the hunchback of notre dame-第27章

按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！


hus　causing　the　eleven　steps　which　added　to　the　majestic　height　of　the　edifice；　to　be　devoured；　one　by　one；　by　the　rising　tide　of　the　pavements　of　Paris；time　has　bestowed　upon　the　church　perhaps　more　than　it　has　taken　away；　for　it　is　time　which　has　spread　over　the　fa？ade　that　sombre　hue　of　the　centuries　which　makes　the　old　age　of　monuments　the　period　of　their　beauty。

But　who　has　thrown　down　the　two　rows　of　statues？　who　has　left　the　niches　empty？　who　has　cut；　in　the　very　middle　of　the　central　portal；　that　new　and　bastard　arch？　who　has　dared　to　frame　therein　that　commonplace　and　heavy　door　of　carved　wood；　à　la　Louis　XV。；　beside　the　arabesques　of　Biscornette？　The　men；　the　architects；　the　artists　of　our　day。

And　if　we　enter　the　interior　of　the　edifice；　who　has　overthrown　that　colossus　of　Saint　Christopher；　proverbial　for　magnitude　among　statues；　as　the　grand　hall　of　the　Palais　de　Justice　was　among　halls；　as　the　spire　of　Strasbourg　among　spires？　And　those　myriads　of　statues；　which　peopled　all　the　spaces　between　the　columns　of　the　nave　and　the　choir；　kneeling；　standing；　equestrian；　men；　women；　children；　kings；　bishops；　gendarmes；　in　stone；　in　marble；　in　gold；　in　silver；　in　copper；　in　wax　even；who　has　brutally　swept　them　away？　It　is　not　time。

And　who　substituted　for　the　ancient　gothic　altar；　splendidly　encumbered　with　shrines　and　reliquaries；　that　heavy　marble　sarcophagus；　with　angels'　heads　and　clouds；　which　seems　a　specimen　pillaged　from　the　Val…de…Grace　or　the　Invalides？　Who　stupidly　sealed　that　heavy　anachronism　of　stone　in　the　Carlovingian　pavement　of　Hercandus？　　Was　it　not　Louis　XIV。；　fulfilling　the　request　of　Louis　XIII。？

And　who　put　the　cold；　white　panes　in　the　place　of　those　windows；〃　high　in　color；　〃which　caused　the　astonished　eyes　of　our　fathers　to　hesitate　between　the　rose　of　the　grand　portal　and　the　arches　of　the　apse？　　And　what　would　a　sub…chanter　of　the　sixteenth　century　say；　on　beholding　the　beautiful　yellow　wash；　with　which　our　archiepiscopal　vandals　have　desmeared　their　cathedral？　　He　would　remember　that　it　was　the　color　with　which　the　hangman　smeared　〃accursed〃　edifices；　he　would　recall　the　H？tel　du　Petit…Bourbon；　all　smeared　thus；　on　account　of　the　constable's　treason。　　〃Yellow；　after　all；　of　so　good　a　quality；〃　said　Sauval；　〃and　so　well　recommended；　that　more　than　a　century　has　not　yet　caused　it　to　lose　its　color。〃　He　would　think　that　the　sacred　place　had　become　infamous；　and　would　flee。

And　if　we　ascend　the　cathedral；　without　mentioning　a　thousand　barbarisms　of　every　sort；what　has　become　of　that　charming　little　bell　tower；　which　rested　upon　the　point　of　intersection　of　the　cross…roofs；　and　which；　no　less　frail　and　no　less　bold　than　its　neighbor　（also　destroyed）；　the　spire　of　the　Sainte…Chapelle；　buried　itself　in　the　sky；　farther　forward　than　the　towers；　slender；　pointed；　sonorous；　carved　in　open　work。　An　architect　of　good　taste　amputated　it　（1787）；　and　considered　it　sufficient　to　mask　the　wound　with　that　large；　leaden　plaster；　which　resembles　a　pot　cover。

'Tis　thus　that　the　marvellous　art　of　the　Middle　Ages　has　been　treated　in　nearly　every　country；　especially　in　France。　One　can　distinguish　on　its　ruins　three　sorts　of　lesions；　all　three　of　which　cut　into　it　at　different　depths；　first；　time；　which　has　insensibly　notched　its　surface　here　and　there；　and　gnawed　it　everywhere；　next；　political　and　religious　revolution；　which；　blind　and　wrathful　by　nature；　have　flung　themselves　tumultuously　upon　it；　torn　its　rich　garment　of　carving　and　sculpture；　burst　its　rose　windows；　broken　its　necklace　of　arabesques　and　tiny　figures；　torn　out　its　statues；　sometimes　because　of　their　mitres；　sometimes　because　of　their　crowns；　lastly；　fashions；　even　more　grotesque　and　foolish；　which；　since　the　anarchical　and　splendid　deviations　of　the　Renaissance；　have　followed　each　other　in　the　necessary　decadence　of　architecture。　　Fashions　have　wrought　more　harm　than　revolutions。　They　have　cut　to　the　quick；　they　have　attacked　the　very　bone　and　framework　of　art；　they　have　cut；　slashed；　disorganized；　killed　the　edifice；　in　form　as　in　the　symbol；　in　its　consistency　as　well　as　in　its　beauty。　　And　then　they　have　made　it　over；　a　presumption　of　which　neither　time　nor　revolutions　at　least　have　been　guilty。　　They　have　audaciously　adjusted；　in　the　name　of　〃good　taste；〃　upon　the　wounds　of　gothic　architecture；　their　miserable　gewgaws　of　a　day；　their　ribbons　of　marble；　their　pompons　of　metal；　a　veritable　leprosy　of　egg…shaped　ornaments；　volutes；　whorls；　draperies；　garlands；　fringes；　stone　flames；　bronze　clouds；　pudgy　cupids；　chubby…　cheeked　cherubim；　which　begin　to　devour　the　face　of　art　in　the　oratory　of　Catherine　de　Medicis；　and　cause　it　to　expire；　two　centuries　later；　tortured　and　grimacing；　in　the　boudoir　of　the　Dubarry。

Thus；　to　sum　up　the　points　which　we　have　just　indicated；　three　sorts　of　ravages　to…day　disfigure　Gothic　architecture。　Wrinkles　and　warts　on　the　epidermis；　this　is　the　work　of　time。　　Deeds　of　violence；　brutalities；　contusions；　fractures；　this　is　the　work　of　the　revolutions　from　Luther　to　Mirabeau。　Mutilations；　amputations；　dislocation　of　the　joints；　〃restorations〃；　this　is　the　Greek；　Roman；　and　barbarian　work　of　professors　according　to　Vitruvius　and　Vignole。　　This　magnificent　art　produced　by　the　Vandals　has　been　slain　by　the　academies。　　The　centuries；　the　revolutions；　which　at　least　devastate　with　impartiality　and　grandeur；　have　been　joined　by　a　cloud　of　school　architects；　licensed；　sworn；　and　bound　by　oath；　defacing　with　the　discernment　and　choice　of　bad　taste；　substituting　the　~chicorées~　of　Louis　XV。　for　the　Gothic　lace；　for　the　greater　glory　of　the　Parthenon。　　It　is　the　kick　of　the　ass　at　the　dying　lion。　　It　is　the　old　oak　crowning　itself；　and　which；　to　heap　the　measure　full；　is　stung；　bitten；　and　gnawed　by　caterpillars。

How　far　it　is　from　the　epoch　when　Robert　Cenalis；　comparing　Notre…Dame　de　Paris　to　the　famous　temple　of　Diana　at　Ephesus；　*so　much　lauded　by　the　ancient　pagans*；　which　Erostatus　*has*　immortalized；　found　the　Gallic　temple　〃more　excellent　in　length；　breadth；　height；　and　structure。〃*


*　　_Histoire　Gallicane_；　liv。　II。　Periode　III。　fo。　130；　p。　1。


Notre…Dame　is　not；　moreover；　what　can　be　called　a　complete；　definite；　classified　monument。　　It　is　no　longer　a　Romanesque　church；　nor　is　it　a　Gothic　church。　　This　edifice　is　not　a　type。　　Notre…Dame　de　Paris　has　not；　like　the　Abbey　of　Tournus；　the　grave　and　massive　frame；　the　large　and　round　vault；　the　glacial　bareness；　the　majestic　simplicity　of　the　edifices　which　have　the　rounded　arch　for　their　progenitor。　　It　is　not；　like　the　Cathedral　of　Bourges；　the　magnificent；　light；　multiform；　tufted；　bristling　efflorescent　product　of　the　pointed　arch。　　Impossible　to　class　it　in　that　ancient　family　of　sombre；　mysterious　churches；　low　and　crushed　as　it　were　by　the　round　arch；　almost　Egyptian；　with　the　exception　of　the　ceiling；　all　hieroglyphics；　all　sacerdotal；　all　symbolical；　more　loaded　in　their　ornaments；　with　lozenges　and　zigzags；　than　with　flowers；　with　flowers　than　with　animals；　with　animals　than　with　men；　the　work　of　the　architect　less　than　of　the　bishop；　first　transformation　of　art；　all　impressed　with　theocratic　and　military　discipline；　taking　root　in　the　Lower　Empire；　and　stopping　with　the　time　of　William　the　Conqueror。　　Impossible　to　place　our　Cathedral　in　that　other　family　of　lofty；　aerial　churches；　rich　in　painted　windows　and　sculpture；　pointed　in　form；　bold　in　attitude；　communal　and　bourgeois　as　political　symbols；　free；　capricious；　lawless；　as　a　work　of　art；　second　transformation　of　architecture；　no　longer　hieroglyphic；　immovable　and　sacerdotal；　but　artistic；　progressive；　and　popular；　which　begins　at　the　return　from　the　crusades；　and　ends　with　Louis　IX。　　Notre…Dame　de　Paris　is　not　of　pure　Romanesque；　like　the　first；　nor　of　pure　Arabian　race；　like　the　second。

It　is　an　edifice　of　the　transition　period。　　The　Saxon　architect　completed　the　erection　of　the　first　pillars　of　the　nave；　when　the　pointed　arch；　which　dates　from　the　Crusade；　arrived　and　placed　itself　as　a　conqueror　upon　the　large　Romanesque　capitals　which　should　support　only　round　arches。　　The　pointed　arch；　mistress　since　that　time；　constructed　the　rest　of　the　church。　　Nevertheless；　timid　and　inexpe