Quotation from: Ulysses

Written by: James Joyce

The cessation of existence of both or either, the inauguration of a new
era or calendar, the annihilation of the world and consequent
extermination of the human species, inevitable but impredictable.

How many previous encounters proved their preexisting acquaintance?

Two. The first in the lilacgarden of Matthew Dillon's house, Medina
Villa, Kimmage road, Roundtown, in 1887, in the company of Stephen's
mother, Stephen being then of the age of 5 and reluctant to give his hand
in salutation. The second in the coffeeroom of Breslin's hotel on a rainy
Sunday in the January of 1892, in the company of Stephen's father and
Stephen's granduncle, Stephen being then 5 years older.