--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It skims in through the eye, and by means…" description: "\"It skims in through the eye, and by means of the utterly delicate retina hurls shadows like insect legs inward for translation. Then an immense space o..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be9/john-updike-396_asks_it-skims-in-through-the-eye-and-by-means_1176801.jpg" --- # It skims in through the eye, and by means of the utterly… ![“It skims in through the eye, and by means of the utterly delicate retina hurls shadows like insect legs inward for translation. Then an immense space opens up in silence and an endlessly fecund sub-universe the writer descends, and asks the reader to descend after him, not merely to gain…” quote by John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be9/john-updike-396_asks_it-skims-in-through-the-eye-and-by-means_1176801.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be9/john-updike-396_asks_it-skims-in-through-the-eye-and-by-means_1176801.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be9/john-updike-396_asks_it-skims-in-through-the-eye-and-by-means_1176801.jpg) > “It skims in through the eye, and by means of the utterly delicate retina hurls shadows like insect legs inward for translation. Then an immense space opens up in silence and an endlessly fecund sub-universe the writer descends, and asks the reader to descend after him, not merely to gain instructions but also to experience delight, the delight of mind freed from matter and exultant in the strength it has stolen from matter.” [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing invites readers into a mental realm where perception transforms into imaginative delight, freeing thought from material limits. **In simple terms:** Writing opens a mental space for imaginative freedom. Key Takeaway Allow imagination to transcend reality. Themes imagination freedom perception mind literature Mood contemplative inspired Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - reading a novel - creative brainstorming - meditative writing - art critique Key Concepts Aesthetic experience cognitive liberation creative writing Questions to Reflect On - What mental doors does a text open for you? - How does imagination reshape your perception of reality? A Different Perspective Not all readers enjoy abstract, non‑instructional passages. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Awe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awe/) [Delight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/delight/) [Insects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insects/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Shadow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shadow/) [Silence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silence/) [Space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space/) [Translations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/translations/) [Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe/) [Vision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vision/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [It is only when our life proceeds within bounds and in an accepted, disciplined way, that the mind can be free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vinoba-bhave/it-is-only-when-our-life-proceeds-within-bounds-and-in-an-accepted/) [Vinoba Bhave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vinoba-bhave/) > [Open your mind free yourself Before you walk through that door Swallow your pride be yourself And hold to the rope of the almighty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/open-your-mind-free-yourself-before-you-walk-through-that-door/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Try seeing your world and yourself this way, eyes open to whatever is before you, mind free of dichotomies. Are you good or bad,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/try-seeing-your-world-and-yourself-this-way-eyes-open-to-whatever-is/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [All meditations are nothing but efforts to bring you to the present. When you live in the present moment, with no past hanging around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/all-meditations-are-nothing-but-efforts-to-bring-you-to-the-present/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [When the mind is free of fear, guilt, anger and is more centered, then it holds the power to heal any ailment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/when-the-mind-is-free-of-fear-guilt-anger-and-is-more-centered-then/) [Sri Sri Ravi Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/) > [My mind is always free. My mind is flexible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliud-kipchoge/my-mind-is-always-free-my-mind-is-flexible/) [Eliud Kipchoge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliud-kipchoge/) > [“The Master is not trapped in opposites. His this is also a that. He sees that life becomes death and death becomes life, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-mitchell/the-master-is-not-trapped-in-opposites-his-this-is-also-a-that-he/) [Stephen Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-mitchell/) > [Although I cannot move and I have to speak through a computer, in my mind I am free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/although-i-cannot-move-and-i-have-to-speak-through-a-computer-in-my/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [What made my mind go free is that I wanted to become an artist. As soon as I said to myself, 'Oh I'm not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergei-polunin/what-made-my-mind-go-free-is-that-i-wanted-to-become-an-artist-as/) [Sergei Polunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergei-polunin/) > [When the mind no longer sees itself as a body, forever in bondage to the body, the mind can be free and at peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-l-jampolsky/when-the-mind-no-longer-sees-itself-as-a-body-forever-in-bondage-to/) [Lee L Jampolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-l-jampolsky/) > [To be well in your mind you have first to be free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-cleave/to-be-well-in-your-mind-you-have-first-to-be-free/) [Chris Cleave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-cleave/) > [I call that mind free which jealously guards its intellectual rights and powers, which calls no man master, which does not content itself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ellery-channing/i-call-that-mind-free-which-jealously-guards-its-intellectual-rights/) [William Ellery Channing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ellery-channing/) > [Don Quixote followed nature, and being satisfied with his first sleep, did not solicit more. As for Sancho, he never wanted a second, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/don-quixote-followed-nature-and-being-satisfied-with-his-first-sleep/) [Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) > [ \[Magic\] can guide people to the very edge of reason - and then push them off. Thoughts collapse for a moment and the mind… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-martin/magic-can-guide-people-to-the-very-edge-of-reason-and-then-push-them/) Patrick Martin > [The principle of martial arts is not a thing that can be learned, like a science, by fact-finding and instruction in facts. It has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/the-principle-of-martial-arts-is-not-a-thing-that-can-be-learned-like/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) ## More by John Updike > [Life is a roller coaster, you have your ups and downs unless you fall off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/life-is-a-roller-coaster-you-have-your-ups-and-downs-unless-you-fall/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [Children are not a zoo of entertainingly exotic creatures, but an array of mirrors in which the human predicament leaps out at us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/children-are-not-a-zoo-of-entertainingly-exotic-creatures-but-an/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [I assume my stance, and take back the club, low, slowly; at the top, my eyes fog over, and my joints dip and swirl…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/i-assume-my-stance-and-take-back-the-club-low-slowly-at-the-top-my/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [The New England spirit does not seek solutions in a crowd; raw light and solitariness are less dreaded than welcomed as enhancers of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-new-england-spirit-does-not-seek-solutions-in-a-crowd-raw-light/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [I imagine most of that stuff on the information highway is roadkill anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/i-imagine-most-of-that-stuff-on-the-information-highway-is-roadkill/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [Families, doing everything for each other out of imagined obligation and always getting in each other's way, what a tangle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/families-doing-everything-for-each-other-out-of-imagined-obligation/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“The fucking world is running out of gas.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-fucking-world-is-running-out-of-gas/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [The theme of old age doesn't seem to fascinate Hollywood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-theme-of-old-age-doesn-t-seem-to-fascinate-hollywood/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“The mind cannot fall asleep as long as it watches itself. Only when the mind moves unwatched and becomes absorbed in images that tug…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-mind-cannot-fall-asleep-as-long-as-it-watches-itself-only-when/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“it was somehow wonderful of her to be, in every detail, herself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/it-was-somehow-wonderful-of-her-to-be-in-every-detail-herself/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [In fiction, imaginary people become realer to us than any named celebrity glimpsed in a series of rumored events, whose causes and subtler ramifications…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/in-fiction-imaginary-people-become-realer-to-us-than-any-named/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“Her hair had been going gray as long as he could remember; she bundled it behind in a bun held with hairpins that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/her-hair-had-been-going-gray-as-long-as-he-could-remember-she-bundled/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [Possession diminishes perception of value, immediately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/possession-diminishes-perception-of-value-immediately/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [I can't bear to finish things, beyond a certain point they get heavy. There's something so dead about a finished painting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/i-can-t-bear-to-finish-things-beyond-a-certain-point-they-get-heavy/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“Some people find fall depressing, others hate spring. I've always been a spring person myself. All that growth, you can feel Nature groaning, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/some-people-find-fall-depressing-others-hate-spring-i-ve-always-been/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) [Explore all 592 John Updike quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) ## More Asks quotes > [If you ask an introvert a question, wait until she thinks about it. Introverts think before speaking, not through speaking. 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It's AIDS, it's herpes, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/freedom-in-every-sense-but-primarily-political-sense-a-rise-in/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [Why did Erich von Stronheim leave Germany? Why did Hitchcock leave England? If you were a director you'd like to work in Hollywood too.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-polanski/why-did-erich-von-stronheim-leave-germany-why-did-hitchcock-leave/) [Roman Polanski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-polanski/) > [There is nothing more I ask of this life than this moment, exactly so. And suddenly forever seems like too short a time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-andreas/there-is-nothing-more-i-ask-of-this-life-than-this-moment-exactly-so/) [Brian Andreas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-andreas/) > [Success will come when the societal attitude changes and not a single woman in America asks herself the question 'What did I do?'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-biden/success-will-come-when-the-societal-attitude-changes-and-not-a-single/) [Joe Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-biden/) > [The most fundamental question we can ever ask ourselves is whether or not the universe we live in is friendly or hostile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/the-most-fundamental-question-we-can-ever-ask-ourselves-is-whether-or/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [The rich people are apparently leaving America. They're giving up their citizenship. These great lovers of America who made their money in this country-when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/the-rich-people-are-apparently-leaving-america-they-re-giving-up/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [There is a way to be a woman, ask for what we deserve and be able to negotiate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracee-ellis-ross/there-is-a-way-to-be-a-woman-ask-for-what-we-deserve-and-be-able-to/) [Tracee Ellis Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracee-ellis-ross/) > [For someone to ask 'Who did you play for' and to be able to answer a single name 'Liverpool' that would be brilliant...I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-carragher/for-someone-to-ask-who-did-you-play-for-and-to-be-able-to-answer-a/) [Jamie Carragher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-carragher/) > [I have no hesitation in saying that although the American woman never leaves her domestic sphere and is in some respects very dependent within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/i-have-no-hesitation-in-saying-that-although-the-american-woman-never/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [Ask God for temp'rance. That's th' appliance only Which your disease requires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/ask-god-for-temp-rance-that-s-th-appliance-only-which-your-disease/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I don't know how to say it exactly. Only...I want to die as myself. Does that make any sense?' he asks. I shake my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/i-don-t-know-how-to-say-it-exactly-only-i-want-to-die-as-myself-does/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [Physicist Isador Isaac Rabi, who won a Nobel Prize for inventing a technique that permitted scientists to probe the structure of atoms and molecules…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-saul-wurman/physicist-isador-isaac-rabi-who-won-a-nobel-prize-for-inventing-a/) [Richard Saul Wurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-saul-wurman/) Browse all 7,138 Asks quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It skims in through the eye, and by means of the utterly delicate retina hurls shadows like insect legs inward for translation. 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