“Irons and the unbreathable air of this world strip us of everything, except the freedom to kill ourselves; and this freedom grants us a strength and pride to triumph over the loads which overwhelm us.”
A Short History of Decay (1949)
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Emil M. Cioran 531
Romanian philosopher and essayist 1911–1995Related quotes
Broadcast from London (6 March 1934); published in This Torch of Freedom (1935), p. 17.
1934
Remarks by President Obama and Chancellor Merkel in an Exchange of Toasts on June 07, 2011. http://www.newsroomamerica.com/story/137358/remarks_by_president_obama_and_chancellor_merkel_in_an_exchange_of_toasts.html
Context: History has often showed us the strength of the forces that are unleashed by the yearning for freedom. It moved people to overcome their fears and openly confront dictators such as in about 22 years ago. […] The yearning for freedom cannot be contained by walls for long. It was this yearning that brought down the Iron Curtain that divided Germany and Europe, and indeed the world, into two blocs.
Source: On Nietzsche (1945), p. 3
Source: The Living Thoughts Of Kierkegaard
“For you who no longer possess it, freedom is everything, for us who do, it is merely an illusion.”
History and Utopia (1960)
Source: Principle-Centered Leadership (1992), Ch. 11
Context: Unless we exercise our power to choose wisely, our actions will be determined by conditions. Our ultimate freedom is the right and power to decide how anybody or anything outside ourselves will affect us.
