We have an interval

4 comments

A beautiful quote that a friend sent me several years ago.

We are all condamnés . . .: we are all under sentence of death but with a sort of indefinite reprieve . . .: we have an interval, and then our place knows us no more. Some spend this interval in listlessness, some in high passions, the wisest, at least among “the children of this world,” in art and song. For our one chance lies in expanding that interval, in getting as many pulsations as possible into the given time (….)

– Walter Pater, “Conclusion,” The Renaissance: Studies in Art and Poetry, 1868(1)

Posted on 22 January 2009

4 comments

  1. Christian Kellner’s avatar

    Christian Kellner on 22 January 2009 at 9:29 am

    Nice quote! Thanks for sharing. Sounds *a lot* like A. Camus, whom I have studied a lot.

    Reply

  2. Tookita’s avatar

    Tookita on 22 January 2009 at 12:20 pm

    Thanks for the great quote!

    Reply

  3. F2’s avatar

    F2 on 17 March 2009 at 5:32 pm

    Great quote Nat!

    Reply

  4. khushe’s avatar

    khushe on 5 April 2009 at 11:26 pm

    Thanks for bringing our attention towards this truth of life. The quote is very nicely written and its every word is true.

    Reply