“One must imagine Sisyphus happy.”
“The struggle itself towards the heights is enough to fill a man's heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy.”
“I leave Sisyphus at the foot of the mountain. One always finds one's burden again. But Sisyphus teaches the higher fidelity that negates the gods and raises rocks. He too concludes that all is well. This universe henceforth without a master seems to him neither sterile nor futile. Each atom of that stone, each mineral flake of that night-filled mountain, in itself, forms a world. The struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man's heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy.”
“To be happy, we must not be too concerned with others.”
“Not that one must be ananimal, but I find no meaning in the happiness of angels. I knowsimply that this sky will last longer than I. And what shall I calleternity except what will continue after my death?”
“Just as there is a moment when the artist must stop, when the sculpture must be left as it is, the painting untouched - just as a determination not to know serves the maker more than all the resources of clairvoyance - so there must be a minimum of ignorance in order to perfect a life in happiness. Those who lack such a thing must set about acquiring it: unintelligence must be earned.”
“Happiness is often only a pity for one's own misfortune.”