120 



ARCHITECTURE. 



BOOK I. 



SECTION I. OF CHURCHES. 



The expression of a church ought, in every case, to be subli- 

 mity; and there are two ways in which this may be accom- 

 plished. 1st, A form should be fixed upon which is suited to 

 produce this emotion. And 2dly, The general masses of this 

 form should in no situation be altered, though their magnitude 

 may differ : the reason for preserving the form always the same 

 is, chiefly, that in some cases, where the sublime cannot be pro- 

 duced by magnitude, from the limited extent of the building, 

 the form, though of less size, may, from association of ideas, 

 produce this effect. Taking a medium between the cathedrals 

 and the simplest Gothic churches, they may be said to contain 

 two parts : the body, which is generally an oblong mass, ex- 

 tending over the surface ; and the spire, which is either a 

 tapered mass placed upon its base, or a parallelogram placed 

 upon one end. Now these general characteristics of a church 

 should never be deviated from when sufficient expence can be 

 afforded ; and if simplicity in forming these parts be attended 

 to, a case can hardly occur where both the tower (or spire) and 

 body may not be erected. When this is not the case, churches 

 will dwindle into mere barns, as is the case with a number of 

 the country churches in Scotland and Wales ; or when it is over- 



