--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Not to be born is, past all prizing…" description: "\"“Not to be born is, past all prizing, best; but, when a man has seen the light, this is next best by far, that all speed he should go thither, whence h..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc5/sophocles-370_classicism_not-to-be-born-is-past-all-prizing-best_2328619.png" --- # Not to be born is, past all prizing, best; but, when a man… ![“Not to be born is, past all prizing, best; but, when a man has seen the light, this is next best by far, that all speed he should go thither, whence he hath come.” quote by Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc5/sophocles-370_classicism_not-to-be-born-is-past-all-prizing-best_2328619.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc5/sophocles-370_classicism_not-to-be-born-is-past-all-prizing-best_2328619.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc5/sophocles-370_classicism_not-to-be-born-is-past-all-prizing-best_2328619.png) > ““Not to be born is, past all prizing, best; but, when a man has seen the light, this is next best by far, that all speed he should go thither, whence he hath come.”” [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. It reflects that living is better than not existing, but seeing truth gives a higher purpose, urging swift action toward one's origin. **In simple terms:** Life is good, but truth gives higher purpose. Key Takeaway Seek truth and act quickly. Themes existence truth purpose Mood reflective serious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal crisis - spiritual awakening - ethical decisions - life direction Key Concepts philosophy existentialism Questions to Reflect On - What truth drives your actions? - How does awareness of origins shape purpose? A Different Perspective May be overly romanticized for ancient context. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Classicism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/classicism/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Romanticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/romanticism/) [Tragedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragedy/) ## Related quotes > [Not to be born is, past all prizing, best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/not-to-be-born-is-past-all-prizing-best/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“sounding now/old songs/deep water/no-Great Voices/no-Shark/old songs/new songs”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/sounding-now-old-songs-deep-water-no-great-voices-no-shark-old-songs/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [“If I want to know my light side, my best self, all I have to do is look in the outer world and look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-bray-attwood/if-i-want-to-know-my-light-side-my-best-self-all-i-have-to-do-is-look/) [Janet, Bray Attwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-bray-attwood/) > [“Never to have been born is best But if we must see the light, the next best Is quickly returning whence we came. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-benatar/never-to-have-been-born-is-best-but-if-we-must-see-the-light-the-next/) [David Benatar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-benatar/) > [The past, as you suggest, is absolutely present at all times and the present is born from the past. I wouldn't want to suggest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chang-rae-lee/the-past-as-you-suggest-is-absolutely-present-at-all-times-and-the/) [Chang-Rae Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chang-rae-lee/) > [When you got born again your past was not erased, it became non-existent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-oyakhilome/when-you-got-born-again-your-past-was-not-erased-it-became-non/) [Chris Oyakhilome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-oyakhilome/) > [“Life is a river," she repeated. "Only in the most literal sense are we born on the same day we leave our mother's womb.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/life-is-a-river-she-repeated-only-in-the-most-literal-sense-are-we/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [The future is born, put the past in a casket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-wayne/the-future-is-born-put-the-past-in-a-casket/) [Lil Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lil-wayne/) > [~A child strode a lonely path she saw no hope or prayer and all around her shoulders fell a mess of fiery hair the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angel-eyes/a-child-strode-a-lonely-path-she-saw-no-hope-or-prayer-and-all-around/) Angel\_eyes > [“Faith is the substance of things unseen. (Rom. 10:17). By faith, we hold as true those things that can in no way be visualized.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-duden/faith-is-the-substance-of-things-unseen-rom-10-17-by-faith-we-hold-as/) Barbara Duden > [“I wouldn't have seen the light if she hadn't pointed out, but once sje did, it became impossible to ignore.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ally-condie/i-wouldn-t-have-seen-the-light-if-she-hadn-t-pointed-out-but-once-sje/) [Ally Condie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ally-condie/) > [The reality is that each movie has got to be seen in its own light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-silver/the-reality-is-that-each-movie-has-got-to-be-seen-in-its-own-light/) [Joel Silver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-silver/) > [“Those who fear darkness have never seen what the light can do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/those-who-fear-darkness-have-never-seen-what-the-light-can-do/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Holding my hands, kissing the palms, his smile is ecstatic, jubilant, adoring, and the song playing speaks for him, “Have you ever seen the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/poppet/holding-my-hands-kissing-the-palms-his-smile-is-ecstatic-jubilant/) Poppet > [“In Dwimordene,in Lorien Seldom have walked the feet of Men, Few mortal eyes have seen the light That lies there ever,long and bright. Galadriel!Galadriel!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien/in-dwimordene-in-lorien-seldom-have-walked-the-feet-of-men-few-mortal/) [J.R.R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien/) ## More by Sophocles > [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/) > [God's dice always have a lucky roll.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/god-s-dice-always-have-a-lucky-roll/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [A fool cannot be an actor, though an actor may act a fool's part.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/a-fool-cannot-be-an-actor-though-an-actor-may-act-a-fool-s-part/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [Go then if you must, but remember, no matter how foolish your deeds, those who love you will love you still.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/go-then-if-you-must-but-remember-no-matter-how-foolish-your-deeds/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [Man's worst ill is stubbornness of heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/man-s-worst-ill-is-stubbornness-of-heart/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [A lie never lives to be old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/a-lie-never-lives-to-be-old/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [How dangerous can false reasoning prove!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/how-dangerous-can-false-reasoning-prove/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [Why should man fear since chance is all in all for him, and he can clearly foreknow nothing? Best to live lightly, as one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/why-should-man-fear-since-chance-is-all-in-all-for-him-and-he-can/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“But life takes sudden twists.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/but-life-takes-sudden-twists/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [When ice appears out of doors, and boys seize it up while it is solid, at first they experience new pleasures. But in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/when-ice-appears-out-of-doors-and-boys-seize-it-up-while-it-is-solid/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [For God hates utterly the bray of bragging tongues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/for-god-hates-utterly-the-bray-of-bragging-tongues/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“I have nothing but contempt for the kind of governor who is afraid, for whatever reason, to follow the course that he knows is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/i-have-nothing-but-contempt-for-the-kind-of-governor-who-is-afraid/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“Not from Hades' black and universal lake can you lift him. Not by groaning, not by prayers. Yet you run yourself out in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/not-from-hades-black-and-universal-lake-can-you-lift-him-not-by/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [A fearful man is always hearing things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/a-fearful-man-is-always-hearing-things/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [There is a point at which even justice does injury.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/there-is-a-point-at-which-even-justice-does-injury/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) [Explore all 621 Sophocles quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) ## More Classicism quotes > [A Classical style... is the syllogism of art, the only legitimate process from one world to another. Classicism is not the manner of any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/a-classical-style-is-the-syllogism-of-art-the-only-legitimate-process/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [If a dictator takes up my ideas, the resulting town will survive the political system that commissioned it and stand as a social good.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-krier/if-a-dictator-takes-up-my-ideas-the-resulting-town-will-survive-the/) [Leon Krier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-krier/) > [The temptation is to stay inside; to subside into the kind of recluse whom neighborhood children regard with derision and little awe; to let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-temptation-is-to-stay-inside-to-subside-into-the-kind-of-recluse/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [In aesthetic theory it might be extremely difficult, if not quite impracticable, to draw a line between the canon of classicism, or regard for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thorstein-veblen/in-aesthetic-theory-it-might-be-extremely-difficult-if-not-quite/) [Thorstein Veblen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thorstein-veblen/) > [I think Austin is read more now than Charles Dickens, and Dickens was much more popular in his day. She endures because of her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whit-stillman/i-think-austin-is-read-more-now-than-charles-dickens-and-dickens-was/) [Whit Stillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whit-stillman/) > [Romanticism was more than merely an alternative to a sterile classicism; romanticism made possible, especially in art, a great expansion of the human consciousness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/romanticism-was-more-than-merely-an-alternative-to-a-sterile/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Everything I loved had been dead for two centuries - or, as in the case of Graeco-Roman classicism, for two milenniums. I am never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/everything-i-loved-had-been-dead-for-two-centuries-or-as-in-the-case/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [“This is something of a paradox in that the transgression—crime perhaps—of America has been to reject Classicism for Romanticism. The national distaste for moderation—to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/this-is-something-of-a-paradox-in-that-the-transgression-crime/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [Despite the rigid classicism of the famous Paris Opera school and company, the French have done more than their share to unmoor la Danse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-gottlieb/despite-the-rigid-classicism-of-the-famous-paris-opera-school-and/) [Robert Gottlieb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-gottlieb/) > [Elegance is reduction, simplification, condensation. It is spare, stark, sleek. Elegance is cultivated abstraction. The source of Greek and Roman classicism - clarity, order,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/elegance-is-reduction-simplification-condensation-it-is-spare-stark/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [Classicism becomes avant-garde when everyone else is doing their utmost to develop new stylistic forms. I think it's healthy to return to classical forms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-haneke/classicism-becomes-avant-garde-when-everyone-else-is-doing-their/) [Michael Haneke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-haneke/) > [I like classicism. I like historic reference. I like something new with something almost ancient.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-owens/i-like-classicism-i-like-historic-reference-i-like-something-new-with/) [Rick Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-owens/) > [I wanted to revolutionise habits and contemporary life - to liberate nature, to free it from the authority of old theories and classicism... I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-de-vlaminck/i-wanted-to-revolutionise-habits-and-contemporary-life-to-liberate/) [Maurice de Vlaminck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-de-vlaminck/) > [Classicism is health, romanticisim is sickness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/classicism-is-health-romanticisim-is-sickness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [At last, in the gray dawn of Civilization the fire in the Soul dies down. The dwindling powers rise to one more, half-successful, effort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-spengler/at-last-in-the-gray-dawn-of-civilization-the-fire-in-the-soul-dies/) [Oswald Spengler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-spengler/) [Browse all 21 Classicism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/classicism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Not to be born is, past all prizing, best; but, when a man has seen the light, this is next best by far, that all speed he should go thither, whence he hath come.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sophocles" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/not-to-be-born-is-past-all-prizing-best-but-when-a-man-has-seen-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Classicism" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/not-to-be-born-is-past-all-prizing-best-but-when-a-man-has-seen-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc5/sophocles-370_classicism_not-to-be-born-is-past-all-prizing-best_2328619.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc5/sophocles-370_classicism_not-to-be-born-is-past-all-prizing-best_2328619.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc5/sophocles-370_classicism_not-to-be-born-is-past-all-prizing-best_2328619.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Not to be born is, past all prizing, best; but, when a man has seen the light, this is next best by far…” — Sophocles", "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": "Sophocles", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Not to be born is, past...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/not-to-be-born-is-past-all-prizing-best-but-when-a-man-has-seen-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/not-to-be-born-is-past-all-prizing-best-but-when-a-man-has-seen-the/#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 } } ] } ```