--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Not death but disease is the real enemy…" description: "\"Not death but disease is the real enemy; disease, the malign force that requires confrontation. Death is the surcease that comes when the exhausting ba..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45b/sherwin-b-nuland-10278_battle_not-death-but-disease-is-the-real-enemy_3234939.png" --- # Not death but disease is the real enemy; disease, the… ![“Not death but disease is the real enemy; disease, the malign force that requires confrontation. Death is the surcease that comes when the exhausting battle has been lost.” quote by Sherwin B. Nuland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45b/sherwin-b-nuland-10278_battle_not-death-but-disease-is-the-real-enemy_3234939.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45b/sherwin-b-nuland-10278_battle_not-death-but-disease-is-the-real-enemy_3234939.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45b/sherwin-b-nuland-10278_battle_not-death-but-disease-is-the-real-enemy_3234939.png) > “Not death but disease is the real enemy; disease, the malign force that requires confrontation. Death is the surcease that comes when the exhausting battle has been lost.” [Sherwin B. Nuland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwin-b-nuland/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The true adversary is illness, which must be fought; death is merely the end when the fight fails. **In simple terms:** Illness is the real enemy, death follows defeat. Key Takeaway Focus on confronting disease. Themes health mortality conflict Mood determined reflective Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - medical treatment - public health policy - personal wellness plans Key Concepts biology philosophy resilience Questions to Reflect On - How can we better prepare for disease challenges? - What role does mindset play in battling illness? A Different Perspective Illness can be unpredictable and may not be fully controllable. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Battle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/battle/) [Confrontation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confrontation/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Disease](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disease/) [Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [“But the fact is, death is not a confrontation. It is simply an event in the sequence of nature's ongoing rhythms. Not death but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwin-b-nuland/but-the-fact-is-death-is-not-a-confrontation-it-is-simply-an-event-in/) [Sherwin B. Nuland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwin-b-nuland/) > [“Through the act of getting married, one has taken on the task of mutual confrontation until death.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-guggenbhuhl-craig/through-the-act-of-getting-married-one-has-taken-on-the-task-of/) [Adolf Guggenbhuhl-Craig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-guggenbhuhl-craig/) > [I think that the exactitude of the photograph has a sort of compelling nature based in its power to duplicate life. But to me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kruger/i-think-that-the-exactitude-of-the-photograph-has-a-sort-of/) [Barbara Kruger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kruger/) > [“Disease has no intent. It doesn't want anything. It has no malevolent desire to kill. If it could talk it would not say "I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-meissner/disease-has-no-intent-it-doesn-t-want-anything-it-has-no-malevolent/) [Susan Meissner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-meissner/) > [“Face it, George – unlike cholera, death is the only disease everyone is guaranteed to get.’ Heath nodded slowly. ‘But usually only once, Hamish.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-holloway/face-it-george-unlike-cholera-death-is-the-only-disease-everyone-is/) Nigel Holloway > [I think that people would like to, at all times, reject death and disease with technology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/i-think-that-people-would-like-to-at-all-times-reject-death-and/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [“I swear to you that to think too much is a disease, a real, actual disease.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/i-swear-to-you-that-to-think-too-much-is-a-disease-a-real-actual/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [To be acutely conscious is a disease, a real, honest-to-goodness disease.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/to-be-acutely-conscious-is-a-disease-a-real-honest-to-goodness-disease/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [we're focusing too much energy on the symptom rather than the disease: Our real enemy is poverty, not welfare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy-mcmorris-rodgers/we-re-focusing-too-much-energy-on-the-symptom-rather-than-the-disease/) [Cathy McMorris Rodgers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy-mcmorris-rodgers/) > [“Heightened sexuality is a common response to confrontation with death.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/heightened-sexuality-is-a-common-response-to-confrontation-with-death/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [It's better to have a malign providence than an indifferent one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-faulks/it-s-better-to-have-a-malign-providence-than-an-indifferent-one/) [Sebastian Faulks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-faulks/) > [If there is a God, he is a malign thug.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-there-is-a-god-he-is-a-malign-thug/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“Christians must show that misery fits the good for heaven, while happiness prepares the bad for hell; that the wicked get all their good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-g-ingersoll/christians-must-show-that-misery-fits-the-good-for-heaven-while/) [Robert G. Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-g-ingersoll/) > [“a massive, malign indifference to people of color is at work.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cay-johnston/a-massive-malign-indifference-to-people-of-color-is-at-work/) [David Cay Johnston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cay-johnston/) > [When you are generalizing, and when your goal is to malign and to say things about an entire group - there are tens of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirstie-alley/when-you-are-generalizing-and-when-your-goal-is-to-malign-and-to-say/) [Kirstie Alley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirstie-alley/) ## More by Sherwin B. Nuland > [Empires fall, ids explode, great symphonies are written, and behind all of it is a single instinct that demands satisfaction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwin-b-nuland/empires-fall-ids-explode-great-symphonies-are-written-and-behind-all/) [Sherwin B. Nuland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwin-b-nuland/) > [A realistic expectation also demands our acceptance that one's allotted time on earth must be limited to an allowance consistent with the continuity of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwin-b-nuland/a-realistic-expectation-also-demands-our-acceptance-that-one-s/) [Sherwin B. Nuland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwin-b-nuland/) > [There is, to be sure, sometimes only a small difference between being alert to possible danger and allowing oneself to become terrified to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwin-b-nuland/there-is-to-be-sure-sometimes-only-a-small-difference-between-being/) [Sherwin B. Nuland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwin-b-nuland/) > [By the time of my ninth birthday, I had become a bit of a socialist, as I am said by conservative colleagues to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwin-b-nuland/by-the-time-of-my-ninth-birthday-i-had-become-a-bit-of-a-socialist-as/) [Sherwin B. Nuland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwin-b-nuland/) > ['Death with dignity' is our society's expression of the universal yearning to achieve a graceful triumph over the stark and often repugnant finality of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwin-b-nuland/death-with-dignity-is-our-society-s-expression-of-the-universal/) [Sherwin B. Nuland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwin-b-nuland/) > [“Leonardo, with his profound knowledge of art, commenced various undertakings, many of which he never completed, because it appeared to him that the hand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwin-b-nuland/leonardo-with-his-profound-knowledge-of-art-commenced-various/) [Sherwin B. Nuland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwin-b-nuland/) > [Do you know what the world will be saved by? I'll tell you. It'll be saved by the human spirit. And by the human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwin-b-nuland/do-you-know-what-the-world-will-be-saved-by-i-ll-tell-you-it-ll-be/) [Sherwin B. Nuland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwin-b-nuland/) > [It's unnatural to believe death usually has a beauty and a concordance and is usually a coming together of your life's work. It leads…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwin-b-nuland/it-s-unnatural-to-believe-death-usually-has-a-beauty-and-a/) [Sherwin B. Nuland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwin-b-nuland/) > [Death is the surcease that comes when the exhausting battle has been lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwin-b-nuland/death-is-the-surcease-that-comes-when-the-exhausting-battle-has-been/) [Sherwin B. Nuland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwin-b-nuland/) > [There are resurrection themes in every society that has ever been studied, and it is because not just only do we fantasize about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwin-b-nuland/there-are-resurrection-themes-in-every-society-that-has-ever-been/) [Sherwin B. Nuland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwin-b-nuland/) > [Every hope of successive generations of scholars that order might be constructed from the chaotic mess of medical nomenclature has been frustrated. Even diseases…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwin-b-nuland/every-hope-of-successive-generations-of-scholars-that-order-might-be/) [Sherwin B. Nuland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwin-b-nuland/) > [The more personal you are willing to be and the more intimate you are willing to be about the details of your own life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwin-b-nuland/the-more-personal-you-are-willing-to-be-and-the-more-intimate-you-are/) [Sherwin B. Nuland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwin-b-nuland/) > [“We die so that the world may continue to live. We have been given the miracle of life because trillions upon trillions of living…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwin-b-nuland/we-die-so-that-the-world-may-continue-to-live-we-have-been-given-the/) [Sherwin B. Nuland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwin-b-nuland/) > [For aging is an art. The years between its first intimations and the time of the ultimate letting go of all earthly things can-if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwin-b-nuland/for-aging-is-an-art-the-years-between-its-first-intimations-and-the/) [Sherwin B. Nuland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwin-b-nuland/) > [Cancer cells are fixed at an age where they are still too young to have learned the rules of the society in which they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwin-b-nuland/cancer-cells-are-fixed-at-an-age-where-they-are-still-too-young-to/) [Sherwin B. Nuland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwin-b-nuland/) [Explore all 66 Sherwin B. Nuland quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwin-b-nuland/) ## More Battle quotes > [In the battle for police reform, accountability and justice, Americans don't have to re-invent the wheel. We just have to revoke the thing that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-johnson/in-the-battle-for-police-reform-accountability-and-justice-americans/) [Jason Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-johnson/) > [This is, for an accomplished Latino, an accomplished African American, an accomplished anyone who disproves stereotypes, it's a constant battle in your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-sotomayor/this-is-for-an-accomplished-latino-an-accomplished-african-american/) [Sonia Sotomayor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-sotomayor/) > [“Which people take the time to care for their souls, these days? I reckon not many. But...hear this: I think that maybe in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-fletcher/which-people-take-the-time-to-care-for-their-souls-these-days-i/) [Susan Fletcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-fletcher/) > [Only great and general battles can produce great results](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-von-clausewitz/only-great-and-general-battles-can-produce-great-results/) [Carl von Clausewitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-von-clausewitz/) > [Life is a battle of wits, and many people have to fight it unarmed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-esar/life-is-a-battle-of-wits-and-many-people-have-to-fight-it-unarmed/) [Evan Esar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-esar/) > [Pain held no terror for him. Pain was, if not friend, then family, something he had grown up with in his crèche, learning to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-bacigalupi/pain-held-no-terror-for-him-pain-was-if-not-friend-then-family/) [Paolo Bacigalupi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-bacigalupi/) > [There's little in taking or giving, There's little in water or wine: This living, this living, this living, Was never a project of mine.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/there-s-little-in-taking-or-giving-there-s-little-in-water-or-wine/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [When I step into the batters box. The fans, the noise, the cheers, they all disappear. For that moment, the world is just a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft-shelley/when-i-step-into-the-batters-box-the-fans-the-noise-the-cheers-they/) [Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft-shelley/) > [I knew Jimmy Dean. He tested for 'Battle Cry'. Paul Newman tested for 'Battle Cry'. I did nine tests to finally get that role.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tab-hunter/i-knew-jimmy-dean-he-tested-for-battle-cry-paul-newman-tested-for/) [Tab Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tab-hunter/) > [“When we let go of our battles and open our heart to things as they are, then we come to rest in the present…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kornfield/when-we-let-go-of-our-battles-and-open-our-heart-to-things-as-they/) [Jack Kornfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kornfield/) > [Love is a battle," said Marie-Claude, still smiling. "And I plan to go on fighting. To the end." Love is a battle?" said Franz.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/love-is-a-battle-said-marie-claude-still-smiling-and-i-plan-to-go-on/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [It's almost ironic sitting here watching stories about Norm's courageous 'battle' with cancer. He actually did a bit on stage about how stupid that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-macdonald/it-s-almost-ironic-sitting-here-watching-stories-about-norm-s/) [Neil Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-macdonald/) > [“Other folk thought the Rage was simple bloodlust, a berserk savagery that neither knew nor cared what its target was, and so it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-weber/other-folk-thought-the-rage-was-simple-bloodlust-a-berserk-savagery/) [David Weber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-weber/) > [The rationale which accompanies that imposition of male authority euphemistically referred to as 'the battle of the sexes' bears a certain resemblance to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-millett/the-rationale-which-accompanies-that-imposition-of-male-authority/) [Kate Millett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-millett/) > [For many people it's Facebook, or sports on TV, whatever it is. I have my own demons that I battle. But whatever they are,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/for-many-people-it-s-facebook-or-sports-on-tv-whatever-it-is-i-have/) [Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/) [Browse all 4,526 Battle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/battle/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Not death but disease is the real enemy; disease, the malign force that requires confrontation. Death is the surcease that comes when the exhausting battle has been lost.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sherwin B. Nuland" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwin-b-nuland/not-death-but-disease-is-the-real-enemy-disease-the-malign-force-that/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Battle" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwin-b-nuland/not-death-but-disease-is-the-real-enemy-disease-the-malign-force-that/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45b/sherwin-b-nuland-10278_battle_not-death-but-disease-is-the-real-enemy_3234939.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45b/sherwin-b-nuland-10278_battle_not-death-but-disease-is-the-real-enemy_3234939.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45b/sherwin-b-nuland-10278_battle_not-death-but-disease-is-the-real-enemy_3234939.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Not death but disease is the real enemy; disease, the malign force that requires confrontation. Death is the…” — Sherwin B. Nuland", "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": "Sherwin B. Nuland", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwin-b-nuland/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Not death but disease is the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwin-b-nuland/not-death-but-disease-is-the-real-enemy-disease-the-malign-force-that/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwin-b-nuland/not-death-but-disease-is-the-real-enemy-disease-the-malign-force-that/#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 } } ] } ```