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Perspective and Geolinear Foreshortening. E d it o r F l a m ing S w o r d :—I pass by, with brief mention, the pitiful narrowing down of the universe to the beggarly cir cumference of 2 5 ,0 0 0 miles—barely two months’ journey.
Think of it—a man in these days can travel around the universe in about 60 days!
Aside from that ab surdity, your arguments are as fallacious and misleading as could well be expressed in words.
For instance, the attempt to explain the disappearance of a ship’s hull while the masts are still visible, up on the principle of foreshortening or narrowing of the lines of vision, is so ut terly inadequate that it ought not to de ceive a child.
You use the illustration of two railroad tracks approaching each other and disappearing at the vanishing- point.
Surely, you are not so flighty as to believe in such an explanation. You know that the two tracks appear to merge into one and disappear together; where as, the hull, the lowest point of vision, and much the larger object, always disap pears first, while the comparatively small topsail remains in sight, which would not be the case on a flat or a concave surface.
Again, why do you ignore the fact that the phenomenon of foreshortening is man ifest horizontally as well as vertically?
No matter how long nor how high the hull may be, and no matter how small nor how low the sails and upper work,the hull always disappears first.
Your at tempted explanation of why Chicago cannot be seen from St. Fouis, in the con cave earth, seems to be utterly unsatis factory.
The distance in a straight line is about 2 5 0 miles. There are many tele scopes that would practical^' annihilate that distance and bring your skyscrapers almost to our door yards.
With an ele vation great enough to overcome the con vexity, this could easily be done.
From the summit of Pike’s Peak, with the aid of a good glass, Denver can be seen 7 5 miles away, which half way down the mountain is impossible.—P r o f . W. F.
P., St. Louis, Mo. Koreshan Science narrows down the universe to the proper limits of com prehension; it insists upon the exer cise of the sense of proportion and the logic of use.
But we are not respon sible for the fact that the earth, the ground of inhabitation of the world of man, is no more than 25,000 miles in circumference.
Does humanity need a larger field of activity? If so, why was it not provided?
It is no argu ment against the beneficent wisdom of the Creator of the cosmos, to say that the earth is pitifully small because a man can travel around it in 60 days.
The fact that he can do so speaks vol umes for genius, which looks to the universal dissemination of knowledge
The Open Court of Inquiry. THE EDITOR. —universal, we say, because the earth is the universe in fact as well as in common usage of the terms applied to the earth.
A condition which prevails throughout the earth is a universal condition; a cosmopolitan city is a city which contains inhabitants from all parts of the cosmos—a strange thing to say in these days of fallacy, but the statement is absolutely true.
We vio late no principles of law, logic, nor language when we say that the earth is the physical limit of the universal system of existence.
Art has for its basis certain geomet rical principles which cannot be ig nored.
We maintain that art is true. No artist will attempt to produce a perspective drawing or picture of any landscape or waterscape, without the w'ell-known “ vanishing-line” —the act ual horizon of the picture; he must apply the principles of geolinear fore shortening as well as horizontal and vertical perspective, else his picture will not be a true and accurate pro jection.
Art affirms in boldest terms that the sea horizon is the vanishing- line, not the apex of a bulge of water.
The artist’s perspective projection is scientific; it is in accordance with the principles of geometry, and in agree ment with the testimony of the camera and the natural orb of vision.
If the geolinear extense were a per fectly flat surface instead of a concav ity, practically the same phenomena as related to that surface would be ap parent, because within the limit of ac cessible altitudes of observations, the earth is flat enough to produce an ap parent horizon by virtue of the laws of foreshortening.
Observe a picture of the sea, or the sea itself, from an al titude of 10 feet.
The first mile pro jects a vertical impression of a given length; the second mile, a shorter pic ture—about one sixth the length of the first; the third mile, a still shorter pic ture; the fourth mile, almost a line, beyond which no impression is made of the surface, for the simple reason that the angle is too small to be drawn or perceived.
Consequently, beyond the horizon or vanishing-line, no sur face can be seen—a fact absolutely 12
demonstrable by diagram true to scale. If at the vanishing-line the surface becomes invisible, there must be be yond the horizon a curving line of suc cessive vanishing-points, below which no object cau be seen.
Suppose that at the vanishing-line an object of a given size appears to be just a point; at twice the distance, the object would certainly be entirely invisible; but if its vertical dimensions be increased four times, it will appear to be a point, and so on, according to the square of the distance.
Perspective cannot op erate below an opaque surface; beyond the vanishing-line, the ratio of per spective accelerates in proportion to the square of the distance.
Hence, the hull of a vessel disappears accord ing to the two-fold factor of perspective and geolinear foreshortening; it in volves all the principles of vertical and horizontal foreshortening, and the ap parent contraction of the earth’s sur face.
Increase the altitude of ob servation, and the vision is extended and the vanishing-line appears farther away.
Rise high enough in the at mosphere above the concavity, and St. Louis would be visible from Chicago.
The artist knows very well that the vertical contraction of the land or waterscape is due to the increasing acuteness of the angles in proportion to the distance; and if he attempted to picture-a house or vessel, or mountain at some distance beyond the horizon, he would place so much of it out of sight as is hidden by the apparent rise of the surface, and apparently below the vanishing-line — not because he conceives the earth to be convex, but because the very principles of geometry to which his picture must conform, de mand that the objects should be so represented.
Art existed before the earth’s convexity was conceived; its principles are the same today; and art says in terms of its own, that the ap parent perspective slope of the geoliu- ear surface extends beyond into space, below which absolutely nothing can be seen, without aid to vision.
We want to know if a scientist ex ists who is ready to affirm and to dem onstrate that art is false.
Who will
affirm that it is? The principles of foreshortening are in agreement with the impression on the camera plate and on the retina of the eye; by virtue of these principles, the vanishing line or horizon appears in the drawing, in the photograph, and in the field of visual perception.
We cannot logically deny the testimony of these scientific pro jections of the relation of the earth and sky to the point of vision; the geo metrical principles involved in the art of picture-making demonstrate that the hull of a vessel disappears by virtue of the laws of foreshortening; and no man will ever be able to successfully contradict these statements.
Relation of Signs and Constellations. Editor F l a m ing S w o r d :—According to the best of my recollection, the dia grams in ordinary almanacs and astrolog ical ruagaz nes give Aries as the March- April sign, and so on around the Zodiac.
I have not any of these books at hand, but I am going to look them up. If this is the case, is it not time for them to adjust their charts to suit the facts ?
Ac cording to Koreshan Astronomy, Pisces would be the March-April sign, and Aries the April-May sign.
Is this not so?— Reader, Wells, Ore. The circle of the signs and the belt of constellations constitute two distinct Zodiacs; the one is in the earth, and the other is in the physical heavens.
Un less we distinguish between the two, confusion results.
If the constella tions were the signs, then of course, inasmuch as the sun enters the con stellation Pisces about March 21, Pisces would be the March-April sign.
Near ly 2,000 years ago, the signs and con stellations were in agreement; but the precessioual movement of about 50" of a degree per year has changed their relation, and Pisces, instead of Aries, is the spring constellation, but Aries is still the spring sign.
We will endeavor to make this point clear: We take the zero-point of astro nomical longitude as a basis of refer ence; this zero-point is the point of intersection of the meridian of the ver nal equinox, the ecliptic, and the equa tor of the heavens.
Over what part of the earth is the sun, at the exact moment that the center of the sun is at the vernal equinox?
The most exact astronomical observations and calculations determine it to be directly over the earth's equator and the earth’s
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The Flaming Sword. prime meridian - the meridian of Green wich.
The sign Aries begins at the meridian of Greenwich and extends 30° eastward 011 the ecliptic; next Tau rus 30°, and so on around llie geo graphical circle of the ecliptic Con sequently, at noon, March 21, the sun enters the sign Aries.
For convenience, the geographical signs are placed on the star-maps; and this has given rise to the common im pression that there are two Zodiacs in the heavens.
Astronomical longitude is counted from the vernal equinox, and the signs thus transposed in their order, extend eastward from the zero- point.
The transposed sign Aries ex tends 30° eastward from the zero-point or .prime celestial meridian, while from the same point the constellation Pisces extends about 30°. Therefore, the sun is moving through the sign Aries and the constellation Pisces at the same time— and so on, with the other signs and their present constellations around the Zodiac.
The cause of the shift of the constel lations is what is generally termed the precession of the equinoxes.
The re lation of the signs and constellations has been carefully and wisely pre served through the ages, to serve a great purpose in unmistakably indicat ing the beginning and ending of dispen- sational periods.
In a general sense, the published charts of the signs and constellations are correct as to order and relation. The sign Aries has com pleted its movement through the con stellation Pisces and is entering the constellation Aquarius.
In about 2,000 years from now, the sign Aries will completely cover Aquarius, and Aqua rius will then be the spring constella tion, but Aries the spring sign.
^ Antediluvian Patriarchs and Churches. E d ito r F l a m ing S w o r d :—In a recent number of T he F l a m ing S w o r d , I un derstood you to say that the antediluvian patriarchs weie not literal men but churches; that there was no literal flood, and that Noah himself was the ark.
I would like very much to know where the connecting link is between the literal and the mythical in the narratives.
Accord ing to Bible chronology, the ages of these patriarchs overlapped, so that ihey were contemporaneous.
Seth lived almost up to the time of the birth of Noah, and Lanuch and Methuselah lived until near the date of the deluge.—J. L. J.
In a brief article we can only treat this subject in a general way, on the basis of general principles.
Every
church has a head, a founder; conse quently, the antediluvian patriarchs were individuals possessing the names given; and each church took the name of its founder.
Take Seth, for in stance; he had a following— a group of people into whom he was absorbed; he was in his church, and he was no less himself because he was disseminated— hence, his church was Seth.
But he died when the church declined, just as Jesus died during this age, as seed in the soil.
The so called Bible chronology is erroneous; it is merely a system of time devised in accordance with the conception that the antediluvian patri archs were mortal men and begat sons after the order of common generation.
I11 reality, they were Sons of God, and produced offspring according to the higher law of regeneration. According to the common view, only about 1,656 years elapsed from the time of the creation of Adam to the time of the flood; consequently, it appears to the modern mind that the men were con temporaries.
But from the basis of the facts in the case, it is evident that about 18,000 years is the correct period, there being about 6,000 years from the flood to the present time.
There have been three dispensations since the time of Noah—the Noatic, the Abrahamic or Jewish, and the Christian dispensation.
There is really no element of the mythical in the narrative of the flood; the descriptions are of realities in the domain of life and progress.
Common water is not the only kind of water in existence; there are waters in other domains, and the record of them is just as literal as records of floods which frequently occur in different parts of the physical world.
The deluge was a flood of fallacy; humanity was full of the waters of fallacy, and the waters destroyed the old world or dispensa tion.
Noah was the Savior of that age; hence, he was the ark of safety. The proper interpretation of these nar ratives depends upon a comprehension of the laws operative in man, and the symbols employed to express literal and actual conditions and events in the sphere of divine activity in both the spiritual and natural worlds.
The connecting link between narra tives of this kind and those more on
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14 the plane of common occurrences, is Abraham, who involved the last order of the Sons of God, and began a mor tal race of men which contained the divine mind; the life of the Almighty was then projected on the sensual plane.
The Bible record of events from the time of Abraham is more nearly in accordance with what the world considers as literal events; and from the time of Abraham, the com mon chronological methods are ap proximately correct, from the basis of the ages of father and son in successive generations in the line of mortal genealogy.
THE EDITOR. The Metaphysical Magazine.—We have received the May number of this excellent production and are interested in its con tents. The Cambodians and Their Origin is an entertaining discussion of the char acter, conceptions, and ethnology of a distinct people on the East coast of the Gulf of Siam, by C. Staniland Wake. Del hi and the Palace of the Emperors, by Ma rie B. Smith, breathes an Oriental atmos phere, describing as it does, the remains of an ancient civilization and capitol. In this magazine Rev. Henry Frank conducts the Department of Independent Thought, in which he discusses current questions ; and The World of Thought is the Editor’s field of intellectual display.
100 pages; 10 cents per copy, $1.00 yearly. 110-114 West 42d street, New York City.
Leslie’s Weekly.—An important feature of May 8 issue of this popular weekly is a discussion of Army Atrocities in the Phil ippines, by the special correspondent,
Sydney Adamson, who takes the ground that the harshest measures employed are justifiable on account of the treachery of the natives. Annexation the Destiny of Cuba is discussed by the Editor. A strik ing feature is a double-page picture of a Western cyclone in full blast. The coming issue will contain a timely article by ex- Senator Thurston, The Nation’s Pledge Redeemed—referring to the independence of Cuba, and many photographs of cur rent happenings. The page, People Talked About, is always full of interest. 10 cents per copy. The Judge Co., 110 Fifth ave nue, New York City.
Human Faculty— The May number is just at hand, containing a number of ex cellent articles and striking illustrations.
Drawing and Sketching considers the phrenological significance of angles and curves. A Great Object Lesson is a dou ble-page contrast of two opposite charac ters.
Self-Control, Soul Growth, The Life Forces, and others, are considered from a phrenological point of view.
H u man F a cu lty is ably edited, well printed,
and aptly illustrated. The Editor will ac cept our thanks for recent compliments paid to T he Fla m ing Sw oed and its staff of writers. $1.00 per year. 130 Dearborn street, Chicago, 111.
Suggestion__Devoted to the study and advancement of suggestive therapeutics and the scientific investigation of ail oc cult phenomena.
Some Typical Cases describes the diseases of a number of pa tients and the progress of their cure by suggestion. Suggestion andCrime,by F.Em ory Lyon Ps. D., of Chicago, deals with the psychological causes of crime, as opposed to the common view that heredity and en vironment are productive of criminals.
Suggestion is to be commended for its en deavor to expose the tricks of a number of fraudulent mediums.
$1.00 per year. 4020 Drexel Boulevard, Chicago, 111. American Economist— The American Protective Tariff League publishes a 16- page weekly which advocates the doc trines of protection and opposes reciproc ity as a step toward free trade. The cur rent issue contains the caustic speech of Congressman Cushman from Washington, in opposition to the Payne Reciprocity bill. The speech is funny from more than one point of view, and perhaps it is as er roneous as it is funny. However, nothing is ever lost by considering both sides of any great question. Yearly, $2.00.
135 West 23d street, New York City. Prabuddha Bharata.—The conceptions of the Swami Yivekananda school of Orien tal philosophy are p res ent ed in this monthly. The number just at hand dis cusses the death and resurrection of Jesus, contrasting the Christian and Moslem views of the Messiah.
Its pa ges abound in Indian names and terms. Published at Mayavati, Kumoan, Hima layas. $1.00 per year.
The Commoner.—No one reading the Comm oner need be in doubt about the po litical attitude of its Editor, William J.
Bryan. His expressions are clear and to the point. Though we do not always agree with him, we look upon him as a reformer.
Five large pages of each issue contain original matter from his pen. $1.00 per year. Lincoln, Neb.
4s Summary of the W orld’s News. AMANDA T. POTTER.
May 7__Rear Admiral Sampson dies of cerebral hemorrhage at his Washington home.—President deni es objecting to medals for Dewey and Miles.—Chicago Edison Company will spend $20,000 to abolish its smoke nuisance.—France and Spain shaken by earthquakes__Hot Sen atorial debate over alleged cruelty in Philippines.—Generai Federation of Wo men’s Clubs bars colored women__Bret Harte dies of throat hemorrhage at Cam- berley, England— Eighteen hours by rail from Chicago to New York ; cut of 6 hours. —May 8— Secretary Root takes responsi bility for policy in Philippines.—Volcanic eruption on Martinique ; 40,000 killed ; St.
Pierre and eighteen vessels in harbor des troyed.—May 9 — Paul L. Ford, novelist, shot dead by brother, who suicides__New
$1,000,000 watch company, South Bend, Ind., will tight watch combine.—From Chicago to New York, 17 hours; 912 miles; train on Pennsylvania; service in June. —Hetty Green fears conspirators; granted permit to carry revolver__Rabbis discuss adopting Christian sabbath; committee reports concensus of Jewish opinion to conference next year.—Morgan’s ship mer ger involves payment of $170,000,000 to British vendors__Judge Remly, Cedar Rapids, classes hard cider with whiskey. —Carnegie predicts Great Britain will some day form a part of American federa- ation__May io.—Queen Wilhelmina con valescent.—Cardinal Gibbons, attended by 8 archbishops, 18 bishops, and 1,000 priests, officiates at funeral of Archbishop Corrigan.—Herbert Spencer lays aside his pen at age of 82.—Governor Yates accused of malfeasance in office by Senator William E. Mason__Chicago’s vegetation killed by smoke.—Mrs. Florence A. Fensham, first woman Bachelor of Divinity in Congrega tional church. Injunction bill alleging restraint of trade, conspiracy, price ma nipulation, blacklisting, and illegal re bates, tiled against Chicago’s big packers. —Inspecting officers U. S. Steel Corpora tion tendered banquet by Carnegie Steel Co. in Pittsburg; $100 a plate ; 39 guests. —May i i__Center-pier bridges on south branch of Chicago river to be replaced by bascule structure.—United States warship ordered to Martinique to aid sufferers; $100,000 passed by Senate for relief.—Chi cago Teachers’ Federation to keep up tax fight against corporations for next live years— May 1 2.—Lieutenant Governor Stone of Wisconsin, dead__Boer peace outlook uncertain__An editorial criticism pronounces Mary MacLane’s effort “a re volting assault on marriage and the vir tuous relations of men and women.”—Cu ban flag raised over Morro Castle first time; occasion, President-elect Palma ar rives at Havana__German financial papers see money outlook of Wall street threaten ing.—May 1 3.—“ One all-consuming blastof suffocating, poisonous, burning gases,”not lava, destroyed St. Pierre ; unique in his tory ; Martinique horror grows; La Son- i'riere, St. Vincent Island, still active; 700 deaths ; volcano in Mexico, also in Nebras ka, threaten eruption__Nine war vessels,
American, English, French, Danish, or dered to volcanic scene to relieve distress; U. S. Congress appropriation to suffer ers, $200,000.—New York frost damage to fruit, half million.—Chicago Hebrews op pose sabbath change__New bank, Central Trust Company of 111., being organized; capital $4,000,000, paid in surplus, $1,000,- 000__Another advance in beef; cattle not being shipped to market; prices may go higher— Jane Addams, Hull House, se verely cut and bruised; railroad wreck,
Santa Fe Line— Fort Hall Indian reserva tion, Idaho, open to settlement July 17,— Queen Maria Christina, Spain, resigns regency.
^ 4s The Dietetic Way to Health and Beauty. —Sophie Leppel gives this pamphlet for 2d. It will meet approval from many read ers. 7 Imperial Arcade, Ludgate Circus,
London, E. C., England.
The Flaming Sword · Vol. 16, No. 26 · May 16, 1902 · PDF pp. 12-14