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
To get up in the morning, wash and then wait for some unforeseen variety of dread or depression. I would give the whole universe and all of Shakespeare for a grain of ataraxy.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects a deep sense of existential dread and a longing for peace of mind.
Emile M. Cioran expresses the struggle of daily life marred by feelings of dread and depression. He highlights the burden of waking each day only to face the potential for despair, suggesting that he would be willing to sacrifice everything for a moment of tranquility, referred to as 'ataraxy.' This conveys a profound commentary on the human condition and the search for inner peace amid life’s inevitable struggles.
Themes
DreadDepressionAtaraxyExistentialPeace
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be shared during a mental health awareness event to highlight the struggles many face daily.
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
Similar quotes
The psychedelic inner astronaut sees things which no human _x000D_ being has ever seen before, and no other human being will ever see again. But in fact this has no meaning unless it is possible to carry it back into the collectivity.
Terence MckennaRead
Slavery it is that makes slavery; freedom, freedom. The slavery of women happened when the men were slaves of kings.
Ralph Waldo EmersonRead
Human kind is made up of two sexes, women and men. Is it possible that a mass is improved by the improvement of only one part and the other part is ignored? Is it possible that if half of a mass is tied to earth with chains and the other half can soar into skies?
Mustafa Kemal AtaturkRead
The dangers of not thinking clearly are much greater now than ever before. It's not that there's something new in our way of thinking - it's that credulous and confused thinking can be much more lethal in ways it was never before.
Carl SaganRead
It doesn't matter if that felony happened three weeks ago or thirty-five years ago - for the rest of your life, you've got to check that box, knowing full well the odds are sky-high your application is going straight to the trash.
Michelle AlexanderRead
Every human being is intended to have a character of his own; to be what no others are, and to do what no other can do.
William Ellery ChanningRead