--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If there wasn't death, I think you…" description: "\"If there wasn't death, I think you couldn't go on.\" — Stevie Smith" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/933/stevie-smith-8661_death_if-there-wasn-t-death-i-think-you-couldn_1003516.png" --- # If there wasn't death, I think you couldn't go on. ![“If there wasn't death, I think you couldn't go on.” quote by Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/933/stevie-smith-8661_death_if-there-wasn-t-death-i-think-you-couldn_1003516.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/933/stevie-smith-8661_death_if-there-wasn-t-death-i-think-you-couldn_1003516.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/933/stevie-smith-8661_death_if-there-wasn-t-death-i-think-you-couldn_1003516.png) > “If there wasn't death, I think you couldn't go on.” [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life’s urgency is heightened by mortality; without death, motivation wanes. **In simple terms:** Death drives us forward. Key Takeaway Embrace mortality to inspire action. Themes mortality motivation existential life urgency philosophy Mood philosophical introspective Type existential motivation When to use this quote - Goal setting - creative expression - risk taking - personal growth Key Concepts Existentialism psychology of meaning Stoicism Questions to Reflect On - How does awareness of death shape your goals? - Can purpose be found without mortality? A Different Perspective Some find meaning without death; cultural views differ. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Death Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death-think/) [Goes on](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goes-on/) [Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think/) [Think Couldn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-couldn-1861313/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Wasn Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wasn-death-2133731/) ## Related quotes > [“It wasn’t a death stare--not for a few seconds at least.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-g-blaise/it-wasn-t-a-death-stare-not-for-a-few-seconds-at-least/) [S.G. Blaise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-g-blaise/) > [I hit rock bottom, but thank God my bottom wasn't death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-ray-vaughan/i-hit-rock-bottom-but-thank-god-my-bottom-wasn-t-death/) [Stevie Ray Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-ray-vaughan/) > [“Sometimes the truest things are the weirdest ones, the ones you think couldn’t possibly work. And I think…” He hesitated. “I think a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-archer/sometimes-the-truest-things-are-the-weirdest-ones-the-ones-you-think/) [May Archer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-archer/) > [I think I couldn't give myself any advice apart from just do exactly what I want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-healy/i-think-i-couldn-t-give-myself-any-advice-apart-from-just-do-exactly/) [Matthew Healy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-healy/) > [I think that if I couldn't write, I would be unemployable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-sorkin/i-think-that-if-i-couldn-t-write-i-would-be-unemployable/) [Aaron Sorkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-sorkin/) > [“I think I couldn’t love him at all if he was the sort of man to make me choose between him and my writing.”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meljean-brook/i-think-i-couldn-t-love-him-at-all-if-he-was-the-sort-of-man-to-make/) [Meljean Brook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meljean-brook/) > [It made her think about how she couldn't believe how big the universe was, but how small it was for her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-lynn-anderson/it-made-her-think-about-how-she-couldn-t-believe-how-big-the-universe/) [Jodi Lynn Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-lynn-anderson/) > [When we eat something at a restaurant, however simple it may look, there's something in it that makes you think, 'Well, I couldn't quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-guarnaschelli/when-we-eat-something-at-a-restaurant-however-simple-it-may-look/) [Alex Guarnaschelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-guarnaschelli/) > [“You might very well think that - I couldn't possibly comment.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dobbs/you-might-very-well-think-that-i-couldn-t-possibly-comment/) [Michael Dobbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dobbs/) > [I don't think I'd ever get thin, but I don't see why I should necessarily think that I couldn't You can't live your life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexei-sayle/i-don-t-think-i-d-ever-get-thin-but-i-don-t-see-why-i-should/) [Alexei Sayle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexei-sayle/) > [Then there was LSD, which was supposed to make you think you could fly. I remember it made you think you couldn't stand up,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/then-there-was-lsd-which-was-supposed-to-make-you-think-you-could-fly/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [Sometimes I think, 'Why couldn't I have been normal?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demi-lovato/sometimes-i-think-why-couldn-t-i-have-been-normal/) [Demi Lovato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demi-lovato/) > [I couldn't bear to think about it; and yet, somehow, I couldn't think about nothing else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-couldn-t-bear-to-think-about-it-and-yet-somehow-i-couldn-t-think/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“Death would think itself real without an official protest from the dead person’s greatest ally.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-lodato/death-would-think-itself-real-without-an-official-protest-from-the/) [Victor Lodato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-lodato/) > [“...for life's not a paragraph/ and death, i think, is no parenthesis.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/for-life-s-not-a-paragraph-and-death-i-think-is-no-parenthesis/) [e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/) ## More by Stevie Smith > [I only asked my friends to be friendly and polite, I found them indifferent and censorious; The one I left to silence, the other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/i-only-asked-my-friends-to-be-friendly-and-polite-i-found-them/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) > [Oh, no no no, it was too cold always (Still the dead one lay moaning) I was much too far out all my life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/oh-no-no-no-it-was-too-cold-always-still-the-dead-one-lay-moaning-i/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) > [“Wild creatures' eyes, the colonel said, Are innocent and fathomless And when I look at them I see That they are not aware of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/wild-creatures-eyes-the-colonel-said-are-innocent-and-fathomless-and/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) > [“Raise from your bed of languor Raise from your bed of dismay Your friends will not come tomorrow As they did not come today…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/raise-from-your-bed-of-languor-raise-from-your-bed-of-dismay-your/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) > [“There is a god in whom I do not believe Yet to this god my love stretches, This god whom I do not believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/there-is-a-god-in-whom-i-do-not-believe-yet-to-this-god-my-love/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) > [So I fancy my Muse says, when I wish to die, Oh no, Oh no, we are not yet friends enough, And Virtue also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/so-i-fancy-my-muse-says-when-i-wish-to-die-oh-no-oh-no-we-are-not-yet/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) > [If a lady comes up to you and tells you that your dear mama is lying in a faint on the pavement round the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/if-a-lady-comes-up-to-you-and-tells-you-that-your-dear-mama-is-lying/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) > [I like food, I like stripping vegetables of their skins, I like to have a slim young parsnip under my knife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/i-like-food-i-like-stripping-vegetables-of-their-skins-i-like-to-have/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) > [Death's not a separation or alteration or parting; it's just a one-handled door.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/death-s-not-a-separation-or-alteration-or-parting-it-s-just-a-one/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) > [The flower and fruit of love are mine The ant, the fieldmouse and the mole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/the-flower-and-fruit-of-love-are-mine-the-ant-the-fieldmouse-and-the/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) > [“Prate not to me of suicide, Faint heart in battle, not for pride I say Endure, but that such end denied Makes welcomer yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/prate-not-to-me-of-suicide-faint-heart-in-battle-not-for-pride-i-say/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) > [It is an amiable part of human nature, that we should love our animals; it is even better to love them to the point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/it-is-an-amiable-part-of-human-nature-that-we-should-love-our-animals/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) > [My Muse sits forlorn She wishes she had not been born She sits in the cold No word she says is ever told.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/my-muse-sits-forlorn-she-wishes-she-had-not-been-born-she-sits-in-the/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) > [There are moments of despair that come sometimes, when night sets in and a white fog presses against the windows. Then our house changes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/there-are-moments-of-despair-that-come-sometimes-when-night-sets-in/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) > [Fourteen-year-old, why must you giggle and dote, Fourteen-year-old, why are you such a goat? I'm fourteen years old, that is the reason, I giggle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/fourteen-year-old-why-must-you-giggle-and-dote-fourteen-year-old-why/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) [Explore all 79 Stevie Smith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) ## 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](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. Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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": "If there wasn't death, I think you couldn't go on.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stevie Smith" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/if-there-wasn-t-death-i-think-you-couldn-t-go-on/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Death" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/if-there-wasn-t-death-i-think-you-couldn-t-go-on/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/933/stevie-smith-8661_death_if-there-wasn-t-death-i-think-you-couldn_1003516.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/933/stevie-smith-8661_death_if-there-wasn-t-death-i-think-you-couldn_1003516.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/933/stevie-smith-8661_death_if-there-wasn-t-death-i-think-you-couldn_1003516.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If there wasn't death, I think you couldn't go on.” — Stevie Smith", "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": "Stevie Smith", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If there wasn't death, I think...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/if-there-wasn-t-death-i-think-you-couldn-t-go-on/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/if-there-wasn-t-death-i-think-you-couldn-t-go-on/#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 } } ] } ```