# Epigraph explained — Practical Mysticism

> Chapter companion for Practical Mysticism by Evelyn Underhill.

## What happens

The epigraph presents William Blake's vision of perception cleansed to reveal the infinite, contrasting with man's self-imposed limitation of seeing through narrow chinks.

## Themes in this chapter

### Perception and Illusion

Blake's quote directly addresses the cleansing of perception to see reality as infinite, contrasting with the illusion of narrow vision.

### Reality versus Appearance

The epigraph contrasts the infinite reality accessible through cleansed perception with the limited appearance seen through the cavern's chinks.

## Character check-ins

### William Blake

Author of the epigraph, calling for a cleansing of perception to see the infinite.

## Key lines

> If the doors of perception were cleansed, everything would appear to man as it is, infinite. For man has closed himself up, till he sees all things through the narrow chinks of his cavern.

If we could purify how we perceive, we would see the true, boundless nature of everything. But humans have shut themselves off, viewing the world only through the limited openings of their own confinement.

_Blake's metaphor of cleansing perception and the cavern echoes Plato's allegory of the cave, setting a mystical tone for the book._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/practical_mysticism_se/chapters/epigraph
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/practical_mysticism_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/practical_mysticism_se/chapters