--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If man must himself die, after first…" description: "\"“If man must himself die, after first losing his most beloved ones by death, he would prefer that his life be forfeit to an inexorable law of nature, t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b94/sigmund-freud-360_death_if-man-must-himself-die-after-first-losi_1935237.jpg" --- # If man must himself die, after first losing his most… ![“If man must himself die, after first losing his most beloved ones by death, he would prefer that his life be forfeit to an inexorable law of nature, the sublime †Å¬³Ç·, than to a mere accident which perhaps could have been in some way avoided. But perhaps this belief in the incidence of death as…” quote by Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b94/sigmund-freud-360_death_if-man-must-himself-die-after-first-losi_1935237.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b94/sigmund-freud-360_death_if-man-must-himself-die-after-first-losi_1935237.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b94/sigmund-freud-360_death_if-man-must-himself-die-after-first-losi_1935237.jpg) > ““If man must himself die, after first losing his most beloved ones by death, he would prefer that his life be forfeit to an inexorable law of nature, the sublime †Å¬³Ç·, than to a mere accident which perhaps could have been in some way avoided. But perhaps this belief in the incidence of death as the necessary consequence of an inner law of being is also only one of those illusions that we have fashioned for ourselves 'so as to endure the burden of existence'. It is certainly not a primordial belief: the idea of a 'natural death' is alien to primitive races; they ascribe every death occurring among themselves to the influence of an enemy or an evil spirit. So let”” [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Humans create narratives about death to cope, but these beliefs are cultural constructs, not universal truths. **In simple terms:** Death beliefs are cultural stories. Key Takeaway Question and understand your own death narratives. Themes mortality culture illusion coping existential anxiety Mood analytical thoughtful Type philosophical psychological When to use this quote - grief counseling - cultural studies - personal reflection - end‑of‑life planning Key Concepts anthropology psychology mythology Questions to Reflect On - What death narratives shape your life? - How do cultural beliefs affect your fear of death? A Different Perspective Such narratives may ignore biological realities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Death Necessary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death-necessary-587613/) [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Law of nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law-of-nature/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Forfeit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-forfeit-2755066/) [Natural death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/natural-death/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Primordial Belief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/primordial-belief-3052099/) ## Related quotes > [The only principle I can see in this life, is that one must forfeit the less for the greater.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/the-only-principle-i-can-see-in-this-life-is-that-one-must-forfeit/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [Life and death are but phases of the same thing, the reverse and obverse of the same coin. Death is as necessary for man's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/life-and-death-are-but-phases-of-the-same-thing-the-reverse-and/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“LIFE" made it possible, "DEATH" made it necessary!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-s-kushner-2/life-made-it-possible-death-made-it-necessary/) [Harold s kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-s-kushner-2/) > [Death is an old friend; I know him well. I lived with him, ate with him, slept with him; to meet him again does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/death-is-an-old-friend-i-know-him-well-i-lived-with-him-ate-with-him/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Cowards die many times before their deaths; The valiant never taste of death but once. Of all the wonders that I yet have heard,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/cowards-die-many-times-before-their-deaths-the-valiant-never-taste-of/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“Owen Meany had believed that his death was necessary if others were to be saved from a stupidity and hatred that was destroying him.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/owen-meany-had-believed-that-his-death-was-necessary-if-others-were/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [“A coward dies a thousand times before his death, but the valiant taste of death but once. It seems to me most strange that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-coward-dies-a-thousand-times-before-his-death-but-the-valiant-taste/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Death is not natural for a state as it is for a human being, for whom death is not only necessary, but frequently even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/death-is-not-natural-for-a-state-as-it-is-for-a-human-being-for-whom/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [Death, a necessary end, will come when it will come](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/death-a-necessary-end-will-come-when-it-will-come/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Of all the wonders that I yet have heard, It seems to me most strange that men should fear; Seeing that death, a necessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/of-all-the-wonders-that-i-yet-have-heard-it-seems-to-me-most-strange/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“cowards die many times before their deaths; the valiant never tastes of death but once, it seems to me most strange that men should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-jaquavis-dirty-money/cowards-die-many-times-before-their-deaths-the-valiant-never-tastes/) [Ashley & JaQuavis (Dirty Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-jaquavis-dirty-money/) > [I look upon death to be as necessary to our constitution as sleep. We shall rise refreshed in the morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/i-look-upon-death-to-be-as-necessary-to-our-constitution-as-sleep-we/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [A feud should live a full and colorful life, and then it should die a natural death and be forgotten.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-newman/a-feud-should-live-a-full-and-colorful-life-and-then-it-should-die-a/) [Paul Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-newman/) > [Relationship never dies a natural death...They are murdered by EGO, ATTITUDE and IGNORANCE.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/relationship-never-dies-a-natural-death-they-are-murdered-by-ego/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Relationships never die a natural death, they are always murdered by ego, attitude or ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-moye/relationships-never-die-a-natural-death-they-are-always-murdered-by/) [Lauren Moye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-moye/) ## More by Sigmund Freud > [Anatomy is destiny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/anatomy-is-destiny/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [“Woe to you, my Princess, when I come. I will kiss you quite red and feed you till you are plump. And if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/woe-to-you-my-princess-when-i-come-i-will-kiss-you-quite-red-and-feed/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [I take up the standpoint that the tendency to aggression is an innate, independent, instinctual disposition in man, and I come back now to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/i-take-up-the-standpoint-that-the-tendency-to-aggression-is-an-innate/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [“Ko postavlja pitanje o smislu zivota,s njegovim libidom nije nesto u redu.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/ko-postavlja-pitanje-o-smislu-zivota-s-njegovim-libidom-nije-nesto-u/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [“When it comes to the small matters in life one should think long and hard, but when it comes to the big ones -whether…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/when-it-comes-to-the-small-matters-in-life-one-should-think-long-and/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [We like to forget that in fact everything in our life is chance, from our genesis out of the encounter of spermatozoon and egg…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/we-like-to-forget-that-in-fact-everything-in-our-life-is-chance-from/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [We should picture the instrument that carries our mental functioning as resembling a compound microscope or photographic apparatus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/we-should-picture-the-instrument-that-carries-our-mental-functioning/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [The religions of mankind must be classed among the mass-delusions of this kind. No one, needless to say, who shares a delusion ever recognizes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/the-religions-of-mankind-must-be-classed-among-the-mass-delusions-of/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [It seems to be my fate to discover only the obvious: that children have sexual feelings, which every nurse maid knows; and that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/it-seems-to-be-my-fate-to-discover-only-the-obvious-that-children/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [The first requisite of civilization is that of justice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/the-first-requisite-of-civilization-is-that-of-justice/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [“Actually, the substitution of the reality-principle for the pleasure-principle denotes no dethronement of the pleasure-principle, but only a safeguarding of it. A momentary pleasure,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/actually-the-substitution-of-the-reality-principle-for-the-pleasure/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [Dreams are often most profound when they seem the most crazy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/dreams-are-often-most-profound-when-they-seem-the-most-crazy/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [Against the suffering which may come upon one from human relationships the readiest safeguard is voluntary isolation, keeping oneself aloof from other people. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/against-the-suffering-which-may-come-upon-one-from-human/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [There is to my mind no doubt that the concept of beautiful had its roots in sexual excitation and that its original meaning was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/there-is-to-my-mind-no-doubt-that-the-concept-of-beautiful-had-its/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [The voice of the intellect is soft one, but it does not rest until it has gained a hearing. Ultimately, after endless rebuffs, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/the-voice-of-the-intellect-is-soft-one-but-it-does-not-rest-until-it/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) [Explore all 608 Sigmund Freud quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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. 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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 man must himself die, after first losing his most beloved ones by death, he would prefer that his life be forfeit to an inexorable law of nature, the sublime †Å¬³Ç·, than to a mere accident which perhaps could have been in some way avoided. But perhaps this belief in the incidence of death as the necessary consequence of an inner law of being is also only one of those illusions that we have fashioned for ourselves 'so as to endure the burden of existence'. 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