--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Death does determine life." description: "\"Death does determine life.\" — Pier Paolo Pasolini" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79d/pier-paolo-pasolini-18199_death_death-does-determine-life-2477355_2477355.jpg" --- # Death does determine life. ![“Death does determine life.” quote by Pier Paolo Pasolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79d/pier-paolo-pasolini-18199_death_death-does-determine-life-2477355_2477355.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79d/pier-paolo-pasolini-18199_death_death-does-determine-life-2477355_2477355.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79d/pier-paolo-pasolini-18199_death_death-does-determine-life-2477355_2477355.jpg) > “Death does determine life.” [Pier Paolo Pasolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pier-paolo-pasolini/) ## 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 meaning is shaped by our awareness of mortality, prompting deeper purpose. **In simple terms:** Death gives life meaning. Key Takeaway Embrace mortality to live fully. Themes mortality purpose existence Mood reflective serious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal reflection - artistic creation - ethical decision making Key Concepts existentialism humanism Questions to Reflect On - How does awareness of death influence your daily choices? - What purpose emerges when you confront mortality? A Different Perspective Ignoring death can lead to superficial living. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [Death does determine life. Once life is finished it acquires a sense; up to that point it has not got a sense; its sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pier-paolo-pasolini/death-does-determine-life-once-life-is-finished-it-acquires-a-sense/) [Pier Paolo Pasolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pier-paolo-pasolini/) > [Whatever you fill your brain with and whoever you spend your time with... will determine your life a decade from now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-spence/whatever-you-fill-your-brain-with-and-whoever-you-spend-your-time/) [John Spence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-spence/) > [“What comes about by design or chance determine how life plays out.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-redhead/what-comes-about-by-design-or-chance-determine-how-life-plays-out/) [Steven Redhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-redhead/) > [At the time of death, whatever you have focused on the most will determine your next life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/at-the-time-of-death-whatever-you-have-focused-on-the-most-will/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Nobody can determine what your life means or how much your valued. You are your value.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-woodson/nobody-can-determine-what-your-life-means-or-how-much-your-valued-you/) [Charles Woodson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-woodson/) > [Men come and they go and they trot and they dance, and never a word about death. All well and good. Yet when death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/men-come-and-they-go-and-they-trot-and-they-dance-and-never-a-word/) [Michel De Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Death is nothing at all; it does not count. I have only slipped away into the next room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-scott-holland/death-is-nothing-at-all-it-does-not-count-i-have-only-slipped-away/) [Henry Scott Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-scott-holland/) > [Death does not come free of charge, for it costs us our life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/death-does-not-come-free-of-charge-for-it-costs-us-our-life/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [Death does not allow us to postpone all the things we can experience now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/death-does-not-allow-us-to-postpone-all-the-things-we-can-experience/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Only death does not lie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadegh-hedayat/only-death-does-not-lie/) [Sadegh Hedayat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadegh-hedayat/) > [“Death does not have the luxury of kindness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-vanrell/death-does-not-have-the-luxury-of-kindness/) [Eva Vanrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-vanrell/) > [“Death It does not happen to the dead alone Those left behind, die too In parts that would never heal and come back to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neena-verma/death-it-does-not-happen-to-the-dead-alone-those-left-behind-die-too/) [Neena Verma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neena-verma/) > [“...this is what death does to you, it takes and takes, so that all that is left of your memories is a faint tracing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/this-is-what-death-does-to-you-it-takes-and-takes-so-that-all-that-is/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [We can what-if ourselves to death... But what-if never does anybody any good. All any of us ever have...is one thing, and we better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-lupica/we-can-what-if-ourselves-to-death-but-what-if-never-does-anybody-any/) [Mike Lupica](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-lupica/) > [Death does not concern us, because as long as we exist, death is not here. And when it does come, we no longer exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epicurus/death-does-not-concern-us-because-as-long-as-we-exist-death-is-not/) [Epicurus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epicurus/) ## More by Pier Paolo Pasolini > [“If I then discovered a cancer in myself and died, I'd consider it a victory of that reality of things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pier-paolo-pasolini/if-i-then-discovered-a-cancer-in-myself-and-died-i-d-consider-it-a/) [Pier Paolo Pasolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pier-paolo-pasolini/) > [...the Church is the merciless heart of the State.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pier-paolo-pasolini/the-church-is-the-merciless-heart-of-the-state/) [Pier Paolo Pasolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pier-paolo-pasolini/) > [If you know that I am an unbeliever, then you know me better than I do myself. I may be an unbeliever, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pier-paolo-pasolini/if-you-know-that-i-am-an-unbeliever-then-you-know-me-better-than-i-do/) [Pier Paolo Pasolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pier-paolo-pasolini/) > [The cinema is an explosion of my love for reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pier-paolo-pasolini/the-cinema-is-an-explosion-of-my-love-for-reality/) [Pier Paolo Pasolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pier-paolo-pasolini/) > [Death does determine life. Once life is finished it acquires a sense; up to that point it has not got a sense; its sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pier-paolo-pasolini/death-does-determine-life-once-life-is-finished-it-acquires-a-sense/) [Pier Paolo Pasolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pier-paolo-pasolini/) > [I am not interested in deconsecrating: this is a fashion I hate, it is petit-bourgeois. I want to reconsecrate things as much as possible,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pier-paolo-pasolini/i-am-not-interested-in-deconsecrating-this-is-a-fashion-i-hate-it-is/) [Pier Paolo Pasolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pier-paolo-pasolini/) > [Once life is finished it acquires a sense; up to that point it has not got a sense; its sense is suspended and therefore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pier-paolo-pasolini/once-life-is-finished-it-acquires-a-sense-up-to-that-point-it-has-not/) [Pier Paolo Pasolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pier-paolo-pasolini/) > [When I make a film I'm always in reality among the trees, and among the people like yourselves. There's no symbolic or conventional filter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pier-paolo-pasolini/when-i-make-a-film-i-m-always-in-reality-among-the-trees-and-among/) [Pier Paolo Pasolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pier-paolo-pasolini/) > [The mark which has dominated all my work is this longing for life, this sense of exclusion, which doesn't lessen but augments this love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pier-paolo-pasolini/the-mark-which-has-dominated-all-my-work-is-this-longing-for-life/) [Pier Paolo Pasolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pier-paolo-pasolini/) > [An artist, if he's unselfish and passionate, is always a living protest. Just to open his mouth is to protest: against conformism, against what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pier-paolo-pasolini/an-artist-if-he-s-unselfish-and-passionate-is-always-a-living-protest/) [Pier Paolo Pasolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pier-paolo-pasolini/) > [When the soul hears no other calls than those of the sweet chaos of daily good and evil...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pier-paolo-pasolini/when-the-soul-hears-no-other-calls-than-those-of-the-sweet-chaos-of/) [Pier Paolo Pasolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pier-paolo-pasolini/) > [The sexual freedom of today for most people is really only a convention, an obligation, a social duty, a social anxiety, a necessary feature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pier-paolo-pasolini/the-sexual-freedom-of-today-for-most-people-is-really-only-a/) [Pier Paolo Pasolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pier-paolo-pasolini/) > [“I am black with love/ neither boy nor nightingale/ perfectly whole as a flower/ I desire without impulse”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pier-paolo-pasolini/i-am-black-with-love-neither-boy-nor-nightingale-perfectly-whole-as-a/) [Pier Paolo Pasolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pier-paolo-pasolini/) > [The power of consumer goods . . . has been engendered by the so-called liberal and progressive demands of freedom, and, by appropriating them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pier-paolo-pasolini/the-power-of-consumer-goods-has-been-engendered-by-the-so-called/) [Pier Paolo Pasolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pier-paolo-pasolini/) > [“The sense comes back to me of life as it always was then, an affliction even blinder because wondrously filled with sweetness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pier-paolo-pasolini/the-sense-comes-back-to-me-of-life-as-it-always-was-then-an/) [Pier Paolo Pasolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pier-paolo-pasolini/) [Explore all 26 Pier Paolo Pasolini quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pier-paolo-pasolini/) ## 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 > [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 > [“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 does determine life.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Pier Paolo Pasolini" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pier-paolo-pasolini/death-does-determine-life/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Death" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pier-paolo-pasolini/death-does-determine-life/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79d/pier-paolo-pasolini-18199_death_death-does-determine-life-2477355_2477355.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79d/pier-paolo-pasolini-18199_death_death-does-determine-life-2477355_2477355.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79d/pier-paolo-pasolini-18199_death_death-does-determine-life-2477355_2477355.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Death does determine life.” — Pier Paolo Pasolini", "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": "Pier Paolo Pasolini", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pier-paolo-pasolini/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Death does determine life.", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pier-paolo-pasolini/death-does-determine-life/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pier-paolo-pasolini/death-does-determine-life/#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 } } ] } ```