Marcel Proust: A Life of reflection, illness and the pursuit of freedom

Born: July 10, 1871 – Died: November 18, 1922

“As long as men are free to ask what they must, free to say what they think, free to think what they will, freedom can never be lost and science can never regress.” Proust

Marcel Proust always rejected the bigoted and illiberal views harbored by many priests of his time. However, he believed that the most enlightened clerics could be just as progressive as the most enlightened secularists, and that both could serve the cause of “the advanced liberal public.”

Proust suffered from asthma throughout his life, but his health problems were far from limited to that. His list of ailments was extensive: neurasthenia, anxiety, palpitations, headaches, stomach upsets, hay fever, insomnia, slurred speech, dizziness, temperature dysregulation, and arthritis.

His first sentence, he famously declared, was always:

“I have gone to bed early.”

On love, Proust wrote:

“When we are in love, our love is too big a thing for us to be able together to contain it within ourselves.”

In his famous work À la recherche du temps perdu, Proust reveals his thoughts on how to revive a relationship: choose a good doctor, enjoy a holiday, make friends, and respond to life with openness and peace.

PEACE ON EARTH
علي الارض السلام وفي الناس المسرة
PAIX SUR TERRE
FRIEDEN AUF ERDEN
PACE SULLA TERRA
PAZ EN LA TIERRA
VREDE OP AARDE
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