254 NATURE IN DOWNLAND 



soaring spire has a value above that of any other spire 

 in the land. 



We are accustomed to hear Salisbury cathedral 

 greatly praised ; and as a spire it is doubtless very 

 great, a more beautiful and a nobler work than that 

 of Chichester. There is no comparison. Nevertheless, 

 I admire Chichester most, in spite of its inferiority 

 when viewed merely as a work of art. But I do not 

 look at it with the architect's eye. In the inferior 

 work I see nothing but an object that fits in with and 

 forms a part of the landscape : more than that, it 

 " pulls " the scene together, and gives it a unity and 

 distinction which it would never have possessed if by 

 chance men had not built that spire precisely where 

 it stands. This is not the case at Salisbury: I go 

 out and away from the town and gaze at it from 

 different points, and still see nothing but a spire, 

 which, merely as a spire, may be the finest thing in 

 the world, but is in no way related to the scene amidst 

 which it is placed. We admire Salisbury just as we 

 admire St. Paul's, for itself alone : it receives nothing 

 from, and gives nothing to, nature: it is a gem of 

 great value that would look just as well in any other 

 setting. When I view the Chichester spire, it is but 

 as a part of the scene of all that visible nature that 

 inspires in us feelings compared with which the 

 highest pleasure the best and most perfect works of 

 art can give is but a poor insipid thing, and as dreams 

 compared to realities. 



