Were the earth as smooth as a ball bearing, it might be beautiful seen from another planet, as the rings of Saturn are. But here we live and move; we wander up and down the banks of the creek, we ride a railway through the Alps, and the landscape shifts and changes. Were the earth smooth, our brains would be smooth as well; we would wake, blink, walk two steps to get the whole picture and lapse into dreamless sleep. Because we are living people, and because we are on the receiving end of beauty, another element necessarily enters the question. The texture of space is a condition of time. Time is the warp and matter the weft of woven texture of beauty in space, and death is the hurtling shuttle… What I want to do, then, is add time to the texture, paint the landscape on an unrolling scroll, and set the giant relief globe spinning on it stand. Annie Dillard
About This Quote

The poet William Blake, in his poem Three Ages of the World, imagines an ancient artist who has managed to capture the entire world on a scroll. Because time is the element that joins all things together, the artist then begins to spin this scroll. Because time is not static but an ever-changing force, the spinning globe of the world begins to spin. The poet's point here, is that time is not static but an ever-changing force. What we perceive is nothing more than the result of time flashing before our eyes; it may be beautiful or ugly, but it is always changing.

Source: Pilgrim At Tinker Creek

Some Similar Quotes
  1. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that. - Unknown
  2. Before you, Bella, my life was like a moonless night. Very dark, but there were stars, points of light and reason..And then you shot across my sky like a meteor. Suddenly everything was on fire; there was brilliancy, there was beauty. When you were gone,... - Stephenie Meyer
  3. Owning our story can be hard but not nearly as difficult as spending our lives running from it. Embracing our vulnerabilities is risky but not nearly as dangerous as giving up on love and belonging and joy–the experiences that make us the most vulnerable. Only... - Unknown
  4. Each day brings new opportunities, allowing you to constantly live with love–be there for others–bring a little light into someone's day. Be grateful and live each day to the fullest. - Roy T. Bennett
  5. It's the kind of kiss that inspires stars to climb into the sky and light up the world. - Tahereh Mafi
More Quotes By Annie Dillard
  1. How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.
  2. Spend the afternoon, you can't take it with you.
  3. You do not have to sit outside in the dark. If, however, you want to look at the stars, you will find that darkness is necessary. But the stars neither require nor demand it.
  4. Could two live that way? Could two live under the wild rose, and explore by the pond, so that the smooth mind of each is as everywhere present to the other, and as received and as unchallenged, as falling snow?
  5. Eskimo: "If I did not know about God and sin, would I go to hell?" Priest: "No, not if you did not know." Eskimo: "Then why did you tell me?
Related Topics