The Tower - Page 2

taste.
He said: "If these were silent the very stones would cry out."
With these words He called up all the wealth of artistic
creation that has been founded on this creed. With those words
He founded Gothic architecture. For in a town like this,
which seems to have grown Gothic as a wood grows leaves,
anywhere and anyhow, any odd brick or moulding may be carved off
into a shouting face. The front of vast buildings is thronged
with open mouths, angels praising God, or devils defying Him.
Rock itself is racked and twisted, until it seems to scream.
The miracle is accomplished; the very stones cry out.

But though this furious fancy is certainly a specialty of men among
creatures, and of Christian art among arts, it is still most notable
in the art of Flanders. All Gothic buildings are full of extravagant
things in detail; but this is an extravagant thing in design. All
Christian temples worth talking about have gargoyles; but Bruges
Belfry is a gargoyle. It is an unnaturally long-necked animal, like
a giraffe. The same impression of exaggeration is forced on the mind
at every corner of a Flemish town. And if any one asks,
"Why did the people of these flat countries instinctively raise
these riotous and towering monuments?" the only answer one can
give is, "Because they were the people of these flat countries."
If any one asks, "Why the men of Bruges sacrificed architecture
and everything to the sense of dizzy and divine heights?"
we can only answer, "Because Nature gave them no encouragement
to do so."

. . . . .

As I stare at the Belfry, I think with a sort of smile of some
of my friends in London who are quite sure of how children will
turn out if you give them what they call "the right environment."
It is a troublesome thing, environment, for it sometimes works
positively and sometimes negatively, and more often between the two.
A beautiful environment may make a child love beauty;
it may make him bored with beauty; most likely the two effects
will mix and neutralise each other. Most likely, that is,
the environment will make hardly any difference at all.
In the scientific style of history (which was recently fashionable,
and is still conventional) we always had a list of countries
that had owed their characteristics to their physical conditions.

The Spaniards (it was said) are passionate because their country
is hot; Scandinavians adventurous because their country is cold;
Englishmen naval because they are islanders; Switzers free
because they are mountaineers. It is all very nice in its way.
Only unfortunately I am quite certain that I could make up quite
as long a list exactly contrary in its argument