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

132

THE

ARCHITECTURE OF

HUMANISM

Butthenew

criticismdidnotlimit

itselfto

denunci-

ation. A nioral code, at

once eloquent and exact,

wasfurnished

forthearchitect'sguidance

and

defence,

anddetermined

the

'

universalandeasilyapplicable

lawof

right'forbuttressandcapital,

aperture,

arch-

line and shaft.

An immense storeof learning

and

research, ofreason also,

and sensitive

analysis, far

superior

tothat which Ruskinbroughttopainting,

lay imbedded in

these splendid admonitions,

and

seemedtoconfirmthemoralthesis. Anditnodoubt

addedgreatlytothe

plausibilityofthe

casethatthe

principleswhich hepresentedwiththe thunder

and

pageantry

ofan Apocalypse had been carried

out,

from foundation to

cornice,

in almost meticulous

detail. Impressiveprinciplesofright! They

could

be fitted to

every case,and as we read

wecannot

butsuspectthattheyareabletoestablishanycon-

clusion.

The

moralistjccriticismoftheartsismore

ancient,

moreprofound,andmightbemoreconvincing,than

the particular expression which Ruskin

gave to it.

It is not specifically Christian. It dominates the

fourth book of Plato's Republic no less than

the

gospel of Savonarola. It is one of
the recurrent

phasesofmen'sthought: a latenttendency

which

it was Ruskin's mission rather to
re-awaken than

create. Theethicalcriticism

ofarchitectureislikely

therefore to survive the decay of

the individual