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On Direct Vision

By Ibn al-Haytham (Muslim scientist and philosopher) from "On Direct Vision"

"Sight perceives [beauty] by perceiving each one of the particular properties of which the manner of perception by sight has been shown. For each of these properties separately produces one of the kinds of beauty, and they produce [other] kinds of beauty in conjunction with one another....
Position produces beauty and many things that look beautiful do so only because of order and position. Beautiful writing is also regarded as such because of  order alone. For the beauty of writing is due only to the soundness of the shapes of letters and the composition....
Separateness produces beauty. Thus dispersed stars are more beautiful than the nebulae and the Milky way.... For this reason, too, blossoms and flowers dispersed in meadows look more beautiful than when they are gathered and crowded together.
Continuity produces beauty. Thus meadows with continuous and dense vegetation are more beautiful than those in which the vegetation is interrupted and discontinuous. And of the meadows that look beautiful than the others."
Copied from: Lost History-by Michael Morgan
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Comments

  1. Urooj MalikJanuary 29, 2012 at 7:23 PM

    Beautiful. Thanks for sharing, Namrah.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Namrah MahmoodJanuary 30, 2012 at 11:53 PM

    Thanks for coming to read Dear Urooj :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. connie nashFebruary 2, 2012 at 12:46 AM

    Reading this once through, I'm delighted as always by your posts. There is a kind of paradox here: like the harmony of both specificity AND continuity. I am glad also that you included writers and writing.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Namrah MahmoodFebruary 2, 2012 at 5:38 PM

    Thanks Connie
    and the link between specificity and continuity is indeed striking!
    keep coming :)

    ReplyDelete

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