Ah! How I hate the crimes of the new generation: they are dry and sterile as darnel.

What do we mean by saying that existence precedes essence? We mean that man first of all exists, encounters himself, surges up in the world-and defines himself afterward.

Through the lack of attaching myself to words, my thoughts remain nebulous most of the time. They sketch vague, pleasant shapes and then are swallowed up; I forget them almost immediately.

Thrown into the atmosphere of action [in 1954], I suddenly understood the kind of neurosis that dominated all my previous work. I had not been able to recognize it before: I was inside. Simone de Beauvoir had guessed these reasons before I did.

My thought is me: that is why I cannot stop thinking. I exist because I think I cannot keep from thinking.

I do not understand! I understand nothing! I cannot understand nor do I want to understand! I want to believe! To Believe!

If you seek authenticity for authenticity's sake you are no longer authentic.