"Don't wait for the last judgment - it takes place every day"
About this Quote
The subtext carries his familiar accusation against “later” as a sedative. Postponing moral reckoning is one of the quiet ways people collaborate with the absurd. You tell yourself you’ll change when the relationship breaks, when the job ends, when you’re older, when history settles the score. Camus implies that’s a comforting fiction: every day already sentences you, not in some metaphysical sense, but in the tally of what you chose to do with your freedom. The judgment is immanent - built into consequences, habits, and the erosion of integrity by small compromises.
Context matters: writing after two world wars and alongside a culture hungry for grand narratives, Camus distrusted any system that promised ultimate accounting. Totalitarian ideologies sold secular versions of salvation and damnation; religion offered its own deferred justice. He answers with a harsher mercy: no final tribunal is coming to rescue you or condemn you. Your life is being judged in real time by how honestly you face it.
Quote Details
| Topic | Wisdom |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Camus, Albert. (2026, January 15). Don't wait for the last judgment - it takes place every day. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/dont-wait-for-the-last-judgment-it-takes-place-15130/
Chicago Style
Camus, Albert. "Don't wait for the last judgment - it takes place every day." FixQuotes. January 15, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/dont-wait-for-the-last-judgment-it-takes-place-15130/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"Don't wait for the last judgment - it takes place every day." FixQuotes, 15 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/dont-wait-for-the-last-judgment-it-takes-place-15130/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.













