--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You are confronted with abysses of time…" description: "\"You are confronted with abysses of time that are, in a way, unfathomable. You see a painting in charcoal of raindeer and it was left unfinished and som..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6a/werner-herzog-964_abyss_you-are-confronted-with-abysses-of-time_2427685.jpg" --- # You are confronted with abysses of time that are, in a… ![“You are confronted with abysses of time that are, in a way, unfathomable. You see a painting in charcoal of raindeer and it was left unfinished and somebody else finished it. But through radio carbon dating we know that the next one completed the painting 5,000 years later. You're just blown away…” quote by Werner Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6a/werner-herzog-964_abyss_you-are-confronted-with-abysses-of-time_2427685.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6a/werner-herzog-964_abyss_you-are-confronted-with-abysses-of-time_2427685.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6a/werner-herzog-964_abyss_you-are-confronted-with-abysses-of-time_2427685.jpg) > “You are confronted with abysses of time that are, in a way, unfathomable. You see a painting in charcoal of raindeer and it was left unfinished and somebody else finished it. But through radio carbon dating we know that the next one completed the painting 5,000 years later. You're just blown away by the notion of passage of time. We have no relationship to that kind of depth of time.” [Werner Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-herzog/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker reflects on humanity's insignificance in the vast, incomprehensible span of deep time, evoked by ancient art. **In simple terms:** We are tiny compared to millions of years. Key Takeaway Embrace humility about our place in history. Themes time history humility existence Mood awe contemplative Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - museum visits - educational lectures - personal reflection Key Concepts deep time archaeology philosophy Questions to Reflect On - How does recognizing deep time affect daily choices? - Can art bridge the gap between past and present? A Different Perspective Our perception of time is limited and can be overwhelming. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abyss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abyss/) [Blown away](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blown-away/) [Dating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dating/) [Depth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depth/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Passage of time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passage-of-time/) [Radio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/radio/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [one doesn't measure friendship by length of time only; depth of time is just as valuable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-clark-macinnes/one-doesn-t-measure-friendship-by-length-of-time-only-depth-of-time/) [Helen Clark MacInnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-clark-macinnes/) > [“His age was indeterminate. But in cynicism and general world weariness, which is a sort of carbon dating of the personality, he was about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/his-age-was-indeterminate-but-in-cynicism-and-general-world-weariness/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“But in cynicism and general world weariness, which is a sort of carbon dating of the personality, he was about seven thousand years old.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/but-in-cynicism-and-general-world-weariness-which-is-a-sort-of-carbon/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [What is hardest to accept about the passage of time is that the people who once mattered the most to us wind up in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/what-is-hardest-to-accept-about-the-passage-of-time-is-that-the/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [I'm not sure if the passage of time affects our core identities so much as reveals them to us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/i-m-not-sure-if-the-passage-of-time-affects-our-core-identities-so/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [One thing the passage of time has shown me is that you never know how you'll behave in a situation until you're in that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-sneed/one-thing-the-passage-of-time-has-shown-me-is-that-you-never-know-how/) [Christine Sneed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-sneed/) > [The passage of time eliminates some of the more intimate details of one's existence. The routine trivia like passing water and shitting and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-davies/the-passage-of-time-eliminates-some-of-the-more-intimate-details-of/) [Ray Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-davies/) > [“So there is a before and there is an after. That isn't made up. But it's just a passage of time, no big change…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-sudjic/so-there-is-a-before-and-there-is-an-after-that-isn-t-made-up-but-it/) [Olivia Sudjic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-sudjic/) > [A lot of my works deal with a passage, which is about time. I don't see anything that I do as a static object…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-lin/a-lot-of-my-works-deal-with-a-passage-which-is-about-time-i-don-t-see/) [Maya Lin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-lin/) > [In retirement, the passage of time seems accelerated. Nothing warns us of its flight. It is a wave which never murmurs, because there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-swetchine/in-retirement-the-passage-of-time-seems-accelerated-nothing-warns-us/) [Sophie Swetchine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-swetchine/) > [“The passage of time makes wizards of us all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-reid/the-passage-of-time-makes-wizards-of-us-all/) [Rob Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-reid/) > [Passage of time can be mind-numbing to figure out in a screenplay. It's the easiest thing to do in prose, not just by writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-boal/passage-of-time-can-be-mind-numbing-to-figure-out-in-a-screenplay-it/) [Mark Boal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-boal/) > [“Perhaps with age came a more sedate appreciation of the passage of time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-lebbon/perhaps-with-age-came-a-more-sedate-appreciation-of-the-passage-of/) [Tim Lebbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-lebbon/) > [The passage of time is a continuing thing. At 18, you're going to live forever, and you are definitely not at 52, so that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-hammill/the-passage-of-time-is-a-continuing-thing-at-18-you-re-going-to-live/) [Peter Hammill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-hammill/) > [I'm afraid that the passage of time is mostly lost on me. If you were to open up my head you would see that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-shawn/i-m-afraid-that-the-passage-of-time-is-mostly-lost-on-me-if-you-were/) [Wallace Shawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-shawn/) ## More by Werner Herzog > [If your project has real substance, ultimately the money will follow you like a common cur in the street with its tail between its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-herzog/if-your-project-has-real-substance-ultimately-the-money-will-follow/) [Werner Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-herzog/) > [Every man should pull a boat over a mountain once in his life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-herzog/every-man-should-pull-a-boat-over-a-mountain-once-in-his-life/) [Werner Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-herzog/) > [I know whenever it comes to be really dysfunctional and vile and base and hostile on screen, I'm good at that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-herzog/i-know-whenever-it-comes-to-be-really-dysfunctional-and-vile-and-base/) [Werner Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-herzog/) > [When we speak about trespassing, we speak about artistic trespassing. You have to be prudent and have common sense and a sense of responsibility…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-herzog/when-we-speak-about-trespassing-we-speak-about-artistic-trespassing/) [Werner Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-herzog/) > [If you want to propose marriage to your girlfriend and you live in England and she is in Sicily, do the decent thing and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-herzog/if-you-want-to-propose-marriage-to-your-girlfriend-and-you-live-in/) [Werner Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-herzog/) > [I'm a very circumspect and prudent person, and I eliminate danger as far as it can be done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-herzog/i-m-a-very-circumspect-and-prudent-person-and-i-eliminate-danger-as/) [Werner Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-herzog/) > [It is not only my dreams, my belief is that all these dreams are yours as well. The only distinction between me and you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-herzog/it-is-not-only-my-dreams-my-belief-is-that-all-these-dreams-are-yours/) [Werner Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-herzog/) > [My non-fiction films are pretty much fiction, or at least close... It's all "movies" for me. I never have searched for a subject. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-herzog/my-non-fiction-films-are-pretty-much-fiction-or-at-least-close-it-s/) [Werner Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-herzog/) > [If an actor knows how to milk a cow, I always know it will not be difficult to be in business with him,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-herzog/if-an-actor-knows-how-to-milk-a-cow-i-always-know-it-will-not-be/) [Werner Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-herzog/) > [ِِِِِِِِِِArt house theaters are vanishing. They have almost disappeared completely, and that means there's a shift in what audiences want to see. And they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-herzog/art-house-theaters-are-vanishing-they-have-almost-disappeared/) [Werner Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-herzog/) > [I always had a feeling, for example, that there should be something from Verdi's "Requiem" in the film. You hear it when you see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-herzog/i-always-had-a-feeling-for-example-that-there-should-be-something/) [Werner Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-herzog/) > [Along with this rapid growth of forms of communication at our disposal - be it fax, phone, email, Internet or whatever - human solitude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-herzog/along-with-this-rapid-growth-of-forms-of-communication-at-our/) [Werner Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-herzog/) > [ I had complete freedom. They \[Netflix\] knew roughly what I was doing. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-herzog/i-had-complete-freedom-they-netflix-knew-roughly-what-i-was-doing/) [Werner Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-herzog/) > [For example, the face of Nicole Kidman in Queen of the Desert and she is the most beautiful goddess on screen that you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-herzog/for-example-the-face-of-nicole-kidman-in-queen-of-the-desert-and-she/) [Werner Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-herzog/) > [I have always postulated that we have to find a new way to deal with reality. It's not so much facts that interest me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-herzog/i-have-always-postulated-that-we-have-to-find-a-new-way-to-deal-with/) [Werner Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-herzog/) [Explore all 318 Werner Herzog quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-herzog/) ## More Abyss quotes > [We never think that our mothers will die. It was like suddenly an abyss opened at my feet - I was standing on nothing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/we-never-think-that-our-mothers-will-die-it-was-like-suddenly-an/) [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) > [Early on a difficult climb, especially a solo climb, you’re hyper-aware of the abyss pulling at your back, constantly feeling its call, its immense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/early-on-a-difficult-climb-especially-a-solo-climb-you-re-hyper-aware/) [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) > [“The whole organization seemed to be in free fall, indulging in a collective fantasy in which experienced colleagues refused to admit that their every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-whole-organization-seemed-to-be-in-free-fall-indulging-in-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Adam became so proud that he wished to become God and died for his pride; the Son of God humbled Himself unto death, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-of-kronstadt/adam-became-so-proud-that-he-wished-to-become-god-and-died-for-his/) [John of Kronstadt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-of-kronstadt/) > [The cradle rocks above an abyss, and common sense tells us that our existence is but a brief crack of light between two eternities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/the-cradle-rocks-above-an-abyss-and-common-sense-tells-us-that-our/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [In the end things must be as they are and have always been--the great things remain for the great, the abysses for the profound,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/in-the-end-things-must-be-as-they-are-and-have-always-been-the-great/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [I admire the Elsie Tanners and Barbara Windsors of the world: people who have crawled back from the abyss. I'm quite camp in that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-eclair/i-admire-the-elsie-tanners-and-barbara-windsors-of-the-world-people/) [Jenny Eclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-eclair/) > [I've been to unpretty places with the roles I've played, and I'm attracted to reckless abandon. I like being taken to the edge of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhys-ifans/i-ve-been-to-unpretty-places-with-the-roles-i-ve-played-and-i-m/) [Rhys Ifans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhys-ifans/) > [I look into my heart and see the abyss looking back at me.' 'I won't let you fall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nalini-singh/i-look-into-my-heart-and-see-the-abyss-looking-back-at-me-i-won-t-let/) [Nalini Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nalini-singh/) > [There is no drop of water in the ocean, not even in the deepest parts of the abyss, that does not know and respond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-carson/there-is-no-drop-of-water-in-the-ocean-not-even-in-the-deepest-parts/) [Rachel Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-carson/) > [“But first whom shall we send In search of this new world, whom shall we find Sufficient? Who shall tempt, with wand'ring feet The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/but-first-whom-shall-we-send-in-search-of-this-new-world-whom-shall/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [Many women don’t know what orgasm is. Many men don’t know was total orgasm is. Many only achieve a local orgasm, a genital orgasm;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/many-women-don-t-know-what-orgasm-is-many-men-don-t-know-was-total/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Fear not. For fear itself is fed by fear, and all fears pass. Did no one tell you so? Come take my hand, my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-dennis/fear-not-for-fear-itself-is-fed-by-fear-and-all-fears-pass-did-no-one/) [Felix Dennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-dennis/) > [God gave the sea the danger and the abyss, but it was in it that He mirrored the sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/god-gave-the-sea-the-danger-and-the-abyss-but-it-was-in-it-that-he/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [We belong to an age where apocalypse is our daily bread, coffee's black, and we know we're part of the abyss. Red Spider White…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-aldiss/we-belong-to-an-age-where-apocalypse-is-our-daily-bread-coffee-s/) [Brian Aldiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-aldiss/) [Browse all 625 Abyss quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abyss/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You are confronted with abysses of time that are, in a way, unfathomable. You see a painting in charcoal of raindeer and it was left unfinished and somebody else finished it. But through radio carbon dating we know that the next one completed the painting 5,000 years later. You're just blown away by the notion of passage of time. 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