--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But do you know why we are always more…" description: "\"But do you know why we are always more just and generous toward the dead? The reason is simple. With them there is no obligation. They leave us free an..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dca/albert-camus-47_cocktail-parties_but-do-you-know-why-we-are-always-more-j_2564859.jpg" --- # But do you know why we are always more just and generous… ![“But do you know why we are always more just and generous toward the dead? The reason is simple. With them there is no obligation. They leave us free and we can take our time, fit the testimonial between a cocktail party and a nice little mistress, in our spare time, in short.” quote by Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dca/albert-camus-47_cocktail-parties_but-do-you-know-why-we-are-always-more-j_2564859.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dca/albert-camus-47_cocktail-parties_but-do-you-know-why-we-are-always-more-j_2564859.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dca/albert-camus-47_cocktail-parties_but-do-you-know-why-we-are-always-more-j_2564859.jpg) > “But do you know why we are always more just and generous toward the dead? The reason is simple. With them there is no obligation. They leave us free and we can take our time, fit the testimonial between a cocktail party and a nice little mistress, in our spare time, in short.” [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. We tend to treat the dead with more fairness because there is no reciprocal expectation, allowing us to act without fear of reprisal. **In simple terms:** We are kinder to the dead because there’s no debt owed. Key Takeaway Recognize how obligations shape our behavior toward the living. Themes morality human nature obligation fairness Mood reflective critical Type philosophical ethical observational When to use this quote - funeral eulogies - legal settlements - inheritance decisions - political apologies Key Concepts existentialism ethical relativism Questions to Reflect On - Do we treat the living with the same generosity? - How do obligations influence our moral choices? A Different Perspective The dead cannot respond, so kindness may be superficial or self‑serving. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cocktail parties](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cocktail-parties/) [Cocktails](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cocktails/) [Dead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dead/) [Dead Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dead-reason-1389444/) [Fit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fit/) [Generous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generous/) [Generous Dead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generous-dead-1639840/) [Just Generous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/just-generous-789602/) [Leave Free](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leave-free-727454/) [Littles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/littles/) [Mistress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistress/) [Nice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nice/) [Obligation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obligation/) [Party](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/party/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Simple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simple/) [Spare time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spare-time/) [Testimonial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/testimonial/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“Dead is dead. For whatever reason. And in choice between life and death, there is no other choice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/dead-is-dead-for-whatever-reason-and-in-choice-between-life-and-death/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [Somebody said that Reason was dead. Reason said: No, I think not so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piet-pieterszoon-hein/somebody-said-that-reason-was-dead-reason-said-no-i-think-not-so/) [Piet Pieterszoon Hein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piet-pieterszoon-hein/) > [It is impossible to be just if one is not generous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philibert-joseph-roux/it-is-impossible-to-be-just-if-one-is-not-generous/) [Philibert Joseph Roux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philibert-joseph-roux/) > [Be just before you are generous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/be-just-before-you-are-generous/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [The generous person is always just, and the just who is always generous may, unannounced, approach the throne of heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-kaspar-lavater/the-generous-person-is-always-just-and-the-just-who-is-always/) [Johann Kaspar Lavater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-kaspar-lavater/) > [We need to be just before we are generous, as we need shirts before ruffles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-chamfort/we-need-to-be-just-before-we-are-generous-as-we-need-shirts-before/) [Nicolas Chamfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-chamfort/) > [Natural freedoms are but just: There's something generous in mere lust.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wilmot/natural-freedoms-are-but-just-there-s-something-generous-in-mere-lust/) [John Wilmot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wilmot/) > [One ought to be just before one is generous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/one-ought-to-be-just-before-one-is-generous/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [If you feel something calling you to dance or write or paint or sing, please refuse to worry about whether you're good enough .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glennon-melton/if-you-feel-something-calling-you-to-dance-or-write-or-paint-or-sing/) [Glennon Melton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glennon-melton/) > [I leave you free to be yourself: to think your thoughts, indulge your tastes, follow your inclinations, behave in ways that you decide are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-de-mello/i-leave-you-free-to-be-yourself-to-think-your-thoughts-indulge-your/) [Anthony de Mello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-de-mello/) > [This then is the first duty of an educator: to stir up life but leave it free to develop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/this-then-is-the-first-duty-of-an-educator-to-stir-up-life-but-leave/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [“leave him free, and the mere sense of liberty would content him, joined to the knowledge that his presence was dear to those whom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/leave-him-free-and-the-mere-sense-of-liberty-would-content-him-joined/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Some books leave us free and some books make us free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/some-books-leave-us-free-and-some-books-make-us-free/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [ “I want to get enough \[money\] to take off the hardships of life and leave me free to follow the ideas that interest me… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-bell/i-want-to-get-enough-money-to-take-off-the-hardships-of-life-and/) [Alexander Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-bell/) > [“It is for you to choose. Choice is man's right, and for that I leave you free.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-stewart/it-is-for-you-to-choose-choice-is-man-s-right-and-for-that-i-leave/) [Mary Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-stewart/) ## 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 Cocktail parties quotes > [Lobbying' is the activity of attempting to influence legislation by privately influencing the legislators. It is the result and creation of a mixed economy-of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/lobbying-is-the-activity-of-attempting-to-influence-legislation-by/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Im not funny. Im actually quite a boring person to meet one-on-one. That seems to shock quite a few people who I run into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-carell/im-not-funny-im-actually-quite-a-boring-person-to-meet-one-on-one/) [Steve Carell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-carell/) > [The cocktail party - as the name itself indicates - was originally invented by dogs. They are simply bottom-sniffings raised to the rank of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-durrell/the-cocktail-party-as-the-name-itself-indicates-was-originally/) [Lawrence Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-durrell/) > [As a child, I always enjoyed - my parents used to have these little cocktail parties - and I always loved trying to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-ross-sorkin/as-a-child-i-always-enjoyed-my-parents-used-to-have-these-little/) [Andrew Ross Sorkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-ross-sorkin/) > [“Quite collected at cocktail parties, meanwhile in my head I'm undergoing open-heart surgery.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/quite-collected-at-cocktail-parties-meanwhile-in-my-head-i-m/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [Finally ... You have accomplished your mission in going there tonight - you were 'seen,' and you furnished your host and hostess with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/letitia-baldrige/finally-you-have-accomplished-your-mission-in-going-there-tonight-you/) [Letitia Baldrige](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/letitia-baldrige/) > [I misremember who first was cruel enough to nurture the cocktail party into life. But perhaps it would be not too much to say,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/i-misremember-who-first-was-cruel-enough-to-nurture-the-cocktail/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [I don’t want to do a cocktail party. I’d rather people left my shows and vomited.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mcqueen/i-don-t-want-to-do-a-cocktail-party-i-d-rather-people-left-my-shows/) [Alexander McQueen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mcqueen/) > [“he writer has a grudge against society, which he documents with accounts of unsatisfying sex, unrealized ambition, unmitigated lo neliness, and a sense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renata-adler/he-writer-has-a-grudge-against-society-which-he-documents-with/) [Renata Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renata-adler/) > [I don't run with anybody's herd. I don't like crowds. I don't like going to fancy places. I don't like the whole nightclub scene.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-carson/i-don-t-run-with-anybody-s-herd-i-don-t-like-crowds-i-don-t-like/) [Johnny Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-carson/) > [Without peanuts, it isn't a cocktail party.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/without-peanuts-it-isn-t-a-cocktail-party/) [Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/) > [“And I. I too. Quite collected at cocktail parties, meanwhile in my head I'm undergoing open-heart surgery.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/and-i-i-too-quite-collected-at-cocktail-parties-meanwhile-in-my-head/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [The fact is, the cocktail party has much in its favor. Going to one is a good way of indicating that you're still alive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peg-bracken/the-fact-is-the-cocktail-party-has-much-in-its-favor-going-to-one-is/) [Peg Bracken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peg-bracken/) > [I go to these cocktail parties now, and I say I make video games, and people go, 'Wow.' I can attract crowds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-kotick/i-go-to-these-cocktail-parties-now-and-i-say-i-make-video-games-and/) [Bobby Kotick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-kotick/) > [Twitter is the perpetual cocktail party where everyone is talking at once but nobody is saying anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teresa-medeiros/twitter-is-the-perpetual-cocktail-party-where-everyone-is-talking-at/) [Teresa Medeiros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teresa-medeiros/) [Browse all 83 Cocktail parties quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cocktail-parties/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "But do you know why we are always more just and generous toward the dead? The reason is simple. With them there is no obligation. 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