It is the Late city that first defies the land, contradicts Nature in the lines of its silhouette, denies all Nature. It wants to be something different from and higher than Nature. These high-pitched gables, these Baroque cupolas, spires, and pinnacles, neither are, nor desire to be, related with anything in Nature. And then begins the gigantic megalopolis, the city-as-world, which suffers nothing beside itself and sets about annihilating the country picture.

Summary

This quote suggests that the modern city, particularly the metropolis, embraces structures and architecture that purposefully reject and go against the natural elements of the land. It emphasizes the city's desire to be distinct and superior to nature, with iconic features such as gables, cupolas, spires, and pinnacles that are disconnected from, and uninterested in, their natural surroundings. As a result, the city becomes a vast, self-contained entity, disregarding and erasing the image of the countryside in its relentless expansion.

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