Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1885-10-07
THE r GREEKS.
Their Skill in Building Lines Curved to
look Straight and Made Straight to Look
Curved.

look straight and Made Straight to Look
Curved.
.Ira Br'ss ~ C,tg5r 81. NTrIoIas.
II you turn q book upside down and look
at The letters every 5 will seem much smaller
.r tke uouom titan a. the top, although
VIXEN be book Is properly held, both halves
avc,ar The same sIZe to the eye. The up
u-r yarr Ct the tyoe ,hat priGts the letter 5
II made smaller than the lower halt to cor
Iccr the taulc Of the eye, which always ex-
sggsra.ss the former. When the letter Is
tuTued over this same trlck Ct the sight
makes the difference seem greater than 1t
really is; crd IF course, we're it Of the same
wirth alt he WAY, it would still look uneven
l. greater mat ers, the false report Of the
eye ia greater. If o tspering monument,
ike hat en- Bunker Hill or the obelisk in
Central Park were made with perfectly
straight sides, it would look 10 us-tOr, you
see, we really can not trust our " eyes
ss If it were followed in q little; or, as We
should say in more scientific language, Its
sides would appear COncava.
Those clever G;sskS, who did so many
marvellous things in AT thought al! this
CUT, ana made their architecture upon prln-
ciples so subtle acd so comprehensive that
We have new Den .a:a 70 improve on
hem si-c-. rn=, rouyi hot their baAUt'-
tul D3yr,c cnl.mus ff made WITH straight
sides, mad RE g-ag,ro c!ecC OF which !
have sroksr: ard go. with he most delicate
srt in be world. hey mace the pillar swell
q Iuls a. he middle, lad ltsG It appeared
exactly rlg-t
ibis swelling o ihe column a. lis middle
vas called cura,i, Of C0vr e 1t bad 10 De
calculated win the greatest nicely, and
was actually 90 very slight that it eau only
be 6etsc,ed by Ge3icste measurements; bat
II added grea,'y 20 tho beauty OF the col
umns aid 70 thsir effectiveness.
Then The lines which we're to look hoTl
zontal bad 10 receive attention. 1t you
look al a lorg, perfectly level line, as the
edge OF a root for instance. il has the ap
pearance of aagging toward the middle
The Greek architect corrected this fault BY
making his lines rise q little. The front Of
The Parlheuon at Athens is l0l feet 34
inches long, and in this the rise from the
horizontal is about p inches. In other
words. there is o curvature upward that
makes it q little more than 2 inches higher
in the centre than A. the ends, and
Ire effect of this swelling upward is 10
make the lines appear perfectly level. In.
deed this sma Pac Gsnon The most basu.
tityl nui,d,ug in the wCrld-whan delicate
, w ard c.ro!Ulir measured was found 10 be
( ~sveryyhers made e Title incorrect. 80 iha'
IL may anger T'gAl, which - certainly
vPar msy ce cs.sd 81 architectural para
|cx. Tnc graceful columns. which seem
+ - srsld SO straight. are made 70 lean in
ssGd q littla, since, if they were perfectly
RE IA plumb, they would have the effect
. cf Iearirg oo'gsgd. The pillars at the
/ ,o-r,rs s..nf iursrd more than the others,
. md eve7yah,re the corners are made to
/ lock square by being in truth q little
broader aDgled, and lines are curved in
order that they ahsll appear straight to the
eye.