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

THE MECHANICAL FALLACY

99

towered into the sky far above
the churches, the

magnitude of whose
interiors they pretended
to

express, and buildings which, in reality,
were com-

posed ofseveralstories, were
comprehended within

asingleorder.

Itisuseless

to

minimisethe

extenttowhichsuch

practicesweretypicaloftheRenaissance.
Although

it isonlyin Italy, and in
theseventeenth century,

thatthe mostglaringexamplesaretobefound,
yet

the principleswhich thenreachedtheir
climaxwere

latent,andeven,inmanycases,visiblefromits

earliest

period. Theyareinherentinthepoint

ofviewfrom

which the Renaissance approached the question

of

aesthetics. And, onthecontinuous

planeofincreas-

ing

'

insincerity

'

whichthestyle,asawhole,presents,

itwouldbeunreasonableandarbitrarytoselect

this

pointorthatasthelimitofjustifiable

licence,andto

decry

all that came

after, while applauding

what

wentbefore. This,nonetheless,isthe

compromise

whichisfashionableamongthosecriticswhofeelthat

concessionsmustbemade, bothto

thestricturesof

the

'

Scientific

'

criticismontheonehand,andtothe

acknowledged fame ofthe

'

Golden

Age

'

of archi-

tectureonthe

other. Butsuch

aprocedureismis-

leading,andevadestherealissue. Itis,on

thecon-

trary, imperative

torecognisethat

the Renaissance

claimedandexercisedthislicencefromthefirst,and

to make the closest

examination

of the doctrines