ngth, but involving a different sequence of
intervals; in painting by the disposition of masses in such a way that
they about equalize one another, so that there is no sense of "strain"
in the composition.

In architecture the common and obvious recognition of the law of
Balance is in the symmetrical disposition of the elements, whether of
plan or of elevation, on either side of axial lines. A far more subtle
and vital illustration of the law occurs when the opposed elements do
not exactly match, but differ from each other, as in the case of the
two towers of Amiens, for example. This sort of balance may be said to
be characteristic of Gothic, as symmetry is characteristic of Classic,
architecture.

RHYTHMIC CHANGE

There is in nature a universal tendency toward refinement and
compactness of form in space, or contrariwise, toward increment
and diffusion; and this manifests itself in time as acceleration or
retardation. It is governed, in either case, by an exact mathematical
law, like the law of falling bodies. It shows itself in the widening
circles which appear when one drops a stone into still water, in the
convolutions of shells, in the branching of trees and the veining
of leaves; the diminution in the size of the pipes of an organ
illustrates it, and the spacing of the frets of a guitar. More and
more science is coming to recognize, what theosophy affirms, that the
spiral vortex, which so beautifully illustrates this law, both in its
time and its space aspects is the universal archetype, the pattern of
all that is, has been, or will be, since it is the form assumed by the
ultimate physical atom, and the ultimate physical atom is the physical
cosmos in miniature.

This Rhythmic Diminution is everywhere: it is in the eye itself, for
any series of mathematically equal units, such for example as the
columns and intercolumnations of a colonnade, become when seen
in perspective rhythmically unequal, diminishing according to the
universal law. The entasis of a Classic column is determined by this
law, the spirals of the Ionic volute, the annulets of the Parthenon
cap, obey it (Illustration 30).

In recognition of the same principle of Rhythmic Diminution a building
is often made to grow, or appear to grow lighter, more intricate,
finer, from the ground upward, an end attained by various devices,
one of the most common being the employment of the more attenuated
and highly ornamented orders above the simpler and