in war is to make your enemies make all the gallant but useless sacrifices…”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-e-modesitt-jr/one-of-the-ways-to-be-successful-in-war-is-to-make-your-enemies-make/)

[L.E. Modesitt Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-e-modesitt-jr/)

> [“...there being a god, that god must be worshiped. Worship means raising the god above the individual, and liturgies often make the point that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-e-modesitt-jr/there-being-a-god-that-god-must-be-worshiped-worship-means-raising/)

[L.E. Modesitt Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-e-modesitt-jr/)

> [“Was there really something to the obsolete idea of a national character? Some countries just changed tyrants, without changing anything else.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-e-modesitt-jr/was-there-really-something-to-the-obsolete-idea-of-a-national/)

[L.E. Modesitt Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-e-modesitt-jr/)

> [“power corrupts, even when you try not to be corrupted?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-e-modesitt-jr/power-corrupts-even-when-you-try-not-to-be-corrupted/)

[L.E. Modesitt Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-e-modesitt-jr/)

> [“We all feel better when we can defend ourselves. When we can tell ourselves and everyone else that we did what was necessary and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-e-modesitt-jr/we-all-feel-better-when-we-can-defend-ourselves-when-we-can-tell/)

[L.E. Modesitt Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-e-modesitt-jr/)

[Explore all 51 L.E. Modesitt Jr quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-e-modesitt-jr/)

## More Birth quotes

> [“Conception is the beginning of human life. From the time that an ovum is fertilized a new life begins that is neither that of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/declaration-on-procured-abortion-congregation-for-the-doctrine-of-the-faith-1974/conception-is-the-beginning-of-human-life-from-the-time-that-an-ovum/)

Declaration on Procured Abortion Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith 1974

> [In the entire history of the universe, let alone in your own history, there has never been another day just like today, and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/in-the-entire-history-of-the-universe-let-alone-in-your-own-history/)

[Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/)

> [The greatest mystery in life is not life itself, but death. Death is the culmination of life, the ultimate blossoming of life. In death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/the-greatest-mystery-in-life-is-not-life-itself-but-death-death-is/)

[Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/)

> [Guns have little or nothing to do with juvenile violence. The causes of youth violence are working parents who put their kids into daycare,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-delay/guns-have-little-or-nothing-to-do-with-juvenile-violence-the-causes/)

[Tom DeLay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-delay/)

> [“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/)

> [Nirvana is a word that means enlightenment, being beyond the illusion of birth and death, the illusion of pain, the illusion of love, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/nirvana-is-a-word-that-means-enlightenment-being-beyond-the-illusion/)

[Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/)

> [It was no accident, no coincidence, that the seasons came round and round year after year. It was the Lord speaking to us all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-rivers/it-was-no-accident-no-coincidence-that-the-seasons-came-round-and/)

[Francine Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-rivers/)

> [We do not want to be reminded that it is we, the indigenous people, who are poor and exploited in the land of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-biko/we-do-not-want-to-be-reminded-that-it-is-we-the-indigenous-people-who/)

[Steven Biko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-biko/)

> [There are two kinds of beauty; there is a beauty which God gives at birth, and which withers as a flower. And there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-kuyper/there-are-two-kinds-of-beauty-there-is-a-beauty-which-god-gives-at/)

[Abraham Kuyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-kuyper/)

> [Always keep the smile, because the smile is the beginning of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-imad/always-keep-the-smile-because-the-smile-is-the-beginning-of-love/)

Adam Imad

> [The wailing of the newborn infant is mingled with the dirge for the dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucretius/the-wailing-of-the-newborn-infant-is-mingled-with-the-dirge-for-the/)

[Lucretius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucretius/)

> [I gave birth to most of them MC's... So when it comes around to the month of May, Send me your royalty check for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxanne-shante/i-gave-birth-to-most-of-them-mc-s-so-when-it-comes-around-to-the/)

Roxanne Shante

> [“A Beautiful verse takes birth when "U"n"I" VERSE.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajesh-walecha/a-beautiful-verse-takes-birth-when-u-n-i-verse/)

[Rajesh Walecha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajesh-walecha/)

> [“There is no born evil, only a corruptible canvas darkened by a formidable perpetrator.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yefon-isabelle/there-is-no-born-evil-only-a-corruptible-canvas-darkened-by-a/)

[Yefon Isabelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yefon-isabelle/)

> [I've always thought that the most extraordinary special effect you could do is to buy a child at the moment of its birth, sit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/i-ve-always-thought-that-the-most-extraordinary-special-effect-you/)

[Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/)

[Browse all 6,183 Birth quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birth/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "To that which is born, death is certain; to that which is dead, birth is certain.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "L.E. Modesitt Jr"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-e-modesitt-jr/to-that-which-is-born-death-is-certain-to-that-which-is-dead-birth-is/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Birth"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-e-modesitt-jr/to-that-which-is-born-death-is-certain-to-that-which-is-dead-birth-is/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e2/l-e-modesitt-jr-12954_birth_to-that-which-is-born-death-is-certain-t_3157755.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e2/l-e-modesitt-jr-12954_birth_to-that-which-is-born-death-is-certain-t_3157755.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e2/l-e-modesitt-jr-12954_birth_to-that-which-is-born-death-is-certain-t_3157755.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“To that which is born, death is certain; to that which is dead, birth is certain.” — L.E. Modesitt Jr",
                "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": "L.E. Modesitt Jr",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-e-modesitt-jr/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "To that which is born, death...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-e-modesitt-jr/to-that-which-is-born-death-is-certain-to-that-which-is-dead-birth-is/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-e-modesitt-jr/to-that-which-is-born-death-is-certain-to-that-which-is-dead-birth-is/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
