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

130 THE

ARCHITECTURE

OF

HUMANISM

its

Republic with

all the firmness,

and

something

lessthanthe

courtesy,

which Plato

extended

tothe

poets. But

thePuritanism

ofthe

nineteenthcentury

attempted,while

retainingartand

extolling

itsdignity,

to

governits

manifestations. It

soughtto

guidethe

errant

stepsofthe

creativeinstinct.

Itsoughtalso

toexplain

itshistory. And

itdidso,

aswasnatural

to

it,bymoral

lawsanddivine

authority. AtOxford

eventhe ChairofPoetry

wasdisputed

between the

creeds.

And, in architecture,

onee granted the

theological

prejudice, aesthetic

dogmasarenotlikely

tobelackingtoprove

thatallthevices which

were

supposed

to have

accompanied the return of the

Roman

styleinEuropemustbeinherentalso

inthe

Romanarchitectureitself.

Thesedogmassurvivethe

sectarian

quarrelwhichgavethem

birth. Thecharge

outlivesits

motive

;

andRenaissance architectureis

stillformanyacriticthe architectureof

ostentation

and

insincerityonceattributedtoa

'

Jesuit'art.

The sectarian

import ofstyle, though somewhat

capriciously determined, might provide an

amusing

study. TheRomanarchitecturestoodfortheChurch

of Rome. The

association

was natural, and had

notthePapacyidentifieditselfwiththe Renaissance

almostatthesametimeandinthesamespiritasit

hadprovoked

the

riseof Protestantism? Thus the

classicalforms,althoughagenerationearlier

they

had

echoedin

many

aGeorgianchurch tostrictlyEvan-