288 SENSE OF SIGHT. 



such objects intervene, the judgment we form is apt to be inaccurate. 

 This is the reason why we are so deceived as to the extent of an un- 

 varied plain or the distance at which a ship on the ocean may be from 

 us: it is also another cause why the sky appears to us to be nearer at 

 the zenith than it is at the horizon. The artist avails himself of this 

 means of judging of magnitude in his representations of colossal species 

 of the animal or vegetable kingdom, or of the works of human labour 

 and ingenuity, by placing a well-known object alongside of them as a 

 standard of comparison. Thus, the representation of an elephant or a 

 giraffe might convey but imperfect notions of its size to the mind, with- 

 out that of its keeper being added as a corrective. 



It is in consequence of the interposition of numerous objects, that we 

 are able to judge more accurately of the size and distance of those that 

 are on the same level with us, than when they are either much above 

 or much below us. The size and distance of a man on horseback are 

 easily recognised by the methods already mentioned, when he is riding 

 before us on a dreary plain; the man and horse appearing more dimi- 

 nutive, but, being seen in their usual position, they serve as mutual 

 sources of comparison. When, however, the same individual is viewed 

 from an elevated height, his apparent magnitude, like that of the objects 

 around him, is strikingly less than the reality. Beautifully and accu- 

 rately is this effect depicted by the great dramatist : 



"How fearful 



And dizzy 'tis to cast one's eyes so low ! 

 The crows and choughs, that wing the midway air, 

 Show scarce so gross as beetles. Half way down 

 Hangs one that gathers samphire; dreadful trade I 

 Methinks he seems no bigger than his head. 

 The fishermen that walk upon the beach, 

 Appear like mice ; and yon tall anchoring bark, 

 Diminish'd to her cock; her cock a buoy 

 Almost too small for sight." KING LEAR. 



The apparent diminution in the size of objects seen from a height is 

 not to be wholly explained by the foreshortening, which deprives us of 

 our usual modes of judging. It is partly owing to the absence of inter- 

 vening bodies; and still more perhaps to our not being accustomed to 

 view objects so circumstanced. Similar remarks apply to our estimates 

 of the size and distance of objects placed considerably above us. A 

 cross, at the summit of a lofty steeple, does not appear more than one- 

 fourth of its real size, making allowance for the probable distance ; yet 

 a singular anomaly occurs here: the steeple itself seems taller than 

 it really is; and every one supposes that it would extend much farther 

 along the ground, if prostrated, than it would in reality. The truth, 

 however, is, that if the steeple were laid along the ground, unsurrounded 

 by objects to enable us to form an accurate judgment, it would appear 

 to be much shorter than when erect, on the principles of foreshortening 

 already explained. The cause of this small apparent magnitude of the 

 cross and upper part of the steeple is, that they are viewed without any 

 surrounding objects to compare with them: they, therefore, seem to be 

 smaller than they are; and, seeming smaller, the mind irresistibly refers 

 them to a greater distance. For these reasons, then, it becomes neces- 



