Albert Camus Quotes

Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend.

The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.

My dear, In the midst of hate, I found there was, within me, an invincible love. In the midst of tears, I found there was, within me, an invincible smile. In the midst of chaos, I found there was, within me, an invincible calm. I realized, through it all, that… In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer. And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there’s something stronger – something better, pushing right back. Truly yours, Albert Camus

Nobody realizes that some people expend tremendous energy merely to be normal.

Every time I hear a political speech or I read those of our leaders, I am horrified at having, for years, heard nothing which sounded human. It is always the same words telling the same lies. And the fact that men accept this, that the people’s anger has not destroyed these hollow clowns, strikes me as proof that men attribute no importance to the way they are governed; that they gamble – yes, gamble – with a whole part of their life and their so called 'vital interests.

Life is meaningless, but worth living, provided you recognize it's meaningless.

Do not be afraid of spending quality time by yourself. Find meaning or don’t find meaning but “steal” some time and give it freely and exclusively to your own self. Opt for privacy and solitude. That doesn’t make you antisocial or cause you to reject the rest of the world. But you need to breathe. And you need to be.

In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer. And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there’s something stronger – something better, pushing right back.

Life is a sum of all your choices". So, what are you doing today?

Whoever gives nothing, has nothing. The greatest misfortune is not to be unloved, but not to love.

Should I kill myself, or have a cup of coffee?

The Four Conditions of Happiness: Life in the open air, Love for another being,Freedom from ambition,Creation

You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life.

The modern mind is in complete disarray. Knowledge has stretched itself to the point where neither the world nor our intelligence can find any foot-hold. It is a fact that we are suffering from nihilism.

I know of only one duty, and that is to love.

You cannot create experience. You must undergo it.

It is the job of thinking people not to be on the side of the executioners.

Real generosity toward the future lies in giving all to the present.

Every act of rebellion expresses a nostalgia for innocence and an appeal to the essence of being.

Find your happiness in yourself.

There are causes worth dying for, but none worth killing for.

There is no sun without shadow, and it is essential to know the night.

A guilty conscience needs to confess. A work of art is a confession.

Blessed are the hearts that can bend; they shall never be broken.

Capital punishment is the most premeditated of murders.

Believe me there is no such thing as great suffering, great regret, great memory....everything is forgotten, even a great love. That's what's sad about life, and also what's wonderful about it. There is only a way of looking at things, a way that comes to you every once in a while. That's why it's good to have had love in your life after all, to have had an unhappy passion- it gives you an alibi for the vague despairs we all suffer from.

An intellectual? Yes. And never deny it. An intellectual is someone whose mind watches itself. I like this, because I am happy to be both halves, the watcher and the watched. "Can they be brought together?" This is a practical question. We must get down to it. "I despise intelligence" really means: "I cannot bear my doubts.

The most important thing you do everyday you live is deciding not to kill yourself.

The evil that is in the world always comes of ignorance, and good intentions may do as much harm as malevolence, if they lack understanding.

You will never be able to experience everything. So, please, do poetical justice to your soul and simply experience yourself.

All great deeds and all great thoughts have a ridiculous beginning.

We always deceive ourselves twice about the people we love - first to their advantage, then to their disadvantage.

Fiction is the lie through which we tell the truth.

Those who lack the courage will always find a philosophy to justify it.

Sometimes, carrying on, just carrying on, is the superhuman achievement.

I would rather live my life as if there is a God and die to find out there isn't, than live as if there isn't and to die to find out that there is.

The need to be right is the sign of a vulgar mind.

In the depths of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.

If something is going to happen to me, I want to be there.

All great deeds and all great thoughts have a ridiculous beginning. Great works are often born on a street corner or in a restaurant's revolving door.

I don't want to be a genius-I have enough problems just trying to be a man.

There is scarcely any passion without struggle.

I rebel; therefore I exist.

There always comes a time when one must choose between contemplation and action. This is called becoming a man.

There are crimes of passion and crimes of logic. The boundary between them is not clearly defined.

Without work, all life goes rotten. But when work is soulless, life stifles and dies.

Charm is a way of getting the answer 'Yes' without asking a clear question.

To abandon oneself to principles is really to die - and to die for an impossible love which is the contrary of love.

At the heart of all beauty lies something inhuman.

At 30 a man should know himself like the palm of his hand, know the exact number of his defects and qualities, know how far he can go, foretell his failures - be what he is. And, above all, accept these things.