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

THE BIOLOGICAL

FALLACY 185

moment,and
developedparipassuwithcreativeart.

Nogiftofimaginativeflexibilitywasrequired. But

fora modem criticism, which claims tojudge with

animpartialeyethewholesequenceofarchitectural

history,orevenofonesingle

'

style,'

thatgift,before

allothers,isdemanded. Thedifferentsestheticpur-

poses possible to architecture are not necessarily

equallyworthy
;

butbeforetheirworth

can

be

estim-

ated

itisnecessaryatleastthattheyshouldberightly

distinguishedanddefined. Ahistoricaldefinitionof

architecture which tracesthe outward

development

of

formfromformwillnotofitselfsupplytheneeded

definitionsofaesthetic

purpose. Itwillfailtostrike

the right divisions

;

it will be too

unsubtle, too

summary, too

continuous. It will be intellectually

simplebutaestheticallyunjust.

Criticismbasedonhistoricevolution

cannomore

affordashortcutto

theproblemoftastethancriticism

thatisbasedonromanticformulas

oronmechanical

formulas

or

onethical formulas. Itis but

another

caseoffalsesimplification

: anotherexampleofthe

impatienceoftheintellectinthe

presenceofaliving

functionthat disowns

the intellect'sauthority.