--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We approach truth only inasmuch as we…" description: "\"“We approach truth only inasmuch as we depart from life. For what do we, who love truth, strive after in life? To free ourselves from the body, and fro..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb1/socrates-405_death_we-approach-truth-only-inasmuch-as-we-de_132077.jpg" --- # We approach truth only inasmuch as we depart from life… ![“We approach truth only inasmuch as we depart from life. For what do we, who love truth, strive after in life? To free ourselves from the body, and from all the evil that is caused by the life of the body! If so, then how can we fail to be glad when death comes to us? The wise man seeks death all…” quote by Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb1/socrates-405_death_we-approach-truth-only-inasmuch-as-we-de_132077.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb1/socrates-405_death_we-approach-truth-only-inasmuch-as-we-de_132077.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb1/socrates-405_death_we-approach-truth-only-inasmuch-as-we-de_132077.jpg) > ““We approach truth only inasmuch as we depart from life. For what do we, who love truth, strive after in life? To free ourselves from the body, and from all the evil that is caused by the life of the body! If so, then how can we fail to be glad when death comes to us? The wise man seeks death all his life and therefore death is not terrible to him.”” [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True wisdom involves detaching from bodily concerns, seeing death as a release, thus embracing mortality without fear. **In simple terms:** Freedom from the body leads to peace with death. Key Takeaway Cultivate detachment to lessen fear of death. Themes mortality philosophy detachment Mood contemplative serene Type philosophical spiritual When to use this quote - meditation - philosophical discourse - spiritual practice Key Concepts stoicism existentialism Questions to Reflect On - What does death mean to you? - Can you find peace without denying life? A Different Perspective Detachment may be unrealistic for many. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Wise man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wise-man/) ## Related quotes > [I can only live in the world of truth, inasmuch as I'm able to be truthful with myself at any given point, on any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-grant/i-can-only-live-in-the-world-of-truth-inasmuch-as-i-m-able-to-be/) [John Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-grant/) > [Truth is: We all should strive to have a positive attitude that elevates those around us up to our level.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-cowell/truth-is-we-all-should-strive-to-have-a-positive-attitude-that/) [Larry Cowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-cowell/) > [Wherever you be, wherever you may, seek the truth, strive for the beautiful, achieve the good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sheff/wherever-you-be-wherever-you-may-seek-the-truth-strive-for-the/) [David Sheff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sheff/) > [Science does not aim at establishing immutable truths and eternal dogmas; its aim is to approach the truth by successive approximations, without claiming that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/science-does-not-aim-at-establishing-immutable-truths-and-eternal/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [“The truth is always the best approach when saying no. Keep it simple. People don't need to hear your sob story. A five-minute exposition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glynnis-whitwer/the-truth-is-always-the-best-approach-when-saying-no-keep-it-simple/) [Glynnis Whitwer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glynnis-whitwer/) > [My approach is the truth and aiming for the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/letitia-wright/my-approach-is-the-truth-and-aiming-for-the-truth/) [Letitia Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/letitia-wright/) > [Poetry is, above all, an approach to the truth of feeling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-rukeyser/poetry-is-above-all-an-approach-to-the-truth-of-feeling/) [Muriel Rukeyser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-rukeyser/) > [I wish to approach truth as closely as is possible, and therefore I abstract everything until I arrive at the fundamental quality of objects.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piet-mondrian/i-wish-to-approach-truth-as-closely-as-is-possible-and-therefore-i/) [Piet Mondrian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piet-mondrian/) > [The slow, the never ending approach to truth consists in perpetually forming and testing hypotheses, accepting those at which at the time seem to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-g-frazer/the-slow-the-never-ending-approach-to-truth-consists-in-perpetually/) [James G. Frazer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-g-frazer/) > [The tongue of a fool is the key of his counsel, which, in a wise man, wisdom hath in keeping.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/the-tongue-of-a-fool-is-the-key-of-his-counsel-which-in-a-wise-man/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [“you don't know nothing because you're not in love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dreytal/you-don-t-know-nothing-because-you-re-not-in-love/) Dreytal > [I love the truth. Whether it's painful or wonderful, it always widens my perspective and changes me. It helps move me forward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madi-diaz/i-love-the-truth-whether-it-s-painful-or-wonderful-it-always-widens/) [Madi Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madi-diaz/) > [“We're LOVE! We came straight outta LOVE & that's where we're headed. From love to love - is what we call LIFE! Love is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhishek-kumar/we-re-love-we-came-straight-outta-love-that-s-where-we-re-headed-from/) [Abhishek Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhishek-kumar/) > [The philosopher is in love with truth, that is, not with the changing world of sensation, which is the object of opinion, but with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/the-philosopher-is-in-love-with-truth-that-is-not-with-the-changing/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [The inability to lie is far from the love of truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-inability-to-lie-is-far-from-the-love-of-truth/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) ## More by Socrates > [By all means marry; if you get a good wife, you'll be happy. If you get a bad one, you'll become a philosopher.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/by-all-means-marry-if-you-get-a-good-wife-you-ll-be-happy-if-you-get/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [Falling down is not a failure. Failure comes when you stay where you have fallen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/falling-down-is-not-a-failure-failure-comes-when-you-stay-where-you/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [Do not go through life like leaf blown from here to there believing whatever you are told.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/do-not-go-through-life-like-leaf-blown-from-here-to-there-believing/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [If the whole world depends on today's youth, I can't see the world lasting another 100 years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/if-the-whole-world-depends-on-today-s-youth-i-can-t-see-the-world/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [“I only know, I know nothing”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/i-only-know-i-know-nothing/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/i-cannot-teach-anybody-anything-i-can-only-make-them-think/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [If measure and symmetry are absent from any composition in any degree, ruin awaits both the ingredients and the composition... Measure and symmetry are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/if-measure-and-symmetry-are-absent-from-any-composition-in-any-degree/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [Marry a good woman, and be happy the rest of your life. Or, marry a bad, and become a good philosopher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/marry-a-good-woman-and-be-happy-the-rest-of-your-life-or-marry-a-bad/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [“For the fear of death is indeed the pretense of wisdom, and not real wisdom, being a pretense of knowing the unknown; and no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/for-the-fear-of-death-is-indeed-the-pretense-of-wisdom-and-not-real/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [There is no difference between knowledge and temperance; for he who knows what is good and embraces it, who knows what is bad and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/there-is-no-difference-between-knowledge-and-temperance-for-he-who/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [Besides, it is a shame to let yourself grow old through neglect before seeing how you can develop the maximum beauty and strength of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/besides-it-is-a-shame-to-let-yourself-grow-old-through-neglect-before/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [The greatest blessing granted to mankind come by way of madness, which is a divine gift.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/the-greatest-blessing-granted-to-mankind-come-by-way-of-madness-which/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [I desire only to know the truth, and to live as well as I can...And, to the utmost of my power, I exhort all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/i-desire-only-to-know-the-truth-and-to-live-as-well-as-i-can-and-to/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [So you would rather suffer an injustice than do an injustice?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/so-you-would-rather-suffer-an-injustice-than-do-an-injustice/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [The end of life is to be like unto God; and the soul following God, will be like unto Him; He being the beginning,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/the-end-of-life-is-to-be-like-unto-god-and-the-soul-following-god/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) [Explore all 579 Socrates quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) ## 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. He thought he had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life; that, having seen it, he could die content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/it-was-beautiful-he-thought-he-had-never-seen-anything-so-beautiful/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [Retirement? You're talking about death, right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-altman/retirement-you-re-talking-about-death-right/) [Robert Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-altman/) > [With multiplayer, permanent death, and an ever-changing world to explore and conquer, 'A Valley Without Wind' might be the place you're looking for if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-manuel/with-multiplayer-permanent-death-and-an-ever-changing-world-to/) [Rob Manuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-manuel/) > [“What did you see?” she asked gently. His brow furrowed, as if he could not understand the question. 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": "“We approach truth only inasmuch as we depart from life. For what do we, who love truth, strive after in life? To free ourselves from the body, and from all the evil that is caused by the life of the body! If so, then how can we fail to be glad when death comes to us? The wise man seeks death all his life and therefore death is not terrible to him.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Socrates" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/we-approach-truth-only-inasmuch-as-we-depart-from-life-for-what-do-we/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Death" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/we-approach-truth-only-inasmuch-as-we-depart-from-life-for-what-do-we/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb1/socrates-405_death_we-approach-truth-only-inasmuch-as-we-de_132077.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb1/socrates-405_death_we-approach-truth-only-inasmuch-as-we-de_132077.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb1/socrates-405_death_we-approach-truth-only-inasmuch-as-we-de_132077.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We approach truth only inasmuch as we depart from life. For what do we, who love truth, strive after in…” — Socrates", "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": "Socrates", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“We approach truth only inasmuch as...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/we-approach-truth-only-inasmuch-as-we-depart-from-life-for-what-do-we/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/we-approach-truth-only-inasmuch-as-we-depart-from-life-for-what-do-we/#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 } } ] } ```