John Bartlett (1820–1905). Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. 1919.
1975 Franis Baon 1561-1626 John Bartlett
| NUMBER: | 1975 |
| AUTHOR: | Francis Bacon (1561–1626) |
| QUOTATION: | The sun, which passeth through pollutions and itself remains as pure as before. 1 |
| ATTRIBUTION: | Advancement of Learning. Book ii. (1605). |
| Note 1. The sun, though it passes through dirty places, yet remains as pure as before.—Advancement of Learning (ed. Dewey). The sun, too, shines into cesspools and is not polluted.—Diogenes Laertius: Lib. vi. sect. 63. Spiritalis enim virtus sacramenti ita est ut lux: etsi per immundos transeat, non inquinatur (The spiritual virtue of a sacrament is like light: although it passes among the impure, it is not polluted).—Saint Augustine: Works, vol. iii., In Johannis Evang. cap. i. tr. v. sect. 15. The sun shineth upon the dunghill, and is not corrupted.—John Lyly: Euphues, The Anatomy of Wit (Arber’s reprint), p. 43. The sun reflecting upon the mud of strands and shores is unpolluted in his beam.—Taylor: Holy Living, chap. i. p. 3. Truth is as impossible to be soiled by any outward touch as the sunbeam.—John Milton: The Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce. [back] |