THE
ROMANTIC FALLACY
71
it
mustdisguise,
orinsome
wayrenderpalatable,the
originalsin
ofitsexistence
: thefactthat
it
wasan
artificial
thing,aworkofman,made
withhands. To
this
endNatureherself
mightseemtohaveintended
avarietyof
creeping, andultimately
overwhelming,
plants,
bymeansof
whichmuchofthearchitectural
artofEngland
hasbeensuccessfully
rendered
vain.^
Toeradicate
the intellectual element
of design, to
get rid of the
consistentthought which meansfor-
mality, is
thus the first or negative condition
of
a
'
natural' architecture. Its second
aim is more
positive. When
oncetheevilspiritofconsciouskrt
has been
exorcised, the door can be opened
to a
pandemonium of romance.
The poetry of Nature
can infect
architecture with all hermoods: idyllic
intherusticstyle
wehavedescribed
;
fantasticand
wildineverykindof
mediaevalreminiscenceor
modern
German
eccentricity.
\
yItis of theessence ofromantic criticism that it
permitsliteraryfashion
tocontrolarchitecturaltaste.
I
Thisisthecardinalpointtowhichoncemoreweare
brought back, and on which once more we may
*
Thehabitofsmotheringfinearchitectureinvegetationispeculiarly
English. ThechapelofTrinityCollegeatOxford—totakean
example
outofathousand—ishabituallyindicatedtovisitorsas
anobjectof
specialadmirationon
account
of
acruderedcreeperwhichcompletely
concealsit,togetherwiththe
factthatitis,orwouldbe,oneofthe
mostgraceful works
of architecture in thatcity. Naturamfurca
expellas....But
ourromanticprofessorshaveevidentlyabandoned
thestruggleand
exchangedHoraceforWordsworth.
