\startquotation I have said that the soul loves truth; nevertheless, in most things, one would like to see some sort of symmetry. This appears to present somewhat of a contradiction that I shall now explain:
One of the principal sources of pleasure to our soul when we see objects is in our ease to recognize them; And the reason that makes symmetry pleasant to our soul is that it spares us pain, that it soothes, that it, one can say, cuts the object into halves. >From this follows a general rule: everywhere where symmetry is useful to the soul and can help it function, it is pleasant; yet everywhere where it is not useful, it is boring because it removes variety. But things that we see in succession must vary, because our soul has no difficulty to perceive them; those that we observe fleetingly, on the other hand, must have symmetry. Thus, as we glimpse at a building, garden, or a temple, we add symmetry, as this pleases the soul by the ease with which we can grasp the whole of the object. As it must that the object that we perceive at a glance be simple, it must be unique and its parts must all correspond to the essence of the object: it is for this reason again that we like symmetries; for symmetry makes a whole. It is natural that we achieve this whole; and the soul that perceives this whole wishes that there be no imperfections. It is again for this reason that we like symmetries: there must be some sort of weight or balance; and a building having only one wing, or one wing shorter than another, is as unfinished as a body having only one arm, or having one arm shorter than the other. \stopquotation ___________________________________________________________________________________ If your question is of interest to others as well, please add an entry to the Wiki! maillist : [email protected] / http://www.ntg.nl/mailman/listinfo/ntg-context webpage : http://www.pragma-ade.nl / http://tex.aanhet.net archive : http://foundry.supelec.fr/projects/contextrev/ wiki : http://contextgarden.net ___________________________________________________________________________________
