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A sub-clerk in the post office is the equal of a conqueror if consciousness is common to them. All experiences are indifferent in this regard. There are some that do either a service or a disservice to man. They do him a service if he is conscious. Otherwise, that has no importance: a man's failures imply judgment, not of circumstances, but of himself.

Albert Camus#46

CamusPhilosophyMoralityJudgmentConsciousnessSelfHuman conditionEquality

About this quote

What does it mean?
Consciousness makes all human experiences equal in value. Actions matter only when performed with awareness; otherwise they lack significance.
In plain terms
Being aware makes everyone equal, regardless of status.
What can you take from it?
Act consciously to give your actions meaning.

Where it applies

  • career choices
  • personal failures
  • ethical decisions

Putting it to work

  • reflect before acting
  • take responsibility
  • value awareness

Questions to consider

  • How conscious are your daily choices?
  • Does status affect your self-worth?

Another view

Not all actions require deep consciousness to have value.

More from Albert Camus

  1. Time will prolong time, and life will serve life. In this field that is both limited and bulging with possibilities, everything to himself, except his lucidity…

    Permalink to quote #45
  2. If the world were clear, art would not exist.

    Permalink to quote #47
  3. All systems of morality are based on the idea that an action has consequences that legitimize or cancel it. A mind imbued with the absurd merely judges that th…

    Permalink to quote #44

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