--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The white light of truth, in traversing…" description: "\"The white light of truth, in traversing the many sided transparent soul of the poet, is refracted into iris-hued poetry.\" — Herbert Spencer" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/781/herbert-spencer-1765_irises_the-white-light-of-truth-in-traversing-t_797167.jpg" --- # The white light of truth, in traversing the many sided… ![“The white light of truth, in traversing the many sided transparent soul of the poet, is refracted into iris-hued poetry.” quote by Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/781/herbert-spencer-1765_irises_the-white-light-of-truth-in-traversing-t_797167.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/781/herbert-spencer-1765_irises_the-white-light-of-truth-in-traversing-t_797167.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/781/herbert-spencer-1765_irises_the-white-light-of-truth-in-traversing-t_797167.jpg) > “The white light of truth, in traversing the many sided transparent soul of the poet, is refracted into iris-hued poetry.” [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Describes truth as a light that splits the poet's multifaceted soul into colorful verses. **In simple terms:** Truth reveals poetic depth. Key Takeaway Seek truth to enrich creative expression. Themes truth creativity self‑reflection Mood contemplative inspirational Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - writing workshops - literary analysis - personal journaling Key Concepts philosophy poetics metaphor Questions to Reflect On - How does truth shape artistic voice? - Can multiple perspectives coexist in one soul? A Different Perspective Truth can be subjective and elusive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Irises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irises/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [White light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white-light/) ## Related quotes > [Eyes so transparent that through them the soul is seen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theophile-gautier/eyes-so-transparent-that-through-them-the-soul-is-seen/) [Theophile Gautier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theophile-gautier/) > [She can't help it,' he said. 'She's got the soul of a poet and the emotional makeup of a junkyard dog.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/she-can-t-help-it-he-said-she-s-got-the-soul-of-a-poet-and-the/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Old soul. Poet's heart. Warriors mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melody-lee/old-soul-poet-s-heart-warriors-mind/) [Melody Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melody-lee/) > [ \[He\] had the soul of a poet, and because of this, he liked very much to consider questions that had no answers. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-dicamillo/he-had-the-soul-of-a-poet-and-because-of-this-he-liked-very-much-to/) [Kate DiCamillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-dicamillo/) > [The Soul of a Warrior. Cries out for Battle. The Soul of a Poet, Screams out for Love. I stand between them, Wishing, They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-nickel/the-soul-of-a-warrior-cries-out-for-battle-the-soul-of-a-poet-screams/) [Eric Nickel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-nickel/) > [“So when the soul of the poet has come to ripeness of thought, she detaches and sends away from it its poems or songs,—a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/so-when-the-soul-of-the-poet-has-come-to-ripeness-of-thought-she/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Each man carries within him the soul of a poet who died young.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/each-man-carries-within-him-the-soul-of-a-poet-who-died-young/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [Ana Iris once asked me if I loved him and I told her about the lights in my old home in the capital, how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/ana-iris-once-asked-me-if-i-loved-him-and-i-told-her-about-the-lights/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [You can see the weakness of a man right through his iris.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rza/you-can-see-the-weakness-of-a-man-right-through-his-iris/) [RZA](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rza/) > [ \[While shooting close-ups\] you study real eyes, you study how the light reflects in them, you study the back of the eye, you study… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-jackson/while-shooting-close-ups-you-study-real-eyes-you-study-how-the-light/) [Peter Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-jackson/) > [...that swimming, sloping, elusive something about the dark-bluish tint of the iris which seemed still to retain the shadows it had absorbed of ancient,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/that-swimming-sloping-elusive-something-about-the-dark-bluish-tint-of/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [The grass he walked through was new and a sweet smell clung to his clothes. There was blue dye on his hands from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/the-grass-he-walked-through-was-new-and-a-sweet-smell-clung-to-his/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [Who would deduce the dragonfly from the larva, the iris from the bud, the lawyer from the infant? ...We are all shape-shifters and magical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-ackerman/who-would-deduce-the-dragonfly-from-the-larva-the-iris-from-the-bud/) [Diane Ackerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-ackerman/) > [I played Iris Murdoch, who had not long died, and I felt the responsibility very heavy on my shoulders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judi-dench/i-played-iris-murdoch-who-had-not-long-died-and-i-felt-the/) [Judi Dench](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judi-dench/) > [“Our irises are galaxies; our pupils are black holes if we allow ourselves to bottle up everything inside us instead of allowing ourselves to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaclyn-johnston/our-irises-are-galaxies-our-pupils-are-black-holes-if-we-allow/) Jaclyn Johnston ## More by Herbert Spencer > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [No physiologist who calmly considers the question in connection with the general truths of his science, can long resist the conviction that different parts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/no-physiologist-who-calmly-considers-the-question-in-connection-with/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [Any piece of knowledge which the pupil has himself acquired- any problem which he has himself solved, becomes, by virtue of the conquest, much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/any-piece-of-knowledge-which-the-pupil-has-himself-acquired-any/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [Conservatism defends those coercive arrangements which a still-lingering savageness makes requisite. Radicalism endeavours to realize a state more in harmony with the character of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/conservatism-defends-those-coercive-arrangements-which-a-still/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [Absolute morality is the regulation of conduct in such a way that pain shall not be inflicted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/absolute-morality-is-the-regulation-of-conduct-in-such-a-way-that/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [When a man's knowledge is not in order, the more of it he has the greater will be his confusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/when-a-man-s-knowledge-is-not-in-order-the-more-of-it-he-has-the/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [The cruelty of a Fijian god, who, represented as devouring the souls of the dead, may be supposed to inflict torture during the process,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/the-cruelty-of-a-fijian-god-who-represented-as-devouring-the-souls-of/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [The liberty the citizen enjoys is to be measured not by governmental machinery he lives under, whether representative or other, but by the paucity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/the-liberty-the-citizen-enjoys-is-to-be-measured-not-by-governmental/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [I had a great dislike to the annoyances entailed by baggage; and it was always with some feeling of elation that I cut myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/i-had-a-great-dislike-to-the-annoyances-entailed-by-baggage-and-it/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [Progress, therefore, is not an accident, but a necessity…It is a part of nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/progress-therefore-is-not-an-accident-but-a-necessity-it-is-a-part-of/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [Surely in much talk there cannot choose but be much vanity. Loquacity is the fistula of the mind,--ever-running and almost incurable, let every man,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/surely-in-much-talk-there-cannot-choose-but-be-much-vanity-loquacity/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [No one can be perfectly free till all are free; no one can be perfectly moral till all are moral; no one can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/no-one-can-be-perfectly-free-till-all-are-free-no-one-can-be/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [Only when Genius is married to Science can the highest results be produced.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/only-when-genius-is-married-to-science-can-the-highest-results-be/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [It cannot but happen?that those will survive whose functions happen to be most nearly in equilibrium with the modified aggregate of external forces? This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/it-cannot-but-happen-that-those-will-survive-whose-functions-happen/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [“Before he can remake his society, his society must make him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/before-he-can-remake-his-society-his-society-must-make-him/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) [Explore all 210 Herbert Spencer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) ## More Irises quotes > [“Our irises are galaxies; our pupils are black holes if we allow ourselves to bottle up everything inside us instead of allowing ourselves to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaclyn-johnston/our-irises-are-galaxies-our-pupils-are-black-holes-if-we-allow/) Jaclyn Johnston > [I played Iris Murdoch, who had not long died, and I felt the responsibility very heavy on my shoulders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judi-dench/i-played-iris-murdoch-who-had-not-long-died-and-i-felt-the/) [Judi Dench](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judi-dench/) > [Who would deduce the dragonfly from the larva, the iris from the bud, the lawyer from the infant? ...We are all shape-shifters and magical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-ackerman/who-would-deduce-the-dragonfly-from-the-larva-the-iris-from-the-bud/) [Diane Ackerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-ackerman/) > [The grass he walked through was new and a sweet smell clung to his clothes. There was blue dye on his hands from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/the-grass-he-walked-through-was-new-and-a-sweet-smell-clung-to-his/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [...that swimming, sloping, elusive something about the dark-bluish tint of the iris which seemed still to retain the shadows it had absorbed of ancient,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/that-swimming-sloping-elusive-something-about-the-dark-bluish-tint-of/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [ \[While shooting close-ups\] you study real eyes, you study how the light reflects in them, you study the back of the eye, you study… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-jackson/while-shooting-close-ups-you-study-real-eyes-you-study-how-the-light/) [Peter Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-jackson/) > [You can see the weakness of a man right through his iris.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rza/you-can-see-the-weakness-of-a-man-right-through-his-iris/) [RZA](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rza/) > [Ana Iris once asked me if I loved him and I told her about the lights in my old home in the capital, how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/ana-iris-once-asked-me-if-i-loved-him-and-i-told-her-about-the-lights/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [To consider what other people might say is hardly a good reason to take action or to defer it. You have your own life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-maguire/to-consider-what-other-people-might-say-is-hardly-a-good-reason-to/) [Gregory Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-maguire/) > [Iris Murdoch did influence my early novels very much, and influence is never entirely good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-n-wilson/iris-murdoch-did-influence-my-early-novels-very-much-and-influence-is/) [A. N. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-n-wilson/) > [“Then we had the irises, rising beautiful and cool on their tall stalks, like blown glass, like pastel water momentarily frozen in a splash,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/then-we-had-the-irises-rising-beautiful-and-cool-on-their-tall-stalks/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [In the Spring a livelier iris changes on the burnish'd dove; In the Spring a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/in-the-spring-a-livelier-iris-changes-on-the-burnish-d-dove-in-the/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [You have the older generation like Iris Murdoch and Angus Wilson who are not as old as Graham Greene, but still are coming on.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/you-have-the-older-generation-like-iris-murdoch-and-angus-wilson-who/) [William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/) > [Tod's eyes widened and his irises swirled in tight twists of blue. "Well, I don't see that I have much of a choice, considering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-vincent/tod-s-eyes-widened-and-his-irises-swirled-in-tight-twists-of-blue/) [Rachel Vincent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-vincent/) > [He has an armload of irises and daisies and tulips and he presents them to me. I didn't know what kind of flowers you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-jones/he-has-an-armload-of-irises-and-daisies-and-tulips-and-he-presents/) [Carrie Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-jones/) [Browse all 57 Irises quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irises/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The white light of truth, in traversing the many sided transparent soul of the poet, is refracted into iris-hued poetry.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Herbert Spencer" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/the-white-light-of-truth-in-traversing-the-many-sided-transparent/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Irises" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/the-white-light-of-truth-in-traversing-the-many-sided-transparent/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/781/herbert-spencer-1765_irises_the-white-light-of-truth-in-traversing-t_797167.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/781/herbert-spencer-1765_irises_the-white-light-of-truth-in-traversing-t_797167.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/781/herbert-spencer-1765_irises_the-white-light-of-truth-in-traversing-t_797167.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The white light of truth, in traversing the many sided transparent soul of the poet, is refracted into…” — Herbert Spencer", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Herbert Spencer", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The white light of truth, in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/the-white-light-of-truth-in-traversing-the-many-sided-transparent/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/the-white-light-of-truth-in-traversing-the-many-sided-transparent/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```