Quotes from book
A Happy Death

A Happy Death
Albert Camus Original title La mort heureuse (French, 1971)

A Happy Death is a novel by Absurdist French writer-philosopher Albert Camus. The existentialist topic of the book is the "will to happiness," the conscious creation of one's happiness, and the need of time to do so. It draws on memories of the author including his job at the maritime commission in Algiers, his suffering from tuberculosis, and his travels in Europe.


Albert Camus photo

“Idleness is only fatal to the mediocre.”

A Happy Death (1971)

Albert Camus photo

“Only it takes time to be happy. A lot of time. Happiness, too, is a long patience.”

Seulement, il faut du temps pour être heureux. Beaucoup de temps. Le bonheur lui aussi est une longue patience.
A Happy Death (1971)

Albert Camus photo
Albert Camus photo
Albert Camus photo
Albert Camus photo

“Fate is not in man but around him.”

A Happy Death (1971)

Albert Camus photo
Albert Camus photo

“Having money is a way of being free of money.”

Avoir de l'argent c'est se libérer de l'argent.
A Happy Death (1971)

Albert Camus photo
Albert Camus photo

“It's better to bet on this life than on the next.”

A Happy Death (1971)

Albert Camus photo

“We always deceive ourselves twice about the people we love — first to their advantage, then to their disadvantage.”

Nous nous trompons toujours deux fois sur ceux que nous aimons: d'abord à leur avantage, puis à leur désavantage.
A Happy Death (written 1938), first published as La mort heureuse (1971), as translated by Richard Howard (1972)
Variant: He discovered the cruel paradox by which we always deceive ourselves twice about the people we love — first to their advantage, then to their disadvantage.

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