2241. Temples, either models, or imitations of the religious buildings of the Greeks and heathen Romans, are sometimes introduced in garden-scenery to give dignity and beauty. In residences of a certain extent and character, they may be admissible as imitations, as resting-places, and as repositories of sculptures or antiquities. Though their introduction has been brought into contempt by its frequency, and by bad imitations in perishable materials, yet they are not for that reason to be rejected by good taste. They may often add dignity and a classic air to a scene; and when erected of durable materials, and copied from good models, will, like their originals, please as independent objects. Knight, and some other connoisseurs of less note, disgusted by the abuse of temples, have argued, as it appears to us, too exclusively against their introduction, and contend for cottages as the fittest ornaments of rural scenery: but why limit the resources of an art, because they are liable to abuse ? Thatched roofs may become tiresome, as well as columns; and if Stowe was an example of the latter carried to excess, White Knights was as certainly of the former.
