The Fall

by Albert Camus

I have always mocked the greed which, in our society, takes the place of ambition.

do you know why we are always fairer and more generous towards the dead? The reason is simple! We have no obligation where they’re concerned! They leave us free, we can take our time, fit the tribute into the interval between cocktails and a nice mistress, in other words, lost moments. If they did oblige us to do anything, it would be to remember, and our memories are short.

You are only excused for happiness and success if you generously agree to share them. But if one is to be happy, one should not worry too much about other people – which means that there is no way out. Happy and judged or absolved and miserable.

don’t believe your friends when they ask you to be sincere with them. All they want is for you to sustain them in the good opinion that they have of themselves and provide them with the additional assurance that they take from your promise of sincerity.

The greater the threat to the feeling in which I had hoped to find rest, the greater the demands I made on my partner.