Albert Camus, Reflections on the Guillotine (1957); later included in Resistance, Rebellion, and Death (1960).

When the imagination sleeps, words are emptied of their meaning: a deaf population absent-mindedly registers the condemnation of a man.  … there is no other solution but to speak out and show the obscenity hidden under the verbal cloak.

— Albert Camus on Deafness

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "When the imagination sleeps, words are emptied of their meaning: a deaf population absent-mindedly registers the condemnation of a man.  … there is no other solution but to speak out and show the obscenity hidden under the verbal cloak." in the context of "Albert Camus, Reflections on the Guillotine (1957); later included in Resistance, Rebellion, and Death (1960)." to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: Wikiquote: "Deafness" (Quotes) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Albert Camus

About Albert Camus

Albert Camus (November 7, 1913 – January 4, 1960) was a French Pied-Noir author, absurdist philosopher and winner of the 1957 Nobel Prize for Literature.