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THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. 



[Mat 



a dropping keystone could be guilty of inserting a ring in the nose of 

 the Venus de Medici, and although it might be merely his own bright 

 idea, he might think all the while, persuading himself that others 

 thought so too, that it had been selected by the fair hand of science 

 to set off the Queen of Beauty to advantage. I have seen, or perhaps 

 only think 1 have seen, sculptured keystones which had a good effect, 

 the sculpture alone being in relief. By the bye, sculpture is too 

 seldom called in aid by architects to embellish their works, I do not 

 mean the Paul Pry intruding or protruding keystone with mere 

 glyphs, but something like what is to be found in nature relieved on a 

 smooth ground, appearing like a single star in the firmament, or to 

 speak of things terrestrial, a single and well selected ornament on the 

 arched and unwrinkled brow of beauty. 



For the history of the arch one naturally looks for information to 

 the Encyclopaedia of Architecture, but the information there given is 

 scanty enough. Who indeed would suspect Mr. Gwilt of taking a 

 leaf out of the travels of any "mere amateur" or "literary idler?" 

 No, no, such small fry must not be encouraged to travel, or at least to 

 ■write, with the object of throwing light on the history or practice of 

 the art; besides, Mr. Gwilt seems to have been seized with a Rip 

 Van Winkle sleep commencing at the end of the reign of George III., 

 (which he says was also the end of the 18th century,) and to have 

 remained from that epoch in a state of imperfect clair voyance, from 

 which he has aroused at the end of nearly half a century, for the pur- 

 pose of compiling his Encyclopsdia: but although he seems to have 

 slept profoundly, he did not sleep soundly, for he appears to have been 

 disturbed by dreams of mere amateurs and literary idlers thoughout: 

 it is to be hoped that he is now wide awake and has thrown off the 

 night mare from his breast. If not, the sooner he does so the better. 



III. In a very sensible letter written by Censor, page 147 of this 

 volume, it is stated that very few of the profession purchase foreign 

 architectural works; it might have been added, or domestic ones, or 

 even read one or the other. I did not wish to be the first to call at- 

 tention to this subject, but I firmly believe that there are many ar- 

 chitects who never read professional works. Vitruvius gives a 

 goodly list of accomplishments which he considered necessary for an 

 architect, but he carries it to one extreme by requiring too much- 

 modern practice to the other by requiring too little. Although it be 

 unnecessary that an architect should know everything, which the pro- 

 fessors of other branches of science and art should respectively be 

 acquainted with, yet it is absolutely necessary that he should read 

 every thing which bears on his profession ; and if he do not, he might 

 as well, like Mr. Rip Van Winkle or Mr. Joseph Gwilt, be asleep, 

 ■whilst all the rest of the world are wide awake; and after sleeping 

 orty years, rouse up and think he could compile another Encyclo- 

 pedia without filling up the hiatus. One man or one profession 

 cannot stand still whilst other men and professions are progressing, 

 without being left behind in the race of knowledge. I know that in 

 some professions tho?e who in the estimation of their brethren are 

 placed at its head, are amongst those who consider themselves only 

 students. Nature gave to Hogarth a genius which was calculated to 

 make him the finest painter the world every saw; but the gift was 

 marred by education, (or rather the want of it,) and vanity, fostered 

 by ignorance, prevented him from profitting by the knowledge and 

 labours of others, whilst, by availing himself of these advantages, he 

 might have eclipsed them all. 



" Knowledge is power," said a person called Bacon, or some such 

 name. Buy books of merit, gentlemen, and read them; let it not be 

 said of arcliitects — 



" But knowledge to their eyes its ample page, 

 Kich with the spoils of time, did ne'er unroll ; 

 Chill penury repressed their noble rage, 

 And froze the genial current of the aoul." 



Depend on it a good use of a good library is essential to make a 

 good architect. " The more extensive your acquaintance is with the 

 works of those who have excelled, the more extensive will be your 

 powers of invention; and what may appear siill more like a paradox, 

 the more original will be your conceptions," {Sir Joshua.) From what 

 I have myself seen of the nakedness of the land, I greatly fear that if 

 some "Devil on Two Sticks," were to escape out of his bottle, he 

 would give a sad account of the empty shelves in the studios of 

 modern architects, I have heard that in a city which I could name, 

 there is only one architect who possesses a respectable professional 

 library. As Sir Joshua says, "It is indisputably evident that a great 

 part of every man's life must be employed in collecting materials for 

 the exercise of genius. Invention, strictly speaking, is little more 

 than a new combination of those images which have been previously 

 gathered and deposited in the memory ; nothing can come of nothing : 

 be who has laid up no materials, can produce no combinations." 



Every man is not born a genius; but no man who has not talent and 

 desire to profit by the works of others, has any right to consider 

 himself an architect. No doubt it is owing to a want of the right 

 perception of this, that architecture does not non occupy in the scale 

 of art the commanding position which it should. A knowledge of 

 the diseasf is a step to the remedy ; on the profession depends its 

 successful application. 



Clonmore, Dublin, 

 May, 1844. 



CAMDENISM AND PAGANISM. 



Such is the ultra intolerance and bigotry of the Cambridge Camden 

 Society, that it professes almost a mortal hatred for every thing par- 

 taking of classical architecture, and would not only henceforth exter- 

 minate all such styles in practice, but even interdict all inquiry and 

 discussion relative to them. That the Ecclesiologist should be sadly 

 wrath with the article "On the present condition and prospects of 

 Architecture in England," in Part 111. of Weale's Quarterly Papers, is 

 natural enough — is no more than was to be expected, because the writer 

 has been not a little bitter in his remarks upon the Camden and similar 

 societies. Yet wherefore it should protest against as "mischievous" 

 another paper entitled "Outlines and characteristic? of Styles," is not 

 so apparent; or it is apparently for no other reason than because it 

 treats of the Characteristics of those styles which the Camdenists re- 

 gard as profane. For having accomplished well, as much as he under- 

 took to perform, and for having explained more lucidly than is gene- 

 rally done, a great many seemingly insignificant but really important 

 matters in classical architecture, the writer obtains no credit from the 

 Ecclesiologist; which not only severely condemns all practical appli- 

 cation of classical architecture, but would even suppress the study of 

 it, and no doubt, would commit to the flames all publications and writ- 

 ings connected with such study. 



If therefore Mr. Weale is at al' solicitous to propitiate the Cam- 

 denists, he will in future exclude all similar heretical essays and topics 

 from his "Papers," and confine them exclusively to subjects of Eccle- 

 siastical architecture and decoration. That being done, the next step 

 on the part of the Camdenists may be to take the Royal Academy to 

 tiisk for rewarding architectural paganism with "gold medals," and 

 for admitting designs in any other than the ecclesiastical style, into its 

 exhibitions. Luckily the Ecclesiologist does not pretend to interfere 

 in matters of Painting, or it might exclaim against the enormity of 

 exhibiting subjects from heathen mythology, — perhaps might object 

 to the somewhat too liberal display of female loveliness in Etty's pic- 

 tures. Neither would the pictures in the National Gallery escape 

 reproach for their naughtiness, — for instance, Rembrandt's lady pad- 

 dling in the water, which was formerly in the collection of a clergy- 

 man/ 



If the Camdenists are quite right, then the nation has been exceed- 

 ingly wrong, and has acted very foolishly in purchasing the Elgin 

 marbles, and in now endeavouring to obtain a fresh stock of paganism 

 of the kind from Lycia. 



But to come to the main point, — it is pleasant to hearPugin inveigh 

 against the scandalousness of an architect's daring to paganize at the 

 Universities, and University men thundering against pagan architecture, 

 since of all persons in the world, such reproaches do not come with the 

 very best grace possible from them. It is not to be denied that Pa- 

 ganism does infect modern literature and art to a very great extent, 

 and sometimes very fantastically. The odour of it mingles even with 

 the strains of Milton; the taint of it is imbibed with almost the very first 

 elementsofeducatioD.atleastofgeMWtmaH/^ education. Andwhomhave 

 we to thank for this ? truly, no other than our venerable ecclesiastical 

 institutions — our so greatly extolled seats of piety and learning — our 

 Universities, Colleges, and endowed Schools, which have made 

 Heathen Litebature not only a part, but one of the most essential 

 parts, the absolute sine qua non in liberal education I 



Now, to our dull apprehension, this sort of actual Paganism, which 

 mixes itself with our very thoughts and feelings, is infinitely more 

 dangerous and mischievous than thatwhich Camdenists and Puganists 

 so lustily complain of. If we can tolerate Paganism in poetry, in 

 painting, in sculpture, all of which bring more or less vividly and 

 actually before us the gods, and the idols, and the extravagant, often 

 shockingly impure, fancies of Greek and Roman mythology, it be- 

 comes over-acted, farcical prudery to be scandalized at our admitting 

 anything partaking of, or reminding us of Paganism into our architec- 

 ture. In this last all the moral uncleanness and pestilential virus of 

 heathenism either evaporate or are neutralized. It may be very bad 

 taste to prefer Grecian — which we ourselves do not do, otherwise 



