Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1932-06-08
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

THE health of the eye seems to de-
mand horizon" said Emerson. I'VE
are never tired, so long as we can see
far enough"
He meant mental fatigue, Of course,
not eye strain.
1t is a curious fact that one can
watch the horizon from beach or ship
for hours at a time, without once be-
coming bored or tired In any way.
The same holds true Of mountain
scenery. Even the great plains hold
something Of this fascination Of the
far. the elemental appeal of the distant.
Lack of 1t Is one of the worst penal
ties of city living, although commonly
mankind never stops to think OF its loss.
Just how much one misses, in th:s
regard, may be aScertained any spare
day by a trip to baySide or ocean, or
short Journey out into the Countrywide
real country, not the smooth imitation
Of it.
A certain freedom comes to the mind
as well as to the man, and compelS
it and him to understand an old truth
anew.
We were made for scope and per-
spectivc.
The mind needs to stretch itself, as
well as the arms and legs.
This intellectual stretching is done
! mostly through the eyes, which are so
made that they can take in wide angles
and hold acres in their grasp.
The satisfaction in this process Of
looking provided the proper optical
fare is there, comes through a mixture
of physical and mental comprehension
No other sense possesses this power
of combination so fully. The others
somehow strike the mind as baser. and,
to that extent, less susceptible to fusion
with itself.
The eye alone. mankind has felt gives
the mind a worthy report Of the great
world
Seeing is believing" - that is the
naive saying which mankind has coined
to express this feeling OF more or less
dependence on the eye
The eye is an omnivOrouS recorder OF
scenes 1t Graves width and breath.
holds itself insulted when confined to
small details. resents being forced into
small compass.
Hence arise the multitude of eye ills
Small type and close application TO
fine work of other kinds bring troubles
in their wake whereas few people were
ever hurt locking at horizons.
The eye balances itself against the
light and angles of the great outdoors
and the mind becomes content with the
panorama before it.
\ In the face of shore or mountain an
observer concentrates on items only
occasionally. as an attempt to make
out steamer at sea- or moving some
thing or other on a distant road.
These are but momentary observa-
tions. Even when the search is not
given up. the concentration is; the
mental faculties go into sort Of doze
under the influence of the seeing eye.
A sort Of self-hypnosis is induced,
which partly accounts for the lack of
mental fatigue, when one Is able to see
far enough.
There is a fascination to the horizon
which not even a noble vista or per-
spective permits the beholder. In the
city many fine avenue, stretching
away to point. gives the observer
fools him into the belief that his eye,
and hence mind is satisfied.
He knows that the street is much
longer than it seems to be, that the
point Of conveyance is not as far away
as it should be, in reality.
Perspective is sort of trick. which
any ordinarily good draughtsman or
painter may execute well enough to fool
even the most critical
The sense of converging lines. the
illusion, as it were. Of meeting in &C
cordance with what are known as the
laws OF perspective. is so completely
met by the artist that the thing is as
true as life itself
Even natural perspective (Which IS
what actual lines do to the eye and