---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: At times I feel myself overtaken by an…"
description: "\"At times I feel myself overtaken by an immense tenderness for these people around me who live in the same century.\" — Albert Camus"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/403/albert-camus-47_century_at-times-i-feel-myself-overtaken-by-an-i_696397.jpg"
---

#  At times I feel myself overtaken by an immense tenderness…

![“At times I feel myself overtaken by an immense tenderness for these people around me who live in the same century.” quote by Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/403/albert-camus-47_century_at-times-i-feel-myself-overtaken-by-an-i_696397.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/403/albert-camus-47_century_at-times-i-feel-myself-overtaken-by-an-i_696397.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/403/albert-camus-47_century_at-times-i-feel-myself-overtaken-by-an-i_696397.jpg)

> “At times I feel myself overtaken by an immense tenderness for these people around me who live in the same century.”

[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.

A deep, overwhelming compassion for fellow humans in our shared era.

**In simple terms:** Feeling deep compassion for people today.

Key Takeaway

Cultivate empathy daily.

Themes

compassion humanity existence

Mood

reflective hopeful

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- social gatherings
- volunteering
- community building
- support groups

Key Concepts

existentialism empathy

Questions to Reflect On

- How can you express this tenderness constructively?
- What limits does this feeling impose?

A Different Perspective

May overlook personal boundaries while feeling tenderness.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Happiness and love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness-and-love/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Tenderness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tenderness/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/)

## Related quotes

> [“It can be seen not just as part of the human condition, but central to what it is to be human. We recognize in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-inglis/it-can-be-seen-not-just-as-part-of-the-human-condition-but-central-to/)

Tom Inglis

> [It was odd, (Tessa thought), what brought out tenderness in people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/it-was-odd-tessa-thought-what-brought-out-tenderness-in-people/)

[Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/)

> [The tenderness between two people can turn the air tender, the room tender, time itself tender. As I step out of bed and slip…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/the-tenderness-between-two-people-can-turn-the-air-tender-the-room-2/)

[David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

> [“The tenderness between two people can turn the air tender, the room tender, time itself tender.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/the-tenderness-between-two-people-can-turn-the-air-tender-the-room/)

[David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

> [Tenderness between people is nothing other than awareness of the possibility of relations without purpose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodor-adorno/tenderness-between-people-is-nothing-other-than-awareness-of-the/)

[Theodor Adorno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodor-adorno/)

> [It is not humiliating to be unhappy. Physical suffering is sometimes humiliating, but the suffering of being cannot be, it is life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/it-is-not-humiliating-to-be-unhappy-physical-suffering-is-sometimes/)

[Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/)

> [When love ceases to be tragic it is something else and the individual again throws himself in search of tragedy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/when-love-ceases-to-be-tragic-it-is-something-else-and-the-individual/)

[Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/)

> [Those who prefer their principles over their happiness, they refuse to be happy outside the conditions they seem to have attached to their happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/those-who-prefer-their-principles-over-their-happiness-they-refuse-to-2/)

[Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/)

> [For me, physical love has always been bound to an irresistible feeling of innocence and joy. Thus, I cannot love in tears but in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/for-me-physical-love-has-always-been-bound-to-an-irresistible-feeling/)

[Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/)

> [The end of their passion consists of loving uselessly at the moment when it is pointless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-end-of-their-passion-consists-of-loving-uselessly-at-the-moment/)

[Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/)

> [The loss of love is the loss of all rights, even though one had them all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-loss-of-love-is-the-loss-of-all-rights-even-though-one-had-them/)

[Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/)

> [Betrayal answers betrayal, the mask of love is answered by the disappearance of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/betrayal-answers-betrayal-the-mask-of-love-is-answered-by-the/)

[Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/)

> [I have not stopped loving that which is sacred in this world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/i-have-not-stopped-loving-that-which-is-sacred-in-this-world/)

[Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/)

> [Everyone has those times when you feel like you don't fit in. Everyone struggles to a certain extent with being cool and popular, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-boldman/everyone-has-those-times-when-you-feel-like-you-don-t-fit-in-everyone/)

[Spencer Boldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-boldman/)

> [“You know life is weird. There are times I feel so grown up and like I know everything I need to know, but then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jillian-dodd/you-know-life-is-weird-there-are-times-i-feel-so-grown-up-and-like-i/)

[Jillian Dodd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jillian-dodd/)

## 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 Century quotes

> [I know always that I am an outsider; a stranger in this century and among those who are still men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-know-always-that-i-am-an-outsider-a-stranger-in-this-century-and/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [ \[The Dalai Lama\] told me some years ago, "I've made every concession to China, and I've been as open and tolerant as I could,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pico-iyer/the-dalai-lama-told-me-some-years-ago-i-ve-made-every-concession-to/)

[Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pico-iyer/)

> [Anybody looking for a quiet life has picked the wrong century to born in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/anybody-looking-for-a-quiet-life-has-picked-the-wrong-century-to-born/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [The poetry from the eighteenth century was prose; the prose from the seventeenth century was poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hare/the-poetry-from-the-eighteenth-century-was-prose-the-prose-from-the/)

[David Hare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hare/)

> [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/)

[George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/)

> [Talented people can predict with great accuracy what's about to happen just a tiny bit ahead of their competitors. It might be two seconds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-maney/talented-people-can-predict-with-great-accuracy-what-s-about-to/)

[Kevin Maney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-maney/)

> [The world's history is a divine poem, of which the history of every nation is a canto, and every man a word. Its strains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/the-world-s-history-is-a-divine-poem-of-which-the-history-of-every/)

[James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/)

> [The nineteenth century lynching mob cuts off ears, toes, and fingers, strips off flesh, and distributes portions of the body as souvenirs among the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/the-nineteenth-century-lynching-mob-cuts-off-ears-toes-and-fingers/)

[Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/)

> [At no time in the past century has public distrust of the government been so broadly distributed across the political spectrum, as it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-zimmermann/at-no-time-in-the-past-century-has-public-distrust-of-the-government/)

[Phil Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-zimmermann/)

> [While husbands and lovers in the stories are of all kinds, ranging from sympathetic to disgusting, women are invariably deceivers: inconstant, unscrupulous, quarrelsome, querulous,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/while-husbands-and-lovers-in-the-stories-are-of-all-kinds-ranging/)

[Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/)

> [The young people today are the 21st century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-scorsese/the-young-people-today-are-the-21st-century/)

[Martin Scorsese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-scorsese/)

> [The wisdom of our actions in the first three years of peace will determine the course of world history for half a century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-a-wallace/the-wisdom-of-our-actions-in-the-first-three-years-of-peace-will/)

[Henry A. Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-a-wallace/)

> [For me, the melancholy of the late XXth Century is walking late at night by the Mont Blanc pen store and seeing these things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/for-me-the-melancholy-of-the-late-xxth-century-is-walking-late-at/)

[William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/)

> [In a general way, the literature of the twentieth century is essentially psychological; and psychology consists of describing states of the soul by displaying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/in-a-general-way-the-literature-of-the-twentieth-century-is/)

[Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/)

> [Consequently, citizen legislators, rotating back to their communities after a short period of public service—considered an indispensable and routine characteristic and design of representative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/consequently-citizen-legislators-rotating-back-to-their-communities/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

Browse all 5,406 Century quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "At times I feel myself overtaken by an immense tenderness for these people around me who live in the same century.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Albert Camus"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/at-times-i-feel-myself-overtaken-by-an-immense-tenderness-for-these/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Century"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/at-times-i-feel-myself-overtaken-by-an-immense-tenderness-for-these/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/403/albert-camus-47_century_at-times-i-feel-myself-overtaken-by-an-i_696397.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/403/albert-camus-47_century_at-times-i-feel-myself-overtaken-by-an-i_696397.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/403/albert-camus-47_century_at-times-i-feel-myself-overtaken-by-an-i_696397.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“At times I feel myself overtaken by an immense tenderness for these people around me who live in the same…” — Albert Camus",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Albert Camus",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "At times I feel myself overtaken...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/at-times-i-feel-myself-overtaken-by-an-immense-tenderness-for-these/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/at-times-i-feel-myself-overtaken-by-an-immense-tenderness-for-these/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
