Home / Authors / Emile M. Cioran

Emile M. Cioran Quotes

Philosopher

Emile M. Cioran was a Romanian-born French philosopher known for his pessimistic and existentialist views. His works deeply explored the essence of human existence, suffering, and nihilism.

Filter quotes by topic

All Men Ifs World Dies Existence Ideas Moments Suffering Mind Feels People Humans Should Solitude Thinking Way Born Long Madness Needs

Famous Emile M. Cioran Quotes

“To possess a high degree of consciousness, to be always aware of yourself in relation to the world, to live in the permanent tension of knowledge, means to be lost for life.”

World Mean Lost Consciousness Degrees Relation Permanent Tension

Author:Emile M. Cioran

“All that shimmers on the surface of the world, all that we call interesting, is the fruit of ignorance and inebriation.”

World Interesting Ignorance Fruit Surface Shimmer Inebriation

Book:The fall into time

Source: The fall into time

“Life without utopia is suffocating, for the multitude at least: threatened otherwise with petrifaction, the world must have a new madness.”

World Madness Multitudes Threatened Utopia Suffocating

Author:Emile M. Cioran

“Afflicted with existence, each man endures like an animal the consequences which proceed from it. Thus, in a world where everything is detestable, hatred becomes huger than the world and, having transcended its object, cancels itself out.”

Men World Hate Animal Existence Objects Consequence Hatred Endure

Book:A short history of decay

Source: A short history of decay

“I do not forgive myself for being born. It is as if creeping into this world, I had profaned a mystery, betrayed some momentous pledge, committed a fault of nameless gravity.”

Ifs World Born Mystery This World Forgiving Faults Committed Gravity Betrayed Pledge Nameless

Book:The Trouble with Being Born

Source: The Trouble with Being Born

“There is no other world. Nor even this one. What, then, is there? The inner smile provoked in us by the patent nonexistence of both.”

World Smile Deep Thought Nihilism Other Worlds Patents Provoked

Author:Emile M. Cioran

“The deepest and most organic death is death in solitude, when even light becomes a principle of death. In such moments you will be severed from life, from love, smiles, friends and even from death. And you will ask yourself if there is anything besides the nothingness of the world and your own nothingness.”

Ifs World Moments Light Asks Principles Solitude Nothingness Smile Love

Author:Emile M. Cioran

“I don’t understand why we must do things in this world, why we must have friends and aspirations, hopes and dreams. Wouldn’t it be better to retreat to a faraway corner of the world, where all its noise and complications would be heard no more? Then we could renounce culture and ambitions; we would lose everything and gain nothing; for what is there to be gained from this world?”

World Dream Would Be Culture Loses Heard This World Ambition Gains Corners Noise Aspiration Retreat Renounce Complication Hopes And Dreams Corners Of The World

Author:Emile M. Cioran

“I cannot contribute anything to this world because I only have one method: agony.”

World This World Method Agony

Author:Emile M. Cioran

“How important can it be that I suffer and think? My presence in this world will disturb a few tranquil lives and will unsettle the unconscious and pleasant naiveté of others. Although I feel that my tragedy is the greatest in history - greater than the fall of empires - I am nevertheless aware of my total insignificance. I am absolutely persuaded that I am nothing in this universe; yet I feel that mine is the only real existence.”

Thinking World Feels Important Real Suffering Fall Universe Existence Greater This World Mines Tragedy Pleasant Unconscious Empires Nevertheless Tranquil Insignificance

Author:Emile M. Cioran

“As far as I am concerned, I resign from humanity. I no longer want to be, nor can still be, a man. What should I do? Work for a social and political system, make a girl miserable? Hunt for weaknesses in philosophical systems, fight for moral and esthetic ideals? It’s all too little. I renounce my humanity even though I may find myself alone. But am I not already alone in this world from which I no longer expect anything?”

“One can experience loneliness in two ways: by feeling lonely in the world or by feeling the loneliness of the world.”

World Way Two Feelings Loneliness Lonely Two Ways Feeling Lonely

Author:Emile M. Cioran

“True confessions are written with tears only. But my tears would drown the world, as my inner fire would reduce it to ashes.”

World Fire Written Tears Confession Ashes

Author:Emile M. Cioran

“Just as ecstasy purifies you of the particular and the contingent, leaving nothing except light and darkness, so insomnia kills off the multiplicity and diversity of the world, leaving you prey to your private obsessions.”

World Light Darkness Particular Diversity Leaving Obsession Ecstasy Prey Insomnia Light And Darkness Multiplicity Light And Dark

Author:Emile M. Cioran

“By all evidence we are in the world to do nothing; but instead of nonchalantly promenading our own corruption, we exude our sweat and grow winded upon the fetid air.”

World Grows Air Atheism Crazy Evidence Mad Corruption Sweat

Author:Emile M. Cioran

“In every man sleeps a prophet, and when he wakes there is a little more evil in the world.”

Men World Littles Evil Sleep Every Man Prophet

Book:A short history of decay

Source: A short history of decay

“By all evidence we are in the world to do nothing.”

World Evidence

Book:A short history of decay

Source: A short history of decay

“One hardly saves a world without ruling it.”

World Ruling

Author:Emile M. Cioran

“Vague a l'ame - melancholy yearning for the end of the world.”

World Ends Melancholy Yearning Vague End Of The World

Author:Emile M. Cioran

“The refutation of suicide: is it not inelegant to abandon a world which has so willingly put itself at the service of our melancholy?”

World Suicide Abandon Melancholy Refutation

Book:All Gall is Divided: Gnomes and Apothegms

Source: All Gall is Divided: Gnomes and Apothegms

“To devastate by language, to blow up the word and with it the world.”

World Language Blow

Author:Emile M. Cioran

“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.”

Men World Firsts Enough Easy This World Regret Paradise Anticipate Adapted Unendurable

Book:The Trouble with Being Born

Source: The Trouble with Being Born

“Illusion begets and sustains the world; we do not destroy one without destroying the other. Which is what I do every day. An apparently ineffectual operation, since I must begin all over again the next day.”

World Next Illusion Operations Destroying Next Day Begets

Author:Emile M. Cioran

About the Author

Born: April 8, 1911
Died: June 20, 1995
Known for: Philosopher
Quotes: 372

Books & Sources

The Trouble with Being BornRelated source material

A short history of decayRelated source material

All Gall is Divided: Gnomes and ApothegmsRelated source material

The fall into timeRelated source material

Similar Authors

Albert CamusBrowse related quotes
Jean-Paul SartreBrowse related quotes
Arthur SchopenhauerBrowse related quotes
Gilbert K. ChestertonBrowse related quotes
Mehmet Murat IldanBrowse related quotes
Robert Green IngersollBrowse related quotes
Friedrich NietzscheBrowse related quotes
Simone de BeauvoirBrowse related quotes
Thomas CarlyleBrowse related quotes
Fyodor DostoevskyBrowse related quotes