Ancient Wisdom Atlas

Motif

small creature's world mistaken for a vast sea

small_creature_s_world_mistaken_for_a_vast_sea

A motif of the Sacred Knowledge and Wisdom family, within the sub-family Wisdom Teaching and Moral Instruction. Every row below is a tagged passage; each rests on a quote in its source text.

1 occurrences

1 traditions


sufi

  • The Mesnevi OF QONYA. / PREFACE. / IN THE NAME OF GOD, / THE ALL-MERCIFUL, THE VERY-COMPASSIONATE.; lines 7888-7997 confidence: high

    A fly on a scrap of straw in a pool claims he has called forth a sea and ship, is their captain, and sees the pool as boundless according to his limited sight.

    The fly treats a pool and straw as a sea and ship and speaks as their captain; the narrator says the fly's universe is measured by his sight.

    read in the book