, 1876-08-19

/ YHtlGn. IL i not only IN lU'' "uI"-N'
/ however. that the kin,hip is seen, 1t is
50. still better in the essential chnINc-
,cristic OF Go'h.c; namely, wh1t is
termed It's os,iyug tendency. That pre-.
dominance ol vertical lines when 50
strongly distinguishes Gothic from other
vlrs, is the most marked pccUliarity Of
trees, when compared with animals or
rocks. To persons OF active imngina-
uon, u tall Gothic tower, with its elem.
gated apcrturrS and clusters of thin
/ projections running from bottom to top,
suggests IA vague notion of growth
o. the ALLEGED COMMISSION between in
orgaNic forms and the wholly irregular
and the cnstrlntcd styles OF building,
" have, think, some proof in the fact
ilat when m cditicc is Irregular the
lore irregular it is the more it pleascs
Us. see ns way Of accounting for this
fact, save hy supposing that the greater
the irreguhrity the more strongly are
we reminded Of the inorganic forms
typifh |, and the more wildly are
aroused the agreeable ideas ot rugged
and romantic scenery associated with
those forms.
Further evidence of these several re.
lationshps oi styles of architecture to
classes Of natural objects, is supplied by
the kinds OF decoration they respective
ly represent. The public buildings of
Greece, while characterized in their out
lines by the blatcral symmetry seen in
the higher animals, have their pedments
and entabaturcs covered with sculpturcd
men and beasts. Egyptian temples and
Assyrian palaces, while similarly sym
metrical in the general plan, are similar
ly Ornamented on their walls and Mt
their doors In Gothic, again, with its
grove-like ranges of clustered columns.
we find rich ioliated ornaments abund.
antly employed. And accompanying
the totally irregular, inorganic outlines
Of old castles, we see neither vegetable
nor animal decorations. The bare, rock
like walls ure surmounted by battle
ncnts, consisting Of almost plain blocks,
which remind us OF the projections on
the edge of n rugged cliff.
But perhaps the most significant fact
is the harmony that may be observed be-
tween each type of architecture and the
scenes in which it is indigenous. For
what is the explanation of this harmony,
unless it be that the predominant charac-
ter OF surrounding things has, in solne
way, determined the mode of building
adoptedg
That the harmony exists is clear.
Equally in the L, ases of Egypt, Assyria,
Greece, and Rome, town lite preceded
the construction of the symmetrical
buildings that have come down to Us.
And town life is one in which, us al
ready observed, the majority OF familiar
objects are symmetrical. We instructive
ly feel the naturalness of this association.
Out amid the fields, formal house, with
IA central door hanked by an equal mum.
Der Of windows to right and lett, strikes
us as unrural--looks us though trans.
planted from street; and we cannot
look ut one OF those succeed villas,
with mock windows carefully arranged
to balance the real ones, without being
reminded of the suburban residence of a
retired tradesman.
In styles indigenous in the country,
we not only find the general irregularity
characteristic of surrounding things,
but We may trace some kinship between
each kind of irregularity and the local
circumstances. We see the broken rocky
masses amid which castles are commonly
placed, mirrored in their stern, inor-
gauic forms. In abbeys, and suchlke
buildings, which are commonly found in
comparatively sheltered districts, we
find no such violent dSlocations of
masses and outlines; and the nakedness
appropriate to the fortress is replaced by
decorations rejecting the neighboring
towns. Between Swiss cottage and a
Swiss view there Is an evident relation
ship. The angular root, SO bold and so
Il l. 4 L i