Few people know or
care much about the structure and planning of buildings except those
whose business it is to care about this; and consequently they do not
realize what it is which they should look for in the architectural
design. They like it or do not like it, and they regard this as what is
called a mere question of taste, which, according to the proverb, is not
to be disputed about. In fact, however, the good or bad taste of an
architectural design, say, if you like, its correctness or
incorrectness, is to a considerable extent a matter of logical
reasoning, of which you must accurately know the premises before you can
form a just conclusion. But there is another reason for this prevalent
uncertainty and vagueness of opinion, arising out of the very nature of
architectural art itself, as compared with the imitative arts. A
painting of a figure on a landscape is primarily a direct imitation of
the physical facts of nature. I do not for a moment say it is only that,
for there is far more involved in painting than the imitation of nature;
but the immediate reference to nature does give a standard of comparison
which to a certain extent every eye can appreciate. But architecture is
not an art which imitates natural forms at all, except as minor
decorations, and it then does so, or should do so, only in a
conventionalized manner, for reasons which we shall consider later on.
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