In fact, his travelogues spend amazingly little time discussing his blindness. Only one passage stands out for its frank discussion of his handicap and how it changed his worldview. In it, Holman was reminiscing about a few rendezvous from his past. Disarmingly, he admitted that he had no idea what his paramours looked like, or even whether they were homely. Moreover, he didn't care: by abandoning the standards of the sighted world, he argues, he could tap into a more divine and more authentic beauty. Hearing a woman's voice and feeling her caresses -- and then filling in what was missing with his own fancy -- gave him more pleasure than the mere sight of a women ever had, he said, a pleasure beyond reality. "Are there any who imagine, " Holman asked, "that my loss of eyesight must necessarily deny me the enjoyment of such contemplation? How much more do I pity the mental darkness which could give rise to such an error. .Sam Kean
About This Quote
The above quote is taken from the memoirs of the blind mountain climber, John Holman. In this passage, he describes how he came to a new understanding of beauty after losing his eyesight. He writes: "My first intimation of this great change was not at first a sense of loss, but a fresh and delightful surprise. I had been accustomed to admire the beauty of the heavenly bodies as they were presented to my eyes. I used to watch them for hours at a time with keen delight, admiring their motions as they darted across the heavens with a rapidity which I have never witnessed since."
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