Quote of the Day (Albert Camus)

“It is the job of thinking people, not to be on the side of the executioners.”—Albert Camus

(On this date in 1913, Camus was born in Mondovi, Algeria—and the powerful memories of his childhood there undoubtedly increased the anguish he felt in the years just before his death, when the colony engaged in a merciless war of independence against France.

Despite Camus’ inability to believe in God, two nuns in the English Department at my high school were especially fond of his work. They recognized in him, I think, a basic decency and belief in the fallen but redeemable nature of man—redeemable through action, in a fight against the absurdity of death, against “the side of the executioners,” that is. When it came to religion, Camus might have been a doubter but not a scoffer. I’m sure those nuns believed that this anguished seeker after truth would eventually come home to the Church.

Most of Camus’ work—fiction and philosophical essay—has been extensively explored. However, another genre might also be a worthwhile avenue for studying Camus: drama. In the summer of 2007, the Chautauqua Institution staged a translation of his play The Just. I attended a cast interview during its run, in an afternoon theater enrichment program, and found its theme—terrorism—to be unexpectedly relevant in the light of recent events.)