This site is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Alan William Smolowe who gave birth to the creation of this database.
It is now time, leaving every object of sense far behind, to contemplate, by a certain ascent, a beauty of a much higher order; a beauty not visible to the corporeal eye, but alone manifest to the brighter eye of the soul, independent of all corporeal aid. However, since, without some previous perception of beauty it is impossible to express by words the beauties of sense, but we must remain in the state of the blind, so neither can we ever speak of the beauty of offices and sciences, and whatever is allied to these, if deprived of their intimate possession. Thus we shall never be able to tell of virtue's brightness, unless by looking inward we perceive the fair countenance of justice and temperance, and are convinced that neither the evening nor morning star are half so beautiful and bright. But it is requisite to perceive objects of this kind by that eye by which the soul beholds such real beauties. Besides it is necessary that whoever perceives this species of beauty, should be seized with much greater delight, and more vehement admiration, than any corporeal beauty can excite; as now embracing beauty real and substantial. Such affections, I say, ought to be excited about true beauty, as admiration and sweet astonishment; desire also and love and a pleasant trepidation. For all souls, as I may say, are affected in this manner about invisible objects, but those the most who have the strongest propensity to their love; as it likewise happens about corporeal beauty; for all equally perceive beautiful corporeal forms, yet all are not equally excited, but lovers in the greatest degree.
Admiration | Beauty | Desire | Justice | Love | Object | Perception | Sense | Soul | Words | Beauty |
Plautus, full name Titus Maccius Plautus NULL
One eye witness is better than ten hear sayers.
When the mind's eye rests on objects illuminated by truth and reality, it understands and comprehends them, and functions intelligently; but when it turns to the twilight world of change and decay, it can only form opinions, its vision is confused and its beliefs shifting, and it seems to lack intelligence.
Pliny the Elder, full name Casus Plinius Secundus NULL
Our fathers used to say that the master's eye was the best fertilizer.
Pliny the Elder, full name Casus Plinius Secundus NULL
Wine maketh the band quivering, the eye watery, the night unquiet, lewd dreams, a stinking breath in the morning, and an utter forgetfulness of all things... Wine takes away reason, engenders insanity, leads to thousands of crimes, and imposes such an enormous expense on nations.
Science is a sharp eye when it comes to the tools and approaches and be blind when it comes to values and goals.
Rābiʻa al-ʻAdawiyya al-Qaysiyya, aka Rabi'a of Basra or Basri, Saint Rabia of Basra
My Joy My Hunger My Shelter My Friend My Food for the Journey My Journey's End You are my breath, My hope, My companion, My craving, My abundant wealth. The one who explains, lies. How can you describe the true form of Something In whose presence you are blotted out? And in whose being you still exist? I look everywhere for your love-- Then suddenly I am filled with it. O Captain of my Heart, Radiant Eye of Yearning in my breast...
R. W. Dixon, fully Richard Watson Dixon
Ah, what is this, that now with sated eyes And humming ears the soul no more descries? Drawn back upon the spirit all the sense Becomes intelligence; And to be doubly now unfolded feels That which itself reveals; Double the world of all that may appear To eye or hand or ear; Double the soul of that which apprehends By that which sense transcends.
R. H. Stoddard, fully Richard Henry Stoddard
If there is anything that will endure The eye of God because it still is pure, It is the spirit of a little child, Fresh from His hand, and therefore undefiled. Nearer the gate of Paradise than we, Our children breathe its airs, its angels see; And when they pray God hears their simple prayer, Yea, even sheathes His sword, in judgment bare
Angels | Children | God | Judgment | Little | Paradise | Spirit | Will | God |
R. W. Sellars, fully Roy Wood Sellars
One of the difficulties facing a serious philosopher is that he must keep his eyes on so many subjects. He must recognize the fruits of division of labor and yet try to appreciate what is going on. On the one hand, he must be critical of many moves in the past, such as a deductive approach to what is, which have shown themselves to be mistaken. On the other hand, he must have a keen eye for genuine puzzles and problems. I, myself, concentrated on the nature of human knowing, on the status of value in the world, and on the traditional mind-body problem. I did not think that philosophy just by itself could solve these problems. The increase of knowledge would help. But I thought that philosophy could make a cooperative contribution by what has come to be called categorial analysis. Philosophy usually had a long historical perspective in these matters. It could keep its eye on the nature of the puzzle. In short, philosophy never meant to me uncontrolled speculation about a supposed transcendental realm, as positivists always assume. I was quite early naturalistic and even materialistic in my outlook. I just wanted to fit things together in an intelligible way.
Knowledge | Labor | Nature | Philosophy | Speculation | Thought | Think | Thought | Value |
R. H. Blyth, fully Reginald Horace Blyth
What is Zen? Zen is looking at things with the eye of God, that is, becoming the thing's eyes so that it looks at itself with our eyes.
Rahel Varnhagen, Rahel Antonie Friederike Varnhagen née Levin later Robert
I love truth; am simple, strict, but soft; have no results beforehand in my eye and mind; and am always will to grasp things innocently. Think therefore only of such a human being; and so, with your other talents and skills, in this large, literary, baked-together-with-lies world, there must be produced things that are worthwhile reading.
Raimon Panikkar, fully Raimon Panikkar-Alemany
Without purity of heart, not only can one not “see” God, but it is equally impossible to have any idea of what is involved in doing so. Without the silence of the intellect and the will, without the silence of the senses, without the openness of what some call “the third eye” (spoken of not only by Tibetans but also by the disciples of Richard of Saint Victor), it is not possible to approach the sphere in which the word God can have a meaning. According to Richard of Saint Victor, there exist three eyes: the occulus carnis, the occulus rationis, and the occulus fidei (the eye of the body, the eye of reason, and the eye of faith). The “third eye” is the organ of the faculty that distinguishes us from other living beings by giving us access to a reality that transcends, without denying, that which captures the intelligence and the senses.
Giving | God | Intelligence | Openness | Purity | Reality | Silence | God | Intellect |
Science has defined a variety of natural laws that explain the physical world and how it changes. One such law states that for every action there is a reaction, and that for every motion there is corresponding counter-motion. Whether it’s visible to the human eye or not, one thing is certain – movement and change will occur as a result. Having studied these principles, author Raymond Holliwell not only understood the universal physical applications, he also understood the spiritual and mental applications as well. By using this law on a spiritual and mental level, Holliwell found that a specific thought could create a desired reaction in his personal and professional life through continual and dedicated practice. As he came to realize the expanded potential of this powerful law, he eventually recognized the ultimate source of the dramatic results – God.
Action | Change | Law | Life | Life | Thought | Will | World | Thought |
Rachel Carson, fully Rachel Louise Carson
And so in my mind's eye these coastal forms merge and blend in a shifting, kaleidoscopic pattern in which there is no finality, no ultimate and fixed reality - earth becoming fluid as the sea itself.
Ramakrishna, aka Ramakrishna Paramhamsa or Sri Ramakrishna, born Gadadhar Chattopadhyay NULL
God cannot be realized if there is the slightest attachment to the things of the world. A thread cannot pass through the eye of a needle if the tiniest fiber sticks out.
Ralph Ellison, fully Ralph Waldo Ellison
But what a feeling can come over a man just from seeing the things he believes in and hopes for symbolized in the concrete form of a man. In something that gives a focus to all the other things he knows to be real. Something that makes unseen things manifest and allows him to come to his hopes and dreams through his outer eye and through the touch and feel of his natural hand.
Ramakrishna, aka Ramakrishna Paramhamsa or Sri Ramakrishna, born Gadadhar Chattopadhyay NULL
God cannot be realized if there is the slightest attachment to the things of the world. A thread cannot pass through the eye of a needle if the tiniest fiber sticks out. The anger and lust of a man who has realized God are only appearances. They are like a burnt string. It looks like a string, but a mere puff blows it away.