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

INTRODUCTION

13

"artshasbeen for themost
part no more than an

incidentin, oraconsequence of,thechangeswhich

men'sminds have undergone

with regard to these

more stimulating and insistent interests. Hardly

ever, savein matters

of

mere

technique, has archi-

tecture been studied sincerely for itself. Thusthe

simplestestimatesofarchitectureareformed

through

adistortingatmosphereofunclearthought. Axioms,

holdingtrueinprovincesotherthanthatofart,and

arising historicallyin these, have

successively been

extendedbyaseriesoffalseanalogies intothepro-

vince

of

architecture

;

andtheseaxioms,unanalysed

andmutuallyinconsistent,confuseouractualexperi-

enceatthesource.

Totracethefull

measureofthatconfusion, andif

possible tocorrectit, istherefore,the firstobjectof

thisbook. We

enter

a

limboofdeadbutstillhaunt-

ing controversies, of old and

ghostly dogmatisms,

whichmost

effectivelydarken the counselofcritics

becausetheirpresence

isoftenleastperceived. Itis

timethat thesespectreswerelaid,orelse,bywhat-

evernecessarylibations

ofexacter thinking,brought

honestlytolife.

The path will

then be clear to attempt,

withj

lesscertainty of misconception,

a statementof

the

aesthetic values

on which

Renaissance architecture^

isbased.

Tofollow,

in concrete

detail, this

Architectureof