I lost my sleep, and this is the greatest tragedy that can befall someone. It is much worse than sitting in prison.
Emil CioranRead
Isn't history ultimately the result of our fear of boredom?
Interpretation
What this quote means
History is shaped by our attempt to avoid monotony.
Emil Cioran's quote suggests that the progression of history is driven by humanity's intrinsic fear of boredom. This perspective implies that our actions and the events that unfold over time are often motivated by a desire to create meaning and excitement, steering our societies away from stagnation and toward continual change and development.
Themes
HistoryBoredomFearChangeHumanity
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the motivations behind historical events.
More from Emil Cioran
All quotes →However much I have frequented the mystics, deep down I have always sided with the Devil; unable to equal him in power, I have tried to be worthy of him, at least, in insolence, acrimony, arbitrariness and caprice.
Emil CioranRead
I saw that philosophy had no power to make my life more bearable. Thus I lost my belief in philosophy.
Emil CioranRead
If, at the limit, you can rule without crime, you cannot do so without injustices.
Emil CioranRead
The capital phenomenon, the most catastrophic disaster, is uninterrupted sleeplessness, that nothingness without release.
Emil CioranRead
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Personally, I would be delighted if there were a life after death, especially if it permitted me to continue to learn about this world and others, if it gave me a chance to discover how history turns out.
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Not only are we harried by time, we seem unable, despite a thousand generations, even to get used to it. We are always amazed at it–how fast it goes, how slowly it goes, how much of it is gone. Where, we cry, has the time gone? We aren’t adapted to it, not at home in it. If that is so, it may appear as a proof, or at least a powerful suggestion, that eternity exists and is our home.
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If you believe the doctors, nothing is wholesome; if you believe the theologians, nothing is innocent; if you believe the military, nothing is safe.
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The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.
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