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Famous Quotes Explained: « Beauty, we know it dies, and thus we know it exists, » The Church, Céline, 1926.
This quote originates from Louis-Ferdinand Céline’s only theatrical work, The Church. The renowned author of Journey to the End of the Night (1932) narrates the adventures of a doctor, Bardamu (a recurring character in Céline’s works), in Africa and France. Céline remains an unclassifiable writer due to his slang prose and also his anti-Semitism, and his proximity to the Vichy regime.
This phrase evokes the duality of beauty, associating its fleeting fragility with its tangible reality. Explaining this quote, one can interpret that beauty is often perceived as something ephemeral, subject to the influence of time and changes. The phrase « ça meurt » suggests an end, impermanence, emphasizing that beauty can decline, fade, or change with time.
However, the second part of the sentence, and thus we know it exists, brings a different perspective. Despite its transience, beauty exists fully and intensely. The fact that it may disappear does not erase its existence or impact. This encourages appreciating beauty in the present moment, aware of its vulnerability but also its palpable reality.
Finally, by linking existence to death rather than birth, Céline offers a pessimistic definition of life and, in this case, beauty. Existence lies in disappearance. One might say, Who lives, dies. This is how the reality of beauty is posed through its disappearance.
Beauty, we know it dies, and thus we know it exists.
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