--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The truth is that nothing is less…" description: "\"The truth is that nothing is less sensational than pestilence, and by reason of their very duration great misfortunes are monotonous.\" — Albert Camus" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1e/albert-camus-47_duration_the-truth-is-that-nothing-is-less-sensat_1532616.jpg" --- # The truth is that nothing is less sensational than… ![“The truth is that nothing is less sensational than pestilence, and by reason of their very duration great misfortunes are monotonous.” quote by Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1e/albert-camus-47_duration_the-truth-is-that-nothing-is-less-sensat_1532616.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1e/albert-camus-47_duration_the-truth-is-that-nothing-is-less-sensat_1532616.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1e/albert-camus-47_duration_the-truth-is-that-nothing-is-less-sensat_1532616.jpg) > “The truth is that nothing is less sensational than pestilence, and by reason of their very duration great misfortunes are monotonous.” [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. Enduring tragedies become dull through familiarity, losing their shocking impact over time. **In simple terms:** Long‑lasting disasters lose their shock value. Key Takeaway Recognize and address ongoing suffering before it becomes ignored. Themes suffering monotony human condition Mood reflective somber Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - public health crises - personal loss - war aftermath - environmental decline Key Concepts existentialism normalization psychology Questions to Reflect On - How does familiarity affect our response to ongoing crises? - Can we stay vigilant about chronic problems? A Different Perspective Even familiar hardships can still cause deep harm if overlooked. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Duration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duration/) [Misfortunes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misfortunes/) [Misfortunes Monotonous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misfortunes-monotonous-5690346/) [Monotonous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monotonous/) [Pestilence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pestilence/) [Pestilence Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pestilence-reason-5690348/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Sensational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sensational/) [Sensational Pestilence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sensational-pestilence-5690347/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Truth is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth-is/) ## Related quotes > [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/) > [“All I can say is that on this earth there are pestilences and there are victims– and as far as possible one must refuse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/all-i-can-say-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/) > [“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/) > [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/) > [“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/) > [Were a stranger to drop on a sudden into this world, I would show him, as a specimen of its ills, a hospital full…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/were-a-stranger-to-drop-on-a-sudden-into-this-world-i-would-show-him/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [“...my war on commas. They are a pestilence. They must be stopped.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/my-war-on-commas-they-are-a-pestilence-they-must-be-stopped/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [A man with a machine and inadequate culture is a pestilence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/a-man-with-a-machine-and-inadequate-culture-is-a-pestilence/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Oh, sir, the loftiest hopes on earth Draw lots with meaner hopes: heroic breasts, Breathing bad air, run risk of pestilence; Or, lacking lime-juice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/oh-sir-the-loftiest-hopes-on-earth-draw-lots-with-meaner-hopes-heroic/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [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 Duration quotes > [By heaven we understand a state of happiness infinite in degree, and endless in duration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/by-heaven-we-understand-a-state-of-happiness-infinite-in-degree-and/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [Without morals a republic cannot subsist any length of time; they therefore who are decrying the Christian religion, whose morality is so sublime and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-carroll-of-carrollton/without-morals-a-republic-cannot-subsist-any-length-of-time-they/) [Charles Carroll of Carrollton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-carroll-of-carrollton/) > [What we know for sure from our work and from others' is that mice have a life span of 1,000 days, dogs have 5,000…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-jay-olshansky/what-we-know-for-sure-from-our-work-and-from-others-is-that-mice-have/) [S. Jay Olshansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-jay-olshansky/) > [It is well known that unemployment benefits raise unemployment durations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raj-chetty/it-is-well-known-that-unemployment-benefits-raise-unemployment/) [Raj Chetty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raj-chetty/) > [The Author of nature has not given laws to the universe, which, like the institutions of men, carry in themselves the elements of their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-playfair/the-author-of-nature-has-not-given-laws-to-the-universe-which-like/) [John Playfair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-playfair/) > [It is not events and the things one sees and enjoys that produce happiness, but a state of mind which can endow events with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-maurois/it-is-not-events-and-the-things-one-sees-and-enjoys-that-produce/) [Andre Maurois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-maurois/) > [Our greatest gain is to lose the wealth that is of such brief duration and, by comparison with eternal things, of such little worth;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teresa-of-vila/our-greatest-gain-is-to-lose-the-wealth-that-is-of-such-brief/) [Teresa of Avila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teresa-of-vila/) > [If we denote excitation as an end-effect by the sign plus (+), and inhibition as end-effect by the sign minus (-), such a reflex…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-scott-sherrington/if-we-denote-excitation-as-an-end-effect-by-the-sign-plus-and/) [Charles Scott Sherrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-scott-sherrington/) > [Death is not an event in life: we do not live to experience death. If we take eternity to mean not infinite temporal duration…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/death-is-not-an-event-in-life-we-do-not-live-to-experience-death-if/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [Think not thy time short in this world, since the world itself is not long. The created world is but a small parenthesis in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-browne/think-not-thy-time-short-in-this-world-since-the-world-itself-is-not/) [Thomas Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-browne/) > [So you find yourself surrounded by death and horror in the world, and you escape it into lust. But lust has no duration; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/so-you-find-yourself-surrounded-by-death-and-horror-in-the-world-and/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [I think a Moon base is not necessary to get to Mars, but I think it will be helpful. It would give you a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-duke/i-think-a-moon-base-is-not-necessary-to-get-to-mars-but-i-think-it/) [Charles Duke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-duke/) > [Nevertheless so profound is our ignorance, and so high our presumption, that we marvel when we hear of the extinction of an organic being;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/nevertheless-so-profound-is-our-ignorance-and-so-high-our-presumption/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [Every relationship comes with a shelf life; that duration could be a minute or even a lifetime. If, for whatever reasons, a relationship cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kabir-bedi/every-relationship-comes-with-a-shelf-life-that-duration-could-be-a/) [Kabir Bedi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kabir-bedi/) > [The degree and duration of the torment of these degenerate and anti-Christian people, should be no other than would be approved of by those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-newton/the-degree-and-duration-of-the-torment-of-these-degenerate-and-anti/) [Isaac Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-newton/) [Browse all 272 Duration quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duration/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The truth is that nothing is less sensational than pestilence, and by reason of their very duration great misfortunes are monotonous.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Albert Camus" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-truth-is-that-nothing-is-less-sensational-than-pestilence-and-by/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Duration" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-truth-is-that-nothing-is-less-sensational-than-pestilence-and-by/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1e/albert-camus-47_duration_the-truth-is-that-nothing-is-less-sensat_1532616.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1e/albert-camus-47_duration_the-truth-is-that-nothing-is-less-sensat_1532616.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1e/albert-camus-47_duration_the-truth-is-that-nothing-is-less-sensat_1532616.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The truth is that nothing is less sensational than pestilence, and by reason of their very duration great…” — 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": "The truth is that nothing is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-truth-is-that-nothing-is-less-sensational-than-pestilence-and-by/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-truth-is-that-nothing-is-less-sensational-than-pestilence-and-by/#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 } } ] } ```