The premonition of madness is complicated by the fear of lucidity in madness, the fear of the moments of return and reunion... One would welcome chaos if one were not afraid of lights in it.
Emile M. CioranRead
Beware of thinkers whose minds function only when they are fueled by a quotation.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote warns against individuals who rely solely on quotes for their thoughts and ideas.
Emile M. Cioran expresses a cautionary perspective on the nature of intellectual engagement. He suggests that true understanding and insight should come from one's own thinking rather than merely echoing the words of others. Relying heavily on quotations can lead to superficiality in thought and a lack of genuine contemplation.
Themes
ThinkingQuotesOriginalityIntellectPhilosophy
In practice
Example use cases
During a motivational speech, one might say this quote to encourage original thinking among students.
More from Emile M. Cioran
All quotes →We are afraid of the enormity of the possible.
Emile M. CioranRead
There was a time when time did not yet exist. … The rejection of birth is nothing but the nostalgia for this time before time.
Emile M. CioranRead
A marvel that has nothing to offer, democracy is at once a nation's paradise and its tomb.
Emile M. CioranRead
Paradise was unendurable, otherwise the first man would have adapted to it; this world is no less so, since here we regret paradise or anticipate another one. What to do? Where to go? Do nothing and go nowhere, easy enough.
Emile M. CioranRead
It is not worth the bother of killing yourself, since you always kill yourself too late.
Emile M. CioranRead
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Sentimentalism is the working off on yourself of feelings you haven't really got.
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Security is elusive. It's impossible. We all die. We all get old. We all get sick. People leave us. People change us. Nothing is secure.
Eve EnslerRead
The point of public relations slogans like "Support Our Troops" is that they don't mean anything ... that's the whole point of good propaganda. You want to create a slogan that nobody is going to be against and I suppose everybody will be for, because nobody knows what it means, because it doesn't mean anything. But its crucial value is that it diverts your attention from a question that does mean something, do you support our policy? And that's the one you're not allowed to talk about.
Noam ChomskyRead
The reflection, the verisimilitude, of life that shines in the fleshly cells from the soul source is the only cause of man's attachment to his body; obviously he would not pay solicitous homage to a clod of clay. A human being falsely identifies himself with his physical form because the life currents from the soul are breath-conveyed into the flesh with such intense power that man mistakes the effect for a cause, and idolatrously imagines the body to have life of its own.
Paramahansa YoganandaRead
You'll forget it when you're dead, and so will I. When I'm dead, I'm going to forget everything–and I advise you to do the same.
Kurt VonnegutRead
Still she haunts me, phantomwise, Alice moving under skies Never seen by waking eyes.
Lewis CarrollRead