Emile M. Cioran
Emile M. Cioran
NationalityRomanian
ProfessionPhilosopher
Date of Birth8 April 1911
CountryRomania
Emile M. Cioran quotes about
life-and-death people overcoming
Death makes no sense except to people who have passionately loved life. How can one die without having something to part from? Detachment is a negation of both life and death. Whoever has overcome his fear of death has also triumphed over life. For life is nothing but another word for this fear.
intuition firsts true-ones
Our first intuitions are the true ones.
soul sadism skepticism
Skepticism is the sadism of embittered souls.
being-yourself chaos chaos-in-the-world
Chaos is rejecting all you have learned, chaos is being yourself.
motive left
One cannot live without motives. I have no motives left, and I am living.
enemy ends decided
I have decided not to oppose anyone ever again, since I have noticed that I always end by resembling my latest enemy.
self flaws easy
How easy it is to be "deep": all you have to do is let yourself sink into your own flaws.
sometimes imagine eternity
Time is heavy sometimes; imagine how heavy eternity must be.
fire tears world
True confessions are written with tears only. But my tears would drown the world, as my inner fire would reduce it to ashes.
rejection violence accepting
To live... in any sense of the word... is to reject others; to accept them, one must renounce, do oneself violence.
sleep tragedy sitting
I lost my sleep, and this is the greatest tragedy that can befall someone. It is much worse than sitting in prison.
cynical democracy mediocrity
Democracy: a festival of mediocrity.
devil acrimony insolence
However much I have frequented the mystics, deep down I have always sided with the Devil; unable to equal him in power, I have tried to be worthy of him, at least, in insolence, acrimony, arbitrariness and caprice.
ego trying deeper
The more we try to rest ourselves from our Egos, the deeper we sink into it.