--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Of this I am certain, that no one has…" description: "\"Of this I am certain, that no one has ever died who was not destined to die some time. Now the end of life puts the longest life on a par with the shor..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e1/saint-augustine-328_be-careful_of-this-i-am-certain-that-no-one-has-eve_1805933.png" --- # Of this I am certain, that no one has ever died who was… ![“Of this I am certain, that no one has ever died who was not destined to die some time. Now the end of life puts the longest life on a par with the shortest. . . . And of what consequence is it what kind of death puts an end to life, since he who has died once is not forced to go through the same…” quote by Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e1/saint-augustine-328_be-careful_of-this-i-am-certain-that-no-one-has-eve_1805933.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e1/saint-augustine-328_be-careful_of-this-i-am-certain-that-no-one-has-eve_1805933.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e1/saint-augustine-328_be-careful_of-this-i-am-certain-that-no-one-has-eve_1805933.png) > “Of this I am certain, that no one has ever died who was not destined to die some time. Now the end of life puts the longest life on a par with the shortest. . . . And of what consequence is it what kind of death puts an end to life, since he who has died once is not forced to go through the same ordeal a second time? They, then, who are destined to die, need not be careful to inquire what death they are to die, but into what place death will usher them.” [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. All humans are destined to die; the focus should be on the afterlife destination, not the manner of death. **In simple terms:** Everyone will die; what matters is where they go after. Key Takeaway Consider the afterlife, not death’s details. Themes mortality faith afterlife Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical spiritual When to use this quote - contemplating mortality - seeking meaning - preparing for afterlife - ethical decision making Key Concepts destiny spiritual destiny life purpose eternal destiny ethical living spiritual guidance Questions to Reflect On - What does your belief say about the afterlife? - How does focusing on destination affect daily choices? A Different Perspective It may overlook diverse beliefs about death and afterlife. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Consequence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consequence/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Destined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destined/) [End of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/end-of-life/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [They, then, who are destined to die, need not be careful to inquire what death they are to die, but into what place death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/they-then-who-are-destined-to-die-need-not-be-careful-to-inquire-what/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The longest life is a relatively short stint. Why pursue the superficial?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sravani-saha-nakhro/the-longest-life-is-a-relatively-short-stint-why-pursue-the/) [Sravani Saha Nakhro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sravani-saha-nakhro/) > [... there are few things that can reconcile us fully to our parting with a world of which the longest life can see so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/there-are-few-things-that-can-reconcile-us-fully-to-our-parting-with/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [“If I am destined to be happy with you here—how short is the longest Life—I wish to believe in immortality—I wish to live with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/if-i-am-destined-to-be-happy-with-you-here-how-short-is-the-longest/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [“The man who deserves immortality lives the longest life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamerlan-kuzgov/the-man-who-deserves-immortality-lives-the-longest-life/) [Tamerlan Kuzgov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamerlan-kuzgov/) > [If I was diagnosed with something that was fatal in the next couple of years, I can't imagine anything more terrifying. And so for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-wojcicki/if-i-was-diagnosed-with-something-that-was-fatal-in-the-next-couple/) [Anne Wojcicki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-wojcicki/) > [“The longest life is no more than a sliver of light between two boundless ribbons of dark, like the light you see through the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-todd/the-longest-life-is-no-more-than-a-sliver-of-light-between-two/) Jack Todd > [“This is a place of death, he thought, and not just here. All these rooms. Every floor. Yes, gunslinger, whispered the Voice of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/this-is-a-place-of-death-he-thought-and-not-just-here-all-these-rooms/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [He sought his former accustomed fear of death and did not find it. "Where is it? What death?" There was no fear because there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/he-sought-his-former-accustomed-fear-of-death-and-did-not-find-it/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“The hands of the watch stood at five past eight. The only kind of death that can be accurately predicted to the minute had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-vine/the-hands-of-the-watch-stood-at-five-past-eight-the-only-kind-of/) [Barbara Vine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-vine/) > [“In my case, I chose writing in place of death, and because I lacked faith.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/in-my-case-i-chose-writing-in-place-of-death-and-because-i-lacked/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [In Nazare, the ocean is known as a place of death, not of riding waves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrett-mcnamara/in-nazare-the-ocean-is-known-as-a-place-of-death-not-of-riding-waves/) [Garrett McNamara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-mcnamara/) > [There is no place for the death penalty in a just, humane society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cori-bush/there-is-no-place-for-the-death-penalty-in-a-just-humane-society/) [Cori Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cori-bush/) > [The penalty for planting the wrong thing in the wrong place is death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-danz/the-penalty-for-planting-the-wrong-thing-in-the-wrong-place-is-death/) [Cassandra Danz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-danz/) > [“It was an ill-omened place. Death walked there in the sunlight.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/it-was-an-ill-omened-place-death-walked-there-in-the-sunlight/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) ## More by Saint Augustine > [Lust indulged became habit, and habit unresisted became necessity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/lust-indulged-became-habit-and-habit-unresisted-became-necessity/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [The playthings of our elders are called business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/the-playthings-of-our-elders-are-called-business/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [Do what you can and pray for what you cannot yet do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/do-what-you-can-and-pray-for-what-you-cannot-yet-do/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [For I did not know that the soul needs to be enlightened by light from outside itself, so that it can participate in truth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/for-i-did-not-know-that-the-soul-needs-to-be-enlightened-by-light/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [My mother spoke of Christ to my father, by her feminine and childlike virtues, and, after having borne his violence without a murmur or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/my-mother-spoke-of-christ-to-my-father-by-her-feminine-and-childlike/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [Wicked sons do not have the Holy Ghost in the same way as do beloved sons, and yet they do have Baptism. So, too,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/wicked-sons-do-not-have-the-holy-ghost-in-the-same-way-as-do-beloved/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [To wisdom belongs the intellectual apprehension of things eternal; to knowledge, the rational apprehension of things temporal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/to-wisdom-belongs-the-intellectual-apprehension-of-things-eternal-to/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [It is this one Spirit who makes it possible for an infant to be regenerated . . . when that infant is brought to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/it-is-this-one-spirit-who-makes-it-possible-for-an-infant-to-be/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [God has no need of your money, but the poor have. You give it to the poor, and God receives it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/god-has-no-need-of-your-money-but-the-poor-have-you-give-it-to-the/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [Nothing conquers except truth and the victory of truth is love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/nothing-conquers-except-truth-and-the-victory-of-truth-is-love/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [“O God, who is ever at work and ever at rest. May I be ever at work and ever at rest.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/o-god-who-is-ever-at-work-and-ever-at-rest-may-i-be-ever-at-work-and/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [Our Lord reserved to Himself certain things which He would do in due time in a manner outside the course and order of nature,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/our-lord-reserved-to-himself-certain-things-which-he-would-do-in-due/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [Give me chastity and continence, but not yet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/give-me-chastity-and-continence-but-not-yet/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [Nothing, therefore, happens unless the Omnipotent wills it to happen. He either permits it to happen, or He brings it about Himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/nothing-therefore-happens-unless-the-omnipotent-wills-it-to-happen-he/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [The reward of patience Is patience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/the-reward-of-patience-is-patience/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) [Explore all 672 Saint Augustine quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) ## More Be careful quotes > [Be careful. I wouldn’t want anything to happen to the worst Spanish student in the history of the language.” I laughed. “No problemo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiersten-white/be-careful-i-wouldn-t-want-anything-to-happen-to-the-worst-spanish/) [Kiersten White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersten-white/) > [If I held all the thoughts of the world in my hand, I would be careful not to open it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-le-bovier-de-fontenelle/if-i-held-all-the-thoughts-of-the-world-in-my-hand-i-would-be-careful/) [Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-le-bovier-de-fontenelle/) > [You've got to be careful against classy fighters, especially counter-punchers because if you go for the finish too early, you can end up getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-froch/you-ve-got-to-be-careful-against-classy-fighters-especially-counter/) [Carl Froch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-froch/) > [ \[A\]s you partake of the world's bill of fare, that's darned good advice to follow. Do a lot of spitting out the hot air.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-seuss/a-s-you-partake-of-the-world-s-bill-of-fare-that-s-darned-good-advice/) [Dr. Seuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-seuss/) > [We must remember that intelligence is not enough. Intelligence plus character--that is the goal of true education. The complete education gives one not only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/we-must-remember-that-intelligence-is-not-enough-intelligence-plus/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [I have to be careful to get out before I become the grotesque caricature of a hatchet-faced woman with big knockers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-lee-curtis/i-have-to-be-careful-to-get-out-before-i-become-the-grotesque/) [Jamie Lee Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-lee-curtis/) > [Our communications reflect in our countenance. Therefore, we must be careful not only what we communicate, but also how we do so. Souls can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-lionel-kendrick/our-communications-reflect-in-our-countenance-therefore-we-must-be/) [L. Lionel Kendrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-lionel-kendrick/) > [Well sometimes, culture can stifle talent, so you have to be careful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monty-williams/well-sometimes-culture-can-stifle-talent-so-you-have-to-be-careful/) [Monty Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monty-williams/) > [And so we have to be careful with looking at additional stimulus that we don't provoke an increase in the bond rate and then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-raines/and-so-we-have-to-be-careful-with-looking-at-additional-stimulus-that/) [Franklin Raines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-raines/) > [Be careful who you might trust the Devil was once an angel too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/be-careful-who-you-might-trust-the-devil-was-once-an-angel-too/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One must always be careful of books," said Tessa, "and what is inside them, for words have the power to change us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/one-must-always-be-careful-of-books-said-tessa-and-what-is-inside/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [He who believes in God is not careful for the morrow, but labors joyfully and with a great heart. "For He giveth His beloved,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/he-who-believes-in-god-is-not-careful-for-the-morrow-but-labors/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [Be careful, once water is spilled, it can never return to its container](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ciel-phantomhive/be-careful-once-water-is-spilled-it-can-never-return-to-its-container/) [Ciel Phantomhive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ciel-phantomhive/) > [We used to tell our receivers, 'If you want to run an inside breaking route, and you want to fight for yardage after the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-gruden/we-used-to-tell-our-receivers-if-you-want-to-run-an-inside-breaking/) [Jon Gruden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-gruden/) > [A bad investment is going for quantity over quality. If you're trying to be careful with your wallet, especially with the economy right now,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-siriano/a-bad-investment-is-going-for-quantity-over-quality-if-you-re-trying/) [Christian Siriano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-siriano/) Browse all 989 Be careful quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Of this I am certain, that no one has ever died who was not destined to die some time. Now the end of life puts the longest life on a par with the shortest. . . . And of what consequence is it what kind of death puts an end to life, since he who has died once is not forced to go through the same ordeal a second time? They, then, who are destined to die, need not be careful to inquire what death they are to die, but into what place death will usher them.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Saint Augustine" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/of-this-i-am-certain-that-no-one-has-ever-died-who-was-not-destined/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Be careful" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/of-this-i-am-certain-that-no-one-has-ever-died-who-was-not-destined/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e1/saint-augustine-328_be-careful_of-this-i-am-certain-that-no-one-has-eve_1805933.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e1/saint-augustine-328_be-careful_of-this-i-am-certain-that-no-one-has-eve_1805933.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e1/saint-augustine-328_be-careful_of-this-i-am-certain-that-no-one-has-eve_1805933.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Of this I am certain, that no one has ever died who was not destined to die some time. Now the end of life…” — Saint Augustine", "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": "Saint Augustine", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Of this I am certain, that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/of-this-i-am-certain-that-no-one-has-ever-died-who-was-not-destined/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/of-this-i-am-certain-that-no-one-has-ever-died-who-was-not-destined/#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 } } ] } ```