1842.] 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. 



37 



DITTO TO H. S. 



Sir — Of the "Hints on Arcliitectiiral Criticism," I say notliiiig, they 

 being to me as mysterious as Lord Burleigh's shake of iiis liead, and 

 □0 doubt equally significant, althougli few, I suspect, can comprehend 

 the writer's meaning ami " attitude." But the paper of your Derby 

 correspondent, H. S., has afforded me very great satisfaction; for, as 

 far as it goes, it is exceedingly sensible, and very much to the pur- 

 pose. Without at all unden-aluing the merits of classical architecture, 

 without depreciating it in itself, it is time for us to get rid of that 

 extravagant pedantry and that bigoted reverence for it, which are for 

 the most part no better than cant. And it is owing to this cant, by the 

 bye, that the belief in the vast superiority of the ancient orders is "so 

 universal," such belief being adopted ready-made, without inquiry or 

 investigation, and consisting of little more than "raptures learnt by 

 rote." 



Were it found that ancient architecture accommodates itself per- 

 fectly to, and is all-suiiicient for, our purposes at the present day, there 

 might be something like reason in deprecating any departure from its 

 precedents. Such, however, is by no means the case ; on the con- 

 trary, it inevitably becomes more or less changed in its character — iu 

 some instances, has been most of all metamorphosed by those who 

 affect the greatest veneration for it. It is, therefore, quite absuril to 

 lay so much stress as is done on the mere copying by routine a few 

 details, when, after all, the aggregate effect — the ensemble — must be 

 totally unlike that of the structures from which some of the individual 

 parts are mechanically borrowed. Surely, if an architect does not 

 scruple to iitnorale so largely as to introduce windows within por- 

 ticos, or between Grecian columns, — if he does not consider features 

 of that kind as at all foreign to classical architecture, or as derogatory 

 from its so greatly-extolled simplicity and purity, — it is most con- 

 temptible affectation, or something still w orse, to insist upon, and even 

 make a merit of, strictly cojiying the mere conventional embellish- 

 ments of the order itself that happens to be employed, and which is for 

 the most part dragged in, sometimes with, but oftener without, any 

 appearance of utility or pt'opriety. In fact, such pretended veneration 

 for the models of antiquity is seldom little better than a plausible 

 excuse for not bestowing any study on, or attempting any originalitv 

 in regard to the character of an order — even such modification as 

 would render it more of a piece with the rest ; whereas, as now- 

 treated, the classical order chiefly serves to show how very unclassical 

 the structure itself is. In fact, it is only cant on the one hand, and 

 custom on the other, which reconcile us to the practice of /i(i.''hiiig-iijj 

 (■irecian architecture after the fashion we do, sticking the columns 

 borrowed from some antique example before a building full of win- 

 <lows, the latter being, perhaps, only so many holes in the wall. Except 

 that custom is not in its favour, it would not be a whit more prepos- 

 terous to introduce pointed windows of rich design into an otherwise 

 perfectly plain front, and pass it off as a specimen of the Gothic style. 



Under the plausible pretext of reverential respect for the prece- 

 dents of antiquity, its ultra admirers would limit us at the present day 

 to "servile copy ism," although necessarily imperfect in itself ; and 

 strenuously set their faces against, and deride, even beforehand, any 

 attempt to originate novelty in architectural <letail. Most trium- 

 phantly do they refer to previous failures, although the last in fact 

 prove nothing, except that those who made the unlucky experiments 

 were in every respect unfitted for the task they assumed, since they 

 plainly showed themselves to have no principle of taste in common 

 with that of the ancients. To enlarge upon the present system of the 

 orders requires a taste lal'.-iiounthed by previous study of them, and 

 not, as seems to be assumed, mere fanciful caprice and whim. Kithcr 

 architecture is not a fine art at all, or it admits of originality and 

 invention— guided, be it understood, by judgment and good taste. It 

 most assuredly does not follow, that everyone is capable of displaying 

 those qualities; yet, though it maybe advisable for the many to 

 adhere with exactness to established precedents, as being by far their 



safer course, that Is no reason whatever why all without distinction 

 should be interdicted from exercising their originality ; nor is it in 

 accordance with common sense, that no liberty of invention shoidd be 

 allowed, merely because, in aiming at originality, some have run into 

 the most puerile and tasteless extravagances. Emancipating himself 

 from precedent, Emiyn invented "a new order," and one so prepos- 

 terously absurd and tasteless, that it has deservedly covered his name 

 with ridicule. What then ( Schinkel, also, emancipating himself from 

 precedent, produced several novel designs for capitals, exhibiting the 

 most refined and exquisite taste. " But," exclaim the bigots, " we do 

 not want new capitals or new orders ; the old ones are quite sufficient 

 for our purpose :" which is but a very sorry kind of argument in 

 matters of art. They assure us, moreover, that it is impossible for us 

 to improve upon the ancient orders, or to produce anything new that 

 shall rival them. Yet this is but silly and evasive reasoning ; they 

 might as well tell us that St. Paul's was intended as an improvement 

 upon the Parthenon, and is consequently a decided failure. If origi- 

 nality can produce what is good in itself, it is not to be condemned 

 because it may happen to fall sliort of foregone excellence. 



Ditto. 



CANDIDUS'S NOTE-BOOK. 

 FASCICULUS XXXIV. 



■ 1 niiist have iiberly 

 Willial, .IS larj^e a charier as '.he Hintfs, 

 To blow on '.i liwn I |.!tafc.'' 



I. We have had both Rejected Addresses, and Rejected Articles, 

 and why not Rejected Designs ? Were some productions of the latter 

 kind published, they would assuredly be of service, either one way or 

 other ; either by reconciling us to those which have been preferred to 

 them, and carried into execution, or by showing what sort of t.iste and 

 judgment it is that generally decides in such matters. That the best 

 design offered is invariably the one selected, is what people in general 

 may suppose, it being according to common sense that such should b« 

 the case; but it is what no one who is in the slightest degree conver- 

 sant with such transactions will for a moment believe. We have seeu 

 rejected designs, which have been in every respect greatly superior 

 to the une that has been adopted, and which could have been executeil 

 for the same sum, if not even for less. Greatly, therefore, is it to be 

 desired, that some " coiitrasls" of the kind should be published, in 

 order to let peojile see how much better things they might have had 

 than what they have now got, and what kind of wiseacres they are 

 whom they suffer to choose for them. In one point of view, such con- 

 trasts would be amusing enough, yet in another they would he sadly 

 mortifying; still, the very mortification itself might have salutary 

 consequences, by teaching greater caution for the future, and making 

 Competition Committees more careful and scrupulous, from the dreail 

 of ultimately committing themselves. 



U. Mr. Thomas Roscoe shows himself to be either the most men- 

 dacious or most ignorant of writers, when he assures us that Burgos 

 cathe<lral bears a striking resemblance to that of York. " lis steeples," 

 he says, " terminating in spires, and vast square towers with eight 

 ))innaclcs, correspond ctitcthj with those of the English church ; anii 

 to complete the likeness, we have a lower octngonnl buibling witil 

 eight pyramidal turrets, terminating in needles, piercing a star-like 

 ornament, which the reader will at once recognize as the counterpart 

 of the Chapter-hou-se at York." Mr. Roscoe's readers may, perhaps, 

 be capable of swallowing anything ; yet, doubtless, some even of thoni 

 must have been startled — at le.\st strangely puizlcd and perplexed — 







