Those who write clearly have readers, those who write obscurely have commentators.
Interpretation
Clear writing attracts readers, while unclear writing draws commentary without comprehension.
This quote by Albert Camus suggests that clarity in writing is essential for effective communication. When a writer expresses their ideas transparently, they engage readers who can easily understand and appreciate the content. Conversely, obscure or convoluted writing may elicit commentary and interpretation from others, but often the essence of the message is lost, and the writer's original intent remains unclear.
In practice
A speaker might use this quote to emphasize the importance of clear communication during a conference on writing.
The Poor Man whom everyone speaks of, the Poor Man whom everyone pities, one of the repulsive Poor from whom charitable souls keep their distance, he has still said nothing. Or, rather, he has spoken through the voice of Victor Hugo, Zola, Richepin. At least, they said so. And these shameful impostures fed their authors. Cruel irony, the Poor Man tormented with hunger feeds those who plead his case.
The certainty of a God giving meaning to life far surpasses in attractiveness the ability to behave badly with impunity. The choice would not be hard to make. But there is no choice and that is where the bitterness comes in. The absurd does not liberate; it binds.
Between history and the eternal I have chosen history because I like certainties. Of it, at least, I am certain, and how can I deny this force crushing me.
Don't wait for the last judgment - it takes place every day.
A single sentence will suffice for modern man. He fornicated and read the papers. After that vigorous definition, the subject will be, if I may say so, exhausted.
At times I feel myself overtaken by an immense tenderness for these people around me who live in the same century.
Surely the experience of all good men confirms the proposition that without a due measure of private devotions the soul will grow lean.
Remember that if the opportunities for great deeds should never come, the opportunities for good deeds are renewed day by day. The thing for us to long for is the goodness, not the glory.
β¦but all day long I would be training myself to think, to understand, to criticize, to know myself; I was seeking for the absolute truth: this preoccupation did not exactly encourage polite conversation.
The problem lies with us: we've become addicted to experts. We've become addicted to their certainty, their assuredness, their definitiveness, and in the process, we have ceded our responsibility, substituting our intellect and our intelligence for their supposed words of wisdom.
Every death is like the burning of a library.
If the word has the potency to revive and make us free, it has also the power to bind, imprison and destroy.
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