Augustus Pugin

Architecture English 1812 – 1852 103 quotes

An English architect, designer, artist, and critic, he was a leading figure in the Gothic Revival style, known for his work on the Houses of Parliament.

Quotes by Augustus Pugin

The steam engine has no place in sacred architecture.

Book 1836

Beauty in building comes from utility wedded to devotion.

Book 1841

The Victorian age will be judged by its churches.

Speech 1845

I laugh at those who call Gothic barbaric.

Letter 1838

Architecture should uplift the spirit, not depress it.

Book 1841

In correspondence with Ruskin, I argued that form follows faith.

Letter 1849

The end of my life sees the revival of true principles.

Personal reflection 1852

No building is complete without its moral purpose.

Book 1841

The gargoyle guards the soul of the church.

Book 1844

Modern luxury is the enemy of honest design.

Book 1836

I have spent my life fighting for the Gothic cause.

Speech 1850

The rose window speaks of divine light.

Book 1844

Critics of revivalism are blind to history's lessons.

Letter 1842

Architecture is the handwriting of faith on the face of the earth.

Book 1841

In my final days, I see the dawn of a Gothic revival.

Deathbed 1852

The nave leads the soul to the altar of truth.

Book 1844

Pugin's law: Ornament without meaning is mere decoration.

Book 1841

Faith builds cathedrals; doubt builds warehouses.

Book 1836

I jest that classical columns support nothing but pagan idols.

Letter 1839

The spire is the aspiration of the faithful.

Book 1841