The Seven Lamps of Architecture – John Ruskin

"When we build, let us think that we build forever."

John Ruskin sets out the seven moral principles that should guide architecture: Sacrifice, Truth, Power, Beauty, Life, Memory, and Obedience. He argues against industrial mass production and restoration (which he views as destruction), championing the Gothic style and the honest craftsmanship of the medieval builder.

Ruskin was the most influential art critic of the Victorian era. His ideas inspired the Arts and Crafts movement and the preservation of historic buildings. He taught us to read buildings not just as structures, but as expressions of a society's values and soul.