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

158 THEARCHITECTURE

OF HUMANISM

themainsubstantial,andof

whichtheseriousinterest

ismanifest,can

'

carry

'

acertain

measureofevident

illusionand,needlessto

say,anindefiniteamountof

illusion whichescapesalldetection

save thatof

the

plumb-lineand measure. An entire facadeof false

windows

maybetheatrical. Asingle suchwindow,

especially where

its practical necessity is for

any

reasonobvious,lowersinnosenseourconfidencein

the design. Between these extremesthe justifiable

limitsoflicencearediscoverableonly—

^andweredis-

covered

—

^byexperiment.

We:have dweltmerely on afew conspicuousex-

amplesofthemoraljudgmentinarchitecture,select-

ing fordefencetheworst excessesofthe most 'im-

moral

'

ofthestyles. Themainprincipleinallthese

matters

is clear: the aesthetic purposeofthe work

determinesthemeanstobeemployed. Thatpurpose

mightconceivably give

aclue tothe natureof

the

artist—tohisfundamentaltendenciesofchoice. But

wemustunderstandit

rightly. Themoral

judgment,

deceived by a false analogy with conduct, tends

to intervene before the aesthetic
purpose

has been

impartiallydiscerned.

Anartistmayfailinwhathe

hassetbeforehim,hisfailuremay

beamoral

one,a

recognisable negligence,

but it is manifested,

none

the

less,inanaesthetic

failure,andisonlytobe

dis-

coveredforwhatitisbya
knowledgeofthe

aesthetic

purpose. It follows

that we cannot look to the