The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.
Jesus Christ (Mt. 13.45–46)
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One pearl was suspended inside the belly of the fish and it gave illumination to Jonah, like this sun which shines with all its might at noon; and it showed to Jonah all that was in the sea and in the depths.
Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer (ca. 750)
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O earthly human! If only you still had it! … If only you knew what lay here, how you would seek after it! … O precious pearl! How sweet you are in the new birth! How fair and surpassing excellent is your lustre!
Jacob Boehme, Mysterium Magnum (1624)
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Somewhere along the line I knew there’d be girls, visions, everything; somewhere along the line the pearl would be handed to me.
Jack Kerouac, On the Road (1955)
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