The whole question was to kill time. I ended up not getting bored at all from the instant I learned to remember.
—Albert Camus (1913–1960)
Forget about the precious sight
of my lover’s face
that steals away my heart.
Just seeing the borders
of the fields on the borders
of her village
gives me instant joy.
—Hla Stavhana (c. 50 A.D.)
The first moments of sleep are an image of death; a hazy torpor grips our thoughts and it becomes impossible for us to determine the exact instant when the “I,” under another form, continues the task of existence.
—Gérard De Nerval (1808–1855)