Albert Camus was a brilliant French writer and philosopher. He produced several extremely influential works, including The Stanger and The Myth of Sisyphus. He is known as an existentialist author, however, most of his works were mainly about absurdism. His book, The Plague, was the most influential on me. Camus is one of my favorite authors. This is a short list of Camus' quotes that are both interesting and thought provoking.
1) "To create is to live twice."
I found this quote from The Myth of Sisyphus is very thoughtful. We live in an absurd world where nothing really makes sense and according to existentialism, life is meaningless. With this philosophy, creating something, whether it be a book or a painting, allows a person to create their own meaning out of the meaningless.
2) "There is not love of life without despair about life."
In order to fully love and appreciate the good things in our lives, we must go through hard times. The line from The Stranger is quite beautiful and thoughtful considering the lack of human emotion the main character has in the book. I think it is something that everyone can relate to, especially because hard times can seem like the end of the world and people have a tendency to take good times for granted.
3) "To be happy, we must not be too concerned with others."
I love this quote because it shows the importance of being personally happy. I feel that often times, people care so much for others' happiness that sometimes we neglect our own. Camus recognizes the importance of personal happiness. While it's okay to want others to be happy, we shouldn't sacrifice our own mental health for it.
4) "Integrity has no need for rules."
This quote is incredibly important. It explains that integrity is a commitment to a personal set of unwavering moral values. It's not something that can be defined with a set rules like a sport. Integrity stems from a personal commitment to your moral beliefs. Those beliefs can come from God or your personal awarenesses or conviction. Integrity is something that can be gained or achieved, but the gaining of integrity is not the same for everyone.
5) "In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me was an invincible summer."
I love this quote. It is so powerful. In dark and hard times, inside of us is a strength that we don't always recognize, but it is always there. I use this quote as a reminder that we are all stronger than we think. Whatever it is that we are going through on an external level does not compare to the happiness and warmth we have inside us waiting to come out.
