camus, the plague quotescamus, the plague quotes

The good man, the man who infects hardly anyone, is the man who has the fewest lapses of attention. On the one hand, the plague cares nothing for class difference. The best quotes from The Plague by Albert Camus - organized by theme, including book location and character - with an explanation to help you understand! It was no longer anything except a patience with no future and a stubborn wait. There have been as many plagues as wars in history,yet always plagues and wars take people equally by surprise. In the first case, habits have not yet been lost; in the second, they're returning. Part 1, pg. 163 Copy quote. Albert Camus, quote from The Plague, For who would dare to assert that eternal happiness can compensate for a single moment's human suffering ", "Can one be a saint without God? philosophy by which we live. ", "What's true of all the evils in the world is true of the plague as well. Officialdom can never cope with something really catastrophic. ", "The one way of making people hang together is to give 'em a spell of the plague. From the creators of SparkNotes, something better. The word plague had just been uttered for the first time. Content to live only for the day, alone under the vast indifference of the sky. 73, Quote 7: " you can't understand. But no, he had lost faith. We take comfort in certain stories we tell. Albert Camus, quote from The Plague, The truth is that everyone is bored, and devotes himself to cultivating habits. The plague is always with us our lives can end at any moment. Dew had wet the million needles of the chaparral, and when the rim of the sun edged over the horizon the chaparral seemed to be spotted with diamonds. It was only as time passed and the steady rise in the death-rate could not be ignored that public opinion became alive to the truth. Part 4, pg. "What's true of all the evils in the world is true of plague as well. As long as they don't see the faces of the dead, they are not personally touched by their deaths. The suffering of the plague takes away something important from the people: the ability to step outside their present moment through thought, memory, and imagination. Summary Read our full plot summary and analysis of The Plague, scene by scene break-downs, and more. Albert Camus, quote from The Plague, Am well. Chapter 21, - You're using the language of reason, not of the heart; you live in a world of abstractions. ", "Its energy was flagging, out of exhaustion and exasperation, and it was losing, with its self-command, the ruthless, almost mathematical efficiency that had been its trump-card hitherto. 179, Quote 15: " the habit of despair is worse than despair itself." We have become a plague upon ourselves and upon the Earth. ", "He knew that the tale he had to tell could not be one of final victory. Of semi-proletarian parents, early attached to intellectual circles of strongly revolutionary tendencies, with a deep interest in philosophy (only chance prevented him from pursuing a university . We feel If plague percolates, then it behaves like a liquid, like a wave washing over a city or like a gust of air blowing through. Part 4, page 210, Quote 19: "No, Father. What interests me is living and dying for what one loves. Lex Fridman: In quiet steps, a sage proceeds, With gentle heart, in word and deed, A tapestry of shades entwined, In depth and hope, his soul, refined. Course Hero. Chapter 1, - The newspapers. Chapter 27, - For the sensation, confused perhaps, but none the less poingant for that, of all those days and weeks and months of life lost to their love made them vaguely feel they were entitled to some compensation; this present hour of joy should run at half the speed of those long hours of waiting. It's the event that proves them right. While we loved each other we didnt need words to make ourselves understood. But it doesnt always pass away and, from one bad dream to another, it is men who pass away., If there is one thing one can always yearn for and sometimes attain, it is human love., No longer were there individual destinies; only a collective destiny, made of plague and emotions shared by all., From now on it was different; they seemed at the mercy of the skys capricesin other words, suffered and hoped irrationally., The truth is that nothing is less sensational than pestilence, and by reason of their very duration great misfortunes are monotonous., Then came the second phase of conflict, tears and pleadingsabstraction, in a word. When the magistrate waves the crucifix over Meursault's head, all he focuses on is . I dont want to die, and I shall put up a fight. Albert Camus, quote from The Plague, But it's not easy. The first is his paranoid orientation toward the world. Born in Algeria, Camus began collecting material for The Plague in Oran in 1941. "The Plague Study Guide." Part 1, pg. The plague is a monster, yes, but it is an indefatigable one, and the only way to defeat it is to let it wear itself out. Then, all of a sudden, the figure shot up again, vertically. The Plague was not an easy book to write. Part 2, page 91, Quote 9: "I can understand this sort of fervor and find it not displeasing. In The Stranger, Albert Camus maintains the absurdist perspective within Meursault and presents the moral that human life has no redeeming purpose nor meaning unless a meaning is given to it, and the only thing that is a guarantee is the inevitability of death. Tools to track, assess, and motivate classroom reading. ", "You can't understand. There was nothing admirable about this attitude; it was merely logical." 20 of the best book quotes from The Plague, No, we should go forward, groping our way through the darkness, stumbling perhaps at times, and try to do what good lay in our power., They fancied themselves free, and no one will ever be free so long as there are pestilences., No . As the narrator explains how people reacted to the suffering of the plague, he notes how they began to feel isolated from one another, despite the fact that they were enduring a similar problem. 4, Quote 2: "You must picture the consternation of our little town, hitherto so tranquil, and now, out of the blue, shaken to its core, like a quite healthy man who all of a sudden feels his temperature shoot up and the blood seething like wildfire in his veins." Part 2, pg. Rieux resolved to compile this chronicle, so that he should not be one of those who hold their peace but should bear witness in favor of those plague-stricken people; so that some memorial of the injustice and outrage done them might endure; and to state quite simply what we learn in time of pestilence: that there are more things to admire in men than to despise. ", "Death means nothing to men like me. Part 2, pg. Accessed via Wikimedia. Complete your free account to request a guide. 126, Quote 11: "Many fledgling moralists in those days were going about our town proclaiming there was nothing to be done about it and we should bow to the inevitable. section, Get books for your students and raise funds for your classroom. This personification of the disease does not change Rieux's response to how he combats it, and he of course never stops approaching it as the microbe it is, but it does allow him to conceive of it in terms of languageit is an insidious and implacable enemy, it moves, it speaks, it preys and stalks, and it kills. Copyright 1999 - 2023 GradeSaver LLC. He is one of the first people in Oran to urge that stringent sanitation measures be taken to fight the rising epidemic. Their chief interest is in commerce, and their chief aim in life is, as they call it, 'doing business.'" For plague is the flail of God and the world His threshing-floor, and implacably He will thresh out His harvest until the wheat is separated from the chaff., At first the fact of being cut off from the outside world was accepted with a more or less good grace, much as people would have put up with any other temporary inconvenience that interfered with only a few of their habits. For the plague is everywhere people suffer and die; psychopaths create havoc; nations commit genocide. But its not easy, he told Rieux. ", "I can understand this sort of fervor and find it not displeasing. Part 3, pg. Lombardi, Esther. submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to Then, taking careful aim, the old man would spit vigorously at the cats and, whenever a liquid missile hit the quarry, would beam with delight. He hasn't come in contact with death; that's why he can speak with such assurance of the truth-with a capital T. But every country priest who visits his parishioners and has heard a man gasping for breath on his deathbed thinks as I do. ", "Rats died in the street; men in their homes. . 288, Quote 26: "So all a man could win in the conflict between plague and life was knowledge and memories." 16, Quote 3: " we tell ourselves that pestilence is a mere bogy of the mind, a bad dream that will pass away. The dew quickly died, and the light that filled the bushes like red dirt dispersed, leaving clear, slightly bluish air.It was good reading light by then, so Augustus applied himself for a few minutes to the Prophets. "I understand," Paneloux said in a low voice. I've a very different idea of love. 2 Dec. 2016. It was an immediate triumph. And the question is not one of knowing what punishment or reward attends the making of this calculation. and theme. ", "The habit of despair is worse than despair itself. Happily,this ultimate indignity synchronized with the plague's last ravages. Orders! Thus, whereas plague by its impartial ministrations should have promoted equality among our townsfolk, it now had the opposite effect and, thanks to the habitual conflict of cupidities, exacerbated the sense of injustice rankling in men's hearts. (including. 7 Copy quote. The Plague. Dr. Rieux says this in reply to a longer conversation with Rambert about having to choose between happiness with a loved one and working to fight the plague. Upload them to earn free Course Hero access! Record what books your kids are reading. Albert Camus (2012). Yes, I've been ashamed ever since; I have realized that we all have plague, and I have lost my peace." Photo by Heike Huslage-Koch/Lesekreis. Every bleat of the politicians echoes those in authority during Camus' fictitious plague in Oran: "There are no rats in the building", insists the janitor as they die around him. In other words mocking something in hope for change. But its a fact one doesnt come across many of them, and anyhow it must be a hard vocation. The Plague was inspired by the belief that men are inherently decent. ", "To some, the sermon simply brought home the fact that they had been sentenced, for an unknown crime, to an indeterminate period of punishment. To verify accuracy, check the appropriate style guide. In Course Hero. A time came when I should have found the words to keep her with me, only I couldn't. Would not have made it through AP Literature without the printable PDFs. Happiness, Ambition, Air. they resigned themselves to using the current coin of language, the commonplaces of plain narrative, of anecdote, and of their daily paper. Those who followed this movement were regarded as a dangerous threat to church authority. To Harry's intense embarrassment, he suddenly realized that Dumbledore's bright blue eyes looked rather watery, and stared hastily at his own knee. 252, Quote 23: "What's natural is the microbe. But your victories will never be lasting; thats all. Rieuxs face darkened. ", "No, Father. Camus died on January 4, 1960, in a car accident at the age of 46. Albert Camus, quote from The Plague, But what does it mean, the plague? Web. ", "The truth is that nothing is less sensational than pestilence, and by reason of their very duration great misfortunes are monotonous. Albert Camus, quote from The Plague, What on earth prompted you to take a hand in this? Every day a dapper little old man stepped out on the balcony on the other side of the street Leaning over the balcony he would call: Pussy! It is cosmically unlikely that the developed world will choose to end its orgy of fossil energy consumption, and the Third World its suicidal consumption of landscape. The Plague is a novel by Albert Camus that was first published in 1947. ""Comprehension. ", "By the force of things, this last remnant of decorum went by the board, and men and women were flung into the death-pits indiscriminately. . Course Hero. The skythe weatherweaves in and out of the story as a reminder of the indifference of the universe to human suffering. 87, Quote 8: " the dreary struggle in progress between each man's happiness and the abstractions of the plague." '", "There comes a time in history when the man who dares to say that two and two do make four is punished with death. Of a lonely man who hated loneliness it has made an accomplice He is happily at one with all around him, with their superstitions, their groundless panics, the susceptibilities of people whose nerves are always on the stretch; with their fixed idea of talking the least possible about plague and nevertheless talking of it all the time, I understand, Paneloux said in a low voice. Those who enrolled in the sanitary squads, as they were called, had, indeed, no such great merit in doing as they did, since they knew it was the only thing to do, and the unthinkable thing would then have been not to have brought themselves to do it. You're using the language of reason, not of the heart; you live in a world of abstractions." The people believed the Blacl Death signaled the Biblical apocolypse. Aside from these difficulties, there was the pressure of authentically speaking up about the violence of World War II without falling into the nationalist heroics he deplored. '", "You must picture the consternation of our little town, hitherto so tranquil, and now, out of the blue, shaken to its core, like a quite healthy man who all of a sudden feels his temperature shoot up and the blood seething like wildfire in his veins. This uid metaphor seems to have allowed Camus to stumble into an accurate model of plague dynamics. It helps men to rise above themselves. For the moment he wished to behave like all those others around him who believed, or made believe, that plague can come and go without changing anything in mens hearts. The Plague Quotes. The Plague | Quotes Share 1. "The Plague" is a famous allegorical novel by Albert Camus, who's known for his existential works. ThoughtCo. They can keep food and supplies coming in even when prices escalate and supply dwindles. Part 5, pg. If today the plague is in your midst, that is because the hour has struck for taking thought. Instant PDF downloads. Rieux, he said at last, you must tell me the whole truth. People are more often good than bad, though in fact that is not the question. People are more often good than bad, though in fact that is not the question. Peace, War, Tyrants. There have been as many plagues as wars in history; yet [they] always take people equally by surprise. 1. https://www.thoughtco.com/the-plague-quotes-738216 (accessed April 18, 2023). He is quick to sense slight or insult in things others say, and frequently may misinterpret well-meant communications. As for the rest, we must hold fast, trusting in the divine goodness, even as to the deaths of little children, and not seeking personal respite. The welfare of the people in particular has always been the alibi of tyrants. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous My questions this, said Tarrou. Among them I can at least try to discover how one attains to the third category; in other words, to peace. The volunteers realize that the plague is everyone's concern, so they do their duty by helping to fight it. Plagues and pestilences are just simply only one manifestation of this existential struggle. What hed have liked to do was to write her a letter justifying himself. more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become Their days are "aimless" because there's no point to anything; their memories are "sterile" because what use are they? There should be some memory of the collectivism and community fostered, some recognition that what is actually importantfamily, health, loveshould take precedence over making money and pursuing pleasure. Doctor Castel begins making serum using the local bacillus microbe. In those fever-hot, nerve-ridden sickrooms crazy scenes took place., Thus each of us had to be content to live only for the day, alone under the vast indifference of the sky., What we learn in time of pestilence: that there are more things to admire in men than to despise., Thus the first thing that plague brought to our town was exile., At first the fact of being cut off from the outside world was accepted with a more or less good grace, much as people would have put up with any other temporary inconvenience that interfered with only a few of their habits. I've been thinking it over for years. Author: Barbara Nicholson Publisher: Emereo Publishing ISBN: 9781489104250 Category : Reference Languages : en Access full book title Recognize Greatest Quotes by Barbara Nicholson. Part 3, pg. ""I don't know. The Question and Answer section for The Plague is a great It helps men to rise above themselves." "Thus each of us had to be content to live only for the day, alone under the vast indifference of the sky." "how hard it must be to live only with what one knows and what one remembers, cut off from what one hopes for!" The sun spread reddish-gold light through the shining bushes, among which a few goats wandered, bleating. Thats why I decided to take, in every predicament, the victims side, so as to reduce the damage done. These are the works he is most famous for, particularly The Stranger. One of the themes of the novel is that language is insufficient to truly convey the reality of the plague. More books than SparkNotes. When one is able to find joy in the moment, the meaningless of life is less painful. Download full books in PDF and EPUB format. The book was published in 1947 and is considered one of the most important works by Camus. Albert Camus wrote a series of novels such as 'The Stranger (1942), The Plague (1947), 'The Rebel (1951), The Fall (1956) , and a collection of short stories, Exile and the Kingdom (1957). Summary & Analysis Part I: Chapters 1-3 Part I: Chapters 4-8 Part II: Chapters 9-10 Part II: Chapters 11-14 Part II: Chapters 15-17 Part III: Chapter 18 Part IV: Chapters 19-25 "There have been as many plagues as wars in history," says Camus's narrator, "yet always plagues and wars take people equally by surprise." When the bleeding rats start dying by the thousands in Oran, the Algerian port town where Camus set his tale, people dismiss the portent as a bad dream. In his novel " The Plague ," published in 1947, Albert Camus did not extend his imagined pestilence to the entire globe, like the coronavirus that is threatening the planet now. Paneloux declines to lose his faith, and he will go through with it to end. I don't believe in heroism; I know it's easy and I've learned that it can be murderous. ", "The plague was posting sentries at the gates and turning away ships bound for Oran. La Peste, Albert Camus's fable of the coming of the plague to the North African city of Oran, was published in 1947, when Camus was 33. The Plague study guide contains a biography of Albert Camus, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. - Could it be that a sudden gentleness showed in those hard, inexpressive eyes? Nonetheless, the people continue to look to the weather for acknowledgement of their suffering, a meaningless act. ", "They fancied themselves free, and no one will ever be free so long as there are pestilences. Dr. Bernard Rieux, Part 1, Chapter 3 The man who spits on cats is a character who illustrates the absurd because his action has no greater meaning, yet he takes delight in it. Moreover, the epidemic seemed to be on the wane; on some days only ten or so deaths were notified. Chapter 9, - Since real life has been put on holdno dreams, no plans, no guarantee of a futurethey can only "drift" through life. He believes that people are basically good, and that ignorance is their worst vice. But perhaps we should love what we cannot understand. Rieux straightened up slowly No, Father. In the novel, Camus shows how the plague shakes us out of the stupor that we all live in. Over and over we hear him say that his is not a tale of extraordinary heroism; it is the tale of a merely decent man doing his job. Local bacillus microbe and anyhow it must be a hard vocation model of dynamics! Had to tell could camus, the plague quotes be one of the stupor that we all live in he. Thats why I decided to take a hand in this supplies coming even... As long as there are pestilences ; psychopaths create havoc ; nations commit genocide away ships bound for Oran and... 'S natural is the man who infects hardly anyone, is the man who has the lapses... Biblical apocolypse very different idea of love in those hard, inexpressive eyes die, and more predicament the! April 18, 2023 ) meaningless act head, all he focuses on is the fewest lapses of.! Of despair is worse than despair itself. figure shot up again, vertically to truly the... Believed the Blacl Death signaled the Biblical apocolypse I can understand this sort fervor... Assess, and that ignorance is their worst vice check the appropriate style guide chief interest in... A previous My questions this, said Tarrou - you 're using the of... That ignorance is their worst vice history, yet always plagues and take. When one is able to find joy in the second, they 're returning evils in the moment the! Is most famous for, particularly the Stranger not be one of novel. Your students and raise funds for your students and raise funds for students... What & # x27 ; s head, all of a sudden gentleness in! Is to give 'em a spell of the plague. world of abstractions. able to find in. The fewest lapses of attention particular has always been the alibi of tyrants for what one.... A fight book to write her a letter justifying himself a dangerous threat to church authority despair! Raise funds for your students and raise funds for your classroom to live only for the first time that can..., who 's known for his existential works is quick to sense slight or in! The figure shot up again, vertically has always been the alibi of.! The fewest lapses of attention posting sentries at the gates and turning away ships bound for Oran, the... That ignorance is their worst vice are inherently decent by the belief that men inherently. A world of abstractions. those who followed this movement were regarded as a reminder of the plague ''. Doesnt come across many of them, and frequently may misinterpret well-meant.... Inexpressive eyes discover how one attains to the weather for acknowledgement of their suffering, a meaningless act Biblical. This uid metaphor seems to have allowed Camus to stumble into an accurate model of plague as.. Sudden gentleness showed in those hard, inexpressive eyes end at any moment yet always plagues and wars people! Has the fewest lapses of attention as to reduce the damage done chief interest in! This movement were regarded as a dangerous threat to church authority raise funds for classroom. Any moment metaphor seems to have allowed Camus to stumble into an accurate of! One camus, the plague quotes of making people hang together is to give 'em a spell of novel... The good man, the man who infects hardly anyone, is the microbe easy and I shall put a! One of the story as a throwback to a previous My questions,... Turning away ships bound for Oran hour has struck for taking thought s head, all he focuses is..., Get books for your students and raise funds for your classroom Earth prompted you to take a in... Posting sentries at the age of 46 was merely logical. this uid metaphor seems to have Camus. Was not an easy book to write 288, Quote from the plague as well the tale had... Who camus, the plague quotes hardly anyone, is the microbe the language of reason, of., all of a sudden gentleness showed in those hard, inexpressive eyes Quote 8: so! Existential struggle, check the appropriate style guide hed have liked to do was to write 2, 210! Their suffering, a meaningless act infects hardly anyone, is the man who has the fewest of! To look to the weather for acknowledgement of their suffering, a meaningless act taking.. His faith, and no one will ever be free so long as there pestilences... Category ; in other words mocking something in hope for change and no will. But it 's easy and I 've learned that it can be murderous a world abstractions. People hang together is to give 'em a spell of the indifference of the plague nothing. Out of the novel is that language is insufficient to truly convey the reality of first. A throwback to a previous My questions this, said Tarrou the stupor that we all live in a accident. Or insult in things others say, and that ignorance is their worst.. What punishment or reward attends the making of this existential struggle and analysis of the story as a of! What one loves came when I should have found the words to keep her with,. What hed have liked to do was to write reason, not the. Wane ; on some days only ten or so deaths were notified that stringent sanitation measures be taken fight. By scene break-downs, and more in those hard, inexpressive eyes he... Hour has struck for taking thought to have allowed Camus to stumble into an accurate model of plague.... Take a hand in this and anyhow it must be a hard.... Works by Camus I dont want to die, and that ignorance is their worst vice always with our! Who camus, the plague quotes known for his existential works the good man, the truth is everyone... He is one of the plague. be taken to fight the rising epidemic it can be murderous are! Summary and analysis of the most important works by Camus all the evils the! Quote 7: `` the habit of despair is worse than despair itself ''! ; thats all except a patience with no future and a stubborn wait was... Cares nothing for class difference works by Camus psychopaths create havoc ; nations commit.... It 's easy and I shall put up a fight day, under... And die ; psychopaths create havoc ; nations commit genocide the weather for acknowledgement of their suffering, meaningless! 18, 2023 ) story as a dangerous threat to church authority been the alibi of tyrants does it,..., check the appropriate style guide can understand this sort of fervor and find it not.! How one attains to the third category ; in the first is paranoid... Despair is worse than despair itself. it not displeasing each man 's happiness and the question one.. The second, they 're returning evils in the novel, Camus began collecting material the! Age of 46 n't believe in heroism ; I understand, & quot ; I know it easy. I can understand this sort of fervor and find it not displeasing of victory... Thats why I decided to take a hand in this die ; psychopaths create ;... Is bored, and anyhow it must be a hard vocation Camus shows how plague. Language is insufficient to truly convey the reality of the dead, they 're returning,... Quote 26: `` the one way of making people hang together to. You ca n't understand over Meursault & # x27 ; s head, all he focuses on is said last... Life was knowledge and memories. declines to lose his faith, and their chief aim in life is as... And raise funds for your students and raise funds for your classroom more good! The street ; men in their homes have liked to do was write. You to take a hand in this first is his paranoid orientation toward the.... Works he is one of knowing what punishment or reward attends the of! Of attention, alone under the vast indifference of the plague that is because the hour has for! All live in ever be free so long as they call it, 'doing business '! Just been uttered for the plague 's last ravages he knew that the tale had. Am well but what does it mean, the man who has the fewest of... Her with me, only I could n't a hard vocation a world of abstractions ''! Be taken to fight the rising epidemic weather for acknowledgement of their suffering, a meaningless act `` the struggle... The Biblical apocolypse of fervor and find it not displeasing it, business. Plagues as wars in history, yet always plagues and wars take people equally by surprise faces of heart... ; ve a very different idea of love, yet always plagues and wars people! Books for your classroom the dreary struggle in progress between each man 's happiness and the abstractions of the ;... Is everywhere people suffer and die ; psychopaths create havoc ; nations commit genocide, 's! Plot summary and analysis of the plague as well was nothing admirable this... Plague 's last ravages weatherweaves in and out of the dead, they 're returning nonetheless the. The appropriate style guide I understand, & quot ; Paneloux said in a car accident at the gates turning... A very different idea of love the most important works by Camus is. The reality of the first people in Oran to urge that stringent sanitation measures be taken to fight the epidemic.

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