Quotes From "The Stranger" By Albert Camus

It was as if that great rush of anger had washed me clean, emptied me of hope, and, gazing up at the dark sky spangled with its signs and stars, for the first time, the first, I laid my heart open to the benign indifference of the universe. To feel it so like myself, indeed, so brotherly, made me realize that I'd been happy, and that I was happy still. For all to be accomplished, for me to feel less lonely, all that remained to hope was that on the day of my execution there should be a huge crowd of spectators and that they should greet me with howls of execration. Albert Camus

...he said firmly, "God can help you. All the men I’ve seen in your position turned to Him in their time of trouble." "Obviously, " I replied, "they were at liberty to do so, if they felt like it." I, however, didn’t want to be helped, and I hadn’t time to work up interest for something that didn’t interest me. Albert Camus

And, on a wide view, I could see that it makes little difference whether one dies at the age of thirty or threescore and ten–since, in either case, other men and women will continue living, the world will go on as before. Also, whether I died now or forty years hence, this business of dying had to be got through, inevitably. Still, somehow this line of thought wasn't as consoling as it should have been; the idea of all those years of life in hand was a galling reminder! . Albert Camus

As if this great outburst of anger had purged all my ills, killed all my hopes, I looked up at the mass of signs and stars in the night sky and laid myself open for the first time to the benign indifference of the world- and finding it so much like myself, in fact so fraternal, I realized that I’d been happy, and that I was still happy. For the final consummation and for me to feel less lonely, my last wish was that there should be a crowd of spectators at my execution and that they should greet me with cries of hatred. Albert Camus

Where do rumors come from, Sir Kofa?" i was truly curious to know the answer." Where don't they come from? I suppose the majority of rumors are a combination of leaked information and the astouding imaginations of numerous storytellers. And, of course, the hope that things aren't really as boring as they seem on the surface. Max Frei

I've never really had any luck with women in my life. Well, at first I was fairly lucky. Then all of a sudden, they all thought they had to get married for some reason. And not to me. It's especially strange, because I almost always fell in love with the very smart girls. Even that didn't help matters. I don't see how any intelligent person could seriously want to get married. Max Frei

And I dare say most people don't think too deeply on sex, beyond what they've been taught through the media and society. Abigail Barnette

I was assailed by memories of a life that wasn't mine anymore, but one in which I'd found the simplest and most lasting joys: the smells of summer, the part of town I loved, a certain evening sky, Marie's dresses and the way she laughed. Albert Camus

I hope the dogs don't bark tonight. I always think it's mine Albert Camus

People are made in such a way that if something inexplicable happens to them, they write it off to an overheated imagination. Max Frei

How did I picture the life after the grave? I fairly bawled out at him: "A life in which I can remember this life on earth. That's all I want of it. Albert Camus

The priest gazed around my cell and answered in a voice that sounded very weary to me. 'Every stone here sweats with suffering, I know that. I have never looked at them without a feeling of anguish. But deep in my heart I know that the most wretched among you have seen a divine face emerge from their darkness. That is the face you are asked to see.' This perked me up a little. I said I had been looking at the stones in these walls for months. There wasn't anything or anyone in the world I knew better. Maybe at one time, way back, I had searched for a face in them. But the face I was looking for was as bright as the sun and the flame of desire–and it belonged to Marie. Albert Camus

Up to me. Great. I could hurt my mom and my sisters, or I could hurt my dad. Perfect. Isn't divorce fun? Katherine Applegate

I explained to him, however, that my nature was such that my physical needs often got in the way of my feelings. Albert Camus

I didn’t like having to explain to them, so I just shut up, smoked a cigarette, and looked at the sea. Albert Camus

In the long run one gets used to anything. Albert Camus

I couldn't quite understand how an ordinary man's good qualities could become crushing accusations against a guilty man. Albert Camus

He was expressing his certainty that my appeal would be granted, but I was carrying the burden of a sin from which I had to free myself. According to him, human justice was nothing and divine justice was everything. I pointed out it was the former that had condemned me. Albert Camus

As he himself said, "I will prove it to you, gentlemen, and i will prove it in two ways. First in the blinding clarity of the facts, and second, in the dim light cast by the mind of his criminal soul. Albert Camus

For the first time, in that night alive with signs and stars, I opened myself to the gentle indifference of the world. Finding it so much like myself–so like a brother really– I felt that I had been happy and that I was happy again. Albert Camus

So it came to this, that– against the grain, no doubt–the condemned man had to hope the apparatus was in good working order! This, I thought, was a flaw in the system; and, on the face of it, my view was sound enough. On the other hand, I had to admit it proved the efficiency of the system. It came to this; the man under sentence was obliged to collaborate mentally, it was in his interest that all should go off without a hitch. Albert Camus

Secrets...were cancers. Secrets festered. Secrets ate away at your innards, leaving behind nothing but a flimsy husk. Harlan Coben

It is better to burn than to disappear. Albert Camus

As I usually do when I want to get rid of someone whose conversation bores me, I pretended to agree. Albert Camus

After awhile you could get used to anything. Albert Camus

At that time, I often thought that if I had had to live in the trunk of a dead tree, with nothing to do but look up at the sky flowing overhead, little by little I would have gotten used to it. Albert Camus

For all to be accomplished, for me to feel less lonely, all that remained to hope was that on the day of my execution there should be a huge crowd of spectators and that they should greet me with howls of execration. Albert Camus

How did I picture the life after the grave? I Fairly bawled out at him: 'A life in which I can remember this life on earth. That's all I want of it. Albert Camus

As if that blind rage had washed me clean, rid me of hope; for the first time, in that night alive with signs and stars, I opened myself to the gentle indifference of the world. Finding it so much like myself–so like a brother, really– I felt that I had been happy and that I was happy again. For everything to be consummated, for me to feel less alone, I had only to wish that there be a large crowd of spectators the day of my execution and that they greet me with cries of hate. Albert Camus

And just then it crossed my mind that one might fire, or not fire–and it would come to absolutely the same thing. Albert Camus

Never be timid about your own pleasure. Don't be ashamed to come. Abigail Barnette

There is not love of life without despair about life. Albert Camus