Eighteenth-century British architectural theory, while always taking heed of artistic developments in France, at the same takes a very different tack. To understand why and how this divergence of ideas came about, it is important to understand the different philosophical basis of Anglo-Saxon thought as well as unique circumstances affecting it, such as its novel ideas regarding garden design.
After the foregoing introductory remarks it is now time to pass on to the
study of our subject itself. But the introduction, where we still are, can in this
respect do no more than sketch for our apprehension a conspectus of the
entire course of our subsequent scientific studies.
I. Natural Beauty
Good taste, which is becoming more prevalent throughout the world, had its origins under the skies of Greece. Every invention of foreign nations which
was brought to Greece was, as it were, only a first seed that assumed new form
and character here. We are told that Minerva chose this land, with its mild seasons, above all others for the Greeks in the knowledge that it would be productive of genius.
