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

4

THE

ARCHITECTURE

OF

HUMANISM

of

those ends themselves; that

is to

say, by

the

external

purposeswhichtheyreflect.

These,indeed^

aretwovery

differentquestions.

Thelast

makesa.

moral reference which the

first avoids,

but both'

spring, and spring inevitably,

from the

link which

architecture has with life—from that

'

condition of

well-building

'

whichWottoncallscommodity.

And

architecture requires 'delight.' For this

reason, interwoven with practical ends and their

mechanicalsolutions, we maytrace in architecture

athirdanddifferentfactor—thedisinteresteddesire

forbeauty. Thisdesiredoesnot,itistrue,culmin-

atehere

in

apurelyaestheticresult,forithastodeal

with a concrete basis which is utilitarian. It is,

nonetheless, apurelyaesthetic

impulse,an impulse

distinctfrom

allthe otherswhicharchitecture may

simultaneouslysatisfy,animpulse

byvirtueofwhich

architecturebecomes

art. Itisa separate

instinct.

Sometimes

itwillborrowasuggestion

fromthelaws

of firmness or

commodity

;

sometimes

it will

run

counter

tothem, orbeoffended

by theformsthey

woulddictate. Ithasits

ownstandard,

andclaims

its own authority.

Itis possible,

therefore, toask]

howfar, and

howsuccessfully,

in any

architectural!

style,thisaesthetic

impulsehasbeen

embodied

;

how|

far, thatistosay,

theinstincts

which,

in theotheli

arts, exert an

obvious

and unhampered

activityj^

havesucceededin

realisingthemselves

also

through