Quotation
Last reviewed:
“The struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man's heart.”
Albert Camus · Absurdism · Modern · 1942
What does it mean?
The struggle toward the heights is enough to fill a heart. He has just said the universe without a master is neither sterile nor futile, and that each atom of the stone forms a world. The enough is the point. There is no further prize that makes the rolling worthwhile. A rival reading hears a cult of effort, grind as meaning. He is describing Sisyphus's consciousness on the way back down, not selling a work ethic. Another reading wants the rock to stand for something, a career, a cause. The myth refuses the standing-for.
Did Albert Camus really say this?
The library’s label is Paraphrase or translation. Justin O'Brien, in the same closing paragraph as 'One must imagine Sisyphus happy.' The struggle, not a hidden purpose of the rock, is what fills the heart. Kept as its own sentence because it is the reason he gives for the happiness, not a gloss someone else added.
Where it comes from
The Myth of Sisyphus, closing, in Justin O'Brien's translation
Approximate date: 1942.
How to use it
Training for a club match in Stoke, or rewriting a thesis in a rented room, can feel like the sentence. The feeling is yours. The myth does not say the match or the thesis is absurd, and it does not say the effort justifies a pointless job you could leave. 'Enough' is a refusal of a further religious or metaphysical reward. It is not a reason to stop asking whether the particular rock is one you should be pushing.
A mindset reading
This sentence and the happiness sentence are one paragraph. Split them and the happiness looks like a mood and the struggle looks like a slogan. O'Brien's English holds them together. So should the reading.
Understand the philosophy
Same essay, same translator, same page as the famous last line. The card exists so the reason for the happiness is not left offstage. The reason is not a secret meaning. It is the struggle, lucidly seen.
- meaning
- resilience
- happiness
FAQ
What does it mean?
The struggle toward the heights is enough to fill a heart. He has just said the universe without a master is neither sterile nor futile, and that each atom of the stone forms a world. The enough is the point. There is no further prize that makes the rolling worthwhile. A rival reading hears a cult of effort, grind as meaning. He is describing Sisyphus's consciousness on the way back down, not selling a work ethic. Another reading wants the rock to stand for something, a career, a cause. The myth refuses the standing-for.
Did Albert Camus really say this?
Paraphrase or translation. Justin O'Brien, in the same closing paragraph as 'One must imagine Sisyphus happy.' The struggle, not a hidden purpose of the rock, is what fills the heart. Kept as its own sentence because it is the reason he gives for the happiness, not a gloss someone else added.
Which work is it in?
The Myth of Sisyphus, closing, in Justin O'Brien's translation Approximate date: 1942.