We moved in—I was not at all conscious whither—but at some turn we suddenly encountered another party approaching from the opposite direction. I noted them and for the fraction of a moment believed them all strangers, thus receiving an impartial impression of their appearance. [But then I knew I faced ourselves in a great mirror.]
Thus for the first, and perhaps only time in my life I enjoyed the 'gift' of seeing myself as others see me. No need to dwell on the result. It brought a jar of discord, a pang of regret; it was not flattering, yet, after all, I ought to be thankful: it might have been worse.
—Charlotte Brontë, Villette Ch. XX: The Concert
Accidentally on Purpose
They mean to tell us all was rolling blind
Till accidentally it hit on mind
Never believe it. At the very worst
It must have had a purpose from the first
Whose purpose was it, His or Hers or Its?
Let's leave that to the scientific wits.
Grant me intention, purpose and design -
That's near enough for me to the divine.
And yet with all this help of head and brain,
How happily instinctive we remain.
—Robert Frost, In the Clearing, 1962
Till accidentally it hit on mind
Never believe it. At the very worst
It must have had a purpose from the first
Whose purpose was it, His or Hers or Its?
Let's leave that to the scientific wits.
Grant me intention, purpose and design -
That's near enough for me to the divine.
And yet with all this help of head and brain,
How happily instinctive we remain.
—Robert Frost, In the Clearing, 1962
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