﻿276 
  THE 
  FACT 
  OF 
  BEAUTY 
  

  

  giving 
  the 
  flower 
  an 
  advertisement 
  which 
  attracts 
  useful 
  in- 
  

   sect 
  visitors. 
  

  

  (b) 
  Secondly 
  there 
  are 
  arrangements 
  of 
  lines 
  and 
  colours 
  

   which 
  are 
  not 
  of 
  direct 
  use 
  to 
  their 
  possessors, 
  but 
  have 
  none 
  

   the 
  less 
  a 
  physiological 
  significance, 
  heing 
  expressions 
  of 
  

   rhythmic 
  growth 
  and 
  orderly 
  chemical 
  processes. 
  The 
  pleas- 
  

   ing 
  parallel 
  lines 
  on 
  many 
  shells 
  express 
  periods 
  of 
  growths 
  

   like 
  the 
  concentric 
  rings 
  inside 
  the 
  stem 
  of 
  a 
  tree 
  or 
  the 
  

   spine 
  of 
  a 
  sea-urchin. 
  The 
  beautiful 
  cross-bars 
  on 
  a 
  hawk's 
  

   feather 
  are 
  the 
  expression 
  of 
  diurnal 
  variations 
  in 
  the 
  blood- 
  

   pressure 
  at 
  the 
  time 
  when 
  the 
  feather 
  was 
  amaking. 
  The 
  

   subtlety 
  of 
  coloration 
  is 
  often 
  due 
  to 
  its 
  rhythmic 
  distribu- 
  

   tion 
  its 
  waxing 
  and 
  waning, 
  its 
  paling 
  and 
  flushing 
  so 
  that 
  

   it 
  represents 
  very 
  literally 
  the 
  ripple-marks 
  of 
  growth. 
  

  

  (c) 
  But, 
  thirdly, 
  in 
  many 
  cases, 
  we 
  cannot 
  suggest 
  for 
  

   the 
  beauty 
  any 
  utility 
  whatsoever, 
  either 
  direct 
  or 
  indirect. 
  

   Just 
  as 
  it 
  is 
  the 
  way 
  of 
  water 
  in 
  certain 
  circumstances 
  to 
  

   crystallise 
  into 
  very 
  beautiful 
  and 
  very 
  varied 
  snow-crystals, 
  

   so 
  it 
  is 
  the 
  way 
  of 
  individualised 
  living 
  matter 
  to 
  form 
  the 
  

   exquisitely 
  beautiful 
  shells 
  of 
  Foraminifera 
  and 
  Radiola- 
  

   rians. 
  It 
  may 
  be 
  that 
  these 
  relatively 
  simple 
  animals 
  illus- 
  

   trate 
  something 
  that 
  may 
  be 
  called 
  organic 
  crystallisation, 
  

   though 
  we 
  shall 
  afterwards 
  find 
  reason 
  to 
  suspect 
  that 
  this 
  

   is 
  not 
  all 
  ; 
  our 
  present 
  point 
  is 
  that 
  their 
  beauty 
  is 
  not 
  useful. 
  

   Just 
  as 
  it 
  is 
  the 
  way 
  of 
  particles 
  of 
  water 
  in 
  the 
  atmosphere 
  

   to 
  form 
  a 
  rainbow 
  when 
  the 
  sun 
  shines 
  through, 
  a 
  beautiful 
  

   thing 
  that 
  has 
  no 
  meaning 
  at 
  all 
  except 
  to 
  us, 
  so 
  the 
  " 
  beauty 
  

   for 
  ashes 
  ' 
  that 
  transfigures 
  the 
  leaves 
  of 
  the 
  forest 
  in 
  their 
  

   dying 
  has, 
  so 
  far 
  as 
  we 
  know, 
  no 
  significance 
  whatsoever 
  

   to 
  the 
  plant. 
  The 
  withering 
  leaves 
  might 
  as 
  well 
  be 
  ugly, 
  

   but 
  they 
  are 
  not. 
  Whence 
  again 
  rises 
  the 
  question, 
  Is 
  there 
  

   any 
  meaning 
  in 
  this 
  pervasiveness 
  of 
  the 
  beautiful 
  ? 
  

  

  