--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The important thing is that man is lost…" description: "\"The important thing is that man is lost in time, in the moment that immediately precedes him - which only attests, by reflection, to the fact that he i..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68d/andr-breton-2478_facts_the-important-thing-is-that-man-is-lost_637491.jpg" --- # The important thing is that man is lost in time, in the… ![“The important thing is that man is lost in time, in the moment that immediately precedes him - which only attests, by reflection, to the fact that he is lost in the moment that follows” quote by Andre Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68d/andr-breton-2478_facts_the-important-thing-is-that-man-is-lost_637491.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68d/andr-breton-2478_facts_the-important-thing-is-that-man-is-lost_637491.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68d/andr-breton-2478_facts_the-important-thing-is-that-man-is-lost_637491.jpg) > “The important thing is that man is lost in time, in the moment that immediately precedes him - which only attests, by reflection, to the fact that he is lost in the moment that follows” [Andre Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He suggests that a person is perpetually out of sync with time, lost both before and after the present moment, highlighting the fluidity of existence. **In simple terms:** We are always out of sync with time, both before and after now. Key Takeaway Accept the fluid nature of time. Themes philosophy existentialism time self-awareness Mood thoughtful philosophical melancholic Type essay philosophical reflective When to use this quote - personal growth - creative writing - mindfulness - philosophical inquiry Key Concepts temporal perception surrealist thought Questions to Reflect On - How does being “lost in time” affect your decisions? - Can you find stability amid temporal flux? A Different Perspective The notion of being lost in time can be unsettling. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Lost time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lost-time/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Reflection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reflection/) [Self-Awareness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-awareness-2/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“There is no real time, only one moment immediately after creation where God asked humanity to join Him. What humanity perceives as time, all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomm-quackenbush/there-is-no-real-time-only-one-moment-immediately-after-creation/) [Thomm Quackenbush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomm-quackenbush/) > [If we lose the ability in question for a single moment only, we are immediately being hijacked by an aggressive little "Think me!" and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-metzinger/if-we-lose-the-ability-in-question-for-a-single-moment-only-we-are/) [Thomas Metzinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-metzinger/) > [In man's life, time is but a moment; being, a flux; sense is dim; the material frame corruptible; soul, an eddy of breath; fortune…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/in-man-s-life-time-is-but-a-moment-being-a-flux-sense-is-dim-the/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [..I am a time being. Do you know what a time being is? Well, if you give me a moment, I will tell you.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-ozeki/i-am-a-time-being-do-you-know-what-a-time-being-is-well-if-you-give/) [Ruth Ozeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-ozeki/) > [If I could only control time, I'd go back to the moment when we first met, not to change anything but to EXPERIENCE it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/silentprincess/if-i-could-only-control-time-i-d-go-back-to-the-moment-when-we-first/) Silentprincess > [How lucky we are to live in this time / the first moment in human history / when we are in fact visiting other worlds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/how-lucky-we-are-to-live-in-this-time-the-first-moment-in-human/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > ['the moment you think you own everything is the time you own the moment itself '](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/the-moment-you-think-you-own-everything-is-the-time-you-own-the/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [Once upon a time, this moment - this last light of the evening the day before the race - was the best moment of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/once-upon-a-time-this-moment-this-last-light-of-the-evening-the-day/) [Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/) > [“Time is not something you give back. The very next moment may be an answer to your prayer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/time-is-not-something-you-give-back-the-very-next-moment-may-be-an/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [I wish I could go back in time to the moment I met you, then maybe I would not be this hurt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria/i-wish-i-could-go-back-in-time-to-the-moment-i-met-you-then-maybe-i/) Victoria > [“There has not been a time where in that moment with you, on you, in you, I have not felt I was the luckiest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-johnson/there-has-not-been-a-time-where-in-that-moment-with-you-on-you-in-you/) [Todd Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-johnson/) > [“Hi! My name is Nao, and I am a time being. Do you know what a time being is? Well, if you give me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-ozeki/hi-my-name-is-nao-and-i-am-a-time-being-do-you-know-what-a-time-being/) [Ruth Ozeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-ozeki/) > [No one can stop the flow of time. But a moment captured in the frame of the heart will never disappear. That will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/no-one-can-stop-the-flow-of-time-but-a-moment-captured-in-the-frame/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“...he understood there was no way to escape Time, and that this moment he had been granted to watch as a child, which had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-marker/he-understood-there-was-no-way-to-escape-time-and-that-this-moment-he/) [Chris Marker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-marker/) > [If I could only control time, I'd go back to the moment we first meet. Not to change anything but to experience it all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mhargs-abuda/if-i-could-only-control-time-i-d-go-back-to-the-moment-we-first-meet/) Mhargs Abuda ## More by Andre Breton > [Of all the arts in which the wise excel, nature's chief masterpiece is writing well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/of-all-the-arts-in-which-the-wise-excel-nature-s-chief-masterpiece-is/) [Andre Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/) > [Under his (Marc Chagall, ed.) sole impulse metaphor made its triumphal entry into modern painting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/under-his-marc-chagall-ed-sole-impulse-metaphor-made-its-triumphal/) [Andre Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/) > [Psychic automatism in its pure state, by which one proposes to express -- verbally, by means of the written word, or in any other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/psychic-automatism-in-its-pure-state-by-which-one-proposes-to-express/) [Andre Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/) > [The art of Frida Kahlo is a ribbon around a bomb.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/the-art-of-frida-kahlo-is-a-ribbon-around-a-bomb/) [Andre Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/) > [“Let us not mince words: The marvelous is always beautiful, anything marvelous is beauitful, in fact only the marvelous is beautiful”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/let-us-not-mince-words-the-marvelous-is-always-beautiful-anything/) [Andre Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/) > [“There has never been any forbidden fruit. 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These two philtres become utterly clear the moment one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/past-and-future-monopolize-the-poet-s-sensory-and-intellectual/) [Andre Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/) > [If I place love above everything, it is because for me it is the most desperate, the most despairing state of affairs imaginable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/if-i-place-love-above-everything-it-is-because-for-me-it-is-the-most/) [Andre Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/) > [I am the soul in limbo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/i-am-the-soul-in-limbo/) [Andre Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/) > [Surrealism will usher you into death, which is a secret society. 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That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. I can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scrabble-the-game-is-available-in-braille-that-s-a-nice-fact-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm Fine!, the most common LIE in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/punkinhead-abhishek/i-m-fine-the-most-common-lie-in-the-world/) [Punkinhead Abhishek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/punkinhead-abhishek/) > [The time that one gains cannot be accumulated in a storehouse; it is contradictory to want to save up existence, which, the fact is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/the-time-that-one-gains-cannot-be-accumulated-in-a-storehouse-it-is/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [What is history after all? History is facts which become lies in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/what-is-history-after-all-history-is-facts-which-become-lies-in-the/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [Don't take too much comfort in the fact that you're successful today because tomorrow could bring failure. There's no surety in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-savage/don-t-take-too-much-comfort-in-the-fact-that-you-re-successful-today/) [Michael Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-savage/) > [I am told many children block out the memory of trauma. In fact, the healing process can only truly begin when we are willing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phoebe-stone/i-am-told-many-children-block-out-the-memory-of-trauma-in-fact-the/) [Phoebe Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phoebe-stone/) > [Because the truth is that gossip is as good as gospel in this town. You can save face but you won't ever save your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-oberst/because-the-truth-is-that-gossip-is-as-good-as-gospel-in-this-town/) [Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/) > [Truth be told from compulsive liars with a history/Everything must change 2nd chances are a mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-dash/truth-be-told-from-compulsive-liars-with-a-history-everything-must/) C-DASH > [We did an episode where she goes out to get a job and she gets fired because she's not good. They hire a babysitter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-heaton/we-did-an-episode-where-she-goes-out-to-get-a-job-and-she-gets-fired/) [Patricia Heaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-heaton/) > [Le biologiste passe, la grenouille reste. The biologist passes, the frog remains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rostand/le-biologiste-passe-la-grenouille-reste-the-biologist-passes-the-frog/) [Jean Rostand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rostand/) > [I guess he'll have to figure out someday that he is supposed to have this dark side, that it is part of what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-guess-he-ll-have-to-figure-out-someday-that-he-is-supposed-to-have/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [The fact -- not theory -- that evolution has occurred and the Darwinian theory as to how it occurred have become so confused in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-gaylord-simpson/the-fact-not-theory-that-evolution-has-occurred-and-the-darwinian/) [George Gaylord Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-gaylord-simpson/) [Browse all 19,906 Facts quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The important thing is that man is lost in time, in the moment that immediately precedes him - which only attests, by reflection, to the fact that he is lost in the moment that follows", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Andre Breton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/the-important-thing-is-that-man-is-lost-in-time-in-the-moment-that/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Facts" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/the-important-thing-is-that-man-is-lost-in-time-in-the-moment-that/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68d/andr-breton-2478_facts_the-important-thing-is-that-man-is-lost_637491.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68d/andr-breton-2478_facts_the-important-thing-is-that-man-is-lost_637491.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68d/andr-breton-2478_facts_the-important-thing-is-that-man-is-lost_637491.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The important thing is that man is lost in time, in the moment that immediately precedes him - which only…” — Andre Breton", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Andre Breton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The important thing is that man...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/the-important-thing-is-that-man-is-lost-in-time-in-the-moment-that/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/the-important-thing-is-that-man-is-lost-in-time-in-the-moment-that/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```