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
For a long time—always, in fact—I have known that life here on earth is not what I needed and that I wasn’t able to deal with it; for this reason and for this reason alone, I have acquired a touch of spiritual pride, so that my existence seems to me the degradation and the erosion of a psalm.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects a deep dissatisfaction with earthly life and a longing for something more spiritual.
Emile M. Cioran expresses a profound awareness of the inadequacies of life on earth, suggesting that his spiritual understanding has led to a sense of pride, albeit a touch of arrogance, in recognizing that his existence often feels like a degradation of higher values. This perspective reveals a struggle between the limitations of human experience and the yearning for a more meaningful spiritual existence.
Themes
SpiritualityExistenceDissatisfactionPrideLife
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a philosophical discussion about the meaning of life.
More from Emile M. Cioran
All quotes →We are afraid of the enormity of the possible.
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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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