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PREFACE
The myth of Sisyphus, and other essays / Albert Camus; translated
from the French by Justin !"rien
FR#E"The Myth of Sisyphus" marks the beginning
of an idea which I was to pursue in The Rebel$ %t at-
tempts to resolve the problem of suicide, as The Rebel
attempts to resolve that of murder, in both cases without
the aid of eternal values which, temporarily perhaps, are
absent or distorted in contemporary Europe The funda-
mental sub!ect of "The Myth of Sisyphus" is this it is
legitimate and necessary to wonder whether life has a
meaning# therefore it is legitimate to meet the problem
of suicide face to face The answer, underlying and ap-
pearing through the parado$es which cover it, is this
even if one does not believe in %od, suicide is not legiti-
mate &ritten fifteen years ago, in '()*, amid the
+rench and European disaster, this book declares that
even within the limits of nihilism it is possible to find
the means to proceed beyond nihilism In all the books
I have written since, I have attempted to pursue this di-
rection lthough "The Myth of Sisyphus" poses mortal
problems, it sums itself up for me as a lucid invitation to
live and to create, in the very midst of the desert
It has hence been thought possible to append to this
philosophical argument a series of essays, of a kind '
have never ceased writing, which are somewhat marginal
to my other books In a more lyrical form, they all il-
lustrate that essential fluctuation from assent to refusal
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which, in my view, defines the artist and his difficult
calling The unity of this hook, that I should like to he
apparent to merican readers as it is to me, resides in
the reflection, alternately cold and impassioned, in
which an artist may indulge as to his reasons for living
and for creating fter fifteen years I have progressed
beyond several of the positions which are set down here#
hut % have remained faithful, it seems to me, to the
e$igency which prompted them That is why this hook
is in a certain sense the most personal of those % have
published in merica More than the others, therefore,
it has need of the indulgence and understanding of
its readers
A&"ERTCA#'S
PAR%S #ARC(
1955
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my soul, do not aspire to immortal life, lout e$haustthe limits of the possible
)Pindar,ythian iii
T(EPA*ESthat follo+ deal +ith an absurd sensitiity
that can be found +idespread in the a-e)and not +ith
an absurd philosophy +hich our time, properly spea.
in-, has not .no+n$ %t is therefore simply fair to point
out, at the outset, +hat these pa-es o+e to certain con
temporary thin.ers$ %t is so far from my intention to
hide this that they 0ill be found cited and commented
upon throu-hout this +or.$
"ut it is useful to note at the same time that the
absurd, hitherto ta.en as a conclusion, is considered inthis essay as a startin-point$ %n this sense it may be said
that there is somethin- proisional in my commentary1
one cannot pre2ud-e the position it entails$ There +ill
be found here merely the description, in the pure state,
of an intellectual malady$ 3o metaphysic, no belief is
inoled in it for the moment$ These are the limits and
the only bias of this boo.$ Certain personal e4periences
ur-e me to ma.e this clear$
A3 A"S'R5 REAS3%3*
bsurdity and Suicide
(EREis but one truly serious philosophical problem,
and that is suicide$ Jud-in- +hether life is or is not
+orth liin- amounts to ans+erin- the fundamental
6uestion of philosophy$ All the rest) +hether or not
the +orld has three dimensions, +hether the mind has
nine or t+ele cate-ories)comes after+ards$ These are
-ames; one must first ans+er$ And if it is true, as
3iet7sche claims, that a philosopher, to desere our
respect, must preach by e4ample, you can appreciate the
importance of that reply, for it +ill precede thedefinitie act$ These are facts the heart can feel; yet
they call for careful study before they become clear to
the intellect$
t
%f % as. myself ho+ to 2ud-e that this 6uestion is more
ur-ent than that, % reply that one 2ud-es by the actions
it entails$ % hae neer seen anyone die for the ontolo-i
cal ar-ument$ *alileo, +ho held a scientific truth of
-reat importance, ab2ured it +ith the -reatest ease as
soon as it endan-ered his life$ %n a certain sense, he did
ri-ht$8That truth +as not +orth the sta.e$ 0hether theearth or the sun reoles around the other is a matter of
8From the point of ie+ of the relatie alue of truth$ n theother hand, from the point of ie+ of irile behaior, thisscholar!s fra-ility may +ell ma.e us smile$
9
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tiely, the ridiculous character of that habit, the absenceof any profound reason for liin-, the insane character
of that daily a-itation, and the uselessness of sufferin-$
0hat, then, is that incalculable feelin- that depries
the mind of the sleep necessary to life< A +orld that canbe e4plained een +ith bad reasons is a familiar +orld$"ut, on the other hand, in a unierse suddenly diested
of illusions and li-hts, man feels an alien, a stran-er$ (ise4ile is +ithout remedy since he is depried of the mem
ory of a lost home or the hope of a promised land$ This
diorce bet+een man and his life, the actor and his settin-, is properly the feelin- of absurdity$ All healthy
men hain- thou-ht of their o+n suicide, it can beseen, +ithout further e4planation, that there is a direct
connection bet+een this feelin- and the lon-in- for
death$
The sub2ect of this essay is precisely this relationship
bet+een the absurd and suicide, the e4act de-ree to
+hich suicide is a solution to the absurd$ The principle
can be established that for a man +ho does not cheat,
+hat he beliees to be true must determine his action$
"elief in the absurdity of e4istence must then dictate his
conduct$ %t is le-itimate to +onder, clearly and +ithout
false pathos, +hether a conclusion of this importance
re6uires forsa.in- as rapidly as possible an incomprehensible condition$ % am spea.in-, of course, of men in
clined to be in harmony +ith themseles$
Stated clearly, this problem may seem both simple
and insoluble$ "ut it is +ron-ly assumed that simple
6uestions inole ans+ers that are no less simple and
that eidence implies eidence$ priori and reersin-
the terms of the problem, 2ust as one does or does not.ill oneself, it seems that there are but t+o philosophi
cal solutions, either yes or no$ This +ould be too easy$"ut allo+ance must be made for those +ho, +ithout
concludin-, continue 6uestionin-$ (ere % am onlysli-htly indul-in- in irony1 this is the ma2ority$ % noticealso that those +ho ans+er >no> act as if they thou-ht
>yes$> As a matter of fact, if % accept the 3iet7scheancriterion, they thin. >yes> in one +ay or another$ n
the other hand, it often happens that those +ho commitsuicide +ere assured of the meanin- of life$ These con
tradictions are constant$ %t may een be said that they
hae neer been so .een as on this point +here, on thecontrary, lo-ic seems so desirable$ %t is a commonplace
to compare philosophical theories and the behaior ofthose +ho profess them$ "ut it must be said that of the
thin.ers +ho refused a meanin- to life none e4cept
irilo +ho belon-s to literature, Pere-rinos +ho istorn of le-end,9and Jules &e6uier +ho belon-s to hy
pothesis, admitted his lo-ic to the point of refusin- thatlife$ Schopenhauer is often cited, as a fit sub2ect for
lau-hter, because he praised suicide +hile seated at a+ellset table$ This is no sub2ect for 2o.in-$ That +ay
of not ta.in- the tra-ic seriously is not so -rieous, but
it helps to 2ud-e a man$
%n the face of such contradictions and obscurities
must +e conclude that there is no relationship bet+een
98 hae heard of an emulator of Pere-rinos, a post+ar +riter+ho, after hain- finished his first boo., committed suicide to
attract attention to his +or.$ Attention +as in fact attracted,but the boo. +as 2ud-ed no -ood$
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the opinion one has about life and the act one commits
to leae it< &et us not e4a--erate in this direction$ %n a
man!s attachment to life there is somethin- stron-er than
all the ills in the +orld$ The body!s 2ud-ment is as -ood
as the mind!s, and the body shrin.s from annihilation$0e -et into the habit of liin- before ac6uirin- the
habit of thin.in-$ %n that race +hich daily hastens us
to+ard death, the body maintains its irreparable lead$
%n short, the essence of that contradiction lies in +hat %
shall call the act of eludin- because it is both less and
more than diersion in the Pascalian sense$ Eludin- is
the inariable -ame$ The typical act of eludin-, the fatal
easion that constitutes the third theme of this essay, is
hope$ (ope of another life one must >desere> or tric.
ery of those +ho lie not for life itself but for some -reatidea that +ill transcend it, refine it, -ie it a meanin-,
and betray it$
Thus eerythin- contributes to spreadin- confusion$
(itherto, and it has not been +asted effort, people hae
played on +ords and pretended to beliee that refusin-
to -rant a meanin- to life necessarily leads to declarin-
that it is not +orth liin-$ %n truth, there is no necessary
common measure bet+een these t+o 2ud-ments$ ne
merely has to refuse to be misled by the confusions, di
orces, and inconsistencies preiously pointed out$ ne
must brush eerythin- aside and -o strai-ht to the real
problem$ ne .ills oneself because life is not +orth li
in-, that is certainly a truth)yet an unfruitful one be
cause it is a truism$ "ut does that insult to e4istence, that
flat denial in +hich it is plun-ed come from the fact
that it has no meanin-< 5oes its absurdity re6uire one to
escape it throu-h hope or suicide)this is +hat must be
clarified, hunted do+n, and elucidated +hile brushin-
aside all the rest$ 5oes the Absurd dictate death< This
problem must be -ien priority oer others, outside all
methods of thou-ht and all e4ercises of the disinterestedmind$ Shades of meanin-, contradictions, the psychol
o-y that an >ob2ectie> mind can al+ays introduce into
all problems hae no place in this pursuit and this pas
sion$ %t calls simply for an un2ust)in other +ords, lo-i
cal)thou-ht$ That is not easy$ %t is al+ays easy to be
lo-ical$ %t is almost impossible to be lo-ical to the bitter
end$ #en +ho die by their o+n hand conse6uently fol
lo+ to its conclusion their emotional inclination$ Re
flection on suicide -ies me an opportunity to raise the
only problem to interest me1 is there a lo-ic to the point
of death< % cannot .no+ unless % pursue, +ithout rec.less passion, in the sole li-ht of eidence, the reasonin-
of +hich % am here su--estin- the source$ This is +hat %
call an absurd reasonin-$ #any hae be-un it$ % do not
yet .no+ +hether or not they .ept to it$
0hen arl Jaspers, reealin- the impossibility of
constitutin- the +orld as a unity, e4claims1 >This limi
tation leads me to myself, +here % can no lon-er +ith
dra+ behind an ob2ectie point of ie+ that % am merely
representin-, +here neither % myself nor the e4istence
of others can any lon-er become an ob2ect for me,> he iseo.in- after many others those +aterless deserts +here
thou-ht reaches its confines$ After many others, yes in
deed, but ho+ ea-er they +ere to -et out of themB At
that last crossroad +here thou-ht hesitates, many men
hae arried and een some of the humblest$ They then
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abdicated +hat +as most precious to them, their life$thers, princes of the mind, abdicated li.e+ise, butthey initiated the suicide of their thou-ht in its purestreolt$ The real effort is to stay there, rather, in so far as
that is possible, and to e4amine closely the odd e-etation of those distant re-ions$ Tenacity and acumen arepriile-ed spectators of this inhuman sho+ in +hichabsurdity, hope, and death carry on their dialo-ue$ Themind can then analy7e the fi-ures of that elementary yetsubtle dance before illustratin- them and reliin- themitself$
bsurd &alls
&i.e -reat +or.s, deep feelin-s al+ays mean more
than they are conscious of sayin-$ The re-ularity of an
impulse or a repulsion in a soul is encountered a-ain in
habits of doin- or thin.in-, is reproduced in conse
6uences of +hich the soul itself .no+s nothin-$ *reat
feelin-s ta.e +ith them their o+n unierse, splendid or
ab2ect$ They li-ht up +ith their passion an e4clusie
+orld in +hich they reco-ni7e their climate$ There is a
unierse of 2ealousy, of ambition, of selfishness, or of
-enerosity$ A unierse)in other +ords, a metaphysic
and an attitude of mind$ 0hat is true of already spe
ciali7ed feelin-s +ill be een more so of emotions basi
cally as indeterminate, simultaneously as a-ue and as
>definite,> as remote and as >present> as those furnished us
by beauty or aroused by absurdity$ At any streetcorner the
feelin- of absurdity can stri.e
any man in the face$ As it is, in its distressin- nudity, in
its li-ht +ithout efful-ence, it is elusie$ "ut that ery
difficulty deseres reflection$ %t is probably true that a
man remains foreer un.no+n to us and that there is inhim somethin- irreducible that escapes us$ "utpracti-
cally % .no+ men and reco-ni7e them by their behaior,
by the totality of their deeds, by the conse6uences caused
in life by their presence$ &i.e+ise, all those irrational
feelin-s +hich offer no purchase to analysis$ % can de
fine thempractically, appreciate thempractically,by
-atherin- to-ether the sum of their conse6uences in the
domain of the intelli-ence, by sei7in- and notin- all
their aspects, by outlinin- their unierse$ %t is certain
that apparently, thou-h % hae seen the same actor ahundred times, % shall not for that reason .no+ him any
better personally$ @et if % add up the heroes he has per
sonified and if % say that % .no+ him a little better at the
hundredth character counted off, this +ill be felt to
contain an element of truth$ For this apparent parado4
is also an apolo-ue$ There is a moral to it$ %t teaches
that a man defines himself by his ma.ebeliee as +ell
as by his sincere impulses$ There is thus a lo+er .ey of
feelin-s, inaccessible in the heart but partially disclosed
by the acts they imply and the attitudes of mind they as
sume$ %t is clear that in this +ay % am definin- a method$
"ut it is also eident that that method is one of analysis
and not of .no+led-e$ For methods imply metaphysics;
unconsciously they disclose conclusions that they often
claim not to .no+ yet$ Similarly, the last pa-es of a boo.
are already contained in the first pa-es$ Such a lin. is
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ineitable$ The method defined here ac.no+led-es thefeelin- that all true .no+led-e is impossible$ Solely appearances can be enumerated and the climate ma.eitself felt$
Perhaps +e shall be able to oerta.e that elusie feelin- of absurdity in the different but closely related
+orlds of intelli-ence, of the art of liin-, or of art itself$
The climate of absurdity is in the be-innin-$ The end
is the absurd unierse and that attitude of mind +hich
li-hts the +orld +ith its true colors to brin- out the
priile-ed and implacable isa-e +hich that attitude has
discerned in it$
* * *
All -reat deeds and all -reat thou-hts hae a ridicu
lous be-innin-$ *reat +or.s are often born on a street
corner or in a restaurant!s reolin- door$ So it is +ith
absurdity$ The absurd +orld more than others deries
its nobility from that ab2ect birth$ %n certain situations,
replyin- >nothin-> +hen as.ed +hat one is thin.in-
about may be pretense in a man$ Those +ho are loed
are +ell a+are of this$ "ut if that reply is sincere, if it
symboli7es that odd state of soul in +hich the oid be
comes elo6uent, in +hich the chain of daily -estures is
bro.en, in +hich the heart ainly see.s the lin. that +ill
connect it a-ain, then it is as it +ere the first si-n ofabsurdity$
%t happens that the sta-e sets collapse$ Risin-, street
car, four hours in the office or the factory, meal, street
car, four hours of +or., meal, sleep, and #onday Tues
day 0ednesday Thursday Friday and Saturday accord
in- to the same rhythm)this path is easily follo+ed
most of the time$ "ut one day the >+hy> arises and
eerythin- be-ins in that +eariness tin-ed +ith ama7e
ment$ >"e-ins>)this is important$ 0eariness comes at
the end of the acts of a mechanical life, but at the sametime it inau-urates the impulse of consciousness$ %t
a+a.ens consciousness and proo.es +hat follo+s$ 0hat
follo+s is the -radual return into the chain or it is the
definitie a+a.enin-$ At the end of the a+a.enin-
comes, in time, the conse6uence1 suicide or recoery$ %n
itself +eariness has somethin- sic.enin- about it$ (ere,
% must conclude that it is -ood$ For eerythin- be-ins
+ith consciousness and nothin- is +orth anythin- e4cept
throu-h it$ There is nothin- ori-inal about these
remar.s$ "ut they are obious; that is enou-h for a+hile, durin- a s.etchy reconnaissance in the ori-ins of
the absurd$ #ere >an4iety,> as (eide--er says, is at the
source of eerythin-$
&i.e+ise and durin- eery day of an unillustrious life,
time carries us$ "ut a moment al+ays comes +hen r +e
hae to carry it$ 0e lie on the future1 >tomorro+,> >later
on,> >+hen you hae made your +ay,> >you +ill
understand +hen you are old enou-h$> Such irrelean
cies are +onderful, for, after all, it!s a matter of dyin-$ @et
a day comes +hen a man notices or says that he is thirty$Thus he asserts his youth$ "ut simultaneously he situates
himself in relation to time$ (e ta.es his place in it$ (e
admits that he stands at a certain point on a cure that he
ac.no+led-es hain- to trael to its end$ (e belon-s to
time, and by the horror that sei7es him,
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he reco-ni7es his +orst enemy$ Tomorro+, he +as lon-
in- for tomorro+, +hereas eerythin- in him ou-ht to
re2ect it$ That reolt of the flesh is the absurd$D
A step lo+er and stran-eness creeps in1 perceiin-
that the +orld is >dense,> sensin- to +hat a de-ree a
stone is forei-n and irreducible to us, +ith +hat in
tensity nature or a landscape can ne-ate us$ At the heart
of all beauty lies somethin- inhuman, and these hills,
the softness of the s.y, the outline of these trees at this
ery minute lose the illusory meanin- +ith +hich +e
had clothed them, henceforth more remote than a lost
paradise$ The primitie hostility of the +orld rises up
to face us across millennia$ For a second +e cease to
understand it because for centuries +e hae understood
in it solely the ima-es and desi-ns that +e had at
tributed to it beforehand, because henceforth +e lac.
the po+er to ma.e use of that artifice$ The +orld eades
us because it becomes itself a-ain$ That sta-e scenery
mas.ed by habit becomes a-ain +hat it is$ %t +ithdra+s
at a distance from us$ Just as there are days +hen under
the familiar face of a +oman, +e see as a stran-er her
+e had loed months or years a-o, perhaps +e shall
come een to desire +hat suddenly leaes us so alone$
"ut the time has not yet come$ Just one thin-1 that
denseness and that stran-eness of the +orld is the ab
surd$
#en, too, secrete the inhuman$ At certain moments
D"ut not in the proper sense$ This is not a definition, but ratheran enumeration of the feelin-s that may admit of the absurd$Still, the enumeration finished, the absurd has neertheless notbeen e4hausted$
of lucidity, the mechanical aspect of their -estures, their
meanin-less pantomime ma.es silly eerythin- that sur
rounds them$ A man is tal.in- on the telephone behinda -lass partition; you cannot hear him, but you see his
incomprehensible dumb sho+1 you +onder +hy he is
alie$ This discomfort in the face of man!s o+n inhu
manity, this incalculable tumble before the ima-e of
+hat +e are, this >nausea,> as a +riter of today calls it,
is also the absurd$ &i.e+ise the stran-er +ho at certain
seconds comes to meet us in a mirror, the familiar and
yet alarmin- brother +e encounter in our o+n photo
-raphs is also the absurd$
% come at last to death and to the attitude +e hae to+ard it$ n this point eerythin- has been said and it is
only proper to aoid pathos$ @et one +ill neer be suf
ficiently surprised that eeryone lies as if no one
>.ne+$> This is because in reality there is no e4perience
of death$ Properly spea.in-, nothin- has been e4peri
enced but +hat has been lied and made conscious$
(ere, it is barely possible to spea. of the e4perience of
others! deaths$ %t is a substitute, an illusion, and it neer
6uite coninces us$ That melancholy conention cannot
be persuasie$ The horror comes in reality from themathematical aspect of the eent$ %f time fri-htens us,
this is because it +or.s out the problem and the solu
tion comes after+ard$ All the pretty speeches about the
soul +ill hae their contrary conincin-ly proed, at
least for a time$ From this inert body on +hich a slap
ma.es no mar. the soul has disappeared$ This ele
mentary and definitie aspect of the adenture consti
tutes the absurd feelin-$ 'nder the fatal li-htin- of that
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destiny, its uselessness becomes eident$ 3o code of
ethics and no effort are 2ustifiable a priori in the face of
the cruel mathematics that command our condition$
&et me repeat1 all this has been said oer and oer$ %
am limitin- myself here to ma.in- a rapid classificationand to pointin- out these obious themes$ They run
throu-h all literatures and all philosophies$ Eeryday
conersation feeds on them$ There is no 6uestion of re
inentin- them$ "ut it is essential to be sure of these
facts in order to be able to 6uestion oneself subse6uently
on the primordial 6uestion$ % am interested)let me re
peat a-ain)not so much in absurd discoeries as in their
conse6uences$ %f one is assured of these facts, +hat is
one to conclude, ho+ far is one to -o to elude nothin-5oes not the failure reeal, beyond any possi
ble e4planation and interpretation, not the absence but
the e4istence of transcendence That e4istence +hich,
suddenly and throu-h a blind act of human confidence,
e4plains eerythin-, he defines as >the unthin.ableunity of the -eneral and the particular$> Thus the
absurd becomes -od :in the broadest meanin- of this
+ord and that inability to understand becomes the
e4istence that illuminates eerythin-$ 3othin- lo-ically
prepares this reasonin-$ % can call it a leap$ And para
do4ically can be understood Jaspers!s insistence, his
infinite patience deoted to ma.in- the e4perience of
the transcendent impossible to reali7e$ For the more
fleetin- that appro4imation is, the more empty that
definition proes to be, and the more real that transcendent is to him; for the passion he deotes to assertin- it is
in direct proportion to the -ap bet+een his po+ers of e4
planation and the irrationality of the +orld and of
e4perience$ %t thus appears that the more bitterly Jaspers
destroys the reason!s preconceptions, the more radically
he +ill e4plain the +orld$ That apostle of humiliated
thou-ht +ill find at the ery end of humiliation the
means of re-eneratin- bein- to its ery depth$
#ystical thou-ht has familiari7ed us +ith such de
ices$ They are 2ust as le-itimate as any attitude ofmind$ "ut for the moment % am actin- as if % too. a cer
tain problem seriously$ 0ithout 2ud-in- beforehand
the -eneral alue of this attitude or its educatie po+er,
% mean simply to consider +hether it ans+ers the con
ditions % set myself, +hether it is +orthy of the conflict
that concerns me$ Thus % return to Chesto$ A com
mentator relates a remar. of his that deseres interest1
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>The only true solution,> he said, >is precisely +here
human 2ud-ment sees no solution$ ther+ise, +hat
need +ould +e hae of *od< 0e turn to+ard *od onlyto obtain the impossible$ As for the possible, men suf
fice$> %f there is a Chestoian philosophy, % can say that
it is alto-ether summed up in this +ay$ For +hen, at
the conclusion of his passionate analyses, Chesto dis
coers the fundamental absurdity of all e4istence, he
does not say1 >This is the absurd,> but rather1 >This
is *od1 +e must rely on him een if he does not corre
spond to any of our rational cate-ories$> So that confu
sion may not be possible, the Russian philosopher een
hints that this *od is perhaps full of hatred and hateful,incomprehensible and contradictory; but the more hid
eous is his face, the more he asserts his po+er$ (is -reat
ness is his incoherence$ (is proof is his inhumanity$
ne must sprin- into him and by this leap free oneself
from rational illusions$ Thus, for Chesto acceptance of
the absurd is contemporaneous +ith the absurd itself$
"ein- a+are of it amounts to acceptin- it, and the +hole
lo-ical effort of his thou-ht is to brin- it out so that at
the same time the tremendous hope it inoles may
burst forth$ &et me repeat that this attitude is le-itimate$"ut % am persistin- here in considerin- a sin-le problem
and all its conse6uences$ % do not hae to e4amine the
emotion of a thou-ht or of an act of faith$ % hae a +hole
lifetime to do that$ % .no+ that the rationalist finds
Chesto!s attitude annoyin-$ "ut % also feel that
Chesto is ri-ht rather than the rationalist, and % merely
+ant to .no+ if he remains faithful to the command
ments of the absurd$
3o+, if it is admitted that the absurd is the contrary
of hope, it is seen that e4istential thou-ht for Chesto
presupposes the absurd but proes it only to dispel it$Such subtlety of thou-ht is a con2uror!s emotional tric.$
0hen Chesto else+here sets his absurd in opposition
to current morality and reason, he calls it truth and
redemption$ (ence, there is basically in that definition
of the absurd an approbation that Chesto -rants it$
%f it is admitted that all the po+er of that notion lies
in the +ay it runs counter to our elementary hopes, if it
is felt that to remain, the absurd re6uires not to be con
sented to, then it can be clearly seen that it has lost its
true aspect, its human and relatie character in orderto enter an eternity that is both incomprehensible and
satisfyin-$ %f there is an absurd, it is in man!s unierse$
The moment the notion transforms itself into eternity!s
sprin-board, it ceases to be lin.ed to human lucidity$
The absurd is no lon-er that eidence that man ascer
tains +ithout consentin- to it$ The stru--le is eluded$
#an inte-rates the absurd and in that communion
causes to disappear its essential character, +hich is op
position, laceration, and diorce$ This leap is an escape$
Chesto, +ho is so fond of 6uotin- (amlet!s remar.1>The time is out of 2oint,> +rites it do+n +ith a sort
of saa-e hope that seems to belon- to him in particular$
For it is not in this sense that (amlet says it or Sha.e
speare +rites it$ The into4ication of the irrational and
the ocation of rapture turn a lucid mind a+ay from
the absurd$ To Chesto reason is useless but there is
somethin- beyond reason$ To an absurd mind reason is
useless and there is nothin- beyond reason$
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This effect of the >leap> is odd, but must not surprise
us any lon-er$ (e ma.es of the absurd the criterion of
the other +orld, +hereas it is simply a residue of the e4
perience of this +orld$ >%n his failure,> says ier.e -aard, >the belieer finds his triumph$>
%t is not for me to +onder to +hat stirrin- preachin-
this attitude is lin.ed$ % merely hae to +onder if the
spectacle of the absurd and its o+n character 2ustifies it$
n this point, % .no+ that it is not so$ 'pon considerin-
a-ain the content of the absurd, one understands better
the method that inspired ier.e-aard$ "et+een the ir
rational of the +orld and the insur-ent nostal-ia of the
absurd, he does not maintain the e6uilibrium$ (e does
not respect the relationship that constitutes, properlyspea.in-, the feelin- of absurdity$ Sure of bein- unable
to escape the irrational, he +ants at least to sae himself
from that desperate nostal-ia that seems to him sterile
and deoid of implication$ "ut if he may be ri-ht on this
point in his 2ud-ment, he could not be in his ne-ation$
%f he substitutes for his cry of reolt a frantic adherence,
at once he is led to blind himself to the absurd +hich
hitherto enli-htened him and to deify the only certainty
he henceforth possesses, the irrational$ The important
thin-, as Abbe *aliani said to #me d!Epinay, is not tobe cured, but to lie +ith one!s ailments$ ier.e-aard
+ants to be cured$ To be cured is his fren7ied +ish,
and it runs throu-hout his +hole 2ournal$ The entire
$
effort of his intelli-ence is to escape the antinomy of the
human condition$ An all the more desperate effort since
he intermittently perceies its anity +hen he spea.s of
himself, as if neither fear of *od nor piety +ere capableof brin-in- him to peace$ Thus it is that, throu-h a
strained subterfu-e, he -ies the irrational the appear
ance and *od the attributes of the absurd1 un2ust, in
coherent, and incomprehensible$ %ntelli-ence alone in
him stries to stifle the underlyin- demands of the
human heart$ Since nothin- is proed, eerythin- can
be proed$
%ndeed, ier.e-aard himself sho+s us the path ta.en$
% do not +ant to su--est anythin- here, but ho+ can
one fail to read in his +or.s the si-ns of an almostintentional mutilation of the soul to balance the mutila
tion accepted in re-ard to the absurd< %t is the leitmoti
of the0ournal >0hat % lac.ed +as the animal +hich
also belon-s to human des tiny$ $ $ $ "ut -ie me a
body then$> And further on1 >hB especially in my
early youth +hat should % not hae -ien to be a man,
een for si4 months $ $ $ +hat % lac., basically, is a
body and the physical conditions of e4istence$> Else
+here, the same man neertheless adopts the -reat cry
of hope that has come do+n throu-h so many centuriesand 6uic.ened so many hearts, e4cept that of the absurd
man$ >"ut for the Christian death is certainly not the
end of eerythin- and it implies infinitely more hope
than life implies for us, een +hen that life is oer
flo+in- +ith health and i-or$> Reconciliation throu-h
scandal is still reconciliation$ %t allo+s one perhaps, as
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can be seen, to derie hope of its contrary, +hich is
death$ "ut een if fello+feelin- inclines one to+ard
that attitude, still it must be said that e4cess 2ustifies
nothin-$ That transcends, as the sayin- -oes, the human
scale; therefore it must be superhuman$ "ut this >therefore> is superfluous$ There is no lo-ical certainty here$
There is no e4perimental probability either$ All % can
say is that, in fact, that transcends my scale$ %f % do not
dra+ a ne-ation from it, at least % do not +ant to found
anythin- on the incomprehensible$ % +ant to .no+
+hether % can lie +ith +hat % .no+ and +ith that
alone$ % am told a-ain that here the intelli-ence must
sacrifice its pride and the reason bo+ do+n$ "ut if %
reco-ni7e the limits of the reason, % do not therefore
ne-ate it, reco-ni7in- its relatie po+ers$ % merely +antto remain in this middle path +here the intelli-ence
can remain clear$ %f that is its pride, % see no sufficient
reason for -iin- it up$ 3othin- more profound, for
e4ample, than ier.e-aard!s ie+ accordin- to +hich
despair is not a fact but a state1 the ery state of sin$
For sin is +hat alienates from *od$ The absurd, +hich
is the metaphysical state of the conscious man, does not
lead to *od$KPerhaps this notion +ill become clearer if
% ris. this shoc.in- statement1 the absurd is sin +ithout
*od$
%t is a matter of liin- in that state of the absurd$ %
.no+ on +hat it is founded, this mind and this +orld
strainin- a-ainst each other +ithout bein- able to em
brace each other$ % as. for the rule of life of that state,
K8 did not say >e4cludes *od,> +hich +ould still amount to assertin-$
and +hat % am offered ne-lects its basis, ne-ates one of
the terms of the painful opposition, demands of me a
resi-nation$ % as. +hat is inoled in the condition %
reco-ni7e as mine; % .no+ it implies obscurity and
i-norance; and % am assured that this i-norance e4plains
eerythin- and that this dar.ness is my li-ht$ "ut thereis no reply here to my intent, and this stirrin- lyricism
cannot hide the parado4 from me$ ne must therefore
turn a+ay$ ier.e-aard may shout in +arnin-1 >%f man
had no eternal consciousness, if, at the bottom of eery
thin-, there +ere merely a +ild, seethin- force produc
in- eerythin-, both lar-e and triflin-, in the storm of
dar. passions, if the bottomless oid that nothin- can
fill underlay all thin-s, +hat +ould life be but despair
This cry is not li.ely to stop the absurd man$ See.in-
+hat is true is not see.in- +hat is desirable$ %f in order
to elude the an4ious 6uestion1 >0hat +ould life be
one must, li.e the don.ey, feed on the roses of illusion,
then the absurd mind, rather than resi-nin- itself to
falsehood, prefers to adopt fearlessly ier.e-aard!s
reply1 >despair$> Eerythin- considered, a determined
soul +ill al+ays mana-e$
% am ta.in- the liberty at this point of callin- the
e4istential attitude philosophical suicide$ "ut this does
not imply a 2ud-ment$ %t is a conenient +ay of indicat
in- the moement by +hich a thou-ht ne-ates itself and
tends to transcend itself in its ery ne-ation$ For the
e4istentials ne-ation is their *od$ To be precise, that
-od is maintained only throu-h the ne-ation of human
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reason$L "ut, li.e suicides, -ods chan-e +ith men$
There are many +ays of leapin-, the essential bein- to
leap$ Those redeemin- ne-ations, those ultimate con
tradictions +hich ne-ate the obstacle that has not yet
been leaped oer, may sprin- 2ust as +ell :this is theparado4 at +hich this reasonin- aims from a certain
reli-ious inspiration as from the rational order$ They
al+ays lay claim to the eternal, and it is solely in this
that they ta.e the leap$
%t must be repeated that the reasonin- deeloped in
this essay leaes out alto-ether the most +idespread
spiritual attitude of our enli-htened a-e1 the one, based
on the principle that all is reason, +hich aims to e4plain
the +orld$ %t is natural to -ie a clear ie+ of the +orld
after acceptin- the idea that it must be clear$ That iseen le-itimate, but does not concern the reasonin- +e
are follo+in- out here$ %n fact, our aim is to shed li-ht
upon the step ta.en by the mind +hen, startin- from
a philosophy of the +orld!s lac. of meanin-, it ends up
by findin- a meanin- and depth in it$ The most touch
in- of those steps is reli-ious in essence; it becomes
obious in the theme of the irrational$ "ut the most
parado4ical and most si-nificant is certainly the one that
attributes rational reasons to a +orld it ori-inally
ima-ined as deoid of any -uidin- principle$ %t is impos
sible in any case to reach the conse6uences that concern
us +ithout hain- -ien an idea of this ne+ attainment
of the spirit of nostal-ia$
L&et me assert a-ain1 it is not the affirmation of *od that is6uestioned here, but rather the lo-ic leadin- to that affirmation$
% shall e4amine merely the theme of >the %ntention>
made fashionable by (usserl and the phenomenolo-ists$
% hae already alluded to it$ ri-inally (usserl!s method
ne-ates the classic procedure of the reason$ &et merepeat$ Thin.in- is not unifyin- or ma.in- the appear
ance familiar under the -uise of a -reat principle$
Thin.in- is learnin- all oer a-ain ho+ to see, directin-
one!s consciousness, ma.in- of eery ima-e a priile-ed
place$ %n other +ords, phenomenolo-y declines to e4
plain the +orld, it +ants to be merely a description of
actual e4perience$ %t confirms absurd thou-ht in its
initial assertion that there is no truth, but merely truths$
From the eenin- bree7e to this hand on my shoulder,
eerythin- has its truth$ Consciousness illuminates it bypayin- attention to it$ Consciousness does not form the
ob2ect of its understandin-, it merely focuses, it is the
act of attention, and, to borro+ a "er-sonian ima-e, it
resembles the pro2ector that suddenly focuses on an
ima-e$ The difference is that there is no scenario, but a
successie and incoherent illustration$ %n that ma-ic
lantern all the pictures are priile-ed$ Consciousness
suspends in e4perience the ob2ects of its attention$
Throu-h its miracle it isolates them$ (enceforth they
are beyond all 2ud-ments$ This is the >intention> thatcharacteri7es consciousness$ "ut the +ord does not im
ply any idea of finality; it is ta.en in its sense of >direc
tion>1 its only alue is topo-raphical$
At first si-ht, it certainly seems that in this +ay noth
in- contradicts the absurd spirit$ That apparent modesty
of thou-ht that limits itself to describin- +hat it de
clines to e4plain, that intentional discipline +hence
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result parado4ically a profound enrichment of e4pe
rience and the rebirth of the +orld in its proli4ity are
absurd procedures$ At least at first si-ht$ For methods of
thou-ht, in this case as else+here, al+ays assume t+o
aspects, one psycholo-ical and the other metaphysical$M
Thereby they harbor t+o truths$ %f the theme of the in
tentional claims to illustrate merely a psycholo-ical at
titude, by +hich reality is drained instead of bein-
e4plained, nothin- in fact separates it from the absurd
spirit$ %t aims to enumerate +hat it cannot transcend$ %t
affirms solely that +ithout any unifyin- principle
thou-ht can still ta.e deli-ht in describin- and under
standin- eery aspect of e4perience$ The truth inoled
then for each of those aspects is psycholo-ical in nature$
%t simply testifies to the >interest> that reality can offer$
%t is a +ay of a+a.in- a sleepin- +orld and of ma.in- it
iid to the mind$ "ut if one attempts to e4tend and
-ie a rational basis to that notion of truth, if one claims
to discoer in this +ay the >essence> of each ob2ect of
.no+led-e, one restores its depth to e4perience$ For an
absurd mind that is incomprehensible$ 3o+, it is this
+aerin- bet+een modesty and assurance that is no
ticeable in the intentional attitude, and this shimmerin-of phenomenolo-ical thou-ht +ill illustrate the absurd
reasonin- better than anythin- else$
For (usserl spea.s li.e+ise of >e4tratemporal es
sences> brou-ht to li-ht by the intention, and he sounds
li.e Plato$ All thin-s are not e4plained by one thin-
M Een the most ri-orous epistemolo-ies imply metaphysics$And to such a de-ree that the metaphysic of many contemporary thin.ers consists in hain- nothin- but an epistemolo-y$
but by all thin-s$ % see no difference$ To be sure, those
ideas or those essences that consciousness >effectuates>
at the end of eery description are not yet to be con
sidered perfect models$ "ut it is asserted that they are
directly present in each datum of perception$ There is
no lon-er a sin-le idea e4plainin- eerythin-, but an
infinite number of essences -iin- a meanin- to an
infinite number of ob2ects$ The +orld comes to a stop,
but also li-hts up$ Platonic realism becomes intuitie,
but i t is still realism$ ier.e-aard +as s+allo+ed up in
his *od; Parmenides plun-ed thou-ht into the ne$
"ut here thou-ht hurls itself into an abstract polythe
ism$ "ut this is not all1 hallucinations and fictions li.e
+ise belon- to >e4tratemporal essences$> %n the ne+
+orld of ideas, the species of centaurs collaborates +ith
the more modest species of metropolitan man$
For the absurd man, there +as a truth as +ell as abit
terness in that purely psycholo-ical opinion that all
aspects of the +orld are priile-ed$ To say that eery
thin- is priile-ed is tantamount to sayin- that eery
thin- is e6uialent$ "ut the metaphysical aspect of that
truth is so farreachin- that throu-h an elementary re
action he feels closer perhaps to Plato$ (e is tau-ht, infact, that eery ima-e presupposes an e6ually priile-ed
essence$ %n this ideal +orld +ithout hierarchy, the
formal army is composed solely of -enerals$ To be sure,
transcendency had been eliminated$ "ut a sudden shift
in thou-ht brin-s bac. into the +orld a sort of fra-
mentary immanence +hich restores to the unierse its
depth$
Am % to fear hain- carried too far a theme handled
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+ith -reater circumspection by its creators< % read
merely these assertions of (usserl, apparently parado4i
cal yet ri-orously lo-ical if +hat precedes is accepted1
>That +hich is true is true absolutely, in itself; truth is
one, identical +ith itself, ho+eer different the creatures+ho perceie it, men, monsters, an-els or -ods$> Reason
triumphs and trumpets forth +ith that oice, % cannot
deny$ 0hat can its assertions mean in the absurd +orld%f all masses sub2ect to attraction +ere to disappear, the la+ of attraction +ould not be destroyed but
+ould simply remain +ithout any possible application,>
% .no+ that % am faced +ith a metaphysic of consola
tion$ And if % +ant to discoer the point +here thou-ht
leaes the path of eidence, % hae only to reread the
parallel reasonin- that (usserl oices re-ardin- the
mind1 >%f +e could contemplate clearly the e4act la+s
of psychic processes, they +ould be seen to be li.e+ise
eternal and inariable, li.e the basic la+s of theoretical
natural science$ (ence they +ould be alid een if there+ere no psychic process$> Een if the mind +ere not,
its la+s +ould beB % see then that of a psycholo-ical truth
(usserl aims to ma.e a rational rule1 after hain- de
nied the inte-ratin- po+er of human reason, he leaps
by this e4pedient to eternal Reason$
(usserl!s theme of the >concrete unierse> cannot
then surprise me$ %f % am told that all essences are not
formal but that some are material, that the first are the
ob2ect of lo-ic and the second of science, this is merely
a 6uestion of definition$ The abstract, % am told, indi
cates but a part, +ithout consistency in itself, of a con
crete uniersal$ "ut the +aerin- already noted allo+s
me to thro+ li-ht on the confusion of these terms$ For
that may mean that the concrete ob2ect of my attention,
this s.y, the reflection of that +ater on this coat, alone
presere the presti-e of the real that my interest isolates
in the +orld$ And % shall not deny it$ "ut that may mean
also that this coat itself is uniersal, has its particular
and sufficient essence, belon-s to the +orld of forms$ %
then reali7e that merely the order of the procession hasbeen chan-ed$ This +orld has ceased to hae its reflec
tion in a hi-her unierse, but the heaen of forms is
fi-ured in the host of ima-es of this earth$ This chan-es
nothin- for me$ Rather than encounterin- here a taste
for the concrete, the meanin- of the human condition, %
find an intellectualism sufficiently unbridled to -en
erali7e the concrete itself$* *
%t is futile to be ama7ed by the apparent parado4 that
leads thou-ht to its o+n ne-ation by the opposite pathsof humiliated reason and triumphal reason$ From the
abstract -od of (usserl to the da77lin- -od of ier.e
-aard the distance is not so -reat$ Reason and the irra
tional lead to the same preachin-$ %n truth the +ay
matters but little; the +ill to arrie suffices$ The abstract
philosopher and the reli-ious philosopher start ut from
the same disorder and support each other in the same
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an4iety$ "ut the essential is to e4plain$ 3ostal-ia is
stron-er here than .no+led-e$ %t is si-nificant that the
thou-ht of the epoch is at once one of the most deeply
imbued +ith a philosophy of the nonsi-nificance of the
+orld and one of the most diided in its conclusions$ %tis constantly oscillatin- bet+een e4treme rationali7ation
of reality +hich tends to brea. up that thou-ht into
standard reasons and its e4treme irrationali7ation +hich
tends to deify it$ "ut this diorce is only apparent$ %t is
a matter of reconciliation, and, in both cases, the leap
suffices$ %t is al+ays +ron-ly thou-ht that the notion of
reason is a one+ay notion$ To tell the truth, ho+eer
ri-orous it may be in its ambition, this concept is none
theless 2ust as unstable as others$ Reason bears a 6uite
human aspect, but it also is able to turn to+ard thediine$ Since Plotinus, +ho +as the first to reconcile it
+ith the eternal climate, it has learned to turn a+ay from
the most cherished of its principles, +hich is contradic
tion, in order to inte-rate into it the stran-est, the 6uite
ma-ic one of participation$8 %t is an instrument of
thou-ht and not thou-ht itself$ Aboe all, a man!s
thou-ht is his nostal-ia$
Just as reason +as able to soothe the melancholy of
Plotinus, it proides modern an-uish the means of
8A$)At that time reason had to adapt itself or die$ %t adapts
itself$ 0ith Plotinus, after bein- lo-ical it becomes aesthetic$#etaphor ta.es the place of the syllo-ism$
"$)#oreoer, this is not Plotinus! only contribution tophenomenolo-y$ This +hole attitude is already contained in theconcept so dear to the Ale4andrian thin.er that there is notonly an idea of man but also an idea of Socrates$
calmin- itself in the familiar settin- of the eternal$ The
absurd mind has less luc.$ For it the +orld is neither so
rational nor so irrational$ %t is unreasonable and only
that$ 0ith (usserl the reason eentually has no limits
at all$ The absurd, on the contrary, establishes its lim
its since it is po+erless to calm its an-uish$ ier.e-aard
independently asserts that a sin-le limit is enou-h to
ne-ate that an-uish$ "ut the absurd does not -o so far$
For it that limit is directed solely at the reason!s ambi
tions$ The theme of the irrational, as it is conceied by
the e4istentials, is reason becomin- confused and escap
in- by ne-atin- itself$ The absurd is lucid reason not
in- its limits$
nly at the end of this difficult path does the absurdman reco-ni7e his true moties$ 'pon comparin- his
inner e4i-ence and +hat is then offered him, he sud
denly feels he is -oin- to turn a+ay$ %n the unierse of
(usserl the +orld becomes clear and that lon-in- for
familiarity that man!s heart harbors becomes useless$ %n
ier.e-aard!s apocalypse that desire for clarity must be
-ien up if it +ants to be satisfied$ Sin is not so much
.no+in- :if it +ere, eerybody +ould be innocent as
+antin- to .no+$ %ndeed, it is the only sin of +hich the
absurd man can feel that it constitutes both his -uiltand his innocence$ (e is offered a solution in +hich all
the past contradictions hae become merely polemical
-ames$ "ut this is not the +ay he e4perienced them$
Their truth must be presered, +hich consists in not be
in- satisfied$ (e does not +ant preachin-$
#y reasonin- +ants to be faithful to the eidence
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that aroused it$ That eidence is the absurd$ %t is that
diorce bet+een the mind that desires and the +orld
that disappoints, my nostal-ia for unity, this fra-mented
unierse and the contradiction that binds them to
-ether$ ier.e-aard suppresses my nostal-ia and (usserl-athers to-ether that unierse$ That is not +hat % +as
e4pectin-$ %t +as a matter of liin- and thin.in- +ith
those dislocations, of .no+in- +hether one had to ac
cept or refuse$ There can be no 6uestion of mas.in- the
eidence, of suppressin- the absurd by denyin- one of
the terms of its e6uation$ %t is essential to .no+ +hether
one can lie +ith it or +hether, on the other hand, lo-ic
commands one to die of it$ % am not interested in
philosophical suicide, but rather in plain suicide$ %
merely +ish to pur-e it of its emotional content and.no+ its lo-ic and its inte-rity$ Any other position im
plies for the absurd mind deceit and the mind!s retreat
before +hat the mind itself has brou-ht to li-ht$ (usserl
claims to obey the desire to escape >the ineterate habit
of liin- and thin.in- in certain +ell.no+n and con
enient conditions of e4istence,> but the final leap re
stores in him the eternal and its comfort$ The leap does
not represent an e4treme dan-er as ier.e-aard +ould
li.e it to do$ The dan-er, on the contrary, lies in the
subtle instant that precedes the leap$ "ein- able to remain on that di77yin- crest)that is inte-rity and the
rest is subterfu-e$ % .no+ also that neer has helpless
ness inspired such stri.in- harmonies as those of ier.e
-aard$ "ut if helplessness has its place in the indifferent
landscapes of history, it has none in a reasonin- +hose
e4i-ence is no+ .no+n$
bsurd +reedom
3o+ the main thin- is done, % hold certain facts from
+hich % cannot separate$ 0hat % .no+, +hat is certain,+hat % cannot deny, +hat % cannot re2ect)this is +hat
counts$ % can ne-ate eerythin- of that part of me that
lies on a-ue nostal-ias, e4cept this desire for unity,
this lon-in- to sole, this need for clarity and cohesion$
% can refute eerythin- in this +orld surroundin- me
that offends or enraptures me, e4cept this chaos, this
soerei-n chance and this diine e6uialence +hich
sprin-s from anarchy$ % don!t .no+ +hether this +orld
has a meanin- that transcends it$ "ut % .no+ that % do
not .no+ that meanin- and that it is impossible for me2ust no+ to .no+ it$ 0hat can a meanin- outside my
condition mean to me< % can understand only in human
terms$ 0hat % touch, +hat resists me)that is +hat %
understand$ And these t+o certainties)my appetite for
the absolute and for unity and the impossibility of re
ducin- this +orld to a rational and reasonable principle
)% also .no+ that % cannot reconcile them$ 0hat other
truth can % admit +ithout lyin-, +ithout brin-in- in a
hope % lac. and +hich means nothin- +ithin the limits
of my conditionone,> but henceforthman enters in +ith his reolt and his lucidity$ (e has
for-otten ho+ to hope$ This hell of the present is his
in-dom at last$ All problems recoer their sharp ed-e$
Abstract eidence retreats before the poetry of forms
and colors$ Spiritual conflicts become embodied and re
turn to the ab2ect and ma-nificent shelter of man!s heart$
3one of them is settled$ "ut all are transfi-ured$ %s one
-oin- to die, escape by the leap, rebuild a mansion of
ideas and forms to one!s o+n scale< %s one, on the con
trary, -oin- to ta.e up the heartrendin- and marelous+a-er of the absurd< &et!s ma.e a final effort in this
re-ard and dra+ all our conclusions$ The body, affec
tion, creation, action, human nobility +ill then resume
their places in this mad +orld$ At last man +ill a-ain
find there the +ine of the absurd and the bread of in
difference on +hich he feeds his -reatness$
&et us insist a-ain on the method1 it is a matter of
persis tin-$ At a certain point on his path the absurd
man is tempted$ (istory is not lac.in- in either re
li-ions or prophets, een +ithout -ods$ (e is as.ed to
leap$ All he can reply is that he doesn!t fully understand,
that it is not obious$ %ndeed, he does not +ant to do
anythin- but +hat he fully understands$ (e is assured
that this is the sin of pride, but he does not understand
the notion of sin; that perhaps hell is in store, but he has
not enou-h ima-ination to isuali7e that stran-e future;
that he is losin- immortal life, but that seems to him an
idle consideration$ An attempt is made to -et him to ad
mit his -uilt$ (e feels innocent$ To tell the truth, that
is all he feels)his irreparable innocence$ This is +hat
allo+s him eerythin-$ (ence, +hat he demands of himself is to liesolely +ith +hat he .no+s, to accommodate
himself to +hat is, and to brin- in nothin- that is not
certain$ (e is told that nothin- is$ "ut this at least is a
certainty$ And it is +ith this that he is concerned1 he
+ants to find out if it is possible to lie without appeal
3o+ % can broach the notion of suicide$ %t has al
ready been felt +hat solution mi-ht be -ien$ At this
point the problem is reersed$ %t +as preiously a 6ues
tion of findin- out +hether or not life had to hae ameanin- to be lied$ %t no+ becomes clear, on the con
trary, that it +ill be lied all the better if it has no mean
in-$ &iin- an e4perience, a particular fate, is acceptin-
it fully$ 3o+, no one +ill lie this fate, .no+in- it to be
absurd, unless he does eerythin- to .eep before him
that absurd brou-ht to li-ht by consciousness$ 3e-atin-
one of the terms of the opposition on +hich he lies
amounts to escapin- it$ To abolish conscious reolt is to
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elude the problem$ The theme of permanent reolution
is thus carried into indiidual e4perience$ &iin- is
.eepin- the absurd alie$ eepin- it alie is, aboe all,
contemplatin- it$ 'nli.e Eurydice, the absurd dies only
+hen +e turn a+ay from it$ ne of the only coherent
philosophical positions is thus reolt$ %t is a constant
confrontation bet+een man and his o+n obscurity$ %t is
an insistence upon an impossible transparency$ %t chal
len-es the +orld ane+ eery second$ Just as dan-er pro
ided man the uni6ue opportunity of sei7in- a+areness,
so metaphysical reolt e4tends a+areness to the +hole of
e4perience$ %t is that constant presence of man in his
o+n eyes$ %t is not aspiration, for it is deoid of hope$That reolt is the certainty of a crushin- fate, +ithout
the resi-nation that ou-ht to accompany it$
This is +here it is seen to +hat a de-ree absurd e4
perience is remote from suicide$ %t may be thou-ht that
suicide follo+s reolt)but +ron-ly$ For it does not
represent the lo-ical outcome of reolt$ %t is 2ust the
contrary by the consent it presupposes$ Suicide, li.e the
leap, is acceptance at its e4treme$ Eerythin- is oer and
man returns to his essential history$ (is future, his
uni6ue and dreadful future)he sees and rushes to+ardit$ %n its +ay, suicide settles the absurd$ %t en-ulfs the
absurd in the same death$ "ut % .no+ that in order to
.eep alie, the absurd cannot be settled$ %t escapes sui
cide to the e4tent that it is simultaneously a+areness
and re2ection of death$ %t is, at the e4treme limit of the
condemned man!s last thou-ht, that shoelace that de
spite eerythin- he sees a fe+ yards a+ay, on the ery
brin. of his di77yin- fall$ The contrary of suicide, in
fact, is the man condemned to death$
That reolt -ies life its alue$ Spread out oer the
+hole len-th of a life, it restores its ma2esty to that life$
To a man deoid of blinders, there is no finer si-ht than
that of the intelli-ence at -rips +ith a reality that tran
scends it$ The si-ht of human pride is une6ualed$ 3o
dispara-ement is of any use$ That discipline that the
mind imposes on itself, that +ill con2ured up out of
nothin-, that facetoface stru--le hae somethin- e4
ceptional about them$ To impoerish that reality +hose
inhumanity constitutes man!s ma2esty is tantamount to
impoerishin- him himself$ % understand then +hy thedoctrines that e4plain eerythin- to me also debilitate
me at the same time$ They reliee me of the +ei-ht of
my o+n life, and yet % must carry it alone$ At this 2unc
ture, % cannot conceie that a s.eptical metaphysics can
be 2oined to an ethics of renunciation$
Consciousness and reolt, these re2ections are the con
trary of renunciation$ Eerythin- that is indomitable
and passionate in a human heart 6uic.ens them, on the
contrary, +ith its o+n life$ %t is essential to die unrecon
ciled and not of one!s o+n free +ill$ Suicide is a repudiation$ The absurd man can only drain eerythin- to the
bitter end, and deplete himself$ The absurd is his e4
treme tension, +hich he maintains constantly by solitary
effort, for he .no+s that in that consciousness and in
that daytoday reolt he -ies proof of his only truth,
+hich is defiance$ This is a first conse6uence$
* * *
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%f % remain in that prearran-ed position +hich con
sists in dra+in- all the conclusions :and nothin- else
inoled in a ne+ly discoered notion, % am faced +ith
a second parado4$ %n order to remain faithful to that
method, % hae nothin- to do +ith the problem ofmetaphysical liberty$ no+in- +hether or not man is
free doesn!t interest me$ % can e4perience only my o+n
freedom$ As to it, % can hae no -eneral notions, but
merely a fe+ clear insi-hts$ The problem of >freedom as
such> has no meanin-$ For it is lin.ed in 6uite a dif
ferent +ay +ith the problem of *od$ no+in- +hether
or not man is free inoles .no+in- +hether he can
hae a master$ The absurdity peculiar to this problem
comes from the fact that the ery notion that ma.es the
problem of freedom possible also ta.es a+ay all its meanin-$ For in the presence of *od there is less a problem
of freedom than a problem of eil$ @ou .no+ the alterna
tie1 either +e are not free and *od the allpo+erful is
responsible for eil$ r +e are free and responsible but
*od is not allpo+erful$ All the scholastic subtleties hae
neither added anythin- to nor subtracted anythin- from
the acuteness of this parado4$
This is +hy % cannot -et lost in the -lorification or
the mere definition of a notion +hich eludes me and
loses its meanin- as soon as it -oes beyond the frame ofreference of my indiidual e4perience$ % cannot under
stand +hat .ind of freedom +ould be -ien me by a
hi-her bein-$ % hae lost the sense of hierarchy$ The
only conception of freedom % can hae is that of the
prisoner or the indiidual in the midst of the State$ The
only one % .no+ is freedom of thou-ht and action$ 3o+
if the absurd cancels all my chances of eternal freedom,
it restores and ma-nifies, on the other hand, my freedom
of action$ That priation of hope and future means an
increase in man!s aailability$
"efore encounterin- the absurd, the eeryday man
lies +ith aims, a concern for the future or for 2ustifica
tion :+ith re-ard to +hom or +hat is not the 6uestion$
(e +ei-hs his chances, he counts on >someday,> his re
tirement or the labor of his sons$ (e still thin.s that
somethin- in his life can be directed$ %n truth, he acts
as if he +ere free, een if all the facts ma.e a point of
contradictin- that liberty$ "ut after the absurd, eery
thin- is upset$ That idea that >% am,> my +ay of actin-
as if eerythin- has a meanin- :een if, on occasion, %
said that nothin- has)all that is -ien the lie in
erti-inous fashion by the absurdity of a possible death$
Thin.in- of the future, establishin- aims for oneself,
hain- preferences)all this presupposes a belief in
freedom, een if one occasionally ascertains that one
doesn!t feel it$ "ut at that moment % am +ell a+are that
that hi-her liberty, that freedom to be, +hich alone can
sere as basis for a truth, does not e4ist$ 5eath is there
as the only reality$ After death the chips are do+n$ % am
not een free, either, to perpetuate myself, but a slae,and, aboe all, a slae +ithout hope of an eternal reolu
tion, +ithout recourse to contempt$ And +ho +ithout
reolution and +ithout contempt can remain a slaeideal> rin-s false in
this connection$ %t is not een his ocation, but merely
the third conse6uence of his reasonin-$ (ain- started
from an an-uished a+areness of the inhuman, the
meditation on the absurd returns at the end of its itinerary
to < the ery heart of the passionate flames of human
reolt$
* * *
Thus % dra+ from the absurd three conse6uences,
+hich are my reolt, my freedom, and my passion$ "y the
mere actiity of consciousness % transform into a rule of
life +hat +as an initation to death)and % refuse
suicide$ % .no+, to be sure, the dull resonance that i
brates throu-hout these days$ @et % hae but a +ord to
say1 that it is necessary$ 0hen 3iet7sche +rites1 >%t
clearly seems that the chief thin- in heaen and on
earth is to obey at len-th and in a sin-le direction1 in
the lon- run there results somethin- for +hich it is
+orth the trouble of liin- on this earth as, for e4ample,
irtue, art, music, the dance, reason, the mind)some
thin- that transfi-ures, somethin- delicate, mad, or di
ine,> he elucidates the rule of a really distin-uished
code of ethics$ "ut he also points the +ay of the absurd
man$ beyin- the flame is both the easiest and the
0hat matters is coherence$ 0e start out here from acceptance ofthe +orld$ "ut riental thou-ht teaches that one can indul-e in
the same effort of lo-ic by choosin- against the +orld$ That is 2ust
as le-itimate and -ies this essay its perspecties and its limits$
"ut +hen the ne-ation of the +orld is pursued 2ust as
ri-orously, one often achiees :in certain Nedantic schools
similar results re-ardin-, for instance, the indifference of +or.s$
%n a boo. of -reat importance,2e 3hoi$, Jean *renier establishes
in this +ay a eritable >philosophy of indifference$>
hardest thin- to do$ (o+eer, it is -ood for man to 2ud-e
himself occasionally$ (e is alone in bein- able to do so$
>Prayer,> says Alain, >is +hen ni-ht descends oer
thou-ht$> >"ut the mind must meet the ni-ht,> reply
the mystics and the e4istentials$ @es, indeed, but not
that ni-ht that is born under closed eyelids and throu-hthe mere +ill of man)dar., impenetrable ni-ht that
the mind calls up in order to plun-e into it$ %f it must
encounter a ni-ht, let it be rather that of despair, +hich
remains lucid)polar ni-ht, i-il of the mind, +hence
+ill arise perhaps that +hite and ir-inal bri-htness
+hich outlines eery ob2ect in the li-ht of the intelli
-ence$ At that de-ree, e6uialence encounters pas
sionate understandin-$ Then it is no lon-er een a
6uestion of 2ud-in- the e4istential leap$ %t resumes its
place amid the a-eold fresco of human attitudes$ For
the spectator, if he is conscious, that leap is still absurd$%n so far as it thin.s it soles the parado4, it reinstates
it intact$ n this score, it is stirrin-$ n this score, eery
thin- resumes its place and the absurd +orld is reborn
in all its splendor and diersity$
"ut it is bad to stop, hard to be satisfied +ith a sin-le
+ay of seein-, to -o +ithout contradiction, perhaps the
most subtle of all spiritual forces$ The precedin- merely
defines a +ay of thin.in-$ "ut the point is to lie$
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