§ 96—98. 



STYLES OF ARCHITECTURE. 331 



cibly to the imitation of a conventional style ; and there are 

 few draughtsmen, however good, who will for the first time 

 seize the real character of an Egyptian figure. The same may 

 be observed, in a minor degree, in copying ornamental works, 

 and the adoption of the simplest patterns ; which are some- 

 times utterly spoilt by the want of perception of the spirit and 

 beauty of the original. 



97. Variety of ornamentation in a building is pleasing to 

 the eye ; but the extent to which it is to be carried depends 

 on many circumstances. Among these the principal one is 

 the style of the architecture. The Greek and the Gothic 

 require a totally different treatment. This does not, however, 

 affect the question as to which is preferable. It is an error, 

 and a not uncommon one, to compare the two ; when in fact 

 they both have their merits, each in its own particular way, 

 and according to the conditions they were intended to meet. 

 Two objects, an animal and a tree, may be equally beautiful 

 in their way, or the hand and the foot, or any other two works 

 of the Creator ; but it would be inconsistent to compare them. 

 And in like manner two styles of architecture may have their 

 own peculiar beauties, without the necessity of subjecting 

 them to a comparison. 



98. Though I neither draw a comparison between Greek 

 and our northern architecture, nor advocate the employment 

 of one particular style of the latter to the exclusion of all 

 others in our churches ; still I cannot but express my admira- 

 tion for the grandeur of the Norman, the gracefulness of the 

 Lancet, and the rich variety of the Decorated period. These 

 three were certainly far superior in beauty and elegance to the 

 Perpendicular, or Tudor, style, their successor ; and they 

 maintained the true spirit of the so-called Gothic, until the 

 overwrought fretwork, the formal repetitions, and the rectan- 

 gular lines of the florid Perpendicular period, led to a disre- 

 gard of the chief characteristics of Pointed architecture. It is 



