[Ads-l] Quote Origin: We all die twice; the first time is when we simply cease to be; the second, when we are forgotten

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

A family of expressions describes two stages of mortality. One stage
corresponds to traditional biological death. The other stage
corresponds to cultural disappearance which occurs when a figure is
forgotten or socially inactive. Here are three examples:

(1) You die twice: first, when life leaves your body, second, when you
are forgotten.

(2) You die twice: first, when you take your last breath, second, when
your name is spoken for the last time.

(3) You die twice--once when you retire from public life and once when
death takes you.

German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, U.S. author Ernest
Hemingway, U.K. graffiti artist Banksy, U.S. musician Laurie Anderson,
and others have received credit for instances in this family. I
received three requests to explore this topic.

This complicated subject is challenging to research because of the
wide variety of expressions which mention dying twice.

Maybe some list member knows of an ancient saying that fits into this family.

The earliest close match I found appeared in the 1863 novel "Barbara's
History" by English writer Amelia B. Edwards which contained the
following dialogue:

[Begin excerpt]
"He may be dead, my dear aunt," said I, affecting a profound
indifference; "but I do not really see how he could possibly be so
twice over."

"We all die twice," replied she. "The first time is when we simply
cease to be; the second, when we are forgotten."

"Dear aunt," I exclaimed, "that is very well said!"
[End excerpt]

Below is an overview showing selected examples together with dates and
attributions:

1845 Precursor: Old church in decay … the dead around must seem doubly
dead, unvisited by the footsteps of the living. (Richard Howitt)

1863: We all die twice. The first time is when we simply cease to be;
the second, when we are forgotten. (Amelia B. Edwards)

1881: We all die twice; the first time is when we simply cease to be;
the second, when we are forgotten. (Attributed to Anonymous by James
Grant)

1892: We all die twice—once when we simply cease to be, and next when
we are forgotten. (Attributed to Anonymous by a journalist)

1908: Great stage artists die twice—the first time when they take
leave of the stage … the second time when, like ordinary mortals, they
go the way of all flesh. (Anonymous journalist)

1917: Every man has two deaths; first, his commercial death, when he
is disabled through accident or disease …, and second, when he is
physically dead. (Attributed to Anonymous in a trade journal)

1926: Athletes die twice—once when Death takes them and once when they
retire from sport. (Attributed to Anonymous in Time magazine)

1933: In Hollywood you die twice. Once when the producers will, next
when Jehovah decrees. (Herb Howe)

1957: You die twice, once when life leaves the body and the second
time when you are completely forgotten. (Attributed to Anonymous by
Catherine Arley)

1959: Great men die twice, once when they leave this world and a
second time when their lifework disappears. (Ivo Andrić in
Serbo-Croatian; translated to English by Lovett F. Edwards)

1972: Dancers like athletes, die twice. First, they die as performers
... Then they die the final human death. (Gwen Verdon)

1972: We all die twice: once when we ourselves die, and the second
time when those who have loved us and remember us die in turn.
(Attributed to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe by George H. Pollock)

1982: We all die twice: once when our physical life is at an end and
then when those who knew us are no longer here. (Attributed to Johann
Wolfgang von Goethe by George H. Pollock)

1990: Artists die twice. First creatively. Then physically. The second
one is the easiest. (Sylvester Stallone)

1991: No one is finally dead until the ripples they cause in the world
die away. (Terry Pratchett)

1998: Maybe we die twice. Once when our heart stops. Again when the
living stop telling stories about us. (Phil Cousineau)

2001: You die twice. The first time is when your heart stops. The
second—and truly fatal time—is when everyone who remembers you is
gone. (Attributed to Anonymous by Susan Maxwell Skinner)

2010: I mean, they say you die twice. One time when you stop breathing
and a second time, a bit later on, when somebody says your name for
the last time. (Attributed to Anonymous by Banksy in "The Sun"
newspaper according to "Chambers Dictionary of Great Quotations")

2011: We all die twice. Once when our bodies die … and then again when
someone says our name for the last time. (Attributed to Anonymous by
Sally Morgan)

2015: You die three times. First when your heart stops. Second is when
you're buried or cremated. And third is the last time someone says
your name. (Attributed to Anonymous by Laurie Anderson)

2016: Every man has two deaths, when he is buried in the ground and
the last time someone says his name. (Attributed to Ernest Hemingway
by Reddit user ozymandius5)

Here is a link to the Quote Investigator article:
https://quoteinvestigator.com/2025/10/15/die-twice/

Earlier citations, interesting material, and feedback would be welcome.

In 1972 psychiatrist George H. Pollock credited an instance to Goethe,
and he pointed to the novel "Die Wahlverwandtschaften" ("Elective
Affinities"), but I was unable to find a match. I conjecture that
Pollock was restating or summarizing a point that he ascribed to
Goethe.

Voltaire wrote "On meurt deux fois" ("One dies twice"), but he was
referring to the cessation of love. A separate QI article about the
Voltaire quotation is here:

Quote Origin: One Dies Twice. To Cease To Love Is an Unbearable Death.
To Cease To Live Is Nothing
https://quoteinvestigator.com/2025/10/10/die-love/

Garson

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org