now doing, I make in your plane a section which you, very rightly, call
a Circle. For even a Sphere--which is my proper name in my own
country--if he manifest himself at all to an inhabitant of
Flatland--must needs manifest himself as a Circle.

Do you not remember--for I, who see all things, discerned last night
the phantasmal vision of Lineland written upon your brain--do you not
remember, I say, how, when you entered the realm of Lineland, you were
compelled to manifest yourself to the King, not as a Square, but as a
Line, because that Linear Realm had not Dimensions enough to represent
the whole of you, but only a slice or section of you? In precisely the
same way, your country of Two Dimensions is not spacious enough to
represent me, a being of Three, but can only exhibit a slice or section
of me, which is what you call a Circle.

The diminished brightness of your eye indicates incredulity. But now
prepare to receive proof positive of the truth of my assertions. You
cannot indeed see more than one of my sections, or Circles, at a time;
for you have no power to raise your eye out of the plane of Flatland;
but you can at least see that, as I rise in Space, so my sections
become smaller. See now, I will rise; and the effect upon your eye
will be that my Circle will become smaller and smaller till it dwindles
to a point and finally vanishes.

[Illustration 8]

[ASCII approximation follows]

The Sphere on the
point of vanishing
(2) __-----__
The Sphere with The Sphere rising / \ (3)
his section __-----__ / \
at full size / \ | |
__-----__ / \ | |
/ \ | | | |
/ __ - __ \ | | \ / My
| -- -- | | __ --- __ | \ __ __ / Eye
--|-----------------|----\--__-------__--/------------===----------+(>
| -- __ __ -- | \ __ --- __ /
\ - / -----
\ __ __ /
-----

There was no "rising" that I could see; but he diminished and finally
vanished. I winked once or twice to make sure that I was not dreaming.
But i