through a glass darkly

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.

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

So when Putin orders the invasion of Ukraine in a manner that tacitly invokes democratic principles even as he circumvents them, he offers up a face of democracy as viewed through a glass, darkly.

From Seattle 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