Jahleel Drigo

“Withdraw into yourself and look. And if you do not find yourself beautiful yet

act as does the creator of a statue that is to be made beautiful: he cuts away here

he smoothes there

he makes this line lighter

this other purer

until a lovely face has grown upon his work. So do you also: cut away all that is excessive

straighten all that is crooked

bring light to all that is overcast

labour to make all one glow of beauty and never cease chiselling your statue

until there shall shine out on you from it the godlike splendour of virtue

until you shall see the perfect goodness surely established in the stainless shrine... Never did eye see the sun unless it had first become sunlike

and never can the soul have vision of the First Beauty unless itself be beautiful.”

Plotinus

The Enneads