--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Nature is honest, we aren't; we embalm…" description: "\"Nature is honest, we aren't; we embalm our dead.\" — Ugo Betti" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8df/ugo-betti-17809_burial_nature-is-honest-we-aren-t-we-embalm-our_1692099.png" --- # Nature is honest, we aren't; we embalm our dead. ![“Nature is honest, we aren't; we embalm our dead.” quote by Ugo Betti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8df/ugo-betti-17809_burial_nature-is-honest-we-aren-t-we-embalm-our_1692099.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8df/ugo-betti-17809_burial_nature-is-honest-we-aren-t-we-embalm-our_1692099.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8df/ugo-betti-17809_burial_nature-is-honest-we-aren-t-we-embalm-our_1692099.png) > “Nature is honest, we aren't; we embalm our dead.” [Ugo Betti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ugo-betti/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He contrasts nature’s transparency with human practices of embalming, critiquing denial of death. **In simple terms:** Nature tells truth; humans hide death. Key Takeaway Acknowledge mortality openly. Themes mortality honesty culture Mood somber thoughtful Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - funeral planning - environmental education - artistic expression Key Concepts thanilosophy ritual ethical critique Questions to Reflect On - Why do we conceal death? - What does honesty about mortality change? A Different Perspective May overlook cultural reasons for embalming. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Honest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honest/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) ## Related quotes > [I am, by nature, an honest person. I wear my emotions on my sleeve. There is no 'behind closed doors' with me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lasseter/i-am-by-nature-an-honest-person-i-wear-my-emotions-on-my-sleeve-there/) [John Lasseter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lasseter/) > [And love is loveliest when embalm'd in tears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-scott/and-love-is-loveliest-when-embalm-d-in-tears/) [Walter Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-scott/) > [Photography at first was asked to do nothing but embalm our best smiles for the benefit of our friends and our best clothes for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/photography-at-first-was-asked-to-do-nothing-but-embalm-our-best/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [“They needed to take action, make haste, embalm the dead town, dress the wounds of the sculptures, heal the sick windows, give succour to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-rodenbach/they-needed-to-take-action-make-haste-embalm-the-dead-town-dress-the/) [Georges Rodenbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-rodenbach/) > [Gee, what a terrific party. Later on we'll get some fluid and embalm each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-simon/gee-what-a-terrific-party-later-on-we-ll-get-some-fluid-and-embalm/) [Neil Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-simon/) > [“Perhaps more importantly, the ants used all the sugar lumps they could steal to build a small sugar pyramid in one of the hollow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/perhaps-more-importantly-the-ants-used-all-the-sugar-lumps-they-could/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [Placed as the fossils are in their several tiers of burial-places the one over the other; we have in them true witnesses of successive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roderick-murchison/placed-as-the-fossils-are-in-their-several-tiers-of-burial-places-the/) [Roderick Murchison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roderick-murchison/) > [No known human group... simply throw out its dead without any ritual or ceremony. In stark contrast, no animal practices burial of dead individuals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodosius-dobzhansky/no-known-human-group-simply-throw-out-its-dead-without-any-ritual-or/) [Theodosius Dobzhansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodosius-dobzhansky/) > [O Death, the Consecrator! Nothing so sanctifies a name As to be written--Dead. Nothing so wins a life from blame, So covers it from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/o-death-the-consecrator-nothing-so-sanctifies-a-name-as-to-be-written/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [It's great that after 700 years William Wallace has finally had a proper burial. He did so much for the country. You should be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-gibson/it-s-great-that-after-700-years-william-wallace-has-finally-had-a/) [Mel Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-gibson/) > [There is nothing quite so good as burial at sea. It is simple, tidy, and not very incriminating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-hitchcock/there-is-nothing-quite-so-good-as-burial-at-sea-it-is-simple-tidy-and/) [Alfred Hitchcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-hitchcock/) > [“Clemo, Nonini, Jua Cali wakianzisha Genge, ilishika but hawakuwa na clear plan. Now it's dead and burried with Mejja as the only survivor mwenye…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-santo/clemo-nonini-jua-cali-wakianzisha-genge-ilishika-but-hawakuwa-na/) [DON SANTO](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-santo/) > [Royalty is a fine burial shroud.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodora/royalty-is-a-fine-burial-shroud/) [Theodora](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodora/) > [Death and burial were a public spectacle. Shakespeare may have seen for himself the gravediggers at St Ann's, Soho, playing skittles with skulls and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catharine-arnold/death-and-burial-were-a-public-spectacle-shakespeare-may-have-seen/) [Catharine Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catharine-arnold/) > [“...our loves ones truly are ever-present. We may bury their bodies or scatter their ashes, but their spirits are boundless and do not accompany…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/april-slaughter/our-loves-ones-truly-are-ever-present-we-may-bury-their-bodies-or/) April Slaughter ## More by Ugo Betti > [Justice! Custodian of the world! But since the world errs, justice must be custodian of the world's errors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ugo-betti/justice-custodian-of-the-world-but-since-the-world-errs-justice-must/) [Ugo Betti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ugo-betti/) > [Each of us is the only person who can give the other what each of us wants to have: Peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ugo-betti/each-of-us-is-the-only-person-who-can-give-the-other-what-each-of-us/) [Ugo Betti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ugo-betti/) > [If we have anything kind to say, any tender sentiment to express, we feel a sense of shame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ugo-betti/if-we-have-anything-kind-to-say-any-tender-sentiment-to-express-we/) [Ugo Betti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ugo-betti/) > [Memories are like stones, time and distance erode them like acid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ugo-betti/memories-are-like-stones-time-and-distance-erode-them-like-acid/) [Ugo Betti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ugo-betti/) > ['Mad' is a term we use to describe a man who is obsessed with one idea and nothing else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ugo-betti/mad-is-a-term-we-use-to-describe-a-man-who-is-obsessed-with-one-idea/) [Ugo Betti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ugo-betti/) > [At any given moment, I open my eyes and exist. And before that, during all eternity, what was there? Nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ugo-betti/at-any-given-moment-i-open-my-eyes-and-exist-and-before-that-during/) [Ugo Betti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ugo-betti/) > [To believe in God is to know that all the rules will be fair, and that there will be wonderful surprises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ugo-betti/to-believe-in-god-is-to-know-that-all-the-rules-will-be-fair-and-that/) [Ugo Betti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ugo-betti/) > [Killing time is the chief end of our society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ugo-betti/killing-time-is-the-chief-end-of-our-society/) [Ugo Betti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ugo-betti/) > [Thought itself needs words. It runs on them like a long wire. And if it loses the habit of words, little by little it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ugo-betti/thought-itself-needs-words-it-runs-on-them-like-a-long-wire-and-if-it/) [Ugo Betti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ugo-betti/) > [The first temptation, upon meeting an old friend after many years, is always to - look the other way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ugo-betti/the-first-temptation-upon-meeting-an-old-friend-after-many-years-is/) [Ugo Betti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ugo-betti/) > [Every tiny part of us cries out against the idea of dying, and hopes to live forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ugo-betti/every-tiny-part-of-us-cries-out-against-the-idea-of-dying-and-hopes/) [Ugo Betti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ugo-betti/) > [I think the family is the place where the most ridiculous and least respectable things in the world go on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ugo-betti/i-think-the-family-is-the-place-where-the-most-ridiculous-and-least/) [Ugo Betti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ugo-betti/) > [A vague uneasiness: the police. It's like when you suddenly understand you have to undress in front of the doctor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ugo-betti/a-vague-uneasiness-the-police-it-s-like-when-you-suddenly-understand/) [Ugo Betti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ugo-betti/) > [Behind everything we feel, there is always a sense of fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ugo-betti/behind-everything-we-feel-there-is-always-a-sense-of-fear/) [Ugo Betti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ugo-betti/) > [There is no forgiveness in nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ugo-betti/there-is-no-forgiveness-in-nature/) [Ugo Betti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ugo-betti/) [Explore all 36 Ugo Betti quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ugo-betti/) ## More Burial quotes > [“...our loves ones truly are ever-present. We may bury their bodies or scatter their ashes, but their spirits are boundless and do not accompany…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/april-slaughter/our-loves-ones-truly-are-ever-present-we-may-bury-their-bodies-or/) April Slaughter > [Death and burial were a public spectacle. Shakespeare may have seen for himself the gravediggers at St Ann's, Soho, playing skittles with skulls and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catharine-arnold/death-and-burial-were-a-public-spectacle-shakespeare-may-have-seen/) [Catharine Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catharine-arnold/) > [Royalty is a fine burial shroud.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodora/royalty-is-a-fine-burial-shroud/) [Theodora](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodora/) > [“Clemo, Nonini, Jua Cali wakianzisha Genge, ilishika but hawakuwa na clear plan. Now it's dead and burried with Mejja as the only survivor mwenye…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-santo/clemo-nonini-jua-cali-wakianzisha-genge-ilishika-but-hawakuwa-na/) [DON SANTO](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-santo/) > [There is nothing quite so good as burial at sea. It is simple, tidy, and not very incriminating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-hitchcock/there-is-nothing-quite-so-good-as-burial-at-sea-it-is-simple-tidy-and/) [Alfred Hitchcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-hitchcock/) > [It's great that after 700 years William Wallace has finally had a proper burial. He did so much for the country. You should be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-gibson/it-s-great-that-after-700-years-william-wallace-has-finally-had-a/) [Mel Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-gibson/) > [O Death, the Consecrator! Nothing so sanctifies a name As to be written--Dead. Nothing so wins a life from blame, So covers it from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/o-death-the-consecrator-nothing-so-sanctifies-a-name-as-to-be-written/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [No known human group... simply throw out its dead without any ritual or ceremony. In stark contrast, no animal practices burial of dead individuals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodosius-dobzhansky/no-known-human-group-simply-throw-out-its-dead-without-any-ritual-or/) [Theodosius Dobzhansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodosius-dobzhansky/) > [Placed as the fossils are in their several tiers of burial-places the one over the other; we have in them true witnesses of successive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roderick-murchison/placed-as-the-fossils-are-in-their-several-tiers-of-burial-places-the/) [Roderick Murchison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roderick-murchison/) > [“Perhaps more importantly, the ants used all the sugar lumps they could steal to build a small sugar pyramid in one of the hollow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/perhaps-more-importantly-the-ants-used-all-the-sugar-lumps-they-could/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [There was a place in the Hills, on the first ridge in the Game Reserve, that I myself at the time when I thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isak-dinesen/there-was-a-place-in-the-hills-on-the-first-ridge-in-the-game-reserve/) [Isak Dinesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isak-dinesen/) > [A cemetery saddens us because it is the only place of the world in which we do not meet our dead again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-mauriac/a-cemetery-saddens-us-because-it-is-the-only-place-of-the-world-in/) [Francois Mauriac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-mauriac/) > [“The more death, the more birth. People are entering, others are exiting. The cry of a baby, the mourning of others. When others cry,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/the-more-death-the-more-birth-people-are-entering-others-are-exiting/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [one day anyone died i guess (and noone stooped to kiss his face) busy folk buried them side by side little by little and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/one-day-anyone-died-i-guess-and-noone-stooped-to-kiss-his-face-busy/) [e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/) > [He (Aneurin Bevan) enjoys prophesying the imminent fall of the capitalist system, and is prepared to play a part, any part, in its burial,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-macmillan/he-aneurin-bevan-enjoys-prophesying-the-imminent-fall-of-the/) [Harold MacMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-macmillan/) Browse all 161 Burial quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Nature is honest, we aren't; we embalm our dead.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ugo Betti" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ugo-betti/nature-is-honest-we-aren-t-we-embalm-our-dead/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Burial" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ugo-betti/nature-is-honest-we-aren-t-we-embalm-our-dead/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8df/ugo-betti-17809_burial_nature-is-honest-we-aren-t-we-embalm-our_1692099.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8df/ugo-betti-17809_burial_nature-is-honest-we-aren-t-we-embalm-our_1692099.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8df/ugo-betti-17809_burial_nature-is-honest-we-aren-t-we-embalm-our_1692099.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Nature is honest, we aren't; we embalm our dead.” — Ugo Betti", "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": "Ugo Betti", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ugo-betti/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Nature is honest, we aren't; we...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ugo-betti/nature-is-honest-we-aren-t-we-embalm-our-dead/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ugo-betti/nature-is-honest-we-aren-t-we-embalm-our-dead/#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 } } ] } ```