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English speaking countries | | Date: Centuries-old | Notes: Folk Sayings, Famous Quotes or Proverbs on Death and Dying
A
o All things grow with time, except grief.
o As soon as a man is born, he begins to die.
B
o The best go first.
o Better a glorious death than a shameful life.
o Better die with honor than live with shame.
o Better ten times ill than one time dead.
o Better the trouble that follows death than the trouble that follows shame.
o Better to heaven in rags than to hell in embroidery.
o Blow not on dead embers.
o Both your friend and your enemy think you will never die.
C
o A coward dies a thousand times before his death. The valiant tastes of death but once (Shakespeare).
o Cowards die many times before their death.
D
o Dead men don't bite.
o Dead men have no friends.
o Dead men tell no lies.
o Dead men tell no tales.
o Dead men tell no tales but there's many a thing learned in the wake-house.
o Death always comes too early or too late.
o Death closes all doors.
o Death keeps no calendar.
o Death is the great leveler.
o Death is the poor man's best physician.
o Death pays all debts.
o Death takes no bribes.
o Death when it comes will have no denial.
o Die with your boots on. (Meaning) Die while you are still very much involved with your work.
o Don't take life too seriously; you'll never get out of it alive.
E
o Earth has no sorrows that heaven cannot heal.
o Eat, drink and be merry (for tomorrow we die).
o Everyone wants to go to heaven, but no one wants to die.
H
o He begins to die that quits his desires.
o He goes long barefoot that waits for dead man's shoes.
o He that lives on hope will die fasting.
o He who has never been sick dies of the first fit.
o He who pleased everybody died before he was born.
F
o Fear of death is worse than death itself.
o Friendless in life, friendless in death.
G
o God rest his soul.
o Gray hairs are death's blossoms.
I
o "I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it." [Mark Twain]
o If you come up in this world be sure not to go down in the next.
o If you dig a grave for others you may fall into it yourself.
o If you trust before you try, you may repent before you die.
o If you want praise, die. If you want blame, marry.
o It's better to die on one's feet than live on one's knees.
o It's drowning you're after, don't torment yourself with shallow water.
K
o Keep may out, keep death out.
L
o Let the dead bury the dead.
o Live your own life, for you will die your own death.
o Living worry invites death in a hurry.
M
o A man can only die once. Or, A man can die but once.
o A man may live after losing his life but not after losing his honor.
o Many a day shall we rest in the clay.
N
o Never say die (Meaning: Never give up).
o Never speak ill of the dead.
O
o Old soldiers never die, they simply fade away.
o One has only to die to be praised.
o Only the good die young.
P
o Plan your life like you will live forever, and live your life like you will die the next day.
T
o There's no trailer hitch on a hearse. Meaning: You can't take your wealth with you when you die.
o There are two things certain in life -- death and taxes. Or, Nothing is certain but death and taxes.
o There are two things that cannot be cured: death and the want of sense.
o Time is a great healer (Meaning: Often said to comfort someone who is in morning, and/or who has been rejected by a lover).
o Time and thinking tame the strongest grief.
W
o The wages of sin is death.
o We must live by the living, not by the dead.
o Whom the gods love die young.
Y
o You can't take it with you when you die.
o Young men may die, old men must.
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Spanish speaking countries | | Date: Centuries-old | Notes: Spanish Proverbs or Folk Sayings on Death and Dying
A
o All things of this world are nothing unless they have reference to the next.
B
o Better a quiet death than a public misfortune.
o Better it be said, "There he ran away," than "There he died."
o Blessed are the dead that the rain falls on.
C
o Call me fortunate until you see me buried.
o in English translation: Character and presence from the cradle to the tomb.
- Spanish original: Genio y figura hasta la spepultura.
o English equivalent: Cowards die many times.
- Spanish original: Quien teme la muerte no goza la vida.
D
o English equivalent: Dead men have no friends.
- Spanish original: El muerto al hoyo y le vivo al bollo.
o The dearest child of all is the dead one.
E
o Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die.
- Spanish original: Dentro de cien anos todos calvos.
o Even a sick man shuns death.
F
o English equivalent: Friendless in life, friendless in death.
- Vida sin amigos, muerte sin testigos.
G
o Good men must die, but death cannot kill their names.
L
o in English translation: Life is a dream that one wakes from upon death.
- Spanish original: La vida es un sueno del que se despierta al morir.
M
o in English translation : Marriage and shroud come from heaven.
- Spanish original: Matrimonio y mortaja del cielo bajan.
N
o in English translation: No one ever died of almost.
- Meaning: One is alive or dead (can't be a bit of both).
- Spanish original: De casi no se muere nadie.
O
o Of the malady a man fears, he dies.
o In English translation: Out of sight, out of mind, and when dead, buried.
- Meaning: If you're not around, you'll be forgotten.
- Spanish original: Al que se aleja lo olvidan y al que se muere lo entierran.
S
o She is good and honored who is dead and buried.
T
o in English translation: To a dead king, a king crowned.
- Equivalent: The King is dead. Long live the King!
- Spanish original: A rey meurto, rey puesto.
W
o The wages of sin is death.
o English equivalent: We must live by the living, not by the dead.
- Spanish original: Al viov la hogaza y al muerto, la mortaja.
o When an old man cannot drink, prepare his grave.
o When the child cuts its teeth, death is on the watch.
o in English translation: When touched -- touched.
- Equivalent: When your time is up, it's up.
- Spanish original: Cuando toca, toca.
o When you die, your trumpeter will be buried.
o Whom God loves, die young.
o A widow with big breasts must be either married, buried or sent to a nunnery.
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French speaking countries | | Date: Centuries-old | Notes: Folk Sayings or Proverbs on Death and Dying from French speaking countries
D
o The dead are soon forgotten.
o in English translation (literally): Dead is the beast, dead is the venom.
- Equivalent: Dead dogs don't bite.
- French original: Morte la bete, mort le venin.
o in English translation (literally): A dead man cannot make war.
- Meaning: A dead man deals no blows.
- French original: Homme mort ne fait guerre.
o A dead man has neither relations nor friends.
o Death never takes a wise man by surprise; he is always ready to go.
G
o Glutton: one who digs his grave with his teeth.
o in English translation (literally): Going to bed with the hen and waking with the crow keeps the man from the grave.
- English equivalent: Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.
- French original: Morte la bete, mort le venin.
o Greedy eaters dig their graves with their teeth.
K
o in English translation: The King is dead, long live the King.
- French original: Le roi est mort, vive le roi!
S
o Sorrow for a widow is like pain in the elbow, sharp and short.
T
o There is no dying by proxy.
o To leave a place is to die a little.
o Too late to grieve when the chance is past.
W
o Even the wealthiest of men end up with nothing but a shroud.
o When one is dead, it is for a long while. | Contributed by: Image courtesy of The New York Public Library, Digital Gallery #826480
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German speaking countries | | Date: Centuries-old | Notes: Folk Sayings or Proverbs on Death and Dying from German speaking countries
C
o The coffin is the brother of the cradle.
B
o in English translation (literally): Better to lick the knife than to give up the spoon.
- Meaning: It is preferable to face adversity than to die.
- German original: Lieber das messer ablecken als den loffel abgeben.
D
o in English translation (literally): Declared dead live longer.
- English equivalent: There's life in the old dog yet.
- German original: Totgesagte leben langer.
F
o in English translation: The final shirt has no pockets.
- Equivalent: You can't take it with you (when you die).
- German original: Das letzte hemd hat keine taschen.
L
o Life without a friend is death without a witness.
O
o in English translation: Only dead fish swim with the stream.
- Meaning: You have to be really stupid to be happy about dying. Or, Only idiots await their doom happily.
- German original: Nur tote fische schwimmen mit dem strom.
P
o A person has learned much who has learned how to die.
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Around the World | | Date: Centuries-old | Notes: The following list of proverbs on death was taken from the book, "Proverbs, Maxims and Phrases of All Ages" classified by subject, arranged alphabetically, compiled by Robert Christy (New York: Putnam's Sons, 1887). The book is available for free at www.archive.org.
DEATH
1. A dead man does not make war. Ital.
2. A dead man does not speak. For.
3. A dead man has neither relations nor friends. Fr.
4. A dead mouse feels no cold.
5. A death-bed's a detector of the heart. Young.
6. A fly, a grape stone, or a hair can kill. Pope.
7. A man has learned much, who has learned
how to die. Ger.
8. A sudden death is the best. Caesar.
9. All death is sudden to the unprepared.
10. All men are born richer than they die. Ger.
11. An escape from death is worth more than the
prayers of good men. Don Quixote.
12. An honorable death is better than an inglorious life. Socrates.
13. As dead as a door nail.
14. As dead as a herring.
15. As soon as man expert from time has found
the key of life, it opens the gates of death. Young.
16. As soon as man is born he begins to die. Ger.
17. As soon dies the calf as the cow. Fr.
i8. As soon goes the lamb's skin to market as
the old ewes.
19. Be still prepared for death, and death or life
shall thereby be the sweeter. Shaks.
20. Better once dead than all the time suffering
in need. Ger,
21. But kings and mightiest potentates must die;
For that's the end of human misery. Shaks.
22. Charon waits for all.
23. Come soon or late death's undetermined day,
This mortal being only can decay. Ovid.
24. Dead dogs don't bite. Ger. Dutch.
25. Dead folks can't bite.
26. Dead men do not bite. Tacitus.
27. Dead men pay no surgeons. Fielding.
28. Dead men tell no tales.
29. Death foreseen, never comes. Ital.
30. Death always comes too early or too late. Maga.
31. Death and life are in the power of the tongue. Job.
32. Death and love are two wings which bear men from earth to heaven. Micha Angela.
33. Death defies the doctor.
34. Death devours lambs as well as sheep.
35. Death does not blow a trumpet. Dan.
36. Death has a thousand doors to let out life.
37. Death hath nothing terrible in it, but what life hath made so.
38. Death is a black camel that kneels at every
man's gate.
39. Death is but what the haughty brave, The weak must bear, the wretch must crave. Byron.
40. Death is in the pot. Dutch.
41. Death is most unfortunate in prosperity. Plutarch.
42. Death is never premature except to those
who die without virtue. Fr.
43. Death is shameful in flight, glorious in victory. Cicero.
44. Death is the grand leveler.
45. Death keeps no calendar.
46. Death meets us everywhere.
47. Death opens the gate to good fame and extinguishes envy. Byron.
48. Death rather frees us from ills than robs us of our goods.
49. Death's but a path that must be trod.
If man would ever pass to God.
50. Death's-day is doomsday.
51. Death says to the man with his throat cut,
" How ugly thou art." {Hypocrisy) Sp.
52. Death spares neither pope nor beggar.
53. Death to the wolf is life to the lamb.
54. Death to us ? liberty. Caucasian battle cry.
55. Death will hear of no excuse. Euripides.
56. Deep swimmers and high climbers seldom die
in their beds. Dutch.
57. Do not speak ill of the dead, but deem them
sacred who have gone into the immortal state.
Ancients.
58. Dread thought, that all the work man's life
can have. Is but to bear his coffin towered his grave.
59. Every one must pay his debt to nature. Ger.
60. Feign death and the bull will leave you. Por.
61. Few have luck, all have death. Dan.
62. Golden lads and girls, all must
As chimney-sweepers come to dust. Shaks,
63. Great body, great grave. Ger.
64. He dies like a beast who has done no good
while he lived.
65. He hath lived ill that knows not how to die
well.
66. He hauls at a long rope that expects another's
death. Ital.
67. He should wear iron shoes that bides his
neighbor's death.
68. He that died half a year ago is as dead as
Adam.
69. He that dies pays all debts. Shaks.
70. He that dies this year is quit of the next.
Shaks,
71. He that dies troubles his parents but once,
but he that lives ill torments them perpetually.
72. He that waits for dead men's shoes may go
long enough barefoot.
73. He waits long that waits for another man's
death. Dutch.
74. He who dies not in his twenty-third year,
drowns not in his twenty-fourth, is not slain in his
twenty-fifth, may boast of good days. Dutch.
75. He who waits for a dead man's shoes is in
danger of going barefoot. Fr. Dan.
76. He whom the gods love dies young. Plautus.
77. He would be a good one to send for death.
Ital,
78. Heaven gives its favorites an early death.
Byron.
79. His candle burns within the socket.
80. How wise in God to place death at the end of
life. Ger.
81. I know of nobody that has a mind to die this
year.
82. If death be terrible the fault is not in death,
but thee.
83. If you want to be dead wash your head and
go to bed. Sp.
84. It is a lightning before death.
85. It is as natural to die as to be born.
86. It is better to die an honest death than to live
an infamous life.
87. It is better to die once than to live always in
fear of death. Caesar.
88. It is better to die with honor than to live in
infamy. Agricola.
89. It is hard even to the most miserable to die.
90. It takes four living men to carry one dead
man out of the house. Ital.
91. Julius Caesar lived in the midst of combats
and died in the midst of the Senate. Turkish Spy.
92. Keep thine eye fixed on the end of life.
Solan.
93. Me dead, the world is dead. Ital.
94. Men fear death as children to go in the dark.
95. Never say die.
96. No priority among the dead.
97. Noble spirits war not with the dead. Byron.
98. Of the great and of the dead, either speak
well or say nothing. Ital.
99. Pale death knocks at the cottage and the
palace with an impartial hand. Horace.
100. She is good and honored who is dead and
buried.
101. Six feet of earth makes all men equal.
102. The actions of a dying man are void of disguise. Turkish Spy.
103. The bitterness of death must be tasted by
him who is to appreciate the sweetness of deliverance. Maga.
104. The dead and absent have no friends.
105. The dead are soon forgotten.
106. The dead cannot defend, therefore speak well
of the dead. Latin.
107. The dead man is unenvied. M. Greek.
108. The dead open the eyes of the living. For.
109. The evening praises the day, death the life.
Ger.
110. The first breath is the beginning of death.
111. The greatest business of life is to prepare for
death.
112. The heathen looked on death without fear, the
Christian exulted. Bulwer.
113. The quiet haven of us all. Wordsworth.
114. The road of death must be traveled by all. Horace.
115. The sight of death is as a bell that warns old
age to a sepulchre. Shaks.
116. The sun and death are two things we cannot
stare in the face.
117. The world's an inn and death the journey's
end. Dry dm.
118. There is no medicine against death.
119. There is no remedy for all evils but death.
120. They never fail who die in a great cause. Byron.
121. They that live longest must die at last.
122. Time goes, death comes. Dutch. Ger.
123. 'Tis ours to bear, not judge the dead.
124. To die is nothing : 'tis but parting with a mountain of vexation. Massinger.
125. To die is the fate of man, but to live with lingering anguish is generally his folly.
126. To insult the dead is cruel and unjust. Homer.
127. To live in the hearts we leave behind us is
not to die.
128. To wrestle with ghosts; to speak ill of the
dead. Latin.
129. Until death there is no knowing what may be-
Fall. Ital.
130. We die as we live. Turk.
131. We had better die at once than to live constantly in fear of death. Dion.
132. When he's forsaken ? withered and shaken,
What can an old man do but die.
133. When I'm dead everybody's dead and the
pig too.
134. When one is dead it is for a long time.
135. When you die even your tomb shall be comfortable. Russian.
136. When you die your trumpeter will be buried.
137. Who dies in youth and vigor dies the best. Homer.
138. Who thinks often of death does nothing worthy of life. Ital.
GRIEF
1. Dig but deep enough, and under all earth
runs water, under all life runs grief. Bulwer.
2. Do not rejoice at my grief, for when mine is
old, yours will be new. Sp.
3. Every one can master a grief but he that has
it. Shaks.
4. Every substantial grief has twenty shadows,
and most of them shadows of your own making.
Sidney Smith.
5. Everything becomes intolerable to the man
who is once subdued by grief, Bolingbroke.
6. Give sorrow words ; the grief that does not
speak Whispers the o'er-fraught heart, and bids it
break. Shaks.
7. Great griefs are mute. Ital.
8. Great griefs medicine the less. Shaks.
9. Grief best is pleased with grief's society.
Shaks.
10. Grief diminishes when it has nothing to grow
upon. Syrus.
11. Grief is a stone that bears one down, but two
bear it lightly.
12. Grief is satisfied and carried off by tears.
Ovid.
13. Grief is the agony of an instant, its indulgence
the blunder of a lifetime. Bea.
14. Grief pent-up will burst the heart.
15. Grieving for misfortunes is adding gall to wormwood.
16. He grieves more than is necessary who
grieves before it is necessary. Seneca.
17. He has seen his step-mother's grave and he
weeps. {Spoken of feigned grief. M. Greek.
18. He oft finds medicine who his grief imparts,
But double griefs afflict concealing hearts.
Spenser.
19. He that conceals his grief finds no remedy
for it. Turk.
20. In much wisdom is much grief.
21. In private, grieve ? but with a careless scorn,
In public seem to triumph not to mourn. Rambler.
22. Moderate lamentation is the right of the dead,
excessive grief the enemy of the living. Shaks.
23. Much of grief shows still some want of wit. Shaks.
24. New grief awakens the old.
25. No grief is so acute but time ameliorates it. Cicero.
26. Our griefs how swift, our remedies how slow. Prior.
27. Our own grief produces pity for another. Richardson.
28. Patch grief with proverbs. Shaks.
29. She grieves sincerely who grieves unseen. Martial.
30. That grief is light which is capable of counsel.
31. The grief of the heir is only masked laughter. Latin.
32. The only cure for grief is action. Geo. Henry Lewes.
33. The sublimest grief will eat at last. Fielding.
34. Those griefs bum most that gall in secret. Seneca.
35. Those who have known grief seldom seem sad. Bea.
36. Time and thinking tame the strongest grief.
37. 'Tis a folly to fret; grief's no comfort.
38. To grief there is a limit, not so to fear. Pliny the younger.
39. Too late to grieve when the chance is past.
40. When long pent-up griefs once find vent, men
love to discharge the load that weighs upon the
heart. Tacitus.
WEEPING.
1. He who has much weeps as well as he who
has little. M. Greek.
2. He who loves you well makes you weep, and
he who hates you may make you laugh.
3. He who weeps from his heart will provoke
tears even from the blind. Russian.
4. Onions can make heirs and widows weep.
5. The thatched cottage where one is merry is
preferable to a palace where one weeps. Chinese,
6. There is a certain kind of pleasure in weeping. Ovid,
7. To weep overmuch for the dead is to affront
the living.
8. When the vulture dies the hen does not weep.
Ger.
9. Who has none to still him may weep out his
eyes.
WIDOW
1. A buxom widow must be either married,
buried, or shut up in a convent. Sp.
2. A good occasion for courtship is when the
widow returns from the funeral.
3. A rich widow weeps with one eye and laughs
with the other. For.
4. Few persons turn gray because their husbands
die.
5. He that marries a widow and three children
marries four thieves.
6. He that marries a widow and two daughters
has three back doors to his house.
7. He' that marries a widow will often have a
dead man's head thrown in his dish. Sp.
8. He that woos a maid must seldom come in
Sight. But he that woos a widow must woo her day
and night.
9. If a stock fish became a widow it would fatten.
10. In the widow's house there's no fat mouse.
11. Long a widow weds with shame.
12. Never marry a widow unless her first husband
was hanged.
13. The rich widow's tears soon dry. Dan.
14. 'Tis dangerous marrying a widow, because
she has cast her rider.
15. To diminish his substance is not the part of
a man but of a widow woman. Cato.
16. Widows are always rich.
17. Woo the widow whilst she is in weeds. Ger.
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Around the World | | Date: Centuries-old | Notes: The following list of proverbs and sayings about death, grief, funerals etc. was taken from the book, "CLASSICAL AND FOREIGN QUOTATIONS, LAW TERMS AND MAXIMS, PROVERBS, MOTTOES, PHRASES, AND EXPRESSIONS FRENCH, GERMAN, GREEK, ITALIAN, LATIN, SPANISH, AND PORTUGUESE" [selected] by WM. FRANCIS HENRY KING (LONDON: WHTTAKER and SONS, 1889)
326. Apres la mort le me'decin. (Fr.) Prov. in English: After death the doctor. When it is too late.
848. Cosa mala nunca muere. (S.) Prov. in English: A bad thing never dies.
1149. Dies adimit segritudinem. (L.) Ter. Heaut. 3, 1, 13. in English: Time effaces grief.
1194. Di nos quasi pilas homines habent. (L.) Plaut. Capt.
Prol. 22. in English: The gods treat us mortals like so many balls to play with.
1231. Dolor ipse disertum Fecerat. (L.) Ov. M. 13, 228.
in English: Grief of itself made me eloquent.
1258. Douce est la mort qui vient en bien aimant. (V.) Desportes,
Sonnet. in English: Sweet is the death that comes thro' loving well.
1282. Dum ne ob malefacta pei*eam, parvi aestimo. (Z.) Plaut. Capt. 3, 5, 24. in English: Provided it be not for evil-doing, I care little for dying.
2421. Je m'estonne fort pourquoy
La mort osa songer a moy
Qui ne songeais jamais a elle.
{Fr.) Regnier (his own epitaph).
in English: I wonder Death should think of me
Who never thought of death. Ed.
2532. L'age insensiblement nous conduit a la mort. (Fr.)
Racan, Bergeries. in English: Old age insensibly leads us towards
death.
2561. La mort est plus aisde a supporter sans y penser, que la pensee de la mort sans peyil. (Fr.) Pasc. Pens. 31, 3. in English: Death itself is less painful to bear when it comes upon us unawares, than the bare contemplation of it, even when danger is far distant.
2562. La mort ne surprend point le sage;
II est toujours pret a partir,
'dtant su lui-menie avertir
Du temps ou. Ton se doit resoudre a ce passage. (Fr. )
La Font. 8, 1. in English: Death never takes the wise unawares, since he is always ready to depart ; having learnt to anticipate the time when he must perforce make this last journey.
2563. La mort ravit tout sans pudeur. (Fr.) La Font. 8, 1. in English: Unblushing death ravishes everything.
2857. Longae (canitis si cognita) vita?
Mors media est. (Z.) Luc 1, 457.
in English: Death's not the end (if true your prophecies)
But meeting-point 'twixt two eternities. Ed.
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Around the World | | Date: Centuries-old | Notes:
The following list was taken from "Aphorisms of Wisdom: or, a Complete Collection of the Most Celebrated Proverbs in the English, Scotch, French, Spanish, Italian, and other languages: Ancient and Modern," collected by Thomas V. Fuller, M.D., (GLASGOW: (R. & D. MALCOLM, 1814).
A bad thing never dies.
Are you afraid of him that died last year?
At weddings and funerals, friends are descerned from kins-
folks.
Children increase the cares of life, but mitigate the remembrance of death.
Dead folks are past fooling.
Dead folks cannot bite.
Dead men are of no family, and are a-kin to none.
Dead mice feel no cold.
Death and the sun are two things not to be looked on with
a steady eye;
Death devours lambs as well as sheep.
Death hath nothing terrible in it but what life hath made
so.
Death hath not so ghastly a face at a distance as it hath
at hand.
Death is a certain remedy for the injuries of fortune and
vexations of life.
Death is bitter to a man in prosperity, or in much business.
Death is the grand leveller.
Death keeps no calendar.
Death meets us every where.
Death rather frees us from ills than robs us of our goods.
Death surprises us in the midst of our hopes.
Death's day is doom's day.
Graves are of all sizes.
Grief pent up will burst the heart.
Grief that gives way to verses is not very lamentable.
Grieving for misfortunes is adding gall to wormwood.
He is miserable that dieth not before he desires to die.
If death be terrible, the fault is not in death, but thee.
If you slander a dead man, you stab him in the grave.
In the grave, dust and bones justle not for the wall.
It is a sad burden for a woman to carry a dead man's child.
It is as natural to die as to be born.
Men fear death, as children fear going into the dark.
More die by food than famine.
Rejoicing at men's misfortunes is, in a degree, dancing at
their funerals.
The day of our birth is one day's advance towards our
death.
The dead, and only they, should do nothing.
The dead are got quite away from fortune.
The dead are past feeling.
The death of your first wife made such an impression in
your heart, that all the rest fly through.
The death of youth is a shipwreck.
The devil doth not lie dead in a ditch.
The only way to be sure of not losing a child, is never to
have any.
Till death all is life.
'Tis a sweet sorrow to bury an outragious wife.
To weep excessively for the dead, is to affront the living.
We are born crying, live complaining, and die disappointed.
We begin not to live, till we are fit to die.
Welcome death, quoth the rat, when the trap fell.
When I am dead, make me a caudle.
Widows are always rich.
Young men may die, old men must.
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Around the World | | Date: Centuries-old | Notes: The following list of proverbs and quotes about death and dying were taken from "A BOOK OF QUOTATIONS PROVERBS AND HOUSEHOLD WORDS, a Collection of Quotations from British and American Authors, Ancient and Modem; with many Thousands of Proverbs, Familiar Phrases and Sayings, from all sources, including Hebrew, Arabic, Greek, Latin,
French, German, Spanish, Italian, and other Languages" by W. GURNEY BENHAM (PHILADELPHIA: J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY & London: CASSELL & Company, 1907). The book is available for free at www.archive.org.
A dead wife's the best goods in a man's house. (B.)
A fair death honours the whole life, (G. H.)
A man can only die once.
He that is once born, once must die. (G. H.)
After death the doctor.
As a man lives, so shall he die;
As a tree falls, so shall it lie. (B.)
He that liveth wickedly can hardly die honestly. (R.)
Better be dead than out of fashion. [E. Sc.)
Dead men open the eyes of the living. ? {From the Spanish.)
Dead men tell no tales.
Deaths foreseen come not. (G. H.)
It is folly to die of the fear of death.
Grief divided is made lighter.
He laughs ill that laughs himself to death.
He that dies pays all debts.
When you die, your trumpeter will be
buried with you.
He pulls with a long, rope that waits for
another's death.
Old men go to death, death comes to young men. (G. H.)
Old men, when they scorn young, make
much of death. (G. H.)
There will be sleeping enough in the grave.
Those that God loves do not live long. (G. H.)
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The East | | Date: Centuries-old | Notes: Eastern Proverb or Folk Saying on Death and Dying
o "At the narrow passage there is no brother and no friend."
Image ID: NYPL #1524795. Cigarette Cards: ABCs (published ca. 1922-1939). | Contributed by: Courtesty of The New York Public Library, Digital Gallery
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