They give birth astride of a grave, the light gleams an instant, then it's night once more.

Elles accouchent à cheval sur une tombe, le jour brille un instant, puis c'est la nuit à nouveau.

Samuel Beckett

Waiting for Godot

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More information about this quote

Topic

Shortness of life Ephemeral nature of life Life The human condition

Speaker

Pozzo

Author

Samuel Beckett

Source

Waiting for Godot

Medium

Play

Genre

Modernist literature

Language

French

Time

1953 1950s 20th century

Occupation

Playwright Writer

From

Ireland Europe

Authentication Score 1

Citation

Beckett, Samuel. En attendant Godot. Directed by Roger Blin. 5 Jan. 1953, Théâtre de Babylone, Paris, France.

Illustrated Quote

A quote by Samuel Beckett about shortness of life: “They give birth astride of a grave, the light gleams an instant, then…”
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Related Quotes

Below are one or more quotes that share at least one tag with the quote at the top of the page

Another quote from the 1950s

But then they danced down the street like dingle-dodies, and I shambled after as I've been doing all my life after people who interest me, because the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everbody goes "Awww!"

Jack Kerouac

On the Road

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More information about this quote
Topic
Taking a different path

Author

Jack Kerouac
Source
On the Road
Medium
Novel
Language
English
Time
1957 1950s 20th century
Authentication Score 3
Citation

Kerouac, Jack. On the Road. Viking Press, 1957, pt. 1.

Another quote about The human condition

There is a tide in the affairs of men
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.

William Shakespeare

Julius Caesar

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More information about this quote
Topic
Timing Randomness Fortune Tides The human condition
Speaker
Brutus

Author

William Shakespeare
Source
Julius Caesar
Medium
Play
Genre
History (play) Tragedy (play)
Statement Type
Metaphor, analogy and simile
Language
English
Time
1599 1590s 16th century
Era
European Renaissance
Authentication Score 2
Original Citation

Shakespeare, William. Julius Caesar. The Lord Chamberlain's Men, 1599, Globe Theatre, London, England, UK, act 4, sc. 3.

Current Citation

Shakespeare, William. "Julius Caesar." The Norton Shakespeare, edited by Stephen Greenblatt, et al., 3rd ed., W. W. Norton & Company, 2015, act 4, sc. 3.

Another quote originally in French

Like everybody who is not in love, he imagined that one chose the person whom one loved after endless deliberations and on the strength of various qualities and advantages.

Marcel Proust

In Search of Lost Time

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More information about this quote
Topic
Nature of love

Author

Marcel Proust
Source
Sodom and Gomorrah In Search of Lost Time
Medium
Novel
Genre
Modernist literature
Language
French
Time
1921 1920s 20th century
Authentication Score 3
Original Citation

Proust, Marcel. Sodom and Gomorrah. Paris: Grasset/Gallimard, 1921-1922.

Current Citation

Proust, Marcel. Sodom and Gomorrah, translated by John Sturrock. Penguin Classics, 2005.