Albert Camus - O Mito de Sísifo

A man carries an enormous stone to the top of a mountain, with great effort and physical suffering. Upon reaching the top, he lets the stone slip from his hands and roll back down the slope. And again the whole process begins, repeating itself for all eternity. There is no more terrible punishment than useless and hopeless labor, the gods who thus condemned Sisyphus must have thought.

First published in 1942, "The Myth of Sisyphus" is considered one of the most influential essays of the 20th century, a poignant exposition of existentialist thought, a central piece in Albert Camus's philosophy of the absurd. The translation is by Urbano Tavares Rodrigues.