The architecture of humanism; a study in the history of taste

THE MECHANICAL

FALLACY 107

his canvas orcompounds his

pigments, butwe do

take
delightintheadjustmentofsupporttoload,and

thrust to thrust. Itisno doubtlegitimate toadd

decorativedetail tothesefunctionalelements
;

they

may be enriched

by colour or

carving

;

but our

pleasureinthecolourandthecarvingwillbepleasure

in painting

or sculpture

;

our specifically

architec-

turalpleasurewillbeinthefunctionsofthestructural

elements

themselves. Itisinthisvividconstructive

significance ofcolumnsandarches thattheirarchi-

tecturalbeauty lies, andnotsimplyin theircolour

andshape,assuch,andsofarasthestructuralvalues

areabsent,andthe eyeis merelycharmedbyother

qualities, it is no

longer architectural beautythat

weenjoy. Only,thesefunctional elementsmust

be

vividly

expressed,

and, ifnecessary, expressed with

emphasisandexaggeration. Thesupporting

members

must assure us of theirsupport. Thus, the Doric

or the Romanesquemassiveness, while

it wasin a

sense bad science, was good art

;

yet its beauty

wasnone thelessessentiallystructural.

Thus, the

printingpressortherailwaystationwillnowappro-

priatelyfall outside our definitionbecause,

although

truthfullyand

perfectlyconstructed,andfitfor

their

functions, theydo not

vividlyenoughexpress.what

thosefunctions are,northeir fitnessfor

performing

them. Structurally

perfect, theyare still structu-

rallyunbeautiful. Ontheotherhand,

thearchesand