形狀和色彩有一種奇妙的力，能在默默之中支配大眾的心。例如春花的美能使人心興奮，秋月的美能使人心沉靜；人在晴天格外高興，在陰天就大家懶洋洋地。山鄉(xiāng)的居民大都忠厚，水鄉(xiāng)的居民大都活潑，也是因?yàn)槌Ｒ娚交蛩?，其心暗中受其力的支配，便養(yǎng)成了特殊的性情形狀和色彩有一種奇妙的力，能在默默之中支配大眾的心。例如春花的美能使人心興奮，秋月的美能使人心沉靜；人在晴天格外高興，在陰天就大家懶洋洋地。山鄉(xiāng)的居民大都忠厚，水鄉(xiāng)的居民大都活潑，也是因?yàn)槌Ｒ娚交蛩?，其心暗中受其力的支配，便養(yǎng)成了特殊的性情。
Shapes and colors seem to be quietly extending a mythical grip on us. For example, spring flowers bring delightfulness; autumn moon radiates tranquility; and sunshine imparts enthusiasm while gloomy weather dampens our spirit. The fact that honesty is seen as a defining character among mountain dwellers and vivacity a hallmark of waterside inhabitants can also be explained by the incremental influence of mountains or water on their temperament.
用人工巧妙地配合形狀、色彩的，叫做美術(shù)。配合在平面上的是繪畫，配合在立體上的是雕塑，配合在實(shí)用上的是建筑。因?yàn)槭怯萌斯で擅畹嘏浜系模势渲淙诵牡牧Ω蟆?br />
Creatively-arranged shapes and colors are works of fine art. They are called paintings or drawings if presented on a two-dimensional plane; they fall into the category of sculpture when they are three-dimensional; and they become architecture when put to practical use. These art works have a stronger hold on us simply because they reflect human creativity.
這叫做美術(shù)的親和力。
That is where the affinity between fine art and man asserts itself.
例如許多人共看畫圖，所看的倘是墨繪的山水圖，諸人心中共起壯美之感；倘是金碧的花蝶圖，諸人心中共起優(yōu)美之感。故廳堂上掛山水圖，滿堂的人愈感莊敬；房室中掛花鳥圖，一室的人倍覺和樂。優(yōu)良的電影開映時(shí)，滿院的客座闃然無聲，但聞機(jī)器轉(zhuǎn)動(dòng)的微音。因?yàn)閿?shù)千百觀眾的心，都被這些映畫（電影）的親和力所統(tǒng)御了。
Thus, we would all be overwhelmed by the grandeur of mighty mountains and dashing rivers in an ink painting, or enchanted by the exquisiteness of a gold-colored picture of flowers and butterflies, or struck with awe by a breathtaking landscape masterpiece, or mesmerized by the gentle touches of an artistic presentation of plants and birds When an engaging movie starts, as the cine projector clicks along, the audience would be thrust into complete silence, because they are in the grip of the unfolding scenes.
雕塑是立體的，故其親和力更大，偉人的銅像矗立在都市的廣場中，其英姿每天印象于往來的萬眾的心頭，默默中施行著普遍的教育。又如入大寺院，仰望金身的大佛像，其人雖非宗教信徒，一時(shí)也會(huì)肅然起敬，緩步低聲。埃及的專制帝王建造七十呎高的人面獅身大石雕，名之曰“斯芬克司”。埃及人民的絕對服從的精神，半是這大石雕的暗示力所養(yǎng)成的。
Sculpture, as a three-dimensional art form, holds a more potent appeal. A bronze statue of a great man in an urban public square greets thousands of passers-by as if he were reiterating his teachings on a rostrum all the time. Stepping into a Buddhist temple, we would be met with a giant golden statue of Buddha. Even if we ae not believers, we would slow down our pace and hush our voices in awe. The ancient Egyptian monarchy built a limestone statue of a reclining creature with a lion’s body and a human head, more than 20 meters in height, called the Sphinx, whose imposing presence might have been partly responsible for the complete submission of the Egyptian populace.
建筑在美術(shù)中形體最大，其親和力也最大；又因我們的生活大部分在建筑物中度過，故建筑及于人心的影響也最深。
Among all types of fine art, architecture is presented on the grandest scale, and has the greatest bearing on our life, because we spend most of our time inside works of architecture.
例如端莊雅潔的校舍建筑，能使學(xué)生聽講時(shí)精神集中，研究時(shí)心情安定，暗中對于教育有不少的助力。古來帝王的宮殿，必極富麗堂皇，使臣民瞻望九重城闕，自然心生惶恐。宗教的寺院，必極高大雄壯，使僧眾參詣大雄寶殿，自然稽首歸心。這便是利用建筑的親和力以鎮(zhèn)服人心的。飲食店的座位與旅館的房間，布置精美，可以推廣營業(yè)。商人也會(huì)利用建筑的親和力以支配顧客的心。
Elegant college buildings contribute in no small way to the purposes of education by helping improve the attention span of students, whether in a lecture room or in a research building. From antiquity onward, kings ruled from palaces unrivaled in majestic splendor in their kingdoms,leaving their subjects in awe looking up at rows upon rows of towering structures. For their part, religious sites, such as halls of Mahavira, have no less share of grandiosity, which seems capable of casting a humbling spell on monks and laymen alike and keeping them in the fold. This is how the power of architecture is used to condition the inclinations of individuals. Likewise, exquisitely-appointed restaurants and hotels are better positioned to boost revenues; businesses are not slow in taking any architectural advantage to appeal to customers.
建筑與人生的關(guān)系最切，故凡建筑隆盛的時(shí)代，其國民文化必然繁榮。希臘黃金時(shí)代有極精美的神殿建筑，意大利文藝復(fù)興時(shí)代有極偉大的寺院建筑，便是其例?，F(xiàn)代歐美的熱中于都市建筑，也可說是現(xiàn)代人的文化的表象。
Architecture is most intimately intertwined with our life. A building boom is inevitably accompanied by cultural prosperity. Thus, the Greek Golden Age witnessed the erection of temples that demonstrate superb craftsmanship, and the Italian Renaissance landscape is dotted with architectural jewels, especially in the form of cathedrals and basilicas. Modern Europe and North America are embracing new urban architecture, which is, so to speak, representative of modern European and North American culture.
