The Nature of Gothic Rhythm […] is a cry of anguish from the author about the significance of technique and, along with it, the loss of the society he admired so much. It is the crucial point of John Ruskin's thinking, as it directs research towards radically original socio-political ideas. William Morris, who later published it autonomously, in a wonderful volume of the Kelmscott Press, characterized it as "one of the rare and necessary works that our century leaves us as a legacy". […] Ruskin reacted to industrialization, which seemed to threaten creativity throughout the Western world: standardization, mass production, common ideas, and repetitive patterns. He was a lover of early Gothic rhythm, because its buildings were raw and unusual, asymmetrical, crafted by the hands of artists and craftsmen themselves, while their patterns were directly inspired by nature. Jan Morris Nowadays, we constantly try to separate invention from execution. We fully distinguish the one who invents from the one who obeys, even considering the former as a respectable citizen while the latter as a mere executive instrument. In reality, however, the worker often has to use his intellect, just as the inventor has to participate in the execution. Similarly, both should be considered respectable, in the full sense of the word. Unfortunately, as things stand today, both of them are disreputable: the former because he despises his brother, while the latter because he envies him. As a result, society is now divided into depressed intellectuals and unhappy workers. Since we cannot separate them without serious consequences for society, only manual labor can heal the intellectual, and only invention can make manual labor enjoyable.