346 



ON THE MORAL INFLUENCE OF GOOD HOUSES. 



house is to them no longer a comfortable 

 shelter merely, but an expression of the in- 

 telligent life of man, in a state of society 

 where the soul, the intellect, and the heart, 

 are all awake, and all educated. 



There are, perhaps, few persons who have 

 examined fully the effects of a general dif- 

 fusion of good taste, of well being, and a 

 love of order and proportion, upon the com- 

 munity at large. There are, no doubt, some 

 who look upon fine houses as fostering the 

 pride of the few, and the envy and discon- 

 tent of the many; and — in some transatlantic 

 countries, where wealth and its avenues are 

 closed to all but a few — not without reason. 

 But, in this country, where integrity and 

 industry are almost always rewarded by 

 more than the means of subsistence, we 

 have firm faith in the moral effects of the 

 fine arts. We believe in the bettering in- 

 fluence of beautiful cottages and country 

 houses — in the improvement of human na- 

 ture necessarily resulting to all classes, from 

 the possession of lovely gardens and fruit- 

 ful orchards. 



We do not know how we can present any 

 argument of this matter, if it requires one, 

 so good as one of that long-ago distinguish- 

 ed man — Dr. Dwight. He is describing, in 

 his Travels in Ainerica, the influence of 

 good architecture, as evinced in its effects 

 on the manners and character of the inhabi- 

 tants in a town in New-England : 



" There is a kind of symmetry in the 

 thoughts, feelings, and efforts of the human 

 mind. Its taste, intelligence, affections, 

 and conduct, are so intimately related, that 

 no preconcertion can prevent them from 

 being mutually causes and effects. The 

 first thing powerfully operated upon, and, 

 in its turn, proportionately operative, is the 

 taste. The perception of beauty and de- 

 formity, of refinement and grossness, of de- 

 cency and vulgarity, of propriety and inde- 



corum, is the first thing which influences 

 man to attempt an escape from a grovelling, 

 brutish character ; a character in ivhich mo- 

 rality is chilled, or absolutely frozen. In 

 most persons, this perception is awakened 

 by what may be called the exterior of so- 

 ciety, particularly by the mode of building. 

 Uncouth, mean, ragged, dirty houses, con- 

 stituting the body of any town, will regu- 

 larly be accompanied by coarse, grovelling 

 manners. The dress, the furniture, the 

 mode of living, and the manners, will all 

 correspond with the appearance of the 

 buildings, and will universally be, in every 

 such case, of a vulgar and debased nature. 

 On the inhabitants of such a town, it will 

 be difficult, if not impossible, to work a 

 conviction that intelligence is either neces- 

 sary or useful. Generally, they will regard 

 both learning and science only with con- 

 tempt. Of morals, except in the coarsest 

 form, and that which has the least influence 

 on the heart, they will scarcely have any 

 apprehensions. The rights enforced by 

 municipal law, they may be compelled to 

 respect, and the corresponding duties they 

 may be necessitated to perform ; but the 

 rights and obligations which lie beyond the 

 reach of magistracy, in which the chief du- 

 ties of morality are found, and from which 

 the chief enjoyments of society spring, will 

 scarcely gain even their passing notice. 

 They may pay their debts, but they will 

 neglect almost every thing of value in the 

 education of their children. 



" The very fact, that men see good hou- 

 ses built around them, will, more than al- 

 most anything else, awaken in them a sense 

 of superiority in those by whom such hou- 

 ses are inhabited. The same sense is de- 

 rived, in the same manner, from handsome 

 dress, furniture, and equipage. The sense 

 of beauty is necessarily accompanied by a 

 perception of the superiority which it pos- 



