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

41UMANIST

VALUES 21

or

society. But/theartof

architectureisconcemec

with

ti»eir immediate

aspect; it is concerned witl

themasappearances\

And/theseappearancesarerelatedtohumanfunc

tionsVThroughthesespaceswecan

conceive

ourselve

tomove;

th«se masses

arecapable,likeourselves,

pressureandpeastance

;

theselines,should

wefollo\

or

describethem,mightbeourpathandourgesture

Conceive

for

amomenta

'

top-heavy

'

buildingo

an

'

illrproportioned

'

space. No doubt the degre

to which these qualitieswillbe found offensivewil

varywiththespectator'ssensibilitytoarchitecture

but

sooneror later,if thetop-heaviness

orthe

dis

proportionisrsufficientlypronounced,everyspectato

willjudge

thatthebuildingorthespace

is

ugly,am

experienceacertaindiscomfortfromtheirpresence

Somuchwillbeconceded.

Nowwhatisthe causeofthisdiscomfort? Iti

oftensuggestedthatthetop-heavybuildingandth

cramped

spaceare

ugly

becausetheysuggesttheide

ofinstability,theideaof

collapse,

the

idea

ofrestric

tion,andsoforth. Buttheseideasarenotinthem

selves

disagreeable. Weread

thedefinition ofsucl

wordsina

dictionarywith equanimity,yet the

dc

finition,if it is atrue one, will have conveyedth

idea

of

restrictionorcollapse. Poetrywillconveythe

ideaswith vividness. Yet

weexperiencefromitno

shadow of

discomfort. On the contrary, Hamlet's