On the Heights of Despair

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We are fulfilled only when we aspire to nothing, when we are impregnated by that nothing to the point of intoxication.

I find in myself as much evil as in anyone, but detesting action — mother of all vices — I am the cause of no one's suffering. As long as I live I shall not allow myself to forget that I shall die; I am waiting for death so that I can forget about it. What every man who loves his country hopes for in his inmost heart: the suppression of half his compatriots. The more one is obsessed with God, the less one is innocent. Nobody bothered about him in paradise. The fall brought about this divine torture. It's not possible to be conscious of divinity without guilt. Thus God is rarely to be found in an innocent soul. Jakob, Michel; Cioran, Emil; Greenspan, Kate (1994). "Wakefulness and Obsession: An Interview with E.M. Cioran". Salmagundi. 103 (103): 126. JSTOR 40548762– via JSTOR.Tragic paradox of freedom: the mediocre men who alone make its exercise possible cannot guarantee its duration. Out of the shadow of the abstract man, who thinks for the pleasure of thinking, emerges the organic man, who thinks because of a vital imbalance, and who is beyond science and art. Cioran's first book, Pe culmile disperării (literally translated: "On the Heights of Despair"), was published in Romania in 1934. It was awarded the Commission's Prize and the Young Writers Prize for one of the best books written by an unpublished young writer. Regardless, Cioran later spoke negatively of it, saying "it is a very poorly written book, without any style." [10] No one commits suicide for external reasons, only because of inner disequilibrium. Under similar adverse circumstances, some are indifferent, some are moved, some are driven to suicide.

At the time of writing On the Heights of Despair, Cioran was sympathetic to National Socialism. He expressed support for the Night of the Long Knives, [13] which occurred in the same year that the book was published. Despite this, On the Heights of Despair expresses attitudes which are contrary to National Socialist philosophy.You have dreamed of setting the world ablaze, and you have not even managed to communicate your fire to words, to light up a single one!

Quotes [ edit ] On the Heights of Despair (1934) [ edit ] We are fulfilled only when we aspire to nothing, when we are impregnated by that nothing to the point of intoxication. Romanian title: Pe culmile disperării His power to adore is responsible for all his crimes: a man who loves a god unduly forces other men to love his god, eager to exterminate them if they refuse. On the Heights of Despair ( Romanian: Pe culmile disperării) is a Romanian philosophical work written by Emil Cioran, published in 1934 as his first book. It consists of several brief reflections on negative themes which later permeated Cioran's work, such as death, insomnia and insanity. On the Heights of Despair was noted for its elaborate prose, aphorisms and philosophical pessimism, expressed in a style that Cioran would later be recognised for. [2] [15] Speaking on Cioran in general terms, Saint-John Perse described him as "the greatest French writer to honour our language since the death of Paul Valéry." [2]

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Emil Cioran died on June 20, 1995 at the age of 84. He was buried in Cimetière du Montparnasse in Paris, alongside other famous Romanian artists such as Constantin Brancusi and Eugen Ionescu. The same year Gallimard paid him homage by publishing his complete works in a single volume, "Oeuvres" ("Works"). Emil Cioran was a Romanian philosopher and essayist who became famous for his finely crafted essays and aphorisms dealing with alienation, boredom, futility and the decay of civilization. His works helped him become one of the greatest nihilistic philosophers of the 20th century. Regier, Willis (2004). "Cioran's Insomnia". MLN. 119 (5): 994–1012. doi: 10.1353/mln.2005.0018. JSTOR 3251887. S2CID 170780097– via JSTOR. In the torments of the intellect, there is a certain bearing which is to be sought in vain among those of the heart. Skepticism is the elegance of anxiety. Cioran was born in Resinár, Szeben County, Kingdom of Hungary (today Rășinari, Sibiu County, Romania). [1] His father, Emilian Cioran, was an Orthodox priest, and his mother, Elvira, was the head of the Christian Women's League. [2]