4 On GOTHIC J RC HITE CT'U RE. 



In the early part of the fixteenth century it underwent a fud- 

 den reverfe of fortune; not, however, (I am incUned to think), 

 from any difcovery of its defects, or any inquiry into its me- 

 rits, but entirely from the general temper of the times. A paf- 

 iionate admiration of the works of antiquity, which had then 

 recently attradled the attention of the moderns, produced a con- 

 tempt for whatever was not profeffedly formed upon the models 

 of Greece and Rome. At the fame time, an indifcriminate ha- 

 tred againft every producftion of the middle ages, flrongly felt 

 by men juft emerging from the gloom of that period, led them 

 to overlook the merit of this very brilliant exception to its gene- 

 ral barbarifm. 



But the excefs of thefe impreffions has of late very much 

 abated ; authors of the greateft eminence have teftified a refpe<5t 

 for Gothic architedlure, by advancing various fyflems to ac- 

 count for its forms ; and, whilft they acknowledge the fuperior 

 excellence of the works of the ancient Greeks, they allow that, in 

 airy lightnefs, and in bold grandeur of effedl, thofe of the Gothic 

 ftyle have not been furpaffed, if ever equalled, by the moft ce- 

 lebrated of our modern producftions. The period, too, in which 

 it prevailed, being at a diftance from our times, and that di- 

 ftance being magnified in our imagination by the obfcurity of 

 its hiftory, we are inclined to rank its monuments with the 

 works of remote antiquity, which feldom fail to excite even a 

 greater intereft than thofe poffefling the charm of novelty. 



In concurrence with thefe favourable fentiments, my objedl, 

 in the following Effay, is to reftore to Gothic archite(5lure its 

 due fhare of public efleem, chiefly by fhewing, that all its forms 

 may be traced to the imitation of one very fimple original ; and, 

 confequently, that they are connecfled together by a regular fyf- 

 tem : thus proving, that its authors have been guided by prin- 

 ciple, and not, as many have alkged, by mere fancy and ca- 

 |)rice. 



Having 



