There is said to be hope for a sick man, as long as there is life.Epistulae ad Atticum Letters to Atticus Book IX, Letter X, section 3 Often paraphrased as: Dum anima est, spes est While there is life there is hope Compare: While theres life there’s hope, and only the dead have none. Theocritus, Idyll 4, line 42; as translated A. S. F. Gow