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
Life is merely a fracas on an unmapped terrain, and the universe a geometry stricken with epilepsy.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Life is chaotic and unpredictable, much like navigating an unknown landscape.
In this quote, Cioran reflects on the nature of life as chaotic and tumultuous, likening it to a fracas—an uproar or disturbance—taking place in a terrain that is not charted or understood. The metaphor of the universe as having 'epilepsy' emphasizes the erratic and uncontrollable aspects of existence, suggesting that life is filled with uncertainty and disorder, challenging our understanding and navigation through it.
Themes
LifeChaosUncertaintyPhilosophyExistence
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech about life's unpredictability, one might cite this quote to exemplify the challenges we face.
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
Similar quotes
It is not we who seek the Way, but the Way which seeks us. That is why you are faithful to it, even while you stand waiting, so long as you are prepared, and act the moment you are confronted by its demands.
Dag HammarskjoldRead
All things are our relatives; what we do to everything, we do to ourselves. All is really One.
Black ElkRead
I and you-We are infinate, rich, large, contradictory, living, breathing miracles-free human beings, children of God and the everlasting universe. That's what we do.
Robert FulghumRead
Remember always that you have not only the right to be an individual; you have an obligation to be one.
Eleanor RooseveltRead
See how the World its Veterans rewards!_x000D_ _x000D_ A Youth of Frolics, an old Age of Cards;_x000D_ _x000D_ Fair to no purpose, artful to no end,_x000D_ _x000D_ Young without Lovers, old without a Friend;_x000D_ _x000D_ A Fop their Passion, but their Prize a Sot;_x000D_ _x000D_ Alive ridiculous, and dead forgot.
Alexander PopeRead
I let go of my need to control and allow the Universe to do her thing.
Gabrielle BernsteinRead