Fiction is the lie through which we tell the truth.
albert Camusquotes
1913 - 1960
French-Algerian novelist and essayist, Albert Camus (1913-1960) is often called a “spokesman for his generation” and a “mentor for the next.” His dominant contribution to philosophy was his reflection on the Absurd. In The Myth of Sisyphus he calls for a revolt against the futile search for the meaning of life, and to fight for values like truth, moderation and justice while creating personal meaning and autonomy.
In an era of nihilists and communists, Camus was neither and often wrote against such ideas (and often fought drunk, offended communists). During the Nazi Occupation in Paris, Camus joined a resistance movement and wrote as an underground journalist. As a political theorist, he outlined ideas for a liberal humanism that rejected Christian and Marxist dogma.
His dedicated search for moral order (The Rebel), his consistent assertion for human dignity and fraternity (The Plague) won him the Nobel Peace Prize for Literature in 1957 at the age of 44. In characteristic modesty, Camus asserted it should have gone to André Malraux.
Perhaps surprisingly, it was as a playwright that he found the most satisfaction and personal success. His adaptations of Requiem for a Nun and Possession are his most recognized contributions to the theater.
Writing always beyond his ability, Camus said this practice inspired continual effort, but also caused personal exhaustion. He wrestled with depression, and wrote under the burden of perfectionism – never happy in his work, yet always pressing onward.
Camus died in a car accident at the age of 46; his death considered a tragic loss to literature.
The purpose of a writer is to keep civilization from destroying itself.
Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.
To be happy, we must not be too concerned with others.
Blessed are the hearts that can bend; they shall never be broken.
The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.
But in the end one needs more courage to live than to kill himself.
Real generosity towards the future lies in giving all to the present.
future / generosity / present
When I look at my life and its secret colours, I feel like bursting into tears.
There are causes worth dying for, but none worth killing for.