--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: How utterly futile debauchery seems once…" description: "\"How utterly futile debauchery seems once it has been accomplished, and what ashes of disgust it leaves in the soul.\" — Albert Camus" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/888/albert-camus-47_debauchery_how-utterly-futile-debauchery-seems-once_1188672.jpg" --- # How utterly futile debauchery seems once it has been… ![“How utterly futile debauchery seems once it has been accomplished, and what ashes of disgust it leaves in the soul.” quote by Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/888/albert-camus-47_debauchery_how-utterly-futile-debauchery-seems-once_1188672.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/888/albert-camus-47_debauchery_how-utterly-futile-debauchery-seems-once_1188672.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/888/albert-camus-47_debauchery_how-utterly-futile-debauchery-seems-once_1188672.jpg) > “How utterly futile debauchery seems once it has been accomplished, and what ashes of disgust it leaves in the soul.” [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. After achieving excess, its emptiness becomes evident, leaving lingering disgust and moral emptiness. **In simple terms:** Excessive indulgence feels empty and repulsive. Key Takeaway Pursue moderation over reckless indulgence. Themes excess emptiness disgust morality Mood reflective somber Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - celebrations - overindulgence - addiction - post‑achievement reflection Key Concepts existentialism ethics Questions to Reflect On - What lasting value does indulgence bring? - How can one find meaning beyond excess? A Different Perspective Short‑term pleasure may hide long‑term regret. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Debauchery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/debauchery/) [Disgust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disgust/) ## Related quotes > [All is disgust when one leaves his own nature and does things that misfit it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/all-is-disgust-when-one-leaves-his-own-nature-and-does-things-that/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“True debauchery is liberating because it creates no obligations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/true-debauchery-is-liberating-because-it-creates-no-obligations/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [True debauchery is liberating because it creates no obligations. In it you possess only yourself, hence it remains the favorite pastime of the great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/true-debauchery-is-liberating-because-it-creates-no-obligations-in-it/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“Despairing of love and of chastity, I at last bethought myself of debauchery, a substitute for love, which quiets the laughter, restores silence, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/despairing-of-love-and-of-chastity-i-at-last-bethought-myself-of/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Civilizations die from philosophical calm, irony, and a sense of fair play quite as surely as they die of debauchery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-wood-krutch/civilizations-die-from-philosophical-calm-irony-and-a-sense-of-fair/) [Joseph Wood Krutch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-wood-krutch/) > [Music and dancing (the more the pity) have become so closely associated with ideas of riot and debauchery among the less cultivated classes, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-herschel/music-and-dancing-the-more-the-pity-have-become-so-closely-associated/) [John Herschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-herschel/) > [Coming at twenty to his father's house, which was a very sink of filthy debauchery, he, chaste and pure as he was, simply withdrew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/coming-at-twenty-to-his-father-s-house-which-was-a-very-sink-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ “He \[Maxime\] was twenty, and already there was nothing left to surprise or disgust him. He had certainly dreamt of the most extreme forms… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mile-zola/he-maxime-was-twenty-and-already-there-was-nothing-left-to-surprise/) [Émile Zola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mile-zola/) > [The military world is characterized by the absence of freedom - in other words, a rigorous discipline-enforced inactivity, ignorance, cruelty, debauchery and drunkenness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/the-military-world-is-characterized-by-the-absence-of-freedom-in/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“Everywhere was the atmosphere of a long debauch that had to end; the orchestras played too fast, the stakes were too high at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-cowley/everywhere-was-the-atmosphere-of-a-long-debauch-that-had-to-end-the/) [Malcolm Cowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-cowley/) > [“So tonight I'm, pursuing more commercial joys around the bedpost. And I plan to get drunk as a skunk.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valerie-sherwood/so-tonight-i-m-pursuing-more-commercial-joys-around-the-bedpost-and-i/) Valerie Sherwood > [“What is it the Bible teaches us? — repine, cruelty, and murder. What is it the Testament teaches us? — to believe that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/what-is-it-the-bible-teaches-us-repine-cruelty-and-murder-what-is-it/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Debauchery conceived of as a kind of ascetic experience is not new, either for men or for women, but until Story of O no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-desclos/debauchery-conceived-of-as-a-kind-of-ascetic-experience-is-not-new/) [Anne Desclos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-desclos/) > [What is it the Bible teaches us? - raping, cruelty, and murder. What is it the New Testament teaches us? - to believe that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/what-is-it-the-bible-teaches-us-raping-cruelty-and-murder-what-is-it/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Christianity does not oppose debauchery and uncontrollable passions and the like as much as it opposes... flat mediocrity, this nauseating atmosphere, this homey, civil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/christianity-does-not-oppose-debauchery-and-uncontrollable-passions/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) ## 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 Debauchery quotes > [Christianity does not oppose debauchery and uncontrollable passions and the like as much as it opposes... flat mediocrity, this nauseating atmosphere, this homey, civil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/christianity-does-not-oppose-debauchery-and-uncontrollable-passions/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [What is it the Bible teaches us? - raping, cruelty, and murder. What is it the New Testament teaches us? - to believe that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/what-is-it-the-bible-teaches-us-raping-cruelty-and-murder-what-is-it/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Debauchery conceived of as a kind of ascetic experience is not new, either for men or for women, but until Story of O no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-desclos/debauchery-conceived-of-as-a-kind-of-ascetic-experience-is-not-new/) [Anne Desclos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-desclos/) > [“What is it the Bible teaches us? — repine, cruelty, and murder. What is it the Testament teaches us? — to believe that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/what-is-it-the-bible-teaches-us-repine-cruelty-and-murder-what-is-it/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [“So tonight I'm, pursuing more commercial joys around the bedpost. And I plan to get drunk as a skunk.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valerie-sherwood/so-tonight-i-m-pursuing-more-commercial-joys-around-the-bedpost-and-i/) Valerie Sherwood > [“Everywhere was the atmosphere of a long debauch that had to end; the orchestras played too fast, the stakes were too high at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-cowley/everywhere-was-the-atmosphere-of-a-long-debauch-that-had-to-end-the/) [Malcolm Cowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-cowley/) > [The military world is characterized by the absence of freedom - in other words, a rigorous discipline-enforced inactivity, ignorance, cruelty, debauchery and drunkenness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/the-military-world-is-characterized-by-the-absence-of-freedom-in/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [ “He \[Maxime\] was twenty, and already there was nothing left to surprise or disgust him. He had certainly dreamt of the most extreme forms… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mile-zola/he-maxime-was-twenty-and-already-there-was-nothing-left-to-surprise/) [Émile Zola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mile-zola/) > [Coming at twenty to his father's house, which was a very sink of filthy debauchery, he, chaste and pure as he was, simply withdrew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/coming-at-twenty-to-his-father-s-house-which-was-a-very-sink-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Music and dancing (the more the pity) have become so closely associated with ideas of riot and debauchery among the less cultivated classes, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-herschel/music-and-dancing-the-more-the-pity-have-become-so-closely-associated/) [John Herschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-herschel/) > [Civilizations die from philosophical calm, irony, and a sense of fair play quite as surely as they die of debauchery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-wood-krutch/civilizations-die-from-philosophical-calm-irony-and-a-sense-of-fair/) [Joseph Wood Krutch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-wood-krutch/) > [“It is an Age where any sort of debauchery is tolerated, as long as it brings fame with it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-pears/it-is-an-age-where-any-sort-of-debauchery-is-tolerated-as-long-as-it/) Ian Pears > [Cutting the space budget really restores my faith in humanity. It eliminates dreams, goals, and ideals and lets us get straight to the business…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-hart/cutting-the-space-budget-really-restores-my-faith-in-humanity-it/) [Johnny Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-hart/) > [Music and dancing (the more the pity) have become so closely associated with ideas of riot and debauchery among the less cultivated classes, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-herschel/music-and-dancing-the-more-the-pity-have-become-so-closely-associated-2/) [John Herschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-herschel/) > [“Despairing of love and of chastity, I at last bethought myself of debauchery, a substitute for love, which quiets the laughter, restores silence, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/despairing-of-love-and-of-chastity-i-at-last-bethought-myself-of/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) [Browse all 79 Debauchery quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/debauchery/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "How utterly futile debauchery seems once it has been accomplished, and what ashes of disgust it leaves in the soul.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Albert Camus" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/how-utterly-futile-debauchery-seems-once-it-has-been-accomplished-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Debauchery" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/how-utterly-futile-debauchery-seems-once-it-has-been-accomplished-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/888/albert-camus-47_debauchery_how-utterly-futile-debauchery-seems-once_1188672.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/888/albert-camus-47_debauchery_how-utterly-futile-debauchery-seems-once_1188672.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/888/albert-camus-47_debauchery_how-utterly-futile-debauchery-seems-once_1188672.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“How utterly futile debauchery seems once it has been accomplished, and what ashes of disgust it leaves in…” — 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": "How utterly futile debauchery seems once...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/how-utterly-futile-debauchery-seems-once-it-has-been-accomplished-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/how-utterly-futile-debauchery-seems-once-it-has-been-accomplished-and/#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 } } ] } ```