Nature only knows one thing, and that's the present. Present, present, eternal present, like a big, huge, giant wave—colossal, bright, and beautiful, full of life and death, climbing into the sky, standing in the seas.

About Saul Bellow

Saul Bellow (born Solomon Bellows; June 10, 1915 – April 5, 2005) was a Canadian and American writer. For his literary work, Bellow was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, the 1976 Nobel Prize in Literature, and the National Medal of Arts. He is the only writer to win the National Book...

More quotations from Saul Bellow

A great deal of intelligence can be invested in ignorance when the need for illusion is deep.

—Saul Bellow

It's the soul's duty to be loyal to its own desires. It must abandon itself to its master passion.

—Saul Bellow

passion

A fool can throw a stone in a pond that 100 wise men can not get out.

—Saul Bellow

What is art but a way of seeing?

—Saul Bellow

art seeing

When we ask for advice, we are usually looking for an accomplice.

—Saul Bellow

advice validation

History

13 Feb 2016 Added
26 Oct 2026 Wording changed

Previous wording

Nature only knows one thing, and that's the present. Present, present, eternal present, like a big, huge, giant wave — colossal, bright, and beautiful, full of life and death, climbing into the sky, standing in the seas.