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
Trees are massacred, houses go up — faces, faces everywhere. Man is spreading. Man is the cancer of the earth.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects on the detrimental impact of humanity on the environment and the world.
Emile M. Cioran uses vivid imagery to lament the destructive growth of human civilization, likening it to a cancer that harms the Earth. The quote suggests a sense of urgency and despair about the relentless expansion of humanity at the expense of nature, condemning human progress as synonymous with ecological devastation.
Themes
HumanityNatureDestructionCancerEnvironment
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about environmental degradation, this quote can highlight the impact of urbanization on nature.
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
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