Quotes from E.M. Cioran

How does it happen that in life as in literature, rebellion, however pure, has something false about it, whereas resignation, however tainted with listlessness, always gives the impression of authenticity

Why fear the nothing that is in store for us when it is no different from the nothing that preceded us?

The universe transformed into a Sunday afternoon . . . it is the very definition of ennui, and the end of the universe.

Akhmatova, like Gogol, wanted to possess nothing. She gave away the presents given to her, and a few days later they would be found in other people's houses. This characteristic recalls the behavior of nomads, compelled to the provisional by necessity and by choice...When eastern Europe furnishes such models of detachment, why seek them out in India or elsewhere? (from Anathemas and Admirations)

Every thought derives from a thwarted sensation.

The stoic's maxim, according to which we should submit uncomplainingly to things which do not depend on ourselves, takes into account only external misfortunes, which escape our will. But how to accommodate ourselves to those which come from ourselves? If we are the source of our ills, whom are we to confront? Ourselves? We manage, luckily, to forget that we are the guilty parties, and moreover existence is tolerable only if we daily renew this lie, this act of oblivion.

I shall take the liberty of praying for you." – "Glad to hear it. But who will listen to you?

Cuando se vuelve a ver a alguien después de muchos años, habría que sentarse, uno frente al otro, y no decir nada durante horas para que, al amparo del silencio, la consternación pudiese saborearse a sí misma.

La noia è pensiero in germe