"You cannot believe what you are saying. " "Well, no. Hardly ever. But the philosopher is like the poet. The latter composes ideal letters for an ideal nymph, only to plumb with his words the depths of passion. The philosopher tests the coldness of his gaze, to see how far he can undermine the fortress of bigotry. "
We must not always try to plumb the depths of the human heart; the truths it contains are among those that are best seen in half-light or in perspective.
I don't believe in a plumb line. I believe in the exchange of ideas.
That's what is so precious in reading this way - you can plumb the depths of another's experience while sitting still with a book in your hands.
Lord of hosts! When I swim in the merciful waters of your grace I find that I can neither plumb nor measure the depths.