In ictu oculi
Latin phrase / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The phrase in ictu oculi is a Latin expression meaning "in the blink of an eye". One source is from the Bible, in 1 Corinthians 15:52: "In momento, in ictu oculi, in novissima tuba", translated in the KJV as "In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump:"[1] where the Latin is itself a translation of the original Koine Greek phrase ἐν ῥιπῇ ὀφθαλμοῦ (en rhipēi ophthalmou).[2] The phrase was used by Henry of Huntingdon on the rapid submission to the coronation of Stephen of England in 1135: Sine mora, sine labore, quasi in ictu oculi.[3][4] It also appears as part of the text to a motet by Antoine Busnois entitled "Gaude celestis Domina".[5]
The most notable use of the phrase in an English text is that by John Donne: which shall be found alive upon the earth, we say there shall be a sudden death, and a sudden resurrection; In raptu, in transitu, in ictu oculi, where Donne gives an English-Latin paraphrase on the original context in 1 Corinthians 15.[6][7]