.18 The Art of Landscape Gardening 



earned author chat " he is a man unequalled " " for the 

 tore of knowledge he possesses, for the clearness with 

 Vhich he views, and the happy perspicuity with which 

 le communicates his conceptions," so I shall give this 

 ^.heory in his own words/^ 



* This curious and satisfactory theory demonstrates 

 that tfie choice of colours which so often distinguishes 

 good from bad taste in manufactures, furniture, dress, 

 and in every circumstance where colour may be arti- 

 ficially introduced, is not the eifect of chance or fancy, 

 but guided by certain general laws of nature. 



Sir Isaac Newton discovered a wonderful coincidence 

 between sound and colours, and proves mathematically 

 that the spaces occupied by the colours in the prismatic 

 spectrum correspond with the parts of a musical chord 

 when it is so divided as to sound the notes of an octave. 

 So this resemblance may now be considered as extend- 

 ing further, for, as in music, so likewise in colours, it 

 will be found that harmony consists in distance and 

 contrast, not in similitude or approximation. Two notes 

 near each other are grating to the ear, and are called 

 discords ; in like manner, two colours very near each 

 other are unpleasing to the sight, and may be called 

 discordant ; this may be proved by covering all the col- 

 ours in the diagram (See Note 47, p. 246) except the two 

 adjoining, which, in every part of the scale, will appear 

 discordant ; while, on the contrary, if the two sides be 

 covered in any direction so as only to shew the two op- 

 posite colours, they will appear in perfect harmony with 

 each other ; and this experiment confirms the good 

 taste of those who, in the choice of colours, oppose reds 

 to greens, yellows to purples, and blues to oranges, etc. 

 But instead of contrasting these colours, they are mixed 

 or so blended as not to appear each distinctly, as in 



