Mr. Hastings's Lecture.

Mr. Thomas Hastings gave the first of his course of five lectures last evening in the Jefferson Physical Laboratory, on the "Relation of Life to Style in Architecture."

He said that it was impossible to condemn any one style of architecture, for good, honest work has been done at all periods in its history. Style changes with every revolution in the political position of nations, in fact it is the expression of this constant development and evolution and has varied with every century in the history of mankind. The different styles of architecture with which we are now familiar have received their impulse and inspiration from the characteristics and peculiarities of the nations which were dominant at the several times of their origin. We have had the Roman, Gothic and Medixval styles and then out of the reformation and regeneration of ideas which came in the sixteenth century grew the Renaissance, which has represented the ideas and inventions of the past hundred years.

There are general principles of composition and construction which are common to all styles of architecture, but the architect draws his ideas from nature without being directly governed by her; for with architecture, as with music and other branches of the Fine Arts, outside matters can have but a transient influence.

Each age has built in but one style of architecture, and this style has represented the union in earnest effort of heart, head and hand. It is because of the untiring energy with which the masters of these former ages have striven to incarnate the ideas of their epochs in their works, that their results have been so perfect and so lasting.

And yet here we are in our present times with innumerable styles of architecture, none of them representative. Either we must throw aside the glorious example of past ages and set ourselves up as prophets of a higher civilization, or we must do our best to make our architecture characteristic of our times. The latter method is justified by a long list of successes, and it is certainly best for us to follow it; but in order to know what style we should follow we must know our historical position, for style in its growth has been governed by universal development and until now has kept pace with the political and religious changes, as well as the successive development of nations.

There is no reason why we should desert the Renaissance style, for this we can adopt to our needs as other centuries have to theirs, but as soon as we endeavor to imitate former styles we fall out of touch with our own era, and therefore fail of accomplishing the main object of modern architecture, the union of art with architecture in representing the feelings of the times.