208 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



sion against Gothic art, which, bids fair to reach such proportions 

 as to once more drive it out of- use. 



There is nothing more misunderstood at the present day than 

 Gothic architecture. It is popularly supposed that if a building 

 has a sloping roof, and is plentifully adorned with buttresses, pin- 

 nacles, towers, arches, balconies, dormers, and similar things, it is 

 in the correct form of that order. Gothic architecture is, indeed, 

 characterized by all these objects in one shape or another ; but 

 the mere placing of them in juxtaposition no more produces it 

 than does the placing alongside of each other water, flour, and 

 yeast make bread. It is the proper and due combination of these 

 constituents that produces the desired result in each case. Gothic 

 buildings have sloping roofs, because the style originated in a 

 part of the world where the rainfall was abundant, and some de- 

 vice was needed to throw off the water. They have arched open- 

 ings, because practical experiments in building have demon- 

 strated that they are the most economic and safe form to use. 

 They have buttresses and pinnacles, because they were necessary 

 to resist the thrust of a vaulted roof. In the best Gothic not one 

 of these forms was used unless it was an essential part of the con- 

 struction. The moment one is applied to a building for orna- 

 mental purposes, or for any object other than as a necessity to its 

 statical condition, the structure ceases to be Gothic and becomes 

 a hybrid without a name. 



Gothic architecture never employed a form that was not neces- 

 sary. In this respect it offers a striking contrast to what is now 

 called modern Gothic, which consists in applying ornament to sur- 

 faces and giving them forms which have no real meaning of their 

 own, and are nothing more than ornamentation. A building does 

 not become Gothic simply because it has a gable or a carved door- 

 frame ; the principle, the cause which made them Gothic in the 

 old form, is wanting, because from parts of the structure they 

 have become mere pieces of decoration. Gothic architecture is 

 expressed by many forms ; but its true character lies not in them, 

 but in the application of sound constructive methods to the sci- 

 ence of building. It is this principle that gives it a glory of its 

 own, and it is the violation of this fundamental element which 

 renders the Gothic architecture of the present day so unsatis- 

 factory and so un-Gothic in spirit. 



But there is another element of Gothic architecture that calls 

 for consideration, and that is, that notwithstanding it could be 

 varied and each part made to be exactly what it was intended to 

 be without regard to the total effect, the results are perfectly satis- 

 factory from an aBsthetic standpoint. It shows, in a conclusive 

 manner, that a building can be erected with the sole aim of being 

 useful and answering exactly the requirements for which it is 



