Here lies the sense of literary creation: to portray ordinary objects as they will be reflected in kindly mirrors of future times. . . . To find in objects around us the fragrant tenderness that only posterity will discern . . .
Source: Details of a Sunset, McGraw-Hill 76
-- Vladimir Nabokov, (Apr 23 1899-1977), Russian-U. S. novelist; He was the foremost of the post-1917 immigrant authors; his works include Lolita, 1955.