through a glass darkly

Cultural  

1. To see “through a glass” — a mirror — “darkly” is to have an obscure or imperfect vision of reality. The expression comes from the writings of the Apostle Paul; he explains that we do not now see clearly, but at the end of time, we will do so.

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Example Sentences

All perceive “through a glass darkly,” to reference the King James Bible so often quoted by effete British visitors to the Weimar, such as gay author Christopher Isherwood, whose novel “Goodbye to Berlin” provided the source material for “Cabaret.”

From Salon

The apostle Paul had heaven in mind when he wrote, in 1 Corinthians, that “now we see as through a glass darkly”; Rossin’s cyborg icons hold out that true vision might require a higher power, a congestion of human and machine.

From New York Times

Has something of the elemental feel of a 19th-century tintype — the world seen through a glass, darkly.

From Seattle Times

She dressed in all-black Agnés B. and doted on Ms. Hamilton and her brother, introducing them to writers like Sylvia Plath and Allen Ginsberg and plays like “The Glass Menagerie” and “Through a Glass Darkly.”

From New York Times

Starting in 1960 with “Through a Glass Darkly,” he shot many of his films on Faro and died there in 2007.

From New York Times