Skip to content

First time Quote by Vladimir Nabokov

“The cradle rocks above an abyss, and common sense tells us that our existence is but a brief crack of light between two eternities of darkness. Although the two are identical twins, man, as a rule, views the prenatal abyss with more calm than the one he is heading for (at some forty-five hundred…” quote by Vladimir Nabokov
Download Open image
““The cradle rocks above an abyss, and common sense tells us that our existence is but a brief crack of light between two eternities of darkness. Although the two are identical twins, man, as a rule, views the prenatal abyss with more calm than the one he is heading for (at some forty-five hundred heartbeats an hour). I know, however, of a young chronophobiac who experienced something like panic when looking for the first time at homemade movies that had been taken a few weeks before his birth. He saw a world that was practically unchanged-the same house, the same people- and then realized that he did not exist there at all and that nobody mourned his absence. He caught a glimpse of his mother waving from an upstairs window, and that unfamiliar gesture disturbed him, as if it were some mysterious farewell. But what particularly frightened him was the sight of a brand-new baby carriage standing there on the porch, with the smug, encroaching air of a coffin; even that was empty, as if, in the reverse course of events, his very bones had disintegrated.””

Vladimir Nabokov

About This Quote

Source Novel: Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov, 1962

Life is fleeting, sand between two vast, dark eternities, prompting existential anxiety.

In simple terms: Life is brief between darkness.

Key Takeaway

Embrace the present, accept mortality.

Themes

existentialism time mortality

Mood

melancholic thoughtful

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

  • grief counseling
  • midlife crisis
  • creative inspiration
  • philosophical reflection

Key Concepts

Philosophy psychology human condition

Questions to Reflect On

  • What does the 'abyss' represent for you?
  • How do you find meaning amid impermanence?
A Different Perspective

The metaphor may overwhelm, causing paralysis.

3.5 out of 5 (6 ratings)

More by Vladimir Nabokov

Explore all 883 Vladimir Nabokov quotes

More First time quotes

Browse all 9,317 First time quotes