--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Humans, if nothing else, have the good…" description: "\"Humans, if nothing else, have the good sense to die.\" — Markus Zusak" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/566/markus-zusak-165_death_humans-if-nothing-else-have-the-good-sen_368668.png" --- # Humans, if nothing else, have the good sense to die. ![“Humans, if nothing else, have the good sense to die.” quote by Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/566/markus-zusak-165_death_humans-if-nothing-else-have-the-good-sen_368668.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/566/markus-zusak-165_death_humans-if-nothing-else-have-the-good-sen_368668.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/566/markus-zusak-165_death_humans-if-nothing-else-have-the-good-sen_368668.png) > “Humans, if nothing else, have the good sense to die.” [Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Humans possess an instinct to end their own lives when needed. **In simple terms:** People know when to die. Key Takeaway Acknowledge mortality for meaningful living. Themes mortality instinct human nature Mood somber thoughtful Type existential literary When to use this quote - war trauma - mental health - philosophical literature - personal reflection Key Concepts Existentialism psychology Questions to Reflect On - What gives life purpose? - How to confront death without fear? A Different Perspective Suicide is not inevitable. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Good sense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-sense/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Humans Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans-good-268595/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Sense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sense/) [Sense Die](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sense-die-1108125/) ## Related quotes > [“Still, they have one thing I envy. Humans, if nothing else, have the good sense to die.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/still-they-have-one-thing-i-envy-humans-if-nothing-else-have-the-good/) [Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/) > [I've always believed that humans are good at heart. But there's always the exception.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-carlson/i-ve-always-believed-that-humans-are-good-at-heart-but-there-s-always/) [Amy Carlson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-carlson/) > [I'm sixty-two, and it's ecological sense to die while you're still productive, die and clear a space for others, old and young.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/i-m-sixty-two-and-it-s-ecological-sense-to-die-while-you-re-still/) [Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/) > [“Another huge advantage that humans have is good old common sense.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-mcafee/another-huge-advantage-that-humans-have-is-good-old-common-sense/) [Andrew McAfee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-mcafee/) > [“No, humans are good at growing bones, toenails, and cancer. That’s about it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-kadrey/no-humans-are-good-at-growing-bones-toenails-and-cancer-that-s-about/) [Richard Kadrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-kadrey/) > [Humans are very good at dreaming, although you'd never know it from your television.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/humans-are-very-good-at-dreaming-although-you-d-never-know-it-from/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“What makes us humans? We are not good or bad. We are yes, no, and maybe all at once. Machines are neither good or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-megan-varnadore/what-makes-us-humans-we-are-not-good-or-bad-we-are-yes-no-and-maybe/) [Jennifer Megan Varnadore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-megan-varnadore/) > [“God is great ,humans are good ... wait... but i'm bad & You are worst..”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland-dave/god-is-great-humans-are-good-wait-but-i-m-bad-you-are-worst/) [Brenda Ueland\_ dave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland-dave/) > [If we humans are good at anything, it’s thinking we’ve got a terrific idea and going for it without acknowledging the potential consequences or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-suzuki/if-we-humans-are-good-at-anything-it-s-thinking-we-ve-got-a-terrific/) [David Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-suzuki/) > [Emotional intelligence is what humans are good at and that's not a sideshow. That's the cutting edge of human intelligence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-kurzweil/emotional-intelligence-is-what-humans-are-good-at-and-that-s-not-a/) [Ray Kurzweil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-kurzweil/) > [Humans are very good at making algorithms work eventually.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/usama-fayyad/humans-are-very-good-at-making-algorithms-work-eventually/) [Usama Fayyad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/usama-fayyad/) > [“If humans were good at anything, he thought, it was sure as hell good old running.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-benford/if-humans-were-good-at-anything-he-thought-it-was-sure-as-hell-good/) [Gregory Benford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-benford/) > [“I love you, Red. Whatever happens after this, I want you to know I love you more than the sun and the stars. You’re…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivienne-savage/i-love-you-red-whatever-happens-after-this-i-want-you-to-know-i-love/) [Vivienne Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivienne-savage/) > [“I wasn't exactly sure what "nothing good" meant, but I could imagine in this world of humans, "nothing good" could mean a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamra-torero/i-wasn-t-exactly-sure-what-nothing-good-meant-but-i-could-imagine-in/) [Tamra Torero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamra-torero/) > [“Let us All make the whole WORLD a better place, pursue our dreams...bond LOVE to the spirit, embrace the young and old. LOVE... creates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marialuisa-marino/let-us-all-make-the-whole-world-a-better-place-pursue-our-dreams-bond/) [Marialuisa Marino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marialuisa-marino/) ## More by Markus Zusak > [Liesel observed the strangeness of her foster father's eyes. They were made of kindness, and silver.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/liesel-observed-the-strangeness-of-her-foster-father-s-eyes-they-were/) [Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/) > [I think that as a writer your responsibility is to search for and stir up the things that are in this world. There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/i-think-that-as-a-writer-your-responsibility-is-to-search-for-and/) [Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/) > [“For two days I went about my business. I travelled the globe as always, handing souls to the conveyor belt of eternity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/for-two-days-i-went-about-my-business-i-travelled-the-globe-as-always/) [Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/) > [It is early, early morning. It's that time when it's still dark but you know the day is coming. Blue is bleeding through black.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/it-is-early-early-morning-it-s-that-time-when-it-s-still-dark-but-you/) [Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/) > [“I'm twenty years old and look at me-- there isn't a thing I want to do”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/i-m-twenty-years-old-and-look-at-me-there-isn-t-a-thing-i-want-to-do/) [Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/) > [You should give it to Max, Liesel. See if you can leave it on the bedside table, like all the other things." Liesel watched…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/you-should-give-it-to-max-liesel-see-if-you-can-leave-it-on-the/) [Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/) > [“When a woman with an iron fist tells you to get out there and clean spit off the door, you do it. Especially when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/when-a-woman-with-an-iron-fist-tells-you-to-get-out-there-and-clean/) [Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/) > [Is there cowardice with the acknowledgement of fear?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/is-there-cowardice-with-the-acknowledgement-of-fear/) [Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/) > [In years to come, he would be a giver of bread, not a stealer - proof again of the contradictory human being. So much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/in-years-to-come-he-would-be-a-giver-of-bread-not-a-stealer-proof/) [Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/) > [“«¿Por qué no puede oírlo el resto del mundo? —me pregunto. En pocos segundos me lo pregunto muchas veces—. Porque no le importa —me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/por-qu-no-puede-o-rlo-el-resto-del-mundo-me-pregunto-en-pocos/) [Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/) > [Could she smell my breath? Could she hear my cursed circular heart beat revolving like the crime it is in my deathly chest?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/could-she-smell-my-breath-could-she-hear-my-cursed-circular-heart/) [Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/) > [I see how complicated it is to make a film and how many people are involved and I love the fact that I get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/i-see-how-complicated-it-is-to-make-a-film-and-how-many-people-are/) [Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/) > [One wild card was yet to be played.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/one-wild-card-was-yet-to-be-played/) [Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/) > [“Može li netko ukrasti sreću? Ili je i to još jedan unutarnji, paklenski ljudski trik?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/mo-e-li-netko-ukrasti-sre-u-ili-je-i-to-jo-jedan-unutarnji-paklenski/) [Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/) > [I look at my first books and am glad they weren't published… You start writing by imitating your heroes, then you keep the heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/i-look-at-my-first-books-and-am-glad-they-weren-t-published-you-start/) [Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/) [Explore all 953 Markus Zusak quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/) ## 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": "Humans, if nothing else, have the good sense to die.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Markus Zusak" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/humans-if-nothing-else-have-the-good-sense-to-die/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Death" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/humans-if-nothing-else-have-the-good-sense-to-die/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/566/markus-zusak-165_death_humans-if-nothing-else-have-the-good-sen_368668.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/566/markus-zusak-165_death_humans-if-nothing-else-have-the-good-sen_368668.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/566/markus-zusak-165_death_humans-if-nothing-else-have-the-good-sen_368668.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Humans, if nothing else, have the good sense to die.” — Markus Zusak", "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": "Markus Zusak", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Humans, if nothing else, have the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/humans-if-nothing-else-have-the-good-sense-to-die/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/humans-if-nothing-else-have-the-good-sense-to-die/#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 } } ] } ```