216 quotes
Remember, Orestes: you were part of my herd, you grazed in the fields along with my sheep. Your liberty is nothing but a mange eating away at you, it is nothing but an exile.
The Flies (1943)
The more sand that has escaped from the hourglass of our life, the clearer we should see through it.
Man is condemned to be free; because once thrown into the world, he is responsible for everything he does.
Being and Nothingness (1943)
Now I am weary and I can no longer tell good from Evil, and I need someone to show me the way.
The Flies (1943)
The world is sacred because it gives an inkling of a meaning that escapes us
Saint Genet, Actor and Martyr (1952)
The live dead-man is dead as a producer and alive insofar as he consumes
Saint Genet, Actor and Martyr (1952)
All-powerful god, who am I but the fear that I inspire in others?
The Flies (1943)
I think they do it to pass the time, nothing more. But time is too large, it can't be filled up. Everything you plunge into it is stretched and disintegrates.
Nausea (1938)
Aegistheus, the kings have another secret.... Once liberty has exploded in the soul of a man, the Gods can do nothing against that man. It is a matter for men to handle amongst themselves, and it is up to other men — and to them alone — to let him flee or to destroy him.
The Flies (1943)
Every existing thing is born without reason, prolongs itself out of weakness and dies by chance.
Nausea (1938)
Ah! yes, I know: those who see me rarely trust my word: I must look too intelligent to keep it.
The Devil and the Good Lord (1951)
Don't you feel the same way? When I cannot see myself, even though I touch myself, I wonder if I really exist.
No Exit (1944)
I am not virtuous. Our sons will be if we shed enough blood to give them the right to be.
The Devil and the Good Lord (1951)
You take souls for vegetables.... The gardener can decide what will become of his carrots but no one can choose the good of others for them.
Dirty Hands (1948)
Existence precedes and rules essence.
Being and Nothingness (1943)
As for us, my little friend, we entered [the Communist Party] because we were tired of dying of hunger.
Dirty Hands (1948)
The worst of misfortunes is still a stroke of luck, since one feels oneself living when one experiences it
Saint Genet, Actor and Martyr (1952)
I am responsible for everything ... except for my very responsibility, for I am not the foundation of my being.
Being and Nothingness (1943)
Thus, Beauty is neither an appearance nor a being, but a relationship: the transformation of being into appearance
Saint Genet, Actor and Martyr (1952)
The dreamer must contaminate the others by his dream, he must make them fall into it
Saint Genet, Actor and Martyr (1952)