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
What can be said, lacks reality. Only what fails to make its way into words exists and counts.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Words can fail to capture the full essence of reality; what truly matters often exists beyond our expression.
This quote by Emile M. Cioran suggests that language is limited in its ability to convey the complexities and depth of actual experiences. It implies that our attempts to articulate feelings, thoughts, or realities often fall short, and that what is truly significant exists in the unspoken realm, where words cannot reach.
Themes
LanguageRealityExistenceExpressionThoughts
In practice
Example use cases
In a philosophical discussion about the nature of reality and language.
More from Emile M. Cioran
All quotes βWe are afraid of the enormity of the possible.
Emile M. CioranRead
There was a time when time did not yet exist. β¦ 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
Similar quotes
People are lonely. The network is seductive. But if we are always on, we may deny ourselves the rewards of solitude.
Sherry TurkleRead
The Bible is literature, not dogma.
George SantayanaRead
Faith is homesickness. Faith is a lump in the throat. Faith is less a position on than a movement toward, less a sure thing than a hunch. Faith is waiting.
Frederick BuechnerRead
I am the harvest of man's stupidity. I am the fruit of the holocaust. I prayed like you to survive, but look at me now. It is over for us who are dead, but you must struggle, and will carry the memories all your life. People back home will wonder why you can't forget.
Eugene B. SledgeRead
When once the forms of civility are violated, there remains little hope of return to kindness or decency.
Samuel JohnsonRead
What a different result one gets by changing the metaphor!
George EliotRead