dènost
An intensely uneasy, slightly melancholy yet exhilarating feeling that sometimes arises when one deeply ponders the nature of being.
Late last night in his study, while sitting in a leather chair and staring off into the distance, Jacob thought of his birth; then he imagined the great tree of births of every one of his ancestors, then that of all of humanity, then that of all animals, then that of all matter; soon enough, he was intensely trying to visualize the Universe at its earliest state and, with irritation, could not do so at all; while reflecting on the mystery of that state, and the states preceding it, he experienced dènost and sighed deeply and slowly.