CHAPTER XII 
VALLEYS, PLAINS, AND LOWLANDS 
THE lines that give character to the moun- 
tains, the valleys, and the plains also create in 
us definite feelings or impressions. When nat- 
ure shows us the broken or abrupt line we gain 
from it an impression of activity or restless- 
ness; when we see the long, diagonal line the 
impression received is one of swift movement, 
as in the downward flight of an eagle; when 
the flat, horizontal line appears the impression 
is one of rest, peace, inaction, even drowsiness 
and sleep. Hence it is that people speak of the 
abrupt and broken mountains as representing 
the earth’s action, while the low-lying marshes 
and meadows represent its repose. There is a 
truth of feeling or imagination in this. The 
broken peaks and spurs, jutting up from the 
mountain’s ridge against the sky, certainly do 
seem restless, suggestive of motion; while the 
meadows, where flowers grow and bees hum and 
cattle recline at noontide under the trees, are 
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Line-im- 
pressions. 
