Taylor, Barbara Brown -- An Altar in the World, ch. 1 (2009)

Dave — Tue, 17 Dec 2024 18:44:24 +0000

People encounter God under shady oak trees, on riverbanks, at the tops of mountains, and in long stretches of barren wilderness. God shows up in whirlwinds, starry skies, burning bushes, and perfect strangers. When people want to know more about God, the son of God tells them to pay attention to the lilies of the field and the birds of the air, to women kneading bread and workers lining up for their pay. Whoever wrote this stuff believed that people could learn as much about the ways of God from paying attention to the world as they could from paying attention to scripture. What is true is what happens, even if what happens is not always right. People can learn as much about the ways of God from business deals gone bad or sparrows falling to the ground as they can from reciting the books of the Bible in order. They can learn as much from a love affair or a wildflower as they can from knowing the Ten Commandments by heart.

Barbara Brown Taylor (b. 1951) American minister, academic, author
An Altar in the World, ch. 1 (2009)
(Source)

Hugo, Victor -- William Shakespeare, Part 1, Book 2 “Men of Genius [Les Génies], ch. 1 (1.2.1) (1864) [tr. Anderson (1886)]

Dave — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 17:33:40 +0000

God manifests himself to us in the first degree through the life of the universe, and in the second through the thought of man. The second manifestation is not less holy than the first. The first is named Nature, the second is named Art. Hence this reality: the poet is a priest.

[Dieu se manifeste à nous au premier degré à travers la vie de l’univers, et au deuxième degré à travers la pensée de l’homme.
La deuxième manifestation n’est pas moins sacrée que la première. La première s’appelle la Nature, la deuxième s’appelle l’Art. De là cette réalité : le poëte est prêtre.]

Victor Hugo (1802–1885) French writer, journalist, human rights activist, politician
William Shakespeare, Part 1, Book 2 “Men of Genius [Les Génies], ch. 1 (1.2.1) (1864) [tr. Anderson (1886)]
(Source)

(Source (French)). Another translation:

God manifests himself to us in the first degree through the life of the universe, and in the second through the thought of man. The second manifestation is not less holy than the first. The first is named Nature, the second is named Art. Hence this reality: the poet is a priest.
[tr. Baillot (1864)]

WIST Quotations

Taylor, Barbara Brown -- An Altar in the World, ch. 1 (2009)

Hugo, Victor -- William Shakespeare, Part 1, Book 2 “Men of Genius [Les Génies], ch. 1 (1.2.1) (1864) [tr. Anderson (1886)]