“But seen through a long lens, peacemaking founded on 'forgetting' appears to have a limited lifespan.”

“If life was an arc of light that began in darkness, ended in darkness, the first part of his life had happened in ordinary glare. Here it was as though hehad found a polarized lens that deepened and intensified all seen through it.”

“If we look through a piece of glass, irregularities and impurities may distort and discolor the impression of what we see. If we regard something through a convex lens, it appears to be upside down. But if we place a concave lens in front of the convex lens, we correct the distortion in the convex lens and things no longer appear topsy-turvy. Each one of us regards the world through his own lens, his own glasses. The effect of those glasses is that, even though we may be looking at the same thing, not all of us actually see the same thing. The lenses are ground by each individual’s upbringing, disposition and other factors.”

“Humility is the only lens though which great things can be seen--and once we have seen them, humility is the only posture possible.”

“As she neared her destination, she took her glasses off. She hadn't come to the point where she trusted the world as seen through a lens.”

“The daguerreotype reproduces what appeared before a lens at a particular moment and never again-its appearance is simultaneous with its disappearance, its death.”