Morris, William: Some hints on pattern designing: [a lecture delivered ... at the Working Men's College, London, on December 10, 1881] (London, 1899)

Lecture III*
Some Hints
on Pattern^
Designing*

side, or a whole field, into your room, nor even a
whole bush; and, moreover, only a very specially
skilled craftsman can make any approach to what
mightpasswithusinmomentsofexcitementforan
imitationofsuchdikethings*Thesearelimitations
which are common to every form of the lesser arts;
but, besides these, every material in which house/
hold goods are fashioned imposes certain special If
mitations within which the craftsman must work*
Here again, is the wall of order against vagueness,
and the door of order for imagination* For you
must understand from the first that these limita/
tions are as far as possible from being hindrances
to beauty in the several crafts* On the contrary,
they are incitements and helps to its attainment;
those who find them irksome are not born crafts/
men, and the periods of art that try to get rid of
them are declining periods*
Now this must be clear to you, if you come to
think of it* Give an artist a piece of paper, & say
to him, u I want a design,” and he must ask you,
“ 'What for ? What^s to be done with it ? ” And if
you can't tell him, well, I dare not venture to men/
tion the name which his irritation will give you*
But if you say, I want this queer spacefilled with
ornament, I want you to make such and such a
pretty thing out of these intractable materials,
straightway his invention will be quickened, and
he will set to work with a will; for, indeed, delight
in skill lies at the root of all art*
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