§ '.). USE OP GREEN. 13 



Since the harmony of colours is the chief object in their 

 arrangement, it is not to the purpose to observe that the 

 brown earth and green grass in nature are in contact; the 

 two colours dark brown and green being by no means an 

 agreeable combination ; nor would any one be pleased with 

 the same quantity of green in ornamentation that we see in 

 nature. Indeed, when this is actually copied, we are far 

 from welcoming that abundance of green which gives us a 

 pleasure to behold in the fields ; and the dislike felt for 

 pictures where the greens of our climate predominate is 

 sufficiently proved by our artists preferring to introduce the 

 warm brown tints of autumn ; sometimes even to an extent 

 not quite justified even by that season. Besides, if greens are 

 to belong to the lower parts of a building, we ought to make 

 the bases of columns of that colour ; and where, as Mr. Fal- 

 kener very properly asks, is there " a Greek green, or purple, 

 plinth ? " * Nor is the sky the only place of blue in nature ; 

 it may be found in the low position of water, as green is on 

 the hill side as well as in trees ; and in order to carry out a 

 theory drawn from the general aspect of nature, we should 

 be debarred the use of red, which is nowhere to be seen 

 either in the sky, on the water, or even on the earth except 

 in a few flowers at our feet, and in so minute a quantity com- 

 pared with the surrounding scenery as to make red lose all 

 its proportion, and all claim to a place among the colours of 

 a landscape (for it is on the general aspect of the scene, not on 

 the details, that the theory is based) ; and black, a very essen- 

 tial colour in ornamentation, would be altogether wanting. 

 Under these conditions the colours in a fine southerly climate 

 would be very limited ; while we should have to be satisfied 

 with those of our grey atmosphere and our neutral tint 

 clouds. Nor is it a libel so to designate their dominant hues, 



* "Class. Mus." i. p. 100. 



