Page:Architectural Review and American Builders' Journal, Volume 1, 1869.djvu/134

 106 Sloan's Architectural Review and Builders' Journal. [August, ing, or observation. Elegant penman- ship might be demanded of, but can hardly ever be obtained from, proficient first-class draftsmen. It has almost become an axiom, of late, that a first- class draftsman is a poor penman, and that those who write the most elegant, free hand cannot draw well. This may, at first blush, seem very strange, but really is very natural. The two things require entirely different gifts, which may belong to the same individual, but hardly ever do. It is an almost invari- able rule, that the natural penman is of a careless, easy, off-hand disposition, the natural draftsman is careful, observ- ing and exact. The one is only inter- ested in the harmony of dashing, graceful curves, or of straight lines, with them- selves. Their exact position upon the page, sometimes even their size is a matter of little moment ; but a broken- backed curve, or a wavering straight line, is an aggravating defect. the other, whether working on objects of art or of nature, with straight or with curved lines, must draw the exact out- lines of his subject, precisely as they appear, not only with regard to the sub- ject itself, but to all surrounding objects. No allowance, whatever, is, or can be, made him. He always depicts the set lines of a set subject in a set space, or he utterly fails to carry out his inten- tion. Such a man may print, may text, may write a slow, set hand, or may illuminate magnificently ; but the very deftness and delicacy of fingers, which compass all these, prevent him from being a good, rapid, commercial penman generally. On the other hand, while the successful free-hand penman may attempt to draw, he only jerks — and dashes — and erases — and never, by any chance, gets a particular line where he wants it. If very proficient and dex- terous, his nearest approach to drawing is the chirographically fine, but pic- torially inartistic approximation of par- ticular forms, such as pens, plumes, birds, and so forth, by set flourishing, or, technically, striking. He may also draw geometrically tolerably well, but not fast ; and he will never become really skilled in free-hand drawing, or higher art. Our present exemplar, Pollio's dis- tinction between the relative values of theory and practice, and his insist- ance, that the architect should be a skilful draftsman, versed in geometry, the concrete and the abstract mathe- matics, and the entire range of natural philosophy, are as pertinent to the nine- teenth century of the Christian era, as to the last of the heathen. That the architect should be thoroughly versed in the history of architecture, no one will dispute ; but wiry he must be acquainted with general history is not so obvious. However, as our quotations will pre- sently show, Vitruvius makes out his case. We will extend him here, a little, by maintaining, that the architect ought to be well grounded in the biography of distinguished members of the craft. Perchance, though, he mentally included this in history. Ethics would seem to be an extraneous branch of the profes- sional education : and only to belong to the architect, in common with every good citizen of the community. Pol- lio's reflections thereon are just, so far as they extend ; but, to be fully just, should embrace all human beings. His chief reasons why the architect should be a musician are not so cogent to modern, as they were, possibly, to an- cient ears ; yet, as acoustic failures are the rule, and acoustic successes the ex- ception, in public buildings now, haply, all architects might ponder with profit, the remarks of Vitruvius, at the end of chapter 3, book 5, upon the Greek ves- sels answering as sound-reflectors, viz. : " The ancient architects, following "nature as their °;uide, and reflecting: " upon the properties of the voice, regu- " lated the true ascent of steps in a thea- " tre, and contrived by musical propor- " tions and mathematical rules, whatever " its effect might be upon the stage, (scena,)