Biography

In spite of his negative philosophy, he has been described as a friendly and polite man, who laughed a lot. Cioran himself explained, that he simply never wrote anything, when he was happy and content.

During his lifetime he was friends with Eugène Ionesco, Mircea Eliade, Paul Celan and Samuel Beckett.

He spoke French, German and Romanian fluently. He wrote his works in Romanian and in French.

Susan Sontag wrote an essay on him: "Thinking Against Oneself: Reflections on Cioran".

Unlikely as it is, Cioran's negative philosophy served as an inspiration for the creators of the very popular first season of True Detective (2014) and Gaspar Noé's festival hit Climax (2018).

Without the possibility of suicide, I would have killed myself long ago.

What every man who loves his country hopes for in his inmost heart: the suppression of half his compatriots. [from "History & Utopia"]

Write books only if you are going to say in them the things you would never dare confide to anyone. [from "The Trouble with Being Born"]

Each of us is born with a share of purity, predestined to be corrupted by our commerce with mankind. [from "A Short History of Decay"]

Chaos is rejecting all you have learned, Chaos is being yourself. [from "A Short History of Decay"]