Louis Aragon Quotes

A collection of quotes by Louis Aragon.

Louis Aragon (1897-1982) was a prominent French poet, novelist, essayist, and literary critic. Born on October 3, 1897, in Paris, France, Aragon played a significant role in the Surrealist movement before becoming a staunch supporter of communism and a prominent member of the French Resistance during World War II.

Aragon's early works, heavily influenced by Surrealism, explored themes of love, desire, and the subconscious mind. His provocative and sensual poetry gained him recognition as a leading figure in the Surrealist movement. However, he later shifted his focus towards political engagement and began advocating for communist ideals.

During the war, Aragon actively participated in the French Resistance against the Nazi occupation. His experiences during this period profoundly influenced his literary output, leading to politically charged works that reflected his commitment to social justice and the empowerment of the working class.

After the war, Aragon continued to be a prolific writer, producing numerous novels, poetry collections, and essays. His writing style evolved to blend realism and lyrical expression, exploring themes of love, memory, and the complexities of human relationships.

Aragon's literary contributions were recognized by various awards and accolades throughout his career, including the prestigious Prix Goncourt in 1956 for his novel "The Bells of Basel." He remained politically active throughout his life, serving as a member of the French Communist Party and working as the editor of the communist newspaper L'HumanitÃ©.

Louis Aragon's writings and activism left a lasting impact on French literature and political discourse. His ability to navigate diverse realms of expression and engage with profound social issues earned him a significant place in the cultural landscape of 20th-century France.

There are strange flowers of reason to match each error of t

There are strange flowers of reason to match each error of the senses.

Reason

Of all possible sexual perversions, religion is the only one

Of all possible sexual perversions, religion is the only one to have ever been scientifically systematized.

Religion

The whole fauna of human fantasies, their marine vegetation,

The whole fauna of human fantasies, their marine vegetation, drifts and luxuriates in the dimly lit zones of human activity, as though plaiting thick tresses of darkness. Here, too, appear the lighthouses of the mind, with their outward resemblance to less pure symbols. The gateway to mystery swings open at the touch of human weakness and we have entered the realms of darkness. One false step, one slurred syllable together reveal a man's thoughts.

Fantasy

We know that the nature of genius is to provide idiots with

We know that the nature of genius is to provide idiots with ideas twenty years later.

Genius

Love is made by two people, in different kinds of solitude.

Love is made by two people, in different kinds of solitude. It can be in a crowd, but in an oblivious crowd.

Love

There exists a black kingdom which the eyes of man avoid bec

There exists a black kingdom which the eyes of man avoid because its landscape fails signally to flatter them. This darkness, which he imagines he can dispense with in describing the light, is error with its unknown characteristics. Error is certainty's constant companion. Error is the corollary of evidence. And anything said about truth may equally well be said about error: the delusion will be no greater.

Mistakes

I demand that my books be judged with utmost severity, by kn

I demand that my books be judged with utmost severity, by knowledgeable people who know the rules of grammar and of logic, and who will seek beneath the footsteps of my commas the lice of my thought in the head of my style.

Criticism

Light is meaningful only in relation to darkness, and truth

Light is meaningful only in relation to darkness, and truth presupposes error. It is these mingled opposites which people our life, which make it pungent, intoxicating. We only exist in terms of this conflict, in the zone where black and white clash.

Truth

The function of genius is to furnish cretins with ideas twen

The function of genius is to furnish cretins with ideas twenty years later.

Genius

Your imagination, my dear fellow, is worth more than you ima

Your imagination, my dear fellow, is worth more than you imagine.

Imagination

Fear of error which everything recalls to me at every moment

Fear of error which everything recalls to me at every moment of the flight of my ideas, this mania for control, makes men prefer reason's imagination to the imagination of the senses. And yet it is always the imagination alone which is at work.

Alone

Can the knowledge deriving from reason even begin to compare

Can the knowledge deriving from reason even begin to compare with knowledge perceptible by sense?

Knowledge

O reason, reason, abstract phantom of the waking state, I ha

O reason, reason, abstract phantom of the waking state, I had already expelled you from my dreams, now I have reached a point where those dreams are about to become fused with apparent realities: now there is only room here for myself.

Dreams