May 15
The seeker after truth first mistrusts what he believes he sees. Test every impression by observation and reason before you follow it.
Book of Optics (freely rendered)
The View from the Hill
The seeker after truth first mistrusts what he believes he sees. Test every impression by observation and reason before you follow it.
An old frog from Kyoto wanted at last to see the sea. At the same time, in Osaka, a frog was sending his son to Kyoto so that he might learn something there. Halfway along, the two travellers met. Their legs hurt.
The old frog suggested they look out at the two cities from the hill and spare themselves the rest of the way. They rose up on their hind legs and held each other steady. As they did so, their eyes pointed backwards: each looked back at the place he had come from.
Osaka was exactly like Kyoto, the old frog declared. Nor could he make out any sea. The young frog found that Kyoto looked just the same as Osaka. Satisfied with their sightseeing, they said goodbye. They hopped home instead of walking any further on two legs.
