As far as I am concerned, I resign from humanity. I no longer want to be, nor can still be, a man. What should I do? Work for a social and political system, make a girl miserable? Hunt for weaknesses in philosophical systems, fight for moral and esthetic ideals? It’s all too little. I renounce my humanity even though I may find myself alone. But am I not already alone in this world from which I no longer expect anything?
- Emil Cioran, On the Heights of Despair
- Emil Cioran, On the Heights of Despair
Twisting and turning beside the slumbering Tereza
He recalled something she had told him a long time before
In the course of an insignificant conversation
They had been talking about his friend Z, when she announced
"If I hadn't met you, I'd certainly have fallen in love with him"
Even then, her words had left Tomas in a strange state of melancholy
And now he realized it was only a matter of chance
That Tereza loved him and not his friend Z
Apart from her consummated love for Tomas, there were
In the realm of possibility, an infinite number of unconsummated loves for other men
We all reject out of hand the idea
That the love of our life may be something light or weightless
We presume our love is what must be
That without it our life would no longer be the same
We feel Beethoven himself
Gloomy and awe-inspiring
Is playing to our own great love
He recalled something she had told him a long time before
In the course of an insignificant conversation
They had been talking about his friend Z, when she announced
"If I hadn't met you, I'd certainly have fallen in love with him"
Even then, her words had left Tomas in a strange state of melancholy
And now he realized it was only a matter of chance
That Tereza loved him and not his friend Z
Apart from her consummated love for Tomas, there were
In the realm of possibility, an infinite number of unconsummated loves for other men
We all reject out of hand the idea
That the love of our life may be something light or weightless
We presume our love is what must be
That without it our life would no longer be the same
We feel Beethoven himself
Gloomy and awe-inspiring
Is playing to our own great love
If the passion for truthfulness is merely controlled and stilled without being satisfied, it will kill the activities it is supposed to support. This may be one of the reasons why, at the present time, the study of the humanities runs a risk of sliding from professional seriousness, through professionalization, to a finally disenchanted careerism.
- Bernard Williams
- Bernard Williams
We've no use for intellectuals in this outfit. What we need is chimpanzees. Let me give you a word of advice: never say a word to us about being intelligent. We will think for you, my friend. Don't forget it.
- Louis-Ferdinand Céline, Journey to the End of the Night
- Louis-Ferdinand Céline, Journey to the End of the Night
Forwarded from alcoholic.exe
only a complete alcoholic can think life is funny ... any life! ...
In the whole of your absurd past you discover so much that's absurd, so much deceit and credulity, that it might be a good idea to stop being young this minute, to wait for youth to break away from you and pass you by, to watch it going away, receding in the distance, to see all its vanity, run your hand through the empty space it has left behind, take a last look at it, and then start moving, make sure your youth has really gone, and then calmly, all by yourself, cross to the other side of Time to see what people and things really look like.
- Louis-Ferdinand Céline, Journey to the End of the Night
- Louis-Ferdinand Céline, Journey to the End of the Night