Full Idea
No one knows whether death may not be the greatest of all blessings for a man, yet men fear it as if they knew that it is the greatest of evils.
Gist of Idea
Men fear death as a great evil when it may be a great blessing
Source
Socrates (reports of last days [c.399 BCE]), quoted by Plato - The Apology 29a
Book Reference
Plato: 'Complete Works', ed/tr. Cooper,John M. [Hackett 1997], p.27
A Reaction
As a neutral observer, I see little sign of it being a blessing, except as a relief from misery. It seem wrong to view such a natural thing as evil, but it is the thing most of us least desire.