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The branches, too, of most garden shrubs and trees are trimmed in fantastic shapes. What is the charm in these distortions? First, perhaps, the universal human interest in anything requiring skill. Think of the patience and persistence and experimentation necessary to rear a dwarf pear tree twelve or fifteen inches high, growing its full number of years and bearing full-size fruit in its season!
In describing Ribero's chart, I made some remark about Spanish distortions. I come now to the Portuguese ones, which refer to this subject.
In both cases there will be distortions of the image; we shall frequently see projected upon each other, things that do not belong together, we shall perceive convergences at vanishing points which are to be ascribed only to perspective. I might for brevity’s sake call the errors so resulting errors of superposition.
Those who had been accustomed to the preachers of Oxford, and the liturgy of the church of England, were offended at the emptiness of their discourses, which were noisy and unmeaning; at the unusual gestures, the wild distortions, and the uncouth tone with which they were delivered; at the coldness of their prayers for the king, and the vehemence and exuberance of those which they did not fail to utter for the blessed councils and actions of the parliament and army; and at, what was surely not to be remarked without indignation, their omission of the Lord's prayer.
And instead of wasting time in gazing at the singing master's face, that he might ape its unnatural distortions it was now the sweet tones of skilful harmony to which he bent his attention, and which he strove, and not in vain, to reproduce.
Is not the artist, of all men, foe and nullifier of partisanship and parochialism, of distortions and extravagance, the discoverer of that jack-o'-lantern Truth; for, if Truth be not Spiritual Proportion I know not what it is.
I happened just then to glance past him at a picture on the wall over his chair. It was a crayon portrait of his wife, made from an enlarged photograph a poor piece of work, almost ludicrous in its distortions of proportion and perspective. But it touched me the more because it was such a humble thing, reminiscent of her and his and my lowly beginnings.
The history of sacerdotal and monastic celibacy abundantly shows how much vice that might easily have been avoided grew out of the adoption of an unnatural standard, and how often it led in those who had attained it to grave distortions of character.
I am already regretting distortions: the beautiful silhouette has begun to lengthen. Kyoto, April l6. Of all peculiarly beautiful things in Japan, the most beautiful are the approaches to high places of worship or of rest, the Ways that go to Nowhere and the Steps that lead to Nothing.
Vaguely, in this and a dozen ways, I could feel him taking my harbor to pieces, transforming each piece into something grim and so building a harbor all his own. Disturbedly and angrily I struggled to find the flaws in his building, eagerly I caught at distortions here and there, twisted facts and wrong conclusions.
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