8)0

PRACTICE OF ARCHITECTURE. Book

111.
man of tne IStli or 19th century is neither a Grecian temple, a Gothic abbey, nor
a
feudal castle
;
and if the style of distribution or decoration of either be employed
in
it, such changes and nii dificati 'ns should be admitted as may adapt it to existing
circum-
stances, otlierwise tlie s.ale of its exactitude becomes that of its incongruity, and the de-
viation from principle proportioned to the fidelity of imitation." 'I'his is but anothei
application of the principle of fitness which we have above considered, the cliief foundation
of beauty in the art. We have shown how it is dependent on stability as a main source of
fitness, and here sul)join some maxims wliich will lead the student to fitness in his designs,
and prevent him from running astray, if he but bring himself to the belief that tliey are
reasonable, and founded upon incontestable grounds, which we can assure him they are.
First. Let that which is the stronger jiart always bear the weaker.
Second. Let solidity be always real, and not brought to appear so by artifice.
Third. Let nothing be introduced into a composition whose presence is not justified by
necessity.
Fourth. Let unity and variety be so used as not to destroy each other.
Fifth. I^et nothing be introduced that is not subordinate to the whole.
Sixth. Let symmetry and regularity so reign as to combine with order and soliditv.
Seventh. Let the proportions be of the simplest sort.
Eighth. Let him recollect that nothing is beautiful which has not some good and
useful end.
If, after having made his design, he will scrupulously test it by these maxims seriatim,
and will strike out what is discordant with the tenor of them, he will have overcome
a few of the difficulties which attend the commencement of his career.
2503. We are not of the same opinion with those who, on a geometrical elevation of a
building, draw lines from its apex, which, bounding the principal parts of the outline, find
a pyramidal form, and thence infer beauty of general outline. If those who favour such a
notion will but reflect for a moment, they must see that this cannot be a test of its eHect,
inasmuch as the construction of a geometrical elevation of any edifice supposes it to be
viewed at an infinite distance, whereas, in fact, it is most generally viewed under angles
wliich would puzzle the most learned architect, without full investigation, to discover tlie
jirimary lines which they assume to be the causes of its beauty. The obscurations and
forestiortenings that take place are at points of view near the building itself; and, however
judicious it may be to form the general masses in oi)edience to such a system, so as to pro-
duce an eH'ect in the distance that may be in accordance with the principle, it would be
extremely dangerous to lay the principle down as a law. 'I'he finest view of St. Paul's is
perhaps a little east of F'etter Lane, on the northern side of Fleet Street ; but it would
]uizzle any one to discover its pyramidal form from that point of view.
2.504. The beauty of the proportions of architecture in the interiors of buildings is
dependent on those which govern the exteriors. Much has been said on proportions of
rooms, which, hereafter, we shall have to notice: we mean the proportions of tlieir length
to their breadth and height. That these are important, we cannot deny
; but whether the
beauty of a room is altogether dependent on the due adjustment of these, we have some
doubts; that is, under certain limits. We here address ourselves more particularly to that
fitness which, in ornamenting a ceiling, for example, requires that the beams which appear
below the general surface should invariably fall over piers, and that in this respect cor-
responding sides should be uniform. In the study of this point, Inigo Jones is the great
English master who has left the student the most valuable examples of this branch of
the art.
2505. It may, perhaps, be useful to observe generally that the bare proportions of the
interiors of apartments depend on the purposes for which they are intended, and according
to these we seek immediately for the expression of their fitness. Tills point, therefore,
involves on the part of the architect so general an acquaintance with the most refined
habits of his emjiloyers, that we should be almost inclined to agree with Vitruvius on the
inultifarious qualifications necessary to constitute a good one. Certain it is tliat no
instructions he can receive for building a mansion will qualify him without an intimate
acquaintance with the habits of the upper classes of society.
2506. We have already stated that it is hopeless to arrive at a fixed standard of taste.
That considered worthy of the appellation will not be so considered in another.
"
The
sable Africans," says Knight, quoting from iMungo Park,
"
view with pity and c<)nteni|)i
the marked deformity of the Europeans, whose mouths are compressed, their noses pinched,
tlieir cheeks shrunk, their hair rendered lank and flimsy, their bodies lengthened and
emaciated, and their skins unnaturally bleached by shade and seclusion, and the baneful
influence of a humid climate." In the countries of Europe, where some similarity of taste
may be expected, the tyranny of fashion, no less than that of habit and circumstance, has,
and always will have, its influence on the arts. Within the short space of even a few
months we have seen what is called the renaissance style of architecture imported from
France, drawing into its vortex all classes of persons; many of them among the higher