--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All I can say is that on this earth there…" description: "\"“All I can say is that on this earth there are pestilences and there are victims– and as far as possible one must refuse to be on the side of the pesti..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d32/albert-camus-47_nature_all-i-can-say-is-that-on-this-earth-ther_2893400.jpg" --- # All I can say is that on this earth there are pestilences… ![“All I can say is that on this earth there are pestilences and there are victims– and as far as possible one must refuse to be on the side of the pestilence.” quote by Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d32/albert-camus-47_nature_all-i-can-say-is-that-on-this-earth-ther_2893400.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d32/albert-camus-47_nature_all-i-can-say-is-that-on-this-earth-ther_2893400.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d32/albert-camus-47_nature_all-i-can-say-is-that-on-this-earth-ther_2893400.jpg) > ““All I can say is that on this earth there are pestilences and there are victims– and as far as possible one must refuse to be on the side of the pestilence.”” [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. One must oppose oppression and not side with the suffering caused by it **In simple terms:** Refuse to support harmful forces Key Takeaway Stand against injustice always Themes ethics responsibility humanity Mood serious determined Type philosophical activist When to use this quote - activism - journalism - community organizing - personal choices Key Concepts moral choice civil disobedience solidarity Questions to Reflect On - When is compromise justified? - How to act when all options cause harm? A Different Perspective Complex situations may blur moral lines ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Pestilence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pestilence/) ## Related quotes > [All I maintain is that on this earth there are pestilences and there are victims, and it's up to us, so far as possible,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/all-i-maintain-is-that-on-this-earth-there-are-pestilences-and-there/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Everybody knows that pestilences have a way of recurring in the world; yet somehow we find it hard to believe in ones that crash…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/everybody-knows-that-pestilences-have-a-way-of-recurring-in-the-world/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Just as plagues were visited on Pharaoh so will pestilences and disasters be visited on the white man. Why, it has already started: God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/just-as-plagues-were-visited-on-pharaoh-so-will-pestilences-and/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [Poverty blights whole cities; spreads horrible pestilences; strikes dead the very souls of all who come within sight, sound, or smell of it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/poverty-blights-whole-cities-spreads-horrible-pestilences-strikes/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [A study of Disease-of Pestilences methodically prepared and deliberately launched upon man and beast-is certainly being pursue in the laboratories of more than one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/a-study-of-disease-of-pestilences-methodically-prepared-and/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [“Everybody knows that pestilences have a way of recurring in the world; yet somehow we find it hard to believe in ones that crash…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/everybody-knows-that-pestilences-have-a-way-of-recurring-in-the-world-2/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [In this respect, our townsfolk were like everybody else, wrapped up in themselves; in other words, they were humanists: they disbelieved in pestilences. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/in-this-respect-our-townsfolk-were-like-everybody-else-wrapped-up-in/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“At the beginning of a pestilence and when it ends, there's always a propensity for rhetoric. In the first case, habits have not yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/at-the-beginning-of-a-pestilence-and-when-it-ends-there-s-always-a/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [The truth is that nothing is less sensational than pestilence, and by reason of their very duration great misfortunes are monotonous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-truth-is-that-nothing-is-less-sensational-than-pestilence-and-by/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“And it was in the midst of shouts rolling against the terrace wall in massive waves that waxed in volume and duration, while cataracts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/and-it-was-in-the-midst-of-shouts-rolling-against-the-terrace-wall-in/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [There are wars, there's pestilence, there are plagues, there is corruption in religious circles, corruption in the government, when was it not?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tenzin-palmo/there-are-wars-there-s-pestilence-there-are-plagues-there-is/) [Tenzin Palmo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tenzin-palmo/) > [The human condition for the vast majority of people on this planet for the entire time of what humanity has been here has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/the-human-condition-for-the-vast-majority-of-people-on-this-planet/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [I can't decide for you whether or not you have got to write, but if anything in the world, war, or pestilence, or famine,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/i-can-t-decide-for-you-whether-or-not-you-have-got-to-write-but-if/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [Thus is man made equal to every event. He can face danger for the right. A poor, tender, painful body, he can run into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/thus-is-man-made-equal-to-every-event-he-can-face-danger-for-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I read the other day an account of a meeting between John Knox and John Calvin. Imagine a dialogue between a pestilence and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/i-read-the-other-day-an-account-of-a-meeting-between-john-knox-and/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) ## More by Albert Camus > [“The whole town rushed outside to celebrate this crowded minute when the time of suffering had ended and the time of forgetting had not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-whole-town-rushed-outside-to-celebrate-this-crowded-minute-when/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Generally, I like all islands. There, it is easier to rule.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/generally-i-like-all-islands-there-it-is-easier-to-rule/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Being is good, but getting rich is better… If the gods had only the riches of men's adoration, they would be as poor as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/being-is-good-but-getting-rich-is-better-if-the-gods-had-only-the/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [The more I produce, the less I am certain. On the road along which the artist walks, night falls ever more densely. Finally, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-more-i-produce-the-less-i-am-certain-on-the-road-along-which-the/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“Having been, not only mutilated in our country, wounded in our very flesh, but also divested of our most beautiful images, for you gave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/having-been-not-only-mutilated-in-our-country-wounded-in-our-very/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I've seen of enough of people who die for an idea. I don't believe in heroism; I know it's easy and I've learned it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/i-ve-seen-of-enough-of-people-who-die-for-an-idea-i-don-t-believe-in/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [The best are led to make greater demands upon themselves. As for those who succumb, they did not deserve to survive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-best-are-led-to-make-greater-demands-upon-themselves-as-for-those/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“Then he asked me if I wasn’t interested in a change of life. I said that people never change their lives, that in any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/then-he-asked-me-if-i-wasn-t-interested-in-a-change-of-life-i-said/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Life is meaningless, but worth living, provided you recognize it's meaningless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/life-is-meaningless-but-worth-living-provided-you-recognize-it-s/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Thinking of the future, establishing aims for oneself, having preferences-all this presupposes a belief in freedom, even if one occasionally ascertains that one doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/thinking-of-the-future-establishing-aims-for-oneself-having/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I explained to him, however, that my nature was such that my physical needs often got in the way of my feelings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/i-explained-to-him-however-that-my-nature-was-such-that-my-physical/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-only-way-to-deal-with-an-unfree-world-is-to-become-so-absolutely/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“We love people not because for good they did for us, but for good we did for them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/we-love-people-not-because-for-good-they-did-for-us-but-for-good-we/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [You have so much inside you, and the noblest happiness of all. Don’t just wait for a man to come along. That’s the mistake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/you-have-so-much-inside-you-and-the-noblest-happiness-of-all-don-t/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [The desire for possession is insatiable, to such a point that it can survive even love itself. To love, therefore, is to sterilize the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-desire-for-possession-is-insatiable-to-such-a-point-that-it-can/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) [Explore all 1,600 Albert Camus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) ## More Nature quotes > [It is indeed a surprising and fortunate fact that nature can be expressed by relatively low-order mathematical functions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-carnap/it-is-indeed-a-surprising-and-fortunate-fact-that-nature-can-be/) [Rudolf Carnap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-carnap/) > [Remember that your natural state is joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/remember-that-your-natural-state-is-joy/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Put on my J's and dance the whole night away Im naughty by nature like Im hip-hop hooray With my hands in the sky,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/put-on-my-j-s-and-dance-the-whole-night-away-im-naughty-by-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Borrow trouble for yourself, if that's your nature, but don't lend it to your neighbours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/borrow-trouble-for-yourself-if-that-s-your-nature-but-don-t-lend-it/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [There is no human nature, since there is no god to conceive it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/there-is-no-human-nature-since-there-is-no-god-to-conceive-it/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [“Men mistook measurement for understanding. And they always had to put themselves at the center of everything. That was their greatest conceit. The earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/men-mistook-measurement-for-understanding-and-they-always-had-to-put/) [Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) > [“She was, he knew- and had known very early, he supposed- one of those rare and always lovely humans whose moral nature was so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-williams/she-was-he-knew-and-had-known-very-early-he-supposed-one-of-those/) [John Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-williams/) > [“When the water covers the earth the sun will vanish the darkess and the cold will come.When the last dragon and the last Elf…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/silvana-de-mari/when-the-water-covers-the-earth-the-sun-will-vanish-the-darkess-and/) [Silvana de Mari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/silvana-de-mari/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [“It is not the force of the wind, but the depth of the roots.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/it-is-not-the-force-of-the-wind-but-the-depth-of-the-roots/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. 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