SCIENCE AND PHILOSOPHY IN ART 353 



reminds us of how we are lured on in our search after truth 

 simplicity and clearness at the start, ever-increasing dimness 

 following. The high swells of the sea are coming on in a stately 

 procession, each bending before the mighty rocky arch, and 

 then rushing upon it as if to reach to its summit. These great 

 billows are composed of small waves, and upon them rise 

 smaller ones still, until the little ripples come, as a bright smile 

 upon a loved face. The prevailing color-tones of greens, blues, 

 and pinks offer a harmony of incomparable composition. 

 One can sniff the fresh salt breezes, and hear the heavy thud 

 of the waters coming against the rock. On viewing such a 

 scene, we cannot but feel that we are looking upon more than 

 nature has to offer in her cold way. We see and feel, in 

 addition to the sea, rock, and waves, the thoughts which the 

 artist had on painting this picture. 



The theory of triangulation should be considered at this 

 stage. It was stated above that in No. 123 movement is for- 

 cibly expressed by all the objects in the picture being painted 

 along parallel diagonal lines. Motion can be represented only 

 by ideas of force. Force is always exerted in straight lines, 

 whether as initial or deflected force. The triangle is selected 

 as the simplest figure enclosing space, and thus represents 

 the lines of force in their simplest elements. 



The hypotenuse offers the opportunity of introducing the 

 idea of dissymmetry. We owe to M. Pasteur the acknow- 

 ledgment of presenting molecular dissymmetry in its widest 

 bearing. Dissymmetry is essential to the conditions of life. 

 The results of synthesis in the laboratory of the chemist 

 are always symmetrical, because the forces employed are 

 non-dissymmetrical. On the contrary, all chemical products 

 made in the plant cell are dissymmetrical, for they are formed 

 by forces of dissymmetry. How should the chemist break 

 away from his methods, which are, from this point of view, 

 obsolete and imperfect? He should have recourse to the ac- 

 tion of solenoids, of magnetism, of the dissymmetrical move- 

 ment of light, and the reactions of substances themselves 

 dissymmetrical. A vast field opens here for future investiga- 

 tions into the origin of life. Dissymmetry is not only the basis 



