The clumsiest literal translation is a thousand times more useful than the prettiest paraphrase. Vladimir Nabokov More Quotes by Vladimir Nabokov More Quotes From Vladimir Nabokov Do not be angry with the rain; it simply does not know how to fall upwards. Vladimir Nabokov rain inspirational fall The only real number is one, the rest are mere repetition Vladimir Nabokov repetition real numbers Our imagination flies -- we are its shadow on the earth. Vladimir Nabokov shadow imagination art Mind you, sometimes the angels smoke, hiding it with their sleeves, and when the archangel comes, they throw the cigarettes away: that’s when you get shooting stars. Vladimir Nabokov angel stars mind Toska - noun /ˈtō-skə/ - Russian word roughly translated as sadness, melancholia, lugubriousness. "No single word in English renders all the shades of toska. At its deepest and most painful, it is a sensation of great spiritual anguish, often without any specific cause. At less morbid levels it is a dull ache of the soul, a longing with nothing to long for, a sick pining, a vague restlessness, mental throes, yearning. In particular cases it may be the desire for somebody of something specific, nostalgia, love-sickness. At the lowest level it grades into ennui, boredom. Vladimir Nabokov sadness sick spiritual Life is just one small piece of light between two eternal darknesses. Vladimir Nabokov light darkness two And the rest is rust and stardust. Vladimir Nabokov stardust rust I have no desires, save the desire to express myself in defiance of all the world’s muteness. Vladimir Nabokov defiance desire world Play! Invent the world! Invent reality! Vladimir Nabokov play reality world Knowing you have something good to read before bed is among the most pleasurable of sensations. Vladimir Nabokov knowing reading book Existence is a series of footnotes to a vast, obscure, unfinished masterpiece. Vladimir Nabokov inspirational life funny Perhaps, somewhere, some day, at a less miserable time, we may see each other again. Vladimir Nabokov miserable may The writer's job is to get the main character up a tree, and then once they are up there, throw rocks at them. Vladimir Nabokov writing jobs character All the seven deadly sins are peccadilloes but without three of them, Pride, Lust, and Sloth, poetry might never have been born. Vladimir Nabokov sloth pride lust Our best yesterdays are now foul piles of crumpled names. Vladimir Nabokov foul names yesterday Loneliness as a situation can be corrected, but as a state of mind it is an incurable illness. Vladimir Nabokov illness loneliness mind The contemplation of beauty, whether it be a uniquely tinted sunset, a radiant face, or a work of art, makes us glance back unwittingly at our personal past and juxtapose ourselves and our inner being with the utterly unattainable beauty revealed to us. Vladimir Nabokov sunset past art The pages are still blank, but there is a miraculous feeling of the words being there, written in invisible ink and clamoring to become visible. Vladimir Nabokov blank-mind feelings writing Let all of life be an unfettered howl. Like the crowd greeting the gladiator. Don't stop to think, don't interrupt the scream, exhale, release life's rapture. Vladimir Nabokov crowds life-is thinking I think like a genius, I write like a distinguished author, and I speak like a child. Vladimir Nabokov writing children thinking
