On several grounds it is possible to make a more speedy and extensive application of artistic25 reform to our interior decoration than to our external architecture. One of these grounds is that most of our ugly buildings must stand; we cannot afford to pull them down. But every year we are decorating interiors afresh, and people of modest means may benefit by the introduction of beautiful designs into stucco ornaments26, paper-hangings, draperies, and carpets. Fine taste in the decoration of interiors is a benefit that spreads from the palace to the clerk’s house with one parlor27.
All honor, then, to the architect who has zealously28 vindicated29 the claim of internal ornamentation to be a part of the architect’s function, and has labored30 to rescue that form of art which is most closely connected with the sanctities and pleasures of our hearths31 from the hands of uncultured tradesmen. All the nation ought at present to know that this effort is peculiarly associated with the name of Mr. Owen Jones; and those who are most disposed to dispute with the architect about his coloring must at least recognize the high artistic principle which has directed his attention to colored ornamentation as a proper branch of architecture. One monument of his effort in this way is his “Grammar of Ornament,” of which a new and cheaper edition has just been issued. The one point in which it differs from the original and more expensive edition, viz., the reduction in the size of the pages (the amount of matter and number of plates are unaltered), is really an advantage; it is now a very manageable folio, and when the reader is in a lounging mood may be held easily on the knees. It is a magnificent book; and those who know no more of it than the title should be told that they will find in it a pictorial32 history p. 274of ornamental33 design, from its rudimentary condition as seen in the productions of savage tribes, through all the other great types of art—the Egyptian, Assyrian, ancient Persian, Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Arabian, Moresque, Mohammedan-Persian, Indian, Celtic, Medi?val, Renaissance34, Elizabethan, and Italian. The letter-press consists, first, of an introductory statement of fundamental principles of ornamentation—principles, says the author, which will be found to have been obeyed more or less instinctively35 by all nations in proportion as their art has been a genuine product of the national genius; and, secondly36, of brief historical essays, some of them contributed by other eminent37 artists, presenting a commentary on each characteristic series of illustrations, with the useful appendage38 of bibliographical39 lists.
The title “Grammar of Ornament” is so far appropriate that it indicates what Mr. Owen Jones is most anxious to be understood concerning the object of his work, namely, that it is intended to illustrate40 historically the application of principles, and not to present a collection of models for mere41 copyists. The plates correspond to examples in syntax, not to be repeated parrot-like, but to be studied as embodiments of syntactical principles. There is a logic42 of form which cannot be departed from in ornamental design without a corresponding remoteness from perfection; unmeaning, irrelevant43 lines are as bad as irrelevant words or clauses, that tend no whither. And as a suggestion toward the origination of fresh ornamental design, the work concludes with some beautiful drawings of leaves and flowers from nature, that the student, tracing in them the simple laws of form which underlie44 an immense variety in beauty, may the better discern the method by which the same laws were applied45 in the finest decorative46 work of the past, and may have all the clearer prospect47 of the unexhausted possibilities of freshness which lie before him, if, refraining from mere imitation, he will seek only such likeness48 to existing forms of ornamental art as arises from following like principles of combination.

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1
banish
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vt.放逐,驱逐;消除,排除 | |
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2
dwellings
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n.住处,处所( dwelling的名词复数 ) | |
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worthy
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adj.(of)值得的,配得上的;有价值的 | |
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stagnant
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adj.不流动的,停滞的,不景气的 | |
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5
iridescence
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n.彩虹色;放光彩;晕色;晕彩 | |
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hideous
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adj.丑陋的,可憎的,可怕的,恐怖的 | |
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7
piety
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n.虔诚,虔敬 | |
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copious
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adj.丰富的,大量的 | |
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dingy
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adj.昏暗的,肮脏的 | |
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brass
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n.黄铜;黄铜器,铜管乐器 | |
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gilt
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adj.镀金的;n.金边证券 | |
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12
advertising
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n.广告业;广告活动 a.广告的;广告业务的 | |
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13
akin
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adj.同族的,类似的 | |
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malaria
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n.疟疾 | |
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bliss
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n.狂喜,福佑,天赐的福 | |
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attainable
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a.可达到的,可获得的 | |
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well-being
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n.安康,安乐,幸福 | |
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18
savage
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adj.野蛮的;凶恶的,残暴的;n.未开化的人 | |
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discordant
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adj.不调和的 | |
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20
chuckles
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轻声地笑( chuckle的名词复数 ) | |
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shrieks
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n.尖叫声( shriek的名词复数 )v.尖叫( shriek的第三人称单数 ) | |
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22
wrought
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v.引起;以…原料制作;运转;adj.制造的 | |
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23
vibrations
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n.摆动( vibration的名词复数 );震动;感受;(偏离平衡位置的)一次性往复振动 | |
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24
afflicted
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使受痛苦,折磨( afflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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25
artistic
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adj.艺术(家)的,美术(家)的;善于艺术创作的 | |
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ornaments
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n.装饰( ornament的名词复数 );点缀;装饰品;首饰v.装饰,点缀,美化( ornament的第三人称单数 ) | |
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27
parlor
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n.店铺,营业室;会客室,客厅 | |
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28
zealously
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adv.热心地;热情地;积极地;狂热地 | |
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vindicated
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v.澄清(某人/某事物)受到的责难或嫌疑( vindicate的过去式和过去分词 );表明或证明(所争辩的事物)属实、正当、有效等;维护 | |
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30
labored
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adj.吃力的,谨慎的v.努力争取(for)( labor的过去式和过去分词 );苦干;详细分析;(指引擎)缓慢而困难地运转 | |
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hearths
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壁炉前的地板,炉床,壁炉边( hearth的名词复数 ) | |
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32
pictorial
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adj.绘画的;图片的;n.画报 | |
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ornamental
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adj.装饰的;作装饰用的;n.装饰品;观赏植物 | |
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34
renaissance
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n.复活,复兴,文艺复兴 | |
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instinctively
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adv.本能地 | |
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secondly
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adv.第二,其次 | |
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eminent
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adj.显赫的,杰出的,有名的,优良的 | |
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appendage
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n.附加物 | |
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bibliographical
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书籍解题的,著书目录的 | |
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illustrate
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v.举例说明,阐明;图解,加插图 | |
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mere
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adj.纯粹的;仅仅,只不过 | |
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logic
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n.逻辑(学);逻辑性 | |
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irrelevant
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adj.不恰当的,无关系的,不相干的 | |
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44
underlie
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v.位于...之下,成为...的基础 | |
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45
applied
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adj.应用的;v.应用,适用 | |
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46
decorative
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adj.装饰的,可作装饰的 | |
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47
prospect
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n.前景,前途;景色,视野 | |
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48
likeness
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n.相像,相似(之处) | |
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