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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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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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

We're all of us sentenced to solitary confinement inside our own skins, for life.

Tennessee Williams

More information about this quote
Topic
Existential solitude
Speaker
Valentine Xavier

Author

Tennessee Williams
Source
Orpheus Descending
Medium
Play
Language
English
Time
1957 1950s 20th century
Authentication Score 3
Original Citation

Williams, Tennessee. Orpheus Descending. Directed by Harold Clurman. Performed by Elizabeth Eustis and Jane Rose and Warren Kemmerling. 17 Mar. 1957, Martin Beck Theatre, New York City, New York, USA, act 2, sc. 1.

Current Citation

Williams, Tennessee. "Orpheus Descending." Orpheus Descending and Suddenly Last Summer. New Directions, 2012, act 2, sc. 1.

Another quote about Ephemeral nature of life

All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away.

1st Peter 1:24

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More information about this quote
Topic
Sic transit gloria mundi Ephemeral nature of life Grass Life
Source
1st Peter The Bible
Medium
Scripture
Genre
Religious literature
Statement Type
Metaphor, analogy and simile
Language
Greek
Time
65 60s 1st century
Era
Classical antiquity
Authentication Score 3
Citation

The Holy Bible: The King James Version. 1611. (1st Peter 1:24).

Another quote originally in French

Remorse sleeps during a prosperous period but wakes up in adversity.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Confessions (Rousseau)

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More information about this quote
Topic
Remorse Regrets

Author

Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Source
Confessions (Rousseau)
Genre
Autobiography and memoir
Language
French
Time
1781 1780s 18th century
Authentication Score 2
Original Citation

Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. Les Confessions [The Confessions]. Aux Deux-Ponts: Chez Sanson Et Compagnie, 1782, bk. 2.

Current Citation

Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. Confessions, translated by Angela Scholar. Oxford University Press, 2008, pt. 1, bk. 2.