ABSTRACT
Gothic architecture is generally considered as more picturesque, though less beautiful than Grecian; and upon the same principle that a ruin is more so than a new edifice. In Gothic buildings, the outline of the summit presents such a variety of forms, of turrets and pinnacles, some open, some fretted and variously enriched, that even where there is an exact correspondence of parts, it is often disguised by an appearance of splendid confusion and irregularity. The most picturesque habitable buildings, are old castles which were originally formed for defence as well as habitation: they in general consist of towers of different heights, and of various outworks and projections; particularly where the abruptness and irregularity of the ground, has in a manner forced the architect to adopt the same irregularity in the shapes and heights of his building.
