Q0108
“There are more things to admire in men than to despise.” — Albert Camus (The Plague)
Verified English quotation. Primary source: The Plague. Theme: humanity.
English
There are more things to admire in men than to despise.
Source and attribution
The archive attributes this English wording to The Plague and files it under Philosophy of the Absurd. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.
About Albert Camus
Albert Camus (1913–1960) was a French-Algerian writer and thinker associated with the absurd: the tension between the human demand for meaning and a world that does not supply it. He received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1957 and rejected being labeled an existentialist in the Sartrean sense, while remaining central to twentieth-century debates about revolt, justice, and lucid living without appeal to transcendence.
How to read this passage
Philosophers ask what makes humans distinctive, what we owe one another as humans, and how “humanity” can include or exclude. This passage enters that discussion through humanity, dignity.
Concepts in this quote
- Humanity
- Humanity names both the species and the moral quality of being humane—bridging anthropology and ethics.
- Dignity
- Dignity names the worth that persons claim simply as persons—and the respect that worth demands.
How to cite this quotation
APA: Albert Camus. (n.d.). There are more things to admire in men than to despise. In Philosophy Blind Box. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0108
MLA: Albert Camus. “There are more things to admire in men….” Philosophy Blind Box, https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0108.
Chicago: Albert Camus. “There are more things to admire in men….” Philosophy Blind Box. Accessed 2026. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0108.
Frequently asked questions
What is the source of the quotation “There are more things to admire in men…”?
The passage is attributed to Albert Camus, The Plague. The archive attributes this English wording to The Plague and files it under Philosophy of the Absurd. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.
What does Albert Camus mean by humanity?
Philosophers ask what makes humans distinctive, what we owe one another as humans, and how “humanity” can include or exclude. This passage enters that discussion through humanity, dignity.