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sphere. And, if every man, who has the interest of Art and of History at heart, would at once devote himself earnestly-not to enrich his own collection-not even to enlighten his own neighbours or investigate his own parish-territory-but to far-sighted and fore-sighted endeavour in the great field of Europe, there is yet time to do much. An association might be formed,¹ thoroughtly organized so as to maintain active watchers and agents in every town of importance, who, in the first place, should furnish the society with a perfect account of every monument of interest in its neighbourhood, and then with a yearly or half-yearly report of the state of such monuments, and of the changes proposed to be made upon them; the society then furnishing funds, either to buy, freehold, such buildings or other works of untransferable art as at any time might be offered for sale, or to assist their proprietors, whether private individuals or public bodies, in the maintenance of such guardianship as was really necessary for their safety; and exerting itself, with all the influence which such an association would rapidly command, to prevent unwise restoration and unnecessary destruction.

20. Such a society would of course be rewarded only by the consciousness of its usefulness. Its founds would have to be supplied, in pure self-denial, by its members, who would be required, so far as they assisted it, to give up the pleasure of purchasing prints or pictures for their own walls, that they might save pictures which in their lifetime they might never behold;-they would have to forego the enlargement of their own estates, that they might buy, for a European property, ground on which their feet might never tread. But is it absurd to believe that men are capable of doing this? Is the love of art altogether a selfish principle in the heart? and are its emotions altogether incompatible with the exertions of self-denial, or enjoyments of generosity?

¹ [See Introduction, above, p. lxiii.]

[Version 0.04: March 2008]