“He was powerless because he had no
precise desire, and this tortured him because he was vainly seeking something
to desire. He could not even make himself stretch out his hand to switch on the
light. The simple transition from intention to action seemed an unimaginable
miracle.”
― Vladimir Nabokov, Mary
“...for the human brain can become the
best torture house of all those it has invented, established and used in a
millions of years, in millions of lands, on millions of howling creatures.”
― Vladimir Nabokov, Ada, or Ardor: A Family Chronicle
