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

i6o THEAKCHITECTUREOF

HUMANISM

thecurrentsoftheRomanticFallacy,

allthecurrents

oftheEthical, flowtogether. Itis the

Criticism

of

Sentiment.

Ontheother

hand isa bodyof criticismsharply

opposedtothis. Ithastwoforms:

the

'

dilettante

'

—

^in the olderand better senseof that word—^and

the technical: two

forms,different indeed in

many

respects,butalikein

this

—

^thatbothare

specialised,

botharelearnedandexactandinsomesensecynical.

They derive theirbias and their present character

from an obvious cause

a sharp reaction,

namely,

againstthe Criticismof Sentiment. Theamateur,

thepedant,themechanic,havealwaysexisted
; but,

untilthe
CriticismofSentiment

arose,

theirexclusive-

nesswasa matteroftemperamentandnotofcreed.

Onthecontrary,theolder

'

pedants,'

withVitruvius

at

their

head,claimedeverykindofmoralinterestfor

theirart,andwerefondofarguingthatitinvolved,

andrequired,averitableruleof
life. Buttheexacter

criticismofourowntime, in

naturaldisdain forthe

false feeling and false conclusions
of the opposite

school,

restrictsthe

scopeofarchitecturetoatechnical

routine,and reduces itscriticismtoconnoisseurship.

This,then,isthesecond
tradition: the Criticismof

Fact.

Theconsequences,forthecriticism

ofsentiment,of

itslackofexact
knowledgeanddisinterestedexperi-

enceintheartof
architecture,have
alreadybeen

set