Men myghten dreden wel and skilfully
This lyf to lese, myn owene deere brother,
If this were lyvynge oonly and noon oother.
But ther is bettre lif in oother place,
That nevere shal be lost, ne drede thee noght,
Which Goddes Sone us tolde thurgh his grace.
– Geoffrey Chaucer
The Canterbury Tales, The Second Nun’s Tale. Cecilia tells Tiburtius not to fear death. People might reasonably fear to lose this life, if it were the only life and there were none other. But she tells him that there is a better life in another place, which the Son of God told us about, and it is eternal.