ssary. These necessary operations consist in substituting
new stones for decayed ones, where they are absolutely essential to the
stability of the fabric; in propping, with wood or metal, the portions
likely to give way; in binding or cementing into their places the
sculptures which are ready to detach themselves; and in general care to
remove luxuriant weeds and obstructions of the channels for the
discharge of the rain. But no modern or imitative sculpture ought
_ever_, under any circumstances, to be mingled with the ancient work.

262. Unfortunately, repairs thus conscientiously executed are always
unsightly, and meet with little approbation from the general public; so
that a strong temptation is necessarily felt by the superintendents of
public works to execute the required repairs in a manner which, though
indeed fatal to the monument, may be, in appearance, seemly. But a far
more cruel temptation is held out to the architect. He who should
propose to a municipal body to build in the form of a new church, to be
erected in some other part of their city, models of such portions of
their cathedral as were falling into decay, would be looked upon as
merely asking for employment, and his offer would be rejected with
disdain. But let an architect declare that the existing fabric stands in
need of repairs, and offer to restore it to its original beauty, and he
is instantly regarded as a lover of his country, and has a chance of
obtaining a commission which will furnish him with a large and ready
income, and enormous patronage, for twenty or thirty years to come.

263. I have great respect for human nature. But I would rather leave it
to others than myself to pronounce how far such a temptation is always
likely to be resisted, and how far, when repairs are once permitted to
be undertaken, a fabric is likely to be spared from mere interest in its
beauty, when its destruction, under the name of restoration, has become
permanently remunerative to a large body of workmen.

Let us assume, however, that the architect is always
conscientious--always willing, the moment he has done what is strictly
necessary for the safety and decorous aspect of the building, to abandon
his income, and declare his farther services unnecessary. Let us
presume, also, that every one of the two or three hundred workmen who
must be employed under him is equally conscientious, and, during the
course of years of labor, will never destroy in carelessness