On Symmetry II (Beauty and Symmetry I)

“Beauty is rather a light that plays over the symmetry of things than that symmetry itself.” (Plotinus)

“Proportion, or symmetry, is the basis of beauty; propriety, of grace.” (Henry Fuseli)

"Symmetry, as wide or as narrow as you may define its meaning, is one idea by which man through the ages has tried to comprehend and create order, beauty and perfection." (Hermann Weyl, “Symmetry”, 1952)

“Beauty had been born, not, as we so often conceive it nowadays, as an ideal of humanity, but as measure, as the reduction of the chaos of appearances to the precision of linear symbols. Symmetry, balance, harmonic division, mated and mensurated intervals – such were its abstract characteristics.” (Herbert Read, “Icon and Idea: The Function of Art in the Development of Human Consciousness”, 1955)

“The fact is that the beautiful, humanly speaking, is merely form considered in its simplest aspect, in its most perfect symmetry, in its most entire harmony with our make-up.” (Victor Hugo, “Cromwell”, 1909)

“Whereas symmetry can create beauty, its breaking does not necessarily destroy beauty; instead, it may even create another kind of beauty.” (Guozhen Wu, “Nonlinearity and Chaos in Molecular Vibrations”, 2005)

“In the nonmathematical sense, symmetry is associated with regularity in form, pleasing proportions, periodicity, or a harmonious arrangement; thus it is frequently associated with a sense of beauty. In the geometric sense, symmetry may be more precisely analyzed. We may have, for example, an axis of symmetry, a center of symmetry, or a plane of symmetry, which define respectively the line, point, or plane about which a figure or body is symmetrical. The presence of these symmetry elements, usually in combinations, is responsible for giving form to many compositions; the reproduction of a motif by application of symmetry operations can produce a pattern that is pleasing to the senses.” (Hans H Jaffé & ‎Milton Orchin, “Symmetry in Chemistry”, 2002)

“Beauty is our weapon against nature; by it we make objects, giving them limit, symmetry, proportion. Beauty halts and freezes the melting flux of nature.” (Camille Paglia)

“Symmetry creates harmony and beauty in an object.” (Aleksandr P Dubrov, “Symmetry of Biorhythms and Reactivity”, 1989)

“To a considerable degree science consists in originating the maximum amount of information with the minimum expenditure of energy. Beauty is the cleanness of line in such formulations along with symmetry, surprise, and congruence with other prevailing beliefs.” (Edward O Wilson, “Biophilia”, 1984)