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Quotation from Ecclesiastical History of the English People by Bede

“The sparrow, flying in at one door and immediately out at another, whilst he is within, is safe from the wintry tempest; but after a short space of fair weather, he immediately vanishes out of your sight, passing from winter into winter again.”

Bede (spoken by One of King Edwin's chief men)

Ecclesiastical History of the English People, Book II, Chapter XIII, trans. A. M. Sellar

Portrait of Bede

At Edwin's council, a counsellor compares human life to a sparrow's flight through a warm hall and urges the king to accept a doctrine that tells something more certain.

Citation: "The sparrow, flying in at one door and immediately out at another, whilst he is within, is safe from the wintry tempest; but after a short space of fair weather, he immediately vanishes out of your sight, passing from winter into winter again." — Bede, Ecclesiastical History of the English People, Book II, Chapter XIII, trans. A. M. Sellar. (id bede-ecclesiastical-history-q3)

Portrait: The Venerable Bede translates John 1902, James Doyle Penrose, Public domain.

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Quote card: The sparrow, flying in at one door and immediately out at another, whilst he is