Skip to content

Death Quote by Blaise Cendrars

“Everything about them is blighted, dead. Feelings flake off & fall in dust. The senses, vitrified, can no longer experience pleasure; they crack at the least provocation. Each of us, within, was as if devoured by conflagration, & our hearts were no more than a pinch of ashes. Our souls were laid…” quote by Blaise Cendrars
Download Open image
““Everything about them is blighted, dead. Feelings flake off & fall in dust. The senses, vitrified, can no longer experience pleasure; they crack at the least provocation. Each of us, within, was as if devoured by conflagration, & our hearts were no more than a pinch of ashes. Our souls were laid waste. For a long time now we had believed in nothing, not even nothingness. The nihilists of 1880 were a sect of mystics, dreamers, the routineers of universal happiness. We, of course, were poles apart from these credulous fools & their vaporous theories. We were men of action, technicians, specialists, the pioneers of a modern generation dedicated to death, the preachers of world revolution, the precursors of universal destruction, realists, realists. And there is no reality. What then? Destroy to rebuild or destroy to destroy? Neither the one nor the other. Angels or devils? No. You must excuse my smile: we were automats, pure & simple. We ran on like an idling machine until we were exhausted, pointlessly pointlessly, like life, like death, like a dream. Not even adversity had any charm for us.””

Blaise Cendrars

About This Quote

Source Novel: The Bridge (La Noë) by Blaise Cendrars, 1928

A bleak, nihilistic view of humanity as mechanistic, exhausted, and devoid of meaning, questioning existence and purpose.

In simple terms: Humanity feels empty and mechanical, lacking purpose.

Key Takeaway

Recognize agency beyond mechanistic despair.

Themes

nihilism existentialism despair mechanization rebellion

Mood

despondent reflective dark

Type

philosophical literary

When to use this quote

  • post‑war disillusionment
  • artistic introspection
  • philosophical debate
  • creative writing
  • cultural critique

Key Concepts

nihilism existential dread automation revolutionary zeal

Questions to Reflect On

  • Can we find meaning beyond mechanistic existence?
  • What role does hope play in a nihilistic worldview?
A Different Perspective

The perspective may ignore hope and resilience found in human connection.

4.5 out of 5 (5 ratings)

More by Blaise Cendrars

Explore all 35 Blaise Cendrars quotes

More Death quotes

Browse all 38,174 Death quotes