In truth, our shelter is not to be compared with
mere shade or with the beauty of a plane-tree, not
even if you pass over the one on the Ilissus and
mention the Great King’s golden plane. Plato, Phaedrus, 229 seq. That was
wonderful only on account of its cost; there was no





 

craftsmanship or beauty or charm or symmetry or
grace wrought into the gold or combined with it.
The thing was barbarous, nothing but money, a
source of envy to those who saw it, and of felicitation to those who owned it. There was nothing
praiseworthy about it. The Arsacids Anachronism; the possessors of the tree were the Achaemenid princes. 
neither cared
for beauty nor aimed at attractiveness in making
their display nor minded whether the spectators
praised or not,as long as they were astounded.

 

The
barbarians are not beauty-levers; they are moneylovers. On the contrary, the beauty of this hall
has nothing to do with barbarian eyes, Persian
flattery, or Sultanic vainglory. Instead of just a
poor man, it wants a cultured man for a spectator,
who, instead of judging with his eyes, applies thought
to what he sees.
It faces the fairest quarter of the day (for the
fairest and loveliest is surely the beginning); it
welcomes in the sun when he first peeps up; light
fills it to overflowing through the wide-flung doors;
the proportion of length to “breadth and of both to
height is harmonious; the windows are generous
and well-suited to every season of the year. Is not
all this attractive and praiseworthy?