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

THE

ETHICAL

FALLACY

123

asrelevant

toarchitectural

taste? Howfaronits

own

principlesdiditestablish

acaseagainst

Renaissance

architecture

? Andcanthose

principlesfindplaceat

allinarationalaesthetic
? These arethe
questions

whichnowrequire

solution,ifweare

toguardagainst,

ordojusticeto,astill

powerfulfactorincontemporary

taste. For although

few seriousstudents

ofarchi-

tecturewouldnowconfess

themselvesRuskinian,and

nonewould

endorsethosegrandanathemas

without

reserve, the phrases of Ruskin's

currency are not!

extinct. In milder language, certainly,

but with

even lesssense

thatsuch ideasrequireargumentor

proof,theaxiomsarereiterated: architectureisstill

the

'

distinctivelypolitical

'art,itsvirtue,to

'

reflect

a

nationalaspiration,'and allthe faultsandmerits

ofaclassornationareseenreflectedinthearchitec-

turethatservestheiruse.^

>

Itissignificantofthenowaxiomaticcharacterofsuchideas

that

wefindthemincludedbycourtesyintheworksofwriterswhoseactual

biasandmethodareutterlyopposedtotheethical. ThusProfessorMoore,

inoneofthefewvolumeswhichhavebeendevotedtoconsidering

Renaissancearchitectureasadistinctiveart,baseshiswholetreatment

quiteconsistentlyuponamechanicalidealofarchitecture: anideal

inwhichamostscholarlystudyof

Gothic

hasnodoubtconfirmedhim.

Fitnessof

construction

is

hissoleandinvariable

testofvalue. Not

oneword

occurs

throughoutwith

regard

to

anysingle

buildingabout

thekindof

humancharacteritindicatesorpromotes. Yet

heprefaces

thisscientificwork,notbyanydeclarationofmechanicalfaith,but

byarapidliturgical

recitationofalltheethicalformulae.

'

The

fine

arts,'he

says,

'

derivetheirwholecharacter'from

'

thehistoricalante-

cedents,

moral conditions.. .and religious beliefsofthepeoples

andepochs

to

whichtheybelong'(theaestheticsenseofapeople

apparentlycontributesnothingtothe

characteroftheirwork)

:

'

Into