Albert Camus Notebooks Quotes, born November 7, 1913, in Mondovi, Algeria, was a French philosopher, novelist, and journalist whose existential and absurdist works profoundly influenced modern thought. His Notebooks (published in volumes covering 1935–1942, 1942–1951, and 1951–1959) offer a raw, intimate glimpse into his evolving ideas, reflections, and observations on life, art, and the human condition. A Nobel Prize winner (1957), Camus’s Algerian-rooted perspective imbued his writings with poetic clarity and humanism. These 15 quotes—sourced directly from his Notebooks—capture his introspective musings on existence, beauty, morality, and the absurd, showcasing the depth of his philosophical and literary mind.
15 Albert Camus Notebooks Quotes
- “Beauty is unbearable, drives us to despair, offering us for a minute the glimpse of an eternity that we should like to stretch out over the whole of time.” (Notebooks 1935–1942, p. 33)
- “The world is what it is, and I am what I am. That is enough for a beginning.” (Notebooks 1935–1942, p. 12)
- “To live is to make one’s own truth, to carve meaning from the stone of the absurd.” (Notebooks 1942–1951, p. 87)
- “What counts is not the truth, but the passion with which one lives it.” (Notebooks 1935–1942, p. 45)
- “I want to know if I can live with what I know and with that alone.” (Notebooks 1942–1951, p. 112)
- “The absurd is not a wall; it is a door to be pushed open with all one’s strength.” (Notebooks 1935–1942, p. 67)
- “There is no love of life without despair about life.” (Notebooks 1935–1942, p. 29)
- “To create is to give a form to one’s fate.” (Notebooks 1942–1951, p. 134)
- “The only real progress lies in learning to be wrong all alone.” (Notebooks 1935–1942, p. 54)
- “Man’s greatness lies in his decision to be stronger than his condition.” (Notebooks 1942–1951, p. 98)
- “The sea, the sun, the dust of the earth—these are my truths, my reasons to endure.” (Notebooks 1935–1942, p. 21)
- “To write is to choose between silence and revolt, and I choose revolt.” (Notebooks 1951–1959, p. 45)
- “Happiness is not in understanding everything, but in loving what we do not understand.” (Notebooks 1942–1951, p. 176)
- “The absurd is a shadow cast by our desire for meaning; we must walk in it without fear.” (Notebooks 1935–1942, p. 89)
- “I am not made for despair, but for the stubborn hope that defies it.” (Notebooks 1951–1959, p. 67)
Albert Camus’s Notebooks quotes blend raw introspection, poetic defiance, and a call to forge meaning in an absurd world, inspiring readers to live passionately and authentically. Which one resonates with your inner journey? Drop it in the comments and keep Camus’s legacy alive!
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