At the age of 40, having ordered meat very rare in restaurants all his life, he realized he actually liked it medium and not at all rare.

After a short silence the doctor raised himself a little in his chair and asked if Tarrou had an idea of the path to follow for attaining peace. "Yes, he replied. "The path of sympathy.

It is better for the intellectual not to talk all the time. To begin with, it would exhaust him, and, above all, it would keep him from thinking. He must create if he can, first and foremost, especially if his creation does not side-step the problems of his time.

The absurd depends as much on man as on the world. For the moment, it is all that links them together.

All that remains is a fate whose outcome alone is fatal. Outside of that single fatality of death, everything, joy or happiness, is liberty. A world remains of which man is the sole master. What bound him was the illusion of another world.

Real generosity toward the future lies in giving all to the present.

Your successes and happiness are forgiven you only if you generously consent to share them.