--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: On his death bed, Alexander the Great…" description: "\"On his death bed, Alexander the Great summoned his generals and told them his three ultimate wishes: 1. The best doctors should carry his coffin; 2. Th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90f/ritu-ghatourey-5_death_on-his-death-bed-alexander-the-great-sum_2563180.jpg" --- # On his death bed, Alexander the Great summoned his… ![“On his death bed, Alexander the Great summoned his generals and told them his three ultimate wishes: 1. The best doctors should carry his coffin; 2. The wealth he has accumulated (money, gold, precious stones etc.) should be scattered along the procession to the cemetery; and 3. His hands should…” quote by Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90f/ritu-ghatourey-5_death_on-his-death-bed-alexander-the-great-sum_2563180.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90f/ritu-ghatourey-5_death_on-his-death-bed-alexander-the-great-sum_2563180.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90f/ritu-ghatourey-5_death_on-his-death-bed-alexander-the-great-sum_2563180.jpg) > “On his death bed, Alexander the Great summoned his generals and told them his three ultimate wishes: 1. The best doctors should carry his coffin; 2. The wealth he has accumulated (money, gold, precious stones etc.) should be scattered along the procession to the cemetery; and 3. His hands should be let loose, hanging outside the coffin for all to see! One of his generals, who was surprised by these unusual requests, asked Alexander to explain. Here is what Alexander the Great had to say: 1. I want the best doctors to carry my coffin to demonstrate that, in the face of death, even the best doctors in the world have no power to heal. 2. I want the road to be covered with my treasure so that everybody sees that material wealth acquired on earth, stays on earth. 3. I want my hands to swing in the wind, so that people understand that we come to this world empty handed and we leave this world empty handed after the most precious treasure of all is exhausted, and that is TIME. 4. We do not take to our grave any material wealth, although our good deeds can be our travelers cheques. TIME is our most precious treasure because it is LIMITED. We can produce more wealth, but we cannot produce more time. 5. When we give someone our time, we actually give a portion of our life that we will never take back. Our time is our life! 6. So my dear, the best present that you can give to your family and friends, is your TIME. May God grant you plenty of TIME and may you have the wisdom to give it away so that you can LIVE, LOVE and DIE in peace.” [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Alexander the Great’s imagined wishes illustrate that material riches are fleeting, while time is the only true, limited treasure we can give to others. **In simple terms:** Time is our most valuable, non‑material wealth. Key Takeaway Prioritize giving time, not things. Themes legacy time humility mortality Mood thoughtful inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - family gatherings - career mentorship - volunteering - end‑of‑life planning Key Concepts finite resources ethical giving personal legacy Questions to Reflect On - What will you spend your time on? - How can you give time meaningfully? A Different Perspective Time cannot be reclaimed once spent. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Die In Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/die-in-peace/) [Family and friends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family-and-friends/) [Good deeds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-deeds/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Material wealth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/material-wealth/) [Precious stones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/precious-stones/) ## Related quotes > [A captured pirate was brought before Alexander the Great. “How dare you molest the sea?” asked Alexander. “How dare you molest the whole world?”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/a-captured-pirate-was-brought-before-alexander-the-great-how-dare-you/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Career is a part of my life... 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Let faith make you believe. Let confidence wash away doubts. Let love complete your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/let-smiles-overshadow-sadness-let-faith-make-you-believe-let/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [A person may be inherently wise or experienced, but that means little or nothing if he/she is perceived as a fool. I, on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/a-person-may-be-inherently-wise-or-experienced-but-that-means-little/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [I don't think any crime in the world is greater than telling a child: You're no good at it..!!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/i-don-t-think-any-crime-in-the-world-is-greater-than-telling-a-child/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [One of the bravest things you can do is acknowledge and support the strength of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/one-of-the-bravest-things-you-can-do-is-acknowledge-and-support-the/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [\*Calling someone I don't want to answer\* \*Please go to voice mail. Please go to voice mail. Please go to voice mail..\* Hello? -\_\_\_-](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/calling-someone-i-don-t-want-to-answer-please-go-to-voice-mail-please/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [Why Worry? It's a total waste of time and it doesn't change anything. All it does is steal your joy and keeps you busy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/why-worry-it-s-a-total-waste-of-time-and-it-doesn-t-change-anything/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) [Explore all 5,196 Ritu Ghatourey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) ## 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. 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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": "On his death bed, Alexander the Great summoned his generals and told them his three ultimate wishes: 1. The best doctors should carry his coffin; 2. The wealth he has accumulated (money, gold, precious stones etc.) should be scattered along the procession to the cemetery; and 3. His hands should be let loose, hanging outside the coffin for all to see! One of his generals, who was surprised by these unusual requests, asked Alexander to explain. Here is what Alexander the Great had to say: 1. I want the best doctors to carry my coffin to demonstrate that, in the face of death, even the best doctors in the world have no power to heal. 2. I want the road to be covered with my treasure so that everybody sees that material wealth acquired on earth, stays on earth. 3. I want my hands to swing in the wind, so that people understand that we come to this world empty handed and we leave this world empty handed after the most precious treasure of all is exhausted, and that is TIME. 4. We do not take to our grave any material wealth, although our good deeds can be our travelers cheques. TIME is our most precious treasure because it is LIMITED. We can produce more wealth, but we cannot produce more time. 5. When we give someone our time, we actually give a portion of our life that we will never take back. Our time is our life! 6. So my dear, the best present that you can give to your family and friends, is your TIME. 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