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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 Ref
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.
| 343 | The unexamined life is not worth living for men [Socrates] |
| 339 | Men fear death as a great evil when it may be a great blessing [Socrates] |
| 347 | Will I stand up against the law, simply because I have been unjustly judged? [Socrates] |
| 344 | If death is like a night of dreamless sleep, such nights are very pleasant [Socrates] |
| 2 | We should not even harm someone who harms us [Socrates] |
| 345 | A good man cannot be harmed, either in life or in death [Socrates] |
| 346 | One ought not to return a wrong or injury to any person, whatever the provocation [Socrates] |
| 341 | Wealth is good if it is accompanied by virtue [Socrates] |
| 338 | Socrates is accused of denying the gods, saying sun is stone and moon is earth [Socrates, by Plato] |