44 The Art of Landscape Gardening 



opposite to the principles of ancient gardening, which 

 may thus be stated. First, the natural beauties or de- 

 fects of a situation had no influence, when it was the 

 fashion to exclude, by lofty walls, every surrounding 

 object. Secondly, these walls were never considered as 

 defects; but, on the contrary, were ornamented with 

 vases, expensive iron gates, and palisades, to render 

 them more conspicuous. Thirdly, so far from making 

 gardens appear natural, every expedient was used to 

 display the expensive efforts of art, by which nature 

 had been subdued : — the ground was levelled by a 

 line ; the water was squared, or scollopped into regular 

 basins ; the trees, if not clipped into artificial shape, 

 were at least so planted by line and measurement that 

 the formal hand of art could nowhere be mistaken. 

 And, lastly, with respect to objects of convenience, 

 they were placed as near the house as possible: — the 

 stables, the barns, and the kitchen-garden were among 

 the ornaments of a place ; while the village, the alms- 

 house, the parish school, and churchyard were not 

 attempted to be concealed by the walls or palisades that 

 divided them from the embellished pleasure-ground. 



Lathom. Congruity of style, uniformity of charac- 

 ter, and harmony of parts with the whole are different 

 modes of expressing that unity, without which no com- 

 position can be perfect : yet there are few principles in 

 gardening which seem to be so little understood. This 

 essential unity has often been mistaken for symmetry, 

 or the correspondence of similar parts; as where 



" Grove nods at grove, each alley has a brother. 

 And half the platform just reflects the other." 



Pope. 



Indeed, this symmetry in the works of art was perfectly 

 justifiable under that style of gardening which confined. 



