from on high

Through the tender mercy of our God, whereby the day-spring from on high hath visited vs,

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Luke 1:78

Can we whose souls are lighted With Wisdom from on high, Can we to men benighted The lamp of life deny?

1819, Reginald Heber, The Missionary Hymn

For the rest, that the Manchester Insurrection could yet discern no radiance of Heaven on any side of its horizon; but feared that all lights, of the O’Connor or other sorts, hitherto kindled, where but deceptive fish-oil transparencies, or bog will-o’-wisp lights, and no dayspring from on high: for this also we will honour the poor Manchester Insurrection, and augur well of it.

1843 April, Thomas Carlyle, “chapter 3 (Manchester Insurrection)”, in Past and Present, American edition, Boston, Mass.: Charles C[offin] Little and James Brown, published 1843, →OCLC, book I (Proem)

The whole point of America is that we are all supposed to be our own masters, never viewing anyone as being by birth or situation inherently better or more capable than ourselves, and so the notion of relying upon some nebulous class of investment bankers to “channel opportunity” from on high strikes me as being un-American.

2010 January 27, Matt Taibbi, “Populism: Just Like Racism!”, in True/Slant, archived from the original on 19 Jan 2013