Architecture, of all the arts, is the one which acts the most slowly, but the most surely, on the soul

Architecture, of all the arts, is the one which acts the most slowly, but the most surely, on the soul

Architecture is a social act and the material theater of human activity.

Architecture is a social act and the material theater of human activity.

A man who could build a church, as one may say, by squinting at a
sheet of paper.

A man who could build a church, as one may say, by squinting at a
sheet of paper.

The Gothic cathedral is a blossoming in stone subdued by the
insatiable demand of harmony in man. The mountain read more

The Gothic cathedral is a blossoming in stone subdued by the
insatiable demand of harmony in man. The mountain of granite
blooms into an eternal flower, with the lightness and delicate
finish, as well as the aerial proportions and perspective of
vegetable beauty.

And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made
ready before it was brought thither: read more

And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made
ready before it was brought thither: so that there was neither
hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it
was in building.

When I lately stood with a friend before [the cathedral of]
Amiens, . . . he asked me how read more

When I lately stood with a friend before [the cathedral of]
Amiens, . . . he asked me how it happens that we can no longer
build such piles? I replied: "Dear Alphonse, men in those days
had convictions (Ueberzeugungen), we moderns have opinions
(Meinungen) and it requires something more than an opinion to
build a Gothic cathedral.

Nor did there want
Cornice or frieze with bossy sculpture graven.

Nor did there want
Cornice or frieze with bossy sculpture graven.

Grandeur . . . consists in form, and not in size: and to the eye
of the philosopher, the read more

Grandeur . . . consists in form, and not in size: and to the eye
of the philosopher, the curve drawn on a paper two inches long,
is just as magnificent, just as symbolic of divine mysteries and
melodies, as when embodied in the span of some cathedral roof.

Rich windows that exclude the light,
And passages that lead to nothing.

Rich windows that exclude the light,
And passages that lead to nothing.