(7) In like manner His outward man, or soul with the left eye, was never hindered, disturbed or troubled by the inward eye in its contemplation of the outward things that belonged to it. Now the created soul of man hath also two eyes. The one is the power of seeing into eternity, the other of seeing into time and the creatures, of perceiving how they differ from each other as afore-said, of giving life and needful things to the body, and ordering and governing it for the best. But these two eyes of the soul of man cannot both perform their work at once; but if the soul shall see with the right eye into eternity, then the left eye must close itself and refrain from working, and be as though it were dead. For if the left eye be fulfilling its office toward outward things; that is, holding converse with time and the creatures; then must the right eye be hindered in its working; that is, in its contemplation. Therefore whosoever will have the one must let the other go; for “no man can serve two masters.”

(26) Jesus said, "You see the mote in your brothers eye, but you do not see the beam in your own eye. When you cast the beam out of your own eye, then you will see clearly to cast the mote from your brother's eye."

(52) Therefore take heed what thou dost, and consider what thou art; thou judgest others, and art blind thyself.

(86) In like manner thou seest, also, how thou art always in hell among all the devils, as to the wrath; if thy eyes were but open, thou wouldst see wonderful things; but thou standest between heaven and hell, and canst see neither of them, and walkest upon a very narrow bridge.

(120) Therefore no man ought to think that the devil is able to tear the works of the light out of his [man's] heart, for he can neither see nor comprehend them: and though he rageth and raveth in the outermost birth in the flesh, as in his castle of robbery or fort of prey, do not despair; only take heed that thou thyself bring not the works of wrath into the light of thy heart. Then thy soul will be safe enough from the deaf and dumb devil, who is blind in the light

(43) So do the eyes work in the thing they look upon, and the thing works again in the eyes, and the counsellor, the eyes, bringeth it into the head before the princely seat or throne; and there it is to be approved of.

(100) And they shall become godless by reason of the folly of their hearts, And their eyes shall be blinded through the fear of their hearts And through visions in their dreams.

(57) O thou blind, half-dead world, cease from thy judging; O thou blind Jew, Turk, and Heathen, desist from thy calumniating, and submit thyself in obedience to God, and walk in the light, then thou wilt see how thou shouldst rise from thy fall, and how thou shouldst arm thyself in this world against the hellish fierceness and wrath, and how thou mayst overcome, and live with God eternally.

(1) AND, therefore, if thou wilt stand and not fall, cease never in thine intent: but beat evermore on this cloud of unknowing that is betwixt thee and thy God with a sharp dart of longing love, and loathe for to think on aught under God, and go not thence for anything that befalleth. For this is only by itself that work that destroyeth the ground and the root of sin. Fast thou never so much, wake thou never so long, rise thou never so early, lie thou never so hard, wear thou never so sharp; yea, and if it were lawful to do—as it is not—put thou out thine eyes, cut thou out thy tongue of thy mouth, stop thou thine ears and thy nose never so fast, though thou shear away thy members, and do all the pain to thy body that thou mayest or canst think: all this would help thee right nought. Yet will stirring and rising of sin be in thee.

(175) 102 Geb has given to thee thy two eyes, that thou mayest be satisfied. One table of offerings.

(16) When thou openest thy eyes, and seest the being of God [which is everywhere], then thou prickest as it were with thorns into the being of God, and movest or stirrest up the wrath and anger of God.

(72) For when thou lookest upon anything which does not please thee, but is against or contrary to thee, then thou raisest up the fountain of thy heart, as when thou takest a stone, and therewith strikest fire on a steel, and so when the spark catcheth fire in the heart, then the fire kindleth.

(30) I part the two deities of morning that I may come to hold the Eye, and cause it to rest in its place

(72) Thou sayest, Is it right then that the Heathen, Jews, and Turks, should persevere in their blindness? Answer.

(90) Here shut the eyes of thy flesh a little, for here they will profit thee nothing, seeing they are blind and dead, and open the eyes of thy spirit, and then I will rightly shew thee the creation of God. Observe:

(518) Any one who has common sense will remember that the bewilderments of the eyes are of two kinds, and arise from two causes, either from coming out of the light or from going into the light, which is true of the mind’s eye, quite as much as of the bodily eye; and he who remembers this when he sees any one whose vision is perplexed and weak, will not be too ready to laugh; he will first ask whether that soul of man has come out of the brighter life, and is unable to see because unaccustomed to the dark, or having turned from darkness to the day is dazzled by excess of light. And he will count the one happy in his condition and state of being, and he will pity the other; or, if he have a mind to laugh at the soul which comes from below into the light, there will be more reason in this than in the laugh which greets him who returns from above out of the light into the den. That, he said, is a very just distinction. But then, if I am right, certain professors of education must be wrong when they say that they can put a knowledge into the soul which was not there before, like sight into blind eyes. They undoubtedly say this, he replied. Whereas, our argument shows that the power and capacity of learning exists in the soul already; and that just as the eye was unable to turn from darkness to light without the whole body, so too the instrument of knowledge can only by the movement of the whole soul be turned from the world of becoming into that of being, and learn by degrees to endure the sight of being, and of the brightest and best of being, or

(518) in other words, of the good. Very true. And must there not be some art which will effect conversion in the easiest and quickest manner; not implanting the faculty of sight, for that exists already, but has been turned in the wrong direction, and is looking away from the truth? Yes, he said, such an art may be presumed. And whereas the other so-called virtues of the soul seem to be akin to bodily qualities, for even when they are not originally innate they can be implanted later by habit and exercise, the virtue of wisdom more than anything else contains a divine element which always remains, and by this conversion is rendered useful and profitable; or, on the other hand, hurtful and useless. Did you never observe the narrow intelligence flashing from the keen eye of a clever rogue—how eager he is, how clearly his paltry soul sees the way to his end; he is the reverse of blind, but his keen eye-sight is forced into the service of evil, and he is mischievous in proportion to his cleverness? Very true, he said. But what if there had been a circumcision of such natures in the days of their youth; and they had been severed from those sensual pleasures, such as eating and drinking, which,

(516) Yes, he said, I think that he would rather suffer anything than entertain these false notions and live in this miserable manner. Imagine once more, I said, such an one coming suddenly out of the sun to be replaced in his old situation; would he not be certain to have his eyes full of darkness? To be sure, he said. And if there were a contest, and he had to compete in measuring the shadows with the prisoners who had never moved out of the den, while his sight was still weak, and before his eyes had become steady (and the time which would be needed to acquire this new habit of sight might be very considerable), would he not be ridiculous? Men would say of him that up he went and down he came without his eyes; and that it was better not even to think of ascending; and if any one tried to loose another and lead him up to the light, let them only catch the offender, and they would put him to death. No question, he said. This entire allegory, I said, you may now append, dear Glaucon, to the previous argument; the prison-house is the world of sight, the light of the fire is the sun, and you will not misapprehend me if you interpret the journey upwards to be the ascent of the soul into the intellectual world according to my poor belief, which, at your desire, I have expressed—whether rightly or wrongly God knows. But, whether true or false, my opinion is that in the world of knowledge the idea of good appears last of all, and is seen

(92) And draw not nigh to uprightness with a double heart, And associate not with those of a double heart, But walk in righteousness, my sons. And it shall guide you on good paths, And righteousness shall be your companion.

(43) Thou judgest us, and thereby thou judgest thyself, in that thou blowest up the zealous or jealous spirit in anger and wrath, which extinguisheth thy light. But if thou art grown on a sweet tree, and suppressest the evil influence or suggestions, and livest well and holily in the law of nature, that sheweth thee very well what is right, if thou art not indeed grown out from a fierce or wrathful twig or branch.