Day 31: The Perfect Geometric Figure
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| National Geographic |
or day thirty-one of the Season of Creation let us ponder what the Roman statesman Cicero (106 BC–7 December 43 BC, De natura deorium, II, 53) has to say about the sphere, cube and pyramid:
"You say that a cone or a cylinder or a pyramid to your eyes is more beautiful than a globe. Let’s assume that these others shapes are more beautiful, in their appearance that is, even though I contest that. Because what could be more beautiful than the shape that comprises and encompasses all others? A shape that has no imperfections, does not offend the eye, has no sharp edges and not a single angle, projection, indentation or deviation. There are, in fact, two optimal shapes: among solid bodies this is the solid globe or 'sphere' (sphaira), as it’s called in Greek, and among flat shapes this is the ring or ‘circle’ (kyklos), as the Greeks would say… Don’t you understand that such a regular movement and stable order as exists in the universe, of necessity assumes a globe? These solid (heavenly) bodies are the expression of a divine intelligence: from the square to the cube, from the circle to the cylinder and from the pyramid to the cone, all of these shapes come together in the globe" (Quoted from: Henri Stierlin, Imperium Romanum Part I, Taschen, Cologne, 1996 page 158).
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