--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Therefore, (and the difficult thing was…" description: "\"“Therefore, (and the difficult thing was not to lose sight of all the reasoning that went into this “therefore”), I had to accept the rejection of my a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22f/albert-camus-47_pardoned_therefore-and-the-difficult-thing-was-no_731186.jpg" --- # Therefore, (and the difficult thing was not to lose sight… ![“Therefore, (and the difficult thing was not to lose sight of all the reasoning that went into this “therefore”), I had to accept the rejection of my appeal. Then and only then would I have to the right, so to speak – would I give myself permission, as it were – to consider the alternative…” quote by Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22f/albert-camus-47_pardoned_therefore-and-the-difficult-thing-was-no_731186.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22f/albert-camus-47_pardoned_therefore-and-the-difficult-thing-was-no_731186.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22f/albert-camus-47_pardoned_therefore-and-the-difficult-thing-was-no_731186.jpg) > ““Therefore, (and the difficult thing was not to lose sight of all the reasoning that went into this “therefore”), I had to accept the rejection of my appeal. Then and only then would I have to the right, so to speak – would I give myself permission, as it were – to consider the alternative hypothesis: I was pardoned.”” [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. He realizes that accepting a decision, even a negative one, frees him to imagine other possibilities. **In simple terms:** Accepting a loss opens the mind to new ideas. Key Takeaway Embrace rejection to explore alternatives. Themes acceptance possibility mindset Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - legal decisions - personal setbacks - creative brainstorming - career changes Key Concepts existentialism choice freedom Questions to Reflect On - What alternatives become visible after a setback? - How does acceptance change your perspective? A Different Perspective Rejection may still limit options if not truly examined. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Pardoned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pardoned/) [Rejection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rejection/) ## Related quotes > [“When the war is over, if we’ve won, Peeta will be pardoned.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/when-the-war-is-over-if-we-ve-won-peeta-will-be-pardoned/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“All of this was understood, and if not condoned, at least pardoned.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/all-of-this-was-understood-and-if-not-condoned-at-least-pardoned/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [All men ought to think of Christ because of the office Christ fills between God and man. He is the eternal Son of God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle/all-men-ought-to-think-of-christ-because-of-the-office-christ-fills/) [J. C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle/) > [“Language, when it finally comes, has the vigor of a felon pardoned after twenty-one years on hold. Sudden, raw, stripped to its underwear.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/language-when-it-finally-comes-has-the-vigor-of-a-felon-pardoned/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [Allegations that President Clinton pardoned Marc Rich partly in return for donations to his presidential library have raised questions about the value of such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-dallek/allegations-that-president-clinton-pardoned-marc-rich-partly-in/) [Robert Dallek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-dallek/) > [“A soldier is a killer pardoned.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/a-soldier-is-a-killer-pardoned/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [It is in pardoning that we are pardoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-in-pardoning-that-we-are-pardoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The full and free pardon granted by President Buchanan was received resentfully by most of the Mormons, who still felt that the sending of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juanita-brooks/the-full-and-free-pardon-granted-by-president-buchanan-was-received/) [Juanita Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juanita-brooks/) > [What we talked about will have to remain a secret between him and me. I spoke to him as a brother whom I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-john-paul-ii/what-we-talked-about-will-have-to-remain-a-secret-between-him-and-me/) [Pope John Paul II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-john-paul-ii/) > [I know I will go to hell, because I pardoned Richard Nixon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-r-ford/i-know-i-will-go-to-hell-because-i-pardoned-richard-nixon/) [Gerald R. Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-r-ford/) > [I'm not sure, if I were President Clinton, I wouldn't want to be pardoned for something that I believed that I didn't do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mccain/i-m-not-sure-if-i-were-president-clinton-i-wouldn-t-want-to-be/) [John McCain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mccain/) > [“I hope they pardoned them. The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions, that i wish it to be always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/i-hope-they-pardoned-them-the-spirit-of-resistance-to-government-is/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [If you ever feel relax from your enemy... Then just close your eyes, and starts thinking about than damn person who hurts you a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rohit-padhra/if-you-ever-feel-relax-from-your-enemy-then-just-close-your-eyes-and/) [ROHIT PADHRA](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rohit-padhra/) > [A sin concealed is half-pardoned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italian-proverb/a-sin-concealed-is-half-pardoned/) Italian Proverb > [The question of whether I, as a whistleblower, should be pardoned, is not for me to answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/the-question-of-whether-i-as-a-whistleblower-should-be-pardoned-is/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) ## 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 Pardoned quotes > [“When the war is over, if we’ve won, Peeta will be pardoned.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/when-the-war-is-over-if-we-ve-won-peeta-will-be-pardoned/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [A sin concealed is half-pardoned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italian-proverb/a-sin-concealed-is-half-pardoned/) Italian Proverb > [If you ever feel relax from your enemy... Then just close your eyes, and starts thinking about than damn person who hurts you a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rohit-padhra/if-you-ever-feel-relax-from-your-enemy-then-just-close-your-eyes-and/) [ROHIT PADHRA](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rohit-padhra/) > [“I hope they pardoned them. The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions, that i wish it to be always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/i-hope-they-pardoned-them-the-spirit-of-resistance-to-government-is/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [I'm not sure, if I were President Clinton, I wouldn't want to be pardoned for something that I believed that I didn't do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mccain/i-m-not-sure-if-i-were-president-clinton-i-wouldn-t-want-to-be/) [John McCain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mccain/) > [I know I will go to hell, because I pardoned Richard Nixon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-r-ford/i-know-i-will-go-to-hell-because-i-pardoned-richard-nixon/) [Gerald R. Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-r-ford/) > [What we talked about will have to remain a secret between him and me. I spoke to him as a brother whom I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-john-paul-ii/what-we-talked-about-will-have-to-remain-a-secret-between-him-and-me/) [Pope John Paul II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-john-paul-ii/) > [“The full and free pardon granted by President Buchanan was received resentfully by most of the Mormons, who still felt that the sending of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juanita-brooks/the-full-and-free-pardon-granted-by-president-buchanan-was-received/) [Juanita Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juanita-brooks/) > [It is in pardoning that we are pardoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-in-pardoning-that-we-are-pardoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“A soldier is a killer pardoned.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/a-soldier-is-a-killer-pardoned/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [Allegations that President Clinton pardoned Marc Rich partly in return for donations to his presidential library have raised questions about the value of such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-dallek/allegations-that-president-clinton-pardoned-marc-rich-partly-in/) [Robert Dallek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-dallek/) > [“Language, when it finally comes, has the vigor of a felon pardoned after twenty-one years on hold. Sudden, raw, stripped to its underwear.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/language-when-it-finally-comes-has-the-vigor-of-a-felon-pardoned/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [All men ought to think of Christ because of the office Christ fills between God and man. He is the eternal Son of God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle/all-men-ought-to-think-of-christ-because-of-the-office-christ-fills/) [J. C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle/) > [“All of this was understood, and if not condoned, at least pardoned.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/all-of-this-was-understood-and-if-not-condoned-at-least-pardoned/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [The question of whether I, as a whistleblower, should be pardoned, is not for me to answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/the-question-of-whether-i-as-a-whistleblower-should-be-pardoned-is/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) [Browse all 30 Pardoned quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pardoned/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Therefore, (and the difficult thing was not to lose sight of all the reasoning that went into this “therefore”), I had to accept the rejection of my appeal. Then and only then would I have to the right, so to speak – would I give myself permission, as it were – to consider the alternative hypothesis: I was pardoned.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Albert Camus" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/therefore-and-the-difficult-thing-was-not-to-lose-sight-of-all-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Pardoned" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/therefore-and-the-difficult-thing-was-not-to-lose-sight-of-all-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22f/albert-camus-47_pardoned_therefore-and-the-difficult-thing-was-no_731186.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22f/albert-camus-47_pardoned_therefore-and-the-difficult-thing-was-no_731186.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22f/albert-camus-47_pardoned_therefore-and-the-difficult-thing-was-no_731186.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Therefore, (and the difficult thing was not to lose sight of all the reasoning that went into this…” — 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": "“Therefore, (and the difficult thing was...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/therefore-and-the-difficult-thing-was-not-to-lose-sight-of-all-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/therefore-and-the-difficult-thing-was-not-to-lose-sight-of-all-the/#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 } } ] } ```