Not Thou, and Yet Thou

The slogan, "This also is Thou, neither is this Thou," caught for [Charles] Williams the idea of things both cloaking and revealing bigger things. The policeman, for example, stands for much more than himself, but he himself is not equal to the authority which he represents. The image is flawed. But even if it were an unflawed image, it would still be an image and not the thing it represents. Since all images refer us finally to the perfections found only in God, we may say of any image, "This also is Thou"; thus reminding ourselves of That Which stands at the top of all the hints; but we must also say the second half of the slogan, "Neither is this Thou," in order to avoid idolatry. The image is not the final perfection.

from The Novels of Charles Williams

by Thomas Howard

Oxford University Press, 1983

All photographs by Baya Clare, CSJ unless otherwise noted.