Albert Camus was a great Philosopher, writer, journalist. He is known by his works The Stranger, The Plague, The myth of Sisyphus etc. Albert was born on 7th November 1913. One of the most notable ideas of Albert was Absurdism. Albert keenly explored subjects such as Ethics, humanity, justice, politics, suicide etc. Albert also was called an Existentialist by the people.
Camus’s first publication was a play called Revolt in the Astruias. And his first book was Betwixt and Between, which was then published by a small publishing house. Camus has a unique creative process. He would divide his work into three parts. Each part consisted of a novel, an essay and a play. The first cycle consisted of a novel, the second consisted of revolt, and last consisted of love, also called nemesis. Each part had pagan myths and biblical motifs.
Albert later received the Nobel prize for his work. Also, Camus’s religious beliefs consisted of Friedrich Nietzsche and 17th-century moralists. But Albery, throughout his life, did not accept the term Existentialist though he showed similar traits. Below are some of the famous Albert Camus Quotes.
Always go too far, because that’s where you’ll find the truth.
Finding the truth is often difficult. But if a person does not go into the depth of the matter, he will never really find out the ultimate truth. Thus, Camus says that it lies in depth for the people who seek the truth, and one must go far to know it.
No matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there’s something stronger – something better, pushing right back.
Every person has infinite potential, and every person can tap it. No matter the situation, whether a defeat or criticism, failure or pain, a person can overcome it. There is an infinite divine power in us that exists, and it is undeniably strong irrespective of the outside world.
People hasten to judge in order not to be judged themselves.
Judging is a common human trait. Humans often judge others but are afraid to be judged by others. So as a defence mechanism to save themselves, people judge other people before others do so. But this hardly does anyone any good.
The need to be right – the sign of a vulgar mind.
A man cannot always be right. Each man makes his own share of mistakes. However, the need to always be right mars a man as he thus satisfies his ego and feeds his entitlement. An ultimate right or wrong does not exist in the world. A man who thinks he is the ultimate right is possessed by his ego, which in turn does him no good.
Few more Albert Camus Quotes...
You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life.
Knowing how to live and actually living are two very different things though many people confuse the two. Happiness is attained when we actually forget all our worries and enjoy life. Whereas if we remain uptight and keep worrying about living life, we cannot truly achieve it.
When the soul suffers too much, it develops a taste for misfortune.
A human soul is strong, but it ceases to remain so sometimes with ruthless blows from life.
It turns fragile, and our heart and mind become weak. We begin thinking that we are not fortunate enough, and these thoughts eventually seem to manifest.
Real generosity towards the future lies in giving all to the present.
While the past remains where it rightfully belongs, the future is as if unreal. All a man can do is do the best in the present. And only thus can one build for oneself the best future and do justice to his soul. All the power lies in the present moment.
The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.
Freedom is in the human rights of every constitution of every country, though this right, when exercised truly, causes only criticism and judgement. To be truly free invites enemies. Thus, by only acting the way we want, we become rebels.
It is the job of thinking people not to be on the side of the executioners.
Though homo sapiens have been gifted with the special ability to think. Ironically, it is rare that people really think logical. Our society and laws do not give justice to people sometimes, in this case, intellectual and erudite people have to speak up and save people from injustice. It is the job of the educated to uplift the society.
Continue reading some more Albert Camus Quotes...
To be happy, we must not be too concerned with others.
Happiness is what all humans ultimately seek. Every action and plan of a human is always in a deeper sense towards happiness. But to be happy a person has to focus on himself and not base his happiness on other people’s opinions. Such bases for happiness is irrational and unattainable.
In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.
It is famously said that winters always turn to summer, which means that sufferings lead to enlightenment. Winter metaphorically means suffering and summer implies happiness in this quote. And intrinsically, every person has in himself the spirit of summer even in the harshest of winters.
Man is the only creature who refuses to be what he is.
Unlike any other animal of any other species, man refuses to accept that he too is an animal. Man thinks of himself as superior and above every other creature around him.
We all carry within us places of exile, our crimes, our ravages. Our task is not to unleash them on the world; it is to transform them in ourselves and others.
We all carry pain and suffering in our life. We all have a share of dark days filled with pain and past traumas. But our goal in life is not giving these bad traits to people but saving ourselves and other people from it.
Seeking what is true is not seeking what is desirable.
Truth is sometimes the most difficult thing to digest and to be delusional feels comforting sometimes. No one ever wants to know the bittersweet truth. Truth is right, but it is not desirable.
The evil that is in the world almost always comes from ignorance, and good intentions may do as much harm as malevolence if they lack understanding.
Ignorance can be the greatest evil in the world. Sometimes people or situations really need us, but our ignorance makes the matter worse and can cause irreversible damage. Even good people who choose to ignore can by default choose the side of the devil.
Some more Albert Camus Quotes...
Nobody realizes that some people expend tremendous energy merely to be normal.
Every person has his/her own history, trauma, past, defeats etc. And some people among us need to work harder than anybody else to remain normal. These people are suffering so gravely that their normal requires immense efforts.
I know that man is capable of great deeds. But if he isn’t capable of great emotion, well, he leaves me cold.
A man is often judged by how difficult deeds he performs but a better standard to measure a man’s success is measuring the goodness and kindness of his heart. People are bound to forget our property, house, good looks and achievement, but they will never forget the way we make them feel.
There is no sun without shadow, and it is essential to know the night.
Happiness and sufferings are both part of our lives. We have to understand that without sufferings, we can never enjoy happiness. Without the dark, we can never enjoy the light. Sometimes to enjoy the goodness, we have to go through painful days.
Life is a sum of all our choices.
While many thinkers and philosophers define life according to them, Albert Camus says that life is like a huge sum of everything we have ever done. And we do things we choose. Our choices ultimately mark the course and result of our lives.
When you have once seen the glow of happiness on the face of a beloved person, you know that a man can have no vocation but to awaken that light on the faces surrounding him.
There are very things by which people really acquire the state of being happy. One of which is when we make our loved one’s happy. And once you make your beloved happy, you understand that the sole purpose of your life is to keep doing so.
