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

THE

ACADEMIC TRADITION 201

dethroned the

authority of Rome

itself; science

turnedits

back onGreece

andRometogether;and

Romanticism,

with

its

myth of 'untaught genius,'

cast scorn on all codes,

rules, and canons whatso-

ever,andassuch.

In this revulsion was born the current prejudice

thatRenaissance

architectureis

'

imitative,academic,

unalive.'

A measure of truth, slight but sufficient

to give the

prejudice life, underlies the judgment.

Fundamentallyitisaconfusion. Anartisacademic,

inthisharmfulsense,

whenitsold

achievements

crush

downtheenergiesthatpresstowardsthenew. But

the academic canons of

the Renaissance

did

not

represent

the pastachievementsofthe Renaissance,

butofantiquity.

Tothe

Renaissancetheywerethe

symbol of an unsatisfied endeavour: the source,

consequently, not ofinertia, butofperpetualfruit-

fulness. The pedantry was superficial. Beneath

thisjargonof

the

'

Orders

'

—

^toussodead,tothem

so

full of inspiration

—

^the

Italian architects

were

solvinga vast and necessary problem. They were

leading back European style into the main road

of European civilisation

—

^the

Roman

road which

stretchedforwarda"ndbacktothehorizon,sometimes

overlaid,butnotforlongto

beavoided. Theywere

adapting, enlarging,

revivifying the forms of the

antiquetoservetheusesofthe

modernworld. The

change
wasdeeply

natural. Europenolongerrecog-