"The Stones of Venice"

Though 'the proof of the inferiority of the work itself is not so easy, for in this I have to appeal to judgments which the Renaissance work has itself distorted', Ruskin did try, and we are glad that he played.

• No man can speak with rational decision of the merits or demerits of buildings: he may with obstinacy; he may with resolved adherence to previous prejudices; but never as if the matter could be otherwise decided than by majority of votes, or pertinacity of partisanship.
• (A law in architecture) must sanction the design of all truly great nations and times, Gothic or Greek or Arab; that it must cast off and reprobate the design of all foolish nations and times, Chinese or Mexican or modern European;
• So, then, these are the two virtues of building : first, the signs of man's own good work ; secondly, the expression of man's delight in better work than his own.
• So, then, the intelligent part of man being eminently, if not chiefly, displayed in the structure of his work, his affectionate part is to be shown in its decoration; and, that decoration may be indeed lovely, two things are needed : first, that the affections be vivid, and honestly shown; secondly, that they be fixed on the right things.

__ Now observe : those old Greeks gave the shaft; Rome gave the arch; the Arabs pointed and foliated the arch.
__ The Arab: in his intense love of excitement he points the arch and writhes it into extravagant foliations;

__ Half the evil in this world comes from people not knowing what they do like;.. All people enjoy giving away money, for instance: they don't know that,- they rather think they like keeping it; - and they do keep it,.. often to their great discomfort.
__ It is the child's spirit, which we are most happy when we most recover ; remaining wiser than children in our gratitude that we can still be pleased with a fair colour, or a dancing light. ... You were made for enjoyment, and the world was filled with things which you will enjoy, unless you are too proud to be pleased by them, or too grasping to care for what you cannot turn to other account than mere delight.

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