A Dialogue upon the Gardens of the Right Honorouble the Lord Viscount Cobham at Stow in Buckinghamshire — John Shaqi
A Dialogue upon the Gardens of the Right Honorouble the Lord Viscount Cobham at Stow in BuckinghamshireGilpin, William
Philosophy
A Dialogue upon the Gardens of the Right Honorouble the Lord Viscount Cobham at Stow in Buckinghamshire
Gilpin, William
Cobham, Richard Temple, Viscount, 1669?-1749; Landscape gardening -- Early works to 1800
But _Stow_, it is to be hoped, may work some Reformation: I would have
our Country Squires flock hither two or three times in a Year, by way of
Improvement, and after they have looked about them a little, return Home
with new Notions, and begin to see the Absurdity of their clipped Yews,
their Box-wood Borders, their flourished Parterres, and their lofty
Brick-walls.----You may smile, but I assure you such an Improvement of
public Taste, tho' there is no Occasion to consider it as a matter of
the first Importance, is certainly a Concern that ought by no means to
be neglected. Perhaps indeed I may carry the Matter farther than the
generality of People; but to me I must own there appears a very visible
Connection between an _improved_ Taste for Pleasure, and a Taste for
Virtue: When I sit ravished at an Oratorio, or stand astonished before
the Cartoons, or enjoy myself in these happy Walks, I can feel my Mind
expand itself, my Notions enlarge, and my Heart better disposed either
for a religious Thought, or a benevolent Action: In a Word, I cannot
help imagining a Taste for these exalted Pleasures contributes towards
making me a better Man.
_Polypth._ Good God! what an Enthusiast you are! Polite Arts improve
Virtue! an Assertion indeed for a Philosopher to make. Why are they not
always considered as having a natural Tendency to Luxury, to Riot, and
Licentiousness?
_Calloph._ No more, in my Opinion, than a wholesome Meal has to a
Surfeit, or reading the Scriptures to Heresy: All things are capable, we
know, of Abuse; and perhaps the best things the most capable: And tho'
this may indeed argue a Depravity in _us_, yet it by no means, I think,
argues a Tendency in _them_ to deprave us. However, (to let what I have
yet said stand for nothing) I can tell you one very great Piece of
Service arising to the Country from Wealth laid out in this elegant
manner, which you seem so much to grumble at; and that is, the Money
spent in the Neighbourhood by the Company daily crouding hither to
satisfy their Curiosity. We have a kind of a continual Fair; and I have
heard several of the Inhabitants of the neighbouring Town assert, that
it is one of the best Trades they have: Their Inns, their Shops, their
Farms, and Shambles, all find their Account in it: So that, in my
Opinion, viewed in this Light only, such Productions of Art may be
considered as very great Advantages to every Neighbourhood that enjoys
the lucky Situation of being placed near them.----To this Advantage
might be added, the great Degree of Pleasure from hence derived daily to
such Numbers of People: A Place like this is a kind of keeping open
House, there is a Repast at all times ready for the Entertainment of
Strangers. And sure if you have any Degree of Benevolence, you must
think an _useful End_ answered in thus affording an innocent
Gratification to so many of your Fellow-creatures. A _Sunday_ Evening
spent here, adds a new Relish to the Day of Rest, and makes the Sabbath
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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