110 PAPEKS, ETC. 



the very dilapidation which is conspicuous adds a value of 

 its ovra to the lessons which the forms convey ; because it 

 certifies to the genuineness of the teaching, and assures 

 the student that he may depend uj)on what he reads. 



Viewing an ancient structure in this light — as a genuine 

 monument of a departed age, and an authentic and truth- 

 ful pattern for modern imitation — \ve come to the conclu- 

 sion that tinie on the one hand and neglect on the other 

 are in very truth far less injurious than attempts at 

 so-called "restoration." Time and neglect do not falsify 

 a building ; if they add nothing to teach, they introduce 

 nothing to mislead. They do not annex a fictitious cha- 

 racter to edifices, and make them utter falsehoods which 

 may deceive the unwary. The utmost which they do is 

 to present in a mutilated form what once was perfect ; but 

 they do not give to that mutilated perfection a totally 

 contrary aspect. They do not turn one kind of moulding 

 into another, or change the geometrical tracery of a 

 decorated window into the perpendicular lines of another 

 style, or cut Greek volutes in Norman piers ! Let time 

 and neglect do their worst, nothing of this kind can be 

 charged upon them. Can such be affirmed of other 

 influences? Alas! how many a "restored" church must 

 answer the question in the unhappy negative ! 



Time and neglect, then, are really friends, when com- 

 pared with the interference of those misguided though 

 avowedly friendly persons who irreparably injure, while 

 they profess to benefit. For contrast more minutely the 

 Operations of the tvvo influences. The influence of time 

 and neglect we have already noticed. Great as may be 

 their hostility, their influence is truthful ; they instruct us 

 honestly, and without so much as attempting to mislead. 

 They say, ' We have done our utmost to destroy ; but 



