The Music of the Eye

and peaceful in themselves, must depend on a wrong use of them.

For my own part, I cannot help thinking, that the encouragement of an art, of so elegant and fundamental a nature, and so full of endless variety, may be productive of the greatest benefit to society; it may be laying the corner-stone for a multitude of other arts of a peaceful nature, and perhaps, if I may allude to Scripture in a secular work, for the commencement of that period, when they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; when nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more, (Isaiah ii. 4;) and they shall build houses and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them; they shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat, (Isa. lxv. v. 21, 22:) or, as Pope poetically expresses it,

No more shall nation against nation rise,
Nor ardent warriors meet with hateful eyes,
Nor fields with gleaming steel be covered o'er,
The brazen trumpets kindle rage no more:
But useless lances into scythes shall bend,
And the broad falchion in a ploughshare end;
Then palaces shall rise; the joyful son
Shall finish what his short-lived sire begun.

Their vines a shadow to their race shall yield,

And the same hand that ploughed, shall reap the field.

Whatever may be said of the opinions of those modern philosopers, who make the period for the completion of those prophesies above alluded to, near at hand, I do not pretend to discuss but at all events, in whatever age we live, it must be the duty of every man to do all in his power, however little that may be, to promote universal civilization; and from the time I have bestowed upon it, conceiving myself capable of throwing at least a glimmering light on the noblest of the peaceful arts, I should feel it wrong to conceal these attempts from the public, though they should be pursued by all the virulence, which sometimes accompanies modern criticisms, or though they should be found finally unworthy of attention.

Norbury Booths Hall, 1829.

CONTENTS.

ESSAY I.

OF ARCHITECTURE IN GENERAL.

SECT. (1.) The dignity of Architecture; (2.) the most noble, use-

ful, and ancient, and the queen and mother of the arts; (3.) not

an imitative art; in this respect analogous to music. (4.) A Doric

temple. (5.) Universality of Architecture; national character;

Gothic, Moorish, Grecian. The Greeks, their taste, and inde-

pendent spirit. (6.) Roman Architecture. (7.) Modern Archi-

tecture. (8.) Chinese, Egyptian, Russian. (9.) Architecture a

universal art associated impressions: Sir Joshua Reynolds: Earl

of Arundel. (10.) Addison: Vitruvius. (11.) Architecture im-

portant to the man of taste, the scholar, the patriot. (12.) These

essays treat of the philosophy of the art. (13.) The science of

an Architect: Vitruvius recommends general knowledge to the

Architect the fabrica. (14.) Situation; peculiarities; the work

itself: materials; machinery. (15.) Difficulties must be sur-

mounted.

page 1

ESSAY II.

THE OBJECT OF THESE ESSAYS.

SECT. (1.) A reverence for antiquity very useful. (2.) Antiquarians
in various arts; in Architecture: advantages of an Architect;
necessity for extended knowledge. (3.) Fixed principles neces-

sary to all sciences, but cannot embrace every contingency. (4.)

Aristotle principles of the drama, &c. Greeks had, perhaps, prin-

ciples in Architecture: its variety an argument: (5.) its perfec-

tion another argument; perfection cannot arise from chance. The

man of taste is the man of principle. (6.) The universal excel-

lence of Grecian Architecture a proof of their having principles,

though they borrowed ideas from other nations. (7.) We must

look to reason and common sense: we cannot even copy without

principles; but even if we could, copying is unworthy this noble

art. (8.) Ancient theories. (9.) Modern theories. Orthodox

Grecian. (10.) Periodists. No anachronisms in Architecture

improperly so; Architecture arises from anachronisms which are