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第44章

over the teacups-第44章

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in it to be amended。  The first drawn circle and the last both embody

the same complete fulfillment of a perfect design。  Then look at the

rays which pass from the inner to the outer circle。  How beautifully

they bring the greater and lesser circles into connection with each

other!  The flowers know that secret;the marguerite in the meadow

displays it as clearly as the great sun in heaven。  How beautiful is

this flower of wood and iron; which we were ready to pass by without

wasting a look upon it!  But its beauty is only the beginning of its

wonderful claim upon us for our admiration。  Look at that field of

flowering grass; the triticum vulgare;see how its waves follow the

breeze in satiny alternations of light and shadow。  You admire it for

its lovely aspect; but when you remember that this flowering grass is

wheat; the finest food of the highest human races; it gains a

dignity; a glory; that its beauty alone could not give it。



〃Now look at that exquisite structure lying neglected and disgraced;

but essentially unchanged in its perfection; before you。  That slight

and delicate…looking fabric has stood such a trial as hardly any

slender contrivance; excepting always the valves of the heart; was

ever subjected to。  It has rattled for years over the cobble…stones

of a rough city pavement。  It has climbed over all the accidental

obstructions it met in the highway; and dropped into all the holes

and deep ruts that made the heavy farmer sitting over it use his

Sunday vocabulary in a week…day form of speech。  At one time or

another; almost every part of that old wagon has given way。  It has

had two new pairs of shafts。  Twice the axle has broken off close to

the hub; or nave。  The seat broke when Zekle and Huldy were having

what they called 'a ride' together。  The front was kicked in by a

vicious mare。  The springs gave way and the floor bumped on the axle。

Every portion of the wagon became a prey of its special accident;

except that most fragile looking of all its parts; the wheel。  Who

can help admiring the exact distribution of the power of resistance

at the least possible expenditure of material which is manifested in

this wondrous triumph of human genius and skill?  The spokes are

planted in the solid hub as strongly as the jaw…teeth of a lion in

their deep…sunken sockets。  Each spoke has its own territory in the

circumference; for which it is responsible。  According to the load

the vehicle is expected to carry; they are few or many; stout or

slender; but they share their joint labor with absolute justice;not

one does more; not one does less; than its just proportion。  The

outer end of the spokes is received into the deep mortise of the

wooden fellies; and the structure appears to be complete。  But how

long would it take to turn that circle into a polygon; unless some

mighty counteracting force should prevent it?  See the iron tire

brought hot from the furnace and laid around the smoking

circumference。  Once in place; the workman cools the hot iron; and as

it shrinks with a force that seems like a hand…grasp of the

Omnipotent; it clasps the fitted fragments of the structure; and

compresses them into a single inseparable whole。



〃Was it not worth our while to stop a moment before passing that old

broken wagon; and see whether we could not find as much in it as

Swift found in his 'Meditations on a Broomstick'?  I have been

laughed at for making so much of such a common thing as a wheel。

Idiots!  Solomon's court fool would have scoffed at the thought of

the young Galilean who dared compare the lilies of the field to his

august master。  Nil admirari is very well for a North American Indian

and his degenerate successor; who has grown too grand to admire

anything but himself; and takes a cynical pride in his stolid

indifference to everything worth reverencing or honoring。〃



After calling my companion's attention to the wheel; and discoursing

upon it until I thought he was getting sleepy; we jogged along until

we came to a running stream。  It was crossed by a stone bridge of a

single arch。  There are very few stone arches over the streams in New

England country towns; and I always delighted in this one。  It was

built in the last century; amidst the doubting predictions of staring

rustics; and stands to…day as strong as ever; and seemingly good for

centuries to come。



〃See there!〃 said I;〃there is another of my 'Eyes and No Eyes'

subjects to meditate upon。  Next to the wheel; the arch is the

noblest of those elementary mechanical composites; corresponding to

the proximate principles of chemistry。  The beauty of the arch

consists first in its curve; commonly a part of the circle; of the

perfection of which I have spoken。  But the mind derives another

distinct pleasure from the admirable manner in which the several

parts; each different from all the others; contribute to a single

harmonious effect。  It is a typical example of the piu nel uno。  An

arch cut out or a single stone would not be so beautiful as one of

which each individual stone was shaped for its exact position。  Its

completion by the locking of the keystone is a delight to witness and

to contemplate。  And how the arch endures; when its lateral thrust is

met by solid masses of resistance!  In one of the great temples of

Baalbec a keystone has slipped; but how rare is that occurrence!  One

will hardly find another such example among all the ruins of

antiquity。  Yes; I never get tired of arches。  They are noble when

shaped of solid marble blocks; each carefully beveled for its

position。  They are beautiful when constructed with the large thin

tiles the Romans were so fond of using。  I noticed some arches built

in this way in the wall of one of the grand houses just going up on

the bank of the river。  They were over the capstones of the windows;…

…to take off the pressure from them; no doubt; for now and then a

capstone will crack under the weight of the superincumbent mass。  How

close they fit; and how striking the effect of their long

radiations!〃



The company listened very well up to this point。  When he began the

strain of thoughts which follows; a curious look went round The

Teacups。



What a strange underground life is that which is led by the organisms

we call trees!  These great fluttering masses of leaves; stems;

boughs; trunks; are not the real trees。  They live underground; and

what we see are nothing more nor less than their tails。



The Mistress dropped her teaspoon。  Number Five looked at the Doctor;

whose face was very still and sober。  The two Annexes giggled; or

came very near it。



Yes; a tree is an underground creature; with its tail in the air。

All its intelligence is in its roots。  All the senses it has are in

its roots。  Think what sagacity it shows in its search after food and

drink!  Somehow or other; the rootlets; which are its tentacles; find

out that there is a brook at a moderate distance from the trunk of

the tree; and they make for it with all their might。  They find every

crack in the rocks where there are a few grains of the nourishing

substance they care for; and insinuate themselves into its deepest

recesses。  When spring and summer come; they let their tails grow;

and delight in whisking them about in the wind; or letting them be

whisked about by it; for these tails are poor passive things; with

very little will of their own; and bend in whatever direction the

wind chooses to make them。  The leaves make a deal of noise

whispering。  I have sometimes thought I could understand them; as

they talk with each other; and that they seemed to think they made

the wind as they wagged forward and back。  Remember what I say。  The

next time you see a tree waving in the wind; recollect that it is the

tail of a great underground; many…armed; polypus…like creature; which

is as proud of its caudal appendage; especially in summer…time; as a

peacock of his gorgeous expanse of plumage。




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