Painterly wilted white flower tightly entwined by a green vine against dark green.

Original artwork, not a still

Sententiae

Publilius Syrus

The fear of death is more to be dreaded than death itself.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

The line reverses the expected order of what deserves dread: fear becomes more troubling than the death it anticipates. Its paradox shifts attention from an eventual end to the experience of worrying about it. The claim concerns that burden of anticipation, rather than describing death itself.

Context reviewed

Share this quote