--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The past was finished; let the dead bury…" description: "\"“The past was finished; let the dead bury their dead.”\" — W. Somerset Maugham" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12e/w-somerset-maugham-237_time_the-past-was-finished-let-the-dead-bury_1513356.jpg" --- # The past was finished; let the dead bury their dead. ![“The past was finished; let the dead bury their dead.” quote by W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12e/w-somerset-maugham-237_time_the-past-was-finished-let-the-dead-bury_1513356.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12e/w-somerset-maugham-237_time_the-past-was-finished-let-the-dead-bury_1513356.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12e/w-somerset-maugham-237_time_the-past-was-finished-let-the-dead-bury_1513356.jpg) > ““The past was finished; let the dead bury their dead.”” [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Let the past stay past; focus on present responsibilities rather than dwelling on dead matters. **In simple terms:** Leave the past behind. Key Takeaway Move forward, ignore irrelevant past. Themes accept focus letting go Mood reflective calm Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - personal growth - conflict resolution - decision making Key Concepts impermanence acceptance Questions to Reflect On - What past issue still holds you back? - How can you honor the dead without being trapped? A Different Perspective People may cling to past grievances, hindering progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bury/) [Bury Dead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bury-dead-401891/) [Dead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dead/) [Dead Bury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dead-bury-515206/) [Let Dead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/let-dead-281420/) [Past Finished](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past-finished-1510849/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Let the dead bury the dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/let-the-dead-bury-the-dead/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [Let the dead bury the dead, your time will come.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/let-the-dead-bury-the-dead-your-time-will-come/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [“Forget the past, let the dead bury the dead. Things were working out fine, and that was the only thing he had to remember.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bloch/forget-the-past-let-the-dead-bury-the-dead-things-were-working-out/) [Robert Bloch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bloch/) > [“Let the dead bury the dead, Sassenach,” he said softly. “The past is gone—the future is not come. And we are here together, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/let-the-dead-bury-the-dead-sassenach-he-said-softly-the-past-is-gone/) [Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/) > [Trust no future, however pleasant! Let the dead past bury its dead! Act -- act in the living Present! Heart within and God overhead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/trust-no-future-however-pleasant-let-the-dead-past-bury-its-dead-act/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [Let the dead Past bury its dead!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/let-the-dead-past-bury-its-dead/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > ["Let the dead bury the dead." There is not a single word of Christ to which the Christian religion has paid less attention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/let-the-dead-bury-the-dead-there-is-not-a-single-word-of-christ-to/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [“There’s a black boy dead for no reason, and the man responsible for it’s dead. Let the dead bury the dead this time, Mr.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/there-s-a-black-boy-dead-for-no-reason-and-the-man-responsible-for-it/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [Virtually every civilized society today holds sacred the right to peaceably bury their dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-schmidt/virtually-every-civilized-society-today-holds-sacred-the-right-to/) [Mike Schmidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-schmidt/) > [“This was trouble--of the bury-your-dead variety.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ward/this-was-trouble-of-the-bury-your-dead-variety/) [J.R. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/) > [“Let each day bury its dead.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-edward-simone/let-each-day-bury-its-dead/) [Val Edward Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-edward-simone/) > [“You should bury more than the dead. You should try harder. 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Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Love is only a dirty trick played on us to achieve continuation of the species.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/love-is-only-a-dirty-trick-played-on-us-to-achieve-continuation-of/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [The world is hard and cruel. We are here none knows why, and we go none knows whither. We must be very humble. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/the-world-is-hard-and-cruel-we-are-here-none-knows-why-and-we-go-none/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“There is no more merit in having read a thousand books than in having ploughed a thousand fields.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/there-is-no-more-merit-in-having-read-a-thousand-books-than-in-having/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“I wanted to live again and again. I was willing to accept every sort of life, no matter what its pain and sorrow; I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/i-wanted-to-live-again-and-again-i-was-willing-to-accept-every-sort/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [In Hollywood, the women are all peaches. It makes one long for an apple occasionally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/in-hollywood-the-women-are-all-peaches-it-makes-one-long-for-an-apple/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Follow your inclinations with due regard to the policeman round the corner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/follow-your-inclinations-with-due-regard-to-the-policeman-round-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“His love became a prison from which he longed to escape, but he had not the strength merely to open the door-that was all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/his-love-became-a-prison-from-which-he-longed-to-escape-but-he-had/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [I did not believe him capable of love. That is an emotion in which tenderness is an essential part, but Strickland had no tenderness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/i-did-not-believe-him-capable-of-love-that-is-an-emotion-in-which/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [If only the good were a little less heavy-footed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/if-only-the-good-were-a-little-less-heavy-footed/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Perfection has one grave defect: it is apt to be dull.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/perfection-has-one-grave-defect-it-is-apt-to-be-dull/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“A God that can be understood is no God. Who can explain the Infinite in words?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/a-god-that-can-be-understood-is-no-god-who-can-explain-the-infinite/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“My dear, you used to be quite a dish; now you're quite a tureen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/my-dear-you-used-to-be-quite-a-dish-now-you-re-quite-a-tureen/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“When people say they do not care what others thing of them, for the most part they deceive themselves”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/when-people-say-they-do-not-care-what-others-thing-of-them-for-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) [Explore all 840 W. Somerset Maugham quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) ## More Bury quotes > [What you try to bury just ends up burying you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-wagner/what-you-try-to-bury-just-ends-up-burying-you/) [Jane Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-wagner/) > [I have to stay here and bury her," he whispered. "Here, between RiverClan and ThunderClan. After this, not even her own Clan will want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-hunter/i-have-to-stay-here-and-bury-her-he-whispered-here-between-riverclan/) [Erin Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-hunter/) > [“Bury us, and mark our names above. Let us be free.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/bury-us-and-mark-our-names-above-let-us-be-free/) [Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/) > [I once said, 'We will bury you,' and I got into trouble with it. Of course we will not bury you with a shovel.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikita-khrushchev/i-once-said-we-will-bury-you-and-i-got-into-trouble-with-it-of-course/) [Nikita Khrushchev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikita-khrushchev/) > [“The seed we bury in soil, Flourish, even after we die.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neymat-khan/the-seed-we-bury-in-soil-flourish-even-after-we-die/) [Neymat Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neymat-khan/) > [“Sweetheart, I’ll be a Marine ‘til they bury my cold, dead, decrepit ass in the ground a good fifty or sixty years from now.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-tenorio/sweetheart-i-ll-be-a-marine-til-they-bury-my-cold-dead-decrepit-ass/) [Dee Tenorio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-tenorio/) > [There's also the tradition of voodoo, the Haitian magic arts, in New Orleans. And because New Orleans is below sea level, when they bury…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-trammell/there-s-also-the-tradition-of-voodoo-the-haitian-magic-arts-in-new/) [Sam Trammell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-trammell/) > [“You did anything to bury me, but you forgot that I was a seed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinos-christianopoulos/you-did-anything-to-bury-me-but-you-forgot-that-i-was-a-seed/) [Dinos Christianopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinos-christianopoulos/) > [True to my religion, true everything Im too different. So when I die, bury me next to 2 bitches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/2-chainz/true-to-my-religion-true-everything-im-too-different-so-when-i-die/) [2 Chainz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/2-chainz/) > [“A seed only realizes its potential the day you bury it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/a-seed-only-realizes-its-potential-the-day-you-bury-it/) [Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/) > [Cant break me down, bury me bury me, I am finished with you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/30-seconds-to-mars/cant-break-me-down-bury-me-bury-me-i-am-finished-with-you/) [30 Seconds To Mars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/30-seconds-to-mars/) > [What made it special made it dangerous, so I bury it... and forget.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-bush/what-made-it-special-made-it-dangerous-so-i-bury-it-and-forget/) [Kate Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-bush/) > [A person you bury in ur heart you can neva 4get](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/a-person-you-bury-in-ur-heart-you-can-neva-4get/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) > [“If love weighs you down and casts a shadow on your life then it isn’t love. Love is light and makes you light.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/if-love-weighs-you-down-and-casts-a-shadow-on-your-life-then-it-isn-t/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [“Adulthood involves learning to conclusively bury a great many of our hopes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/adulthood-involves-learning-to-conclusively-bury-a-great-many-of-our/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) [Browse all 220 Bury quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bury/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The past was finished; let the dead bury their dead.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "W. 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