--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Not to be born is, past all prizing, best." description: "\"Not to be born is, past all prizing, best.\" — Sophocles" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/878/sophocles-370_best_not-to-be-born-is-past-all-prizing-best_137297.png" --- # Not to be born is, past all prizing, best. ![“Not to be born is, past all prizing, best.” quote by Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/878/sophocles-370_best_not-to-be-born-is-past-all-prizing-best_137297.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/878/sophocles-370_best_not-to-be-born-is-past-all-prizing-best_137297.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/878/sophocles-370_best_not-to-be-born-is-past-all-prizing-best_137297.png) > “Not to be born is, past all prizing, best.” [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. A bleak reflection that non‑existence is preferable to a life filled with suffering and disappointment. **In simple terms:** Being born can be painful; not existing avoids pain. Key Takeaway Weigh the value of life versus suffering. Themes existence suffering philosophy Mood somber philosophical Type existential reflective When to use this quote - end‑of‑life care - mental health - philosophical counseling Key Concepts nihilism stoicism ethics Questions to Reflect On - What gives life meaning despite pain? - How can we alleviate suffering? A Different Perspective The view is pessimistic and may ignore life's joys. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Best](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/best/) [Birth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birth/) [Born](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/born/) [Born Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/born-past-1426367/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Past Prizing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past-prizing-1560703/) [Prizing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prizing-1560702/) [Prizing Best](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prizing-best-1560701/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [I believe that incentivized prizing is the best solution to help unlock the answers to the some of the profound problems that plague our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naveen-jain/i-believe-that-incentivized-prizing-is-the-best-solution-to-help/) [Naveen Jain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naveen-jain/) > [“Not to be born is, past all prizing, best; but, when a man has seen the light, this is next best by far, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/not-to-be-born-is-past-all-prizing-best-but-when-a-man-has-seen-the/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“To talk of 'prizing her open' as if she were an oyster, to use any but the finest and subtlest and most pliable tools…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/to-talk-of-prizing-her-open-as-if-she-were-an-oyster-to-use-any-but/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [The artist must create himself or be born again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-levertov/the-artist-must-create-himself-or-be-born-again/) [Denise Levertov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-levertov/) > [It is impossible to conceive how different things would have turned out if that birth had not happened whenever, wherever, however it didfor millions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/it-is-impossible-to-conceive-how-different-things-would-have-turned/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [“i'll born in my soul again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paniz/i-ll-born-in-my-soul-again/) [Paniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paniz/) > [We are born of love. 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