Ancients operated with two general theories of vision. The intromission theory was based upon the idea that objects emitted effluences which moved through the air and impacted the eye. This idea is associated with Aristotle, and Democritus has a similar view. Democritus thought objects were comprised of atoms and the arrangement of atoms influenced whether a viewer saw an object as light or dark. In the case of things comprised mainly of the element of fire, the object would appear luminous.
Plato’s understanding of vision differs as he generally imagines a stream of fire emanating from the individual’s soul and through the eyes to “touch” an object. This is called the emission or extramission theory of vision. At the same time, Plato understands color as a kind of flame emanating from an object. Like Democritus, Plato is concerned with the shape and arrangement of the elements which comprise a thing. The differences in shape and arrangement change the nature of fire emanating from an object and, therefore, mean the viewer’s sight interacts differently with these different emanations. In fact, among the colors noted by Plato is “bright,” which we might think of as more of a quality of a color and not a hue.
Plato’s understanding of extramission and an object’s fire ultimately explains why people perceive colors differently. In other words, for Plato things have a kind of color intrinsic to their substance, but the viewer plays a role in perception. Moreover, colors can be dynamic and shifting. In fact, the word for purple was related to the word for swirling, according to Maria Michela Sassi.
Why does this matter for Revelation? 1. I think the material connection between things and their color (I talked about this in a previous post) helps us understand how ancients connected color and the nature of a thing. 2. Plato’s understanding helps us understand the dynamic aspects of John’s description of things that are bright.
Images: 1) St. Lucy ex voto, Siracusa 2) burning candles 3) eyes of Roman statue head in Museo Nazionale, Roma 4) Roman glass, Aquileia.
Lynn R. Huber 