Beauty by one definition is the sensatory excitement stirred in people by
the rhythm of line, the vibration of color, the play of motion and the
surprise of idea. It is usually a saddening effect that beauty produces
and perhaps this is because beauty is something like an illumination that
while admirable in itself throws into pathetic evidence all the ugly and
unbeautiful things of one's life.
In this somewhat involved aesthetic principle there is probably another
hint at the causes of the sadness people show when they look at the lake.
* * * * *
Today the lake wears its autumn aspect. Out of the train window one sees a
wedge of geese flying south or occasionally a lone bird circling like an
endless note over the water. The waves look cold and their symmetrical
crisscross makes one think of the chill, lonely nights that beckon outside
the coziness of one's home windows.
On summer days the lake is sometimes like a huge lavender leaf veined with
gold. Sometimes it becomes festive and wears the awning stripes of cloud
and sun. Or it grows serene and reminds one of a superb domesticity--as it
lies pointed like a grate, arched like a saucer or the back of a sleeping
kitten.
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