Excerpt from Glossary of Ecclesiastical Ornament and Costume: Compiled From Ancient Authorities and Examples That Art has its fixed principles, any departure from which leads to inconsistency and unmeaning effect, is a truth never to be lost sight of. And if all Art is subject to fixed laws, which define her province and inform her purpose, least of all is Christian Art to be regarded as exempt from rule, not merely of ecclesiastical precedent, but of philosophical and scientific principle. The conventional forms of ecclesiastical antiquity contain within them certain unchanging elements of character, the ignorance of which precludes the possibility of our either appreciating or imitating the great works of the old Christian artists. To help to illustrate these principles, which are, as it were, the polar star, by which the disciple of the ancient Masters must steer his course, forms the main object of the present volume. Ornament, in the true and proper meaning of the word, signifies the embellishment of that which is in itself useful, in an appropriate manner. Yet by a perversion of the term, it is frequently applied to mere enrichment, which deserves no other name than that of unmeaning detail, dictated by no rule but that of individual fancy and caprice. Every ornament, to deserve the name, must possess an appropriate meaning, and be introduced with an intelligent purpose, and on reasonable grounds. The symbolical associations of each ornament must be understood and considered: otherwise things beautiful in themselves will be rendered absurd by their application. It is to the neglect of these principles that we may trace half the blunders and monstrosities that have disgraced modern art. Ornaments have been regarded as mere matters of whim and caprice. Accordingly, the most opposite styles have been mixed: and emblems, of characters the most distinct, Christian and Pagan, ecclesiastical and civil, have been jumbled together in unutterable confusion. Only for ornament is the usual reply to an inquiry respecting the intention of various details and combinations frequent in modern designs; although it is not possible for any forms or enrichments to be ornamental that are not appropriate and significant, if their utility extends no farther. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.