The Wisdom Letter #047
5 quotes from Emil Cioran (1911–1995)
✹ For today's Wisdom Letter, we have carefully curated five bite-sized quotes from the Romanian philosopher, Emil Cioran (1911–1995).
Quote № 01:
“All my life, I have lived with the feeling that I have been kept from my true place. If the expression "metaphysical exile" had no meaning, my existence alone would afford it one.”
— Emil Cioran, “The Trouble With Being Born”
Quote № 02:
“The same feeling of not belonging, of futility, wherever I go: I pretend interest in what matters nothing to me, I bestir myself mechanically or out of charity, without ever being caught up, without ever being somewhere. What attracts me is elsewhere, and I don't know where that elsewhere is.”
— Emil Cioran, “The Trouble With Being Born”
Quote № 03:
“Each of us believes, quite unconsciously of course, that we alone pursue the truth, which the rest are incapable of seeking out and unworthy of attaining. This madness is so deep-rooted and so useful that it is impossible to realize what would become of each of us if it were someday to disappear.”
— Emil Cioran, “The Trouble With Being Born”
Quote № 04:
“The poor, by thinking unceasingly of money, reach the point of losing the spiritual advantages of non-possession, thereby sinking as low as the rich.”
— Emil Cioran, “The Trouble With Being Born”
Quote № 05:
“"What is truth?" is a fundamental question. But what is it compared to "How to endure life?" And even this one pales beside the next: "How to endure oneself?" — That is the crucial question in which no one is in a position to give us an answer.”
— Emil Cioran, “Drawn and Quartered”
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✺ Today’s Questions
Three philosophical questions to foster your curiosity:
Question № 01:
Is the act of being born a tragic betrayal, as it condemns us to a lifetime of suffering and disillusionment?
Question № 02:
Can metaphysical exile lead to a deeper understanding of the self, or does it perpetuate a sense of rootlessness and disconnection?
Question № 03:
Is the pursuit of truth a solitary journey, or do we rely on collective knowledge and discourse to uncover deeper truths?
✽ Thank you for reading today’s Wisdom Letter.
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Love this I believe that truth is in the time in which you find yourself pondering its meaning. My youthful perspective is quite different than now...sigh...as age takes its due..the facts do not change...but the way in which I view them certainly does. I am much more forgiving and not as rigid in placing blame or judging harshly..who knows how I will see it in my 90s...
Betrayal, imo, means some promise or trust has been broken or unfulfilled. We assume much trust in this world and of course hear promises daily, but at birth is there either? Life doesn't betray us, we betray ourselves.