--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If a man knows not life which he hath…" description: "\"If a man knows not life which he hath seen, how shall he know death, which he hath not seen?\" — Samuel Butler" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e48/samuel-butler-823_death_if-a-man-knows-not-life-which-he-hath-se_3113561.jpg" --- # If a man knows not life which he hath seen, how shall he… ![“If a man knows not life which he hath seen, how shall he know death, which he hath not seen?” quote by Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e48/samuel-butler-823_death_if-a-man-knows-not-life-which-he-hath-se_3113561.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e48/samuel-butler-823_death_if-a-man-knows-not-life-which-he-hath-se_3113561.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e48/samuel-butler-823_death_if-a-man-knows-not-life-which-he-hath-se_3113561.jpg) > “If a man knows not life which he hath seen, how shall he know death, which he hath not seen?” [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Without understanding life, one cannot grasp death; experience of life is prerequisite for contemplating mortality. **In simple terms:** Know life to understand death. Key Takeaway Reflect on lived experience before fearing death. Themes philosophy mortality experience Mood contemplative serious Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - personal reflection - spiritual contemplation - literary analysis Key Concepts Existentialism epistemology Questions to Reflect On - How does your daily life shape your view of death? - What experiences have taught you about mortality? A Different Perspective Life experience may be limited, making death concepts abstract. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) ## Related quotes > [Death when to death a death by death hath given Then shall be op't the long shut gates of heaven. \[Mors, mortis morti mortem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-heywood/death-when-to-death-a-death-by-death-hath-given-then-shall-be-op-t/) [Thomas Heywood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-heywood/) > [Death hath a fairer fame than a life of toil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/death-hath-a-fairer-fame-than-a-life-of-toil/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [Death hath a thousand doors to let out life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-massinger/death-hath-a-thousand-doors-to-let-out-life/) [Philip Massinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-massinger/) > [Death hath a thousand doors to let out life. I shall find one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/death-hath-a-thousand-doors-to-let-out-life-i-shall-find-one/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Death hath so many doors to let out life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fletcher/death-hath-so-many-doors-to-let-out-life/) [John Fletcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fletcher/) > [Death, that hath suck'd the honey of thy breath hath had no power yet upon thy beauty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/death-that-hath-suck-d-the-honey-of-thy-breath-hath-had-no-power-yet/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“O my love, my wife! Death, that hath suck'd the honey of thy breath Hath had no power yet upon thy beauty.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/o-my-love-my-wife-death-that-hath-suck-d-the-honey-of-thy-breath-hath/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Death hath no dominion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/death-hath-no-dominion/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [Marriage hath in it less of beauty but more of safety, than the single life; it hath more care, but less danger, it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/marriage-hath-in-it-less-of-beauty-but-more-of-safety-than-the-single/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I argue thee that love is life. And life hath immortality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/i-argue-thee-that-love-is-life-and-life-hath-immortality/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [Life hath set No landmarks before us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bulwer-lytton-1st-earl-of-lytton/life-hath-set-no-landmarks-before-us/) [Robert Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Earl of Lytton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bulwer-lytton-1st-earl-of-lytton/) > [Life hath quicksands, Life hath snares!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/life-hath-quicksands-life-hath-snares/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [Life hath more awe than death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-james-bailey/life-hath-more-awe-than-death/) [Philip James Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-james-bailey/) > [I have not wasted life, but life hath wasted me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-have-not-wasted-life-but-life-hath-wasted-me/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [O thou child of many prayers! Life hath quicksands, Life hath snares! Care and age come unawares!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/o-thou-child-of-many-prayers-life-hath-quicksands-life-hath-snares/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) ## More by Samuel Butler > [Is life worth living? This is a question for an embryo not for a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/is-life-worth-living-this-is-a-question-for-an-embryo-not-for-a-man/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [I am the enfant terrible of literature and science. If I cannot, and I know I cannot, get the literary and scientific bigwigs to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/i-am-the-enfant-terrible-of-literature-and-science-if-i-cannot-and-i/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [If you follow reason far enough it always leads to conclusions that are contrary to reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/if-you-follow-reason-far-enough-it-always-leads-to-conclusions-that/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [All animals, except man, know that the principal business of life is to enjoy it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/all-animals-except-man-know-that-the-principal-business-of-life-is-to/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [The advantage of doing one's praising for oneself is that one can lay it on so thick and exactly in the right places.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/the-advantage-of-doing-one-s-praising-for-oneself-is-that-one-can-lay/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [Spare the rod and spoil the child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/spare-the-rod-and-spoil-the-child/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [Opinions have vested interests just as men have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/opinions-have-vested-interests-just-as-men-have/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [“we must judge men not so much by what they, as by what they make us feel that they have it in them to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/we-must-judge-men-not-so-much-by-what-they-as-by-what-they-make-us/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [If I die prematurely I shall be saved from being bored to death at my own success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/if-i-die-prematurely-i-shall-be-saved-from-being-bored-to-death-at-my/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [Vaccination is the medical sacrament corresponding to baptism. Whether it is or is not more efficacious I do not know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/vaccination-is-the-medical-sacrament-corresponding-to-baptism-whether/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [“Having, then, once introduced an element of inconsistency into his system, he was far too consistent not to be inconsistent consistently, and he lapsed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/having-then-once-introduced-an-element-of-inconsistency-into-his/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [Brigands demand your money or your life; women require both.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/brigands-demand-your-money-or-your-life-women-require-both/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [A man who lets himself be bored is even more contemptible than the bore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/a-man-who-lets-himself-be-bored-is-even-more-contemptible-than-the/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [It is not sufficiently considered in the hour of exultation, that all human excellence is comparative; that no man performs much but in proportion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/it-is-not-sufficiently-considered-in-the-hour-of-exultation-that-all/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [“The oldest books are still only just out to those who have not read them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/the-oldest-books-are-still-only-just-out-to-those-who-have-not-read/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) [Explore all 355 Samuel Butler quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) ## 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. 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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": "If a man knows not life which he hath seen, how shall he know death, which he hath not seen?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Samuel Butler" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/if-a-man-knows-not-life-which-he-hath-seen-how-shall-he-know-death/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Death" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/if-a-man-knows-not-life-which-he-hath-seen-how-shall-he-know-death/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e48/samuel-butler-823_death_if-a-man-knows-not-life-which-he-hath-se_3113561.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e48/samuel-butler-823_death_if-a-man-knows-not-life-which-he-hath-se_3113561.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e48/samuel-butler-823_death_if-a-man-knows-not-life-which-he-hath-se_3113561.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If a man knows not life which he hath seen, how shall he know death, which he hath not seen?” — Samuel Butler", "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": "Samuel Butler", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If a man knows not life...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/if-a-man-knows-not-life-which-he-hath-seen-how-shall-he-know-death/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/if-a-man-knows-not-life-which-he-hath-seen-how-shall-he-know-death/#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 } } ] } ```