One must imagine Sisyphus happy.
Genuine
Yes. In The Myth of Sisyphus (1942), Final sentence of the title essay, “Le mythe de Sisyphe” (before the Kafka appendix in expanded editions).
Checked against Albert Camus, Le mythe de Sisyphe: Essai sur l’absurde (Gallimard, NRF Essais, edition published 3 April 1990, ISBN 9782070719662); French closing sentence reproduced in Gallimard’s Cercle de l’enseignement catalogue, in a full-text transcription.
The wording people share differs slightly from the text; the words in the text are underlined below.
- Work
- The Myth of Sisyphus (Le Mythe de Sisyphe), 1942
- Where
- Final sentence of the title essay, “Le mythe de Sisyphe” (before the Kafka appendix in expanded editions)
- Translation
- Our own, not yet reviewed (no public-domain translation in our sources)
- Source
- Albert Camus, Le mythe de Sisyphe: Essai sur l’absurde (Gallimard, NRF Essais, edition published 3 April 1990, ISBN 9782070719662); French closing sentence reproduced in Gallimard’s Cercle de l’enseignement catalogue
- Checked
- In a full-text transcription
Researched by AI. Entry updated 24 October 2026. Editorial review: pending. How we check
About this quote
The scene
The essay ends by returning to Sisyphus, condemned to push his rock uphill again and again. Camus makes this endless labour an image of human life without a final explanation, and finds a possibility of happiness in the conscious confrontation with that condition. This is the essayist’s conclusion about a mythic figure, not dialogue spoken by Sisyphus.
What it means
The absence of a final purpose does not rule out happiness: lucidly facing the struggle can itself make life worth living.
Often misread
This is not a promise that hard work will eventually achieve its goal. Sisyphus’s labour never ends; the argument is about living without that promised resolution.
Topics
Related quotes
- There is only one truly serious philosophical problem: suicide.
- Not wanting something is as good as having it. Naval Ravikant
- A writer owes nothing except to his writing. Charles Bukowski
- I rebel, therefore we are.
- It is better to be hated for what you are than to be loved for what you are not. André Gide
Sources
Cite it
Albert Camus, The Myth of Sisyphus (1942), Final sentence of the title essay, “Le mythe de Sisyphe” (before the Kafka appendix in expanded editions), our own translation. Checked at Quotogeny, https://quotogeny.com/q/one-must-imagine-sisyphus-happy/ (24 October 2026).
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Checked by people
People who checked this entry against its source, under their own names. Their checks do not change the verdict: an editor reviews every entry.
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