...the obliging testimonies of your esteem that you have conferred upon me; but Count Algarotti's books1 did not come to my hands till the end of July, and...pleasure; I mean, our skill in gardening, and laying out grounds.2 That the Chinese have this beautiful art in high perfection, seems very probable from the...

...united good taste with profound erudition,* ' Our skill in gardening, or rather laying out grounds, is the only taste we can call our own ; the only proof of original talent in matters of pleasure. This is no small honour to us : since neither France nor Italy...

...taste."367 Ähnlich argumentierte Thomas Gray in einem Brief von 1763: die natürliche Gartenkunst sei „the only taste we can call our own; the only proof of our original talent in the matter of pleasure. [...] it is very certain that we copied nothing from them [= the Chinese] nor...