--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: That death is best which comes…" description: "\"That death is best which comes appropriately at a ripe age.\" — Propertius" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/481/propertius-19432_age_that-death-is-best-which-comes-appropria_2494865.jpg" --- # That death is best which comes appropriately at a ripe age. ![“That death is best which comes appropriately at a ripe age.” quote by Propertius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/481/propertius-19432_age_that-death-is-best-which-comes-appropria_2494865.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/481/propertius-19432_age_that-death-is-best-which-comes-appropria_2494865.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/481/propertius-19432_age_that-death-is-best-which-comes-appropria_2494865.jpg) > “That death is best which comes appropriately at a ripe age.” [Propertius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/propertius/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A life ending at its natural peak is preferable to a prolonged decline. **In simple terms:** Dying at the right time is best. Key Takeaway Accept life's natural course. Themes mortality timing natural order Mood melancholic contemplative Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - elder care - end‑of‑life planning - career transitions Key Concepts life cycle philosophical acceptance Questions to Reflect On - What defines a "ripe age" for you? - How do societies view aging and death? A Different Perspective Cultural views on death vary. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Appropriately Ripe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appropriately-ripe-1001952/) [Comes Appropriately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comes-appropriately-1001953/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Death Best](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death-best-940640/) [Ripe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ripe/) [Ripe Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ripe-age-1001951/) ## Related quotes > [With years a richer life begins, the spirit mellow: ripe age gives tones to violins, wine, and good fellows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-townsend-trowbridge/with-years-a-richer-life-begins-the-spirit-mellow-ripe-age-gives/) [John Townsend Trowbridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-townsend-trowbridge/) > [I would say that my peak was making my first million at the ripe age of 29, after the first album.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-baker/i-would-say-that-my-peak-was-making-my-first-million-at-the-ripe-age/) [Anita Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-baker/) > [“They say that war is death’s best friend, but I must offer you a different point of view on that one. To me, war…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/they-say-that-war-is-death-s-best-friend-but-i-must-offer-you-a/) [Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/) > [Death is your best friend when life stabs you in the back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/death-is-your-best-friend-when-life-stabs-you-in-the-back/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My name is Death: the last best friend am I.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-southey/my-name-is-death-the-last-best-friend-am-i/) [Robert Southey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-southey/) > [If this is beauty's demise, then death is in it's very best interest...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-this-is-beauty-s-demise-then-death-is-in-it-s-very-best-interest/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It is better to sit down than to stand, it is better to lie down than to sit, but death is the best of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indian-proverb/it-is-better-to-sit-down-than-to-stand-it-is-better-to-lie-down-than/) [Indian Proverb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indian-proverb/) > [“Death is its own best friend, and our dreams know it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-raymond/death-is-its-own-best-friend-and-our-dreams-know-it/) [Derek Raymond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-raymond/) > [ \[Death is\] the best asylum for pains and sorrows and troubles and the injustices of life. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadegh-hedayat/death-is-the-best-asylum-for-pains-and-sorrows-and-troubles-and-the/) [Sadegh Hedayat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadegh-hedayat/) > [The evolution from happiness to habit is one of death's best weapons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julio-cort-zar/the-evolution-from-happiness-to-habit-is-one-of-death-s-best-weapons/) [Julio Cortazar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julio-cort-zar/) > [Death is not my best subject.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judd-nelson/death-is-not-my-best-subject/) [Judd Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judd-nelson/) > [That was indeed to live -- at one bold swoop to wrest from darkling death the best that death to life can give.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bailey-aldrich/that-was-indeed-to-live-at-one-bold-swoop-to-wrest-from-darkling/) [Thomas Bailey Aldrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bailey-aldrich/) > [“Defeating death is the best skill of all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/defeating-death-is-the-best-skill-of-all/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [Total peace after death, becoming someone else, is the best hope I've got.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-cobain/total-peace-after-death-becoming-someone-else-is-the-best-hope-i-ve/) [Kurt Cobain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-cobain/) > [When one does not feel life or death, it's the best future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-chang/when-one-does-not-feel-life-or-death-it-s-the-best-future/) [Sylvia Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-chang/) ## More by Propertius > [Cupid is naked and does not like artifices contrived by beauty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/propertius/cupid-is-naked-and-does-not-like-artifices-contrived-by-beauty/) [Propertius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/propertius/) > [If you see anything, always deny that you've seen; or if perchance something pains you, deny that you're hurt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/propertius/if-you-see-anything-always-deny-that-you-ve-seen-or-if-perchance/) [Propertius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/propertius/) > [Make room, Roman writers, make room for Greek writers; something greater than the Iliad is born.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/propertius/make-room-roman-writers-make-room-for-greek-writers-something-greater/) [Propertius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/propertius/) > [Something greater than the Iliad now springs to birth -Nescio quid maius nascitur Iliade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/propertius/something-greater-than-the-iliad-now-springs-to-birth-nescio-quid/) [Propertius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/propertius/) > [Fickleness has always befriended the beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/propertius/fickleness-has-always-befriended-the-beautiful/) [Propertius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/propertius/) > [Beauty is fading, nor is fortune stable; sooner or later death comes to all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/propertius/beauty-is-fading-nor-is-fortune-stable-sooner-or-later-death-comes-to/) [Propertius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/propertius/) > [Always in absent lovers love's tide flows stronger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/propertius/always-in-absent-lovers-love-s-tide-flows-stronger/) [Propertius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/propertius/) > [A cause breaks or exalts a soldier's strength; unless that cause is just, shame will make him throw his weapons away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/propertius/a-cause-breaks-or-exalts-a-soldier-s-strength-unless-that-cause-is/) [Propertius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/propertius/) > [Faith is not sure, if you cannot turn love to quarrel; may my enemies obtain a mild mistress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/propertius/faith-is-not-sure-if-you-cannot-turn-love-to-quarrel-may-my-enemies/) [Propertius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/propertius/) > [If she is pleasing to one man, a girl is taken care of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/propertius/if-she-is-pleasing-to-one-man-a-girl-is-taken-care-of/) [Propertius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/propertius/) > [You, O money, are the cause of a restless life! Because of you we journey toward a premature death; you provide cruel nourishment for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/propertius/you-o-money-are-the-cause-of-a-restless-life-because-of-you-we/) [Propertius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/propertius/) > [Allow me, whom Fortune always desires to bury, lay down my life in these final trivialities. Many have freely died in longlasting loves, among…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/propertius/allow-me-whom-fortune-always-desires-to-bury-lay-down-my-life-in/) [Propertius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/propertius/) > [Love presses my head with carefully placed feet, wretch that he is, until he has taught me to detest chaste girls, and to live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/propertius/love-presses-my-head-with-carefully-placed-feet-wretch-that-he-is/) [Propertius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/propertius/) > [To each man at his birth nature has given some fault.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/propertius/to-each-man-at-his-birth-nature-has-given-some-fault/) [Propertius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/propertius/) > [In love, a verse of Mimnermus has more power than one of Homer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/propertius/in-love-a-verse-of-mimnermus-has-more-power-than-one-of-homer/) [Propertius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/propertius/) [Explore all 32 Propertius quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/propertius/) ## More Age quotes > [I need a bath." He chuckled. "You smell of smoke, as do I." The duke turned, leaning heavily on his cane. "Jameson, open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/i-need-a-bath-he-chuckled-you-smell-of-smoke-as-do-i-the-duke-turned/) [Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/) > [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [When I first started writing, when I was 15, I would go to work with people and they would tell me my lyrics were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabrina-claudio/when-i-first-started-writing-when-i-was-15-i-would-go-to-work-with/) [Sabrina Claudio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabrina-claudio/) > [Real people speak in my books about the main events of the age, such as the war, the Chernobyl disaster, and the downfall of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/real-people-speak-in-my-books-about-the-main-events-of-the-age-such/) [Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/) > [As a child I was very involved with sports and I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be an Olympic champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-jones/as-a-child-i-was-very-involved-with-sports-and-i-knew-at-age-9-that-i/) [Marion Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-jones/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [Age is an accumulation of life and loss. Adulthood is a series of lines crossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/age-is-an-accumulation-of-life-and-loss-adulthood-is-a-series-of/) [Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/) > [I calculated that if I live up to the age of 80, then I end up using 450 toothbrushes in my life. All that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dia-mirza/i-calculated-that-if-i-live-up-to-the-age-of-80-then-i-end-up-using/) [Dia Mirza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dia-mirza/) > [Why is wisdom so fair? Why is beauty so wise? Because all else is temporary, while beauty and wisdom are the only real and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/why-is-wisdom-so-fair-why-is-beauty-so-wise-because-all-else-is/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) > [It was only when I went to acting school that I was like, "You are absolutely such a pigheaded freak show that you thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-matthey/it-was-only-when-i-went-to-acting-school-that-i-was-like-you-are/) [Giles Matthey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-matthey/) > [That old man dies prematurely whose memory records no benefits conferred. They only have lived long who have lived virtuously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/that-old-man-dies-prematurely-whose-memory-records-no-benefits/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [We have started to make music at age seven. That was a hard work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-kaulitz/we-have-started-to-make-music-at-age-seven-that-was-a-hard-work/) [Bill Kaulitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-kaulitz/) [Browse all 18,948 Age quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "That death is best which comes appropriately at a ripe age.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Propertius" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/propertius/that-death-is-best-which-comes-appropriately-at-a-ripe-age/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Age" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/propertius/that-death-is-best-which-comes-appropriately-at-a-ripe-age/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/481/propertius-19432_age_that-death-is-best-which-comes-appropria_2494865.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/481/propertius-19432_age_that-death-is-best-which-comes-appropria_2494865.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/481/propertius-19432_age_that-death-is-best-which-comes-appropria_2494865.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“That death is best which comes appropriately at a ripe age.” — Propertius", "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": "Propertius", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/propertius/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "That death is best which comes...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/propertius/that-death-is-best-which-comes-appropriately-at-a-ripe-age/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/propertius/that-death-is-best-which-comes-appropriately-at-a-ripe-age/#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 } } ] } ```