"If some persons died, and others did not die, death would be a terrible affliction"

Jean de la Bruyère’s observation invites a nuanced meditation on mortality, envy, and the universal nature of human fate. He posits a hypothetical world where death is not universal but select, a fate reserved for some, while others persist indefinitely. The true sting of death, in this imaginary world, would not lie in the event itself but in the social and existential disparity it would create. If only some were subject to mortality, death would be experienced not just as personal loss but as an injustice, an unbearable misfortune made more acute by the stark contrast with those who are exempt.

This scenario highlights the psychological weight carried by mortality in relation to equality. When every human shares the same ultimate fate, death loses some of its terrors; it is accepted as an inescapable aspect of the human condition. The universality of death levels the field, offering a kind of grim solace in the knowledge that no one, however rich, virtuous, or fortunate, can evade it. The sorrow, anxiety, and anticipatory grief attached to dying are softened by the sense that all must travel this path.

If only a portion of the population were marked for death, it would intensify feelings of isolation, bitterness, and resentment among those doomed to die. Death in that world would not be a leveling force but a demarcation line, permanently separating the “unfortunate” from the “fortunate.” Suffering would be compounded by envy, as the dying witness others continuing life, unscathed by the greatest of earthly sorrows. The ordinary grief of loss would be exacerbated by the perception of cosmic unfairness.

Bruyère’s reflection can be read as a commentary on the way humans derive comfort and composure from the collective nature of life’s greatest trials. By framing death as a universal necessity, he encourages acceptance, discouraging fixation on mortality’s injustice, and inviting us to find meaning not in exceptions, but in shared experience.