"There are two great uses of antiquarian studies. One of them is to enable us to conjure up as if by the magician's wand the dress, furniture, architecture, &c., of past ages, so that we can live, as it were, in many centuries almost at the same moment. This is a very great and a very pleasant species of knowledge, but it is not particularly useful in this work-a-day world; and it sometimes, like other knowledge, renders its possessor far from happy, more especially when he goes to the theatre, and sees all sorts of anachronisms and impossibilities a. The other use of antiquarian studies is to restore disused arts, and to get all the good we can out of them for our own improvement."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
p. 13
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Burges
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
William Burges
William Burges (2 December 1827 – 20 April 1881) was an English architect and designer.
22 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by William Burges →
Related Quotes
"The civil engineer is the real 19th century architect."
"If we copy, the thing never looks right [and] the same occurs with regard to those buildings which do not profess to …"
"What I set myself to do was this, to write a sort of grammar of thirteenth-century architecture, and to illustrate it…"
"I have been brought up in the 13th century belief, and in that belief I intend to die."
"It has been well observed that the world, more especially the English portion of it, during the last half century, ha…"
"Of course there is no prima facie reason why cheap things should be ugly, for a die or mould of a good design costs n…"
"Great praise must also be given to the Society of Arts for beginning the movement and carrying it on to the present t…"
"Decidedly the best application of art to industry is when a great many copies are made from an exceedingly good pattern."
"The real mission of machinery is to reduce pounds to shillings and shillings to pence."
"Use a good strong thick bold line so that we may get into the habit of leaving out those prettinesses which only cost…"