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

76 THEARCHITECTURE

OF HUMANISM

garmentandHisbook
;

andthis,notintheelegant

and complimentary sense in which

Addison might

have so regarded her, butwith a

profound

power

to

satisfy the mystic's adoration. The argument

assumed
a

differentplane.

Tobe

'

natural

'

was

no

longerapointmerelyofpoeticcharm—^itwasapoint

ofsanctity. WithRuskin,forexample,theargument

fromNatureisalwaysfinal.

'

Canstthoudrawout

Leviathanwithahook

?

' Toimproveon Nature's

architecture were a like impertinence.
It is even

suggested that

formsare

beautifulpreciselyinrela-

tiontothefrequencywithwhichNaturehasemployed

them. And notonly does

he place asacramental

value on
the study of Nature deduced from an

arbitrarytheologicaldoctrinethatitisGod's

'

book,'

buthe makes itasin

tostudythe humaninstinct,

asthough
Nature's'book'hadexpurgatedman,and

themeritofcreationceasedatthefifthday. Doubt-

ful logicthis—and scarce orthodox

theology!

Yet

thereis littledoubt that Ruskin's reiterated appeal

to the example of Nature to witness against the

formalinstinctsofman,did far
moretoenforce

the

prejudice against
the

'

foul torrent of the Renais-

sance

'

thanheeffectedeitherbydetailed reasoning

orgeneralabuse, unthe faceofallthis

poetry

and

rhetoric, in the face
of all the sermons that were

eloquentinstones,itisnotsurprisingthatNaturalism

becametheaesthetic
method,andtheloveofNature