﻿THE 
  FACT 
  OF 
  BEAUTY 
  275 
  

  

  the 
  wobbling 
  pig. 
  But 
  the 
  general 
  fact 
  unquestionably 
  is 
  

   that 
  the 
  movements 
  of 
  wild 
  animals 
  are 
  eurhythmic. 
  We 
  

   like 
  them 
  primarily 
  because 
  they 
  set 
  up 
  a 
  pleasant 
  internal 
  

   mimicry 
  of 
  eurhythmic 
  movements 
  within 
  ourselves. 
  \Ye 
  

   admire 
  the 
  fitness 
  of 
  the 
  structure 
  to 
  the 
  movements 
  ; 
  an 
  

   accompanying 
  song 
  may 
  increase 
  the 
  thrill 
  ; 
  we 
  add 
  the 
  

   imaginative 
  touch 
  ; 
  the 
  lark 
  is 
  at 
  heaven's 
  gate 
  and 
  we 
  with 
  it, 
  

  

  8. 
  Biological 
  Significance 
  of 
  Beauty 
  to 
  the 
  Beautiful 
  

  

  Organisms 
  themselves. 
  

  

  The 
  question 
  now 
  rises 
  whether 
  the 
  combinations 
  and 
  

   arrangements 
  of 
  lines 
  and 
  colours 
  in 
  organisms 
  which 
  mean 
  

   so 
  much 
  to 
  us 
  mean 
  anything 
  physiologically 
  in 
  their 
  pos- 
  

   sessors. 
  Is 
  there 
  any 
  deep 
  reason 
  behind 
  them 
  ? 
  (a) 
  In 
  

   some 
  cases 
  the 
  answer 
  is 
  easy, 
  for 
  the 
  arrangements 
  are 
  ob- 
  

   viously 
  useful 
  in 
  giving 
  stability 
  of 
  architecture, 
  in 
  reduc- 
  

   ing 
  friction, 
  and 
  in 
  economising 
  materials. 
  Thus 
  one 
  of 
  

   the 
  most 
  exquisite 
  structures 
  in 
  the 
  world 
  is 
  the 
  flinty 
  skel- 
  

   eton 
  of 
  Venus' 
  Flower 
  Basket 
  (Euplectella) 
  ; 
  and 
  the 
  ex- 
  

   perts 
  say 
  that 
  the 
  architecture 
  of 
  this 
  is 
  very 
  perfectly 
  

   adapted 
  to 
  stand 
  such 
  strains 
  as 
  are 
  put 
  on 
  it 
  as 
  it 
  rises 
  

   like 
  a 
  fairy 
  palace 
  from 
  the 
  floor 
  of 
  the 
  deep 
  sea. 
  A 
  spirally 
  

   coiled 
  tendril 
  is 
  a 
  pleasing 
  object, 
  and 
  we 
  know 
  that 
  it 
  is 
  

   directly 
  useful 
  in 
  its 
  formation 
  by 
  drawing 
  the 
  climbing 
  

   plant 
  closer 
  to 
  its 
  support 
  and 
  afterwards 
  by 
  forming 
  a 
  

   spring 
  which 
  yields 
  to 
  the 
  wind 
  but 
  does 
  not 
  break. 
  The 
  

   green 
  pigment 
  of 
  a 
  leaf 
  is 
  well 
  known 
  to 
  be 
  the 
  most 
  useful 
  

   non-living 
  substance 
  in 
  the 
  world, 
  but 
  though 
  the 
  greenness 
  

   is 
  somehow 
  wrapped 
  up 
  with 
  its 
  chemical 
  composition 
  it 
  

   might 
  conceivably 
  have 
  worked 
  just 
  as 
  well 
  had 
  it 
  not 
  been 
  

   green. 
  On 
  the 
  other 
  hand, 
  colour 
  is 
  often 
  of 
  direct 
  external 
  

   utility 
  in 
  giving 
  the 
  animal 
  a 
  garment 
  of 
  invisibility, 
  or 
  in 
  

  

  