ay
how far the offence of their presence is owing to the mere stupidity and
vulgarity of the sculpture, and how far we might have been delighted
with a realisation, carried to nearly the same length by Ghiberti or
Michael Angelo. (I say _nearly_, because neither Ghiberti nor Michael
Angelo would ever have attempted, or permitted, entire realisation, even
in independent sculpture.)

Sec. VII. In spite of these embarrassments, however, some few certainties
may be marked in the treatment of past architecture, and secure
conclusions deduced for future practice. There is first, for instance,
the assuredly intended and resolute abstraction of the Ninevite and
Egyptian sculptors. The men who cut those granite lions in the Egyptian
room of the British Museum, and who carved the calm faces of those
Ninevite kings, knew much more, both of lions and kings, than they chose
to express. Then there is the Greek system, in which the human sculpture
is perfect, the architecture and animal sculpture is subordinate to it,
and the architectural ornament severely subordinated to this again, so
as to be composed of little more than abstract lines: and, finally,
there is the peculiarly mediaeval system, in which the inferior details
are carried to as great or greater imitative perfection as the higher
sculpture; and the subordination is chiefly effected by symmetries of
arrangement, and quaintnesses of treatment, respecting which it is
difficult to say how far they resulted from intention, and how far from
incapacity.

Sec. VIII. Now of these systems, the Ninevite and Egyptian are altogether
opposed to modern habits of thought and action; they are sculptures
evidently executed under absolute authorities, physical and mental, such
as cannot at present exist. The Greek system presupposes the possession
of a Phidias; it is ridiculous to talk of building in the Greek manner;
you may build a Greek shell or box, such as the Greek intended to
contain sculpture, but you have not the sculpture to put in it. Find
your Phidias first, and your new Phidias will very soon settle all your
architectural difficulties in very unexpected ways indeed; but until you
find him, do not think yourselves architects while you go on copying
those poor subordinations, and secondary and tertiary orders of
ornament, which the Greek put on the shell of his sculpture. Some of
them, beads, and dentils, and such like, are as good as they can be for
their work, and you may us