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Heroes abound at the dawn of civilizations, during pre-Homeric and Gothic epochs, when people, not having yet experienced spiritual torture, satisfy their thirst for renunciation through a derivative: heroism.

— Emil Cioran Tears and Saints (1937)

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More quotes by Emil Cioran

The poor, by thinking unceasingly of money, reach the point of losing the spiritual advantages of non-possession, thereby sinking as low as the rich.

The Trouble With Being Born (1973)

He who has never envied the vegetable has missed the human drama.

The Fall Into Time (1964)

Love, a tacit agreement between two unhappy parties to overestimate each other.

The Fall Into Time (1964)

There is only this swarm of dying creatures stricken with longevity, all the more hateful in that they are so good at organizing their agony.

The Fall Into Time (1964)

It is not worth the bother of killing yourself, since you always kill yourself too late.

The Trouble With Being Born (1973)

All Emil Cioran quotes →

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Emil Cioran (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.