I was sentenced to death by Athens. As I drank the hemlock, my friends wept. But I told them: do not weep for me. Either death is like a dreamless sleep—and what could be better than eternal rest?—or it is a journey to another place where I can continue my questioning with the heroes of old.

The practice of philosophy is preparation for death. It teaches us to value the soul over the body, truth over pleasure, eternity over the moment. The philosopher learns to die before dying.

Why do people fear death? Usually because they think they know it is bad. But this is false certainty. No one knows what death is. To fear it is to claim knowledge we do not have. The wise person admits ignorance about death and therefore does not fear it.

What matters is not how long we live but how well. A good life makes for a good death.