“Ordinary hypocrites pretend to be doves; political and literary hypocrites pretend to be eagles. But don't be disconcerted by their aquiline appearance. They are not eagles, but rats or dogs.”

Source: Invisible Man (1952), Chapter 5.

Choruses from The Rock (1934)
Context: The Eagle soars in the summit of Heaven,
The Hunter with his dogs pursues his circuit.

Source: The Book on the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are (1966), p. 22

Apple Of My Eye

"I Am a Rainworm", 1900, translated by J. Robbins, (J. Leftwich. Golden Peacock. Sci-Art, 1939, p. 83).

By the Waters of Babylon (1937)
Context: I went fasting, as is the law. My body hurt but not my heart. When the dawn came, I was out of sight of the village. I prayed and purified myself, waiting for a sign. The sign was an eagle. It flew east.
Sometimes signs are sent by bad spirits. I waited again on the flat rock, fasting, taking no food. I was very still — I could feel the sky above me and the earth beneath. I waited till the sun was beginning to sink. Then three deer passed in the valley going east — they did not mind me or see me. There was a white fawn with them — a very great sign.

“Eagle,” p. 72
The Creator (2000), Sequence: “Thought and Flight”