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 in 2011 wittn funding from 
 
 Research Library, The Getty Research Institute 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/treatiseondecora01cham 
 
<^_v 
 
 E 
 
 St 
 

N. 
 
A TREATISE 
 
 OX THE 
 
 DECORATIVE PART 
 
 OF 
 
 CIVIL ARCHITECTURE, ETC. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
G. WOODKALL. ANCEI. COIRT, SKINNER STREET, I.OSDON. 
 
. 
 
 
TREATISE 
 
 DECORATIVE PART 
 
 CIVIL ARCHITECTURE, 
 
 BY 
 
 SIR WILLIAM CHAMBERS, 
 
 K.P.S. F.R.S. F.S.A. F.S.S.S. 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS, NOTES, 
 
 AND 
 
 AN EXAMINATION 
 
 OF 
 
 GRECIAN ARCHITECTURE, 
 
 BY 
 
 JOSEPH GWILT, Architect, F.S.A. 
 
 LONDON : 
 PRIESTLEY AND WEALE. 
 
 MDCCCXXV. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Dedication ™ 
 
 List of Subscribers 
 
 Preface to this Edition xm 
 
 Life of Sir William Chambers xxxv 
 
 Of the Elements of Beauty in Architecture 3 
 
 Of the Origin of Grecian Architecture 14 
 
 Of the Progress and Perfection of Grecian Architecture .... 34 
 
 Dedication to the Third Edition .... - 69 
 
 Preface to the Third Edition 71 
 
 oo 
 Introduction 
 
 Of the Origin and Progress of Building .105 
 
 Of the Parts which compose the Orders of Architecture, and of their 
 
 Properties, Application, and Enrichments 137 
 
 Of the Orders of Architecture in general 150 
 
 Of the Tuscan Order J ?8 
 
 Of the Doric Order 185 
 
 Of the Ionic Order 203 
 
 Of the Composite Order 
 
 Of the Corinthian Order 
 
 Of Pilasters 230 
 
 Of Persians and Caryatides 243 
 
 Of Pedestals Z0J 
 
 Of the Application of the Orders of Architecture 264 
 
 Of Intercolumniations ■ ~ bb 
 
 Of Arcades and Arches 2 ? 6 
 
 Of Orders above Orders 293 
 
 Of Basements and Attics 305 
 
 Of Pediments olv 
 
 Of Balustrades 321 
 
 Of Gates, Doors, and Piers 329 
 
 Of Windows 3 ^ 3 
 
 Of Niches and Statues 3 "° 
 
IV CONTEXTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Of Chimney- Pieces 377 
 
 Of Profiles for Doors, Windows, Niches, Chimney- Pieces, &c. . . 384 
 
 Of Block Cornices and Extraneous Entablatures 388 
 
 Of the Proportions of Rooms 390 
 
 Of Ceilings 394 
 
 Designs for Casines, Temples, Gates, Doors, &c 400 
 
 Explanation of the Principal Terms employed in the Science of Ar- 
 chitecture 405 
 
 General Index 427 
 
 Directions to the Binder 513 
 
 Errata 515 
 
TO THE KING. 
 
 SIRE, 
 
 That literary excellence is 
 closely allied to military glory, may be 
 proved no less from former Reigns, than 
 from the late Regency; but to those 
 claims on the gratitude of posterity, your 
 Majesty has added the architectural em- 
 bellishment of the Metropolis, and the 
 foundation of a National Gallery of an- 
 tient and modern art : in these respects 
 we are indebted to no other of our Sove- 
 reigns. 
 
Vlll DEDICATION. 
 
 As an Englishman, therefore, I 
 most respectfully offer the expressions of 
 my gratitude to your Majesty, while as an 
 Architect, I avail myself of your gracious 
 permission to present this Work, and to 
 declare myself 
 
 YOUR MAJESTY'S 
 MOST FAITHFUL AND MOST OBLIGED 
 SUBJECT AND SERVANT, 
 
 JOSEPH GWILT. 
 
LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS 
 
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PREFACE 
 
 TO THIS EDITION. 
 
 " I shall not need," says Sir Henry Wotton, in 
 his elements of Architecture, " like the most part 
 of writers, to celebrate the subject which I deliver. 
 In that point I am at ease, for Architecture can 
 want no commendation, where there are Noble-Men 
 or Noble-Mindes." It is fortunate for me that I now 
 in that respect appear before the Reader in the same 
 predicament, as the very worthy Provost of Eton 
 College, or I fear my humble recommendation of 
 the art would but little avail, or be serviceable to its 
 professors. A sufficient proof of Sir Henry's as- 
 sertion may be discovered in the increasing desire 
 for extending its cultivation, and a relish for it when 
 successfully cultivated, not less on the part of its 
 many distinguished Patrons, than on that of the 
 Public generally. It is unnecessary to enlarge in 
 this place on the advantages which must accrue to 
 
 c 
 
XIV PREFACE. 
 
 society from its due appreciation and encourage- 
 ment. They are sufficiently indicated by our author 
 in his work. I may however add, that Architecture 
 is an art which Monarchs and their Nobles have not 
 considered it below their rank and dignity to study 
 and practise; and to the honour of this country be 
 it said, that it would be difficult to point in any 
 other age or nation to a more distinguished Archi- 
 tect than Lord Burlington, a nobleman, who besides 
 his celebrity as an artist, was eminent for his exten- 
 sive patronage and protection of many upon whose 
 professional exertions their prosperity and life itself 
 depended. 
 
 The name and character of Sir W. Chambers are 
 a sufficient recommendation of this Work. Though 
 his designs meet not with universal approbation in tin- 
 present day, more than they did in his life-time*, 
 
 * A short period after his late Majesty's accession to the throne, he 
 received the royal orders to lay out and improve the gardens at Kew. This, 
 under very great disadvantages of situation, he effected in a masterly 
 manner, and perhaps quite as happily as the nature of the locale would 
 allow. He was reproached for his fondness for and introduction of Turkish 
 and Chinese architecture, but surely if the indulgence of such whims u 
 allowable on occasions, no place could be more suitable for a display of 
 them than that in question, where the accompaniments might be made ac- 
 cordant with the leading forms. Chambers observes that ". The gardens 
 
PREFACE. XV 
 
 he was unquestionably a man of very considerable 
 talents and acquirements, and his Work is certainlv 
 the only text book in our language which has yet 
 
 at Kew are not very large, nor is their situation by any means advanta- 
 geous, as it is low, and commands no prospects. Originally the ground was 
 one continued dead flat : the soil was in general barren, and without either 
 wood or water. With so many disadvantages, it was not easy to produce 
 any thing, even tolerable, in gardening ; but princely munificence, and an 
 able director, have overcome all difficulties, and converted what was once 
 a desert into an Eden." In 1765, the result of the operations at Kew 
 appeared in a splendid folio publication, under the title of Plans, Eleva- 
 tions, Sections, and perspective Views of the Gardens and Buildings at 
 Kew, in Surrey, the seat of her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales. 
 The plates in this work, which were admirably engraved and much ad- 
 mired, were executed by Woollett, Major, Grignion, and others from 
 drawings by Chambers himself, Cipriani inserting the figures. The views 
 were by Kirby, Thomas Sandby, and Marlow. 
 
 In the year 1772, appeared in 4to. A Dissertation on Oriental Gar- 
 dening, by Sir William Chambers, Knight, Comptroller General of his 
 Majesty's Works, which went to a second edition in the following year* 
 Sir William's object in this work, was to prove that our national taste in 
 ornamental gardening was very inferior to that of the Chinese. " In Eng- 
 land," says the author, " our gardens differ very little from common 
 fields, so closely is vulgar nature copied in most of them ; there is gene- 
 rally so little variety, and so much want of judgment in the choice of the 
 objects, such a poverty of imagination in the contrivance, and of art in the 
 arrangement, that these compositions rather appear the offspring of chance 
 than design ; and a stranger is often at a loss to know whether he be 
 walking in a common meadow, or in a pleasure-ground made and kept up 
 at a very considerable expence : he finds nothing to delight or amuse him, 
 nothing to keep up his attention or excite his curiosity ; little to flatter the 
 senses, and less to touch the passions, or gratify the understanding." His 
 account of the Chinese gardening was collected from his own observations 
 in China, from conversations with their artists, and communications from 
 
XV i PREFACE. 
 
 appeared worthy of being placed in the hands of 
 the student. His Architectural style was evidently 
 formed on that of the two greatest modern masters 
 
 different travellers. A sketch of this work had appeared some time before, 
 and the appearance of the publication at that particular period, being im- 
 mediately after the period of Mr. Mason's English Garden, it was invi- 
 diously suggested that the author's design was to underrate the talents of 
 the English gardeners, and thereby divert his sovereign's intention of 
 making the improvements in Richmond gardens as they now appear. 
 The very strange devices described in the dissertation were much ridi- 
 culed, but they were no more than had been published before by Father 
 Attiret, in his account of the gardens of the Emperor of China, near 
 Pekin, translated by Mr. Spence (under the assumed literary name of 
 Sir Harrv Beaumont) in 1753, and since re-published in Dodsley's Fugi- 
 tive Pieces. The dissertation, however, produced very considerable 
 amusement, by the appearance in the following year of a publication, 
 generally attributed to Mr. Mason, in which the cause of English gar- 
 deners and gardening was amply revenged. It was entitled An Heruic 
 Epistle to Sir William Chambers, Knight, Comptroller General of hit 
 Majesty's Works, and Author of a late Dissertation on Oriental Garden- 
 ing. Enriched nith explanatory Xotes, chiefly extracted from that elaborate 
 performance. In the Preface to this Poem, the author says — that it is Sir 
 William's " profest aim, in extolling the taste of the Chinese, to condemn 
 that mean and paltry manner which Kent introduced, which Southcote. 
 Hamilton, and Brown followed, and which, to our national disgrace, is 
 called the English style of gardening. He shews the poverty of this taste 
 by aptly comparing it to a dinner, which consisted of three gross pi 
 three times repeated ; and proves to a demonstration, that nature herself 
 is incapable of pleasing, without the assistance of art, and that too of the most 
 luxuriant kind. In short, such art as is displayed in the Emperor's garden 
 of Yven-Ming, near Pekin : where fine lizards, and fine women, human 
 giants, and giant baboons, make but a small part of the superb scenery. 
 To the Heroic Epistle was soon after added, An Heroic Postscript to the 
 Public. The Heroic Epistle and Postscript was answered by A Familiar 
 
PREFACE. XVU 
 
 the world has seen, namely, Palladio and Sanmi- 
 chele. Unlike his cotemporary Sir Robert Taylor, 
 who in most of his workspursued an opposite method. 
 
 Epistle to the Author of the Heroic Epistle, and thus ended the wordy 
 war. 
 
 In 177-1 Sir William Chambers' was appointed to the conduct of the 
 works at Somerset House, an appointment of considerable emolument. He 
 did not however live to see this work finished, and it is to be feared that it 
 will never be completed. For the reception of this work it was necessary to 
 remove one of the most elegant facades of which this or any other country 
 could boast ; the water front of old Somerset House by Inigo Jones. It was 
 improbable that Sir W. Chambers would escape criticism. A Pamphlet 
 appeared from the masqued pen of an engraver of the name of Williams, 
 under the name of Anthony Pasquin, from which the following is ex- 
 tracted. 
 
 " The ancient palace, which was so presumptuously brushed away for 
 this illegitimate structure, was the metropolitan retreat of the Duke of 
 Somerset, uncle to Edward the Sixth. It is now the residence of a greater 
 and more puissant man — Henry Dundas. 
 
 " The cunning projector of this undeiinable mass, has been occasionally 
 indebted to the pure designs which Inigo Jones intended as a continua- 
 tion to Whitehall, but which were never carried into effect, as the calami- 
 ties of the first Charles tended to destroy that taste which he had first 
 introduced. These superb bits appear among the other parts of the pile 
 like elegant individuals in abasing company. 
 
 " This surprising, stupendous, and extraordinary heap of stones was 
 called into order by the magic voice of that pine apple of Knighthood Sir 
 William Chambers, at the command of the great and sapient council of 
 this realm in 1 77-1- It occupies a space of 500 feet in depth, and 800 in 
 width, and is altogether a most astonishing assemblage of contradictory 
 objects. The entrance or atrium is so unappropriate, that it looks like 
 the narrow mouth of economy, through which we grope our passage to the 
 vast stomach of national ruin. The arcade is borrowed from the strada 
 della dora grossa, at Turin. 
 
XV1U PKEFACE. 
 
 Sir W. so subdivided his masses, that his detail, 
 elegant and well-arranged as it is invariably found, 
 almost ever interferes with, and destroys the effect 
 
 " At the termination of the vestibule is a large bronze statue of the 
 King, who seems placed there for no other purpose but to take cognizance 
 of the exits and entrances of the clerks and watchmen, as if he kept a day 
 book to check their time. Beneath the nose of the sovereign is a putrcdi- 
 nous pool of stagnant rain-water. I presume this was meant by the ques- 
 tuary and accommodating architect, as emblematic of the swinish demo- 
 cracy of the realm. I have no doubt but the effluvium from the green 
 liquid is more pestilential than that imputed by Virgil to the lake Avcrno, 
 which is reported to have killed all the birds that flew over it ; but as 
 few or none visit this vicinity but birds of prey, the virtuous part of society 
 are not much inclined to commiserate their delirium or their woe ! The 
 whole of this monument offends my vision. It may be requisite for a prime 
 minister to be bronzed, but not a monarch. There is another unfortunate 
 allusion to royalty : the entablatures of this vestibule are covered with 
 cyphers, emblematic and appertaining to the King, Queen, and Prince of 
 Wales. Surely no true subject can approve of annexing the characters of 
 cyphers to such august personages ! If there is any novelty or genius 
 evident in this sportiveness of fancy, it is so thoroughly republican and 
 indecent, that it should immediately be effaced. 
 
 " From what source of information (as nature is entirely out of the 
 question) the gentle knight has drawn his Caryatides, I know not. They 
 are, generally speaking, piscatory monsters, more terrific and ungenial than 
 any Horace deprecated, or that ever entered into the perturbed imagina- 
 tion of sleeping youth. The males have long flowing hair, with large crabs 
 and lobsters creeping through their ragged locks. This is a very delight- 
 ful thought, and perfectly original, as it conveys a lively idea of marine 
 pedicnli. The ladies have a peculiar sort of head-dress, made up of dead 
 salmon, lampreys, sea-weed, and other aquatic rarities, like so many dis- 
 tracted mermaids. Some of the masks are so peculiarly conciliatory and 
 smiling, that I think Earl Camden should have borrowed one on his recent 
 
PREFACE. XIX 
 
 of the whole. He however produced many Works 
 to which this observation will not apply, and which 
 place him in the first rank as an Architect. 
 
 embassy to Ireland. This measure could not be reasonably resisted, as 
 they might all be removed without any injury to the basement. 
 
 " That part of this inconsistent lapidific accumulation which is appro- 
 priated to the polite arts, is admitted to- be unexceptionable. The principal 
 room, dedicated to the purposes of lectureship and the annual exhibition, 
 cannot be approached but by a spiral stair-case as high as Jacob's ladder ; 
 which (luckily for the lecturer and the exhibitors) turns the heads of the 
 visitors before they can either hear or examine. In Sir Joshua Reynolds's 
 presidency, the floor gave way, and sunk many inches, when Burke and a 
 few more of the illuminati were eagerly listening to a theme they could 
 not comprehend. The company shrieked, Burke prayed, and the Gods 
 suspended the mischief. It is piteous that all these disasters had not oc- 
 curred more recently, as then the erratic Swede might have imputed them 
 to a partial shock from Brothers' predicted earthquake, and thus have 
 covered his honour by coming in for a slice of the alarming prophecy ! 
 
 " The names of the sculptors who were employed in the decoration of 
 the exterior, are Carlini, Wilton, Geracci, Nollekens, and Bacon. I have 
 chronicled them as sculptors, not statuaries, as neither appear to have cut 
 ajigure in this business. 
 
 " On the top of the corps de logis, or central part of this heterogeneous 
 association of stones, we see a dirty black lump, which he calls a dome, and 
 which is apparently stolen from the worst embellishments of that worst of 
 architects, Sir John Vanbrugh. It furnishes me with no other idea but 
 an inverted punch-bowl, and peradventure might be intended by Sir Wil- 
 liam as a durable symbol of sobriety, to operate on the senses of the clerks, 
 to keep them from tippling in the hours of duty. 
 
 " It appears to me, from consequences, that any thing can make an 
 architect as well as a taylor! yet a cock-sparrow in his nest would beat 
 them all, if security is eminently essential to the continuance of the struc- 
 ture. This splendid Knight of Poland, in his eagerness to have his build- 
 
XX PREFACE. 
 
 The want of a new Edition of the Work has, 
 owing to the scarcity and cost of the Third Edition, 
 been long and sensibly experienced. From its 
 
 ings replete with taste, forgot that it was expedient they should have 
 strength also. The terrace of this magnificent jumble, which was so un- 
 feelingly cut out of the muddy sides of the venerable Thames, was the 
 pride of his heart ; but, alas ! as it is decreed that pride shall have a fall, 
 it should not create surprize that the proud eminence, like Burke's slip- 
 pery Whigs, seceded from the parental pile, and fell ingloriously in the 
 dirt ! The subterraneous apartments, it must be acknowledged, have 
 every recommendation but light. It strikes me that they must have been 
 perverted by accident or necessity, from the original design of Sir Wil- 
 liam Chambers, who assuredly built them in imitation of some classic coal- 
 holes ! In these damp, black, and comfortless recesses, the clerks of the 
 nation grope about like moles, immersed in Tartarean gloom, and stamp, 
 sign, examine, indite, doze, and swear, as unconscious of the revolving 
 sun as so many miserable demons of romance, condemned to toil for ages 
 in the centre. Mcthinks I hear the genius of the Isle of Portland mourn 
 for this misapplication and prostitution of its entrails ! 
 
 " The key-stones of the arches are wonderfully carved in alto-relievo, 
 with colossal masks of the Ocean, and the rivers of Britain, among 
 which the Thames looks peculiarly sulky, as not having forgot or forgiven 
 the irruptions made upon his filthy domains by this saucy edifice. There 
 was a tablet with the Lord Mayor and Court of Aldermen in tears, upon 
 the same occasion, but this was omitted. 
 
 " Some of the ornaments are so obtrusive, that it is recommended to 
 obliterate the ocean, and send the billing swans to the Maids of Honour ; 
 the Lares to Buckingham House ; the cornucopias to the poor, and all the 
 fish to Billingsgate. 
 
 "In each corner of the quadrangular court is*********so 
 happily and wonderfully contrived, as to form a charming coup d'ceil for 
 the female tenants of the establishment, ••***. What a glorious 
 contrivance for the communication of ideas, and the dispatch of business ? 
 
PREFACE. XXI 
 
 having been improved and augmented by the 
 author, and its three additional plates, that edition 
 has been so much in demand, that, except from the 
 monopoly which till lately existed in respect of the 
 
 It was originally intended to introduce the Five Orders, in a fandango; 
 but the absurdity of the measure was timely exposed by Mr. Bosivell, who 
 proved to demonstration, that they had never been taught to dance. 
 
 " This confederacy of alien attributes is like so many enemies com- 
 pelled to elbow each other in a mob ; they seem to curse mutually in the 
 moment of embracing, like so many cats ; it is a racemation, or cluster of 
 antipathies, made of recrementitious parts — an untimely exposition of 
 bruised and battered stones, torn from the bowels of the peaceful quarrv ; 
 here are pillars and pilasters unconnected with order, chambers and ave- 
 nues without usefulness, and men and women without genders. 
 
 '■' As there is no sublunary perfection, it may be no dishonour to the 
 architect, to note, that the following alterations have been suggested, and 
 will be enforced, viz. to carve a lame Phoebus over the Coach Office ; a 
 Plutus with one eye over the Pay Office ; a Sailor on Stumps over the 
 Navy Office ; and an encrusted Chamber Pot over the Hall for the Anti- 
 quarians. 
 
 " At Whittan Place, formerly the seat of the Duke of Argyle, but now 
 of the felicitous Knight himself, he has exerted his astonishing ability in 
 a peculiar manner, by erecting what he denominates a Temple of Escula- 
 pius, as a left-handed compliment to Dr. Willis, to whose skill we are in- 
 debted for the restoration of the Sovereign. As Esculapius was but the 
 journeyman to Hygeia, and did little more than carry her spatula and 
 drugs, I presume to aver, that justice as well as gallantry should have 
 impelled him to have given the lady the preference ; but this collateral 
 criticism shall not induce me to pass over the extraordinary merit at- 
 tached to this building, which is contrived with such subtle address, as 
 to be equally applicable and acceptable to any god or goddess, as well as 
 the medical old gentleman in question; but perhaps Sir William may feel 
 
 d 
 
XX11 PREFACE. 
 
 publication of architectural works, not less disadvan- 
 tageous to the art, than injurious to the artists per- 
 mitting its existence, who by their united exertions 
 
 sensations which justify such an extravagant tribute to the powers of the 
 Mad Doctor ; for, as the great hard has phrased it — 
 
 * We know what we are, but we know not what we may be.' 
 
 " Though it is palpable to me, that the knight alluded to has been be- 
 nighted in some of his professional endeavours, it remains with the wiser 
 part of society, to appreciate him with correctness, and I sincerely hope 
 that truth will be established, although my penetration might suffer in 
 the issue. 
 
 " True architecture may be resolved into the following idea, viz. to con- 
 nect strength with beauty, and make botli conducive to utility ; but our 
 builders disdain to be shackled with such antique obligations, while the 
 liberal hand of national folly fattens them into a careless independence. 
 Lord Thurlow slumbers as happily in his sugar-house, at Knight's Hill, 
 after the fatigue of telling money at the Exchequer, as Augustus did in his 
 proud and noble pavilion, such is the refined taste of the age of George 
 the Third — glorious a;ra ! and yet we have the audacity, during the com- 
 mission of such absurdities, to prate of the Goths and Vandals with an 
 unblushing scorn. 
 
 " But it may be ungenerous to form a judgment of what architecture 
 it by what it was. I shall forbear to enlarge upon the beauties of Vitru- 
 vius, Mustius, Bruneleschi, or the ascribed graces of the Tuscan school. 
 This is a wonderful kingdom, and perhaps the building should be wonder- 
 ful to square with the genius of the land. The Gout des Nations varies 
 even more than the clime ; hence arises an apology for the seeming errors 
 of our architectural professors. The sleek and corpulent haberdasher re- 
 gards his Gazebo as much as Cicero did his Tusculum, or Pliny his Lan- 
 rentum ; then who should wrangle upon the point of right in either 
 dominion, when all the parties are equally happy ? I will venture to 
 declare that Catthnachus or Palladio never made a hundredth part m 
 much by their practice as Mr. Holland: and as nine hundred and ninety- 
 
PREFACE. XX111 
 
 ouo-ht long since to have prevented its continuance, 
 it would be difficult to assign a reason why such a 
 re-publication has not been sooner undertaken. 
 
 nine in a thousand will be more profound in their obedience, and more 
 sincere in their habits of respect, to the man of gold than the man of sub- 
 lime merit, it naturally follows that he is the more reputable character who 
 commands the most homage. The acquisition of knowledge is both trou- 
 blesome and unproductive ; and where is the man, with a sound mind, 
 who would willingly embrace so much anxiety, when the events of each 
 hour prove that he is most successful who is most ignorant, and that he is 
 most honoured who is most successful ?" 
 
 It is but recently that this trash of Mr. Williams, written some years 
 aco, was noticed by a reply which does honour to the heart as well as 
 the head of an accomplished and intelligent architect. Mr. Papworth 
 shall speak for himself. It was inserted Dec. 13, 1823, in an amusing 
 and useful Publication, entitled the Somerset House Weekly Miscellany 
 of Fine Arts, fyc. 
 
 '" It is the duty op the living to protect the reputation 
 of the dead.' This axiom we quote, as applicable to the remarks 
 which we proposed to offer to our readers on the malignant critique from 
 the pen of Anthony Pasquin, reflecting upon the fame of Sir William 
 Chambers, which we printed in No. VII. of our Miscellany ; since 
 which we have not been idle in our enquiries as to the parts, in which, to use 
 the words of the critic, " the cunning projector of this undefineable mass 
 has been occasionally indebted to the pure designs which Inigo Jones in- 
 tended as a continuation of Whitehall," and which " superb bits appear 
 like elegant individuals in abasing company." 
 
 " Would it not have been an advantage to public taste, if the critic who 
 assumed this superior knowledge had pointed at the parts so conspicuously 
 beautiful to his learned optics ; for we, among the rest, have yet to find 
 them out. Mister Pasquin, we have reason for believing, like many ano- 
 ther audacious and unprincipled writer, made this assertion at a venture, 
 knowing full well, from the success of similar experiments, founded on 
 falsehood, that public credulity, general indifference for the subject, and 
 
XXIV PREFACE. 
 
 It is perhaps almost needless to state, that the 
 original work of Sir W. Chambers, has been very 
 long before the public. The First Edition was pub- 
 
 the prevailing love of slander, would receive his dictum as authority, and 
 that he should, favoured by these combining circumstances, remain secure 
 from enquiry, and escape with applause. The secret satisfaction, however, 
 arising from such successful treachery, betrays a baseness of heart in the 
 calumniator, so entirely out of the common course of iniquity, that could 
 the true motives of such pernicious scribblers be made manifest to the 
 world, men of genius would be held in due reverence, and their unprin- 
 cipled revilers would be driven from the society of all who loved virtue, 
 or had a becoming regard for truth. 
 
 " How base, how unjust, in a man of penetration — in one like Pasquin. 
 who could write with wit and spirit, to make this sport of talent, when he 
 must have acknowledged, had he not walked round this noble building for 
 the indulgence of his evil propensity, that in these " piscatory monsters," 
 which he erroneously designates cariatides, are displayed much elegance 
 and invention ; that the emblems were designed most tastefully accordant 
 with the departments of the building to which (hey were appended, and 
 that the masks of the river deities, which he has so wantonly made the 
 subject of his ridicule, were works of the highest order of merit. They 
 still, however, remain on the keystones of the arches, monuments of the 
 superior abilities of Mr. Wilton, their ingenious sculptor, and will long 
 be regarded by all judges of art, as legible memorials of the shame of this 
 unjust critic. 
 
 " We should have added our opinions upon the general character of this 
 noble building, had we not, whilst preparing this article, been favoured with 
 a paper upon the subject, written con amore, by an intelligent and highlj 
 respected professor of architecture, and expressly in aid of our Miscellany. 
 We therefore cheerfully suspend our notions, and substitute those of our 
 kind contributor, whose superior knowledge of the science will render that 
 justice to the fame and talents of Sir William Chambers, to which our 
 best efforts would have been incompetent. 
 
 ■ • Somerset Hoitse is a vast pile of building, comprising many publiv 
 
PREFACE. XXV 
 
 lished as far back as the year 1759. So much was 
 it esteemed by the public and architects especially, 
 as to have proceeded to a Third Edition in 1791. 
 
 offices, the Royal Academy of Arts, and the Royal and Antiquarian .So- 
 cieties. It was erected by order of the government, and under the direc- 
 tion of Sir William Chambers, from his own designs. The first stone was 
 laid in 1776. This celebrated architect was descended from an ancient 
 Scotch family, which had settled at Stockholm, where he was born, anno 
 1 729. But being brought to England when only two years of age, we 
 may consider him, in his professional career, as of the English school. 
 
 " ' Somerset House is built on that part of the Thames side named the 
 Strand, a spot remarkable for its steep declivity, and the variety of soil 
 on which its foundations were to be placed, no inconsiderable portion of 
 its site being actually taken from within the channel of the river, and 
 
 below its bed. 
 
 « ' The situation seemed to be impracticable, both as related to its levels 
 and security of foundation, circumstances that required all the science and 
 sagacity of the architect to contend with and to overcome. 
 
 " ' In bridge building, such difficulties are always found to exist : in a 
 structure of this extent and magnitude they rarely occur ; but when they 
 do, the comparative mental powers necessary to execute such a work are 
 much beyond those required for the erection of even the greatest bridge 
 that is now known. 
 
 « ' In the structure of a bridge, the points of contact with the soil are 
 few, and its levels only relate to the ground at its extremities ; but in a 
 building circumstanced like Somerset House, the points of contact are 
 almost innumerable, and its levels differ at every point. Every pier, every 
 wall, pillar, and partition, every arch and every vault, all have to be sup- 
 ported in their respective stations, and each according to its need ; for, to 
 make the foundations more ample than could be avoided, would have been 
 incurring a vast addition of expence. The architect, by obtaining sufficient 
 security, with this attention to economy, justly acquired reputation from 
 his employers. 
 
 •"It was not the least arduous part of the duty which he had to perform 
 
XXVI PREFACE. 
 
 The impressions in the last named edition were 
 so worn as to prove that the original plates were 
 completely exhausted, as may be seen by corn- 
 in the plan of the building, when he undertook to arrange the various 
 offices for so great an establishment, to design them suitably to their mul- 
 tifarious purposes, and to combine them with the general effect. He had 
 to reconcile the conflicting desires, opinions, and prerogatives of the offi- 
 cers great and small, who were to inhabit or occupy the manifold apart- 
 ments. 
 
 " ' All these difficulties, however, he overcame, with such rare felicity 
 and general satisfaction, that on the question of accommodation among the 
 officers or households of the respective departments, there appears to have 
 been but one solitary instance of discontent, and that came to knowledge 
 at second hand, being the reported complaint of the cook at the I'ictual- 
 ing Office, who thought herself limited in larder-room. 
 
 " ' To effect these numerous arrangements — to adjust the proportions and 
 uses of so many apartments on so many floors, in appropriate and essential 
 portions of such an aggregate of offices, the architect judiciously selected 
 the Italian practice of building, which admits better than any other style. 
 the beauties of Roman architecture, combined with that convenience for 
 business and domestic comfort, which this useful national structure de- 
 manded. 
 
 " ' The elegant simplicity of the building as a whole, the proportion of 
 its parts, and their relative accordance, may vie with the noblest public 
 structures in the metropolis ; and in some resj>ccts may be pronounced 
 superior to any. The exterior of Somerset House is considered to be the 
 perfection of masonry, and the sculptures that decorate the various parts, 
 are not equalled by the ornamental accessories of any of our great national 
 buildings. 
 
 " ' The decorations of the interior are no less entitled to applause ; in- 
 deed, to Sir W. Chambers we owe the introduction of that chaste charac- 
 ter of ornament in this country, which has since been perfected by the 
 studies of Stuart and others, from the classic stores obtained through their 
 invaluable researches amidst the remains of Grecian ;irt. 
 
PREFACE. XXV11 
 
 paring those of the First and Third Editions. They 
 were considering the period of their execution ex- 
 ceedingly well got up. Rooker, Grignion, Fourdri- 
 nier, Mazell, and others, of the most eminent artists 
 of the time were engaged on them. These have all 
 been carefully and accurately reduced for this Edi- 
 tion, and now re-engraved in a style far surpassing 
 that in which the originals were executed. Lowry, 
 Porter, Moses, Armstrong, RofFe, and the other 
 artists engaged, shew by their subjoined exertions to 
 what an amazing extent the Architectural Engrav- 
 ers of this country have carried the improvement of 
 their art since Sir William Chambers first pub- 
 lished his Treatise *. 
 
 Previous to our better and later acquaintance with 
 Grecian Architecture, no one ventured to impugn 
 
 " ' This, then, is Somerset Place, the work of an architect, who has ma- 
 nifested in its erection, a vast extent of intellect, as a mathematician, as an 
 engineer, as an artist, and as a philosopher. He was moreover an upright 
 man ; one whose great abilities have done honour to himself, to his illus- 
 trious patron, to his employers, and the age in which he lived. 
 
 . " ' J. B. P.' " 
 
 * The plates were reduced under the Editor's direction, with the excep- 
 tion of those to which his name appears, by his pupils, Messrs. F. H. 
 Groves and William Collins, and he considers it only an act of justice to 
 thank them, in this place, for their great care and attention to that whicli 
 was entrusted to their exertions. 
 
XXVlll PREFACE. 
 
 the value of our Author's labours. They were in truth 
 a necessary appendage to the office of every Archi- 
 tect, as the only work in the English language to 
 which reference could be made. A more intimate 
 acquaintance with the remains of the art in Greece, 
 first submitted to the examination of the public 
 (liiouiih the indefatigable zeal of our ingenious 
 countryman Stuart, and latterly through the munifi- 
 cence of the Dilettanti Society, has considerably 
 lidded to the wants of the student. To supply those 
 wants has been one of the objects of this Edition. 
 The illustration of Chambers's text has been ano- 
 ther, and the unprecedented patronage with which it 
 has been favored, has amply justified the undertaking. 
 The examination of Grecian Architecture which 
 is prefixed to the main work, is compressed from 
 a Treatise on which I have been many years engaged. 
 This to render its introduction practicable, has 
 been reduced within limits prescribed by the nature 
 of this Publication, and consequently very consider- 
 ably abridged. The reader is therefore requested to 
 consider it merely as an outline, which, if leisure and 
 health permit, I hope to fill up on a future occasion 
 in a more satisfactory manner. The information 
 obtained in this country, through the medium of its 
 
PREFACE. XXIX 
 
 many enlightened travellers as well as the present 
 prevailing taste for the employment of Grecian Ar- 
 chitecture as distinguished from Roman and Italian, 
 made it absolutely necessary to introduce some ac- 
 count of that style, in order to complete the work as a 
 manual for the student and amateur. So fruitful is 
 the subject, that I was at a loss in many places, what 
 from my materials to adopt and what reject. I there- 
 fore claim his indulgence for many omissions, in the 
 hope of redeeming myself at no very distant period 
 by a more elaborate performance in that respect. If, 
 however, I have at all succeeded in conveying some- 
 thing like a bird's eye view of the origin, progress, 
 and perfection of that style, whereof much that is 
 advanced must be necessarily conjectural, my object 
 will have been obtained. 
 
 It is here proper to observe, that the knowledge 
 of Grecian Architecture, to which such rapid strides 
 have been made since our Author's time, will by no 
 means invalidate the excellent precepts which he 
 delivers in the pages of his Treatise. These apply 
 equally to Grecian, Roman, or Italian Architecture. 
 Rules whose foundations are laid on the solid grounds 
 of taste and science, are seldom inapplicable even in 
 
 e 
 
XXX PREFACE. 
 
 different arts, but in the self* same art they apply to 
 all styles. 
 
 With the greatest submission to those who are 
 better informed on this subject than myself, I cannot 
 help acknowledging my bias towards what may 
 perhaps be properly called the Italian school of Ar- 
 chitecture, as it is found in the works of Palladio, 
 Sanmichele, and others, who formed their style from 
 the resources which the remaining antiquities of 
 Rome afforded *. My reasons for this preference 
 arise from an opinion that it is more plastic, that is, 
 more capable of being submitted to the wants and 
 habits of this country. As an instance of what I mean, 
 among numberless which I could immediately spe- 
 cify, let the arrangement of the diameters, heights, 
 and intercolumniations of a Grecian Doric Portico 
 be taken in application to an English edifice. The 
 intercolumniations of the Parthenon are to the dia- 
 meters as 1.155 to 1 ; and I am willing to allow that 
 the unity and simplicity of its parts, added to the 
 beauty of its general form and proportions, must 
 have produced in it when entire an almost magical 
 
 * The Tuscan school for grandeur and exhibition of the picturesque ii 
 without parallel. 
 
PREFACE. XXXI 
 
 effect. But suited as this was to a climate where it 
 might be necessary as much as possible to exclude 
 the rays of the sun, it surely will not be contended 
 that it is applicable to the wants of this cold northern 
 climate. " The styles of Architecture which have 
 prevailed at different times amongst different nations, 
 have had their origin in the varied modes of exist- 
 ence, and in the physical and moral habits of the peo- 
 ple who produced them. The general forms and com- 
 binations in those styles are the result of endeavours 
 to suit the climate in which they are planted, and to 
 obviate the inconveniences against which in each 
 country it is more peculiarly necessary to provide. 
 From the most costly piece of furniture, down to the 
 meanest domestic utensil, the influence of climate 
 and habit on their forms is distinctly perceptible; 
 and in each series there is found a convenance and 
 utility tending to the proof of such an hypothesis. It 
 would indeed be absurd to suppose that those general 
 forms from which the different styles were generated 
 could, with equal convenience to their inhabitants) 
 be the same in hot, cold, moist, dry, and temperate 
 climates. In the delicious regions of southern Eu- 
 rope, open galleries and colonnades, terraces whose 
 only covering is the constantly azure sky, seem 
 
XXXII PREFACE. 
 
 almost to induce an opinion, that the interiors of 
 the dwellings to which they are attached are scarcely 
 used but for the purposes of shelter and rest. In 
 these the exclusion of the sun's rays seems the prin- 
 cipal object, and the walls are therefore pierced with 
 few and small openings. In the northern parts of 
 Europe, the introduction of the greatest possible 
 quantity of light and heat is of the utmost import- 
 ance ; hence the apertures are many and large. It 
 might perhaps be safely affirmed, that the difference 
 between the enormous volume of light introduced 
 into our Gothic cathedrals, and the dark cell of an 
 Egyptian temple, arises rather from the difference 
 of climate, than from that of the religions for whose 
 purposes they were erected " *. 
 
 I am aware that, in the present day, I may lose 
 with some persons all character for taste by the above 
 candid declaration. I am also aware that there are 
 many imperfections in the work I have undertaken. 
 On these accounts I solicit the correction of the Ar- 
 chitect, whilst I am quite indifferent to the obser- 
 vations of the critic by profession. " In all parts of 
 knowledge, rightly so termed," says Hooker," things 
 
 * The passage between the inverted commas is extracted from an article 
 written by me some years since, and published in a periodical work. 
 
PREFACE. XXX11I 
 
 most generall are most strong: Thus it must be, 
 inasmuch as the certainty of our persuasion touching 
 particulars, dependeth altogether upon the Credit of 
 those generalities out of which they grow. Albeit 
 therefore every cause admit not such infallible evi- 
 dence of proofe, as leaveth no possibility of doubt 
 or scruple behind it, yet they who claime the gene- 
 rall assent of the whole world unto that which they 
 teach, and do not feare to give very hard and heavy 
 sentence upon so many as refuse to embrace the 
 same, must have speciall regard that their first foun- 
 dations and grounds be more than slender proba- 
 bilities." 
 
 In this Edition will be found an interesting and 
 authentic Memoir of the Life of Sir William Cham- 
 bers, for which I am indebted to Mr. Hardwick, one 
 of his surviving pupils, whose talents and high repu- 
 tation do so much honor to the name of the master, 
 and are so well known as to be above any encomium 
 from me. I have added a concise explanation of 
 the principal terms used in the science of Archi- 
 tecture, which it is presumed will be found useful 
 to the amateur, and of sufficient importance to the 
 student to justify its introduction. 
 
 I have now only to observe, that I engaged in 
 
XXXIV PREFACE. 
 
 the labours which follow, from a belief that they 
 would be useful, and not from any vain motive of 
 appearing before the public on this occasion either as 
 Author or Editor; but I do not scruple to acknow- 
 ledge the satisfaction I have felt in preparing the 
 following sheets, convinced as I am that the ori- 
 ginal Work, at least, ought to have a place in the 
 library of every Architect. 
 
 J. G. 
 
 Abingdon Street, Westminster, 
 
 Feb. 1, 1825. 
 
LIFE 
 
 OF 
 
 SIR WILLIAM CHAMBERS. 
 
A MEMOIR 
 
 OF 
 
 THE LIFE 
 
 OF 
 
 SIR WILLIAM CHAMBERS. 
 
 That branch of the family of Chambers from 
 which the subject of this Memoir immediately de- 
 scended, was possessed of a good estate at Rippon 
 in Yorkshire, whereon it resided, and whence one 
 of its members went over to settle at Stockholm, not 
 merely as a merchant, but also with a view of re- 
 covering a large sum of money advanced by an an- 
 cestor to a former king of Sweden. The particulars 
 of this transaction are related by Chalmers in his 
 Biographical Dictionary. William Chambers, who 
 now claims our attention, was by birth a Swede, hav- 
 ing been born at Stockholm, and was sent over when 
 very young to Yorkshire for his education. Early in 
 life he went in the capacity of a supercargo to the 
 
 f 
 
XXXV111 MEMOIR OF THE LIFE OF 
 
 East Indies, and, if we have been rightly informed, 
 made two voyages to that quarter of the world ; in 
 one of which he visited Canton, and having con- 
 siderable taste for drawing, made sketches of the 
 buildings and costume of the Chinese, which, on his 
 arrival in England some years after*, he pub- 
 lished, with the assistance of those excellent en- 
 gravers, Grignion, Foudrinier, and Rooker. 
 
 Abandoning, however, the commercial pursuits 
 in which he was originally engaged with his family, 
 and by which his brother John acquired a large for- 
 tune in the East Indies, he followed the natural bent 
 of his genius, and travelled into Italy for the purpose 
 of studying the science of architecture, not only by 
 measuring and drawing the invaluable remains of an- 
 tiquity, but likewise those admirable productions of 
 the revivers of the arts which distinguished the fif- 
 teenth and sixteenth centuries. He carefully exa- 
 mined and studied with unwearied application the 
 works of Michael Angelo, Sangallo, Palladio, Sca- 
 mozzi, Vignola, Peruzzi, Sanmichele, Bernini, and 
 other Italian architects, whose designs were in gene- 
 ral guided by the rules of the ancients, but whose 
 extraordinary talents, exalting them above the cha- 
 racter of mere imitators, produced an originality in 
 their compositions that fully established their fame, 
 and pointed them out as the fittest models for suc- 
 ceeding artists. Mr. Chambers knew how to distin- 
 
 * In the year 1757- 
 
SIR WILLIAM CHAMBERS. XXXIX 
 
 ofuish and to combine all the excellencies of those 
 great men, and his intuitive good taste and sound 
 judgment led him also to examine into the merits 
 of those French architects whose productions have 
 been since so much esteemed and applauded, among 
 whom Claude Perrault and Jules Mansard held the 
 most distinguished rank. At Paris he studied under 
 the celebrated Clerisseau, and acquired from him a 
 freedom of pencil in which few excelled him. If we 
 mistake not, Reynolds, Wilton, and some other 
 English artists of note, were his contemporaries on 
 the continent. 
 
 Until Le Roy published his Antiquities of Greece, 
 little attention was paid to Greek Architecture ; but 
 in a very short time, and almost coeval with that work, 
 Stuart, Revett, and others, gave to the world their 
 splendid publications of those Grecian remains,which 
 had thitherto escaped the barbarous spoliations and 
 ravages of Mahometan superstition ; and the acade- 
 mies of the arts in most of the enlightened nations of 
 Europe were suddenly enriched by their interesting 
 and invaluable discoveries. But either from the same 
 predilection for the Roman school which had in- 
 fluenced the Italian architects who preceded him, or 
 from the narrowness of his finances, Sir William 
 Chambers never trod the classical ground of Attica, 
 nor even visited Sicily or Paestum, where he might 
 have beheld some of the most antientand imposing 
 works of the Grecian republic. It was evident, there- 
 
xl MEMOIR OF THE LIFE OF 
 
 fore, that Mr. Chambers derived from other sources 
 his extensive knowledge in the art, and this he ef- 
 fected, as we have seen, not only by searching into 
 the causes which produced those delightful effects 
 apparent in the remains of Roman grandeur, by a 
 close and discriminating observation of the style and 
 manner of the great revivers of the arts, but by stor- 
 ing his mind with the excellent precepts laid down 
 by authors who had not only written upon the art, 
 but had likewise practised it. Possessing, by these 
 means, all the theoretic knowledge necessary to his 
 profession, he ultimately fixed his residence in Lon- 
 don, and in Russell Street, near Covent Garden, first 
 took up his abode. As he inherited but little 
 wealth, to his own merit and the casual interest of a 
 brother architect he was indebted for that success 
 and celebrity he afterwards so justly acquired. Mr. 
 John Carr, of York, being asked by the Earl of Bute 
 if he could recommend him an artist to instruct the 
 Prince, afterwards George the Third, in the stud\ 
 of architecture, Carr, who had just then become ac- 
 quainted with Mr. Chambers, and had seen and ad- 
 mired his drawings, told his lordship that he knew 
 a young man who would exactly answer his purpose, 
 and accordingly recommended Mr. Chambers. Lord 
 Bute introduced him to the Prince, who became in 
 course of time so much attached to him that, when 
 he came to the crown, he appointed him his chief 
 architect, and promoted him whenever any oppor- 
 
SIR WILLIAM CHAMBERS. xli 
 
 tunity offered. Some property at Kew having been 
 purchased for the residence of the Princess Dowager 
 of Wales, Mr. Chambers was employed to lay out the 
 arounds, and to design a number of buildings and 
 
 to 7 " 
 
 temples in a variety of styles, both European and 
 Asiatic, to embellish the spot. Kent had formerly 
 been employed for a similar purpose in the adjacent 
 wardens of Richmond. The buildings and views in 
 
 to 
 
 Kew Gardens were published in 1763, the plates 
 having been engraved by the best artists of that 
 period, and the expense of the publication borne, 
 as the author informs us, by royal bounty. But his 
 " Treatise on the Decorative Part of Civil Archi- 
 tecture,''' by far the most useful work on that science 
 which had ever appeared in this country, tended 
 most to establish his reputation, both as an author 
 and architect of research, judgment, and refined 
 taste. The truths it inculcates, and the proportions 
 and forms it recommends, the result of long expe- 
 rience and repeated observation of structures which 
 have stood the test of centuries, cannot fail to im- 
 press upon every mind, that there is a criterion of 
 taste in architecture as well as in the other liberal 
 ar ts, — that genius is consistent with rules, — and that 
 novelty is not necessarily an improvement. 
 
 The King was pleased to appoint him his private 
 architect, and he was introduced into the Office of 
 Works as Comptroller, and, upon the new modifica- 
 tion of that Board, by Mr. Burke's Act, succeeded 
 
x lii MEMOIR OF THE LIFE OF 
 
 Whitshed Keene as Surveyor-General of his Ma- 
 jesty's works. 
 
 When the bridge at Blackf'riars was in contempla- 
 tion, Mr. Chambers, encouraged by the powerful in- 
 terest of Mr. Paterson, an opulent merchant in the 
 city, gave designs for that structure, in competition 
 with other architects ; but his drawings were 
 deemed too magnificent and expensive for execu- 
 tion, and those of Mr. Mylne were adopted. 
 
 In the year 1768, was instituted " the Royal Aca- 
 demy of Arts, in London," to the establishment of 
 which Mr. Chambers was principally instrumental, 
 by possessing a great influence with the King, who 
 was graciously pleased to sanction the undertaking, 
 and appointed Mr. Chambers Treasurer to the In- 
 stitution, and Mr. Reynolds (afterwards Sir Joshua) 
 to fill the chair of the President. 
 
 In the year 1771, having presented to the King 
 of Sweden some highly finished drawings of Kew 
 Gardens, his majesty conferred on him the order of 
 the Polar Star ; and he was permitted by his Britan- 
 nic Majesty to assume the usual style and title an- 
 nexed to British knighthood. 
 
 About this period he made a design for Lord 
 Give, for his villa at Claremont, near Esher, in 
 Surrey, but that of Mr. Brown, the celebrated land- 
 scape gardener, being preferred by his lordship, 
 gave rise to a difference between these gentlemen, 
 which was never entirely reconciled ; Mr. Chambers 
 
SIR WILLIAM CHAMBERS. xliii 
 
 considering Mr. Brown an intruder on an art in 
 which neither his talents nor his education could 
 entitle him to any respect. Upon this, in 1772, our 
 Author published his " Dissertation on Oriental Gar- 
 dening " and in the introduction severely satirized 
 the taste of Mr. Brown. This work gave occasion 
 to the famous " Heroic Epistle to Sir William 
 Chambers," which was at first supposed to be written 
 by Mr. Anstey, the author of " The New Bath 
 Guide," but was afterwards understood to be the pro- 
 duction of Mason the poet, whose poem upon gar- 
 dening is very generally known. 
 
 Mr. Chambers fortunately obtained the patron- 
 age and friendship of the Earl of Besborough, whose 
 superior taste in the liberal arts was well known to 
 every man of science. For this distinguished noble- 
 man he built a villa at Roehampton, in Surrey ; of 
 which, says Mr. Dallaway, " the portico is singularly 
 correct and elegant ;" and the same author adds, 
 " that he also designed a superb mansion for Lord 
 Abercorn at Duddingston, near Edinburgh." 
 Amongst others of his noble employers were ranked 
 the Duke of Bedford, the Lord Viscount Middle- 
 ton, Earl Gower, and Lord Milbourn ; for the two 
 last he built mansions at Whitehall and in Picca- 
 dilly. 
 
 Gothic architecture not having been then revived 
 in this country, afforded but little occasion for the 
 exercise of his talents in the practice of it, though he 
 
Xliv MEMOIR OF THE LIFE OF 
 
 had always a great veneration for that style of build- 
 ing. The only instance of this kind in which he ap- 
 pears to have been concerned, was in some addi- 
 tions and alterations to Milton Abbey in Dorset- 
 shire. 
 
 About this period the parishioners of St. Mary- 
 la-bonne having it in contemplation to erect a new 
 parochial church, Mr. Chambers was invited to 
 make the designs, and accordingly produced several 
 for the approbation of the vestry ; but the one most 
 admired was upon a circular plan, with a Doric por- 
 tico, and surmounted by a dome, — a design exqui- 
 sitely beautiful, but ill-adapted to the service of the 
 Church of England. It is, notwithstanding, much to 
 be regretted that, as a work of art, it was never car- 
 ried into execution. The Earl of Pembroke, justly 
 appreciating his abilities, employed him at his 
 celebrated seat at Wilton, near Salisbury, where 
 his triumphal arch, Palladian bridge, and other 
 works, ever command the admiration of all persons 
 of taste who visit that delightful spot. At Blen- 
 heim he so happily conformed to the singular 
 style of the original architect, that no discordance 
 was produced by the additions he planned to that 
 magnificent structure. We cannot here forbear 
 noticing the market-house at Woodstock, another 
 work of this master, the simplicity of which, and 
 its appropriate character, cannot fail to be ad- 
 mired. 
 
SIR WILLIAM CHAMBERS. xlv 
 
 On the invitation of Lord Claremont, with whom 
 Sir William Chambers was on terms of strict inti- 
 macy, he went over to Ireland, and designed and built 
 a very beautiful casine for his Lordship at Marino. 
 In the summer of the year 1774, he re-visited Paris, 
 and once more enjoyed the Society of those artists 
 with whom he had some years before cultivated a 
 friendship, and was much gratified by their recep- 
 tion of him, and their great attention to him during 
 his stay. He was, as he afterwards expressed him- 
 self, particularly struck with the great improvement 
 in the French Architecture which had taken place 
 within a few years : a more chaste and classical taste 
 having succeeded to the heterogeneous style in which 
 most of the buildings in Paris had before been com- 
 posed. That city indeed could then boast of a num- 
 ber of very excellent Architects, who were an ho- 
 nour to their country, notwithstanding the prejudice 
 which has always prevailed in England against the 
 taste of our Gallic neighbours, and the names of Le 
 Roy, Dewailly, Peyre, Tie Doux, Antoine, Perronet, 
 Soufflot, and others, well known by their ingenious 
 works, will ever reflect the greatest credit on the 
 state of the art in France at that period. 
 
 In or about the year 1775, upon the resignation 
 or demise of Mr. Robinson, of the Office of Works, 
 who had prepared designs for the public buildings 
 then in agitation at Somerset House, in a plain sub- 
 
 g 
 
xlvi MEMOIR OF THE LIFE OF 
 
 stantial style, but with little or no pretensions to 
 decorative Architecture, Sir William Chambers was 
 selected by the Government to make entirely new 
 designs ; these were approved, and being ordered 
 to be carried into execution, the first stone was 
 laid in 1776. How he succeeded in this great un- 
 dertaking the Public have long since judged. As 
 the edifice however arose, it did not fail to at- 
 tract the severity of criticism, and the public jour- 
 nals, and other periodical publications of the day, 
 teemed with illiberal animadversions on a struc- 
 ture not half completed. It has been well observed, 
 that " all men have eyes, but few have judge- 
 ment," and in this instance the remark was 
 strongly verified. It must, however, be admitted, 
 that amidst an abundance of architectural beauties 
 some faults and improprieties are discernible. The 
 dignity and grandeur which ought to prevail in a 
 building of this character is in some degree weak- 
 ened by the multiplicity of the parts, which too 
 much interfere with each other ; and the incongruous 
 mixture of rustics with the principal order, which is 
 Corinthian, tends to destroy the effect its correct 
 and beautiful proportion would otherwise produce. 
 Still, after all that has been said upon the subject, 
 one truth we may confidently assert, that by this, 
 the most magnificent of our later public buildings, 
 Sir William Chambers established a reputation of 
 
SIR WILLIAM CHAMBERS. xlvii 
 
 which it will be difficult for his opponents of the 
 present day, or those of the future to deprive him. 
 We are not however writing a critique, but a 
 Memoir. 
 
 Sir William Chambers dwelt some years in Po- 
 land street, and afterwards removed to a house 
 which he had erected in Berners street, residing oc- 
 casionally however at an estate he had purchased at 
 Whitton, near Hounslow, or at his official house at 
 Hampton Court. He was respected and visited by 
 those who were the most celebrated either for wit, 
 arts, or letters, amongst whom we have the pleasure 
 to recollect Doctors Johnson and Goldsmith, Gar- 
 rick, Burney, Bey nolds, Caleb Whitefoord, and many 
 other celebrated characters. In the latter part of his 
 life he gradually retired from business, and resided in 
 a small house in Norton street, but being of a cheer- 
 ful and convivial disposition, he occasionally associ- 
 ated with a few friends of the same profession, who 
 had instituted a sort of club, known by the name 
 of the Architect's Society. This Society held their 
 monthly meetings at the Thatched House tavern. 
 
 For some time before his death, he was afflict- 
 ed with a kind of asthmatic complaint, which 
 frequently obliged him to have recourse to an in- 
 haler, and other artificial means of respiration to ob- 
 tain that breath of which nature was but too rapidly 
 depriving him. He died on the 8th of May, 1796, 
 in the seventy-first year of his age, and was buried 
 
xlviii MEMOIR OF THE LIFE OF 
 
 in Westminster Abbey. His funeral was attended 
 by several persons of rank, and by those artists and 
 literary characters who had long known and appre- 
 ciated his merits, both as a man and as an artist. 
 
 By the lady to whom he had been united early 
 in life he had four daughters and one son. The 
 eldest of his daughters was married to a son of 
 Sir Ralph Milbank, a gentleman of a most respect- 
 able family in the north of England ; the second to 
 a Mr. Innis, a West India merchant ; the third was 
 united to a Captain Harward, an officer in the 
 Guards, and the youngest to a Colonel Cottin; and 
 his son married a daughter of the late Admiral 
 Lord Rodney. 
 
 Immediately antecedent to the period in which 
 our author made his debut, for it is not necessary on 
 this occasion to touch on the history of our Archi- 
 tecture, the ingenious Mr. Kent, a Protege of the 
 Earl of Burlington, had given several proofs of his 
 architectural skill. In historical painting, for he also 
 professed that art, Kent cannot however be said to 
 have approached to any great degree of excellence. 
 Colin Campbell, in his Wanstead House, which 
 we regret is from a concurrence of unfortunate 
 circumstances no longer in existence, and in many 
 others of his designs, evinced great correctness 
 and purity of taste ; and the same chaste, though 
 far superior style, is observable in the works of Sir 
 Robert Taylor, who was originally intended for a 
 
SIR WILLIAM CHAMBERS. xlix 
 
 sculptor, and those also of Mr. James Paine, the 
 elder. The two last mentioned Architects nearly 
 divided the practice of the profession between 
 them, for they had few competitors till Mr. Robert 
 Adam entered the lists, and distinguished himself 
 by the superiority of his taste in the nicer and more 
 delicate parts of decoration. Mr. Adam had been 
 a great traveller, and had filled his portfolios with 
 innumerable drawings and sketches from the inex- 
 haustible mines of Italy and Greece. While these 
 successful Architects were in their full zenith, Mr. 
 Chambers was gradually making his way under 
 the patronage of royalty ; and the publication of 
 his incomparable Treatise decided his pre-eminence 
 in an art wherein his predecessors and contempo- 
 raries had run into the extremes of a simplicity 
 bordering upon tameness, or a redundancy of orna- 
 ment, which destroyed the effect it was intended 
 to produce. 
 
 To Sir William Chambers we are indebted for 
 many improvements in the interior decoration of 
 our buildings. He introduced a more graceful out- 
 line, an easy flowing foliage, and an elegant imita- 
 tion of such flowers and plants, and other objects in 
 nature as were best adapted to the purpose of ar- 
 chitectural ornament; and the pains he took to in- 
 struct the decorative artists and artificers who were 
 employed by him in the execution of his designs, 
 
1 MEMOIR OF THE LIFE OF 
 
 effected a change in this branch of Architecture 
 equally remote from the unmeaning forms of the 
 preceding age, and the perhaps too delicate and 
 lace-like designs of an ingenious contemporary 
 Architect. 
 
 The exteriors of his buildings are marked and dis- 
 tinguished by a bold and masculine style, neither 
 ponderous on the one hand, nor too meagre on the 
 other. He happily united the grandeur and luxu- 
 riance of the Roman, Florentine, and Genoese 
 schools, with the severe correctness of the Venetian 
 and Vicentine: this was the natural result of his early 
 studies, and the judicious discrimination of his own 
 powerful mind. 
 
 In one circumstance he may be said to have been 
 peculiarly fortunate, and especially in his great work 
 at Somerset House : we allude to the excellent and 
 superior manner in which his designs were carried 
 into execution. He had judgment to select, and 
 good sense to attach to him, by affability and cour- 
 tesy, such practical men, as were mainly to contri- 
 bute to his own future reputation. 
 
 His chief pupils were Mr. James Gandon, lately 
 deceased, who resided many years in Ireland, where 
 the Custom House,and other public works at Dublin, 
 reflect the greatest credit on his taste and abilities ; 
 he was also the Editor of the fourth and fifth Volumes 
 of the Vitruvius Britannicus: Mr. Edward Stevens 
 who died at Rome, about the year 1 776 : the late 
 
SIR WILLIAM CHAMBERS. li 
 
 Mr. John Yenn, who succeeded him as Treasurer of 
 the Royal Academy: Mr. Thomas Hardwick*, and 
 Mr. Robert Browne, late of the office of his Ma- 
 jesty's Works, who was also one of Sir William 
 Chambers's executors. 
 
 Reflecting upon the various events we have just 
 recorded, and the splendid manner in which the 
 acquirements of this great master were brought into 
 action, we perceive that the natural endowments of 
 his mind, accompanied by industry and persever- 
 ance, and above all by integrity and honorable con- 
 duct through life, raised him to the head of his pro- 
 fession, and gained him the esteem and veneration 
 of the scholar, the admiration of the artist, and the 
 love and respect of those who looked up to him for 
 protection and support. It is almost needless to 
 press the example of such a character upon the in- 
 genuous and liberal mind. We confidently trust it 
 will have its due weight upon the rising generation, 
 and that Architecture may again flourish uncon- 
 taminated by the baseness of ignorant pretenders, 
 uninfluenced by the caprice of power or the errone- 
 ous notions of originality. 
 
 * To whom we are indebted for this Memoir. Qed.] 
 

AN 
 EXAMINATION 
 
 OF THE 
 
 ELEMENTS OF BEAUTY 
 
 IN 
 
 GRECIAN ARCHITECTURE, 
 
 WITH 
 
 A BRIEF INVESTIGATION 
 or its 
 
 ORIGIN, PROGRESS, AND PERFECTION. 
 BY JOSEPH GWILT. 
 
 " Si quis unquam de nostris Hominibus a Genere isto, studio ac voluntate non 
 abhorrens fuit, me et esse arbitror, et magis etiam turn, cum erat plus Otii 
 
 fuisse." CICERO. OBAT. PRO L. FLACCO. 
 

 
AN 
 
 EXAMINATION, 
 
 ETC. 
 
 ON THE ELEMENTS OF BEAUTY IN ARCHITECTURE. 
 
 There is perhaps no subject on which persons are more 
 apt to differ in their opinions, than on the beauty of a 
 building. Upon due reflection, we shall find that this 
 ought not tobe a matter of surprise, — for when we consider 
 that the prototypes of architecture are entirely different 
 in their nature, from those employed in the other arts of 
 design, whose objects of imitation are in their extent, li- 
 mited only by the range of animate and inanimate cre- 
 ation, and that those are so constantly subjected to our 
 senses, that their images are easily understood and com- 
 pared, it will be manifest, that, in an art which has no 
 regulated standard of comparison, opinions must often be 
 at variance with one another. 
 
 In architecture, the creative power of nature herself is 
 the model imitated. It is an art which appeals directly 
 to the understanding, and has not the means of flattering 
 the senses in the same way as her sister arts ; hence her 
 productions are not universally appreciated : in truth, they 
 are rarely understood except by those whose education and 
 acquirements haA r e qualified them to judge. The beautiful 
 models of nature however are the index and guide of the 
 
4 ON THE ELEMENTS OF 
 
 painter antl sculptor : a successful imitation of these mo- 
 dels, even without an advance on the part of the artist, 
 towards those higher intellectual beauties which distin- 
 guish the historical painter, is capable of affecting us with 
 very agreeable sensations : — nay, the low and still life of 
 the Flemish school has its admirers and justly. — But the 
 architect creates the beauty he produces. The other artists 
 easily address the senses and passions, whilst he can only 
 rely on his appeal to the understanding. His powers of 
 art are therefore limited to operations on the cultivated 
 mind. — With the multitude, magnitude and richness are 
 more valued than the utmost elegance of form or the most 
 fascinating series of proportions. 
 
 The object of an artist's inquiry is not so much to 
 investigate metaphysically the cause of beauty in the 
 productions of his art, as to study the effects that flow 
 from those which by the common consent of ages are es- 
 teemed beautiful', and thus shorten his road by an a priori 
 method. It is in this way that he will more readily obtain 
 information on those qualities which act on the under- 
 standing and excite our affections by means of the beau- 
 tiful result they exhibit 1 . These qualities may be classed 
 as follows 3 : — 
 
 Magnitude and Strength, as qualities which affect 
 the eye. 
 
 1 " The most certaine token of evident goodncsse, is if the general! per- 
 swasion of men doc so account it." Hooker's Ecclesiasticall Politie, B. 1. 
 
 1 It is rather surprising that a recent noble writer on the subject should 
 have employed several pages in the consideration and refutation of Mr. 
 Burke's ingenious but false speculations as to the requisites of smalhicss, 
 smoothness, delicacy, &c. See Lord Aberdeen's Enquirv into the Principles 
 of Beauty in Grecian Architecture, 8vo. London, 1823. 
 
 5 See Art. Beau. Encyclop. Method. 
 
BEAUTY IN ARCHITECTURE. 5 
 
 Order and Harmony, as qualities which affect the 
 understanding. 
 
 Richness and Simplicity, as qualities which excite the 
 affections, — in which taste is the principal guide. 
 
 These qualities answer to the three divisions which 
 those who have written on architecture have usually 
 adopted, namely — 
 
 Construction, in which the chief requisites are Mag- 
 nitude and Strength. 
 
 Design or Disposition, in which the principal requi- 
 sites are Order and Harmony. 
 
 Decoration, whose requisites are Richness or Sim- 
 plicity, according to the nature of the composition. 
 
 That there are however many other circumstances which 
 tend to the production of an agreeable and beautiful 
 result, is sufficiently obvious — one of them should be 
 more particularly noticed because there can be no doubt of 
 its influence, in the excitement of our admiration of the 
 splendid monuments of Grecian art ; it is, an association 
 with the " times and countries which are most hallowed 
 in our imagination. It is difficult for us to see them, 
 even in their modern copies, without feeling them operate 
 upon our minds, as relics of those polished nations where 
 they first arose, and of that greater people by whom 
 they were afterwards borrowed" 1 . This is one of those 
 causes which produce such an effect on our minds when 
 we contemplate the stupendous ecclesiastical structures 
 of the middle ages, to which, must, at least by every man 
 of taste, be assigned a very extraordinary and exalted 
 degree of beauty. In these edifices, though to all appear- 
 
 1 Alison on Taste, Vol. II. p. 157- 
 
6 ON THE ELEMENTS OF 
 
 ance designed on principles essentially different from 
 those employed by the Greeks, the elements of beauty are 
 identically the same — but an analysis to prove such an 
 hypothesis is not -within the range of the present inquiry. 
 Our cathedrals, it cannot be denied, are very much aided 
 in their effect on the mind, by the recollections which carry 
 us back to those ages when religion was all splendour and 
 society all chivalry. In short, ancient architecture of 
 whatsoever class, country or period cannot be separated, in 
 a just estimation of its merits, from the history of the 
 nation in which it flourished ; it is the influence and 
 character of the age and nation to which it belongs, by 
 which it is sanctioned and modified. 
 
 Magnitude and Strength. — We are assured from 
 experience, that, beyond certain limits of size and strength, 
 the productions of architecture cease to be beautiful ; in 
 fact, beyond a given extent any mass of matter which 
 fatigues the eye in embracing its extraordinary dimen- 
 sions, so that the organ must undergo great exertion in 
 order to understand and appreciate the parts, is by no 
 means an agreeable object. In architecture, extraordinary 
 magnitude may be considered a vicious excess : for 
 instance — a gallery of such length that the eye cannot 
 with distinctness penetrate to the end — a column too lofty 
 — a building whose site is such, that the visual angle can 
 never include its extent — a building too lofty under the 
 same circumstances. — In short, all excessive dimensions. 
 — These are to the eye as distressing as a light which is 
 too strong and powerful 1 . — On the contrary, there is a 
 repugnance to those objects in architecture which are 
 
 ' Sec Eucvc. Method. Art. Beau, 
 
BEAUTY IN ARCHITECTURE. 7 
 
 extremely diminutive. In these the eye is limited and con- 
 strained within such narrow bounds, that it experiences 
 almost the same sensations as are imparted by the flame 
 t»f a dim feeble inefficient light. 
 
 Writers on the principles of taste, and especially Mr. 
 Alison, have made magnitude a quality necessary to the 
 existence of the sublime. That it is so in the works of 
 nature when associated with ideas of power and danger 
 and terror, is undeniable : but it will scarcely be admitted 
 that these ideas can be said to find a place in the produc- 
 tions of architecture. — On which account magnitude may 
 in them perhaps be more properly classed among the es- 
 sentials of beauty. 
 
 It would be difficult to conceive that any work in the 
 art under our examination could be considered beautiful, 
 if unaccompanied by a requisite strength or stability, or 
 at least such an appearance of either as would carry a 
 conviction to the mind that it possessed sufficient for its 
 existence and duration. — Though magnitude, speaking 
 widely, is intimately associated with the idea of propor- 
 tionable power or strength ; yet stability is well known to 
 be independent of magnitude. The celebrated Campanile 
 at Pisa, cannot from its predicament, be denominated a 
 beautiful object. The first idea which occurs to the mind 
 in contemplating it, is its apparently dangerous state. 
 However pleasing its abstract form, however elegant the 
 arrangement and proportions of its detail, still it can never 
 excite those agreeable sensations which would be neces- 
 sarily called into action, if its perpendicularity were re- 
 stored. — Our amazement and terror would then indeed 
 cease, and we might have some satisfaction in making an 
 
S ON' THE ELEMENTS OF 
 
 analysis of those details which, except as matter of history 
 or speculative curiosity, is not now considered worth the 
 labour 1 . 
 
 To apply the foregoing observations at length to the 
 remaining examples of Grecian architecture cannot be 
 necessary. — To the magnitude, strength and consequent 
 stability of these structures we may however add one 
 important feature. — It is that the sites of them are almost 
 invariably well chosen, and calculated to display their 
 beauties to the greatest advantage. 
 
 Strength and stability in architecture are almost syno- 
 nimes with fitness or adequacy, at least in appearance, of 
 the several parts of the structure to the performance of 
 their different offices. Thus the strength and stability of 
 an order depend on the fitness of the column to support 
 the entablature, and on the othpr hand, on the entablature 
 not containing a greater quantity of matter than the co- 
 lumn is either really or apparently able to sustain 1 . To 
 the Greeks we are indebted for those canons of proportion 
 in the orders, which age has approved, adopted and almost 
 sanctified. — In the Ionic order of this people, advantage 
 
 1 " All things that are, have some operation not violent orcasuall. Xey- 
 ther doth any thins; ever begin to exercise the same, without some fore- 
 conceived end for which it worketh. And the end which it workcth for 
 is not obtained, unlcsse the worke be also fit to obtain it by. For unto 
 every end every operation will not serve. That which doth assigne unto 
 each thing the kind, that which doth moderate the force and power, that 
 which doth appoint the forme and measure of working, the same we terme 
 a Law. So that no certaine end could be obtained, unless the actions 
 whereby it is attained were regular, that is to say, made suteable, fit, and 
 correspondent to their end, by some canon rule or law." Hooker's Eccles. 
 Politic, B. 1. 
 
 * See note on Arcades, Chambers's Civil Architecture, infrd. 
 
BEAUTY IN ARCHITECTURE. 9 
 
 was taken of the happy medium between their early and 
 clumsy Doric, and the lighter Roman examples which 
 closed the scene of genuine art. 
 
 Order and Harmony. — We will now proceed to the 
 consideration of Order and Harmony as Elements of 
 Beauty in Architecture. By the word order is meant, a 
 disposing of the several parts of a building in their appro- 
 priate places, as related to each other and to the whole. 
 Whilst harmony is that which it would from its Greek 
 derivation almost strictly import', namely a joining toge- 
 ther of the parts in a consistent and uniform manner, so 
 that all matter which is foreign or unsuitable to the 
 composition be rejected. 
 
 There are no edifices in any style of architecture, in 
 which harmony is more pre-eminent than in the Grecian 
 temple. Perhaps, for harmony, the Gothic Style in those 
 of its structures, which are entirely of one period, yields 
 only to the Grecian ; — the reason is evident. — The origin 
 progress and perfection of both styles were the result of 
 the habits and characters, and wants of the people that 
 produced them. 
 
 Harmony may however be carried to such an extent as 
 to generate a monotonous effect, as it most evidently does 
 in the architecture of the Egyptians, wherein, as well from 
 an excess of simplicity, as from the absence of variety, it 
 cloys without satisfying. It may be compared to a musical 
 composition, strictly conformable to the laws of counter- 
 point wherein the author so constantly dwells on the same 
 key without making use of his privilege of modulating 
 
 1 "12; fxaXiara axnui txaorov a'^/xoviav toV? fjnyiXot; Xt'Soi? 'iva», (Pausanias, 
 
 Argol. c. 25,) in speaking of the walls of Tiryns. 
 
 C 
 
10 ON THE ELEMENTS OF 
 
 into others, that he fails to fix the hearer's attention for 
 more than a few seconds. — Harmony can never exist in a 
 building whose subdivisions are contrived without such an 
 attention to uniformity of character as to impress on the 
 mind an idea of unity, and if one may be permitted to use 
 the term, an expression of the structure's destination. — It 
 is moreover particularly to be attended to, in regulating 
 and modifying the decorations that are employed — for 
 instance, delicacy, lightness and excess of ornament would 
 ill suit a building whose character and destination were 
 of a nature discordant with those qualities. 
 
 Richness and Simplicity — are qualities in the discreet 
 use of which, the Greeks carried the art to the highest 
 degree of perfection, at least in the works of the best ages. 
 One of the most exquisite examples of appropriate richness 
 that can be cited, is the beautiful monument of Lysicrates, 
 whilst for the reverse of that quality none can be better 
 cited than the Parthenon. — Each is dressed with an ap- 
 propriate quantity of ornament ; the first captivates, the 
 last is imposing and majestic. 
 
 It is well worthy of remark, that those mouldings of the 
 corona, which in the Ionic order, are frequently enriched 
 by a system of foliage carved in relief, were in the Par- 
 thenon painted in colours — so that a considerable degree of 
 richness was thus obtained without distracting or leading 
 away the eye from more important parts, or affecting the 
 contours of the mouldings when viewed in an oblique 
 direction. 
 
 As richness and simplicity belong exclusively to the 
 third division of building, viz. decoration : it follows, that 
 ornaments are to be chosen or rejected according to the 
 associations which exist between their adoption and the 
 
BEAUTY IN ARCHITECTURE. 11 
 
 effects which they are calculated to produce on the mind. 
 When we aim at an effect of grandeur and stability, but 
 few ornaments are admissible, because, many subdivisions 
 of the detail, which is the case where decoration is 
 unsparingly used, destroy the ideas of strength, as, in fact, 
 they weaken, or appear to weaken, the parts whereon they 
 are employed. — Hence, according to its destination, orna- 
 ment and variety therein must be more or less introduced 
 into the work ; always bearing in mind that excess and 
 overloading, when ornament is profuse, distract and 
 fatigue the eye and tend to destroy the effect of the best 
 arranged designs. 
 
 Decoration, when judiciously introduced, becomes in 
 many instances 1 a language, intelligible only however, 
 when the artist is capable of speaking it correctly and the 
 spectator of comprehending it. It is then a system of hie- 
 roglyphic writing, and the building to which it is applied 
 becomes historical, and tells its tale more nobly and ap- 
 propriately than it can ever do through the undignified 
 medium of mural inscriptions. What can be more judi- 
 cious or appropriate than the sculpture in the metopes and 
 pediment of the Parthenon. Ornament here, not only 
 creates a variety on the surface of the work, but relates by 
 the aid of the sculptor a history intimately connected with 
 the religious and moral destination of the edifice to which 
 it is applied. 
 
 The strenuous advocates of the Grecian style are not 
 willing to admit that it has defects, but that there are 
 such, will be submitted to the reader in investigating its 
 
 ' See Encyc. Method. Art. Harmonic 
 
12 ON THE ELEMENTS OF 
 
 origin, progress, and perfection, in the following pages, as 
 they incidentally come into consideration. 
 
 If the student desire to profit by the use and application 
 of this style of architecture in his practice, any course he 
 can pursue will be better than the common expedient of 
 tamely copying the profiles of its examples into his designs, 
 as he finds them delineated in the authors to which he is 
 usually referred. — An artist can only make them properly 
 subservient to his purpose, by entering into the views and 
 feelings which actuated the inventors themselves. It is a 
 singular proof of the invention of the antients, that no two 
 examples of the same order are precisely similar. — Their 
 variety seems equal to that which we observe in the 
 reverses of their coins. 
 
 This short and compressed view of the Elements of 
 Beauty in Grecian architecture, cannot be more appro- 
 priately concluded than in the words of Alison 1 . " The 
 life of man," says that author, " is very inadequate to 
 the duration of such productions, and the present 
 period of the world, though old with respect to those arts 
 which are employed on perishable subjects, is yet young 
 in relation to an art which is employed upon so durable 
 materials as those of architecture : instead of a few years, 
 therefore centuries must probably pass before such produc- 
 tions demand to be renewed, and long before that period 
 is elapsed, the sacredness of antiquity is acquired by the 
 subject itself, and a new motive given for the preservation 
 of similar forms. In every country accordingly, the same 
 effect has taken place : and the same causes which have 
 
 » Vol. II. p. 106. 
 
BEAUTY IN ARCHITECTURE. 13 
 
 thus served to produce among us, for so many years, an 
 uniformity of taste with regard to the style of Grecian 
 architecture, have produced also among the nations of the 
 East, for a much longer course of time, a similar unifor- 
 mity of taste, with regard to their ornamental style of 
 architecture ; and have perpetuated among them, the same 
 forms which were in use among their forefathers before 
 the Grecian orders were invented." 
 
14 OX THE ORIGIN' OF 
 
 ON THE ORIGIN OF GRECIAN ARCHITECTURE. 
 
 Though Babylonia', Chaldea and Egypt, had attained 
 very considerable proficiency in their architectural works 
 at a very early period, as we must conclude from the 
 accounts in the Holy Scriptures, no less than from those of 
 ancient authors, yet neither of these countries, can from 
 all that we collect, be said to have known or under- 
 stood the principles of the art so as to have rendered it 
 capable of affecting the mind otherwise than by the 
 enormous magnitude of the works it produced. Nimrod 
 built three cities in Chaldea 1 . Nineveh was founded by 
 Ashur 3 , and we read of the establishment of towns in Pa- 
 lestine as early as the age of Jacob and Abraham 4 . Later, 
 in Homer's time, Egypt boasted her celebrated Thebes 5 , 
 which had at that period been long in existence. The age 
 
 * Strabo speaks of many magnificent works which he attributes to Semi- 
 ramis, anil says, that besides those in Babylonia, there were monuments 
 of Babylonian industry all over Asia. He speaks of Xo'foi (high altars) 
 and strong walls and battlements of various cities, together with subter- 
 raneous passages of communication — Also aqueducts, for the conveyance 
 of water under ground ; and passages of great length upwards by stairs. 
 — Also bridges, — lib. xvi. 
 
 * " And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and 
 Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar." Gen. x. 10. 
 
 3 Out of that land went forth Ashur, and builded Nineveh, "and the 
 city Rehoboth and Calah." Ibid. v. 11. 
 
 * Genesis, xix. 20. — xxviii. 19. 
 
 5 Ova o'o - ' If 'O^o/xevov Tr^oTmVatTat, oud' oja Q-nfict; 
 AlywTrrlxs o"3i i?\u<rra, dopoi$ tv xr>i/xxTa XEiTou, 
 Ai 9' ix.tnlfjLTn'kii tin. — Iliad. I. 381. 
 
 KnVai as $auj\ toi/j Ttpl to* "Oaifiy woXiv \i tti 0<i»xt'Ji ti xxt A'iyvmoj 
 
 UaTon-vkor — Diod. Sic. lib. i. fol. 18. Edit Wesseling — Herodotus 
 
 Euterpe. 
 
 
GRECIAN ARCHITECTURE. 15 
 
 of the architectural wonders and excavations of India is 
 undecided. It seems likely that the Egyptians gained 
 their architecture from the East, or as Jacob Bryant 1 sup. 
 poses, that the buildings of both nations were erected by 
 colonies of some great original nation. This supposition is 
 borne out amazingly by the singularities in common of the 
 Indian and Egyptian styles. — In the ornaments applied to 
 each there is a striking similarity, and each delighted in 
 structures of extraordinary dimensions. — It was in Greece 
 however that true architecture was reared ; in that coun- 
 try she received all the elementary beauties of which she 
 was susceptible, as well as those in her general forms with 
 which the habits and character of the nation invested her. 
 But it is not to be presumed that the Oriental and Egyp- 
 tian architecture were devoid of beauty ; on the contrary, 
 much is to be admired in the detail of each. — In that 
 of the latter the forms of its masses are peculiarly grand. 
 It has been noticed in a preceding page that the mono- 
 tony of the ornaments which the Egyptians employed, 
 renders them in some respect deficient in point of beauty 2 , 
 but let us always recollect it was from the foliage used by 
 the Egyptians,particularly that of the Lotus and Palm tree 3 , 
 
 1 Quarto edit. Vol. III. * Supra — page 9. 
 
 3 Denon, Voyage dans la Basse et la haute Egypte. Plates 44 and 45. 
 
 The use of the Palm leaf in the Capitals of the Egyptian columns may- 
 have had its origin in an early and popular notion, that the Palm tree rose 
 under any weight that was placed on it, and in proportion to the degree of 
 depression — ""Sla-mf kvri-ni.y.iini tZ j2ta£pn<vzi." Plutarch. Symposiac. lib. vi. 
 c. 4. 
 
 " Si, super palmae, inquiunt, arboris lignum magna pondera imponas., ac 
 tarn graviter urgeas oneresque, ut magnitudo oneris sustineri non queat ; 
 non deorsum palma cedit, nee intra flectitur, sed adversus pondus resurgit 
 et sursum nititur recurvaturque." Aulus Gell. lib. iii. c. 6. 
 
lG ON THE ORIGIN OF 
 
 and even from their employment of Volutes, that the 
 Grecians evolved the Corinthian capital. They had suffi- 
 cient penetration to discover the sound principles on which 
 the Egyptian architecture was founded, and judgment to 
 select, improve and adopt what was worthy of imitation. 
 
 It was of course by very slow steps that architecture 
 proceeded to that perfection which it attained in Greece. 
 — The mechanical arts must have made considerable pro- 
 gress before buildings of stone could have been construct- 
 ed. If we may believe Pliny', their early houses were but 
 simple huts built of earth and clay, resembling the caverns 
 from which they had but just emerged. The same author 
 says, that the Greeks attributed the honor of inventing 
 bricks to Euryalus and Hyperbias, brothers and natives of 
 Attica. — But the time in which these persons lived is 
 unknown, and their introduction of the use of bricks into 
 Greece is the utmost that can be assigned to them, if 
 indeed the whole story be not a fable. 
 
 The Athenians were amongst the earliest of the nations 
 of Greece, who became a body politic. From their 
 indisposition to move far away from their country, they re- 
 ceived, as some conjecture, the appellation of Avr6)fiovss*, 
 though according to Plato 3 , the import is more literal, 
 
 1 Laterarias, ac domos constitucrunt primi, Euryalus et Hyperbias fra- 
 tres Athenifl : antea specus erant pro domibus." Plin. lib. vii. s. 57- See 
 also Pausanias, Attic, c. 28, and /Eschylus, Prometh. vinct. 449. 
 
 1 Isocrat. in Panaeg. pa. 05, fol. Basil. 1750. 
 
 " Adsunt Athenienses, unde humanitas, doctrina, religio, Erases, jura, 
 leges ortic, atque in omnes terras distributee putantur : de quorum urbis 
 posscssione, propter pulchritudiaem etiam inter deos certamen fuisse 
 proditum est : qua; vetustate ea est, ut ipsa ex sese suos cives gtDtUBK 
 ilicatur." Cicero. Orat. pro L. Flacco. 
 
 3 In Afenexen. Fol. Francof. 1002, pa. 518. 
 
GRECIAN ARCHITECTURE. 17 
 
 from a belief that their ancestors actually sprang from 
 the earth. The earliest of their kings of whom we 
 have notice was Ogyges, but of him little more than his 
 name is known. His son Eleusinus, however, built the 
 city of Eleusis, so that the father who also governed Bceo- 
 tia' must have introduced some civilisation into these parts 
 of Greece. The kingdom of Argos owed its foundation to 
 Inachus 1 , whose son Egialeus is said to have founded the 
 kingdom of Sicyon. It has been conjectured, and with 
 every appearance of probability, that the above two chiefs 
 belonged to some of those different colonies which moved 
 from Asia and Egypt, and first civilised the inhabitants of 
 Greece, teaching them to dwell in cities, and to lead a 
 less wandering life. These doubtless brought with them 
 some remembrance of the arts of their native coun- 
 tries. The step from the unwieldy Egyptian column to 
 the Grecian Doric was indeed wide, yet experience shows 
 us how very gradual is the advance of science, and 
 through what a number of stages it must pass before it 
 even approaches perfection. 
 
 The earliest edifices of the Greeks were far from 
 exhibiting skill or elegance. The Temple at Delphi, 
 celebrated by Homer 3 , and supposed by Bryant 4 to have 
 been originally founded by Egyptians was according to 
 Pausanias 5 , little better than a hut covered with laurel 
 branches. During the time of Vitruvius the ruins of the 
 
 ' Pausanias — Bceotic. cap. 5. 
 
 z "A^yo; §' 'lva%£iov — Strabo. Arcad. lib. viii. 
 
 3 Iliad. I. 404 et seq. 
 
 * Analysis of Ancient Mythology, vol. I. pa. 378. 
 
 s noirjSfjVXi Js toy vabv rip AnoWwvi th d.^yjx.i6ta.T0v Sxdvrrf tpx<r\, 
 y.'jjj,i<T$rjva.t is rouj /iAoiSouj dirb rrj; SafvYrf rrj; h ro'i; TeiMfsin. naXii^r^ odv 
 cyr^a. O'jrui; ys ay s"i) vacsTyr^xriTjJ.Ey'jS I vc.6;. Pliocic. c. 5. 
 
 D 
 
18 ON THE ORIGIN OF 
 
 building wherein the Areopagus assembled were still 
 visible: even this was, according to that architect ', but a 
 miserable sort of structure. Cadmus 1 , about 1519 B. C. 
 has the reputation of having introduced to the Greeks the 
 worship of the Egyptian and Phoenician deities, and of 
 having instructed them to quarry and work the Stone of 
 the country 3 so as to make it useful in building, and more- 
 over of having taught them the art of fusing and working 
 metals. From this period the Greeks rapidly advanced 
 in civilisation ; but the precise state of the art at that early 
 period, cannot be satisfactorily determined, and the diffi- 
 culties in the way of acquiring any certain knowledge on 
 the subject render the task irksome perhaps impossible to 
 perform. The laws of Draco in the 39th Olympiad are 
 the most ancient writing, says Bryant, to which we can 
 securely appeal. " When the Grecians began afterwards 
 
 ' Vitruvius, lib. ii. c. 1. 
 
 1 Jacob Bryant treats Cadmus in the same manner as he does the other 
 Grecian heroes, denying altogether the existence of such a person, and attri- 
 buting the good works done by him to the Colony of Cadmians instead of 
 their leader. This is however a matter of little consequence to our present 
 purpose. Herodotus tells us, that when the Cadmians came to Attica, 
 they introduced a new system of Architecture and built Temples in a stj ie 
 quite different from that, to which the natives had been used. And he 
 describes the buildings in question as erected at a distance from those of 
 the country. 'Em tarn oij r» Aa.oHfi.ayhs ts 'EreoxXeo; u.8vzf%eoY70s 
 ej-a.YtS'eala.t Ka.Sij.i7ii uV 'Afyeiwv, xa) r^eirovlat es tus 'iZy^e'^eag. o\ H 
 repujaioi uiroXenpUvra; vre^ov vvo BoiwTiJJv, dvayju^kissi s; 'ASijVaj. xa! 
 <r<ft ifa tori ev 'ASijVro-i Ifyvfuvx, ruiv tiSiv jxera ro'.'<ri Xomsiiri 'ASyvaioHri, 
 a\\si re xeyyi^o-^eva ruiv aWuiv Iguv, xa! Jij xa) 'Ayalr^s Arjfj.yrgos \pov re 
 xx'i opyia. Herodotus, Terpsich. 61. 
 
 3 Pliny, lib. vii. sect. 57- Euripides speaking of the Walls of ancient 
 Mycenae considers them as the productions of the Cyclopeans after the 
 Phoenician rule and method. 
 
 w; ra xuxXwVwv fiaDpa, 
 
 ♦o/vix; xavovt xa) ruxoij rjpjj.oiru.eYa. Here. Fur. 939. 
 
 
GRECIAN ARCHITECTURE. 19 
 
 to bestir themselves, and to look back upon what had 
 passed ; they collected whatever accounts could be ob- 
 tained. They tried also to separate and arrange them to 
 the best of their abilities ; and to make the various parts 
 of their history correspond. They had still some good 
 materials to proceed upon, had they thoroughly under- 
 stood them ; but herein was a great failure. Among the 
 various traditions handed down, they did not consider 
 which really related to their country, and which had 
 been introduced from other parts'". If Pausanias could 
 be relied on, the Greeks had, at an extremely early 
 period, erected some very extraordinary buildings. This 
 author moreover speaks of the Treasury of Minyas* king 
 of Orchomenus, and the Walls of Tiryns 3 he designates 
 as a work worthy the admiration of every age. The first 
 mentioned building if constructed by Minyas must have 
 existed previous to the taking of Troy, for Minyas 
 reigned 1377 years before the Christian aera, and the 
 Walls of Tiryns, said to have been built by Prcetus 4 , 
 which consist of immense irregular blocks of stone, must 
 
 ' Vol. I. page 152. 
 
 1 Qyvavpov rs dvfyiuTtiuv ix>v *<ru.sv Mivia.; itpiZros Is iito'jO^yv Xpiju-cLtuiv 
 wxo8ojj.yva.To. Boeotic. c. 36. 
 
 3 Ta Tt'X'O ra. iv TlpvvSi ov$e et\ fipaynj ijyxu.ivov jj.vyu.tjs, ouSs ovra. 
 e\drrovo; 9auu.a.ros. Ibid. 
 
 4 These Walls are of the description usually called Cyclopean. Jacob 
 Bryant in speaking on the buildings of Tiryns, and of the seven Cyclo- 
 peans, mentioned by Strabo, lib. viii, Arg. by whose assistance they were 
 constructed, turns the men into the buildings or towers themselves. 
 " These towers" he says " were erected likewise for Purait or Puratheia, 
 where the rites of Fire were celebrated : but Purait or Puraitus the 
 Greeks changed to Upolros; and gave out that the Towers were built for 
 Prcetus, whom they made a king of that country." According to Strabo, 
 lib. viii. the Cyclopes were a nation driven out of Thrace, which settled in 
 
20 OX THE ORIGIN OF 
 
 have been constructed about the same period. Goguet', 
 to whom I am much indebted, observes that if these 
 edifices are so ancient, it is very singular that Homer, 
 Herodotus, Diodorus and Strabo should have never made 
 any remark on, nor even mention of the Treasury of 
 Minyas. Apollodorus and Strabo however speak of the 
 Walls of Tiryns 1 saying that they were built by work- 
 men whom Prcetus had brought from Lycia, and Homer' 
 records TigvvSu rn^ioia-ffav. The lasting Walls of Tiryns 
 still exhibit, in the small portion which remains, the work 
 and arrangement of a very remote age. 
 
 It has been conjectured 4 that the Treasury of Minyas 
 bore a resemblance to the Treasury of Atreus at Mycenae, 
 still in existence, in which the beds of the courses of 
 stones are horizontally adjusted, and manifest an advanced 
 stage of the art. What has been called the vaulting of 
 this last mentioned Treasury is not entitled to that appel- 
 lation. Though the internal face of the work is in the 
 form of a circular spindle generated by the revolution of 
 a segment of a circle about its chord, and not a parabo- 
 loid 5 as a noble author has stated, yet its construction 
 indicates no knowledge of the principles of Arching or 
 Vaulting. The curve is obtained by each course corbel- 
 ling over in horizontal beds and by afterwards working the 
 
 Asia Minor, and which came into Greece to work for him. See also 
 Herodotus Terpsichore, c. 6. 
 
 ' Origme des Lois, 8vo. Paris 1809, Vol. II. pa. 182. 
 
 1 See note suprd. 
 
 1 Iliad. B. 5">9. 
 
 4 In an " Inquiry into the Principles of Beauty in Grecian Architecture, 
 \c." by George, Earl of Aberdeen. 12mo. London, 1822, pa. 92. 
 
 i Ibid. It is presumed that the author may have meant a parabolic 
 spindle. 
 
GRECIAN ARCHITECTURE. 21 
 
 inverted Steps to the shape required. Now in respect of 
 that of Minyas, Pausanias says that it was vaulted and con- 
 structed of Marble, although there is no likelihood, 
 even so late as the age of Homer, that this material was 
 employed in Grecian buildings. Had that been the 
 case, says Goguet, " Homer would scarcely have omitted 
 the mention of it in his description of the Palace of Alci- 
 nous', and much less in the Palace of Menelaus, which 
 was celebrated by him for the gold, silver, brass and 
 ivory which it contained." 
 
 If the introduction among the Greeks of the instru- 
 ments necessary for working materials be assigned to 
 Daedalus, which it would be if we might rely on the 
 authors of antiquity*, it will be no easy task to reconcile 
 the accounts of Pausanias and others with the truth, 
 inasmuch as this person is allowed on all hands to have 
 existed, if at all, long subsequent to the periods above 
 mentioned. Goguet has therefore made him altogether a 
 fabulous personage taking the name AAIAAA02 to mean 
 nothing more than a skilful workman, a meaning which 
 he says has not escaped the notice of Pausanias. It is 
 indeed surprising, had so wonderful an artist existed, that 
 he should not have been celebrated by Homer, or that 
 Herodotus, who availed himself of every opportunity for 
 launching into anecdote, should, in describing the Laby- 
 rinth of Egypt, have said nothing in relation to that of 
 
 ' Odyss. A. 72. 
 
 1 Diud. Sic. lib. iv. 
 
 " Namque huic tradiderat, fatorum ignara, docendam 
 
 " Progeniem germana suam, natalibus actis 
 
 " Bis puerum seiiis, animi ad precepta capacis." 
 
 Ovid. Metam. lib. viii. 241. 
 
 Pliny, lib. vii. sect. 57- 
 
22 OS THE ORIGIN OF 
 
 Crete, especially as it would have been so much to the 
 honor of his own country'. Goguet is of opinion that 
 many of the instruments whose introduction were attri- 
 buted to Daedalus were not known to the Greeks, even 
 in the time of Homer, who does not specify in his poems 
 any other than the hatchet with two edges, the plane, the 
 auger and the rule*. Neither square, compasses, nor 
 saw are particularised. The Greek signification, Ts-giuv, 
 of a saw or its equivalent is not found in any of his works. 
 The information gained from the Homeric writings, 
 whose authenticity it is unnecessary to discuss in this 
 place, and from the Odyssey more particularly, which if 
 not so ancient as the Iliad must, nevertheless, have soon 
 followed it, and is admitted on all hands to be of very 
 high antiquity, shews us that in the age of the poet, 
 the patriarchal was the form of government that pre- 
 vailed 3 , and that the chief buildings of those days were 
 the palaces of the princes. At this period, the Altar 
 appears to have been the only structure for sacred use: 
 it was little more than a hearth on which the victim was 
 prepared for the meal. In earlier times the tops of 
 
 Athcnagoras, Leg. pro Christ, xiv. says that before Homer and 
 Hesiod no sculptor's art appeared in Greece nor representations of the 
 Gods. Ai $' e.'xo'vej f*«%p» P! ir "' tf^&orixij, xai ypz$ixr lt xai dviptcwro- 
 TTOiynxrj yrav, ouSe Evojui^ovro. 
 
 " UaXey.vy piyav, ^a'AxEov, apSorhpuifev avaxjiivov." Odyss. E. 239 
 et seq. Forsyth in the usual caustic style of his Notes to the valuable 
 " Remarks on the Antiquities, Arts, and Letters in Italy," second edit. 
 8vo. Lond. 181(5, p. 292, says "All Homer's cutlery is made of o'£/i 
 ^aXxcJ, his xccXxsv; is a jack-of-all trades, and the metal itself is thus 
 generalised by him." 
 
 — ya.\t<.i\iw SzitaXa iroXXa, 
 
 Tlopiras ts, yvo^uirra; •&' tXixay, xaAuxaj re, xai o;/xsy. 
 
 Iliad. I. 400. 
 3 Principles of Design in Architecture, 8vo. London 1809. 
 
GRECIAN ARCHITECTURE. 23 
 
 mountains' were selected not only by the Greeks but by 
 other nations for the worship of their Gods. Thus we 
 find Hector sacrificing on the top of Ida : 
 
 o; fJ.01 7T0hXa fiaxv £7Ti fx-ri^i exriev 
 
 "Ion; iv aopuipjjVi 7ro\u7rriixou, aMoTE S'ai/TE 
 
 'Ev notei atc^o-xairt. Iliad. X. 170. 
 
 Not until after Homer's time was a regular priesthood 
 established in Greece. At Sparta the office of priest was 
 vested in the Kings. In Egypt 2 and in many other places 
 the dignity was obtained by inheritance. When the princi- 
 pal person was absent, it was customary for the next highest 
 in rank present to offer the sacrifice. Thus was Eumaeus 
 engaged as we find by the Odyssey. — In this age we con- 
 sequently find the altar in the King's palace — the part 
 therefore in which it stood must occasionally have been 
 used as a temple. — Hence it seems probable that until the 
 sacerdotal was separated from the kingly office, the 
 Grecian Temple, properly so called, had no existence. 
 
 Though it be entirely conjectural, it will not be amiss 
 to consider in this place, as well as can be collected from 
 
 1 " And he brought him into the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, 
 and built seven Altars." — Numbers xxiii. 14. 
 
 Strabo informs us that the Persians always performed their worship upon 
 Hills. " niptrat rbivvv a.ya.'K^.a.ra. \j.lv xai puipis; &■£ iopu'ovrar Silwn oslyu4")- 
 Acu roTtui tov ovpxvov ijyou'/AEvai Aia. Lib. xv. See also Herodotus, Euterpe. 
 Virgil makes his hero choose a high situation for a Temple to Venus : 
 " Turn vicina astris Erycino in vertice sedes 
 Fundatur Veneri Idaliae: tumuloque sacerdos, 
 Et lucus late sacer, additur Anchiseo." ^En. v. 760. 
 
 1 'Eirixv $s ft; d.Tto^dvr lt rsra <5 iraT; ayrmaricraTai. Herod. Euterpe. 
 See also Virgil — " Rex Anius, rex idem Hominum, Phoebique sa- 
 cerdos." jEneid. iii. 80. on which passage Servius observes, " Majorum 
 enim haec erat consuetudo, ut rex esset'etiam, sacerdos et Pontifex, unde 
 hodieque Imperatores Pontitices dicamus." 
 
24 ON THE ORIGIN OF 
 
 a junction of different passages in the Odyssey, the nature 
 of the palaces described in it ; but more especially that 
 of Ulysses for which we can collect more materials than for 
 the others. — Our chief concern is with the AT AH. In the 
 Odyss. 2. 236, 7, as well as in other passages, we find a 
 distinction made between it and the AOM02. — From its 
 etymology ' Au it should be, locus subdialis. It is some- 
 times, indeed, used for the whole palace 1 , but this is by no 
 means its import in the Odyssey. In the AYAH Tele- 
 machus slew the female attendants of Penelope, tying 
 them up by a rope over the 0OAO2, cieling\ If 
 therefore the AYAH was open at top, where could the 
 OOA02 have been, if not belonging to the A10OY2A, 
 cloister, which was Igltiowz-og (sonorous, echoing) 3 and 
 circumscribed the open part of the AYAH. — It, the 
 0OAO2, was supported by KIONE2, posts or columns. 
 —In the centre of the AYAH stood the BHM02, altar. 
 The ME20AMAI in this arrangement will turn out to 
 be the space between the columns or posts, or in other 
 terms the intercolumniations, which is the vulgar trans- 
 lation of the word. In this case, the passage in which 
 Telemachus is described as seeing the light on the walls, 
 &c. becomes quite intelligible. 
 
 "E^ths /*<>' TCtx,oi ntyxfuv, KaXal re yUE<ro'3]uai, 
 
 EiAanvai' te $oxo), xxi kiovis v4-oV t^ovTff, 
 
 QaivovT' 6p$a\noT; OdySS. T. 170. 
 
 It is clear that the word AI0OY2A, whose root is 
 AiSu (luceo) will bear the interpretation above given, 
 whether the other conjectures advanced be or be not well 
 
 ■ Iliad, z. 247. * Odvss. X. 4GC. 
 
 3 Ibid. T. 17(i. 
 
GRECIAN ARCHITECTURE. 25 
 
 founded, — and from such an arrangement the transition 
 to the hypaethral temple is by no means violent or ex- 
 traordinary. — It is moreover coincident with the disposi- 
 tion of the Egyptian temple ', and therefore not perhaps 
 altogether conjectural. 
 
 Whilst on this subject perhaps a few words might serve 
 to illustrate the condition of the art at the period of which 
 we are speaking — for this purpose we will take the House 
 of Alcinous, which is described as follows 1 : — 
 
 " Ulysses went to the celebrated house of Alcinous and 
 stood considering many matters, before he approached the 
 brazen threshold, OTAOS. — A splendour like that of 
 the sun appeared throughout the lofty roofed house, 
 YYEPEOH2, of Alcinous. Brazen walls were to be 
 seen 3 on every side from the threshold to the innermost 
 part. On these was a capping, ©PirKOS, of a blue 
 colour. Golden doors in the interior enclosed the well 
 secured house. — Silver jambs, 2TA0MOI, stood on the 
 brazen threshold. The lintel, TnEPeTPION, was of 
 silver, the cornice, KOPONH, of gold. On each side 
 of the door were gold and silver dogs which were by 
 Vulcan so ingeniously contrived, that they would never 
 experience the infirmities of age — these guarded the house 
 of the magnanimous Alcinous. 
 
 " Within, seats were attached to the wall, in different 
 places, from the entrance to the inner- part of the house, 
 
 1 See Denon, Plate 34, which represents the interior of the Temple of 
 Apollinopolis at Edfou. 
 
 *Odyss. H. 81. 
 
 3 I am aware that lAijAa'Jar' HvSa. ko.) IVSa, does not perhaps exactly 
 bear the interpretation given — but as there is some doubt of the precise 
 meaning of the passage, which is by no means particularly important 
 here, — the translation will sufficiently answer the purpose. 
 
 E 
 
26 OX THE ORIGIN OF 
 
 and on them were covers of a light texture wrought by 
 the women. — These seats were occupied by the chiefs of 
 the Phseacians who sate eating and drinking. — They were 
 continually feasting. 
 
 " Golden youths with blazing torches in their hands, 
 stood on the well built altars, to light the house for the 
 guests at night," &c. &c. 
 
 Returning to the construction and arrangement of the 
 ATAH, it has been surmised in a preceding page, that it 
 might under all the circumstances, have furnished a hint 
 for the rectangular and columnar disposition of the temple 
 itself. — We are unable to trace the degrees which inter- 
 vened between the sole use of the altar and the establish- 
 ment of the Greek temple, or when the latter became a 
 necessary appendage to the religion of the country'. " We 
 are equally uninformed how the revolution happened which 
 abolished the civil judicial and military offices of Kings, 
 leaving the sacerdotal. But though the King's palace 
 seems to have had no part appropriated to religious cere- 
 mony, yet being the depositary of whatever furniture 
 and utensils, the rite of sacrifice required, a substitute 
 would be wanted when this Palace was no more. — To 
 supply this want the cell seems to have been added to the 
 Greek Temple." It is supposed by Eusebius and others' 
 that temples owe their origin to the reverence which the 
 ancients had for their deceased friends and relations and 
 benefactors, and that they were nothing more than stately 
 monuments erected in honor of the early heroes who had 
 conferred whilst living some public benefit on mankind. — 
 The temple of Pallas for instance at Larissa, was the 
 
 1 Principles of Design in Architecture, page 26. 
 1 Potter's Archocolog. Grace. Chap. iii. Vol. I. 
 
GRECIAN ARCHITECTURE. 27 
 
 sepulchre of Acrisius ; Cecrops was interred in the Acro- 
 polis at Athens, and Ericthonius in the temple of Minerva 
 Polias. — So the passage in Virgil, ^Eneid. lib. ii. v. 74. 
 
 — tumulum antiquae Cereris, sedcmque sacratam 
 Venimus,— 
 
 shews the practice of the ancients in this respect. A 
 custom prevailed of even offering sacrifices, prayers and 
 libations at almost every tomb, — and in some cases the 
 sepulchre of the dead was as much an asylum or sanctuary 
 as afterwards the temple itself. — That this honor was not 
 confined to the Gods, but extended to other great persons 
 may be seen by the evidence of Strabo 1 . 
 
 The houses of the Greeks at a very early period had an 
 upper story over some part or parts of them.- — The pas- 
 sages in the Iliad 1 , which tend to the proof of this, have 
 by some persons, perhaps to strengthen a weak argu- 
 ment, been pronounced of doubtful antiquity. It will be 
 needless, however, to examine this assertion critically, 
 because it is quite manifest that the Eastern dwellings 
 were not confined within the limits of a single story. In 
 scripture we shall find several notices which prove this 
 point satisfactorily. David, for instance, withdrew himself 
 to weep for Absalom, in the chamber over the gate*. Ahaz 
 erected his altars upon the terrace of the upper chamber 4 . 
 We read of the summer chamber of Eglon which seems to 
 have had stairs to it, through which Ehud escaped after 
 he had revenged Israel 5 . — And these are all of them, by 
 the seventy, translated YIIEPflON the word used by 
 
 ■ Lib. ii. pa. 160. Falconer's Edit. * Iliad. B. 514, 16. 184. 
 3 2 Samuel, xviii. 33. * 2 Kings, xxiii. 12. 
 
 5 1 Judges, iii. 20 — 23. See also Banner's " Observations on various 
 Passages of Scripture," and 1 Kings, vi. 8. 
 
JS OX THE ORIGIN OF 
 
 Homer. Terraces on the tops of the Eastern houses were 
 also general, for the Jewish law enacted that persons 
 should surround them with a protecting railing '. In some 
 of the Egyptian remains there are distinct traces of even 
 more than two stories, and it is not therefore too much 
 to contend for the existence of one in the time of the poet. 
 The word KAIMAE frequently occurs in the Odyssey 
 in connection with the verbs ANABAINEIN or KATA- 
 BAINEIN and the word vniouov above mentioned. — 
 Whether it signify a ladder or a staircase is of no import- 
 ance, though the usual progress of invention would seem 
 to indicate the priority of the latter. Neither is it of con- 
 sequence to our present purpose to fix with precision the 
 exact situation of the virsgvov or coenaculum ; whether 
 at the back part of the house or over the lo^og itself, it is 
 sufficiently clear that it was necessary to reach it by 
 means of a staircase 1 . 
 
 Stone and brick were the materials most commonly em- 
 ployed in the works of the Egyptians, from whom if 
 Greece gained her knowledge in the arts, one can hardly 
 see the necessity of the intermediate step of those wooden 
 structures which are said to have been the original type 
 of the Doric Temple. It is indeed true that the forests 
 of the country would have supplied timber in abundance, 
 and the little labour requisite to work it would have been 
 an additional inducement for its employment. 
 
 1 Dcut. xxii. ft. " When thou builJest a new house, then thou shalt 
 make a battlement for thy roof, that thou bring not blood upon thine house 
 if any man fall from thence." Through the want of this species of fen- 
 cing or railing at the palace of Circe, Elpcnor one of the companions of 
 Ulysses had the misfortune of breaking his neck. Odyss. K. 552. et scq. 
 
 1 Odyss. P. & seq. 49. I. 205. $. 6. &c 
 
GRECIAN ARCHITECTURE. 29 
 
 The deducement of the parts of the Doric Order entirely 
 from wooden buildings is not without some anomalies 
 which will be afterwards noticed in speaking of that order. 
 The idea seems to have been current in the time of Vitru- 
 vius', but upon his authority in matters of historical 
 research not much reliance is to be placed. It cannot, 
 however, be denied that up to a comparatively late period 
 timber was very extensively used in the construction of 
 the Greek Temple. In the time of Xenophon it was a 
 material not considered too mean to be employed in form- 
 ino- the " statues of Deities in the smaller temples, where 
 neither a great revenue appropriated to religious purposes, 
 nor extensive public favor, afforded means for large 
 
 ~»>* 
 
 expence 
 
 If the wooden temples had altogether escaped the 
 flames which consumed so many of them, it is not to be 
 expected that they would from the nature of the material 
 have escaped the all devouring hand of time. — As the 
 principles of construction must bear some relation to the 
 nature of the materials : the proportions of the wooden 
 temple would in all probability have been different from 
 those in which stone was employed. The epistylium or 
 beam laid on the top of the supports in the former, pro- 
 bably ran through each side of the building in one piece, 
 but a block of stone could it have been procured suffi- 
 ciently long and deep for the purpose, would not have been 
 raised to its place and deposited on the heads of the 
 columns without such assistance from the complication of 
 the mechanical powers as would in those days, if even 
 known, have proved so unwieldy and expensive as to have 
 rendered their application inexpedient. — Here then is the 
 
 1 Lib. iv. c. 1. 
 
 1 Principles of Design in Architecture, p. 31. 
 
30 ON THE ORIGIN OF 
 
 first step towards a reduction of the space between the 
 columns which is denominated an intercolumniation. — 
 For it is to be remembered that at the period of which we 
 are speaking, the arch was to all appearance unknown. 
 
 Some general notion may be formed of the comparative 
 antiquity of the different examples of the Grecian Doric 
 by measuring their heights in terms of the lower part of 
 the diameter of their shafts, of which more notice will be 
 taken in a subsequent page — in this place, it is only ne- 
 cessary to state, that the massive proportions of the early 
 Doric, such for instance as those used in the Temple at 
 Selinuns in Sicily, where the columns are only five dia- 
 meters in height, at a later period assumed a much greater 
 appearance of delicacy and elegance, and that the inter, 
 columniations of this order gradually increased as the art 
 progressed towards perfection. 
 
 The account of the Origin of the Orders of Architec- 
 ture as given by Vitruvius seems too absurd a fable to need 
 much discussion. — It will not escape the notice of any 
 one, that the time which he assigns for their origin, is 
 long previous to the time of Homer, who does not in any 
 part of his poems give the slightest hint which could lead 
 us to a belief that there was what is understood by the 
 word order to be found in any part of the buildings he 
 describes, which had it existed, it seems at least probable, 
 he would have mentioned. — He speaks of Temples conse- 
 crated to Neptune and Minerva without describing them, 
 it is likely therefore that they were only altars to those 
 deities'. — We will however give the account from Vitru- 
 vius, which is as follows 1 : — 
 
 " Dorus, son of Hellen and the Nymph Orseis reigned 
 
 • Odyss. Z. 2G6. Iliad. Z. 297. See also supra, page 22. 
 1 Lib. iv. c. 1. 
 
GRECIAN ARCHITECTURE. 31 
 
 over Achaia and Pelopponnesus. He built a temple of 
 this (the Doric) order on a spot sacred to Juno at Argos, 
 an ancient city. Many temples similar to it were after- 
 wards raised in the other parts of Achaia, though at that 
 time its proportions were not precisely established. 
 
 " When the Athenians in a general assembly of the 
 states of Greece, sent over into Asia, by the advice of the 
 Delphic oracle, thirteen colonies at the same time, they 
 appointed a Governor over each, reserving the chief com- 
 mand for Ion, the son of Xuthus and Creusa whom 
 the Delphic Apollo had acknowledged as son. — He led 
 them over into Asia, where they occupied the borders of 
 Caria, and built the great cities of Ephesus, Miletus, Myus 
 afterwards destroyed by inundation and its sacred rites and 
 suffrages transferred by the Ionians to the inhabitants of 
 Miletus, Priene, Samos, Teos, Colophon, Chios, Erythra?, 
 Phocaea, Clazomene, Lebedos and Melite. This last as a 
 punishment for the arrogance of its citizens, was detached 
 from the other states in the course of a war levied on it, 
 in a general council, and in its place, as a mark of favor 
 towards King Attalus and Arsinoe, the city of Smyrna 
 was received into the number of Ionian States. — These 
 received the appellation of Ionian, after the Carians and 
 and Lelegge had been driven out, from the name Ion, of 
 the leader. — -In this country, allotting different sites to 
 sacred purposes, they erected Temples — the first of which 
 was dedicated to Apollo Panionius'. It resembled that 
 which they had seen in Achaia, and from the species 
 having been first used in the cities of Doria ; they gave it 
 
 1 The Bipont Edition as well as Rode's, Berlin, 1800 — has it Neptune. 
 
 Schneider however restores it to Apollo, quoting Hesychius and Wesse- 
 
 ling's Herodotus. Clio, 147- where Apollo is called Tiavuimcf. 
 
32 ON THE ORIGIN OF 
 
 the name of Doric. As they wished to erect this Temple 
 With columns, and were not acquainted with their propor- 
 tions, nor the mode in which they should be adjusted, so 
 as to be both adapted to the reception of the superin- 
 cumbent weight, and to have a beautiful effect : they 
 measured a man's height by the length of the foot which 
 they found to be a sixth part thereof — and thence deduced 
 the proportion of their columns. Thus the Doric order 
 borrowed its proportion strength and beauty from the 
 human figure'. On similar principles they afterwards 
 built the Temple of Diana ; but in this from a desire of 
 varying the proportions they used the female figure as a 
 standard, making the height of the column eight times its 
 thickness for the purpose of giving it a more lofty effect. 
 — Under this new order they placed a base as a shoe to 
 the foot. — They also added volutes to the capital resem- 
 bling the graceful curls of the hair, hanging therefrom to 
 the right and left certain mouldings and foliage. On 
 the shaft, channels were sunk, bearing a resemblance to 
 the folds of a matronal garment. — Thus were two orders 
 invented, one of a masculine character without ornament, 
 the other of a character approaching the delicacy, decora- 
 tions and proportion of a female. The successors of these 
 people improving in taste and preferring a more slender 
 proportion assigned seven diameters to the height of the 
 
 1 The tradition concerning Antaeus might have furnished Vitruvius 
 had he been in the right cue at the time with an origin of the introduction 
 of ox and other skulls into friezes. This character covered the roof of a 
 temple of Neptune with the skulls of Foreigners, whom he slew in 
 engagements with him. 'iJiw; tov 'AnaTiv <Qn<rt ruv SENflN tv> 'rrnw^vu, 
 TO IE KPANIOIE i{i£si» nt Tot/ riocrFiiivo,- tail. So that skulls were used 
 early as ornaments in building. Pindari Carm. Edit. Hevn. Scholia, 
 Tom. 3, fol. 826. 
 
 
GRECIAN ARCHITECTURE. 33 
 
 Doric column, and eight and a half to the Ionic. That 
 species of which the Ionians were the inventors has re- 
 ceived the appellation of Ionic. The third species which is 
 called Corinthian resembles, in its character, the graceful 
 elegant appearance of a virgin, whose limbs are of a more 
 delicate form and whose ornaments should be unobtrusive. 
 The invention of the Capital of this order arose from the 
 following circumstance. A Corinthian virgin, who was of 
 marriageable age, fell a victim to a violent disorder : after 
 her interment, her nurse collecting in a basket those 
 articles, to which she had shewn a partiality when alive, 
 carried them to her tomb, and placed a tile on the basket, 
 for the longer preservation of its contents. The basket 
 was accidentally placed on the root of an acanthus plant, 
 which pressed by the weight, shot forth, towards spring, 
 its stems and large foliage, and in the course of its growth 
 reached the angles of the tile, and thus formed volutes at 
 the extremities. — Callimachus, who for his great inge- 
 nuity and taste in sculpture was called by the Athenians 
 x.u.Tu.Tiyjo<;, happening at this time to pass by the tomb, 
 observed the basket and the delicacy of the foliage which 
 surrounded it. Pleased with the form and novelty of the 
 combination, he took the hint for inventing these columns, 
 using them in the country about Corinth," &c. 
 
 Whoever reads the above account can give it but little 
 credit. — The testimony of Vitruvius on matters which 
 occurred so long before his time, unless authenticated by 
 earlier writers, cannot be received in an investigation 
 similar to that in which we are engaged. — We will now 
 proceed to a consideration of the Progress and Perfection 
 of Grecian Architecture. 
 
S4 ON THE PROGRESS AND PERFECTION OF 
 
 ON THE PROGRESS AND PERFECTION OF GRECIAN 
 ARCHITECTURE. 
 
 History furnishes us with few means of ascertaining 
 the progress and condition of the fine arts among the 
 Greeks, between the period commonly assigned to the 
 siege of Troy, and that of the time of Solon and Pisistra- 
 tus, 590 years A. C In Greece Proper, it is probable 
 that the advancement was slow, whilst its colonies esta- 
 blished on the coast of Asia Minor, were making rapid 
 strides towards perfection. Goguet speaks of Asia Minor 
 as the cradle in which architecture was rocked, and the 
 soil on which it grew and flourished; and thinks that we 
 must look to this country, for the origin of the Doric 
 and Ionic orders. This will be presently examined. The 
 Corinthian order, from what we can learn, did not appear 
 till some time afterwards, and is generally allowed to 
 have been the invention of the mother country itself. One 
 of the earliest temples of the Greeks, that of Jupiter at 
 Olympia, must, according to Pausanias *, have been built 
 about 630 years before the Christian a?ra. That of Diana 
 at Ephesus was begun at a period little less remote, if 
 Livy 3 be right in his assertion that it was reared at the 
 
 ' Tin- Egyptians in the time of Solon were advanced in science. Solon 
 was told by one of their priests, that the Grecians were children in science ; 
 that they were utterly ignorant of the mythology of other nations ; and 
 did not understand their own. Plato in Timseo. Clemens. Strom. Lib. I. 
 
 1 Tixrcuy Sk iykvtro aura AiSuuv inyjjjp^s, and the intention in erecting 
 the temple is afterwards mentioned. Pausan. Eliac. Pr. c. 10. 
 
 1 " Jam turn erat inclitum Dianae Ephosiir fanum : id communiter a 
 ciwtatibus Asiae factum fama ferebat." Liv. Hist. Lib. 1. c.45. 
 
GRECIAN ARCHITECTURE. 3o 
 
 time that Servius Tullius was king of Rome ; and that 
 date, be it observed, accords with the statements of other 
 ancient writers'. Notwithstanding the magnitude of 
 these works, the science of mechanics was in its infancy. 
 Even in the time of Thucydides*, the powers of the 
 crane, though known, were not compendiously applied for 
 raising weights. Before proceeding more particularly to 
 the view which it is proposed to take of the Greek archi- 
 tectural orders, it may be convenient to state here, that 
 the Greeks bestowed but little attention on their private 
 houses 3 . All the splendour and magnificence of the art 
 was reserved for the embellishment of their temples and 
 other public buildings. 
 
 If the birth-place of the Doric order gave it a name, 
 to which of the provinces which went under the name 
 of Doria, is it to be referred, for they were many ? To 
 what author shall we turn to enlighten us on this sub- 
 ject besides Vitruvius, on the very face of whose 
 account we find such a mass of absurdity? It would 
 be ridiculous to suppose that the order was perfected 
 by one person, or in one period, and at this time all 
 the researches that can be made are unfortunately not 
 likely to give us a satisfactory account of the name which 
 it bears. Names are often the last means that should be 
 
 1 Diogenes Laertius, Lib. 2. seg. 103, mentions Theodorus of Samos 
 as the person who advised the foundation of this Temple to be placed on 
 layers of charcoal— ©Jre> law 6 npfavtei™, avfyuxas SmreSyvcu rol s 
 &Sf«A/a«S nO h •Efia-tt,. And Theodorus, according to Herodotus, Thalia, 
 Aristotle, de Rep. Lib. 5, c. 11, and Pausanias Arcadic. c. 14., nourished 
 in the time of Polycrates, Tyrant of Samos, a cotemporary of Amasis 
 King of Egypt, 559 B. C. 
 
 2 Thucydid. lib. iv. ' Demosthenes, Orat. adv. Aristocratem. 
 
36 ON THE PROGRESS AND PERFECTION OF 
 
 resorted to for ascertaining the import or origin of the 
 things which bear them. 
 
 The detail of the Doric Order is said by a host of 
 writers, with Vitruvius at their head, to have been bor- 
 rowed from the assemblage of timber framing in a com- 
 mon hut, and that it was the result of copying in stone 
 the form and parts of a wooden building. This, it must 
 be confessed, seems contrary to the ordinary progress of 
 the arts and sciences. Stone buildings would scarcely be 
 the immediate followers of those constructed in timber, 
 where bricks were known ; however, if that were the case, 
 the latter must have been carried to great perfection in their 
 forms, arrangement, and proportions, and have attained 
 a certain style and character before they could have 
 been deemed objects worthy of imitation. The observa- 
 tion in the Encyclopedic Methodique ' on this subject 
 is so sensible, that the writer shall speak for himself: 
 " Tout nous indique qu'une telle metamorphose ne put 
 s'effectuer que par une suite non interrompue, mais ties 
 lente d'operations subordonnees a beaucoup de causes, 
 dont les unes peuvent encore se saisir ou se devincr, et 
 dont les autres ont echappe a l'attention rai'me des con- 
 teinporains, et doivent encore se soustraire aux recherches 
 curieuses de la posterite." In short, says the same writer, 
 if the Doric order could be attributed to an inventor, 
 that inventor was a people among whom similar wants 
 existed for a long period, and among whom a style of 
 building was retained suitable to the climate and the 
 habits of their life, and one which time slowly and gradually 
 
 1 Art. Doriqiie. 
 
GRECIAN ARCHITECTURE. 37 
 
 modified and brought to perfection, on principles rendered 
 sacred by custom. 
 
 The system of imitation in the Doric order has the ap- 
 pearance of having been founded on the elementary forms 
 of the hut ; but it was guided, if that really be the case, 
 by the same principles which Nature herself adopts in 
 her works, without the aid of which no bounds could 
 have been set to the imagination and caprice of its 
 improvers. In the copy no part can be said to be pre- 
 cisely similar to the model ; the former displays senti- 
 ment, not calculation. The triglyphs and metopes, which 
 are said to represent what in the original were the ends 
 of beams and the spaces between them, are generally 
 found only in the exterior of the building. The inclina- 
 tion of the mutules, originating, as it is said, in the slope 
 of the rafters, is still preserved, though the front in which 
 they appear, be of a nature to require an horizontal 
 arrangement of them. These things shew that the artists 
 at least adopted a free and not a servile imitation of the 
 primitive types. One cannot however refrain from observ- 
 ing, that on an inspection of Denon's plate of the Portico 
 of the Temple of Tentyris ', in the, entablature whereof 
 are to be found projections and intervals in its upper divi- 
 sion, bearing a striking resemblance to the arrange- 
 ment of the Doric frieze, a suspicion is induced that the 
 usual hypothesis wants stronger confirmation than it has 
 generally seemed to require \ It is true that the projec- 
 
 1 Voyage de l'Egypte, plate 14. 
 
 z I am indebted to a very worthy friend, Mr. Charles Barry, for the 
 following interesting and valuable note, which I shall give in his own 
 words, expressing my regret that he has not hitherto favored the Public 
 with some portion at least, of the information he has acquired in the 
 course of those extended travels and researches in Greece, Egypt, and Pa- 
 
38 
 
 ON THE PROGRESS AND PERFECTION OF 
 
 tions in question are in the form of reeds, but the general 
 effect, especially when we observe the way in which the 
 intervals are ornamented, cannot fail to bring to mind 
 the arrangement of the Doric Frieze and Cornice, not to 
 mention the reeding at the external angles, which cor- 
 responds with the angular triglyphs of the Doric order. 
 The introduction of the angular triglyph seems to have 
 been an anomaly which could not have arisen, had the 
 
 lestine, which he takes so much pleasure in liberally communicating to 
 his friends. 
 
 " The tombs of Benihassan are excavated in a rock a short distance 
 from the Nile on its right bank, about 48 French leagues south of Cairo. 
 Two of them have architectural fronts, consisting of two fluted columns in 
 antis, similar to the accompanying Sketch No. 1. The columns are about 
 
 6i diameters in height. The flutes are shallow and 20 in number, and 
 the capital consists of an abacus only. There are no indications of a 
 base or plinth. Above the architrave, which is plain, is a projecting ledge 
 of the rock, in the form of a cornice, the soffit of which is sculptured ap- 
 parentlv i" imitation of a series of reeds laid transverselv and horizontally 
 for its support. This was probably the system originally adopted for th.- 
 support of the flat mud roof of the primitive Egyptian hut, and may 
 perhaps have given rise to the dentils and mutulcs of Greek and Roman 
 
GRECIAN ARCHITECTURE. 
 
 39 
 
 primitive type been what we have just seen. What could 
 be more absurd than to give the end of the same beam 
 two faces at right angles with its longitudinal direction. 
 
 architecture. In the interior of several of the tombs are 
 some very remarkable columns supporting the rock above, 
 which forms the ceiling. One of them is represented in 
 Sketch No. 2. They seem very satisfactorily to explain 
 the origin of a column of like form peculiar to Egyptian 
 Architecture, and employed in many of the Egyptian 
 Temples. The prototype would appear to have consisted 
 of four large reeds of the Nile, placed upon an angular 
 block, and tied together by cords near the top, forming 
 thereby the capital. Small sticks are introduced between 
 the reeds at the place of ligature, to render the figure of 
 a more circular form, and afford the means of firmly tying 
 the whole together. The top is crowned by a square 
 abacus, and the reeds being there confined, the effect of 
 any incumbent weight upon them would be to produce 
 the form represented in the Sketch. A slight deflection 
 of the shaft would also take place, and may not this 
 account for the origin of the entasis of Columns. 
 
 " Another remarkable instance of fluted Egyptian columns occurs in an 
 excavated temple at Kalaptchic on the left bank of the Nile, about 25 
 French leagues above the first cataracts. The 
 temple consists of two chambers, the largest of 
 which has its roof or incumbent rock, sup- 
 ported by two of the columns alluded to, as in 
 Sketch No. 3. The abacus is square, and 1 1 
 inches thick ; the shaft, which has a trifling 
 diminution, is 7 feet 8 inches high, and 3 feet 2 
 inches diameter. The circumference is in 24 
 divisions, whereof 4, which are at right angles 
 with each other, are flat faces, covered with hie- 
 roglyphics, and the other intervening ones are 
 sunk into flat eliptical flutes J- inch deep. On 
 the top and bottom of the shaft is a plain hori- 
 zontal band. The plinth is circular, it projects 
 considerably beyond the shaft, and is chamfered 
 on the top edge. 
 
 " There are several instances of polygonal 
 shafts in the Egyptian Temples. A remark- 
 
40 ON THE PROGRESS AND PERFECTION OF 
 
 On the supposition of the type being the hut, and of the 
 detail of the order being derived from the component 
 parts of a hut, the Romans, and afterwards the restorers of 
 art in Italy, were justified in altering this defect, which was 
 the father of many more, in the arrangement of the inter- 
 columniations. It is almost needless to observe that the 
 materials of Egyptian Architecture, from the great scar- 
 city of wood in the country, must have generally been 
 stone or brick. The large blocks of the former material 
 precluded the necessity of making timber roofs, and it is 
 therefore hardly reasonable to seek the origin of the pro- 
 jections of the entablature at Tentyris, and of other more 
 ancient examples, in the ends of beams. 
 
 Proportions, and the rules necessary to be observed for 
 the purpose of giving them elegance and effect, are only 
 necessary to preserve uniformity in the principles on which 
 we proceed, and for preventing too great a latitude of ima- 
 gination in the productions of art. We may be assured 
 that whenever these become so fixed in any country, 
 that its artists feel fettered by the restrictions which too 
 rigid an adherence to antient rules imposes, invention 
 und taste are extinguished. The extraordinary difference 
 which we find in the proportions and parts of the same 
 order, plainly shews that the artists of Greece considered 
 
 able one is in a temple at Eluthias, on the right bank of the Nile, a few 
 miles south of Esneh, where, in the interior of a large vestibule, the whole 
 of the roof is supported upon polygonal columns of sixteen sides. 
 
 " There is every reason to suppose from the nature of the sculpture and 
 the hieroglyphics, that the tombs and temples alluded to are of very remote 
 antiquity, or during the most flourishing period of the Arts in Egypt. 
 The general resemblance of the fluted columns to those of the Grecian 
 Doric Order is manifest, and, in addition to many other remarkable indi- 
 cations in the Egyptian Temple, clearly point to Egypt as the source of 
 both Greek and Roman Architecture. 
 
 " C. Barry." 
 
GRECIAN ARCHITECTURE. 41 
 
 themselves only restricted in the general proportions. 
 This cannot be more clearly shewn than by a reference to 
 the following table of seventeen examples of the Doric 
 order. In the first column are the names of the edifices ; 
 the second column contains the height of the columns 
 in English feet ; the third the height of the columns 
 in terms of their lower diameter ; and the fourth, the 
 height of the capital in similar terms. The fifth column 
 gives the diameter of the column taken at the top of the 
 shaft, also in terms of the lower diameter. 
 
 NAMF OF FnTFTPF Height in Diameters Height of D , u 2 l,eter , 
 
 JMA1V1J!, Ut JiUli-lLi,. English feet. high. Capitals. at g ^ °' 
 
 Temple at Corinth 23-713 4.065 .405 .73 
 
 Hypaethral Temple at Paestum 28.950 4.134 .549 .687 
 
 Enneastyle ditto 21.000 4.329 .500 .661 
 
 Greater Hexastyle Temple at Selinuns 32.678 4.361 .490 .769 
 
 Temple of Minerva, Syracuse 28.665 4.410 .486 .762 
 
 Octastyle Hypaethral Temple, Selinuns 48.585 4.572 .450 .592 
 
 Temple of Juno Lucina at Agrigentum 21.156 4.605 .755 
 
 Temple of Concord, Agrigentum 22.062 4-753 .487 -767 
 
 Hexastyle Temple at Paestum 20.353 4-795 .564 -717 
 
 Temple of Jupiter Panhellenius 15-796 5.397 -486 -742 
 
 Parthenon 34.232 5.566 .459 .782 
 
 Temple of Theseus, Athens I8.717 5.669 .502 .772 
 
 Temple of Minerva, Sunium 19.762 5.899 .372 .762 
 
 Temple of Apollo, Island of Delos ... 5.931 .754 
 
 Doric Portico of Augustus, Athens ... 26.206 6.042 .780 
 
 Temple of Jupiter, Nemeus 33.932 6.515 .816 
 
 Portico of Philip of Macedon 19.330 6.535 .480 .825 
 
 The above view of the order exhibits some remarkable 
 peculiarities on which it will be necessary to remark, after 
 submitting another Table shewing the proportion of the 
 Entablature and its parts, to the height of the Column, 
 in terms of the Diameter. 
 
I J OX THE PROGRESS AXD PERFECTION' OF 
 
 NAME OF EDIFICE. E3HS&. ofFrie2e - of Comic. ^SSSL 
 
 Temple at Corinth 8107 wanting wanting 
 
 Hypathral Temple at Pcestum 6934 .6761 .3714 1.7409 
 
 Enneastyle Temple at Pxstum 7922 .6926 wanting 
 
 Temple of Juno Lucina, Agrigentum .9195 -7440 wanting 
 
 Temple of Concord, ditto 77«7 -77H -4174 1.9762 
 
 Hexastyle Temple at Ptestum 7688 -7461 .4123 1.9167 
 
 Temple of Jupiter, Panhellenius ... .8562 .8578 wanting 
 
 Parthenon 7195 .7188 .5392 1.977"' 
 
 Temple of Theseus 8296 .8209 5130 1.9644 
 
 Temple of Minerva, Sunium 8072 .8072 .3 1 34 1 .9278 
 
 Portico of Augustus 6647 7651 .3544 1.7242 
 
 Portico of Philip of Macedon 6394 .8107 -4169 1.8670 
 
 From an inspection of the above Table it appears that 
 the height of the Doric column, speaking in round num- 
 bers, varies from four diameters in height to six and a half, 
 and its upper diameter from seven to eight tenths of the 
 inferior diameter. The heights of the capitals in terms of 
 the lower diameter, vary from thirty-seven to fifty-six 
 hundredths. 
 
 It has been said ' that the height of the capital in 
 terms of the upper diameter of the shaft will afford some 
 indication of the comparative antiquity of an example. 
 But after the very singular and concurring proportions of 
 the entablatures just exhibited in the fourth column of 
 the second table, wherein \ve find only so slight a differ- 
 ence as a quarter of a diameter among eight examples, 
 there cannot remain a doubt that the ancients considered 
 the relation to the lower more than to the superior dia- 
 meter of the column. 
 
 The best method, however, of ascertaining the antiquity 
 of an example is by a view of the progress which would 
 
 1 Lord Aberdeen's Inquiry, page 152. 
 
GRECIAN ARCHITECTURE. 43 
 
 naturally take place in the art, rather than by comparison 
 of the parts with each other. The comparison, how- 
 ever, of the height of columns themselves with their 
 lower diameters, and of their height with that of the 
 entablature, is the natural mode of investigating their 
 antiquity. In the entablatures of the second table it will 
 be seen, that compared with the total height of the order, 
 the most massive is one third thereof, and the lightest 
 one fourth, and these, it must be observed, nearly coin- 
 cide with the heaviest and slenderest columns. Neither 
 are those other marks which are said to indicate the anti- 
 quity of columns, such as the three grooves found under 
 the capitals, nor the form of the Guttse, to be relied on. 
 As to the latter they are different even in the same build- 
 ing. In one of the Temples at Paestum, the sofite of the 
 corona is formed into coffers, and has no mutules at all. 
 
 It has been recently discovered ' that the columns of 
 the Parthenon have an ENTA2I2, or swelling. An exa- 
 mination of several examples with the view of comparing 
 them with each other, would be not only extremely in- 
 teresting, but would serve to illustrate Vitruvius * on this 
 point, which was a refinement in art, though perhaps not 
 early practised. It might perhaps determine the com- 
 parative ages of buildings more satisfactorily than any of 
 the means which have hitherto been resorted to for that 
 purpose. 
 
 In the Temples of Pactum, Corinth, and Segesta, the 
 intercolumniations are about equal to the diameter of the 
 
 1 By Mr. C. R. Cockerell, whose liberality in communicating the result 
 of his researches I have much pleasure in acknowledging. 
 
 2 Lib. 3. c. 2. 
 
44 ON THE PROGRESS AND PERFECTION OF 
 
 column, and they are nearly the same at the Parthenon. — 
 At the Temple of Theseus they exceed that width hy about 
 a quarter of a diameter, and in an example at Syracuse 
 they are somewhat less than a diameter. 
 
 Two or three smaller matters remain to be noticed. — 
 These are the varieties in the forms of the echinus of 
 the capital and in those of the flutes. — The echinus is 
 sometimes inclined at once inward by a straight line, or by 
 a slight curve without any double flexure. — It is some- 
 times very much extended in its projection from the shaft -, 
 whilst in other examples we find it nearly approaching 
 the quarter round of the Romans. When curved, the 
 contour will be found composed of segments of curves 
 formed by the section of a cone. The form of the flutes on 
 the plan is variable ; we sometimes find them segments of 
 circles, and at other times they are of a curvilinear form, 
 partaking somewhat of the ellipsis. — Their number also 
 varies. — Tn thp examples at Athens, the number is twenty ; 
 whilst at PiEStum the exteriur order of the great Temple 
 has twenty-four, the lower interior order twenty, and the 
 upper interior only sixteen. 
 
 Those who from a passage in the Odyssey' have disco- 
 vered that the fluting of columns was made for the purpose 
 of receiving and holding the spears of the persons whose 
 duties led them to the Temple, and that this want gave 
 rise to the invention, do great injustice to the ingenuity 
 of the Grecians. It is here unnecessary to argue in re- 
 filiation of so strange a conjecture. — We will only in 
 
 EyjfOS fJLty f EOTHS"! "fifi'V T£G; KltiVX jlXX-r,, 
 
 Aoi/foJoxn; 7(700*9(1 iiiloa,— 
 
 Odvss. A. 127- 
 
GRECIAN ARCHITECTURE. 45 
 
 passing observe, that a more inconvenient place for the 
 AOTPOAOKH could not possibly be assigned than such 
 a situation, nor one where obstruction would have been 
 more unnecessarily created than in the comparatively 
 narrow intercolumniations of the Grecian Temple ; nor 
 one, if the spears were to stand in contact with the recess 
 of the channel, in which they would have been more 
 liable to be constantly displaced by accident. — It is pro- 
 bable that the fluting is nothing more than an improve- 
 ment which Grecian refinement would make on the poly- 
 gonal column of Egypt. 
 
 Until after the defeat of Xerxes, when the active spirit 
 of the Athenians languished for an object, we do not find 
 that singular elegance in their works in the fine arts, which 
 through the exertions and fostering hand of Pericles ap- 
 peared about 430 years before Christ. The Peloponne- 
 sians and their colonies had erected the temples at Corinth, 
 Nemea, Pgestum, Syracuse, and other places in Sicily. — 
 From the introduction of architecture into Greece, a 
 period of little more than three centuries elapsed, before it 
 burst forth with astonishing lustre, and was raised to the 
 summit of perfection. 
 
 In the country that gave birth to the Doric Order, 
 speaking of it as applied to Greece generally, it is not 
 difficult to imagine, that the art was not destined to be 
 restrained within the limits of a single order ; it was in 
 truth impossible that it should have remained within such 
 narrow bounds. It is more than probable that the. orders 
 advanced almost, pari passu, and it would be difficult to 
 prove that the Ionic Order is of much less antiquity than 
 that which has just been examined. — Except in the capitals 
 of the Ionic and Corinthian Orders, one can scarcely say in 
 
46 O.V THE ritOGIlESS AXD PERFECTION OF 
 
 which of the three, the greatest degree of richness is mani- 
 fest, more especially when we consider how exquisitely the 
 metopes were sometimes decorated. On a glance at the 
 capitals in question, and a comparison of them with many 
 examples of the corresponding member in Egyptian 
 Architecture, one would suppose there can be no doubt 
 on their origin. 
 
 It may be and is indeed true, that the Ionian colonies 
 gave a preference to the Ionic Order : so did the Romans 
 to the Corinthian, and yet who ever said that the Romans 
 invented the Corinthian Order ? — The writer in the Ency- 
 clopedic Methodique' seems to think that Persia comes 
 in for some share of the invention of the Ionic capital. 
 " Toutefois les dessins que nous possedons des Monumens 
 de l'Indc, nous font voir entre les diverses couronnements 
 de colonnes, imagines par la fantaisie dans cette contree, 
 certains chapiteaux a oreilles retombantes en forme de 
 volutes, que peut etre quelques critiques prendroient pour 
 des imitations du chapiteau Ionique. Cette forme de cha- 
 piteau n'auroit elle pas etc plutot en Grece, une deriva- 
 tion du gout Asiatique." 
 
 The same species of variety which has been noticed in 
 the different examples exhibited of the Doric, is not less 
 observable in those of the Ionic order, as may be seen by 
 a comparison of the Ionic edifices of Athens with those 
 on the coast of Asia Minor; but it is not necessary to enter 
 into the subject so much at length as we have done in 
 respect of the Doric Order. 
 
 Aware that the angular Ionic capital has its admirers, 
 it may be proper to state that many men of taste are of a 
 
 1 Art. Ionique. 
 
GRECIAN ARCHITECTURE. 47 
 
 different opinion, and that it has been thought a defect 
 which should be avoided in modern works. In a perip- 
 teral temple, much of the beauty would have been lost if 
 the baluster side of the capital had been in the same direc- 
 tion as that of the flanks. The expedient which the Greeks 
 adopted to remedy this evil was ingenious as well as 
 judicious. It should, however, never be employed in 
 Porticos which do not project more than one intercolum- 
 niation, or in peripteral buildings. 
 
 The most ancient temple of the Ionic Order has been 
 said to be that of Juno at Samos. Herodotus' says it was 
 considered one of the most stupendous edifices erected by 
 the Greeks. — It is but recently that any information has 
 been obtained respecting this temple, or rather its ruins 1 . — 
 It appears to have been built about 540 years before the 
 Christian era. — -The octastyle Temple of Bacchus at Teos 
 — that of Apollo Didymajus near Miletus, and of Minerva 
 Polias at Priene, are the chief temples of the colonies of 
 which we know any thing at this period. Hermogenes, 
 the architect of the Temple of Bacchus, is said by Vitru- 
 vius to have originally intended it to have been of the 
 Doric Order, but that, even after the preparation of all 
 the materials, thinking that the Ionic was more suitable 
 for a temple, he laid them aside and employed the order 
 in question 3 . This however is a story not authenticated 
 by any other author, as we believe, and one may or 
 may not, knowing the character of the writer in these 
 
 1 Herodotus, Euterpe. 
 
 1 Second Edition of the Ionian Antiq. Vol. I. c. 5. 
 
 3 " Nam is, cum paratam habuisset marmoris copiam, in Doricae eedis 
 perfectionem, commutavit ex eadem copia et earn lonicam Libero Patri 
 fecit." Vitruv. lib. iv. c. 3. Edit. Schneider, 180/. 
 
48 ON THE PROGRESS AVD PERFECTION* OF 
 
 respects, treat it as Hermogenes is said to have treated hi* 
 Doric materials. 
 
 Proceeding to a more minute investigation of the three 
 Athenian examples, the little Temple on the Ilyssus, the 
 Temple of Minerva Polias, and the Portico of that of 
 Erectheus: the following table will shew the height of the 
 columns in English feet. The third column contains the 
 height of the shaft and capital in terms of the lower dia- 
 meter. — The fourth the height of the capitals in similar 
 terms, the fifth the diameter at the top of the shaft. 
 
 Height of the numnm. Ilpioht nf Diameter at 
 
 edifice. ae-j. "tsr »- of &# 
 
 Temple on the Ilyssus 14.694 8.241 .658 .850 
 
 Tempi* of Minerva Polias 25.387 9-119 -716 .833 
 
 Temple of Erectheus 21.625 9.337 -775 .816 
 
 In the Table subjoined we shall have a view of the 
 height of the Entablatures. 
 
 Architrave. 
 
 Temple on the Ilyssus 916 
 
 Temple of Minerva Polias 858 
 
 Temple of Erectheus 901 
 
 The height of the Ionic column varies in the three 
 examples quoted, from eight diameters and a quarter to 
 nearly nine and a half in height, and the upper diameter 
 of the shaft from full eight-tenths to seventeen-twentieths. 
 The want of similarity in the capitals renders them unfit 
 for comparison with each other. — The mean height of the 
 entablature is about a fourth of the height of the whole 
 order. — The cornice of the Grecian Ionic may be gene- 
 rally considered as bearing a constant ratio to the whole 
 height of the entablature as two to nine. The architrave 
 
 Frieze- 
 
 Cornice. 
 
 Total. 
 
 .816 
 
 .533 
 
 .2.265 
 
 .808 
 
 .621 
 
 .2.287 
 
 .956 
 
 
 
GRECIAN ARCHITECTURE. 49 
 
 is found, in most examples, divided into fascia?, below the 
 cymatium. 
 
 The Base, a figure which has not yet been considered, 
 requires a little of our attention. — In the examples at 
 Athens we find it consisting of two tori, with a scotia or 
 trochilus between them. A fillet above and below the 
 scotia separates it from the tori. The former fillet is in 
 general coincident with a vertical line let fall from the 
 extreme projection of the superior torus. The lower fillet 
 in the Temple on the Ilyssus projects about half way 
 between the incavation of the scotia and the extreme 
 projection of the lower torus. — The height of the sco- 
 tia and two tori are nearly equal. — In the Temple just 
 named, a bead and fillet are set on the upper torus to 
 receive the shaft of the column. — It will not escape obser- 
 vation, that in the temple of Erectheus as well as that on 
 the Ilyssus, the lower torus is uncut whilst the other is 
 fluted horizontally, — and that in the bases of the Temple 
 of Minerva Polias, the upper torus is sculptured with a 
 Guilloche. The form of the scotia is a portion of a 
 curve formed by one of the conic sections. The base 
 thus described has been usually denominated attic It 
 was however used in the colonies, as in the Temple of 
 Bacchus at Teos, though in that the upper torus is not 
 sculptured. — The bases of the Temple of Minerva Polias 
 at Priene, and that of Apollo Didymasus near Miletus, are 
 of very different and singular form. — The upper torus of 
 the former is to the height of the base as .427 nearly to 
 1.000 and its contour is not parabolic. — The lower half is 
 divided horizontally into four flutes, below this are two 
 scotias separated from each other by two astragals and 
 fillets at the top and bottom of each, except where they 
 join the upper torus above, and the plinth below. 
 
 H 
 
50 ON THE PROGRESS AND PERFECTION OF 
 
 The volute, which so distinguishes this order from the 
 others, is found with considerable varieties. In the edifices 
 of the Ilyssus and the Temple of Minerva Polias at Priene, 
 also of Apollo Didymaeus, this member contains only one 
 channel between the revolutions of the spiral, whereas in 
 those of Erectheus and Minerva Polias at Athens, each 
 volute has two distinct spirals with channels between them. 
 — In the former of these two the column terminates with 
 an astragal and fillet just below the level of the eye of the 
 volute ; in that of Minerva Polias, with a single fillet. — 
 In each of them the neck of the capital is ornamented 
 with honeysuckles. 
 
 The flutes of the columns are usually of an elliptical 
 form and their number twenty-four. — In the Temples of 
 Minerva Polias and Erectheus at Athens, those of Bacchus 
 at Teos, and Minerva Polias at Priene, they descend into 
 the apophyge of the shaft of the column. — They are more- 
 over distinguished from the Doric flutes, by fillets sepa- 
 rating them from each other. 
 
 No notice has been thought necessary respecting the 
 Tomb of Theron at Agrigcntum, which is a singular 
 instance of the mixture of the Ionic column with a Doric 
 entablature. — Some antiquarians may perhaps admit " the 
 antiquity of this monument, or the truth of the appella- 
 tion it has received," but surely no architect who has phi- 
 losophically investigated the principles of his art, will be 
 inclined to concur in any such opinion. 
 
 In the Corinthian Order, as in the Ionic, the chief dis- 
 tinguishing feature is the capital. — Long previous to the 
 age in which Callimachus, its reputed inventor, existed, 
 perhaps even before capitals or columns themselves were 
 known to the (J reeks, — leaves of the Palm tree, flowers of 
 the Lotus, and even volutes, were applied as ornaments 
 
GRECIAN ARCHITECTURE. 51 
 
 in the capitals of Egypt. — The form of the bell itself, 
 of the Corinthian capital, bears no trifling resemblance 
 to the contour of the Lotus flower'. The difference of 
 character between the Greek Corinthian and the Egyptian 
 capital lies in the height. The Greeks, who so well knew 
 how to improve and adopt, or reject, endowed their capital 
 with a lightness and elegance to which the inventions of 
 the Egyptians, perhaps from moral causes, were never car- 
 ried j but the similitude between them is such, that there 
 never was a case which stood less in need of historical 
 proof to identify the source of the invention, if it be but 
 granted that there was the slightest intercourse between 
 the two countries — a point which is sufficiently notorious. 
 
 Unfortunately our knowledge of the Greek Corinthian 
 is very limited, and though the delicacy of construction 
 in this order would have necessarily tended to an earlier 
 destruction and decay of its examples, than would have 
 been the case with those of the Doric and Ionic orders, 
 yet, considering the very few Corinthian ruins which re- 
 main among so many others, it is not presuming, perhaps, 
 too much, to conclude that it was not so great a favorite 
 among the Grecians as the other two orders \ 
 
 The only examples which can be produced of this order 
 in a genuine Greek taste are, the Tower of "Winds and 
 the Choragic Monument of Lysicrates at Athens : but 
 the former of these can scarcely be denominated Co- 
 
 1 Denon, Plates, 44 and 45 ; also Quatremere de Quincy's elegant Dis- 
 sertation " De l'Architecture Egyptienne, consideree dans son origine, ses 
 principes, et son gout." 4to Paris, 1803. Plates 1 and 2. 
 
 1 Pausanias says it was used by Scopas for the upper range of columns 
 of the Temple of Minerva at Tegaea. 'o pa Ji ra|5T»s e-tiv uvtu xoa-y-oc rut 
 
 xiivav Acmioj, i&t it! tb'tsj Ko;iv9io?. Eorixacri Je xai exto? toS vacw xio'vs; Isyaa-'iai 
 t*; 'imui. 'AfX 1 '"'""'* ^ brw9a»f*n» £«7rav ainJv ysviV^ai tov na»io». x. t. X. 
 Pausan. Arcadic. 
 
52 ON THE PROGRESS AND PERFECTION OF 
 
 rinthian ; we shall therefore be obliged to confine our 
 observations to the latter, as the only example before 
 Greece was subdued by the Romans. 
 In the Choragic Monument, 
 
 The height of the columns in English feet is 11.637 
 
 The height of the column in terms of the diameter 10.318 
 
 The height of the capital in terms of the diameter 1.21G 
 
 The diameter of the shaft at top in terms of the lower diam. 0.833 
 
 Height of the architrave 0.85 
 
 frieze 0.4R3 
 
 cornice 0.833 
 
 Total height of the entablature 2.166 
 
 The height of the entablature here becomes somewhat less 
 than a fifth of the total height of the order. The base 
 varies little in its form from that of the Ionic order, but 
 there is no horizontal fluting in the upper torus. 
 
 The celebrated bas relief of the Villa Albani,-is a proof 
 that the Corinthian capital was known before the time of 
 Callimachus. Its style and execution stamp it as a very 
 early work, and I cannot at all agree with a noble writer', 
 that the execution of the Corinthian temple is at all out 
 of keeping with the other parts of the work. These 
 capitals, which are without foliage, immediately remind us 
 of the Egyptian capital 1 . On the capitals of the Athenian 
 edifices we cannot conclude more properly than in the 
 words of a writer in the Encyclopedic Methodique 3 . 
 " Le feuillage qui decore les chapiteaux des deux edi- 
 fices d'Athenes, est evidemment le feuille de l'Olive. On 
 ne s'etonnera pas que l'arbre consacree a la deesse tute- 
 lage d'Athenes ait pretc sa feuille aux premiers chapi- 
 
 1 Lord Aberdeen's Inquiry, page 17"). 
 
 The Header may refer to a Representation of this bas Relief in the 
 •• Momunenti inediti" of M'inckelmann. 
 3 Art. Coriitt/iicii. 
 
GRECIAN ARCHITECTURE. 53 
 
 teaux Corinthes de l'Attique ; cette feuille est encore 
 aujourd'hui consacree a l'ordre Corinthien, et les archi- 
 tectes meme en preferent la forme a celle de l'Acanthe." 
 
 Besides the orders which have been enumerated, the 
 Greeks occasionally used the figures denominated Carya- 
 tides, for the support of the entablature. The following 
 account of their origin is not without interest. 
 
 Vitruvius 1 , Book I, c. 1, on the introduction of statues 
 for supporting an entablature, observes that "Carya, a city 
 of Peloponnesus, took part with the Persians against the 
 Grecian states. When the country was freed from its in- 
 vaders, the Greeks turned their arms against the Caryans, 
 and upon the capture of their city, put the males to the 
 sword, and led the women into captivity. The architects 
 of that time, for the purpose of perpetuating the ignominy 
 of this people, instead of columns in the porticos of their 
 buildings, substituted statues of these women ; faithfully 
 copying their ornaments, and the drapery with which 
 they were attired, the mode of which they were not per- 
 mitted to change." 
 
 Vitruvius is not, however, supported in the above ac- 
 count by any writer on the affairs of Greece, and it is 
 clear that the origin of these statues for architectural pur- 
 poses is of much higher antiquity than the invasion of 
 Greece by the Persians. Herodotus 1 , indeed, says that 
 
 * This account is reprinted from an unpublished pamphlet by the author, 
 written in 1820 and printed in the year 1821, entitled " Cursory Remarks 
 on the Origin of Caryatides," addressed to John Britton, Esquire, F. S.A. 
 &c. 
 
 1 See his Polymnia, fol. 421. Edit. Gronovii. They were nine in 
 number. The Thessalians, Dolopians, Enians, Peraebi, Locri, Magnetes, 
 the Jlelians, Achaeans of Phthiotis, Thebans, and the rest of the people of 
 Bceotia, except the Thespians and Plateeans. 
 
oh OX THE PROGRESS AXD PERFECTION OF 
 
 some of the states sent to Xerxes the required offering of 
 earth and water ; but no mention is made of Carya, nor, 
 consequently, of the ignominious treatment it met with, 
 which must have been too notorious, if true, to have been 
 unknown, and as a matter of history too curious to have 
 been passed over in silence. Whether the use of statues 
 to perform the office of columns travelled into Greece 
 from Egypt or India, may be left for the discussion of 
 those who respectively support the claims of one or the 
 other of those countries to a priority of skill in architec- 
 ture ; both will, however, furnish examples of their appli- 
 cation. In the latter country we have the authority of 
 Diodorus Siculus, for two immense specimens. Speaking 
 of the tomb of King Osymandyas, Diodorus says ', that 
 it was " ten stadia in circumference ; its entrance of 
 variegated stone; two hundred feet long, and forty-five 
 cubits high. Hence you proceed to a stone Peristylium, 
 four hundred feet square, supported by animals, sixteen 
 cubits high, each in one stone, instead of columns, and 
 carved after the ancient fashion." Again *, speaking of 
 Psammeticus, he says, " Having now obtained the whole 
 kingdom, he built a propyhuum on the east side of the 
 temple, to the god at Memphis ; which temple he encir- 
 cled with a wall, and in this propylaeum, instead of co- 
 lumns, substituted colossal statues, xoXorrovg v^offrr^uc, 
 twelve cubits in height." 
 
 1 Tom. I. f. ij(5. Wesseling. Edit. Asxa erraJiirv $a<™ irtraf Jai [Itzo-A'iti; 
 fi;rjux tov TfcxrizyoftvQiYTos OaVfJAtdCov . rovrov d\ kxtx pm tov ucrodo* iiro^^ni 
 •zu\vvx Xi^ou zoi\l\ov r to psv fM-naoi diVXiOjov, to a i*],o; TET^axovra xal fffyTE 7r*i^<yi> 
 JiA6i»Ti it ai~li tlicu Xi9t»> irifl<TTv\o* T!T»ayovn», tjcaorn,- :rA(Uf£; o£<m; Tcrraf VI 
 *>.i9{«» . vTm^uabou Ji i»7i t«.'» nUtut £«5i* in^ut IkkxHikcc funiXtQct, to» tvvo> to» 
 
 1 Ibid. 
 
GRECIAN ARCHITECTURE. 55 
 
 The use of statues, and the representations of human 
 and other figures, is a prominent feature in Egyptian 
 architecture. The temple at Ibsambul above alluded to, 
 is indeed a striking proof of it. In India many instances 
 of a similar use of statues are to be found ; as in the ex- 
 cavations at the Temple near Vellore ', described by Sir 
 C. Mallet, where heads of lions, elephants, and imaginary 
 animals, project forwards for the apparent purpose of 
 supporting the roof of the cave of Jugnath Subba ; and at 
 Elephanta, colossal statues are ranged along the sides, as 
 high as the underside of the entablature. It has before 
 been mentioned that it is not here necessary to settle the 
 comparative dates of Egyptian and Indian architecture ; 
 yet most agree that the latter was anterior to all except 
 that of Egypt, and many that it is more ancient than 
 that of Egypt itself. The object at present is to show, 
 their early origin being, it is supposed, satisfactorily 
 settled to have been of much higher antiquity than Vitru- 
 vius makes it, that the first statues which could be 
 strictly called Caryatides, were either applied to Temples 
 of Diana, or were representations of virgins who were 
 engaged in her worship. 
 
 KAPYA, the nut tree, Nux Juglans, which Plutarch 
 says \ received its name from its effects on the senses 3 , 
 was that into which Bacchus, after cohabitation with her, 
 transformed Carya, one of the three daughters of Dion, 
 King of Laconia, by his wife Iphitea. The other two 
 daughters, Orphe and Lyco, were turned into stones, for 
 
 1 Asiatic Researches, Vol. VI. 
 
 z Symposiacon. lib. ii. T>;v te y«f xa^ixv otTo;; o.opecs-av, So ■nv.vu.a, jSa^v 
 
 Kxl Ka.avTtX.OV d£ts7{70S. X. T. X. 
 
 3 K«jo-;, Sopor. 
 
56 ON THE PROGRESS AN T D PERFECTION OF 
 
 watching too closely the intercourse of their sister with 
 the lover. Diana, who is supposed to have made the La- 
 cedaemonians acquainted with this story, as well perhaps 
 as with the excellence of the fruit of the tree, was there- 
 fore worshipped by that people under the name of Diana 
 Caryatis '. 
 
 There is, however, another account of the origin of 
 the name of Diana Caryatis, which does not at all affect 
 our hypothesis. It is to be found in one of the old 
 commentators on Statius *, and is to the following effect. 
 Some virgins being threatened with danger, whilst cele- 
 brating the rites of the goddess, took refuge under the 
 branches of a nut tree, Ka^Ja ; in honour and per- 
 petuation of the memory of which event, a temple was 
 raised to Diana Caryatis. If this, however, allude to the 
 
 ' Sec the note of Servius, Virg. Ec. 8. Edit. Burman. Vol. I. f. 128 : 
 it is on the passage, " Sparge niarite nuces," and as follows : 
 
 " Sane fabula de nucis origine talis est : Dion Rex Laconiae fuit, qui 
 habuit nxorem Iphiteam Prognai filiam ; quae cum Apollineni suninio cultu 
 et reverentia hospitio rccepisset, ille remunerari volens circa se hoepitum 
 cultum, tribus filiabus eorum, qua; Orphe, Lyco et Carya appellate sunt, 
 divinationem concessit, adjecto ne proditrices numinum esse vellent ; neve 
 qua;rerent quod csset nefas scire. Post Liber Pater adveniens, a Dionc 
 vel ejus uxore receptus hospitio est, qui cum amata a se Carya coitum mis- 
 cuit : sed cum inde a~gre Liber profectus esset, cogente amoris impatientia 
 denuo ad hospites redit. causam pra-tendens dedicandi fani, quod ei Rex 
 voverat ; sed Lyco et Orphe, intellecto circa sororem Caryan Liberi 
 amore, cam custodire ccvperunt. ne cum Libero ei esset copia coiundi ; 
 quas cum Liber Pater monerct, tcrreretque, ut saltern prwcepta Apollinis 
 custodientes, pertinaccm diligentiam compescerent, videretque ab his et 
 sorureui acrina cnstodiri, et suum secretum studiosius inquiri, Orplien et 
 Lyco, immisso furore, ad Taygetam montem raptas in saxa convertit. 
 Caryan veroquam amavcrat, in eodem montc in arborem sui nominis vertit. 
 qua- Latino nux dicitur ; quod postea Diana ita factum Laconas docuit. 
 Unde templum Caryatid] Diana; a Laconibus consecratum." 
 
 1 BarthroB, lib. iv. v. 225. 
 
GRECIAN ARCHITECTURE. 57 
 
 famous interposition of Aristomenes, to protect some 
 Spartan virgins, who were taken by his soldiers, it is not 
 perhaps, quite borne out by the words of Diodorus. 
 It is hardly necessary to observe that Aristomenes lived 
 C)Jl years before Christ, and consequently 150 years 
 before Darius, the first invader of Greece. 
 
 Salmasius says " Diana was worshipped in that place, 
 Carya near Sparta, under the name of Diana Caryatis, 
 and that at her temple and statue the Lacedaemonian vir- 
 gins had an annual festival, and danced according to the 
 custom of the country '". Hence, he continues, arose 
 the name given to those statues, which according to 
 Pliny \ were made by Diogenes of Athens, for decorating 
 the Pantheon at Rome. 
 
 Returning, however, to the subject, it is to be ob- 
 served, that there was a temple to the goddess at Carya, 
 of which Pausanias gives the following account in his 
 Laconics. " The third turning on the right leads to 
 Carya, and the sanctuary of Diana, for the neighbour- 
 hood of Carya is sacred to that goddess and her nymphs. 
 The statue of Diana Caryatis is in the open air, and in 
 this place the Lacedaemonian virgins celebrate an annual 
 festival with the old custom of the dance 3 ." The note 
 
 1 Exercitationes Plinianae, in Sol. Polyhist. 603 et seq. 
 
 1 Lib. 36, c. 57- " Agrippse Pantheum decoravit Diogenes Atheniensis ; 
 et Caryatides in columnis templi ejus probantur inter pauca operum : 
 sicut in fastigio posita signa, sed propter altitudinem loci minus celebrata." 
 There seems to be some doubt as to the precise situation in the building 
 which these statues occupied. I confess I am fully satisfied with the 
 place assigned to them by Fontana De Pantheo aliisque conspicuis ve- 
 teribits Fa?iis. Romae, 1694, viz. in the second or upper order of the in- 
 terior, now occupied by pilasters. 
 
 3 Laconic. C. 10. " T^ith 2s ex 7n; o$ov t»!{ ev6e>«? EjupoTil »«t« to. dEfia e; 
 Kafi!a{ a-yu, xal U to Ugly t?j 'A^te'/xiJo;. to yaj ^uficv 'AfTs'^uJo? xai Nu^ii 
 
 I 
 
jS ON THE PROGRESS AND PERFECTION OF 
 
 of Kuhnius, on this passage, after a reference to Hesy- 
 chius, contains the following notice : " Caryatides etiam 
 dicuntur Lacacna? saltantes, sinistra ansata?, uti solehant 
 Caryatides puellae in honorem Dianas." 
 
 Some persons have supposed that the assemblage of 
 peasants on the celebration of these dances, gave rise to 
 the pastoral poems termed Bucolics, from their singing on 
 those occasions BouxoXtrrfAoi, pastoral poems, from BovxoXoc, 
 a neatherd; — such was the opinion of Probus ' ; and Hoff- 
 man % to whom I am much indebted for my information 
 on this subject, quotes the following passage from Statius 
 in corroboration of it. 
 
 " Hujus Apollincac currum comitantur Amyclae. 
 Quos Pylos, et dubiis Malea vitata carinis, 
 Plaudentiquo habik-s C'arva: resonare Dianae." 
 
 Thcbaid. Lib. 4. v. 223. 
 
 Plutarch, in his life of Artaxerxes, relates that after 
 Clearchus had fallen, through treachery, into the hands of 
 Tissaphernes, he gave Ctesias a ring, engraven with the 
 representation of a dancing Caryatid 3 . 
 
 From the foregoing observations, it may be reasonably 
 inferred, that the statues called Caryatides were origi- 
 nally applied to or used about, the Temples of Diana ; 
 and instead of representing captives or persons in a state 
 of ignominy, were in fact nothing more than figures of 
 the Virgins who celebrated the worship of that goddess. 
 It is most probable that after their first introduction, 
 other figures in buildings sacred to other divinities, gra- 
 iny ai Ka^uai. xal ayaXixa iotixf* Afrlfaioos i> vTaiSfiu Ka^uaTiio?" x°? r - 
 x at AaxiJaifiojisiv i7a«G;»oi vtri (TOJ laiauri, xai tTi^wfio; avm.7: u 
 rrx;/ ogxna'i;.' 
 
 ' Vitfi Virgilii. a Lexicon, in loco. 
 
 3 " Ei»ai it y\v^r,v s» t? <r$eayi$t Ka»v»TiJa; osj^offioa,". 
 
GRECIAN ARCHITECTURE. 59 
 
 dually came into use, as in the Pandroseum, where it is 
 likely that they are the representations of the virgins who 
 assisted at the Panathenaea, and were called Canephorae. 
 
 However appropriate these figures were in early days, 
 it may be a fair question for discussion how far their ap- 
 plication to modern purposes is in good or bad taste. Their 
 exclusion from sacred buildings at least appears absolutely 
 necessary, the allusion they have to heathen worship seem- 
 ing sufficient, one would suppose, for their rejection. 
 They may, peradventure, be more suitable and in charac- 
 ter in palaces and theatres, where parade and pageantry 
 are the leading features. Their introduction, for instance, 
 at the Louvre, is far from being obtrusive or disagreeable. 
 
 The inclined sides of the roof of the Greek Temple 
 continuing through to the two ends, formed a pediment, 
 which was often decorated by the hand of the sculptor. 
 It seems manifest that the angle at which a roof should 
 be inclined to the horizon so as to shelter effectually the 
 interior of the building from the effects of the rain and 
 snow, depends on the climate to which the building is 
 to be subjected. Thus, greatly inclined roofs are ne- 
 cessary only in cold and temperate climates. In hot 
 climates we find the dwellings covered with terraced 
 roofs, which are there sufficient protection against the 
 elements ; but as we advance northward a greater slope 
 is necessary, and will or ought to be found of increased 
 declivity the greater the distance from the equator. That 
 this principle has operated on the styles of architecture in 
 different countries is evident from a comparison of the 
 Gothic of this country and of Germany, with that of 
 more southern latitudes. This will account for the low 
 elevation of the pediment in the Grecian temples, in 
 
60 
 
 ON THE PROGRESS AND PERFECTION OF 
 
 which we find the inclination of the roofs admirably 
 adapted to the climate in which they are erected '. 
 
 This point has been exceedingly well treated in the 
 Encyclopedic Methodique *, where the reader will find a 
 table shewing the inclination which should be assigned 
 to roofs in the principal cities of Europe. The table 
 is adjusted with reference to their different climates, and 
 the length of the longest day at each place. The results 
 correspond in a singular manner with the practice of the 
 antients, as will be seen by the following extracts. 
 
 The inclination of a roof for the latitude of Athens, 
 should be 167 degrees; comparing this with 
 
 Degrees 
 
 The Temple of Ercctheus, which is 15+ 
 
 The Temple of Theseus 15 
 
 The Parthenon 1<> 
 
 Prupyhra 14} 
 
 we may see how closely the proper practice of the art 
 follows the exigencies of Nature herself. Though it 
 is rather foreign to this investigation, it is impossible to 
 refrain from subjoining a few Roman examples, wherein 
 the climate required, according to the Table, an inclina- 
 tion of twenty-two degrees. 
 
 Degrees 
 
 That of the Pediment of Septimius Severus is actually 22 
 
 Temple of Concord, and also of Mars Ultor 23+ 
 
 Temple of Fortuna Virilis 24 
 
 Pantheon 24 
 
 Temple of Antoninus and Faustina 24 
 
 1 " Capitolii fastigium illud, et caeterarum aedium, non venustas, sed 
 necessitas ipsa fabricata est. Nam cum esset habita ratio, quemadmodum 
 ex utraque tecti parte aqua delaberctur ; utilitatem templi, fastigii dignitas 
 consecuta est : ut, etiam si in ccvlo Capitolium statueretur, ubi imber esse 
 non posset, nullam sine fastigio dignitatem habiturum fuisse videatur." — 
 Cic. de Oratore, Lib. 3. c. 4(i. 
 
 1 Art. Comblc. 
 
GRECIAN ARCHITECTURE. 6l 
 
 The most important discovery in architecture, in respect 
 of its results, that was ever made, was the invention of the 
 arch. When or where it was invented is quite uncertain. 
 This is a subject which has occasioned much discussion, 
 and perhaps will, at this remote period, never be satisfac- 
 torily settled. It is, however, now pretty generally agreed 
 that it did not appear till after the age of Alexander. 
 Visconti, nevertheless 1 , on the authority of a passage 
 in Plutarch 2 assigns the period of the invention to the age 
 itself of Alexander. " The perfect arch," says a writer 
 who has been often quoted \ " appears to have been com- 
 paratively of late birth. The want of a name for it, pro- 
 perly Greek, in so copious a language, and so ready for 
 all occasions, would suffice to show how little the thing 
 was known in early times among the Grecian people. By 
 some it has been supposed much earlier known, or much 
 earlier in known use among the Romans. That extraor- 
 dinary structure, magnificent in its way, the Cloaca 
 Maxima at Rome, has been attributed to Tarquinius 
 Priscus ; but Tarquinius Priscus, though a Roman king, 
 was a Grecian man. A sewer, however, or a drain of 
 some kind, in the bottom between the Palatine and Ca- 
 pitoline Hills at Rome, would, in almost the earliest age 
 of the city, be obviously necessary towards any convenient 
 union of those two hills in one town." The present sewer, 
 however, bears evident marks of having been much more 
 recently constructed than the time in question. 
 
 * Memoire sur les Ouvrages de Sculpture dans la Collection de Milord 
 Comte Elgin. London, 1816, p. 127- 
 
 1 'Exzo^a? is t«; tiro TW utrm^st, 4/aX>'£aj. x. t. \. Plut. Agis et Cleomen. 
 
 3 Principles of Design in Architecture. 
 
6 C > ON THE PROGRESS AND PERFECTION, ETC. 
 
 Till after the reign of Alexander, there are no authors 
 who use the words 0OAO2 ', Ami \ and YAAI2 ', 
 in a sense which can lead us to consider them as signify- 
 ing an arch, nor is there any description extant in which 
 we can trace the figure of an arch constructed on scien- 
 tific principles. If its origin be Eastern, there is a strong 
 probability that its appearance was not till after the age 
 of Alexander. Dutens, an advocate for the early use of 
 the arch among the Grecians, was long since answered by 
 a noble lord of great classical acquirements, from whom, 
 in the foregoing pages, it has been my misfortune 
 sometimes to differ on subjects more immediately per- 
 haps within my vocation. " During that time," the age 
 of Alexander, says that author, " the greatest change 
 took place in the arts and sciences of Greece. They had 
 arrived at a degree of improvement, which, though per- 
 haps in some measure exaggerated, was certainly far 
 beyond what former ages had witnessed. The use of the 
 arch was probably communicated to the Romans by the 
 Greeks, at the time that they bestowed on their con- 
 querors every other species of art and refined taste. In 
 Sicily and Magna Grecia, it might have been introduced 
 somewhat earlier" 4 . 
 
 1 ©OAOS. o^xs; !■; o^v u.TtQkxyovaa.v 'ix uv T "' o""rfyi» KaiaffxtuacrjutsVo?. I lesvch. 
 
 in loco. See page 24. 
 
 1 At'IE, $i;. ra xi/xXa Toiv Tfoxwu. ai 97F3i£s'jEiai >! xxpajxi. Hesvch. 
 3 t AAIE. to a^p!»ov. xai x%fx£;z. »*! ti^f.x xifOOTf. Ibid. 
 
 * Edinburgh Review, Jan. 1806. Review of Dutens' Work, " Re- 
 chcrches sur le Terns le plus recule de l'Usagc des Voutes," 4to Lond. 
 1805, said to be written by Lord Aberdeen. 
 
OBSERVATIONS ON THE PLATES. 63 
 
 OBSERVATIONS ON THE PLATES TO THE GRECIAN 
 ARCHITECTURE. 
 
 PLATE I. 
 
 Parthenon at Athens. — This Temple, of which the parts and 
 profile are given in the plate, was erected in the age of Pericles. 
 The architect was Ictinus and the sculptor Callicrates. The plan 
 of the temple is a parallelogram about 228 feet by 100 feet including 
 the outer columns. It had eight columns in front and rear and 
 seventeen on each flank. As the general features of this extra- 
 ordinary and beautiful edifice are well known from its represent- 
 ation in Stuart's Athens, it will be necessary to state here some few 
 particulars only which have come to light since the publication of 
 that work. 
 
 The cieling of the Pronaos appears to have been supported by 
 four columns. And it seems more than probable that the cell 
 was surrounded by columns, inasmuch as the marks of some of 
 them 2 feet 1 inch diameter are indicated on the pavement, and 
 their distance 8 feet 4 inches from centre to centre. A fragment 
 moreover of a polygonal shaft of 20 sides and 2 feet 1 inch dia- 
 meter has been discovered among the rubbish. The shaft of each 
 column of the Portico is composed of twelve courses of stones, and 
 the bed of each has two circles described upon it, the outer one 9 
 inches from the edge and the termination to the surface which 
 bears a polish. Between the two circles the surface is level but not 
 polished. The inner circle is rough and a little sunk probably for 
 mortar. About the centre is a square hole 3 inches deep as well as 
 a hole in the upper stone, into these, wooden dowels were inserted. 
 It is worthy of remark that the stones of the Frieze were put toge- 
 ther with cramps of (I) this form. 
 
 The diameter of the columns is 6 feet 2 inches T 7 ^ according to 
 Stuart whose measures have been adopted, though it is much to be 
 regretted that the detail of that author frequently disagrees with his 
 
6-t OBSERVATIONS ON THE PLATES. 
 
 totals. The measures on tlie plate are founded on the diameter of 
 the column taken at 6 feet 2.72 inches, which divided by 60 gives 
 1.21532 inches =1 minute. 
 
 PLATE II. 
 
 Great Hexastyle Temple at P.estum. — The temple from 
 which this example is selected is Peripteral-Hypsethral. Its length 
 on the upper step 202 feet 7 inches and its breadth 82 feet 2 inches. 
 The age of this temple has not been ascertained with precision. 
 There are fourteen columns on each flank. Their diameter is 6 
 feet 8 inches T V consequently 1 minute =1.3366 inches. 
 
 PLATE III. 
 
 Temple of Apollo and Portico of Philip in the Island 
 of Delos : and Temple at Corinth.— In the Island of Delos, 
 says Stuart, " are two examples of the Doric order, both excellent 
 in their kind, one of which belongs to what I imagine to have been 
 the Temple of Apollo; the other to the Portico of Philip. The 
 latter on account of the lightness of its proportions differs from all 
 the examples we have given, and is more suitable for common use." 
 It was found impossible to make out the extent or plans of either of 
 the above buildings. The shafts of the two columns of the Temple 
 of Apollo are fluted at their upper and lower extremities, but the 
 intermediate part is plain. The diameter is 3 feet 1 inch -j 1 ^; a 
 minute is thercfore = . 6185 inch. The diameter of the columns of 
 the Portico of Philip is 2 feet 1 1 inches -fa ; a minute consequently 
 = .5616 inch. Rather more than a third of the lower part of the 
 shafts are polygonal above which they are fluted in the ordinary way. 
 
 Stuart conjectures the Temple at Corinth to have been Perip- 
 teral Hexastyle. The columns have twenty flutings which termi- 
 nate under the listels of the capital and are segments of circles. 
 The gutUe are round and detached from the architrave. The 
 material a rough porous stone, the shafts of the columns are each 
 of one block only, and the whole has been covered with stucco. 
 The architraves are of one stone each from centre to centre of 
 columns. The drops under the Triglyphs were all broken off and 
 
OBSERVATIONS ON THE PLATES. 65 
 
 could not therefore be measured. The columns are 5 feet 10 
 inches diameter — a minute consequently = 1.1666 inches. 
 
 PLATES IV. and V. 
 
 Ionic Temple on the Ilyssus. — This Temple stood on the 
 southern bank of the Ilyssus. Its length, measured on the upper 
 step, is 41 feet 7 inches, and its breadth 19 feet 6 inches. It was 
 Amphiprostylos Tetrastyle. The Cymatium in the original is 
 destroyed. Stuart conjectures the frieze was ornamented with 
 Bassi Relievi. The echinus of the capital continues under the 
 volutes which are diagonal on the external angles, and mitered on 
 the internal angles, by the junction of two semi-volutes. The flutes 
 are twenty-four in number. Diameter of the columns 1 foot 9 
 inches T %; a minute therefore = .3596 inch. 
 
 PLATES VI. VII. and VIII. 
 
 Temples of Minerva Polias, and Erectheus, Athens. — The 
 reason for my adoption of these names, in accordance with Stuart, 
 cannot be entered into here. I am inclined to think Stuart right 
 notwithstanding the passage in Pausanias, Attic, c. 26. quoted by 
 Mr. Wilkins,* from whom I differ with considerable hesitation. 
 The Temples of Minerva Polias, Erectheus and Pandrosus, which 
 together compose one building, stand about one hundred and fifty 
 feet to the north of the Parthenon. That towards the west was the 
 Temple of Minerva Polias, that towards the east, the Temple of 
 Erectheus, and that on the south side was the Pandroseum whose 
 Entablature and Roof were supported by Caryatides. 
 
 The first named has a Portico Testrastyle projecting two inter- 
 columniations ; its dimensions are about 33 feet 6 inches by 17 feet 
 6 inches. Diameter of the columns 2 feet 9 inches -fe; so that a 
 minute = .5572 inch. 
 
 The Erectheum has an Hexastyle Portico projecting only one 
 intercolumniation; it extends in front about 37 feet. The Diameter 
 of the columns is 2 feet 3 inches -^j; a minute therefore^. 4633 
 inch. The upper member of the cornice, in the profile of the 
 Temple of Minerva Polias, is a restoration. 
 
 * Atheniensia, p. 142. 
 
 K 
 
06 OBSERVATIONS ON THE PLATES. 
 
 PLATE IX. 
 
 Choragic Monument of Lysicrates, commonly called the 
 Lantern of Demosthenes. This beautiful example, stands on 
 the eastern end of the Acropolis of Athens. " It is composed of three 
 distinct parts," says Stuart. "First, a quadrangular Basement; 
 secondly, a circular Colonnade, the intercolumniations of which 
 were entirely closed up ; and thirdly, a Tholus or Cupola, with 
 the ornament which is placed on it." The diameter of this building 
 taken on the lower step is 10 feet 8 inches. The columns are 1 foot 
 1 inch -f% diameter; a minute consequently = .22 inch. 
 
 PLATE X. 
 
 Temple of Jupiter Olympius. — This is one of the most consi- 
 derable remains of Athenian magnificence. It has been erroneously 
 called by the name here given. Stuart considers the ruins rather 
 the remains of a stoa or portico, than of either a palace, as some 
 have supposed it, or of a temple. The external walls enclose a large 
 quadrangular space of 376 feet by 252. In the middle of it are the 
 remains of a gate or entrance. The whole extent of the front is 
 ornamented with Corinthian columns and terminated at each extre- 
 mity by a Pteroma, or projecting wall, faced with a Corinthian 
 pilaster. The original number of the columns was eighteen. Four 
 of them, fluted, were in the centre of the front on the upper step — 
 carrying an Entablature and Pediment, and forming a Portico 
 before the Gate. On each side were seven columns, not fluted, on 
 pedestals level with the upper step of the Portico. The abacus of 
 the capital in this Example has acute angles, similar to those of the 
 Temple of Vesta at Home. The lower part of the shafts of the 
 fluted columns are cabled. Their diameter is 2 feet 11 inches -^ > 
 so that a minute = .5883 inch. 
 
 PLATE XI. 
 
 A Window from the Temple of Minerva Polias with the detail 
 of the Mouldings in profile. Also two Examples of Caryatides, 
 No. 1, from the Pandroseum. No. 2, from the Townley Collection. 
 
G K EC I AX ARCHIT E < TI'K E 
 
 AlEsTuJ ii AtA, i- WadcMjh Stnxt Bksmsburv . 
 
Grecian- Architec ture . 
 
 fetus './ „/ 
 
 j D 
 
 
 , msbury. 
 
GRECIAN AKl'H ITECTl'RF. 
 
 ■ A 
 
 
 fl 3 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 16 
 
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GRECIAN ARCHITECTURE . 
 
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 SjSlffiffiSllHSJ5152HK; :^ ^ r ~ - =■ - ~ - - 
 
 
 
 •• ^ ^»^ : >. .* -v .- ■.'. .---. 
 
 
G K E CIA X A R CHI T ECTUR.E 
 
 ■S°*# 
 
 ■ . 
 
 .. ... 
 
GRE CIA X A IU1II T E c T r R F. 
 
 - 
 
 
GRECIA N' A R I rURE, 
 
 ■ 
 
 .', 
 
 toy i r: ;- r ,ubury. 
 
GKECIAX ARCHITECTURE. 
 
 T^' •/^/'f^i (Y'/sy^.j „/, Y^,,.,. 
 
 -i - _n~s-_ 
 
 /- 
 
 r 
 
 
 
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 lUUsAcd. /..- /:■ 
 
TREATISE 
 
 ON THE DECORATIVE PART 
 
 OF 
 
 CIVIL ARCHITECTURE. 
 
TO 
 
 THE KING* 
 
 SIR, 
 
 The present publication treats of an Art, often the 
 amusement of your majesty's leisure moments; and 
 which, in all ages, great princes have delighted to encou- 
 rage : as one, amongst those most useful to their subjects; 
 best calculated to display the power and splendor of their 
 government ; fittest to convey to posterity, the munifi- 
 cence, skill, and elegance, of the times in which they flou- 
 rished ; the memorable events and glorious deeds, in 
 which they were engaged. 
 
 The indulgent reception afforded to the two former 
 editions of this work, induced me, not only to enlarge, and 
 attempt improvements, in this third Edition; but likewise 
 to solicit the honour of its appearance, under the auspices 
 of your majesty's patronage : and the condescension 
 with which that mark of royal approbation was granted, 
 proves your majesty's desire to promote, even the 
 smallest advances, towards perfecting the Arts of Design. 
 
 The institution of a Royal Academy ; an Exhibition, 
 become splendid under Royal Patronage; English Pro- 
 ductions of Art, contending for pre-eminence, with those 
 of the first Schools on the Continent; are events, unex- 
 pected, as unhoped for, till your majesty's Accession. 
 
 For the benefits derived from these events, Artists of 
 all degrees look up with reverence to the Throne: and 
 
 * This dedication was to His late revered Majesty George III. and was 
 prefixed to the Third Edition. 
 
70 DEDICATION. 
 
 so powerful is the example, such the influence of Royal 
 Patronage, that the same spirit of encouragement has ra- 
 pidly been diffused, through all classes of your majesty's 
 subjects ; even men of inferior rank now aspire to taste 
 in the fine arts ; and by a liberality of sentiment, formerly 
 unknown, excite the artists to emulate and excel each 
 other : circumstances not only much to their own honour, 
 but contributing greatly to augment the splendor of the 
 nation; to improve its taste, and stamp additional value 
 on its manufactures ; to extend its commerce, and 
 increase the profits arising therefrom. 
 
 That your majesty may long reign over happy nations, 
 and continue with equal ardour a Patronage, which already 
 has produced such beneficial effects ; is the earnest 
 wish of 
 
 YOUR MAJESTY'S 
 
 MOST DUTIFUL SUBJECT, 
 
 AND EVER FAITHFUL SERVANT, 
 
 WILLIAM CHAMBERS. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 Amongst the various arts cultivated in society, some 
 are useful only ; being adapted to supply our natural 
 wants, or assist our natural infirmities ; others again, are 
 instruments of luxury merely, and calculated to flatter the 
 pride, or gratify the desires of man ; whilst others there 
 are, contrived to answer many purposes ; tending at once 
 to preserve, to secure, to accommodate, delight, and give 
 consequence to the human species. 
 
 Architecture, the subject of our present enquiry, is of 
 this latter kind ; and when viewed in its full extent, may 
 truly be said to have a very considerable part, in almost 
 every comfort, or luxury of life. The advantages derived 
 from houses only, are great, they being the first steps 
 towards civilization, and having certainly great influence 
 both on the body and mind. Secluded from each other, 
 inhabitants of woods, of caves, or wretched huts ; exposed 
 to the inclement vicissitudes of seasons, and the distressing 
 uncertainty of weather ; men are generally indolent, dull 
 and abject, with faculties benumbed, and views limited to 
 the gratification of their most pressing necessities ; but 
 wherever societies are formed, and commodious dwellings 
 are found ; in which, well sheltered, they may breathe a 
 temperate air, amid the summer's heat or winter's cold ; 
 sleep, when nature calls, at ease and in security ; study 
 unmolested ; converse, and taste the sweets of social en- 
 joyments ; there they are spirited, active, ingenious and 
 
72 PREFACE. 
 
 enterprising ; vigorous in body, speculative in mind : 
 agriculture and arts improve, they flourish among them ; 
 the necessaries, the conveniences, and soon even the luxu- 
 ries of life, become there abundant. 
 
 Mere strength however, even the steadiest persever- 
 ance, obtains with difficulty the desired produce ; but 
 inventions facilitate and shorten labour, multiplying pro- 
 ductions so, as not only to supply domestic wants, but 
 likewise to treasure up stores for foreign markets'. 
 
 Architecture then smooths the way for commerce ; she 
 forms commodious roads through marshes or other grounds 
 naturally impracticable, fills up valleys, unites or levels 
 mountains; throws bridges over deep or rapid waters, 
 turns aside or deadens the fury of torrents ; constructs 
 canals of navigation, builds ships, and contrives ports for 
 their secure reception in the hour of danger ; facilitating 
 thus, the intercourse of nations, the conveyance of mer- 
 chandize from people to people. 
 
 A well regulated commerce is ever the source of 
 wealth ; and luxury has ever been attendant on riches. 
 As the powers of gratification increase, fancy multiplies 
 wants ; till at length, indolence or pleasure, vanity and 
 superstition, fears and resentments, give birth to a thou- 
 sand superfluous, a thousand artificial cravings; the greater 
 part of which could not be gratified, without the assist- 
 
 1 The author in the third Edition has much obscured his meaning. In 
 the second Edition the Passage is much clearer — " Invention facilitates la- 
 bour; and what mere strength and perseverance obtains with difficulty, in- 
 genious contrivances produce with ease, and in abundance. Hence do- 
 mestic wants are constantly supplied, and stores supplied for foreign mar- 
 kets." It appears probable that the author neglected to correct the press 
 with his usual diligence and care in this passage, and that the words " pro- 
 duce" and " productions" might not inconveniently change places. [Ed.]] 
 
PREFACE. 73 
 
 ance of architecture ; for splendid palaces, magnificent 
 temples, costly dwelling houses, amphitheatres, theatres, 
 baths and porticos, triumphal arches and bridges, mauso- 
 leums, and an endless number of similar inventions ; are 
 all, either necessary instruments of ease and pleasure ; or 
 striking testimonies of wealth, of grandeur and pre-emi- 
 nence, either present or past. 
 
 Nor are there any other objects, whether necessary, or 
 superfluous, so certainly productive of their design, so 
 permanent in their effects, or beneficial in their conse- 
 quences : fine furniture, rich dresses, brilliant equipages, 
 numerous domestics, are only secondary attractions at 
 first ; they soon feel the effect of time, and their value 
 fluctuates, or dies, with the fashion of the day. While 
 the productions of architecture command general atten- 
 tion ; are monuments lasting beyond the reach of modes, 
 and record to latest posterity, the consequence, virtues, 
 achievements, and munificence of those they comme- 
 morate'. 
 
 The immediate and most obvious advantages of build- 
 ing are, employing many ingenious artificers, many indus- 
 trious workmen and labourers of various kinds ; convert- 
 ing materials of little value into the most stately produc- 
 tions of human skill ; beautifying the face of countries ; 
 multiplying the conveniencies and comforts of life. 
 
 But these, however great, are not the most consider- 
 able ; that numerous train of arts and manufactures, con- 
 trived to furnish and adorn the works of architecture, 
 which occupies thousands, and constitutes many lucrative 
 branches of commerce; that certain concourse of strangers 
 
 * Mores tuos fabricoe loquuntur, quia nemo in illis diligens agnoscitur, 
 nisi qui et in suis sensibus ornatissimus reperitur. Cassiodorus, lib. iv. £ed.] 
 
 L 
 
74 PREFACE. 
 
 to every country celebrated for stately structures ; who 
 extend your fame, adopt your fashions, give reputation, 
 and create a demand for your productions ; are conside- 
 rations of the highest consequence : in short, the advan- 
 tages of building extend to the remotest ages, and at this 
 day, the ruins of Ancient Rome, in a great measure sup- 
 port the splendour of the present ; by the number of tra- 
 vellers who flock from all nations, to visit the ancient 
 remains and modern magnificence of that famous city ; 
 and who, in the course of a few centuries, have there 
 expended incredible sums of money, by long residence ; 
 and in the purchase of old pictures, antique statues, busts, 
 basreliefs, urns, and other curious productions of art : of 
 which, by some extraordinary good management, there is 
 a treasure never to be exhausted ; the waste of four hun- 
 dred years is scarcely perceivable. 
 
 Nor is architecture less useful in defending, than pros- 
 perous in adorning and enriching countries ; she guards 
 their coasts with ships of war, secures their boundaries, 
 fortifies their cities, and by a variety of artful construc- 
 tions, controls the ambition, and frustrates the attempts of 
 foreign powers ; curbs the insolence, and averts the 
 danger, the horror of internal commotions. 
 
 Thus architecture, by supplying men with commodious 
 habitations ; procures that health of body and vigour of 
 mind, which facilitate the invention of arts ; and when 
 by the exertion of their skill or industry, productions 
 multiply beyond domestic wants; she furnishes the means 
 of transporting them to other markets : and whenever by 
 commerce they acquire wealth, she points the way to 
 employ their riches rationally, nobly, benevolently ; in 
 methods honourable and useful to themselves and their 
 
PREFACE. 75 
 
 descendants ; which add splendor to the state and yield 
 benefit both to their cotemporaries and to posterity ; she 
 farther teaches them to defend their possessions ; to secure 
 their liberty and lives, from the attempts of lawless vio- 
 lence, or unrestrained ambition. 
 
 An art so variously conducive to the happiness of man, 
 to the wealth, lustre, and safety of nations ; naturally com- 
 mands protection and encouragement : in effect, it appears, 
 that in all civilized times, and well regulated governments, 
 it has been much attended to, and promoted with unre^ 
 mitting assiduity ; and the perfectioning of other arts, has 
 ever been a certain consequence : for where building is 
 encouraged ; painting, sculpture, and all the inferior 
 branches of decorative workmanship, must flourish of 
 course ; and these have an influence on manufactures, 
 even to the minutest mechanic productions ; for design is 
 of universal benefit, and stamps additional value on the 
 most trifling performances, the importance of which, to a 
 commercial people, is obvious; it requires no illustration'. 
 
 Let it not however be imagined, that building, merely 
 considered as heaping stone upon stone, can be of great 
 consequence ; or reflect honor, either on nations or indi- 
 viduals : materials in architecture, are like words in phra- 
 seology ; having separately but little power; and they may 
 be so arranged, as to excite ridicule, disgust, or even con- 
 tempt; yet when combined with skill, expressed with 
 energy, they actuate the mind with unbounded sway. An 
 
 1 The influence of the arts of Design, if evidence were necessary to cor- 
 roborate the author's assertion, is sufficiently manifest ; for example, in one 
 branch of our manufactures, that of Pottery. Let the fictile vessels in use a 
 century back be compared in respect of form with those of the present day. 
 The comparison is calculated to surprise and astonish us. C ED 
 
76 PREFACE. 
 
 able writer can move even in rustic language, and the 
 masterly dispositions of a skilful artist, will dignify the 
 meanest materials ; while the weak efforts of the ignorant 
 render the most costly enrichments despicable'. To such, 
 the compliment of Apelles may justly be applied ; who, 
 on seeing the picture of a Venus magnificently attired, 
 said to the operator, " Friend, though thou hast not been 
 able to make her fair, thou hast certainly made her fine." 
 
 Hitherto architecture has been considered in a general 
 light ; under its different divisions of naval, military, and 
 civil. I purpose, however, in the present work, to confine 
 myself to the last of these branches, as being of more 
 general use, and that, to which my own study and prac- 
 tice have been more immediately directed. 
 
 It is not to be supposed, that so difficult an art as archi- 
 tecture, after having lain many centuries absorbed in the 
 general cloud of barbarism, should at once emerge in full 
 perfection ; or that the first restorers of the ancient 
 manner of building, could at once bring it to a degree of 
 purity, incapable of farther improvement. With very little 
 assistance from books upon the subject, and that, often 
 obscure, unintelligible, or erroneous ; while they were 
 
 1 Some of Palladia's finest examples are of Brick. The cortile of the 
 Caritii at Venice, is an instance. The Interiors of the Redentore and St. 
 Giorgio, in the same city, have but a coat of plaister on them. The beauti- 
 ful Palazzo Thienc at Vicenza, at least that part which was executed, is 
 left with its rockworkcd basement in brickwork chipped out. — Form alone 
 fastens on the mind in works of art. The rest is meretricious if used as a 
 substitute to supersede this grand desideratum. Laugier says, " Les Pro- 
 portions sont si csscntielles en Architecture, qu'un Batiment bien propor- 
 tion^, n' eut il d' ailleurs d' autre merite que le bel appareil des Materiaux, 
 fcra toujours de 1' effet, tandis que 1' oruement prodigue a un edifice sans pro- 
 portions ne scauroit reussir." — Observations sur L'Architecture. La 
 Have, 1765. [ed] 
 
PREFACE. 77 
 
 labouring to separate beauty from deformity ; endeavour- 
 ing to restore to light, what length of time, casualties, 
 war, and violence, had been active to deface ; to annihi- 
 late ; we must neither censure with severity their omis- 
 sions, nor wonder at their mistakes ; yet with all due re- 
 verence for the memory of those illustrious artists, it may 
 be remarked, that they left much undone ; and taught 
 many errors. Their measures and designs were, gene- 
 rally speaking, incorrect; their plates ill engraved'; and 
 the want of method, and of precision in treating their sub- 
 ject, renders the study of it in their works exceedingly 
 discouraging. 
 
 It is indeed true, that later writers have, in a great mea- 
 sure, supplied their omissions, and rectified their faults : 
 few subjects have been more amply treated of than archi- 
 tecture ; nor any, by persons better qualified ; insomuch, 
 that little remains either to be discovered or improved ; 
 every branch of the art having been maturely considered, 
 and brought very near the utmost degree of certainty of 
 which it is capable. 
 
 Yet one thing of great use remained to be done; at least, 
 in our language 1 ; which was, to collect in one volume, 
 
 1 On Wooden Blocks ; as in the works of Serlio. The Plates, however, 
 to the different editions of Daniel Barbaro's Vitruvius do not deserve this 
 character. They are accurately and tastefully executed, and may vie with 
 any productions of the present day. C ED -[] 
 
 x The following is a list of the chief works on Architecture in our own 
 language, previous to the time of this third Edition : — 
 
 Aldrich, H., Elements of Civil Arch. 8vo. 1789, Oxford. 
 
 Builder's Dictionary, 2 vols. 8vo. London, 1734. 
 
 City and Countrey Purchaser and Builder's Dictionary, or the Compleat 
 
 builder's Guide, by T. N. Philomath. 8vo. Lond. 1703. 
 1 Second Edition, by Richard Neve. 8vo. Lond. 1720. 
 
78 PREFACE. 
 
 what lay dispersed in many hundreds, much the greater 
 part of them written in foreign languages : and to select, 
 from mountains of promiscuous materials, a series of sound 
 precepts, and perfect designs. 
 
 "Whoever has applied to the study of architecture, will 
 readily grant that there are few pursuits more perplexing : 
 the vague foundation on which the more refined parts of the 
 art are built, has given rise to such a multiplicity of jarring 
 opinions, all supported by, at least, plausible arguments; 
 that it is exceedingly difficult to discriminate, or distin- 
 guish what is real, from that which is merely specious : 
 
 Frcart, Roland dear de Chambray, parallel of the antient Architecture 
 
 with the modern. Translated by Evelyn, fol. Lond. l~'X\. 
 Gerbier, Sir Balthazar's, Counsel and Advice to all Builders ; for the 
 
 Choice of their Surveyours, Clerks of their Works, Bricklayers, Masons, 
 
 Carpenters and other Workmen therein concerned, 18mo. Lond. 1663 
 
 Second Edition, 18mo, Lond. 1664. 
 
 Gwyn's, J., Essay on Design, 8vo. Lond. 1749. 
 
 ■ Qualifications of a Surveyor, 8vo. Lond. 1752. 
 ' Essay upon Harmony as it relates chiefly to Situation and 
 
 Building. 
 Le Clcrc's, Sebast., Treatise of Architecture, 2 vols. 8vo. Translated by 
 
 Chambers, Lond. 1733, another edition, 1732. 
 Morris's Lectures on Architecture, 8vo. Lond. 1734. 
 Nutshells (OIKIATA) being Ichnngraphic distributions for small villas, 
 
 &c. by Jose Mac Packe (James Peacocke), 8vo. Lond. 1785. 
 Palladio's First Book of Architecture, translated by Godfrey Richards, 
 
 4to. Lond. 1663. 
 — — — — Architecture, by Giac. Leoni, with Notes and Remarks by Inigo 
 
 Jones, fol. Lond. 1742. 
 
 There is another edition of this Book which purports by the title-page to contain 
 the Notes of Inigo Jones, but they are nevertheless omitted. 
 -, by Ware, fol. Lond. sine an. 
 
 Price's British Carpenter, 4to. Lond. (4th edit.) 1759. 
 Ware's, I., Complete Body of Architecture, fol. Lond. 1756. 
 Wotton's, Sir Henry, Elements of Architecture, 4to. Lond. 1624 
 Wilsford's, Thomas, Art of Building, or an Introduction to all Young 
 Surveyors in common Structures, 8vo. Lond. 1659. [ KD j 
 
PREFACE. 79 
 
 the connexions which constitute truth or fallacy, being 
 often far distant, beyond the sight of superficial observers. 
 Whence, the merit of performances is too often measured 
 by the fame of the performer ; by the taste of the age in 
 which they were produced ; by vulgar report ; party opi- 
 nion ; or some other standard equally inadequate : and not 
 seldom by precepts delivered some centuries ago, calcu- 
 lated for other climates, other men, and other customs. 
 
 To obviate these inconveniencies, the author ventured, 
 soon after his return from Italy, upwards of thirty years 
 ago, to attempt such a compilation as is above mentioned ; 
 by a publication of the first edition of the present work. 
 He flattered himself, that if well conducted, it would 
 greatly shorten the labours of the student, and lead him 
 to truth, by easy and more inviting paths ; that it might 
 render the study of architecture, and its attendant arts, 
 more frequent ; serve to promote true taste, and to diffuse 
 the love of Virtu, among persons of high rank, and large 
 fortune ; the fit encouragers of elegance. 
 
 His design was, without bias from national, or other 
 prejudices ; candidly to consider what had been produced 
 upon the subject ; and to collect from the works or writ- 
 ings of others, or from his own observations, in all parts 
 of Europe, famed for taste ; such particulars, as seemed 
 most interesting, or properest to give a just idea of so very 
 useful and truly noble an art. 
 
 Sensible that all ages had produced bad, or indifferent 
 artists ; and that all men, however excellent, must some- 
 times have erred ; it was his intention, neither to be influ- 
 enced by particular times, nor by the general reputation 
 of particular persons: where reason or demonstration could 
 
80 PREFACE. 
 
 be used, he purposed to employ them ; and where they 
 could not, to substitute in their places, generally admitted 
 opinions. Abstruse or fruidess arguments he wished care- 
 fully to avoid ; nor was it his intention to perplex the 
 unskilful, with a number of indiscriminate examples : 
 having judged it much more eligible to offer a few ; cal- 
 culated to serve at once as standards for imitation, or 
 guides to judge by, in simdar productions. Precision, per- 
 spicuity, and brevity, were to be attempted in the style ; 
 and in the designs, simplicity, order, character, and beauty 
 of form. 
 
 The difficulty and extent of such a task, undertaken 
 early in life, rendered success very uncertain ; and filled 
 the writer's mind with many apprehensions ; but the indul- 
 gent encouragement, so liberally extended to the two 
 former publications of this work ; and the frequent calls 
 for a third ; are pleasing testimonies that his endeavours 
 have not been wholly in vain. He ventures to consider 
 the sale of two numerous editions written upon a subject 
 rather instructive than entertaining ; and in a language 
 generally unknown to foreign Artists ; as a proof of the 
 utility of his undertaking; at least, in the country where 
 he most wished to have it useful. And stimulated by a 
 desire of rendering it still more deserving public notice, 
 he has carefully revised, and considerably augmented this 
 third edition ; he does not presume to say improved it ; 
 but flatters himself the experience gained by thirty years 
 very extensive practice, since the original publication ; 
 has enabled him to judge with some degree of certainty, 
 at least, of what might be left out, be added, or altered to 
 advantage. 
 
PREFACE. 81 
 
 Amongst the additions to this third edition', there is 
 an introductory discourse ; designed to point out, and 
 briefly to explain, the requisite qualifications and duty of 
 an architect, at this time : and in the course of the work, 
 many additional hints, explanations, and elucidations, have 
 been inserted ; wherever they seemed, either necessary 
 for better understanding the text ; for the farther infor- 
 mation of the reader ; or for giving additional force, and 
 greater authority, to what had been before advanced. It 
 has farthermore been attempted on different occasions, to 
 point out to the student the course he ought to steer ; the 
 dangers he has to avoid ; the object he must constantly 
 keep in view. 
 
 To these additional articles in the text, are added four 
 entire new plates ; one of chimney pieces, the rest con- 
 taining vases, urns, and other ornamental pieces, designed 
 by the Author ; and executed for their Majesties, his 
 Grace the Duke of Marlborough, the Earl of Charlemont, 
 and some other persons of high rank. Several of the old 
 plates have also been altered ; and it is hoped, somewhat 
 improved. 
 
 The favourable reception this Treatise on the orna- 
 mental part of architecture has experienced, both in Eng- 
 land and abroad, is such, as certainly required a full dis- 
 charge of the original engagement : by treating upon the 
 Art, in its remaining branches. But such, and so con- 
 
 1 The title of the first as well as of the second edition is as follows: — " A 
 Treatise on Civil Architecture, in which the Principles of that Art arc laid 
 down, and Illustrated by a great number of Plates, accurately designed and 
 engraved by the best Hands," &c. &c. The first edition was published, 
 1759. The second, 1/68. The third, 1791, in which the Title was 
 changed (perhaps needlessly) by the author to that which is prefixed to 
 the present Edition. C ED -J 
 
 v M 
 
82 PREFACE. 
 
 stant, have been the Writer's avocations ; that in the course 
 of thirty years, it has never been in his power, properly 
 to set about so extensive an undertaking : and a variety of 
 concurring circumstances, render it less so now, than ever. 
 Loose materials have, indeed, been abundantly collected; 
 and many designs have from time to time, been made ; 
 with an eye to the general intention : but there arc so 
 many more to make; so much to correct and methodize; 
 that he must, however reluctantly, relinquish the task, and 
 consign the remainder to the execution of some future 
 pen. 
 
 In the mean time, from the method throughout ob- 
 served, in treating the present subject, it is presumed, 
 that this part may now be, as it has hitherto been, consi- 
 dered as a distinct work : in all respects unconnected with 
 any thing that might, or may follow: which form was 
 originally fixed upon for the advantage of the subscribers, 
 as well as for the security of the publisher ; and has now 
 been continued, partly from necessity, and in part, for the 
 benefit of purchasers ; many of whom, have little or no 
 occasion to study any more of the art, than what the pre- 
 sent publication contains ; the remaining branches, though 
 very important to builders, being of little service to con- 
 noisseurs, or men of taste, who aspire to be judges of the 
 beauties, or deformities of a structure, without caring 
 much about the rest, or having the fatigue, of entering 
 into particulars ; either concerning its value, its disposi- 
 tion, or construction. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Civil architecture is that branch of the builder's art, 
 which has for its objects all structures, either sacred or 
 prophane, calculated to supply the wants and comforts ; 
 or to promote, extend, and diversify, the pleasures of life : 
 either contrived to facilitate the business ; give lustre to 
 the duties ; or display the state and distinctions of society. 
 Its purpose is to erect edifices, in which strength and du- 
 ration, shall unite with beauty, convenience, and salubrity; 
 to ascertain their value ; and to4mild them with every at- 
 tention to safety, ease, and economy. 
 
 Many, and singularly opposite, must be the qualities 
 and attainments of him, who aspires to excel, in an art so 
 variously directed. " Architecture," says father Laugier', 
 " is of all useful arts, that which requires the most dis- 
 tinguished talents ; there is perhaps as much genius, good 
 sense, and taste requisite, to constitute a great architect ; 
 as to form a painter or poet of the first class. It would be 
 a strange error to suppose it merely mechanical ; and con- 
 fined to digging foundations, or building walls, by rules of 
 which the practice, supposes nothing more than eyes ac- 
 customed to judge of a perpendicular, and hands expert 
 
 ' Introduction to " Essai sur 1' Architecture," 8vo. Paris, 1755. 
 
 Laugier, Marc Antoine, was born in Provence, 1713; died 1769. He 
 quitted the order of Jesuits of which he was early in life a member. His 
 book entitled, " Observations sur l'Architecture," 12mo. La Have, 1765, 
 is worthy a place in every architectural library. C ED, !1 
 
8-t INTIlODfCTIOX. 
 
 in the management of a trowel. In contemplating the 
 builder's art, all indeed that strikes a vulgar imagination, 
 are, confused mounds of incommodious ruins ; formless 
 heaps of collected materials; dangerous scaffoldings; a 
 frightful clatter of hammers, tools, and working machi- 
 nery ; an army of slovenly bespattered labourers and work- 
 men : but these are only as it were, the rough bark of an 
 art, the ingenious mysteries of which, though only disco- 
 verable to few observers, excite the admiration of all who 
 comprehend them. They perceive inventions of which 
 the boldness, implies a genius, at once fertile and compre- 
 hensive ; proportions of which the justness, announces a 
 severe and systematic precision ; ornaments of which the 
 excellence, discovers exquisite and delicate feelings : and 
 whoever is qualified to taste so many real beauties, will, I 
 am certain, far from attempting to confound architecture 
 with the inferior arts, be strongly inclined to rank it 
 amongst those that are most exalted." 
 
 Yitruvius' requires that the architect should have both 
 ingenuity and application, observing, that wit without la- 
 bour, or labour without wit, never arrived at perfection. 
 " He should," says he, " be a writer and draughtsman, 
 understand geometry, optics, and arithmetic ; be a good 
 historian and phdosopher, well skilled in music, and not 
 ignorant in either physic, law, or astrology. The same 
 author farther requires that he should be possessed of a 
 great and enterprizing mind ; be equitable, trusty, and to- 
 tally free from avarice ; without which, it would be im- 
 possible to discharge the duties of his station with due 
 propriety : ever disinterested, he should be less solicitous 
 
 1 Yitruvius, Lib. I. c i. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 85 
 
 of acquiring riches, than honour, and fame, by his pro- 
 fession." 
 
 And Pythius', another ancient writer, cited by Vitru- 
 vius, insisted, that an architect should be more expert in 
 every profession, connected with his art ; than the ablest 
 professors of each art respectively. 
 
 To this however Vitruvius does not assent, observing, 
 " that the human mind cannot arrive at perfection, in so 
 many difficult and various parts of knowledge. It is," 
 says he, " even rare in the course of a century to find a 
 man superlatively excellent in any profession ; why then 
 is it expected, that an architect should equal Apelles in 
 painting, Myron and Polycletus in sculpture, Hippocrates 
 in medicine, Aristoxenus in music, or Aristarchus in pu- 
 rity of language : Pythius should have remembered, that 
 every art consists of two parts, theory and practice : the 
 latter of which, appertains peculiarly to its professors j 
 but the former, is common to them, and to the learned in 
 general. If, therefore, an architect be sufficiently master 
 in all the arts connected with his profession, to judge per- 
 fectly of the merit of their productions, it is the most that 
 should be insisted upon ; and if so qualified, he shall not 
 need to blush at his own insufficiency 2 ." 
 
 In fact, the business of an architect requires him rather 
 to be a learned judge, than a skilful operator j and when he 
 knows how to direct, and instruct others, with precision ; 
 to examine, judge, and value, their performances with 
 masterly accuracy ; he may truly be said to have acquired 
 all that most men can acquire ; there are but few in- 
 
 Pythius was the architect of a magnificent temple at Priene, dedicated 
 to Minerva. Vitruv. Lib. I. c. i. [ed.]] 
 
 2 Vitruv. ibid. 
 
86 IXTRODICTIOX. 
 
 stances of such prodigies as Michael Angelo Buonaroti, 
 who was at once the first architect, painter, geometrician, 
 anatomist, and sculptor, of his time. 
 
 A'itruvius farthermore observes, that an art enriched 
 with such variety of knowledge, is only to be learned by 
 long and constant application ; and advises his cotempo- 
 raries never to assume the title of architects, till they are 
 perfect masters of their own profession, and of the arts 
 and sciences, with which it is connected : a caution, that 
 even in the present times, may perhaps not be unnecessary. 
 
 It will not readily occur, why a man should be either 
 historian, or philosopher ; musician, or physician ; lawyer, 
 or astrologer ; before he ventures to commence architect. 
 Our author, however, assigns his reasons ; which, for the 
 sake of brevity, are here omitted. The curious reader 
 will find them in the original book ; to which he is refer- 
 red, for farther information'. 
 
 Some part of all this knowledge, though it might have 
 been necessary to an artist of the Augustan age, is not ab- 
 solutely so now ; some part of it too, seems rather osten- 
 tatiously introduced ; more to enumerate the learned wri- 
 ter's own qualifications than such as were indispensably 
 necessary, to every man of his profession : the remaining 
 
 1 The author hardly takes the meaning of Vitruvius, who certainly 
 intended to say no more, than that an architect should be a man of vary 
 general information, which it is presumed nobody will deny. Vitruvius 
 who inflated every thing whereof he treated, has doubtless made a vast show 
 on the subject, in his first chapter, but he has nevertheless greatly quali- 
 fied the extent to which the different sciences are required to be carried. 
 Thus towards the end of the first chapter, he says, speaking of the archi- 
 tect — " Ergo satis abundc is videtur fecisse, qui ex singulis doctrinis par- 
 tes et ratioiies earum mediocriter habet notas, easque qua- llliuMlriw sunt 
 ad architecturam, uti si quid de his rebus et artibus judicare et probare 
 opus fuerit ne destituatur vel deficiat." Vitruv. Lib. I. c. i. f_ ED 
 
INTRODUCTION. 87 
 
 part shall be mentioned in its place ; while I venture to 
 give an opinion, concerning the requisite qualifications of 
 an architect : differing in some particulars, from those above 
 given ; but more adapted, I flatter myself, to the wants, 
 customs, and modes of life of our cotemporaries, as well 
 as to the duties and avocations of a modern architect. 
 
 Architecture being an active as well as speculative art, 
 in which exertions of the body, the organs of sense, and 
 of utterance, are equally necessary with efforts of the 
 mind ; it naturally follows, that such as intend to make it 
 their profession, should enter the lists with a good stock 
 of health, vigor and agility ; they should neither be lame 
 nor unwieldy ; neither awkward, slow, nor helpless ; nei- 
 their purblind nor deaf; nor have any thing ridiculous 
 about them, either natural or acquired. Their under- 
 standing should be sound ; the sight and apprehension 
 quick ; the reasoning faculties clear, and unwarped by 
 prejudices; the temper enterprising, steady, resolute, and 
 though benevolent, rather spirited than passive, meek, or 
 effeminate. 
 
 The necessity of these qualities, in one destined to di- 
 rect and manage great works, to govern and control nu- 
 merous bands of clerks, inspectors, artists, artificers, work- 
 men, and labourers, must be sufficiently obvious. And as 
 at the present time, few engage in any profession, till qua- 
 lified for the world by a proper school education at least ; 
 it must be supposed, that to a competent proficiency in 
 the learned languages, the student adds a thorough know- 
 ledge of his own ; so as to speak and write it correctly at 
 least, if not elegantly ; that he is a good penman ; versed 
 in accounts ; a ready practitioner in arithmetic ; and has 
 received and profited by such other instructions, as tend 
 
8S INTRODUCTION. 
 
 to fix the moral character ; to inculcate integrity ; to po- 
 lish the minds, and improve the manners of youth'. 
 
 Proficiency in the French and Italian languages is also 
 requisite to him ; not only that he may be enabled to travel 
 with advantage, and converse without difficulty, in coun- 
 tries where the chief part of his knowledge is to be col- 
 lected, but also to understand the many, and almost only 
 valuable books treating of his profession ; the greater part 
 of which have never been translated. And as among sea- 
 men, there is a technical language, of which no admiral 
 could be ignorant, without appearing ridiculous ; so in ar- 
 chitecture, and the professions connected therewith, there 
 are peculiar modes of expression, and terms of art, of 
 which an architect must by no means be ignorant ; as that 
 knowledge, impresses upon the minds of the workmen, a 
 respectable idea of his abilities, consequently, a deference 
 for his opinions, and farthermore enables him to explain 
 to them intelligibly what he intends or wishes to be per- 
 formed. 
 
 To these qualifications, mental and corporeal, must be 
 united genius, or a strong inclination and bias of mind 
 towards the pursuit in question ; without which little suc- 
 cess can be expected. This quality, whether it be* the 
 
 1 If success were a proof of talent, one might be inclined to question 
 the necessity of good education and learning in any profession. The most 
 ignorant often blunder through and make the largest fortunes. Corin- 
 thian cheeks are ever the most valuable possession. As the apothecary ends 
 his career in the capacity of physician, so the carpenter, bricklayer, mason, 
 el alii de gregc, usually rise up and finally revolve in an architectural 
 orbit. C ED ] 
 
 1 ' The Lord hath called Bezalcel, and hath filled him with the spirit of 
 God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner 
 of workmanship, and to devise curious works. 
 
 • And he hath put it in his heart, that he may teach, both he and Alio- 
 
INTRODUCTION. 89 
 
 gift of God, or a fortuitous propensity' ; whether innate 
 or acquired, has not unaptly been compared to those in- 
 stincts implanted by nature in different animals ; by which, 
 they are enabled to comprehend, and to perform certain 
 things with much ease, while others, not having the same 
 natural disposition, neither comprehend, nor can perform 
 them ; thus the man of genius, or he whose mind is pe- 
 culiarly adapted to the contemplation of his subject, com- 
 prehends with ease, distinguishes with perspicuity, trea- 
 sures up with nice selection, whatever is ingenious, ex- 
 traordinary, useful, or elegant ; his imagination ever active 
 in a favorite pursuit, will abound in ideas, combinations, 
 and improvements, equally new, striking, and agreeable ; 
 while he who mistakes his way, and applies to studies for 
 which nature, or early impressions, have not prepared him, 
 labours sluggishly, without relish, as without effect ; like 
 Sisyphus, ever toiling up a hill, the summit of which he is 
 never to reach. 
 
 As many sorts of knowledge, very opposite in their na- 
 tures, come under the architect's consideration, his ge- 
 nius must be of a complex sort, endowed with the viva- 
 city and powers of imagination, requisite to produce sub- 
 
 liab, them hath he filled with wisdom of heart to work all manner of work. 
 Exodus xxxv. 30—34. 
 
 1 In the window of his mother's apartment, lay Spenser's Fairy Queen ; 
 in which he very early took delight to read, till, by feeling the charms of 
 verse, he became, as he relates, irrecoverably a poet. Such are the acci- 
 dents, which sometimes remembered, and perhaps sometimes forgotten, 
 produce that particular designation of mind and propensity for some cer- 
 tain science or employment, which is commonly called genius. The true 
 genius is a mind of large general powers, accidentally determined to some 
 peculiar direction. Sir Joshua Reynolds, the great painter of the present 
 age, had the first fondness of his art excited by the perusal of Richardson's 
 Treatise. — Dr. Johnsou's Life of Cowley. 
 
 N 
 
90 INTRODLCTIOX. 
 
 lime or extraordinary compositions ; and at the same time, 
 with the industry, patience, and penetration, necessary to 
 investigate mathematical truths, discuss difficult, some- 
 times irksome subjects, and enter into details of various 
 sorts, often as tiresome, as they are necessary ; a ge- 
 nius equally capable of expanding to the noblest and most 
 elevated conceptions, or of shrinking to the level of the 
 meanest and minutest enquiries ; as Doctor Johnson ex- 
 presses it, a mind, that at once comprehends the vast, and 
 attends to the minute. 
 
 Dispositions of this nature are seldom found, their con- 
 stituent qualities are in some degree incompatible, and 
 hence, perhaps, chiefly arises the rarity of complete mas- 
 ters in the profession. The lively student naturally strikes 
 into the paths which afford most scope for his fancy ; he 
 exercises himself in the arts of composition, and in the 
 different branches of design ; improves his knowledge of 
 painting, sculpture, books, and structures ; forms his taste, 
 and turns his whole attention towards the sublimer parts 
 of the art, neglecting all the while, the inferior know- 
 ledge, so useful, so absolutely necessary, in practice, and 
 of which a perfect master can never be ignorant. Ambi- 
 tious to excel, he must not neglect attainments, without 
 which lie cannot operate, while they may be purchased at 
 the expence of industry and steady perseverance 1 . 
 
 ' The Architectural Student will do well to keep in mind what Sir Jo- 
 shua Reynolds says on another art, and which is quite applicable in our 
 own. " In this art, as in others, there are many teachers, who profess to 
 shew the nearest way to excellence ; and many expedients have been in- 
 vented by which the toil of study mi^'ht be saved. But let no man be -. - 
 duced to idleness by specious promises. Exi ki.i.km K is nkvf.h 8RANT- 
 F.n TO man, hit as the Reward of LaBOUB. It Blguefl indeed no small 
 Strength of mind to persevere in habits of industry, without the pleasure of 
 perceiving those advances, which, like the hand of a clock, whilst ti.i t 
 
INTRODUCTION. 91 
 
 A celebrated Italian Artist ', whose taste and luxuriance 
 of fancy were unusually great, and the effect of whose 
 
 make hourly approaches to their point, yet proceed so slowly as to escape 
 observation." Second Discourse on Painting. C ED -1 
 
 1 Giov. Battista Piranesi, the celebrated engraver, is here alluded to. 
 He was a Venetian, and was born in 1720. His death happened in the 
 year 1 788 ; a list of his works may not be unacceptable and is therefore 
 subjoined : — 
 
 1. His earliest work, the dedication to which is dated 1748 — though 
 published in 1743 — is entitled, " Antichita Romane de' Tempi della 
 Repubblica e de' primi Imperatori." 2 Parts, 28 plates, Roma 1748. 
 
 2. Architetture varie, 27 plates, Roma 1750. 
 
 3. Carceri d'Invenzione, 1(5 plates, no date, but supposed 1750. 
 
 4. Trofei d'Augusto, &c. 10 plates, Roma 1753. 
 
 5. Archi trionfali, Tempj ed Antiteatri, 31 plates, Roma, circa 1753. 
 
 6. Antichita Romane. This embraces the fragments of the antient plan 
 of Rome in the Museum of the Capitol, 224 plates, 4 Vols. Roma 1750. 
 To these there is a Supplement by the son, F. Piranesi, 2 Vols. 1785. 
 
 7- Rovine del Castello dell'acqua Giulia, 20 plates, Roma 1761. 
 
 8. Antichita d'Albano e di Castel Gandolfo, 55 plates, Roma 1 761 -2. 
 
 9. De Romanorum magnificentia et Architecture, 44 plates, Romae 1761. 
 
 10. Campus Martius antiquae urbis, 54 plates, Roma? 1762. 
 
 11. Lapides Capitolini sive Fasti Consulares, 12 plates, Romae 1762. 
 
 With this usually occurs the Antichita di Cora, 14 plates. 
 
 12. Diverse maniere d'adornare i Cammini, 09 plates, Roma 1769. 
 
 13. Colonna Trajana, large fol. 21 plates, Roma 1770. 
 
 14. Vasi, Candelabri, &c. 114 plates, Roma 1 778. 
 
 15. Vedute di Roma, about 137 plates. Besides these there is also a 
 
 small Work of this author now very scarce, in which, extremely irri- 
 tated against Lord Charlemont, he assigns his reasons for not dedicat- 
 ing to him his Antichita Romane. For this work he etched, in quarto, 
 exact copies of the four original Frontispieces which were to have 
 immortalised the name of his patron, with views of the inscriptions 
 re-ingraved as they now stand, as though the first Inscriptions had 
 been cut out of the stones, and the new ones inserted on small pieces 
 let into them. There are also head and tail pieces alluding to the mat- 
 ters and persons involved in the dispute. This work is dated 1757- 
 A representation of Lord Charlemont's (the nobleman above men- 
 tioned) casino will be found among Sir W. C.'s plates. E ED -J 
 
0/2 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 compositions, on paper, has seldom been equalled, knew 
 little of construction or calculation, yet less of the con- 
 trivance of habitable structures, or the modes of carrying 
 real works into execution ; though styling himself an ar- 
 chitect. And when some pensioners of the French aca- 
 demy at Rome, in the Author's hearing, charged him with 
 ignorance of plans, he composed a very complicated one, 
 since published in his work, which sufficiently proves, 
 that the charge was not altogether groundless. Indeed, 
 it is not unfrequent in some countries of the continent, to 
 find ingenious composers and able draughtsmen, with no 
 other reading than Vignola's rules, and without any skill 
 whatever in the executive parts ; or knowledge of the 
 sciences belonging thereto. 
 
 On the other hand, the student of a more saturnine 
 cast, unable, or fearful, perhaps, of soaring so high, ap- 
 plies his powers to the operative and economical branches 
 of the art, resting satisfied in the parts of design and com- 
 position, to imitate or copy others ; content, if by borrow- 
 ing whatever falls in his way, he avoids any striking ab- 
 surdities; and reaches that state of mediocrity, which 
 though it may escape censure, commands no praise. 
 
 In countries where mechanics assume the profession, 
 and arrogate the title of architects, men of this sort 
 abound ; they are by foreigners stiled portfolio artists ; 
 and their productions, collected without judgment, from 
 different stores, must ever be discordant ; without deter- 
 mined stile, marked character, or forcible effect ; always 
 without novelty, and having seldom either grandeur or 
 beauty to recommend them. They are pasticcios in build- 
 ing, generally more imperfect than those of the stage. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 93 
 
 But though genius be the basis of excellence, it can 
 alone, produce but little ; the richest soil when neglected, 
 affords no other crop than weeds ; and from the happiest 
 disposition without culture, without knowledge of rules 
 to guide, or judgment to restrain, little more can be ex- 
 pected than capricious conceits, or luxuriant extrava- 
 gancies. 
 
 Of mathematical knowledge, geometry, trigonometry, 
 and conic sections should be understood, as teaching the 
 construction, properties, contents, and divisions of the 
 forms used in building. Likewise mechanics and hydrau- 
 lics, which treat of the formation, and ascertain the ef- 
 fects of all kinds of machinery, simple or complex, used 
 in building ; likewise of the raising, conveyance, and ap- 
 plication of water, as well for the common uses of life, as 
 to produce many extraordinary effects, very ornamental 
 in gardening, and efficacious in manufactures '. 
 
 These sciences farthermore treat of the gravitation of 
 bodies, and in what manner, and by what laws, they move 
 and act upon each other, under different circumstances ; 
 with many other particulars of frequent and material use 
 in an art, where vast weights are to be moved, and in 
 which structures, of whatever form, must be calculated to 
 
 1 Mathematics have, perhaps, been too much neglected by some of the 
 Architects of this country. The consequence has been the establishment of a 
 new branch of art whose professors are called civil Engineers. As art is 
 open to all, we would not quarrel with these gentlemen, some of them pos- 
 sessing talents of the very highest nature, if they would be content with 
 practising strictly in their vocation. In their designs, even the best that 
 they have produced, though cried up by their partisans which they have 
 in the high places, there are many violations of architectural propriety, so 
 that it would surely not be asking too much of them, to submit to the 
 advice and correction of those that have made the arts of design the prin- 
 cipal study of their lives. Cbd.] 
 
Q4 IN'TRODUCTIOX. 
 
 carry great and indeterminate burthens, to stand the shock 
 of heavy laden carriages, and to resist the utmost fury of 
 the elements. 
 
 By optics, particularly that part which is called per- 
 spective, the artist is enabled to judge with precision, of 
 the effects of his compositions when carried into execution, 
 and also to represent them more pleasingly in design, as 
 well for his own satisfaction, as to give his employers a 
 more perfect idea of his intentions than could be collected 
 from geometrical drawings. And an acquaintance with the 
 other branches will be useful on many occasions, in the dis- 
 tribution of light, to produce particular striking effects, and 
 in the disposal of mirrors, to create deceptions, multiply 
 objects, and raise ideas of far greater than the real magni- 
 tude or extent of that which is exhibited to view. 
 
 As to a painter, or sculptor, so to an architect, a 
 thorough mastery in design is indispensably necessary; 
 it is the sine qua non, and the mat a bustanza of Carlo 
 Maratta ', is full as applicable in one art as in the others; 
 for if the architect's mind be not copiously stored with 
 correct ideas of forms, and habituated by long practice to 
 vary and combine them as the fancy operates : or if his 
 hand has not the power of representing with precision 
 and force, what the imagination suggests, his compositions 
 will ever be feeble, formal, and ungraceful, and he will 
 
 ' Carlo Maratta, :i painter of the Roman School, born 1025, died 1713. 
 IIo was nicknamed Carkuxba delta Madonna by Salvator Rosa, from his 
 fondness tor painting Madonnas. The allusion of the author relates to his 
 never being satisfied with his forms and drapery, which he always employed 
 himself in correcting to the last moment of finishing a picture. Fuseli 
 
 very justly observes that his talent seldom rose above mediocrity- lie was 
 nevertheless extremely popular in his time in Rome, as the churches and 
 palaces there amply testify. [ ED 
 
INTRODUCTION. 95 
 
 stand unqualified to discharge the principal part of his 
 duty, which is, to invent and dispose all that enters into 
 his design, and to guide the painter, sculptor, and every 
 other artist or artificer, by advice and precise directions, 
 as far at least, as relates to the outline and effect of their 
 performances, that all may be the effort of one mind, mas- 
 ter of its object, and all the parts be calculated to pro- 
 duce a general uniformly supported whole ; which never 
 can be the case where artists and artificers are left to them- 
 selves, as each, naturally enough, considers the perfec- 
 tion of his own part, sometimes without comprehending, 
 and always without attention to, the whole composition. 
 Even Bernini ', though an able architect, could seldom 
 refrain from sacrificing architecture to the graces of sculp- 
 ture and painting, the ill consequences of which, are suffi- 
 ciently conspicuous in several of his works, but particu- 
 larly in his piazza of St. Peter's, where the statues placed 
 upon the colonnades, instead of standing upright as they 
 should do, in all such situations, are so whimsically con- 
 torted, that at a little distance they seem to be performino- 
 a dance, and very considerably injure the effect of that 
 magnificent approach to the first building in the Christian 
 world. 
 
 1 Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini, born at Naples in 1589, died 1680. His 
 residence was chiefly at Rome, where with great reputation he practised 
 as an Architect and Sculptor. He was under Urban VIII, one of the 
 Architects of St. Peter's, to which, besides other parts, he added those of the 
 great colonnades in front of the Church and the Baldachino under the Cupola. 
 He was in general request throughout Europe. At Paris he made designs 
 for completing the Louvre (see a subsequent note on Chambray), and for 
 England he executed three busts of Charles the First from a picture by 
 Vandyke. Bernini was also a painter; several of his pictures are in the 
 Florentine Gallery; he received the honour of Knighthood from Gre- 
 gory V. [ ED .] 
 
9G INTRODUCTION. 
 
 To the knowledge, practice, and facility of hand just 
 mentioned, composers in architecture must unite a per- 
 fect acquaintance with all kinds of proportions, having 
 relation either to the grandeur, beauty, strength, or con- 
 venience of structures, their variations as occasions re- 
 quire, and the different effects which situation, distance, 
 light, or other circumstances have upon them ; which is a 
 science of very considerable difficulty, and only to be at- 
 tained by much experience and close observation. 
 
 He furthermore must be well versed in the customs, 
 ceremonies, and modes of life of all degrees of men his 
 cotemporaries, their occupations and amusements, the 
 number and employments of their domestics, equipages 
 and appurtenances, in what manner the business allotted 
 to each is performed, and what is requisite or proper to 
 facilitate the service, with many other particulars which, 
 though seemingly trifling, must not be unknown to him 
 who is to provide for the wants, and gratify the expecta- 
 tions of all. 
 
 Neither must he be ignorant of ancient history ', fable 
 and mythology, nor of antiquities, as far as relates to the 
 structures, sculpture, ornaments, and utensils of the 
 Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, and Etrurians ; as the es- 
 tablished stile of decoration collects its forms, combina- 
 tions, symbols, and allusions, from these abundant sources, 
 which time, and the concurring approbation of many ages, 
 have rendered venerable. 
 
 The painter's canvas, and the sculptor's block, are their 
 ultimate objects ; but the architect's attention must at 
 
 1 The author somewhat contradicts himself: at page 8(3 he seems rather 
 disinclined to admit Vitruvius's qualifications. See note on the passage. 
 
 [>■] 
 
INTRODUCTION. 97 
 
 once be directed to the grandeur or beauty, strength, du- 
 ration, fit contrivance, and economical execution of his 
 compositions ; qualities that ever clash, and which it of- 
 ten is exceedingly difficult to reconcile. His different 
 plans, elevations, and sections, must all be considered at 
 the same time, and like the parts of a piece of music, be 
 contrived to harmonize and set each other off to most ad- 
 vantage. 
 
 To the excellence of the designer's art, must yet be 
 added, the humbler, though not less useful skill, of the 
 mechanic and accountant ; for however able the draughts- 
 man, he should not deem himself an architect, nor ven- 
 ture upon practising in that capacity, till master of the 
 executive parts of this profession. 
 
 These imply an acquaintance with all the known ap- 
 proved methods of building every kind of structure, se- 
 curely, and for duration. How difficulties arising from 
 situation, nature of soils, or other adventitious circum- 
 stances, are to be surmounted ; and precisely what pre- 
 cautions the occasion may require, in order to avoid su- 
 perfluous expence, by avoiding to employ superfluous re- 
 medies. 
 
 They farther imply a power of conducting large works, 
 with order and economy ; of measuring correctly accord- 
 ing to established usages, of regulating the accounts 
 with accuracy, of employing with discernment, directing 
 and governing with skill and temper, many men of differ- 
 ent professions, capacities and dispositions ; all without 
 violence or clamour, yet with full effect. 
 
 To mastery in these particulars must be added, profi- 
 ciency in all the arts, liberal or mechanic, having relation 
 to the building or adorning structures ; a capacity of de- 
 
 o 
 
9S INTRODUCTION. 
 
 termining exactly, tlie goodness of the different materials 
 used, with the degree of perfection and consequent value 
 at all times, of every kind of work, from the stately splen- 
 did productions of the pencil and chissel, to the most 
 trifling objects employed in a fabric : together with all the 
 circumstances constituting their value ; as upon these, its 
 occasional fluctuation must depend. 
 
 Considerable as this detail may seem, it is yet insuffi- 
 cient. A buUder, like a chemist, must analyze his sub- 
 stances ; be so much master of the constituent parts of his 
 composition, their necessary forms and dimensions, that, 
 as those of the profession term it, he may be able to take 
 the whole building to pieces, and estimate from his de- 
 signs, the total amount of the structure, before a single 
 stone is prepared. 
 
 To ignorance, or inattention in this particular, of which 
 for serious reasons, no architect should ever be ignorant, 
 or careless, must be ascribed the distressful, often the ruin- 
 ous, uncertainty of common estimates; for some, who con- 
 descend to estimate their own productions, know perhaps, 
 but imperfectly, how their designs are to be carried into 
 execution, and consequently omit in the valuation, much 
 that must be done. And some, who being too great for 
 such minute investigations, employ others to estimate, 
 without describing thoroughly the manner in which they 
 intend to proceed, leave them so much in the dark, that 
 even if capable, they can do little more than guess at 
 the value, and are seldom or ever right in their conjec- 
 tures '. 
 
 ' The following ironical account of the close of the labours of some 
 who assumed the name of architect, was a few years ago, not very far 
 from the truth. It is extracted from an excellent little book, entitled 
 
INTRODUCTION. 99 
 
 Others there are, who being either unqualified, or too 
 idle to calculate themselves, and perhaps too parsimo- 
 
 OIKIAIA, or Nutshells, 8vo. Lond. 1785, by the late James Peacock, 
 of Guildhall, whose virtues and moral excellence will be honoured as lon<* 
 as the memory of his surviving friends remains sound, under the fictitious 
 anagrammatic name of Jose Mac Packe, a bricklayer's labourer. At 
 the end of this book he says, " It will not be improper, perhaps, to 
 close this little work with another intimation, respecting an operation to 
 be performed when the building is finished, and the artist has all the work- 
 men's accounts under his hand ; this is called docking, and is performed 
 two ways, the old manner proceeds cautiously, by analysis and detail, and 
 being very generally known, requires nothing particular to be said of it 
 here. 
 
 " The new method stands recommended, on account of the ease and ex- 
 pedition wherewith it is eifected, and the great and respectable air the ope- 
 rator derives from it (the general and happy concomitant of ambiguity and 
 mystery) ; it is certainly a grand objection to the old method, that it 
 requires so great an insight into the nature, qualities and values of all sorts 
 of materials, and workmanship ; an inferior and intricate kind of know- 
 ledge, by far too mean and troublesome for gentlemen of exalted views to 
 attend to. There is, however, one very capital objection to a general use 
 of the new manner, which is that now and then a workman is turbulent and 
 refractory, and pays no more regard to the fiat or dignity of an architect, 
 than he would to those of- an old apple woman ; and would sooner squan- 
 der his money away among those rogues the lawyers, than forego a single 
 guinea of his property, to add to, or uphold the fame of any architect 
 whatsoever ; so that if the artist does not know his man, the old manner 
 is abundantly to be preferred ; or at least, such a degree of relaxation from 
 the new mode, as after mature deliberation, prudence will naturally dic- 
 tate. This may be very well done, without losing sight of that valuable 
 quality or disposition, ever Argus like, awake to, and alert in seizing all 
 kinds of advantages (very often maliciously called low cunning), and 
 which may be exercised in its fullest extent, where the workman is known 
 to be a poor ignorant and timorous wretch, foolishly afraid, that lam is not 
 always justice, and whose maxim is, that the first loss is generally the least." 
 
 Then follows an anecdote of a gentleman who had employed his archi- 
 tect to examine some bills, among them one of a smith whose bill had 
 been docked, " who had been under very particular obligations to the gen- 
 tleman, and from whose bill, apparently of 30/. stood a deduction of 61." 
 The gentleman, after expostulating with him for his villanous ingrati- 
 tude, as well as dishonesty, in attempting such an imposition upon him, 
 
1(J0 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 nious to employ any other person, for it is a work of time, 
 and considerable expense, value by the square ; an ope- 
 ration, both easy and expeditious, but of all, the most fal- 
 lacious, excepting in common buildings, of similar forms 
 and dimensions, built and finished in the same manner ; 
 where, the amount of what has been done, may be a guide 
 to value by. But in extraordinary works, these rapid es- 
 timators never hit the mark, and are generally so far wide 
 of it, as to draw shame and reproaches on themselves ; re- 
 gret, difficulties, sometimes ruin, both on the employer 
 and the tradesmen employed. 
 
 As one, in whose honour and judgment the employer 
 confides, and to whom the employed look up for protection 
 and justice ; as mediator and judge between them, on sub- 
 jects generally important: the architect's skill, vigilance, 
 and activity, should equal the consequence of his station, 
 and studious to sustain his character, attentive to justify 
 the confidence reposed in him, he must neither inadver- 
 tently, nor otherwise, bring on unexpected ruinous ex- 
 penses; neither countenance, nor suffer, imposition on the 
 one hand ; oppressive parsimony, or ill directed liberality, 
 on the other. 
 
 Let it not however be inferred, from any thing here 
 said, that errors in estimation proceed on every occasion, 
 
 i .Mired him he should have iid future opportunity of exercising a similar 
 conduct with respect to him." The smith liumblv begged to know the 
 
 reason. " Reason ! Sir, why Mr. informs me here, you have 
 
 overcharged me (i/. in this bill." " Why then, Sir," replies Vulcan, " I am 
 32, in your honour's debt : this is the first time I ever made a charge of 
 this strange nature." The truth is, Vulcan was but a lame scribe, and had 
 inadvertently made the amount of his bill, which was 3/. appear so much 
 like 30/. that any person looking no further than at the total, might have 
 made exactly the same mistake the surveyor did. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 101 
 
 from the ignorance or inadvertency of the architect : those 
 who build, are often whimsical themselves, or advise with 
 such as are : they are pleased to-day, disgusted to-morrow, 
 with the same object : hence alterations commence ; de- 
 viation succeeds to deviation ; their first ideas are extend- 
 ed, improved, and varied, till, by insensible gradations, 
 both the form and value of the original design are entirely 
 changed. 
 
 All that, in such cases, the architect can do, and in dis- 
 charge of his duty should do, is, at the time, to notify by 
 written information, the consequences of the alterations 
 taking place. I say written, for words are soon forgot ; 
 or, if remembered, explained away ; and sometimes de- 
 nied. But written testimony admits of no equivocation, 
 it cannot be disputed, and will fix the blame where it 
 should be fixed ; not on the architect's want of care or 
 judgment, but on the builder's wavering disposition. 
 
 Ornamental gardening', which in Italy, France, and 
 
 ' Ornamental gardening was a favorite subject with Sir W. Chambers. 
 In J 77- he published a treatise, in 4to. entitled, a " Dissertation on Ori- 
 ental Gardening" — which went to a second edition in the next year 
 
 This was much ridiculed in a publication which soon followed it, entitled, 
 " An Heroical Epistle to Sir William Chambers, Knight, Comptroller 
 General of his Majesty's Works, and Author of a late Dissertation on 
 Oriental Gardening," generally attributed to Mason, the author of " The 
 English Garden." It opens with the following verses : — 
 
 Knight of the Polar Star ! by fortune placed 
 
 To shine the cynosure of British taste ; 
 
 Whose orb collects, in one refulgent view, 
 
 The scattered glories of Chinese virtu : 
 
 And spreads their lustre in so broad a blaze, 
 
 That Kings themselves are dazzled while they gaze. 
 
 To this succeeded an " Heroic Postscript to the Public," occasioned by 
 the favorable reception of the Epistle, 4to. Lond. 1 774. Then came " A 
 
102 INTRODUCTION-. 
 
 other countries of the European continent, constitutes a 
 part of the architect's profession ; is here in other hands : 
 and, with a few exceptions, in very improper ones. Should 
 that pleasing art be ever practised by men, who have made 
 composition in general, a study ; who by having seen 
 much, have stored the fancy with copious imagery ; and 
 by proficiency in the arts of design, formed a correct and 
 elegant taste; we might expect to find much more variety 
 and far higher perfection in works of that sort, than can 
 now be expected, or is yet to be boasted of. 
 
 It seems almost superfluous to observe, that an architect 
 cannot aspire to superiority in his profession, without 
 having travelled ; for it must be obvious, that an art 
 founded upon reasoning and much observation, is not to 
 be learnt without it ; books cannot avail ; descriptions, 
 even drawings or prints, are but weak substitutes of rea- 
 lities : and an artist who constantly inhabits the same 
 place, converses with the same people, and has the same 
 objects always obtruding on his view, must necessarily 
 have very confined notions, few ideas, and many preju- 
 dices. Travelling rouses the imagination ; the sight of 
 great, new, or uncommon objects, elevates the mind to 
 sublime conception ; enriches the fancy with numerous 
 ideas ; sets the reasoning faculties in motion : he who has 
 beheld with attentive consideration, the venerable remains 
 of ancient magnificence ; or studiouslv examined the 
 splendor of modern times, in the productions of the sub- 
 lime Buonarroti, Bramante, Vignola, Palladio, KafFaello, 
 Polidoro, Peruzzi, Sansovino, Sanmicheli, Ammanati, 
 
 Familiar Epistle to the Author of the Heroic Epistle." The bitterness 
 
 however of the " Heroic " was adequately retorted in the " Familiar 
 Kpistle." C KD -] 
 
INTRODUCTION. 103 
 
 Bernini, Pietro da Cortona, and many other original mas- 
 ters ; whose works are the ornament and pride of the 
 European continent; must have acquired notions, far 
 more extensive, and superior to him, whose information 
 has been gleaned from the copiers, or feeble imitators, of 
 these great men, and their stupendous works : he must 
 be in composition more animated, varied, and luxuriant ; 
 in design, more learned, correct, and graceful : ever go- 
 verned by a taste formed at the fountain's head, upon the 
 purest models ; and impressed with the effect of those 
 great objects, which some time or other in life, have been 
 the admiration of most who either claim distinction, or 
 aspire to elegance ; he must always labour with greater 
 certainty of success. 
 
 By travelling, a thorough knowledge of different coun- 
 tries, their language and manners, are alone to be attained 
 in perfection : and by conversing with men of different 
 nations, we learn their opinions, hear their reasons in 
 support of them, and are naturally led to reason in our 
 turn : to set aside our national prejudices, reject our ill 
 founded maxims, and allow for granted, that only which 
 is clearly proved ; or is founded on reason, long expe- 
 rience, and careful observation. 
 
 Thus habituated to consider with the rigour of critical 
 accuracy, we learn to see objects in their true light ; 
 without attention, either to casual approbation or dislike: 
 to distinguish truth through the veil of obscurity, and 
 detect pretence however speciously sustained. Travelling 
 to an artist, is, as the university to a man of letters, the 
 last stage of a regular education ; which opens the mind 
 to a more liberal and extensive train of thinking, diffuses 
 an air of importance over the whole man, and stamps 
 
104- INTRODUCTION. 
 
 value upon his opinions : it affords him opportunities of 
 forming connections with the great, the learned, or the 
 rich ; and the friendships he makes whde abroad, are 
 frequently the first causes of his reputation, and success 
 at home'. 
 
 1 Ridolfi (Part i. c. 20) justly observes, " La Cognizione di quest' arte 
 non e conceduta ad ognuno, ma riservata a coloro. che con lungo studio 
 hanno di cosi difficile e laboriosa materia gli ultimi termini appresi." 
 
 [ED.] 
 
OF THE ORIGIN AND PROGRESS OF BUILDING. 105 
 
 OF THE ORIGIN AND PROGRESS OF BUILDING. 
 
 Buildings were certainly among the first wants of 
 mankind; and architecture must, undoubtedly be classed, 
 among the earliest antediluvian arts. Scripture informs 
 us, that Cain built a city': and soon after the deluge, we 
 hear of many cities ; and of an attempt to build a tower 
 that should reach the sky 1 : a miracle stopped the pro- 
 gress, and prevented the completion of that bold design 3 . 
 
 The first men, living in a warm climate, wanted no 
 habitations : every grove afforded shade from the rays of 
 the sun, and shelter from the dews of the night; rain fell 
 but seldom, nor was it ever sufficiently cold, to render 
 closer dwellings than groves, either desirable or necessary, 
 even in the hours of repose : they fed upon the sponta- 
 neous productions of the soil, and lived without care, as 
 without labour. 
 
 But when the human species increased, and the pro- 
 duce of the earth, however luxuriant, was insufficient to 
 supply the requisite food; when frequent disappointments 
 drew on contention, with all its train of calamities, then 
 separation became necessary ; and colonies dispersed to 
 
 1 Genesis iv. 17- "And he builded a City, and called the name of the 
 City after his son Enoch." [ed.] 
 
 1 Genesis xi. 3 to 8. 
 
 3 " Tant que les descendans de Noe demeurerent reunis, ils furent a 
 portee de cultiver ce qu'on avoit pu conserver de decouvertes anterieures 
 au deluge. Le projet qu'ils concurent et executerent en partie, de batir 
 une Ville dans la plaine de Sennaar, le dessein d'y elever une tour d'une 
 hauteur prodigieuse, prouvent que les nouveaux habitans de la terre 
 n'etoient pas entierement destitues de connoissances en Architecture." 
 L'Origine des Lois par Goguet, Ire Ep. liv. ii. c. 3. [ed.] 
 
 P 
 
106 OF THE ORIGIN AND 
 
 different regions : where frequent rain, storms and pierc- 
 ing cold, forced the inhabitants to seek for better shelter 
 than trees. 
 
 At first they most likely retired to caverns, formed by 
 nature in rocks; to hollow trunks of trees ; or to holes, 
 dug by themselves in the earth ; but soon disgusted with 
 the damp and darkness of these habitations, they began to 
 search after more wholesome and comfortable dwellings '. 
 
 The animal creation pointed out both materials, and 
 manners of construction ; swallows, rooks, bees, storks ; 
 were the first builders : man observed their instinctive 
 operations, he admired ; he imitated ; and being endued 
 with reasoning faculties, and of a structure suited to 
 mechanical purposes, he soon outdid his masters in the 
 builder's art. 
 
 Rude and unseemly, no doubt, were the first attempts ; 
 without experience or tools, the builder collected a few 
 boughs of trees, spread them in a conic shape, and cover- 
 ing them with rushes, or leaves and clay; formed his hut: 
 sufficient to shelter its hardy inhabitants at night, or in 
 seasons of bad weather 1 . But in the course of time, 
 men naturally grew more expert ; they invented tools to 
 shorten and improve labour ; fell upon neater, more dur- 
 able modes of construction ; and forms, better adapted 
 than the cone, to the purposes for which their huts were 
 intended. They felt the want of convenient habitations, 
 wherein to taste the comforts of privacy, to rest securely, 
 and be effectually screened from troublesome excesses of 
 
 1 Diodorua Sic. lib. i. sect. 8. Vitruvius, lib. i. c. 2. Pausanias, 
 
 l'liiicic. c. 17- C ED 
 
 Diod. Siculus, lib. i. sect. 43. Ki! t»; ohwus sx t«» xaXa/i*» «"j- 
 
 o-xiua^iySai. C ED 
 
THE 7-RZMZTXVE SVZLBWeS fzc. 
 
 Ill 
 
 The JFoTst 
 
 The Secrnd scrt rfMttr. 
 
 
 ^9i Si 
 
 r 
 
 1 
 
 ' 
 
 
 
 T^Tfe-i jwr ,-^ J aa^,< ri t < ^ _„.„,. ^^^ 
 
 IheI1 - ' Bnprnta. Sat,. 
 
 Origin cr Tht Cmnifdm Capita. 
 
 Ihebmcl*/i2t cf-thtJiwi, of Thtsau atjthmj 
 
 
 
 I . Shrfi rfiheCe&mn.. %JzIfeL r 
 Ttf Official 
 
 3. fyae. 
 
 b. fffee- 
 
 JKaftfe sc 
 
 Jte&&S,3y.j?rieta* and WoaieJfoh SSnxtrBlccm&un, 
 
PROGRESS OF BUILDING. 107 
 
 weathers. They wanted room to exercise the arts, to 
 which necessity had given birth ; to deposit the grain, 
 that agriculture enabled them to raise in abundance ; to 
 secure the flocks, which frequent disappointments in the 
 chace, had forced them to collect and domesticate. Thus 
 stimulated, their fancy and hands went arduously to 
 work, and the progress of improvement was rapid. 
 
 That the primitive hut was of a conic figure, it is rea- 
 sonable to conjecture ; from its being the simplest of 
 solid forms : and most easily constructed. And wherever 
 wood was found, they probably built in the manner above 
 described ; but, soon as the inhabitants discovered the 
 inconvenience of the inclined sides, and the want of 
 upright space in the cone; they changed it for the cube: 
 and, as it is supposed, proceeded in the following manner. 
 
 Having, says Vitruvius, marked out the space to be 
 occupied by the hut ; they fixed in the ground, several 
 upright trunks of trees, to form the sides ; filling the 
 intervals between them with branches, closely inter- 
 woven, and spread over with clay. The sides thus com- 
 pleated, four beams were laid on the upright trunks ; 
 which being well fastened together at the angles of their 
 junction, kept the sides firm ; and likewise served to sup- 
 port the covering or roof of the building ; composed of 
 smaller trees, placed horizontally, like joists: upon which 
 were laid several beds of reeds, leaves, and earth or clay". 
 
 By degrees, other improvements took place ; and 
 means were found to make the fabrick lasting, neat, and 
 handsome : as well as convenient. The bark and other 
 protuberances were taken from the trees that formed the 
 
 1 VitruviuSj lib ii. c. 1. Strabo, lib. iv. Tacitus de Moribus Germ. 
 
 [ed.] 
 
108 OF THE ORIGIN AND 
 
 sides, these trees were raised above the dirt and humidity 
 on stones ; were covered at the top with other stones ; 
 and firmly bound round at both ends with ozier or cords, 
 to secure them from splitting. The spaces between the 
 joists of the roof, were closed up with clay or wax, and 
 the ends of them either smoothed, or covered with boards. 
 The different beds of materials that composed the cover- 
 ing, were cut straight at the eaves, and distinguished 
 from each other by different projections. The form of 
 the roof too, was altered ; for being, on account of its 
 flatness, unfit to throw off the rains which sometimes fell 
 in great abundance ; it was raised in the middle, on trees 
 disposed like rafters ; after the form of a gable roof. 
 
 This construction, simple as it appears, probably gave 
 birth to most of the parts that now adorn our buildings ; 
 particularly to the orders, which may be considered as 
 the basis of the whole decorative part of architecture : 
 for when structures of wood were set aside, and men 
 began to erect solid stately edifices of stone, having 
 nothing nearer to imitate, they naturally copied the parts 
 which necessity introduced in the primitive hut 1 ; inso- 
 much that the upright trees, with the stones and cordage 
 at each end of them, were the origin of columns, bases, 
 and capitals ; the beams and joists gave rise to architraves 
 
 1 See the scriptures*, Homer b , Herodotus 1 , Strabo d , Diodorus Siculus'. 
 Paosanias', Pliny*, Justin h , Quintus Curtius'. 
 
 * See preceding notes p. 1 05, and Daniel, iv. 80. Gen. x. 1 1 . Jonah iii. 3, I. and iv. 11. 
 on Nineveh; — whose size was such that there were in it more than six score thousand persons 
 who could not disccn between their right hand and their left hand, and also much cattle. 
 
 i> Iliad I. 381 . * Herodotus, lib. i. 
 
 >' Strabo, lib. xvi ; also Arrian. de Exped. Alex. lib. vii. e Diodorus, lib. i. ii. 
 
 < Pausanias, lib. viii. 33. c Plin. lib. xxxvi. Sect. xvii. h Justin, lib. i. Cap. S. 
 
 1 Quintus Curtius, lib. v. c. 1. 
 
PROGRESS OF BUILDING. 109 
 
 and frizes, with their triglyphs and metopes ; and the 
 gable roof was the origin of pediments, as the beds of 
 materials forming the covering, and the rafters support- 
 ing them, were of cornices, with their corona, their mu- 
 tules, modillions, and dentils. 
 
 That trees were the originals of columns seems evident, 
 from some very ancient Egyptian ruins still existing ; in 
 which are seen columns composed of many small trees tied 
 together with bandages, to form one strong pillar ; which, 
 before stone was in use, became a necessary operation in 
 a country, where no large timber was to be had ; and in 
 which, the stupendous size of their structures, constituted 
 the principal merit. Herodotus describes a stately stone 
 building, which stood in the court of the temple of Mi- 
 nerva at Sais, the columns of which were made to imitate 
 palm trees. 
 
 The form of the bundle pillar ' above mentioned, though 
 
 1 Stone as a material in building, was not likely to succeed to the wood 
 of the huts mentioned by the author. The cutting and dressing it must 
 have taken considerable time to conquer. Bricks dried in the sun, most 
 probably followed timber as a material for enclosures. These indeed 
 were employed in building the tower of Babel. " And they said one 
 to another, go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And 
 they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar." Gen. xi. 3. 
 Brick was much used at a remote period among the Egyptians. Exod. i. 
 14. v. 7- C ED -] 
 
 It is an inference by no means clear or necessary, that the basis of de- 
 corative architecture is indebted to the earlier timber framework for its 
 origin — inasmuch as the step between the hut and the Grecian Temple is, 
 if the Greeks gained any knowledge of the art from the Egyptians, which 
 it is presumed cannot be denied, the flat roofed Temple of Egypt, in whose 
 large hollowed crown moulding, mutules or blocks are not readily traced. 
 It is not meant to mislead the student by denying the Hypothesis; he is 
 only cautioned against an admission of it entirely, without much more 
 research than can be entered into here of the current story on this point 
 
110 OF THE ORIGIN AND 
 
 deriving its existence from necessity, is far from disagree- 
 able. It was evidently a beauty in the eyes of the ancient 
 Egyptians, since it was imitated by them in stone. And it 
 seems more natural to suppose, that fluted columns owe 
 their origin to the intermediate hollows, between the trees 
 composing these pillars, than to the folds of a woman's 
 garment ; to which they have but very little resemblance. 
 
 Vitruvius, the only remaining ancient writer upon the 
 decorative part of architecture, ascribes almost every in- 
 vention in that art to the Greeks, — as if till the time of 
 Dorus, it had remained in its infant state, and nothing 
 had till then appeared worth notice: and most, if not all 
 the modern authors, have echoed the same doctrine. Yet, 
 if ancient history be credited, the Egyptians, Assyrians, 
 Babylonians, and other nations of remote antiquity, had 
 exhibited wonders in the art of building, even before the 
 Grecians were a people'. 
 
 It must indeed be confessed, that though the works of 
 the Asiatic nations were astonishing in point of size and 
 extent, yet in other respects they were of a nature calcu- 
 lated rather to give a high idea of the power and wealth 
 
 which has been so generally adopted. It is doubtless from the covering of 
 roofs with timber, that the pediment has its origin, but this was probably 
 at a late period and at a time when the art was considerably advanced. 
 The student will do well to read carefully the chapters on Architecture in 
 Qoguet'8 " Origine des Lois." C E1 '0 
 
 ' The favourite system of reducing each component part of ah order to 
 its corresponding type in an assemblage of timbers, is one which, at this 
 distant period from the origin of the art, is, to sav the least of it, not likely 
 to prove satisfactory. The timber system has had its admirers in these later 
 days, even in Gothic architecture, whose invention is so much nearer our 
 own time, see the wood and wicker churches in Sir James Hall's "Essay 
 on the Origin, History and Principles of Gothic Architecture," 4to, Lond. 
 1813. But the result has not been attended with conviction. L KD, 1 
 
PROGRESS OF BUILDING. Ill 
 
 of the founders, than of their skill or taste. We plainly 
 see that all their notions of grandeur were confined to di- 
 mension ; and all their ideas of elegance or beauty, to 
 richness of materials, or gaudiness of colouring. We ob- 
 serve a barrenness of fancy in their compositions, a sim- 
 plicity and sameness in their forms, peculiar to primitive 
 inventions. But, even in the early works of the Egyptians, 
 beside their prodigious dimensions, there are evident 
 marks of taste and fancy. It is in them we trace the first 
 ornamental forms in architecture, and to their builders we 
 are most probably indebted for the invention of columns, 
 bases, capitals, and entablatures. We likewise read of roofs, 
 supported by figures of Colossal men and animals ', in the 
 works of the Egyptians, several ages before the introduc- 
 tion of Persians or Caryatides in the structures of Greece : 
 and of temples adorned with stately porticos, enriched 
 with columns, and sculpture, and built, before there were 
 any temples in Greece. 
 
 Hence it may be inferred that the Grecians were not 
 the inventors of ornamental architecture, but had that art, 
 as well as their religion and gods, from the Egyptians, — or 
 from the Phoenicians their nearer neighbours, whose skill 
 in arts is said to have been anterior to theirs, — though 
 both were of Egyptian origin. 
 
 Diodorus Siculus observes 1 , that the Egyptian priests 
 proved, both by their sacred records, and also by other 
 undoubted testimonies, that not only the poets and phi- 
 
 1 See subsequent note under the section on Persians and Caryatides. 
 
 [ED.] 
 
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 E-ri $\ x»l S&Xwv o vapoUrm* Diod. Sic, lib. i. C ED, D 
 
112 OF THE ORIGIN AND 
 
 losophers of Greece, travelled anciently into Egypt to 
 collect their knowledge, but also their architects and 
 sculptors ; and that everything in which the Grecians ex- 
 celled, and for which they were famous, was originally 
 carried from Egypt into Greece. 
 
 The Phoenicians however were very early celebrated for 
 their proficiency in the arts of design* ; and there is no 
 doubt, but the Greeks availed themselves of their in- 
 ventions. 
 
 We are told that Hiram 1 made two capitals for the 
 pillars Jachin and Boaz, in Solomon's temple ; which, as 
 far as can be collected, from the accounts given of them 
 in several parts of scripture, very much resembled the 
 Corinthian capitals, both in form and proportions ; though 
 executed some centuries before Callimachus, is reported 
 by Vitruvius, to have invented it at Corinth. The cheru- 
 bim of Hiram too, and the colossal figures of men and 
 animals, in the structures of the Egyptians, were prior in- 
 
 ' 1 Kings, v. (i. 
 
 " lis s'appliquerent i cultiver les arts, et bientot ils y firent lcs plus 
 grands progrcs." Goguet, Origine des Lois, Ire Epoque, liv. iv. The 
 Tynan dye is sufficiently celebrated. See on this point, Bochart, Phaleg. 
 lib. iv. 35. Qed.] 
 
 2 1 Kiii'_rs, vii. 13. 14. — " And Kins: Solomon sent and fetched Hiram out 
 of Tyre. He was a widow's son of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was 
 a man of Tyre, a worker in brass: and he was tilled with wisdom and under- 
 standing, and cunning to work all works in brass. — And he came - 
 to King Solomon, and wrought all his work. For he cast two 
 pillars of brass, of eighteen cubits high a piece : and a line of 
 twelve cubits did compass either of them about," et seq. By 
 the diagram in the margin constructed on the text, it is evident 
 that the proportions were similar to those of the Egyptian 
 column. The lily work mentioned as decorating the chapiters 
 will no less bring to the reader's mind, the lotus leaves found, 
 in almost all the Egyptian capitals. L ED -1 Cbramftnsnc*. 
 
 f 
 
 is 
 
 Ci 
 3" 
 
 u 
 
 b 2 
 
 u 
 
PROGRESS OF BUILDING. 113 
 
 ventions ; and undoubtedly suggested to the Greeks, their 
 ideas of Persians and Caryatides. 
 
 And though architecture is certainly indebted to the 
 Grecians, for considerable improvements, yet, it may 
 with confidence be averred, that they never brought the 
 art to its utmost degree of excellence. The art of build- 
 ing, says Leon Baptista Alberti 1 , " sprung up, and spent 
 its adolescent state in Asia ; after a certain time, it flow- 
 ered in Greece ; and finally acquired perfect maturity in 
 Italy, among the Romans." And whether we call to 
 mind the descriptions given by ancient writers of Nineveh, 
 
 1 Leonis Baptista; Alberti, Florentini, Libri de re asdificatoria decern, 
 Lib. vi. c. 3. 
 
 Alberti, an eminent Italian architect, and one of the earliest scholars 
 that appeared on the revival of letters, was born at Venice in the end of 
 the fourteenth or beginning of the fifteenth century. Milizia gives the 
 year 1398 as that of his birth. He died about 1472. In 1447 he became a 
 canon of Santa Maria del Fiore at Florence — in the conduct of the works of 
 which fabric he succeeded Brunelleschi. He was one of the restorers of pure 
 architecture in Italy, which abounds with his works. — The Church of San 
 Francesco at Rimini is considered his best. The works of Alberti, written 
 in Latin, are — His dialogue, entitled, " Momus de Principe," Rome, 1 520. 
 — " Trivia, sive de causis senatoriis," 4to. Basil, 1538. — He composed 
 100 " Fables" or Apologues, and a poem, entitled " Hecatomphile," on 
 the art of Love, which was translated by Bartoli into Italian 1568, and 
 into French in 1534 and 1584. Many treatises on Philosophy, Mathe- 
 matics, and Antiquity. One on Sculpture, and another " De Pictura, 
 prsestantissima et nunquam satis laudata arte." His treatise " De re 
 asdificatoria," was first published by his brother Bernard after his death, 
 Fol. Florence, 1485. It is addressed by Politian to Lorenzo de Medici, 
 by whom it was patronised. Another Edition in 4to. was printed in 
 Paris, 1512. It was translated into Italian by Peter Lauro, small 4to. 
 Venice, 1546, Chalmer's Biog. Diet, says 1549; by Cosimo Bartoli, Fol. 
 Florence, 1550, and into English by James Leoni, from the Italian of 
 Bartoli, 3 Vols. Fol. London, 1726 ; in 1 Vol. 1755. The last Edition 
 was printed at Bologna, 1782. Vasari attributes to Alberti the invention 
 of the camera obscura. [ed.J 
 
 Q 
 
11-4 Or THE OR1GDT AXD 
 
 Babylon, Thebes, Memphis ; the Egyptian pyramids, the 
 sepulchres of their kings, their temples, and other public 
 monuments : or contemplate, among the Roman works ; 
 their palaces, amphith eatres, baths, villas, bridges, mauso- 
 leums, and numerous other, yet existing, testimonies of* 
 their splendor ; it must candidly be confessed, that the 
 Grecians hare been far excelled by other nations, not only 
 in the magnitude and grandeur of their structures, but 
 likewise in point of fancy, ingenuity, variety, and elegant 
 selection. 
 
 How distant the Grecians were from perfection in pro- 
 portions, in the art of profiling, and other parts of the 
 detail; will soon be evident to any impartial examiner, 
 who compares the publications of Le Roi, Stuart, Revett, 
 i"i ;-.:.•.-: .: _■-.:..-. _- 1. _ • . •;_ ■-...-.-- . --.::. :..: ir.:.- 
 
 At 
 
 ■tone tfae&fxbbie Smite 1 
 
PROGRESS OF BUILDING. 115 
 
 quities of the Romans : either on the spot, or as they 
 have been given in books ; by Palladio, Serlio, Desgo- 
 detz, Sandrart, Piranesi, and other authors. The last of 
 those here mentioned, has published a parallel, between 
 
 as complete a knowledge of the most celebrated buildings of antiquity as 
 actual inspection. Crude and incoherent attempts at execution would then 
 bring the art itself into contempt." Stuart and Revett's Antiq. of Athens. 
 Vol. III. Lond. 1704. Preface, pa. x. 
 
 Again, Preface pa. xi. " The task of replying to the arguments and insi- 
 nuations of this author would no doubt have been performed by Mr. Stuart, 
 had they been published in his life-time, as Sir William seems to have first 
 intended (pa. 26, Sir W. C). But they were kept back from the public 
 till the death of that indefatigable and valuable traveller. I feel it there- 
 fore incumbent upon me to defend him against this posthumous attack." 
 
 Same page, we have " Sir William has taken his notions on Grecian 
 architecture from " books and prints" only, expressly contrary to his own 
 advice to Students; and has been guided by the imperfect Specimens of 
 Le Roi; who, though an ingenious author, is well known to have visited 
 Greece in the most rapid and cursory manner, and has therefore fallen, as 
 might be expected, into the most glaring errors. A flagrant instance of 
 Sir W's inaccuracy occurs, where he speaks of the Lantern of Demosthenes, 
 and the Parthenon ; which by mentioning together, he treats as if they 
 were similar, and respecting which he atrirms, in direct contradiction to 
 the fact, that the Parthenon is not so considerable as the church of 
 St. Martin in the Fields. The comparative dimensions of each are as 
 follows : 
 
 St. Martin's. Parthenon. "5!??,^.?™ ° f 
 
 the Parthenon. 
 Feet. Inches. Feet. Inches. Feet Inches. 
 
 Length 161. 9 227-7 65.10 
 
 Breadth 80 . 9 101.1 20 . 4 
 
 Height of Columns 33. 4 ^4.2-^ . 10 T *, 
 
 Diameter of Ditto 3. 4 6 . 1-ft 2. 9 T ^ 
 
 Number of Ditto 16 58 
 
 Height of the Entablature 
 
 Supposed f of the Column 7-4 11 . 2 T «fe about 3.10 
 
 Height of the whole Order... 40. 8 45.5/,, 5. 9-^ 
 
 Breadth of Portico 66.10 101.1 34 . 3 
 
 The measures of both are taken on the upper step. Artists who ever 
 saw an antique temple or ever read Vitruvius, know, that St. Martin's 
 Church, though one of the best in London, is no more than a very inferior 
 
116 OF THE ORIGIN AND 
 
 the fairest monuments of Greece and Rome ; which is 
 recommended to the inspection and perusal of those who 
 have not yet seen it. 
 
 Indeed, none of the few things now existing in Greece, 
 though so pompously described, and neatly represented 
 in various publications of our time, seem to deserve great 
 notice, either for dimension, grandeur of style, rich fancy, 
 or elegant taste of design ; nor do they seem calculated 
 to throw new light upon the art, or to contribute towards 
 its advancement : not even those erected by Pericles or 
 Alexander ; while the Grecian arts nourished most ; nei- 
 ther the famous lantern of Demosthenes, nor the more 
 famous 1 Parthenon ; which, though not so considerable as 
 the church of St. Martin, in St. Martin's Lane, exclusive 
 of its elegant spire ; had for its architects, Phidias, Calli- 
 crates, and Ictinus ; was the boast of Athens ; excited 
 the envy and murmurs of all Greece. We rind indeed, 
 in Pliny, and other ancient writers, very pompous descrip- 
 tions of temples, such as, that of Apollo at Miletus ; of 
 Ceres and Proserpine at Eleusis; of the Olympian Jupiter 
 
 imitation of the Greek Prostyle temple, and will not enter into the 
 slightest degree of comparison with the chaste grandeur, the dignified sim- 
 plicity, and sublime effect of the Parthenon." 
 
 This note has already extended to such length, that the reader must refer 
 to the pages of Mr. Reveley's preface for the remainder of the contest — 
 they are too long to extract : it is therefore closed by observing, that the 
 advocates of what may be truly called the sublime arclutecture of Greece 
 seem to forget the lines of Virgil : 
 
 Fraxinus in Sylvia pulcherrima, pinus in hortis, 
 Populus in fluviis, abies in montibus altis; 
 
 and that the deposit of a Greek temple in the streets of London cannot be 
 considered a mark of good taste; or if it be, that the Banqueting Houm 
 .it Whitehall ought to be held up in derision. L EB ] 
 
 1 Plutarch in Pericl. C ED -3 
 
PROGRESS OF BUILDING. 117 
 
 at Athens ; and above all, of Diana at Ephesus ; one of 
 the seven wonders of the world. But if the Grecian 
 architecture was defective in the time of Alexander, it 
 must have been more so some centuries earlier: and con- 
 cerning temples built in bogs', and founded upon wool, 
 to resist earthquakes, and of which, the stones were set 
 with sand bags, some doubts may be indulged : as well 
 as of those made of wax 2 , yet resisting the ardor of a 
 Grecian sun ; or those of brass, yet catching fire and 
 melting down. 
 
 At first sight, it may appear extraordinary, that a peo- 
 ple so renowned in arms ; so celebrated for poetry, rhe- 
 toric, and every sort of polite learning ; and who carried 
 sculpture farther than any of the ancient nations; should 
 be so deficient in architecture : yet upon farther consi- 
 deration, many reasons will occur why it necessarily 
 should be so. — Greece, a country small in itself, was 
 divided into a number of little states ; none of them very 
 powerful, populous, or rich : so that they could attempt, 
 no very considerable works in architecture ; having nei- 
 ther the space, the hands, nor the treasures that would 
 have been necessary. " It must be owned," says Mon- 
 sieur D' Ablancourt 3 , " that Greece, even in the zenith of 
 her greatness, had more ambition than power : we find 
 Athens flattering herself with the conquest of the uni- 
 verse, yet unable to defend her own territories, against 
 
 1 Pliny, lib. xxxvi. c. 14. C ED -!] * Pausanias Phocid. c. 6. [[ed.] 
 1 Nicholas Perrot, sieur D'Ablancourt, a man, says Bayle, more cele- 
 brated for his Translations than his original productions, was born in 1606 
 and died 1664. He published Versions of mary ancient authors, among 
 which were the Works of Tacitus, Lucian, Caesar, Thucydides and Arrian. 
 See his Thucydides for the quotation of the author. And for a list of his 
 Works, Moreri's Diet. C ED 
 
118 OF THE ORIGIN AND 
 
 the incursions of her neighbours: and who can refrain 
 from laughter at the Lacedemonians ; rivals in fame with 
 the Athenians ; yet, in despair, and reduced to sue for 
 peace ; by the loss of four hundred men." — The lake of 
 Mceris would have deluged all Peloponnesus, and ruined 
 all Greece ; Babylon would have covered Attica, and 
 more men had been employed to build that city, than 
 there were inhabitants in all the Grecian states. The 
 Egyptian labyrinth, was a hundred times larger than that 
 of Crete; and more materials have been employed in one 
 of the Egyptian pyramids, than were used in all the pub- 
 lic structures of Athens. 
 
 If, at the same time it be recollected, that Greece, 
 while divided into many governments, was constantly 
 harassed with domestic wars, and from its union, always 
 in an unsettled situation. That, an uncommon simplicity 
 of manners prevailed among the Grecian states ; and the 
 strictest maxims of equality, were zealously adhered to 
 in most of them ; it will be easy to account for the small 
 progress made by the Greeks in architecture. Demos- 
 thenes' observes, that the houses of Aristides, Miltiades, 
 or any other of the great men of their time ; were no 
 finer than those of their neighbours : such was their mo- 
 deration, and so steadily did they adhere to the ancient 
 manners of their country. One of the laws of Lycurgus 
 ordained, that the ceilings of houses should only be 
 wrought by an axe ; and their gates and doors be left 
 
 1 Demosthenes merely mentions the great frugality of Aristides, saying 
 nothing respecting his prhate dwelling. The houses of Themistocles and 
 Miltiades are alluded to, in the Oratio adv. Aristocratem. The words are 
 Tix^Jtoy a* 0(^*3toxX£ou$ fjLty yctg oIkIocj, xai rrjv M*XT»affou, xal twv totj Xa^tfrfftjy, 
 i*T*f ot^a. old!* Vjj-uv oTCia ttot' i<tt*v, o^a -rwy toXXuv Hdiv t7f/xvo/E§«v ovtra*. L ED 'J 
 
PROGRESS OF BUILDING. 119 
 
 rough from the saw ; no other tools than these, being per- 
 mitted : which law, was so scrupulously observed among 
 the Lacedemonians, that when King Leotychidas, saw 
 at Corinth a ceiling, of which the timbers were neatly 
 wrought, it was so new a sight to him, that he asked his 
 host, if trees grew square in that country. It seems, 
 indeed, as if these sumptuary laws of Lycurgus, had 
 made a general impression ; and inspired the Greeks, 
 rather with contempt than veneration, for splendid struc- 
 tures : even in their best time, they accounted it an effe- 
 minate folly to be ostentatious in that respect. "All 
 the states of Greece, says Plutarch, clamoured loudly 
 against Pericles for decorating Athens like a vain fantas- 
 tic woman, and adorning it with statues and temples, 
 which' cost a thousand talents 1 ." 
 
 What magnificence the Grecians displayed in then- 
 structures, was confined to their public buildings ; which 
 were chiefly temples : wherein there appears to have been 
 nothing very surprising, either for dimensions, ingenuity 
 of contrivance, or excellence of workmanship. Greece, 
 almost constantly the theatre of war, abounded not like 
 Italy, in magnificent villas, where the richest productions 
 of art were displayed. Their public roads were not 
 adorned with mausoleums, to commemorate their heroes ; 
 nor the towns, with arches or bridges to celebrate their 
 triumphs. The Grecian theatres were inconsiderable, 
 
 1 The Parthenon is said to have cost a thousand talents; not quite so 
 much as was expended in onions and radishes at the building of a pyra- 
 mid : see Diodorus Siculus a . 
 
 1 ' fie-— !£ ccXa^ova. yumiaa. X'.^iaT:lo)xiim Xi'Ooi; rto\viikt\'c, xai a.yix^i.'xia., xu.1 
 vaotii xiXioloAavioi,-." — Plutarchi Pericles. C ED -] 
 
 a Lib. i. 'ETtyiyooLirlxi V iTi rws pii^eroe <r& tXtJos ru* u-*a?.u0iv7uv -^avfiitltnf us lis 
 Xa^«»a xai ffvgpaia.v rets ipydrxi;' xxi /awjitxi six tyj yottQr,; OfSaTx>r,ir0ai tx).xitx ir/.itv 
 ruv %iktat xxi \\xK<nr\--ii < [zn-] 
 
120 OF THE ORIGIN AXD 
 
 compared with those of the Romans; the naumachiae and 
 amphitheatres, unknown amougst them ; as were also the 
 thermae, in which the Romans affected so much splendor. 
 
 In latter times indeed the Greeks, particularly the 
 Athenians ; abated of their original severity ; the orator 
 abovementioned observes, that in his time, there were 
 some private houses more magnificent than public edi- 
 fices : but this does not appear to have been very com- 
 mon, and consequently could not be productive of much 
 additional splendor ; even Alcibiades, the most luxurious 
 Greek of his time, for he was accused of wearing a pur- 
 ple cloak, and of sleeping upon a bed with a canvas 
 bottom, doth not seem to have been better lodged, than 
 other Athenians ; excepting, that his house was painted. 
 
 Since therefore the Grecian structures are neither the 
 most considerable, most varied, nor most perfect ; it fol- 
 lows that our knowledge ought not to be collected from 
 them ; but from some purer, more abundant source ; 
 which, in whatever relates to the ornamental part of the 
 art, can be no other than the Roman antiquity yet remain- 
 ing in Italy, France, or elsewhere : vestiges of buildings 
 erected in the politest ages, by the wealthiest, most splen- 
 did, and powerful people of the world. Who, after having 
 removed to Rome, from Carthage, Sicily, Egypt, and 
 Greece, the rarest productions of the arts of design ; as 
 also the ablest artists of the times ; were constantly em- 
 ployed, during many centuries, in the construction of all 
 kinds of edifices that cither use, convenience, luxury, or 
 splendor required. Pliny 1 informs us, that the works of 
 
 1 Pliny in his 36th book, to which the reader must refer for a more 
 extended account, dilates on the magnificence of the city. Speak- 
 ing of the palace of Lepidus, which at the time of its construction 
 
PROGRESS OF BUILDING. 121 
 
 the Romans were much more considerable than those of 
 any other people ; that in the course of thirty-five years, 
 more than a hundred sumptuous palaces had been erected 
 in Rome, the most inconsiderable of which was fit for the 
 residence of a king : and that in his own time, the time 
 of Vespasian ; there were a great number, much more 
 splendid, than any of the hundred abovementioned. The 
 palaces of Caligula and Nero, were in extent like towns ; 
 and enriched with everything that the most exquisite taste, 
 and the most unbounded liberality, could suggest. 
 
 The Romans began early to cultivate architecture. 
 Several considerable works were erected by their kings, 
 and many more, during the magistracy of their consuls. 
 Julius Caesar was passionately fond of that art ; and be- 
 sides the buildings erected by him in Rome 1 ; he embel- 
 lished with considerable structures, says Suetonius, the 
 principal cities of Italy, France, Spain, Asia, and Greece 1 . 
 Augustus, boasted on his death bed ; that he had con- 
 verted Rome into a city of marble 3 : he not only built 
 
 was considered in the first rank, he says " At hercule intra annos xxxv 
 eadem centesimum Locum non obtinuit." Plin. Hist. Nat. 4to. Delph. 
 1685. Tom. v. pa. 311. [id.] 
 
 * Nam de ornanda instruendaque urbe, item de tuendo ampliandoque 
 imperio, plura ac majora in dies destinabat. In primis Martis Templum, 
 quantum nusquam esset, exstrucre, repleto et complanato lacu in quo nau- 
 machiae spectaculum ediderat; theatrumque summae magnitudinis Tarpeio 
 monti adcubans. Suetonius in Vita Jul. Caesaris, sect. 44, see also sect. 36. 
 Dio Cassius, lib. xliii. cap. 22, 25. Plin. xxxvi. 15, &c. C ED -!1 
 
 z Superque Italiae, Galliarumque et Hispaniarum, Asiae quoque et 
 Graeciae potentissimas urbes praecipuis operibus exornans. Suetonius in 
 Vita Jul. Caesaris, sect. 28. C ED, 3 
 
 3 Urbem neque pro majestate imperii ornatam, et inundationibus incen- 
 diisque obnoxiam, excoluit adeo, ut jure sit gloriatus, marmoream se relin- 
 quere, quam latericiam accepisset. Suetonius, Caesar Octavian. sect. 28. 
 Dio Cassius, lib. li. c. 22: liii. c. 1, 2, 27 : liv. c. 25, 26 : lv. c. 8, 12: Ivi. c 
 25, 27. [ED.] 
 
 R 
 
122 OF THE ORIGIN AND 
 
 much himself, but excited his friends to follow the exam- 
 ple ; and Mecasnas, his favorite and minister, was the 
 patron of arts, as well as of letters. 
 
 Caligula' and Nero 1 , were to the utmost, splendid in 
 their buildings. The latter, carried his passion for archi- 
 tecture, as it is said, even to the extravagant excess of 
 burning Rome, that he might have the pleasure of re- 
 building it with greater regularity, and magnificence ; 
 which he afterwards did. 
 
 During the reigns of Claudius 3 , Vespasian 4 , Titus 5 , 
 Domitian 6 and Nerva, many very considerable public 
 works were erected ; both at Rome, and in other parts of 
 the Roman dominions ; and Vespasian, not only re-edified 
 the capitol with greater magnificence than before ; but 
 also all the other public buildings of Rome ; which had 
 suffered by the outrages of the Vitellians. He obliged 
 the proprietors of ruined houses to rebuild them ; and 
 caused to be erected, several new edifices of great cost 
 and magnificence ; such as the temple of Peace ; the 
 largest covered building of antiquity : another, dedicated 
 to Minerva, of the richest and most exquisite workman- 
 
 1 Suetonius, Caes. Calig. lib. iv. sect. 21, 22, 37- Dio Cassius, lib. 
 v. c. 7- 
 
 1 Formam aedificiorum urbis novam cxcogitavit : et ut ante insulas ac 
 domos porticus essent, de quarum solariis inccndia areerentur : easque 
 sumtu suo exstruxit. Suetonius, Nero, sect. 16, 31 also, wherein is an 
 account of the Domiis Aurca, 38. Suetonius, Vita Neronis. Dio Cassius. 
 lib. lxii. c. 16, 18. 
 
 3 Dio Cassius, lib. Ivi. c. 10. c. 13. 
 
 4 Ibid. lib. lxvi. c. 15. Suetonius, lib. viii. c. 8, 9, 18. 
 ' Suetonius, lib. viii. c. 8. 
 
 Ibid. Vita Domitiani, c. 5, " Plurima et amplissima opera incendio 
 ubsumta restituit," but he deprived the Founders of all share of praise. 
 •' Omnia sub titulo tantuni suo, ac sine ulla pristini auctoris memoria." 
 
PROGRESS OF BUILDING. 123 
 
 ship, ever exhibited in Rome : the first artists then alive, 
 having been employed to paint, carve, and incrustate the 
 same. He also built the largest amphitheatre in the 
 world ; capable of containing eighty thousand spectators, 
 and many other works of less note. His care and muni- 
 ficence extended themselves in like manner, to all other 
 parts of the Roman empire ; in which he erected new 
 cities and towns, repaired, adorned and fortified, such as 
 were old, or ruinous. 
 
 Titus, his successor, was so attentive to the beauty of 
 his metropolis ; that, when a dreadful fire had destroyed 
 many of its temples, and public buildings; he resolved to 
 re-edify them at his own charge, with all possible expe- 
 dition : disposing of the furniture and ornaments of his 
 own palaces, to defray the expence. Death, prevented 
 the completion of his intentions ; but Domitian, finished 
 what he had left undone ; and also adorned Rome with 
 many new structures ; particularly with a palace, sur- 
 prising for the magnificence of its colonades, the number 
 of its rooms, the splendor of its baths and female apart- 
 ments. His love for building was such ; that he wished 
 to be another Midas, to the end that he might indulge 
 his passion without control. 
 
 Trajan, in whose reign the Roman empire was in its 
 most flourishing state, cultivated all the arts of design ; 
 and with the assistance of the celebrated Apollodorus, 
 his principal architect ; executed many very considerable 
 works. He erected a bridge of stone over the Danube, 
 sixty feet wide, one hundred and fifty feet high, and 
 almost two miles in length. He also built several cities 
 among the Dacians ; embellished Rome and other parts 
 of Italy, with many public edifices ; rebuilt Antioch, 
 
124 OF THE ORIGIN AND 
 
 which had been almost totally destroyed by an earth- 
 quake; and also repaired many other towns in Syria, that 
 suffered at the same time, by the same calamity'. 
 
 Adrian', whose skill in different branches of polite 
 knowledge is well known ; particularly in the arts of 
 design ; embellished various parts of the Roman empire 
 with splendid and beautiful structures ; such as his bridge, 
 and mausoleum at Rome ; his villa near Tivoli ; his wall 
 in Britain, which extended from the river Eden in Cum- 
 berland to the Tyne in Northumberland : many temples 
 and other public buildings in Gaul, in Greece, and in 
 Africa : where he re-edified a considerable part of Car- 
 thage. He also rebuilt Jerusalem, which Titus had 
 demolished about sixty years before ; and erected in 
 Egypt, a stately pillar to the memory of Pompey. 
 
 Antoninus Pius' re-edified a great part of Rome, Nar- 
 
 1 Dio Cassius, Lib. lxviii. c. 13, where the reader will find an ac- 
 count of this extraordinary Bridge. See also the same book, c. 15 and 
 16, for other works by him. His architect, Apollodorus, is mentioned in 
 a subsequent note. C ED -!] 
 
 1 Dio Cassias, Lib. lxix. c. 16. Alias Spartianus, in vita Adriani 
 Cnesaris. Hist. Aug. Scriptores, Lug. Bat. 16J1, pa. 179 et seq. [ed.] 
 
 3 Opera ejus hsec extant Ronue, Templum Adriani honor! patris dica- 
 tum, Graeco-stadium post incendium restitutum, instauratum amphithea- 
 trum, Sepulchrum Adriani, Templum Agrippae, Pons Sublicius, Phari 
 restitutio, Cajetic portus, Tarracinensis portus restitutio, Lavacrum Osti- 
 ense, Antiatum aquaeductus, Templa* Lanuviana. Multas etiam civitates 
 adjuvit pecunia, ut opera vel nova facerent, vel Vetera restituerent. Julius 
 Capitolinus, Vita Antonini Pii. C En -D 
 
 " In less than a century, Constantinople disputed with Rome itself 
 the pre-eminence of riches and numbers," A.D. 334, Gibbon's Decline 
 and Fall, Vol. III. 8vo. edit. But taste and skill were on the wane. In 
 another part he states, that "The magistrates of the most distant pro- 
 vinces were therefore directed to institute schools, to appoint professors, 
 and by the^ hopes of rewards and privileges to engage in the study and 
 practice of Architecture a sufficient number of ingenious youths, who had 
 
PROGRESS OF BUILDING. 125 
 
 bonne, Antioch, and Carthage: all which cities had 
 suffered considerably by fire. And it was his custom, 
 whenever any damage happened to a city by an earth- 
 quake, a fire, an inundation, or other calamitous acci- 
 dents ; to repair it with money taken out of the public 
 treasury. He greatly improved the ports of Terracina 
 and Gaeta : built considerable baths at Ostia ; aque- 
 ducts at Antium ; temples at Lavinium : and all must be 
 sensible, how powerfully the example of princes, operates 
 upon the minds of their subjects ; inspires the same pas- 
 sions, and excites to the same pursuits. 
 
 In short, architecture continued to flourish among the 
 Romans, though with abated lustre ; till Constantine 
 removed the seat of empire to Byzantium : and the num- 
 ber of stately structures, with which Rome, and the 
 Roman dominions abounded, is almost incredible. Their 
 very remains, excite at this day, the astonishment and 
 admiration, of every judicious beholder : in spite of all 
 that length of time, wars, party rage, barbarism, casual 
 events, superstition, and avarice have done to destroy 
 them. 
 
 In these remains, there will be found abundant ma- 
 terials to work upon, and form a compleat system of 
 decorative architecture. The labours of the celebrated 
 masters of the fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth cen- 
 turies, may, perhaps, be added to enrich the stock ; and 
 we may avail ourselves of their labours, to facilitate, or 
 
 received a liberal education. The buildings of the new city were executed 
 by such artificers as the reign of Constantine could afford." " To revive 
 the genius of Phidias and Lysippus surpassed indeed the power of a 
 Roman emperor." Ibid. At a later period, namely in the time of Justinian, 
 the church of St. Sophia shewed an accession of skill, which however 
 wanted art to captivate. C ED D 
 
120 OF THE ORIGIN AND 
 
 shorten our own ; but, it should always be#remembered, 
 that though the stream may swell in its course, by the 
 intervention of other supplies: yet it is purest at the 
 fountain's head. And whoever aims at being superiorly 
 eminent in any profession, must not receive his infor- 
 mation at second hand, from others ; but mount himself 
 to the origin and reason of things. The man, says Michael 
 Angelo, who follows another, always is behind ; but he 
 who boldly strikes into a different path, may climb as 
 high as his competitor : and though the road be some- 
 what more rugged, yet, if his efforts are crowned with 
 success, the reward will amply compensate, for the risque 
 and labour of the enterprize. 
 
 An anonymous Italian writer observes, that the supe- 
 riority of Raphael, may perhaps be owing, to his having 
 been so universally admired and copied ; that the modern 
 sculptors never equalled the ancient, because they have 
 done nothing but imitate them ; and if, says he, all the 
 ancient paintings hitherto discovered, are inferior to the 
 modern ; it is, perhaps owing, to our painters not having 
 had the works of an Apclles to copy. 
 
 Nature is the supreme and true model of the imitative 
 arts, upon which every great artist must form his idea of 
 the profession, in which he means to excel ; and the an- 
 tique is to the architect, what nature is to the painter or 
 sculptor ; the source from which his chief knowledge 
 must be collected ; the model upon which his taste must 
 be formed. 
 
 But as in nature few things are faultless, so neither 
 must it be imagined that every ancient production in 
 architecture, even among the Romans, was perfect, or a 
 fit model for imitation ; as blind adorers of antiquity are 
 
PROGRESS OF BUILDING. 127 
 
 sometimes disposed to believe. On the contrary, their 
 remains are so extremely unequal, that it requires the 
 greatest circumspection, and effort of judgment, to make 
 a proper choice. The Roman arts, like those of other 
 nations ; had their rise, their a^ra of perfection, their 
 decline. At Rome, as in London or Paris, there were 
 few great architects, but many very indifferent ones; and 
 the Romans had their connoisseurs, as we have ours ; 
 who sometimes would dictate to the artist, and cramp the 
 fortunate sallies of his genius ; force upon him and the 
 world, their own whimsical productions ; promote igno- 
 norant flatterers; discourage, even oppress, honest merit. 
 
 Vitruvius, supposed to have lived in the Augustan age, 
 complains loudly of this hardship ; and there is a remark- 
 able instance of the vindictive spirit of an ancient connois- 
 seur, in Adrian ; who put to death the celebrated Apollo- 
 dorus', for having ventured a shrewd remark upon a temple, 
 designed by that emperor, and built under his direction. 
 
 In the constructive part of architecture, the ancients 
 
 1 The story is to be found in Dio Cassius, Reimari Ed. Hamburg, 1752, 
 Fol. 1 153. Hadrian bad sent the designs of a temple he proposed to build 
 in honor of Venus and Rome for the opinion of Apollodorus, or rather to 
 shew the architect that he could manage without his assistance, a bravado 
 to which the artist replied by observing that the building would be too 
 low if the statues of the Goddesses should ever be inclined to rise up from 
 their seats for the purpose of walking out to take the air, " at yu.% a\ 9;ai, 
 e^ti, i%ct,va.r7)oso$x.i rt y.a.\ \%i\vuv E^EXij^-aicnv, ov dwriVyxrovTcu." Another anecdote 
 of this independent architect, from the same author and just preceding 
 what has just been alluded to will perhaps be better given in the words of 
 Casaubon. Note on a passage of .Slius Spartianus in his life of Hadrian. 
 See the Historic Augustae Scriptores, " Apollodoro architecto, de suis 
 operibus aliquid cum Trajano communicanti, cepit ■zy.ea.Xa.Xiiv et obstrepere 
 Hadrianus : cui architectus, Abi et cucurbitas y$£.$i: nam horum nihil scis. 
 Videtur respexisse ad aliquam Hadriani tabulam ubi cucurbitas feliciter 
 pinxisset." C ED -D 
 
128 OF THE ORIGIN AND 
 
 do not seem to have been great proficients. I am in- 
 clined to believe, that many of the deformities observable 
 in the Grecian buildings, must be ascribed to their defi- 
 ciency in that particular : such as their gouty columns ; 
 their narrow intcrcolumniations; their disproportionate 
 architraves; their hypaethral temples, which they knew not 
 how to cover ; and their temples with a range of columns 
 running in the center, to sujiport the roof; contrary to 
 every rule, either of beauty or convenience. 
 
 Neither were the Romans much more skilful ; the pre- 
 cepts of Vitruvius and Pliny on that subject are imper- 
 fect, sometimes erroneous ; and the strength or duration 
 of their structures, is more owing to the quantity and 
 goodness of their materials, than to any great art in put- 
 ting them together. It is not therefore from any of the 
 ancient works, that much information can be obtained in 
 that branch of the art. 
 
 To those usually called Gothic architects, we are in- 
 debted for the first considerable improvements in con- 
 struction ; there is a lightness in their works, an art and 
 boldness of execution ; to which the ancients never ar- 
 rived : and which the moderns comprehend and imitate 
 with difficulty. England contains many magnificent ex- 
 amples of this species of architecture, equally admirable 
 for the art with which they are built, the taste and inge- 
 nuity with which they are composed'. 
 
 1 There is more constructive skill shewn in Salisbury and other of our 
 Cathedrals, than in all the works of the ancients put together. The 
 balance of the thrusts of the different arches— the adjustment of thick- 
 Qess in the vaultings and the exceeding small ratio of the points of support 
 in these buildings to their whole superficies — and added to these the con- 
 sequent lightness and elegance of form which they exhibit, leave us nothing 
 to desire in this respect. [ ED -!] 
 
 "<. 
 
PROGRESS OF BUILDING. 129 
 
 One cannot refrain from wishing, that the Gothic 
 structures were more considered, better understood, and 
 in higher estimation, than they hitherto seem to have 
 been. Would our dilettanti instead of importing the 
 gleanings of Greece ; or our antiquaries, instead of pub- 
 lishing loose incoherent prints ; encourage persons duly 
 qualified, to undertake a correct elegant publication of 
 our own cathedrals, and other buildings called Gothic, 
 before they totally fall to ruin ; it would be of real service 
 to the arts of design ; preserve the remembrance of an 
 extraordinary stile of building now sinking fast into obli- 
 vion ; and at the same time publish to the world the riches 
 of Britain, in the splendor of her ancient structures'. 
 
 Michael Angelo, who skilled as he was in mathema- 
 tical knowledge, could have no very high opinion of the 
 ancient construction ; boasted that he would suspend the 
 largest temple of antiquity, meaning the Pantheon, in 
 the air : which he afterwards performed, in the cupola of 
 St. Peter's at Rome. And Sir Christopher Wren, has 
 conducted all parts of St. Paul's, and many others, his 
 numerous admirable works, with so much art ; that they 
 are, and ever will be, studied and admired by all intelli- 
 gent observers. To him, and to several ingenious artists 
 and artificers since his time, we owe many great improve- 
 
 1 Since the author's time, this desideratum has been, in a great measure, 
 accomplished by the great and valuable labors of the author of the Archi- 
 tectural Antiquities of Great Britain. The indefatigable exertions of 
 John Britton, Esq. F. S. A. and the care with which he has perpetuated 
 the remains of our ancient architecture, entitle him to the gratitude of 
 all lovers of the fine arts. The descriptions and delineations of the Cathe- 
 drals now in course of publication are of the highest class. That which 
 in another nation would have been done at the expence of the Govern- 
 ment, this enterprising and able antiquarian has nearly completed at his 
 own risk, in the most judicious and elegant manner. C ED 
 
 S 
 
ISO OF THE ORIGIN AND 
 
 ments in carpentry ; which the English have established 
 upon better principles, and carried to higher perfection, 
 than any other nation. 
 
 Some of the French architects have likewise been very 
 skilful in construction. The mason's art in particular, 
 has been considerably improved by that nation. And 
 we are indebted to the French, to the Italians, and to a 
 few of our own countrymen, for many valuable books'; 
 in which the manner of conducting great works is taught ; 
 the necessary machines, tools, carriages, and other appa- 
 
 1 Architettura di Andrea Palladio*. Architettura Universale di Vin- 
 cenzo Scamozzi b . Archi. di Sebastiano Serlio c . Leo. Bap. Alberti 
 de re Edificatoria d . Architecture de Philibert de Lonne*. Secret d'Ar- 
 chitecture and l'Art de Charpente de Matheinen Jousse'. Felibien principes 
 
 ' Palladio (Andrea). I Quaitro Libri dell' Architettura, 1st Edit. Venetia, fol. 1575. 
 
 2nd Edit. ibid. 1581. 
 
 3rd Edit. ibid. 1601. 
 
 There is a modern spurious Edition which it will be sufficiently easy upon inspection to detect. 
 The principal Translations into English are by Ware and Leoni, both in fol. The latter has 
 Inigo Jones's Notes on the author— of this there are two Editions one of which does not carry 
 the Notes in question, though the title-page states the contrary. The proper Edition of the 
 latter is in foL Lond. 1742. The portrait of Palladio is an imposition in both. The build- 
 ings of Palladio by Ottavio Bertotti Scamozzi in 4- vols. fol. Vicenza, 177G — 88, with a 5th 
 vol. containing Lord Burlington's publication of the Roman baths, Lond. 1780, should be 
 in the library of every architect. [ ED -] 
 
 b Scamozzi (Vincenzo) Idea dell' Architettura, 2 vols. foL Vcnezia, 1615: a reprint of 
 this Edition appeared, fol. Piazzola, 1687. Scamozzi's Works have been translated into 
 French by D'Aviler and Dury, fol. La Haye, 1736: the edition of 1713, Leyden, which 
 professes to be the work of Scamozzi has no relation to the above work. [ ED -] 
 
 c Serlio (Sebastiano) L'Architettura di, 4to. Vicenza, 1584; Venetia, 1619; both good 
 editions. t KIK ] 
 
 J Alberti (Leo. Bapt.) Libri de Re adiricatorii decern, 1st Edit. Florence, 1485, fol.: re- 
 printed in 4to. Paris, 1512. Translated into Italian by Peter Lauro, small 4to. Venice, 1546; 
 by Cosimo Bartoli, fol. Florence, 1550 : and into English by Leoni, foL Lond. 1726—1755, 
 and Bologna, 1782. u. 
 
 c Lorme (Philibert de) CEuvres d'Architecture, fol. 2 vols, in 1. Paris, 1626, or Rouen, 
 1648. The first Edition, the Treatise on Architecture, in 9 books, was published in Paris, 
 1567. The 10th book, on Carpentry, entitled " Nouvelles Inventions pour bien batir et a 
 petit frais" was published in fol. Paris, 1561, 1568, 1576. [">.] 
 
 ' Jousse (Math.) Secrets d'Architecture, fol. 1642. The Art of Carpentry, &c. by this 
 author, was corrected and augmented by De la Hire, foL Paris, 1751. [id.] 
 
PROGRESS OF BUILDING. 131 
 
 ratus described ; together with the properties, modes of 
 preparing, and of employing, all kinds of materials used 
 in building. They likewise have treated of the nature of 
 
 de 1' Architecture, &cs. La Pratique du trait par Desargues h . Belidor 
 Sciences des Ingenieurs and Architecture Hydraulique'. Gautier traite des 
 Ponts et des Chemins k . Blondel Cours d' Architecture 1 . Architecture des 
 Voutes par Derrand m . De la Rue traite de la Coupe des Pierres". Evelyn's 
 Silva°. Wotton's Remains p . Zabaglia Opere q . Price's British Carpenter r . 
 Savot Archi. Francoise'. Neve's Builder's Dictionary'. Frezier Coupe des 
 
 6 Felibien. Les Principes de l'Architecture, de la Sculpture, et de la Peinture, 4to. 
 Paris, 1699. [ed.] 
 
 h Published by Abraham Bosse, ia J 643. The title of the work, which is in one vol. 8vo. 
 is " Systeme de Desargues sur la pratique du trait a preuve pour la coupe des pierres." [ed.] 
 
 ' Belidor (Bern.) " Architecture Hydraulique, ou l'Art de conduire, d'elever et de menager 
 les eaux pour les differens besoins de la vie," 4 vols. 4to. Paris, 1737 — 53. There was an- 
 other Edition, 1780, of which copies are to be found, with a new title page, bearing the name 
 of Didot and with some new plates. The last Edition by Navier, 4 vols. 4to. 1819, pub- 
 lished by Didot, contains some additions. 
 
 " La Science des Ingenieurs dans la conduite des travaux de fortifications et d' architecture 
 militaire," 4to. Paris, 1789 and 1749: a new Edition was published in 1814, with the Notes 
 of Navier. [ ED *] 
 
 k Gautier (H.) Traite de la construction des ponts et chaussees, 8vo. Paris, 1721 — 65. 
 
 1 Blondel. There are two of this name, uncle (Francois) and nephew (Jacques Franc.) 
 both of whom published a "Cours d' Architecture;" the former in 5 vols. fol. Paris 1675 and 
 1698; the latter 9 vols. 8vo. Paris, 1771: but the second part of the last mentioned work, 
 published 1773, is imperfect owing to the death of the author. [ ED 
 
 m Derrand (Fr.) " L' Architecture des Voutes, ou 1' art des Traits et coupe des vofltes." 
 Fol. Paris, 1642 and 1742. [ed.] 
 
 ° De la Rue (J. B.) " Traite de Ia Coupe des Pierres, ou par une methode facile et 
 abregee, Ton peut aisement se perfectionner en cette Science." Fol. Paris, 1728. [ed.] 
 
 ° Evelyn's (John) "Sylva," best Edition by Dr. Hunter, 2 vols. 4to. York, 1786. [ed.] 
 
 p Wotton's (Sir Henry) " Remains." It is singular that the author should have alluded to 
 this copy (12mo.) of the " Elements of Architecture" which was edited by old Izaak Walton, 
 in the Reliquiae Wottonianae, because the treatise was published by itself in 4to. London, 
 1624. [ed.] 
 
 q Zabaglia (Nic.) " Castelli e Ponti con alcune ingeniose pratiche e con la descrizione del 
 trasporto dell' obelisco Vaticano e di altri, del Dom. Fontana." Fol. Roma, 1743. The Latin 
 title is " Contignationes ac Pontes." [ ED 
 
 r Price's (Francis) "The British Carpenter: or a Treatise on Carpentry," &c. Several 
 Editions: the 4th is the best 4to. Lond. 1759. [ed.] 
 
 * Savot (Louis) L' Architecture Francoise des Batimens particuliers. 8vo. Paris, 1685. [ed.] 
 
 ' Neve's " City and Countrey Purchaser and Builder's Dictionary : or the Compleat 
 Builder's Guide." There are two editions of this book, both 8vo. The first, Lond. 1703, by 
 T. N. Philomath. The other, Lond. 1726, by Richard Neve Philomath : the latter is the 
 better book though not the most curious. [ed.] 
 
132 OF THE ORIGIN AND 
 
 soils, and the manner of laying foundations, of raising 
 superstructures, and of every other particular, having 
 relation to the mechanic arts, connected with building. 
 
 These books', the structures abovementioned, and 
 many others to be found in England or elsewhere, are the 
 schools from which the architect must collect the rudi- 
 ments of construction ; but practice, experience, and at- 
 tentive observation ; are requisite to render him consum- 
 mately skilled in this important part of his profession 1 . 
 
 The architect's aim being, as has been observed, to 
 erect handsome, strong, convenient, salubrious, and com- 
 fortable edifices ; to ascertain their value ; and to build 
 them with safety, ease, and frugality : the principles of 
 
 Pierres" (with the translations in English, French, or Italian, of those 
 that are translated) ; and many others of less note. 
 
 ' See note page 130. 
 
 1 The number of works on Architecture which have issued from the 
 presses of the Continent, leave the student no reason to complain of the 
 want of theoretical or practical Treatises on his art. 
 
 A few may be named as worthy a place in the Architect's Library : — 
 
 Article " Architecture" of the Encyclopedic Methodique, by Quat. de 
 Quincy, 4 Parts, already published, 4to. Paris, 1788 — 1820. 
 
 " Traite theorique et pratique de l'art de batir," par M. Rondelet, ar- 
 chitecte, 8vo. 4 Vols. Paris. 
 
 " Traite de la construction des ponts, suivi de divers Memoires concer- 
 nant les canaux de Navigation," par Gauthey, 3 Vols. 4to. Paris, 1809 — 10. 
 
 " Memoires sur les objets les plus Important d' Architecture," par If. 
 Patte, 4to Paris, 1769. 
 
 " Architecture consideree sous le rapport de l'art, des mceurs, et de la 
 legislation, par C. N. Lcdoux," fol. Paris, 1804. 
 
 " Plans, Coupes, Elevations de diverses Productions de 1' art de la 
 Charpente," par Krafft, Paris, 1805. 
 
 And many others [kd.] 
 
 ° Frezier (Amedee Fr.) Traite de Stereotomie, ou la Theorie el la pratique de la coup* 
 des pierres et des bois," Straslurg, 1738, or 3 Vols. 4to. Paris, 1754.— An abridgment of 
 this work under Die title of " Elemens de Stereotomie," was published 1759. [*»0 
 
PROGRESS OF BUILDING. 133 
 
 his art may be ranged under four distinct heads, which 
 are distribution ; construction ; decoration ; and eco- 
 nomy. 
 
 Of construction and decoration, it has been shown 
 whence his knowledge should be collected ; and of dis- 
 tribution, which comprehends all particulars relative to 
 health, convenience, comfort, pleasure and profit ; the 
 artist may collect his general idea, from books or obser- 
 vations, made upon buildings erected for various purposes, 
 in different climates and ages ; but it is only by practice 
 that he can become expert, in discovering the advantages, 
 or defects of situation ; the nature of climates, or exposi- 
 tions ; the qualities of air, water, soil, and many other 
 things necessary to be known : and it is only by a tho- 
 rough acquaintance with the customs, and modes of living 
 of his own times ; and with the dispositions, amusements, 
 occupations, and duties, of his cotemporaries ; that he can 
 effectually learn, how to supply their wants, or gratify 
 their wishes. 
 
 In countries where general custom governs most things, 
 and where all persons of the same rank think, act and 
 live, nearly after the same manner ; the distributive part 
 of architecture has not so many difficulties : but wherever 
 that is not the case, every new employer opens a fresh 
 field for investigation ; and the artist's task is never at 
 an end. 
 
 The economy of architecture is of so complicated, so 
 extensive a nature, that it is almost impossible for any 
 man to know it perfectly ; much more for an architect, 
 whose mind must be loaded with a great variety of other 
 knowledge. When therefore an artist has fixed his abode 
 in any particular country, or great city ; it will be best, to 
 
134; OF THE ORIGIN AND 
 
 limit his researches at first, to that place alone : informing 
 himself of the different quarries, woods, kilns, sea ports or 
 other markets from whence it is supplied with materials 
 for building ; as also of the different natures and degrees 
 of goodness of these materials, the properest times for 
 providing them, the best means of transporting them to 
 the places of their destination ; their value ; and upon 
 what circumstances that value depends : to the end that 
 he may be enabled at all times, to account for the fluctu- 
 ation of price, and to ascertain what they are justly 
 worth. 
 
 The principal difficulty of this enquiry arises, not only 
 from the many causes upon which the value of things and 
 their rise or fall depends, but from the caution with which 
 dealers and tradesmen of almost all denominations, con- 
 ceal the secrets of their trade ; and the real profits they 
 have thereon. 
 
 His next step must be to find out all the able artists and 
 artificers of the place, and its environs ; to form an ac- 
 quaintance with them, and examine carefully, in what 
 branches they particularly excel ; how far their skill 
 extends ; what their dispositions, circumstances, and 
 tempers are ; with their characters and connections : that 
 by combining these particulars, he may employ their abi- 
 lities upon every occasion, to most advantage, as well for 
 them, as for himself. 
 
 He must then make diligent enquiry into the usual 
 prices allowed for every sort of labour, or workmanship ; 
 according to its degree of perfection : how much time 
 and what materials are requisite to produce given quan- 
 tities thereof; what profits, according to the usage of the 
 place, are allowed thereon to the master workmen ; and 
 
PROGRESS OF BUILDING. 135 
 
 in what manner it is measured, or accounted for when 
 done : that he may be entire master of his subject, and 
 enabled to judge equitably between the employer and em- 
 ployed, as his station requires. These enquiries will at 
 the first be attended with considerable difficulty, for the 
 reasons beforementioned ; but like propositions in geo- 
 metry, one information will facilitate another, and in the 
 course of a few years practice, the artist, if he be indus- 
 trious, and skilfully inquisitive, will have acquired a tho- 
 rough acquaintance with whatever concerns his own 
 circle : and then he may extend his enquiries to other 
 parts. What is already known, will serve as a clew to 
 farther knowledge ; and by degrees, he may become a 
 very competent judge of every economical particular, in 
 all the provinces of an extensive kingdom. 
 
 If in this chapter, or in other parts of the work (for 
 it may be as well to apologize at once, for all) the author 
 has ventured to think for himself, and sometimes to start 
 opinions, differing from those of other men ; he begs 
 leave to say, that it proceeds not from the affectation of 
 being either singular, or dogmatical ; but from conviction 
 that his notions are always founded in reason, or proved 
 by well attested facts : and delivered with a wish to guide 
 the reader right. All that has been said, respecting the 
 superiority of the Roman architecture, was written a con- 
 siderable time ago, when the Grecian had been extolled 
 into repute ; and structures were erecting in different 
 parts of England, after Attic designs. Fortunately, the 
 sight of these first specimens, excited no desires for 
 more : after a few ineffectual struggles, the Roman manner 
 obtained a complete ■ victory. There seemed, at that 
 time, no farther necessity to fight its cause ; and these 
 
136 OE THE ORIGIN, ETC. 
 
 observations, intended for the second edition of this work, 
 were then suppressed. But latterly, the Gusto Greco, 
 has again ventured to peep forth, and once more, threat- 
 en an invasion 1 . What therefore was omitted in the 
 second edition, it has been judged necessary to insert in 
 this, as a caution to stragglers. 
 
 1 No one can be insensible to the exquisite beauties of Greek art, nor 
 unmoved by the elegant and captivating arrangement of the Greek 
 Temple. It is in the application of the severer Greek architecture to 
 English religious ceremonies and English habits, without that modifica- 
 tion which circumstances and the climate itself seem to require, that the 
 objections arise. Let the reader survey the metropolis, and compare the 
 new churches and other public buildings with the works of Jones, Wren, 
 Burlington, Sir Robert Taylor, and those of our Author, and he will be 
 satisfied that our better acquaintance with Grecian architecture has not 
 generally improved the style of our public edifices. C ED -D 
 
OF THE PARTS WHICH COMPOSE, ETC. 137 
 
 OF THE PARTS WHICH COMPOSE THE ORDERS OF 
 ARCHITECTURE AND OF THEIR PROPERTIES, APPLI- 
 CATION, AND ENRICHMENTS. 
 
 As in many other arts, so in architecture, there are 
 certain elementary forms, which, though simple in their 
 nature, and few in number, are the principal constituent 
 objects of every composition ; however complicated or 
 extensive it may be. 
 
 Of these there are in our art, two distinct sorts ; the 
 first consisting of such parts, as represent those that were 
 essentially necessary, in the construction of the primitive 
 huts, as the shaft of the column, with the plinth of its 
 base, and the abacus of its capital ; representing the 
 upright trees, with the stones used to raise, and to cover 
 them. Likewise the architrave and triglyph, representing 
 the beams and joists ; the mutules, modillions, and den- 
 tils, either representing the rafters, or some other pieces 
 of timber, employed to support the covering : and the 
 corona, representing the beds of materials, which com- 
 posed the covering itself. All these are properly distin- 
 guished by the appellation of essential parts ; and form 
 the first class. The subservient members, contrived for 
 the use and ornament of these ; and intended either to 
 support, to shelter, or to unite them gracefully together, 
 which are usually called mouldings, constitute the second 
 class. 
 
 The essential parts were, most probably, the only ones 
 employed, even in the first stone buildings $ as may be 
 
 T 
 
1SS OF THE PARTS WHICH COMPOSE 
 
 collected from some ancient structures, yet remaining : for 
 the architects of those early times, had certainly very 
 imperfect ideas of beauty in the productions of art, and 
 therefore contented themselves, with barely imitating the 
 rude model before them ; but coming in time to compare 
 the works of their own hands, with animal and vegetable 
 productions, each species of which, is composed of a 
 great diversity of forms, affording an inexhaustible fund 
 of amusement to the mind, they could not but conceive 
 a disgust, at the frequent repetition of square figures in 
 their buildings, and therefore thought of introducing 
 certain intermediate parts, which might seem to be of 
 some use, and at the same time be so formed, as to give 
 a more varied, pleasing appearance, to the whole compo- 
 sition : and this, in all probability, was the origin of 
 mouldings. 
 
 Of regular mouldings, there are eight 1 ; which are, the 
 Ovolo 1 , the Talon 3 , the Cyma 4 , the Cavetto 5 , the 
 Torus 6 , the Astragal 7 , the Scotia 8 , and the Fillet 9 . 
 
 ' Sec plate of regular mouldings. 
 
 1 Ovolo, or Echinus, or quarter round *. 
 
 3 Talon or Ogee, or reversed Cyma b . 
 
 3 Echinus — " It is indeed a quarter round, and sometimes more, swelling above the Cine- 
 lures, and commonly next to the Abacus, carved with Ovals and Darts (by our workmen 
 called Eggs and Ankers as little politely,) which is frequently shut up with a smaller Ovolo 
 of Beads and Chaplets, or like ornament ; but so adorned, it commonly runs under the Ionic 
 Voluta, and that of the Oompaata, and next the Doric Abacus ; as in that singular example 
 of the Trajan Column it creeps under the ninth of the Cajntal. Such as pretend to Ety- 
 mologies for even - thing they hear, will have it i%**of t tra^a ri i^eh, or ri/>i^ii> iat/7-ev, be- 
 cause of a kind of self contraction ; others more rationally from the resemblance and rough- 
 ness in the carving, Igfrt* rpet^vTicof, as bristling with darts like a //<</_ -// . oi rather 
 the thorny husk of a Chest-nut, which being opened discovers a kind of oval figured kernel, 
 winch dented a little at the top 'he Latins call Dccacuminata Ova." " In the Corinthian an 
 Echinus frequently comes in between the Corona and DcntiUi." An Account of Architects 
 and Architecture, &c. by John Evelyn, Esq. Fellow of the Royal Society, FoL 1696, 
 page 21. [•:»•] 
 
 6 " Cymntium inverted, which is no more than a wrought or plain O-gee as our workmen 
 
,//ty///<// , //rt/M/ fl<t.i //tfii fA,v/ //>,■//,-> / >//<;///,■ u/.j_ 
 
 a i '.-. ~^MwMMhi s> '■^•^K^k 
 
 ■ . : ■ 
 
 . 
 
 ... i 
 
 ■ 
 
 Kj 3 
 
 , '.it. 
 
 U-frui r 
 
THE ORDERS OF ARCHITECTURE, ETC. 139 
 
 The names of these are allusive to their forms ; and 
 their forms are adapted to the uses, which they are in- 
 tended to serve. The Ovolo and Talon, being strong at 
 their extremities, are fit for supports. The Cyma and 
 Cavetto, though improper for that purpose, as they are 
 weak in the extreme parts, and terminate in a point, are 
 well contrived for coverings, to shelter other members : 
 the tendency of their outline being very opposite, to the 
 direction of falling water, which for that reason, cannot 
 glide along their surface, but must necessarily drop. The 
 
 * Cyma, cyma recta, Cymatium*. ' Cavetto, or mouth, or hollow. 
 6 Torus or Tore d . 7 Astragal, Bead, or Baguette'. 
 
 5 Scotia or Trochilos e . 9 Fillet, Listel, Annulet. 
 
 barbarously name it. The term is xufitHriev, undula, and signifies a rolling Wave, to the re- 
 semblance whereof it is moulded. By some it is called the Throat, as from the Italian and 
 French, Gala, Geule, or Doucine, and of these there are two kinds, theirs; and principal 
 hath always its cavity above, and doth constantly jett over the Corona or Drip like a Wave 
 ready to fall, and then is properly called Sima" " the other has its hollow below, and is 
 named Inversa ; the one Convex, the other Concave. The letters $ thus placed do reason- 
 ably well express these kind of Mouldings." An Account of Architects and Architecture, 
 &c. by John Evelyn, Esq. Fellow of the Royal Society, Fol. 1696, page 30. [ed.] 
 
 c Cyma — see preceding Note. [ed.] 
 
 d Torus, " from ro^os, denoting the roundness and smoothness of it. Torus enim quicquid 
 rotundum; or rather as Sealiger, quod arlificialiter elaboratur <£■ tornelur, because artificially 
 made so; but why not from its Swelling and Brawniness? It much resembles the shape of a 
 round cushion," &c. Ibid, page 18. [ ED 
 
 e "Astragal, which besides divers other things, as the Sqitem Spina? Vertebra? near the Neck, 
 has here its analogy from that bone a little above the Heel, &c. Ibid, page 18. [ed.] 
 
 f " Trochile, from rg iy^u or <rgo%a, a Rundle or Pully-wheel, which it much resembles, and 
 is that cavity appearing next to the Torus : The Italians name it Bastone, or more properly 
 Cavetto, and Cortice, tanquam bacu/i cortex, the hollow rind of a tree, as Barbaro. Our 
 workmen retain the ancient Scotia, from 'Zx.or'ia., its obscurity proceeding from the shade of 
 the Hollowness, but more vulgarly they call it the Casement, &c. Ibid, page 18. 
 
 It is singular that Sir William should have omitted to notice the situations which the se- 
 veral mouldings should and should not occupy. 
 
 For instance— The Ovolo should be used only above the level of the eye of the spectator. 
 The Cavetto must not be seen in bases or capitals. 
 
 The Cyma recta only to be used in crowning members, though in Palladio's 
 Doric, and other examples, it is found occasionally in the bed mouldings 
 under the corona. 
 The Scotia always below the eye, and always between the fillets attached 
 
 to Tori. 
 The Fillet at all heights, and in most situations. [ ED 
 
140 OF THE PARTS WHICH COMPOSE 
 
 Torus and Astragal, shaped like ropes, are intended to 
 bind and strengthen the parts on which they are employed; 
 and the use of the Fillet and Scotia, is only to separate, 
 contrast, and strengthen the effect of other mouldings, to 
 give a graceful turn to the profile, and to prevent that 
 confusion, which would be occasioned by joining several 
 convex members together. 
 
 That the inventors of these forms, meant to express 
 something by their different figures, will scarcely be 
 denied ; and that the abovementioned were their destina- 
 tions, may be deduced, not only from their figures, but 
 from the practice of the ancients in their most esteemed 
 works : for if we examine the Pantheon, the three columns 
 in the Campo Vaccino, the temple of Jupiter Tonans, the 
 fragments of the frontispiece of Nero, the basilica of An- 
 toninus, the forum of Nerva, the arches of Titus and Sep- 
 timius Severus, the theatre of Marcellus ; and indeed, 
 almost every ancient building, either at Rome, or in other 
 parts of Italy and France, it will be found, that in all their 
 profiles, the Cyma and the Cavetto are constantly used as 
 finishings, and never applied where strength is required : 
 that the Ovolo and Talon, are always employed as sup- 
 porters to the essential members of the composition, such 
 as the modillions, dentils, and corona : that the chief use 
 of the Torus and Astragal, is to fortify the tops and 
 bottoms of columns, and sometimes of pedestals, where 
 they are frequently cut in the form of ropes : as on the 
 Trajan column', in the temple of Concord, and on several 
 fragments which I have seen both at Rome, and at Nismes 
 
 1 The author seems to have forgotten that the Torus of the Trajan 
 column is decorated with laurel leaves bound with bands at certain inter- 
 vals, and by no means bearing any resemblance to a rope. E I:D 
 
THE ORDERS OF ARCHITECTURE, ETC. 14] 
 
 in Languedoc : and that the Scotia, is employed only to 
 separate the members of bases, for which purpose the 
 Fillet is likewise used, not only in bases, but in all kinds 
 of profiles. 
 
 Hence it may be inferred, that there is something posi- 
 tive and natural, in these primary forms of architecture ; 
 and consequently in the parts which they compose : and 
 that Palladio erred, in employing the Cavetto under the 
 Corona, in three of his orders, and in making such fre- 
 quent use through all his profiles of the Cyma, as a sup- 
 porting member. Nor has Vignola been more judicious, 
 in finishing his Tuscan cornice with an Ovolo ; a mould- 
 ing, extremely improper for that purpose, and productive of 
 a very disagreeable effect : for it gives a mutilated air to the 
 whole profile, so much the more striking, as it resembles 
 exactly that half of the Ionic cornice, which is under 
 the Corona. Other architects have been guilty of the like 
 improprieties, and are therefore equally reprehensible'. 
 
 There are various manners of describing the Contour 
 or out-line, of mouldings ; the simplest however, and the 
 best, is to form them of quadrants of circles *, as in the 
 annexed designs ; by which means, the different depres- 
 sions and swellings, will be more strongly marked ; the 
 transitions be made, without any angle ; and the projec- 
 tions be agreeable to the doctrine of Vitruvius, and the 
 practice of the ancients: those of the Ovolo, Talon, Cyma, 
 and Cavetto, being equal to their height ; that of the 
 
 1 All sense in the application of appropriate forms in mouldings seems 
 now extinct, and Palladio set at defiance — He who can in the present day 
 produce the newest and most extraordinary moulding in profiling an order 
 is the greatest genius. 
 1 PI. Mouldings. 
 
142 OF THE PARTS WHICH COMPOSE 
 
 Scotia to one third, and those of the curved parts of the 
 Torus and Astragal, to one half thereof. 
 
 On particular occasions, however, it may be necessary 
 sometimes to increase, and at other times to diminish 
 these projections, according to the situation, or other 
 circumstances attending the profile, as will hereafter 
 appear. And whenever it so happens ; the Ovolo, Talon, 
 Cyma, and Cavetto, may either be described from the 
 summits of equilateral triangles, or be composed of qua- 
 drants of the Ellipsis ; of which the latter, should be 
 preferred, as it produces a stronger opposition of light 
 and shade, and by that means, marks the forms more dis- 
 tinctly. The Scotia may likewise be framed of elliptical 
 portions, or quadrants of the circle, differing more or 
 less from each other, than in the annexed designs'; by 
 which means, its projection may either be increased or 
 diminished ; but the curved part of the Torus and Astra- 
 gal, must always be semi-circular, and the increase in 
 their projection, be made by straight lines. 
 
 In some antiques, and likewise in various modern build- 
 ings, where the parts are far removed from the eye, or 
 where, from the extraordinary size of the structure, it has 
 not been practicable to give to every member its due 
 projection, recourse has been had to artifice, in order to 
 produce the desired effect. At St. Peter's of the Vatican, 
 this practice is very frequent ; and I have given a section 
 of the Cornice*, terminating the pendentives of the dome, 
 which may serve as a guide, in cases where the like is 
 necessary. 
 
 It will however be proper to observe, that a frequent 
 
 ' PI. Mouldings. » PI. Mouldings, Fig. 1. 
 
THE ORDERS OF ARCHITECTURE, ETC. 143 
 
 use of this expedient is to be avoided ; as the artifice 
 never succeeds, but where, by reason of the great dis- 
 tance, it is undiscoverable : for the incisions and contor- 
 tions made in the mouldings, entirely destroy the natural 
 beauty of their form. 
 
 Certain of the modern Italians, and likewise some of 
 our own learned Virtuosi, who eagerly grasp at every 
 innovation, having observed these forms in the works of 
 Michael Angelo, and in some of the temples of antiquity, 
 without sufficiently considering why they were there in- 
 troduced, have very injudiciously made use of them, in 
 all their own works ; by which practice, their composi- 
 tions, though having in other respects, a certain degree 
 of merit ; are, in this particular, highly censurable. 
 
 An assemblage of essential parts and mouldings, is 
 termed a profile ; and on the choice, disposition, and 
 proportions of these, depend the beauty or deformity of 
 the composition. The most perfect profiles, are such as 
 consist of few mouldings ; varied, both in form and size ; 
 fitly applied, with regard to their uses ; and so distri- 
 buted, that the straight and curved ones, succeed each 
 other alternately. In every profile, there should be a 
 predominant member, to which all the others ought to 
 seem subservient, and made, either to support, to fortify, 
 or to shelter it, from injuries of weather : and whenever 
 the profile is considerable, or much complicated, the 
 predominant, should always be accompanied with one or 
 more other principal members ; in form and dimension, 
 calculated to attract the eye ; create momentary pauses ; 
 and assist the perception of the beholder. These predo- 
 minant and principal members, ought always to be of the 
 essential class, and generally rectangular. Thus in a 
 
144 OF THE PARTS WHICH COMPOSE 
 
 Cornice, the Corona predominates ; the Modillions and 
 Dentils are principals in the composition ; the Cyma and 
 Cavetto, cover them ; the Ovolo and Talon, support them. 
 
 When Ornaments are employed to decorate a profile, 
 some of the mouldings should always be left plain, in 
 order to form a proper repose : for when all are enriched, 
 the figure of the profile is lost in confusion. In an Enta- 
 blature, the corona should not be ornamented, nor the 
 modillion band, nor the difFerent fascias of the archi- 
 trave : neither should the plinths of columns, fillets, nor 
 scarcely any square members be carved. For generally 
 speaking, they are either principal in the composition, or 
 used as boundaries to other parts ; in both which cases, 
 their figures should be simple, distinct and unembarrassed. 
 The Dentil Band should remain uncut, where the Ovolo 
 and Talon immediately above and below it are enriched ; 
 as in the Pantheon at Rome, and at St. Paul's in London. 
 For when the Dentils are marked ; particularly if they be 
 small, according to Palladio's Corinthian design ; the three 
 members are confounded together, and being covered 
 with ornaments, become far too rich, for the remainder of 
 the composition : which are defects at all times, studiously 
 to be avoided : as a distinct outline, and an equal distri- 
 bution of enrichments, must on every occasion, strictly 
 be attended to. 
 
 Scamozzi observes', that ornaments should neither be 
 
 1 Parte Seconda, Libro vi. c. 3, " Inoltre gli ornamenti non si deono 
 pone, in- profusi, m troppo abbondanti, ne meno scarsamente, ne con 
 alcana avaritia: percio allhora saranno lodati, quando si metteranno con 
 giudicio, c temperatamente, e sopra tutto di bellissimc forme, c con esa- 
 tissime proportioni, cosi neile loro parti, come nelle membra particolari: 
 essendo gli ornamenti, che si pongono nolle parti de gli edifici a punto 
 come le gioie, con le quali si sogliono adornare i Prcncipi, e le Principesse, 
 i gran Signori, e Dame; poiclie quelle non si lodano a ragione, chc sono 
 
THE ORDERS OF ARCHITECTURE, ETC. 145 
 
 too frugally employed, nor distributed with too much 
 profusion ; their value will increase, in proportion to the 
 judgment and discretion shewn in their application. For, 
 in effect, says he, the ornaments of sculpture used in 
 architecture, are like diamonds in a female dress, with 
 which it would be absurd to cover the face, or other 
 principal parts, either in themselves beautiful, or appear- 
 ing with greater propriety, in their natural state. 
 
 Variety in ornaments, must not be carried to an excess. 
 In architecture they are only accessories, and therefore 
 they should not be too striking, nor capable of long 
 detaining the attention from the main object. Those of 
 the mouldings in particular, should be simple, uniform, 
 and never composed of more than two different repre- 
 sentations upon each moulding : which ought to be cut 
 equally deep, be formed of the same number of parts, 
 all nearly of the same dimensions ; in order to produce 
 one even uninterrupted hue throughout ; that so the eye 
 may not be more strongly attracted, by any particular 
 part, than by the whole composition. 
 
 When mouldings of the same form and size, are em- 
 ployed in one profile, they should be enriched with the 
 same kind of ornaments ; by which means, the figure of 
 
 disposte nelle parti naturali gratiose, e belle : onde vediamo, che non si 
 adorna giamai ne le guancie, ne il petto, ne simiglianti luogbi." Piazzola 
 Edit. Fol. 1687- 
 
 Vincenzo Scamozzi, an architect of great talent, was born at Vicenza, 
 1550. He was educated in his profession by his father, and at Palladio's 
 death succeeded to the chief employments in the above city. His public- 
 ations were "L'Idea dell' Architettura Universale," 2 vols. fol. 1615: re- 
 printed in 1687 : and " Discorsi sopra le antichita di Roma," 1583, fol. 
 He must not be confounded with another person, who took the same 
 sirname, for reasons which the reader will find in Milizia's Lives of the Ar- 
 chitects, and who was the Editor of Palladio's Buildings, 4 vols. fol. [ed.] 
 
 U 
 
146 OF THE PARTS WHICH COMPOSE 
 
 the profile will be better apprehended, and the artist will 
 avoid the imputation of a puerile minuteness, neither much 
 to his own credit, nor of any advantage to his works. 
 
 It must be observed, that all ornaments of mouldings, 
 are to be regularly disposed, answering perpendicularly 
 above each other, as at the three columns in the Campo 
 Vaccino, where the middles of the modillions, dentils, 
 eggs, and other ornaments, are all in one perpendicular 
 line. For, nothing is more careless, confused and un- 
 seemly, than to distribute them without any order, as 
 they are in many of the antiques, and in most of the 
 buildings of this metropolis : the middle of an egg answers 
 in some places to the edge of a dentil, in some to its 
 middle, and in others to the interval ; all the rest of the 
 ornaments being distributed in the same slovenly, artless 
 manner. The larger parts must regulate the smaller ; all 
 the ornaments in the entablature are to be governed by 
 the modillions, or mutules ; and the distribution of these, 
 must depend on the intervals of the columns ; and be so 
 disposed, that one of them may come directly over the 
 axis of each column. It is farther to be observed, that 
 the ornaments must partake of the character of the order 
 they enrich. Those used in the Doric and Ionic orders, 
 arc to be of simpler forms, and of larger bulk, than those 
 employed in the Composite or Corinthian. 
 
 When Frizes or other large members are to be enriched, 
 the ornaments may be significant, and serve to indicate 
 the destination or use of the building ; the rank, qualities, 
 profession and achievements of the owner : but it is a 
 foolish practice to crowd every part with arms, crests, 
 cyphers, and mottos ; for the figures of these things are 
 generally bad, or vulgar, and their introduction betrays 
 
THE ORDERS OF ARCHITECTURE, ETC. 147 
 
 an unbecoming vanity, in the master of the fabric. 
 Hogarth has humorously ridiculed this practice, by deco- 
 rating a nobleman's crutch, with a coronet. 
 
 In sacred places all obscene, grotesque, and heathenish 
 representations ought to be avoided : for indecent fables, 
 extravagant conceits, or instruments and symbols of 
 Pagan worship, are very improper ornaments in structures 
 consecrated to christian devotion. 
 
 With regard to the manner of executing ornaments, it 
 is to be remembered, that as in sculpture a drapery is not 
 estimable, unless its folds are contrived to grace and indi- 
 cate the parts and articulations of the body it covers ; so 
 in architecture the most exquisite ornaments lose all their 
 value, if they load, alter, or confuse the form they are 
 designed to enrich and adorn. 
 
 All ornaments of mouldings must therefore be cut into 
 the solid 1 , and never be applied on their surface, as Davi- 
 ler erroneously teaches : because it alters both their 
 figure and proportion. The profile must first be finished 
 plain, and afterwards be adorned ; the most prominent 
 parts of the ornaments, being made equal with the surface 
 of the mouldings they enrich : and great care must be 
 taken that the angles, or breaks, be kept perfect and 
 untouched with sculpture ; for which reason it is cus- 
 tomary at the angles of most mouldings, to place water 
 leaves, or other plain leaves, the middle filament of which 
 forms the angle, and keeps its outline entire. 
 
 The method of the ancient sculptors, in the execution 
 
 ' One of the most delightful examples in verification of this sound prin- 
 ciple, is the Capital of the order used in the circular Temple at Tivoli, 
 in which the leaves, instead of being appliqitees to the bell of the capital, 
 are absolutely cut out of it. — The effect is wonderful as well as pleasing. 
 
 [ed.] 
 
148 OF THE PARTS WHICH COMPOSE 
 
 of architectonic ornaments, was, to aim at a perfect repre- 
 sentation of the object they chose to imitate ; so that the 
 chestnuts, acorns, or eggs, with which the ovolo is com- 
 monly enriched, are in the antiques, cut round, and almost 
 entirely detached ; as are likewise the berries, or beads on 
 the astragal : which are generally as much hollowed into 
 the solid of the body, as the moulding projects beyond it: 
 but the leaves, shells, and flowers, that adorn the Cavetto, 
 Cyma, Talon, and Torus, are kept flat, like the things 
 they represent. 
 
 In the application of their ornaments, they observed to 
 use such as required a considerable relief, on mouldings 
 that in themselves are clumsy, as the Ovolo and Astragal ; 
 which by means of the deep incisions made in them to 
 form these enrichments acquired an extraordinary light- 
 ness : but on more elegant parts, as the Cavetto, and 
 Cyma, they employed thin bodies, which could be repre- 
 sented without entering too far into the solid. The orna- 
 ments of their cornices were boldly marked, that they 
 might be distinguished from afar ; but those of the bases 
 of Columns, or of Pedestals being nearer the eye, were 
 more slightly expressed ; as well on that account, as 
 because it would have been improper to weaken these 
 parts, and impossible to keep them clean, had there been 
 any deep cavities in them, to harbour dust and filth. 
 
 When objects are near, and liable to close inspection, 
 every part of the ornament should be expressed, and well 
 finished : but when they are much exalted, the detail may 
 be slightly touched, or entirely neglected ; for it is suffi- 
 cient if the general form be distinct, and the principal 
 masses strongly marked. A few rough strokes from the 
 hand of a skilful master, are much more effectual, than 
 
THE ORDERS OF ARCHITECTURE, ETC, 149 
 
 the most elaborate finishings of an artless imitator, which 
 seldom consisting in more than smoothing and neatly 
 rounding off the parts, are calculated to destroy, rather 
 than to produce effect. 
 
150 OF THE ORDERS OF 
 
 OF THE ORDERS OF ARCHITECTURE IN GENERAL. 
 
 The orders of Architecture, as has been observed, are 
 the basis upon which the whole decorative part of the art 
 is chiefly built, and towards which the attention of the 
 artist must ever be directed, even where no orders are 
 introduced. In them, originate most of the forms used 
 in decoration ; they regulate most of the p roortions ; and 
 to their combination multiplied, varied, and arranged in a 
 thousand different ways, architecture is indebted, for its 
 most splendid productions. 
 
 These orders, are different modes of building, said, ori- 
 ginally to have been imitated from the primitive huts ; 
 being composed of such parts as were essential in their 
 construction, and afterwards also in the temples of anti- 
 quity ; which, though at first simple and rude, were in the 
 course of time, and by the ingenuity of succeeding archi- 
 tects, wrought up and improved, to such a pitch of per- 
 fection, that they were by way of excellence distinguished 
 by the name of orders. 
 
 Of these there are five ' : three said to be of Grecian 
 origin, are called Grecian orders ; being distinguished by 
 the names of Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian : they exhibit 
 three distinct characters of composition ; supposed to 
 have been suggested, by the diversity of character in the 
 human frame. The remaining two being of Italian origin, 
 are called Latin orders ; they are distinguished by the 
 names of Tuscan and Roman, and were probably invented 
 
 1 PI. Orders. 
 
m^m^mmmmm 
 
 
 
 
 
ARCHITECTURE IN GENERAL. 151 
 
 with a view of extending the characteristic bounds, on one 
 side, still farther towards strength and simplicity ; as on 
 the other, towards elegance and profusion of enrichments. 
 
 At what time the orders were invented, or by whom 
 improved to the utmost, remains at least, doubtful. Of 
 their improvement we can now only judge, from the struc- 
 tures and fragments of antiquity, built in different ages, 
 and still remaining to be seen in various parts of Europe, 
 Asia, and Africa. And of their origin little is known 
 but from the relation of Vitruvius ', the veracity of 
 which, has been much questioned, and is probably not 
 much to be depended upon. 
 
 " Dorus, says he, son of Hellen and the nymph 
 Orseis*, king of Achaia and of all the Peloponnesus ; 
 having formerly built a temple to Juno, in the ancient 
 city of Argos ; this temple, happened to be in the manner 
 which is called Doric, and was afterwards imitated in 
 many others, built in the several cities of Achaia. 
 
 " About the same time the Athenians, after having con- 
 sulted the oracle of Apollo at Delphi, by the common 
 consent of all Greece, sent into Asia thirteen colonies ; 
 each, under the command of a separate captain : but all, 
 under the general direction of Ion, son of Xuthus and 
 Creusa. Ion being arrived in Asia, conquered all Caria, 
 and founded thirteen large cities ; the inhabitants whereof, 
 having expelled the Carians and Lelegae, called the 
 
 1 Lib. iv. c. 1. For a learned and impartial examination of the account 
 given by Vitruvius relating to the origin of the Grecian Orders of Archi- 
 tecture, which it is much regretted would exceed the limits of a note, the 
 student is most particularly recommended to the perusal of Goguet " L' 
 Origine des Lois des Arts et des Sciences." 2< Epoque Livre ii. and 3 e 
 Epoque, Liv. ii. — See also page 30 supra. C ED -D 
 
 * Chambers has it Optica, which he seems to have adopted without 
 consulting Philander's note in loco. [ev.~] 
 
152 OF THE ORDERS OF 
 
 country Ionia ; in honour of Ion their leader : and erected 
 temples, of which the first dedicated to Apollo Panionius, 
 was built after the manner of those they had seen in 
 Achaia, which they called Doric ; because temples of the 
 same sort, had been erected in the cities of the Dorians. 
 
 " But some time after, building a temple to Diana, 
 different from these, and of a more delicate structure ; 
 being formed upon the proportions of a female body, as 
 the Doric had been on those of a robust man ; and adorn- 
 ing the capitals of their columns with volutes, to represent 
 the curls of a woman's hair ; and the shafts with flutings, 
 to express the folds of her garment : they gave to this 
 second manner of building the name of Ionic ; because 
 it was invented and first used by the Ionians. 
 
 " The third sort of columns, which are called Corin- 
 thian ; and represent the delicate figure of a young girl, 
 owe their birth to the following accident. 
 
 " A young woman of Corinth being dead ', her nurse 
 placed on her tomb a basket, containing certain trinkets 
 in which she delighted when alive ; covering it with a 
 tile, to shelter them from the weather. The basket hap- 
 pened accidentally to be set on a root of the acanthus, 
 which pushing forth its leaves and sprigs in the spring, 
 covered the sides of it ; and some of them, longer than 
 the rest, being obstructed by the angles of the tile, were 
 forced downwards ; and by degrees, curled into the form 
 of volutes. 
 
 " Callimachus, a celebrated sculptor, passing near the 
 tomb, observed the basket, and in how graceful a manner 
 the leaves of the acanthus had surrounded it: the form 
 pleased him exceedingly, he imitated it on the tops of 
 
 1 PI. Primitive Buildings. 
 
ARCHITECTURE IN GENERAL. 153 
 
 some columns, which he afterwards executed at Corinth ; 
 establishing and regulating, by this model, the manner 
 and proportions of the Corinthian order." ' 
 
 Of the two Latin orders, the Tuscan is said to have 
 been invented by the inhabitants of Tuscany, before the 
 Romans had intercourse with the Greeks, or were ac- 
 quainted with their arts, whence, it is called Tuscan. 
 Probably however, these people, originally a colony of 
 Greeks, only imitated in the best manner they could, what 
 they remembered in their own country : simplifying the 
 Doric, either to expedite their work, or perhaps to adapt 
 it to the abilities of their workmen. 
 
 The second Latin order, though of Roman production, 
 is but of modern adoption ; the ancients never having 
 considered it as a distinct order. It is a mixture of the 
 Ionic and Corinthian, and is now distinguished by the 
 names of Roman, or Composite. 
 
 The ingenuity of man has, hitherto, not been able to 
 produce a sixth order, though large premiums have been 
 offered, and numerous attempts been made, by men of first 
 rate talents, to accomplish it. Such is the fettered human 
 imagination, such the scanty store of its ideas, that 
 Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian, have ever floated upper- 
 most; and all that has ever been produced, amounts to 
 nothing more, than different arrangements and combi- 
 nations of their parts, with some trifling deviations, 
 scarcely deserving notice ; the whole generally tending 
 
 1 The capitals of many of the Egyptian columns furnish a much more 
 probable origin of the Corinthian capital, even to the invention of the 
 volute. See plates 32. 34. 44. and 45. in Denon's work — The story is so 
 very pretty, that one regrets to have the charge of undermining it. See 
 also introductory Essay on Grecian Architecture page 15. C ED 
 
 X 
 
154 OF THE ORDERS OF 
 
 more to diminish, than to increase the beauty of the an- 
 cient orders. 
 
 The substitution of cocks', owls, or lions' heads, &c. for 
 roses ; of trophies, cornucopias, lilies, sphinxes, or even 
 men, women, and children, for volutes ; the introduction 
 of feathers, lyres, flower de luces, or coronets, for leaves ; 
 are more alterations, than improvements ; and the suspen- 
 sion of festoons of flowers, or collars of knighthood, over 
 the other enrichments of a capital, like lace on embroi- 
 dery : rather tends to complicate and confuse the form, 
 than to augment its grace, or contribute to its excellence. 
 
 The suppression of parts of the ancient orders, with a 
 view to produce novelty, has of late years, been prac- 
 tised among us, with full as little success. And though 
 it is not wished to restrain sallies of imagination, nor to 
 discourage genius from attempting to invent ; yet it is ap- 
 prehended, that attempts to alter the primary forms in- 
 vented by the ancients, and established by the concur- 
 ring approbation of many ages, must ever be attended 
 with dangerous consequences, must always be difficult, 
 and seldom, if ever, successful. It is like coining words, 
 which, whatever may be their value, are at first but ill re- 
 ceived, and must have the sanction of time, to secure 
 them a current reception. 
 
 An order is composed of two principal members 1 , the 
 column and the entablature, each of which is divided 
 into three principal parts 3 . Those of the column are the 
 base, the shaft, and the capital ; those of the entablature 
 are the architrave, the frize, and the cornice. All these 
 are again subdivided into many smaller parts, the disposi- 
 
 ' PI. Composite Entablatures and Capitals. 
 
 ' PI. of Primitive Buildings. 3 Ibid. 
 
ARCHITECTURE IN GENERAL. 155 
 
 tion, number, forms, and dimensions of which, character- 
 ize each order, and express the degree of strength or deli- 
 cacy, richness or simplicity, peculiar to it. 
 
 The simplest and most solid of all, is the Tuscan 1 . It 
 is composed of few and large parts, devoid of ornaments, 
 and is of a construction so massive, that it seems capable 
 of supporting the heaviest burdens ; whence it is, by Sir 
 H. Wotton\ compared to a sturdy labourer, dressed in 
 homely apparel. 
 
 The Doric order 3 , next in strength to the Tuscan, 
 and of a grave, robust, masculine aspect 4 , is by Sca- 
 mozzi, called the Herculean 5 . Being the most ancient of 
 all the orders, it retains more of the structure 6 of the pri- 
 mitive huts in its form than any of the rest, having tri- 
 glyphs in the frize, to represent the ends of joists, and 
 mutules in its cornice, to represent rafters, with inclined 
 soffits, to express their direction in the originals, from 
 which they were imitated. Its column too is often seen in 
 
 1 PI. of Orders. 
 
 * " First, therefore, the Tuscan is a plain, massie, rurall Pillar, resem- 
 bling some sturdy well-limb'd Labourer, homely clad, in which kinde of 
 comparisons, Vitruvius himself seemeth to take pleasure, Lib. iv. cap. 1." 
 — Elements of Architecture. C ED -D 
 
 3 PI. of Orders. 
 
 * " The Dorique order is the gravest that hath been received into civill 
 use, preserving, in comparison of those that follow, a more Masculine 
 Aspect, and little trimmer then the Tuscan that went before, save a sober 
 garnishment now and then of Lions' heads in the Cornice, and of Triglyphs 
 and Metopes always in the Frize." " To discern him will be a piece rather 
 of good Heraldry then of Architecture, for he is best knowne by his place, 
 when he is in company, and by the peculiar ornament of his Frize, before 
 mentioned, when he is alone." — Elements of Architecture, by Sir Henry 
 Wotton. [ed.] 
 
 5 Parte seconda, lib. vi. c. 10, " L'ordine Dorico, il quale tiene del forte, 
 & Herculeo," &c. [ed.] 
 
 6 PI. Primitive Buildings. 
 
15G OF THE ORDERS OF 
 
 ancient works, executed without a base, in imitation of 
 the trees used in the first buildings, without any plinths 
 to raise them above the ground. Freart de Chambrai ', 
 speaking of this order, observes, that delicate ornaments 
 are repugnant to its characteristic solidity, and that it 
 succeeds best in the simple regularity of its proportions : 
 " Nosegays and garlands of flowers," says he, " grace not 
 a Hercules, who always appears more becomingly with a 
 rough club and lion's skin ; for there are beauties of va- 
 rious sorts, and often so dissimilar in their natures, that 
 those which may be highly proper on one occasion may 
 be quite the reverse, even ridiculously absurd, on others." 
 The Ionic *, being the second of the Grecian orders, 
 
 1 Roland Freart, sieur de Chambrai, native of Chambray, a learned Ar- 
 chitect of the seventeenth century, died in 1070 About 1640, he was em- 
 ployed bv Louis the Thirteenth in a mission to the Pope, to collect anti- 
 quities, and engage the ablest artists to reside in France. Among the 
 hitter he brought Poussin to Paris. His works are, a French translation 
 of Da Vinci on Painting, fol. Paris, 1651, and one of Palladio's Architec- 
 ture. Paris, 1650. Of this, a fine edition was printed by Nicolas du Bois, 
 at the Hague, in 17-0, who has divided the translator into two persons, 
 asserting that Freart published one edition of Palladio, and the Sieur de 
 Chambrai another. Freart's most valuable work was the " Parallele de 
 1' Architecture antique avec la moderne," Paris, 1660, fob, reprinted by 
 Erard in 1702. This was translated by Sir John Evelyn, and enriched by 
 him with much additional matter. Bernini was associated with Chambrai in 
 the works at tin' Louvre, and the following anecdote from Milizia (Me- 
 morie degli Architetti antichi e modemi), is as creditable to one as to the 
 other of those architects. " Quando fu in Francia il Bernini il Be incarico 
 M. de Chambray di lavorar di concerto con quell' Architctto, il quale ri- 
 conobbe subito le cogni/ioni superior] del Francese, ed ebbe il coraggio di 
 DOnfessarlo al Be stesso, diccndogli, che sua Maesta avrebbe potuto dispen- 
 sarsi di farlo venire si da lontano, poiche egli avea trovato in M. de Cham- 
 bray un Maestro ch'ei si farebbe onore di seguitare, e ch'ei non era si teme- 
 rario da cambiar niente al suo progetto del Louvre." — Vita di Bolando 
 Freart de Chambray- [ KD 
 
 2 PI. of Orders. ' 
 
ARCHITECTURE IN GENERAL. 15J 
 
 holds a middle station between the other two, and stands 
 in equipoise between the grave solidity of the Doric, and 
 the elegant delicacy of the Corinthian. Among the an- 
 tiques, however, we find it in different dresses ; some- 
 times plentifully adorned, and inclining most towards the 
 Corinthian ; sometimes more simple, and bordering on 
 Doric plainness, all according to the fancy of the archi- 
 tect, or nature of the structure where employed. It is 
 throughout of a more slender construction than either of 
 the afore-described orders ; its appearance, though simple, 
 is graceful and majestic; its ornaments should be few, 
 rather neat than luxuriant, and as there ought to be 
 nothing exaggerated, or affectedly striking in any of its 
 parts, it is, not unaptly, compared to a sedate matron, 
 rather in decent than magnificent attire'. 
 
 " The Corinthian \" says Sir Henry Wotton, " is a 
 column lasciviously decked, like a wanton courtezan 3 . 
 Its proportions are elegant in the extreme, every part of 
 the order is divided into a great variety of members, and 
 abundantly enriched with a diversity of ornaments." 
 "The ancients," says De Chambrai, " aiming at the re- 
 presentation of a feminine beauty, omitted nothing either 
 calculated to embellish, or capable of perfecting their 
 work." And he observes, " that in the many examples 
 
 1 " The Ionique order doth represent a kinde of feminine slendernesse ; 
 yet, saith Vitruvius, not like a light housewife, but in a decent dressing, 
 hath much of the Matrone." " Best knowne by his trimmings, for the bodie 
 of this Columne is perpetually chaneled, like a thicke pleighted gowne. The 
 CapitaU dressed on each side, not much unlike womens Wires, in a spirall 
 wreathing, which they call the Ionian Valuta." C ED -3 
 
 2 PI. of Orders. 
 
 3 Sir Henry adds, " and therein much participating, as all inventions do, 
 of the place where they were first born ; Corinthc having been without 
 controversie one of the wantonest townes in the world." E ED 
 
158 OF THE ORDERS OF 
 
 left of this order, such a profusion of different ornaments 
 is introduced, that they seem to have exhausted imagina- 
 tion in the contrivance of decorations for this master- 
 piece of the art. Scamozzi calls it the Virginal', and it 
 certainly has all the delicacy in its form, with all the 
 gaiety, gaudiness, and affectation in its dress, peculiar to 
 young women." 
 
 The Composite order *, being, properly speaking, only 
 a different species of the Corinthian, distinguished from 
 it merely by some peculiarities in the capital, or other 
 trilling deviations, retains, in a great measure, the same 
 character, and requires no particular description 3 . 
 
 To give a striking idea of these different properties, 
 and to render the comparison between the orders more 
 easy, I have represented 4 them all of the same height, 
 by which means the gradual increase of delicacy and 
 richness is easily perceivable, as are likewise the relations 
 between the intercolumniations of the different orders, 
 and the proportions which their pedestals, imposts, archi- 
 volts, and other parts, with which they are on various oc- 
 casions accompanied, bear to each other. 
 
 1 Parte seconda, lib. vi. cap. 10, " Gracile e Virginale." [ed.] 
 
 x PL Orders. 
 
 3 " The last is the Compounded Order, his name being a briefc of his 
 Nature : for this Pillar is nothing in effect but a Med/ie, or an Amasse of all 
 the precedent Ornaments, making a new kinde by stealth, and though the 
 most richly tricked, yet the poorest in this, that he is a borrower of all his 
 Beautic." — Sir Henry Wotton's Elements of Architecture. There is much 
 quaintness in the description of the orders by the most worthy and excel- 
 lent Provost of Eton College, but there is more than an equal quantity of 
 truth, feeling, and artist-like discrimination in his writing on the subject. 
 He was a man worthy such an amiable, simple-minded, and pious biogra- 
 pher as honest Izaak Walton. C ED 
 
 4 PI. Orders. 
 
ARCHITECTURE IN GENERAL. 159 
 
 The proportions ' of the orders were by the ancients 
 formed on those of the human body, and consequently, it 
 
 ' Proportion (proportione, according to a certain measure or size, or in 
 a certain relation), is, in architecture, those ratios of the whole to its parts, 
 and of the parts among themselves, which are suitable to their use and 
 situation. In numbers, it is a similitude of ratios, a term with which pro- 
 portion is often confounded, though their meanings are altogether diffe- 
 rent ; ratios being the relation to each other of two things or magni- 
 tudes, whilst proportion relates to four or more terms or things, or two 
 or more ratios, each having two or more terms. There are various 
 species of proportions in numbers, as, arithmetical, where there is an 
 equality between the differences of the terms, as 12, 9, G; geometrical, 
 wherein there is an equality between the quotients of the terms, as 9, 6, 4, 
 for 9 divided by 6 is the same as 6 divided by 4, each being lj ; harmo- 
 nica!, wherein the first term is to the third as the difference between the 
 first and second is to the difference between the second and third, or in 
 four terms, where the first is to the fourth as the difference between the 
 first and second is to the difference between the third and fourth, as 6, 4, 3, 
 or with four terms 24, 16, 12, 9 ; a sesquialteral ratio is that wherein the 
 greater term contains the less once, with a remainder equal to exactly half 
 the less term, as 3 to 2. 
 
 Wren, in one of his Essays published in the Parentalia, says, " There 
 are two causes of beauty, natural and customary. Natural is from geo- 
 metry, consisting in uniformity (that is, equality), and proportion. Cus- 
 tomary beauty is begotten by the use of our senses to those objects which 
 are usually pleasing to us for other causes, as familiarity or particular incli- 
 nation breeds a love to things not in themselves lovely. Here lies the 
 great occasion of errors, here is tried the architect's judgment, but always 
 the true test is natural or geometrical beauty." 
 
 The most obvious principle in respect to proportion, seems to be, that 
 no support should be burthened with a greater quantity of matter than it- 
 self contains, or, in other words, that the weight placed on a column should 
 not more than equal its own weight, or that in a series of columns, as in 
 a portico for instance, the cubical contents of the entablature and pedi- 
 ment, if any, should not be greater than those of the supports or columns. 
 How far the ancients acted on this principle will be presently seen, by a 
 comparison in this respect of some of the finest remains of their works. 
 Wren, at all events, seems, though a shrewd and accurate observer, to have 
 had no idea of such a principle, because he remarks that though the Co- 
 rinthian was slenderer, yet it bore a greater weight of entablature than the 
 
160 OF THE ORDERS OF 
 
 could not be their intention to make a Corinthian column, 
 which, as Vitruvius observes, is to represent the delicacy 
 
 more antient orders, forgetting that its columns are, or ought to be, always 
 placed nearer to each other. 
 
 It is astonishing that the author, a man of sound understanding, should 
 place in the passage any reliance on the dreams of Vitruvius, in respect of 
 the orders of architecture having been formed on the proportions of the 
 human body. It is as absurd a proposition as one more recently broached 
 (O. B. Scamozzi's Palladio), wherein an analogy is pretended to be disco- 
 vered between the musical concords and the proper proportions of build- 
 ings. These doctrines will not do for the present age. The laws of statics, 
 though not perhaps in the earliest periods so well understood as now, were 
 nevertheless so intuitively felt as to guide the first architects in their pro- 
 portions, rather than those laws deducible from things which were hetero- 
 geneous, if indeed at all known. 
 
 When the principle of weight for weight is abandoned, the work can 
 only be stable from the application of science to counteract the tendency 
 to ruin by some means of re-action. This is particularly observable in 
 the Gothic structures, wherein we always find an equipoise for the thrusts 
 of their stone vaulting, by the most obvious and scientific means. 
 
 To return, however, more strictly to the subject, we have taken five 
 examples of celebrated buildings, wherein, as a method of ascertaining the 
 truth of the principle just adverted to, the superficies of the columns, cut 
 through their axes vertically by a plane parallel to the front of the build- 
 ing, are compared with the area of the entablature and pediment of each 
 respectively. The weights of each being as the cubes of the square roots 
 of the anas, these areas will equally represent the supports and weights 
 in either of the terms. 
 
 In the Parthenon, the supports are to the 
 
 weights as 1546: 1843 or 1 : 1.1!) 
 
 But if tin- steps be reckoned the ratio will be as 2183 : 1843 or 1 : 0.84 
 In the Dome POHTICO, the supports are to the 
 
 weights as 40/0: 3990 or 1 : 0.98 
 
 In thi: PsBDDO-DIPTBRAL Temple at P.ESTIM, 
 
 the supports are to the weights as 1090: 1103 or 1 : 1.01 
 
 In the Temple oe EnEniiEUS, as 2040 : 2800 or 1 : 1.07 
 
 In the Pantheon at Rome, as 1566: 1723 or 1 : 1.10 
 
 S. i that there is every appearance of this theory being far from fanciful. 
 The reader may consult with advantage Lebrun's " Theorie de I'Archi- 
 
ARCHITECTURE IN GENERAL. l6l 
 
 of a young girl, as thick and much taller than a Doric 
 one, which is designed to represent the bulk and vigour 
 of a muscular full-grown man. Columns so formed could 
 not be applied to accompany each other, without violating 
 the laws both of real and apparent solidity; as, in such case, 
 the Doric dwarf must be crushed under the strapping 
 Ionic, or gigantic Corinthian virago, triumphantly riding 
 uppermost, and reversing the natural, the necessary pre- 
 dominance in the composition. 
 
 Nevertheless Vignola 1 , Palladio \ Scamozzi 3 , Blondel 4 , 
 
 tecture Grecque et Romaine, deduites de l'Analise des Monumens An- 
 tiques," fol. Paris, J 807> a work which first induced the Editor to turn 
 his attention to the subject. 
 
 In the progress of the orders from Tuscan to Composite, that is from 
 seven to eleven diameters in height, if the entablature be a constant quan- 
 tity equal to one quarter the height of the column, its bulk increases as 
 the intercolumniations decrease, and is in an inverse ratio to the width of 
 the intercolumniations. 
 
 For in the Tuscan ...\ of \ ~ 1J in terms of the diameter. 
 
 Doric i°ff =2 do. 
 
 Ionic \ off —1\ do. 
 
 Corinthian! of ' T ° = 1\ do. 
 
 Composite \ of u — 2j do. [ ED -J 
 
 1 Giacomo Barozzi of Vignola, in the territory of Modena, according to 
 Chalmers, of Bologna, whence he takes his name, was born in 1507, and 
 died 1573, though Chalmers says 1575. In his early days he delighted in 
 painting, but his success was not equal to his love for that branch of the 
 arts. He afterwards applied himself to architecture, and the study of 
 perspective, in which his genius led to better results. He succeeded 
 Michael Angelo as architect of St. Peter's, and his fame as an architec- 
 tural author is not less than his reputation as a practical artist. His works 
 are, " Regole dei cinque ordini dArchitettura," fol. no date, 32 plates. 
 The best, according to Chalmers, is that printed at Amsterdam in 1631 
 or 1642, fol. The French editions are not valuable. C ED -U 
 
 r Andrea Palladio, born in the territory of Vicenza, in the year 1518, 
 died in 1580. To his birth and existence this country is especially indebt- 
 ed for its progress in architecture, and for the formation of a school which 
 has done it honor, and given it a character of the first class, in the opinion 
 
 y 
 
162 OF THE ORDERS OF 
 
 Perrault 5 , and many others, if not all the great modern 
 artists, have considered them in this light ; that is, they 
 
 of its continental neighbours. Among the names which that school enrols' 
 are those of Inigo Jones, Sir Christopher Wren, Nicholas Hawksmoor, 
 James Gibbs, Lord Burlington, Carr of York, Sir Robert Taylor, our au- 
 thor himself, and a long list whose works reflect a lustre on the name of 
 Palladia, which all the new churches and Grecian profiles of this age will 
 not eclipse. 
 
 The celebrated Gian-Giorgio Trissino was his Maecenas. At his charge 
 he visited Rome three several times, where he applied himself to the study 
 and restoration of the remains of the magnificent structures of the antient 
 city. The result was a happy modification of the orders and their propor- 
 tions to domestic habitations, unknown, and hence unpractised, till his time. 
 Of his numerous and captivating buildings, this note does not afford the 
 space for a list. Every one. h owev er , has heard of the Church of the Re- 
 deemer at Venice, and of the Villa Capra at Vicenza. " These," if the 
 language may be used without profanation, " are the work of his hands." 
 What an age must that have been for our art wherein two such master 
 spirits as Sanmicheli and Palladio were cotemporaries, for the former lived 
 till 1559. 
 
 Palladio, at the age of sixty-two years, was snatched away from this 
 world. His funeral was attended by all the Olympic academicians of Vi- 
 cenza, and his remains deposited in Santa Corona, a church of the Domi- 
 nicans in that city- His figure was rather small, his countenance remark- 
 ably mild and benign, and the height of his forehead involuntarily reminds 
 us of our immortal Shakspeare's face. His demeanour and conduct wen- 
 modest and obliging, and the esteem in which lie was held, on these ac- 
 counts, by all persons with whom he had business, is a strong proof of 
 the truth of the accounts of his biographers. Milizia says of his works, 
 "Le Xazioui phi colte d'Europa stmliano i suoi libri, e gl' Inglesi >pezial- 
 mente lo stimano il loro Newton dell' Architettura." Palladio furnished 
 D. Barbaro with the plates for his translation of Vitruvius. 
 
 The edition, 4 vols, fob, of this architect's buildings Was published under 
 the following curious circumstances. Vinccnzo Scamozzi, of whom see in 
 ft preceding note, page 145, left his property to any one of his countrymen, 
 Vicentines, who should become the best architect of his day, tinder the ob- 
 ligation however of assuming his name. Ottavio Bertotti, born 17211. in 
 the judgment of the family of Capra, was that person ; to him was adjudged 
 the patrimony, and, having taken the name of Scamozzi, he celebrated 
 himself by the publication in question. This Ottavio Bertotti was not 
 without employment in his profession in the neighbourhood of his native 
 place. For the edition of his works see a preceding note, page 130. f_ED.] 
 
ARCHITECTURE IN GENERAL. 163 
 
 have made the diameters of all their orders the same, and 
 consequently their heights increasing, which, besides 
 giving a wrong idea of the character of these different 
 compositions, has laid a foundation for many erroneous 
 precepts and false reasonings to be found in different 
 parts of their works, of which, notice will in due time be 
 taken. 
 
 In the opinion of Scamozzi, columns should not be less 
 than seven of their diameters in height, nor more than 
 ten ; the former being, according to him, a good propor- 
 tion in the Tuscan, and the latter in the Corinthian order. 
 The practice of the ancients in their best works being 
 conformable to this precept, I have, as authorized by the 
 doctrine of Vitruvius, made the Tuscan column seven 
 diameters in height, and the Doric eight, the Ionic nine, 
 as Palladio and Vignola have done, and the Corinthian 
 and Composite ten ; which last measure is a mean be- 
 tween the proportions observed in the Pantheon, and at 
 
 3 
 
 See note, page 145. L ED \\ 
 
 * See note, page 131, for Blondel's Works. C ED -D 
 
 5 Claude Perrault, who was one of the greatest architects France ever 
 produced, was born at Paris in 1613, and died Oct. 9, 1688. Bred a phy- 
 sician, he exhibited an early taste for the fine arts and liberal sciences, of 
 which he acquired consummate knowledge. His greatest work was the ad- 
 mirable facade of the Louvre. Voltaire pronounced it one of the most 
 august monuments of architecture in the world, but there have been and 
 are many persons more capable of judging on this matter than M. Voltaire. 
 It is however, notwithstanding its architectural inaccuracies, a very 
 splendid design, and an honor to the French capital. 
 
 By the advice of Colbert, Perrault translated Vitruvius into French 
 and illustrated it with notes and plates. The first edition was in 1673, fol. 
 The second edition, which is the best, is fol. Paris, 1684. His other work 
 on architecture was " Ordonnance des cinq Especes de colonnes selon les 
 Anciens," fol. 1683. Besides these he published several other of his pro- 
 ductions. C ED -1 
 
U>4 OF THE ORDERS OF 
 
 the three columns in the Campo Vaccino, both which are 
 esteemed most excellent models of the Corinthian order. 
 
 The height of the entablature, in all the orders, I have 
 made one quarter of the height of the column, which was 
 the common practice of the ancients, who, in all sorts of 
 entablatures, seldom exceeded, or fell much short of, that 
 measure. 
 
 Nevertheless Palladio, Scamozzi, Alberti, Barbaro ', 
 Cataneo \ Delorme 3 , and others of the modern archi- 
 
 1 Daniel Barbaro. born in 1513, died in 1570, was a man of very consi- 
 derable learning, and was ambassador from Venice to England, which he 
 quitted in 1551 H tural work? are ■ Pratica dell.. va," 
 
 fol. Venice. 1568. and an Italian translation of Vitruvius, with copious 
 notes, and plates furnished by Palladio, 4to. Venice, 1584- This transla- 
 tion has passed through many editions. 
 
 : Pietro Cataneo. an Italian architect, who wrote a commentar 
 trurius in his own language, fol. Venice. 1554 — 07- L EI, 
 
 3 Philibert Delorme, a native of Lyons, was born in the beginning of the 
 16th century. He may be fairly ranked among the restorers of arc' 
 ture in France : but as the father of constructive skill, more especially in 
 carpentry, he has the highest claims on our gratitude. His employment 
 in Paris and its vicinity, was very extended ; in the former the Palace of 
 the TuiUeries in its original state was from his designs, Jean Bullant 
 being said to have been associated with him, for the purpose of carrving 
 them into execution. Both these architects have been honored by Cham- 
 bray, who thought them not unworthy to stand by the side of the greatest 
 masters in his celebrated " Paralltle." 
 
 The taste of the age decoyed Delorme into the customary division of 
 his facades into " pavilions," as the French term them, with towers whose 
 quoins are heavily rusticated, a practice destructive of all effect, as well as 
 unity of design, and calculated to make that appear petite which its volume 
 alone would otherwise have rendered imposing. 
 
 Delorme was the author of two works on architecture, vir. a complete 
 Treatise, in 9 ■ iff], and the other on carpentry, entitled 
 
 .velles Inventions pour bien bitir et a petits frais, foL Pans. 1561. 
 The latter contains an entirelT new system of carpentry, in which the chief 
 feature is a substitution of comparatively thin curviform ribs for the heavy 
 trussed roofs, then in general use. These ribs are formed of planks in 
 
ARCHITECTURE IN GENERAL. 165 
 
 tects, have made their entablatures much lower in the 
 Ionic, Composite, and Corinthian orders, than in the Tus- 
 can or Doric. This, on some occasions, may not only 
 be excusable, but highly proper ; particularly where the 
 intercolumniations are wide, as in a second or third order, 
 in private houses, or inside decorations, where lightness 
 should be preferred to dignity, and where expense, with 
 every impediment to the conveniency of the fabric, are 
 carefully to be avoided ; but to set entirely aside a pro- 
 portion which seems to have had the general approbation 
 of the ancient artists, is surely presuming too far. 
 
 The reason alledged, in favor of this practice, is the 
 weakness of the columns in the delicate orders, which 
 renders them unfit for supporting heavy burdens ; and 
 where the intervals are fixed, as in a second order, or in 
 other places, where wide intercolumniations are either 
 necessary or not to be avoided, the reason is certainly suf- 
 ficient, but, if the artist is at liberty to dispose his columns 
 
 thicknesses rarely more than three or four feet long, about a foot wide, and 
 one inch thick ; their forms, of course, depending on those of the plan and 
 section. They are secured at their feet by a strong wall plate, laid hori- 
 zontally. The joint of each plank is broken in the middle of the contiguous 
 plank. As the whole security of the system depends on the perpendicu- 
 larity of the ribs, they are kept in their vertical direction by keys which 
 pierce them, pinned or wedged on each side of the rib. The most magnifi- 
 cent specimen of this species of carpentry, was in the dome of the Halle 
 aux Bleds at Paris, designed by Legrand and Molinos, now replaced, in 
 consequence of its destruction by fire, with a cast iron ribbed dome. 
 
 Not the least merit of Delorme's invention is, that of its requiring but 
 small timbers for very extended spans, independent of its consequent 
 lightness. Specimens of this sort of construction will be found in Kraaft's 
 L'Art de Charpente, fol. Paris. 
 
 Quatremere de Quincy, under the art. Delorme, Encyc. Methodique, 
 says of this architect's works, that they " assurent a son nom une gloire 
 peut etre plus reelle, mais a coup sur plus durable, que celle qu'il doit a ses 
 edifices en partie detruits ou denatures." C ED \1 
 
166 OF THE ORDERS OF 
 
 at pleasure, the simplest and most natural way of con- 
 quering the difficulty, is to employ more columns, by 
 placing them nearer to each other, as was the custom of 
 the ancients. And it must be remembered that though 
 the height of the entablature in a delicate order is made 
 the same as in a massive one, yet it will not, either in 
 reality or in appearance, be equally heavy ' ; for the 
 quantity of matter in the Corinthian cornice A, is con- 
 derably less than in the Tuscan cornice B, and the in- 
 creased number of parts composing the former of these, 
 will, of course, make it appear far lighter than the latter \ 
 
 With regard to the parts of the entablature, I have fol- 
 lowed the method of Serlio 3 , in his Ionic and Corinthian 
 orders, and of Perrault, who, in all his orders, excepting 
 the Doric, divides the whole height of the entablature 
 into ten equal parts, three of which he gives to the ar- 
 chitrave, three to the frize, four to the cornice ; and in 
 the Doric order, he divides the whole height of the enta- 
 blature into eight parts, of which two are given to the ar- 
 chitrave, three to the frize, and three to the cornice. 
 
 These measures deviate very little from those observed 
 in the greatest number of antiques now extant at Rome, 
 where they have stood the test of many ages ; and their 
 simplicity renders them singularly useful in composition, as 
 they are easily remembered and easily applied. 
 
 ' Fig. 2, Plate of Mouldings. 
 
 * See note at pages KSO-1. 
 
 3 Sebastian Serlio a Bolognese, who died in 1552, was a scholar of Bal- 
 il;iss:in- IYrruzzi and was the first architect who measured, and published 
 representations of, the principal remains of Roman architecture. His death 
 occurred at Fontaineblcau, whilst in the service of Francis I. The first 
 edition of his work is 4to, Vicenza, I5ii4; one also at Venice, same size, 
 1619. [ED.] 
 
ARCHITECTURE IN GENERAL. I67 
 
 Of two manners used by architects, to determine the 
 dimensions of the mouldings, and the lesser parts that 
 compose an order, I have chosen the simplest, readiest, 
 and most accurate ; which is, by the module or semi-dia- 
 meter of the column, taken at the bottom of the shaft, 
 and divided into thirty minutes. 
 
 There are indeed many who prefer the method of mea- 
 suring by equal parts, imagining beauty to depend on 
 the simplicity and accuracy of the relations existing be- 
 tween the whole body and its members, and alledging 
 that dimensions, which have evident affinities, are better 
 remembered than those whose relations are too complicated 
 to be immediately apprehended. 
 
 With regard to the former of these suppositions, it is 
 evidently false, for the real relations subsisting between 
 dissimilar figures, have no connection with the apparent 
 ones ; and with regard to the latter, it may or may not be 
 the case, according to the degree of accuracy with which 
 the partition is made : for instance, in dividing the Attic 
 base, which may be numbered among the simplest compo- 
 sitions in architecture, according to the different methods, 
 it appears to me as easy to recollect the numbers 10, 7J> 
 1, 4|, 1, 5|, as to remember that the whole height of the 
 base is to be divided into three equal parts ; that two of 
 these three, are to be divided into four ; that three of 
 the four, are to be divided into two ; and that one of the 
 two, is to be divided into six, which are to be divided into 
 three. 
 
 But admitting it were easier to remember the one than 
 the other, it doth not seem necessary, nor even advisable, 
 in a science where a vast diversity of knowledge is re- 
 quired, to burden the memory with a thousand trifling 
 
168 OF THE ORDERS OF 
 
 dimensions. If the general proportions be known, it is all 
 that is requisite in composing, and when a design is to 
 be executed, it is easy to have recourse to figured draw- 
 ings, or to prints. The use of the module is universal 
 throughout the order and all its appurtenances ; it marks 
 their relations to each other, and being susceptible of the 
 minutest divisions, the dimensions may be speedily de- 
 termined with the utmost accuracy, while the trouble, 
 confusion, uncertainty, and loss of time, in measuring by 
 equal parts, are very considerable, seeing it is necessary 
 to form almost as many different scales as there are differ- 
 ent parts to be divided. 
 
 Columns, in imitation of trees from which they drew 
 their origin, are tapered in their shafts. In the antiques, 
 the diminution is variously performed ; sometimes begin- 
 ning from the foot of the shaft, at others from one quar- 
 ter, or one third of its height, the lower part being left 
 perfectly cylindrical. The former of these methods was 
 most in use amongst the ancients, and being the most 
 natural, seems to claim the preference, though the latter 
 has been almost universally practised by modern artists, 
 from a supposition, perhaps, of its being more graceful, 
 as it is more marked and strikingly perceptible. 
 
 The first architects, says Mons. Auzoult, probably 
 made their columns in straight lines, in imitation of trees, 
 so that their shaft was a frustrum of the cone ; but find- 
 ing this form abrupt and disagreeable, they made use of 
 some curve, which, springing from the extremities of the 
 superior and inferior diameters of the column, swelled 
 beyond the sides of the cone, and, by that means, gave a 
 more pleasing figure to the outline. Vitruvius ', in the 
 
 " Lib. iii. cap. 2. " Do adjectione, qua; ndjicitur in mcdiis Coluninis ; 
 
ARCHITECTURE IN GENERAL. 169 
 
 second chapter of his third book, mentions this practice ; 
 but in so obscure and cursory a manner, that his meaning 
 has not been understood ; and several of the modern 
 architects, intending to conform themselves to his doc- 
 trine, have made the diameters of their columns greater 
 in the middle, than at the foot of the shaft. Leon Baptista 
 Alberti ', with others of the Florentine and Roman archi- 
 tects, carried this practice to a very absurd excess, for 
 which they have been justly blamed : as it is neither 
 natural, reasonable, nor beautiful. 
 
 Monsieur Auzoult further observes, that a column, sup- 
 posing its shaft to be the frustrum of a cone, may have an 
 additional thickness in the middle, without being swelled 
 there, beyond the bulk of its inferior parts ; and sup- 
 poses the addition mentioned by Vitruvius, to signify 
 nothing more than the increase towards the middle of 
 the column, occasioned by changing the straight line, 
 which at first was in use, into a curve. 
 
 This supposition, is exceedingly just, and founded on 
 what is observable in the works of antiquity, where there 
 is no single instance of a column thicker in the middle, 
 than at the bottom, though all, or most of them, have the 
 swelling hinted at by Vitruvius, all of them being termi- 
 
 quae apud Graecos "itoti; appellatur, in extremo libro erit formatio ejus." 
 — Wotton in his Elements of Architecture says, " And here I must take 
 leave to blame a practice growne (I know not how) in certaine places too 
 familiar, of making Pillars swell in the middle, as if they were sicke of 
 some Tympany or Dropsie, without any authentique Paterne or Rule, to 
 my knowledge, and unseemely to the very judgment of sight." [ed.] 
 
 ' This learned author divides the height of the column into seven parts, 
 and places the greatest swelling at the height of the third division of these 
 parts from the base, so that, as he takes Vitruvius in the strict letter, it is 
 nearer the middle of the height of the column. [ed.] 
 
 Z 
 
170 OF THE ORDERS OF 
 
 nated by curves ; some few granite columns excepted, 
 which are bounded by straight lines : a proof, perhaps, of 
 their antiquity, or of their having been wrought in the 
 quarries of Egypt, by unskilful workmen. 
 
 Blondel in his book, entitled Resolution des quatrc 
 principaiuv Problemes d' Architecture, teaches various 
 manners of diminishing columns ; the best and simplest 
 of which, is by means of the instrument invented by Nico- 
 medes, to describe the first conchoid : for this, being ap- 
 plied at the bottom of the shaft, performs at one sweep, 
 both the swelling and the diminution ; giving such a 
 graceful form to the column, that it is universally allowed 
 to be the most perfect practice hitherto discovered. The 
 columns in the Pantheon, accounted the most beautiful 
 among the antiques, are traced in this manner, as appears 
 by the exact measures of one of them, to be found in 
 Desgodetz's ' antiquities of Rome. 
 
 To give an accurate idea of the operation, it will be 
 necessary first to describe Vignola's method of diminu- 
 tion, on which it is grounded. " As to this second 
 method, says Vignola 1 , it is a discovery of my own ; and 
 although it be less known than the former, it will be 
 easily comprehended by the figure. Having therefore 
 determined the measures of your column (that is to say, 
 the height of the shaft, and its inferior and superior dia- 
 
 ' Dcsgodetz (A.) " Edifices de Rome dessines et measures tres cxacte- 
 ment, Fol. Paris, 1682. The student is cautioned against Marshall's 
 translation of this book, which is as inaccurate as it is ill-executed — it 
 was published in two Vols. Fol. 1771) Lond. The work on the Antiquities 
 of Rome, lately published by G. L. Taylor and Edward Cresy, Architects, 
 may be consulted by the student with great advantage, and reflects the 
 highest credit on the exertions of those gentlemen. [ ED 
 
 1 " De' cinque ordini ])' Architettura," cap. 7> page 51. Stampani's 
 Ed. Fol. Rome, 1770. [ed.] 
 
ARCHITECTURE IN GENERAL. 171 
 
 meters), ' draw a line indefinitely from C through D, per- 
 pendicular to the axis of the column :" this done, set off 
 the distance C D, which is the inferior semi-diameter, 
 from A, the extreme point of the superior semi-diameter, 
 to B, a point in the axis. Then from A, through B, draw 
 the line ABE, which will cut the indefinite line C D 
 in E ; and from this point of intersection E, draw through 
 the axis of the column any number of rays as E b a, on 
 each of which from the axis towards the circumference, 
 setting off the interval C D, you may find any number of 
 points a, a, a, through which if a curve be drawn, it will 
 describe the swelling and diminution of the column. 
 
 Though this method be sufficiently accurate for prac- 
 tice, especially if a considerable number of points be 
 found, yet, strictly speaking, it is defective ; as the curve 
 must either be drawn by hand, or by applying a flexible 
 ruler to all the points ; both which are liable to variations. 
 Blondel therefore, to obviate this objection (after having 
 proved the curve passing from A to C through the points 
 a, a, to be of the same nature with the first conchoid of 
 the ancients), employed the instrument of Nicomedes to 
 describe it ; the construction of which is as follows : — 
 
 Having determined, as above, the length of the shaft, 
 with the inferior and superior diameters of the column, 
 and having likewise found the length of the line C D E ; 
 take three rulers, either of wood or metal, as F G, I D, 
 and AH; of which let F G and I D be fastened toge- 
 ther at right angles in G. Cut a dove-tail groove in the 
 middle of F G, from top to bottom ; and at the point E 
 on the ruler I D (whose distance, from the middle of the 
 
 ' Figure 3, Plate of Mouldings. 
 
172 OF THE ORDERS OF 
 
 groove in F G, is the same as that of the point of inter- 
 section from the axis of the column), fix a pin ; then on 
 the ruler A H set off the distance A B, equal to C D the 
 inferior semi-diameter of the column, and at the point B 
 fix a hutton, whose head must be exactly fitted to the 
 groove made in F G, in which it is to slide ; and, at the 
 other extremity of the ruler A H, cut a slit or channel 
 from H to K, whose length must not be less than the 
 difference of length between E B and E D, and whose 
 breadth must be sufficient to admit the pin fixed at E, 
 which must pass through the slit, that the ruler may slide 
 thereon. 
 
 The instrument being thus completed ; if the middle 
 of the groove, in the ruler F G, be placed exactly over 
 the axis of the column, it is evident that the ruler A H, 
 in moving along the groove, will with its extremity A, 
 describe the curve AaaC; which curve is the same as 
 that produced by Vignola's method of diminution, sup- 
 posing it done with the utmost accuracy : for the interval 
 A, B, a, b, is always the same, and the point E, is the 
 origin of an infinity of lines, of which the parts B A, 
 b a, b a, extending from the axis to the circumference, 
 are equal to each other, and to D C. And if the rulers 
 be of an indefinite size, and the pins at E and B be made 
 to move along their respective ruler, so that the intervals 
 A B and D E_ may be augmented or diminished at plea- 
 sure, it is likewise evident, that the same instrument may 
 be thus applied to columns of any size. 
 
 In the remains of antiquity, the quantity of the dimi- 
 nution is various ; but seldom less than one eighth of the 
 inferior diameter of the column, nor more than one sixth 
 of it. The last of these is by Vitruvius, esteemed the 
 
ARCHITECTURE IN GENERAL. 
 
 173 
 
 most perfect, and Vignola has employed it in four of his 
 orders, as I have done in all of them: there being no 
 reason for diminishing the Tuscan column more, in pro- 
 portion to its diameter, than any of the rest ; though it 
 be the doctrine of Vitruvius, and the practice of Palla- 
 dio, Vignola, Scamozzi, and almost all the modern archi- 
 tects. On the contrary, as Monsieur Perrault ' justly 
 
 * The following Table is extracted and amplified from Perrault's " Or- 
 donnance des cinq Especes de Colonnes," Partie lere, cap. 8. — The heights 
 are in terms of the French foot, which is to the English, as 1.066 : 1.000. 
 
 Doric 
 
 Ionic 
 
 ; 
 
 (Theatre of Mar 
 
 < cellus 21 
 
 Coliseum 22 
 
 Temple of Concord 36 
 Temple of Fortuna 
 
 Virilis 22 
 
 Coliseum 23 
 
 'Temple of Peace 49 
 Portico of Pantheon 36 
 Altars of Pantheon 10 
 Temple of Vesta 27 
 Temple of Sybil at • 
 
 Tivoli 19 
 
 Temple of Faustina 36 
 Columns of Campo 
 
 Vaccino 37 
 
 Basilica of Anto- 
 ninus 37 
 
 Arch of Constantine 21 
 
 Interior of Pantheon 27 
 
 .Portico of Septimius 37 
 
 Baths of Diocletian 35 
 
 I Temple of Bacchus 1 
 
 Composite (. Arch of Titus 16 
 
 I Arch of Septimius 
 I Severus 21 
 
 Height of Shaft. Diameter. Diminution. Ratio of 
 Feet. Inches. Feet. Inches. Minutes. Diminution. 
 
 Corinthian^ 
 
 
 
 101 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 3 
 
 7 
 
 10 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 3 
 2 
 4 
 
 2 
 2 
 5 
 4 
 1 
 2 
 
 2 
 4 
 
 2J- 
 
 11 
 8| 
 
 8 
 6 
 
 U 
 ll" 
 
 4 
 
 6 
 
 6A 
 
 12 
 
 H 
 
 10i 
 
 10 
 
 6i 
 
 6* 
 8 
 
 6i 
 
 8 
 8 
 
 0.200 
 0.077 
 0.182 
 
 0.125 
 0.166 
 0.111 
 0.106 
 0.133 
 0.111 
 
 0.133 
 0.133 
 
 6i 0.111 
 
 (] 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 51 
 
 H 
 
 0.106 
 
 8 
 
 2 
 
 8f 
 
 7 
 
 0.117 
 
 6 
 
 3 
 
 5 
 
 8 
 
 0.133 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 7* 
 
 0.125 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 4 
 
 U* 
 
 0.200 
 
 8 
 
 1 
 
 4* 
 
 6i 
 
 0.111 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 HI 
 
 7 
 
 0.117 
 
 8 
 
 2 
 
 8i 
 
 7 
 
 0.117 
 
 [ED.] 
 
174 OF THE ORDERS OF 
 
 observes, its diminution ought rather to be less than 
 more ; as it actually is in the Trajan column, being there 
 only one ninth of the diameter. For even when the same 
 proportion is observed through all the orders ; the absolute 
 quantity of the diminution in the Tuscan order, supposing 
 the columns of the same height, exceeds that in the Co- 
 rinthian, in the ratio of ten to seven; and if, according 
 to the common practice, the Tuscan column be less by 
 one quarter at the top, than at its foot ; the difference 
 between the diminution in the Tuscan and in the Corin- 
 thian columns, will be as fifteen to seven ; and in the 
 Tuscan and Doric nearly as fifteen to nine : so that not- 
 withstanding there is a very considerable difference 
 between the lower diameters of a Tuscan and of a Doric 
 column, both being of the same height, yet the diameters 
 at their top will be nearly equal, and consequently the 
 Tuscan column will in reality be no stronger than the 
 Doric one, which is contrary to the character of the 
 order. 
 
 Vitruvius ' allots different degrees of diminution, to 
 columns of different heights ; giving to those of fifteen 
 foot, one sixth of their diameter ; to such as are from 
 twenty to thirty foot, one seventh ; and when they are 
 from forty to fifty foot high, one eighth only : observing, 
 that as the eye is easily deceived in considering distant 
 objects, which always seem less than they really are ; it 
 is necessary to remedy the deception, by an increase of 
 their dimensions : otherwise the work will appear ill-con- 
 structed and disagreeable to the eye. 
 
 Most of the modern architects have taught the same 
 doctrine : but Perrault in his notes, both on this passage, 
 
 1 Lib. iii. cap. 2. [ed.] 
 
ARCHITECTURE IN GENERAL. 175 
 
 and on the second chapter of the sixth book, endeavours 
 to prove the absurdity thereof. In fact, it is on most 
 occasions, if not on all, an evident error ; which Vitru- 
 vius and his followers have probably been led into, 
 through neglect of combining circumstances. For, if the 
 validity of Perrault's arguments be not assented to, and 
 it is required to judge according to the rigour of optical 
 laws ; it must be remembered, that the proper point of 
 view, for a column of fifty foot high, is not the same as 
 for one of fifteen : but on the contrary more distant, in the 
 same proportion, as the column is higher : and that con- 
 sequently, the apparent relation between the lower and 
 upper diameters of the column will be the same, whatever 
 be its size. For, if we suppose ' A to be a point of 
 view, whose respective distance from each of the columns 
 f g, F G, is equal to the respective heights of each, the 
 triangles f A g, F A G, will be similar ; and A f, or A h, 
 which is the same, will be to A g, as A F, or its equal 
 A H, is to A G : therefore if d e, be in reality to b c, as 
 D E is to B C, it will likewise be apparently so ; for the 
 angle d A e, will then be to the angle b A c, as the angle 
 D A E, is to the angle B A C ; and if the real relations 
 differ, the apparent ones will likewise differ. 
 
 I have supposed the eye of the spectator, to be in a 
 line perpendicular to the foot of the shaft ; but if the 
 columns be proportionably raised to any height above the 
 eye, the argument will still remain in force, as the point 
 of view must of course be proportionably more distant : 
 and even when columns are placed immediately on the 
 ground, which seldom or ever is the case, the alteration 
 
 ' Fig. 4, Plate of Mouldings. 
 
176 OF THE ORDERS OF 
 
 occasioned by that situation, is too trifling to deserve 
 notice. 
 
 When therefore a certain degree of diminution, which 
 by experience is found pleasing, has been fixed upon, 
 there will be no necessity for changing it, whatever be the 
 height of the column ; provided, the point of view is not 
 limited : but in close places, where the spectator is not 
 at liberty to choose a proper distance for his point of 
 sight, the architect, if he inclines to be scrupulously accu- 
 rate, may vary. Though it is in reality, a matter of no 
 importance ; as the nearness of the object, will render the 
 image thereof indistinct ; and consequently, any small 
 alteration imperceptible '. 
 
 Scamozzi *, who esteems it an essential property of the 
 delicate orders, to exceed the massive ones in height ; has 
 applied the above cited precept of Vitruvius, to the dif- 
 ferent orders : having diminished the Tuscan column one 
 quarter of its diameter ; the Doric one fifth ; the Ionic 
 one sixth ; the Roman one seventh ; and the Corinthian 
 one eighth. In the foregoing part of this chapter, I have 
 shewn the fallacy of his notion, with respect to the heights 
 of his orders, and likewise endeavoured to prove the 
 error of diminishing the Tuscan column, more than any 
 of the others : so that it will be needless to say any thing 
 farther on these subjects now ; for as the case is similar, 
 the same arguments may be employed in confutation 
 thereof. 
 
 My intention being to give an exact idea of the orders 
 
 ' It is by an attentive consideration of all these circumstances, and of 
 the aspect of a building, that the intelligent architect is enabled to 
 " snatch a grace beyond the reach of art." C ED 
 
 1 Parte Scconda, Lib. vi. c. (J. 
 
ARCHITECTURE IN GENERAL. lyj 
 
 of the ancients, I have represented them under such 
 figures and proportions, as appear to have been most in 
 use in the esteemed works of the Romans, who, in 
 the opinion of Leon Bap. Alberti, and other eminent 
 writers, carried architecture to its perfection. It must not 
 however be imagined that the same general proportions 
 will on all occasions succeed. They are chiefly collected 
 from the temples, and other public structures of anti- 
 quity, and may by us be employed in churches, palaces, 
 and other buildings of magnificence, where majesty and 
 grandeur of manner, should be extended to their utmost 
 units ; and where the whole composition being generally 
 large, the parts require an extraordinary degree of bold 
 ness, to make them distinctly perceptible, from the proper 
 general points of view. But in less considerable edifices 
 and under various circumstances of which I shall here' 
 after give a detail, more elegant proportions may often be 
 preferable. 
 
 A a 
 
178 OF THE TUSCAN ORDER. 
 
 OF THE TUSCAN ORDER. 
 
 Among the antiques, there are no remains of a regular 
 Tuscan order ; the doctrine of Vitruvius upon that sub- 
 ject is obscure ; and the profiles of Palladio, Scamozzi, 
 Serlio, Delorme, and Vignola, are all, more or less 
 imperfect. 
 
 Of the two designs left us by Palladio, that taken from 
 the description of Vitruvius, is unpleasingly rustic. The 
 other again is too rich ', and injudiciously composed. 
 That of Scamozzi is yet richer, and much too like the 
 Doric. Serlio's is heavy ; and Vignola's, though superior 
 to the others, is defective in the cornice, which is clumsy, 
 compared with the rest of the order, ill proportioned in 
 its parts, and incorrectly profiled, as it finishes with a 
 supporting moulding, which has nothing to support, and 
 consequently must excite the idea of a mutilation ; the 
 more striking, as the general outline of the composition, 
 resembles exactly the bed moulds of the Ionic cornice ; 
 supposing the dentil band left uncut, as is often the case. 
 
 In the design here annexed, I have chiefly imitated 
 Vignola's, who in this order has been almost universally 
 followed. Even Inigo Jones, who was so close an adherer 
 
 1 It cannot be properly culled rich. The only differences between Pal- 
 ladio's profile and the author's are, that in the former there is me more 
 member, viz. in the architrave which has two fascia.', and that in the bed 
 mouldings, Palkdio has a cyma recta, fillet, and cavetto. Sir William lias 
 changed these for an ovolo fillet and cyma reversa, and the projection of 
 his capital is greater than that in Palladio's profile. — The greatest fatdt 
 of the author's profile lies in the relative proportions of the frieze and 
 architrave, and has been induced by his desire to get rid of Palladio's lower 
 fascia. [edT 
 
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OF THE TUSCAN ORDER. I79 
 
 to Palkdio, has employed Vignola's profile in his York 
 Stairs, and others, his buildings. But as the cornice ap- 
 pears to me far inferior to the rest of the composition, I 
 have not scrupled to reject it, and to substitute in its 
 place that of Scamozzi, with such alterations as were evi- 
 dently necessary to render it perfect. Conformable to 
 the doctrine of Vitruvius', and to the almost general prac- 
 tice of the moderns, I have given to the height of the 
 column fourteen modules, or seven diameters, and to that 
 of the whole entablature, three and a half modules ; which 
 being divided into ten equal parts, three of them are for 
 the height of the architrave, three for that of the frize, 
 and the remaining four for the cornice. The capital is 
 in height one module, the base, including the lower cinc- 
 ture of the shaft, is also one module, and the shaft, with 
 its upper cincture and astragal, twelve modules. These 
 are the general measures of the order. 
 
 With respect to the particular dimensions of the mi- 
 nuter parts, they may be collected from the design, 
 whereon the heights and projections of each member are 
 figured, the latter of these being counted from perpendi- 
 culars raised at the extremities of the inferior and supe- 
 rior diameters of the shaft, — a method preferable to that 
 of De Chambrai and Desgodetz, who count from the axis 
 of the column, because the relations between the heights 
 and projections of the parts are more readily discoverable, 
 and whenever a cornice or entablature is to be executed 
 without a column, which frequently happens, it requires 
 no additional time or labour, as the trouble of deducting 
 
 1 De Tuscanis rationibus eedium sacrarum. Lib. iv. c. 7. Ted.] 
 
180 OF THE TUSCAN ORDER. 
 
 from each dimension, the semi-diameter of the column is 
 saved. 
 
 Scamozzi, that his bases might be of the same height 
 in all the orders, has given to the Tuscan one, exclusive 
 of the cincture, half a diameter : but I have rather chosen 
 to imitate Vignola and Palladio, who in this order have 
 deviated from the general rule, for as the Tuscan base is 
 composed of two members only, instead of six, which con- 
 stitute the other bases, it becomes much too clumsy when 
 the same general proportion is observed. 
 
 The Tuscan order admits of no ornaments of any kind ; 
 on the contrary, it is sometimes customary to represent, 
 on the shaft of its column, rustic cinctures, as at the Palace 
 Pitti in Florence, that of the Luxembourg in Paris, York 
 Stairs in London, and many other buildings of note. This 
 practice, though frequent, and to be found in the works 
 of many celebrated architects, is not always excusable, 
 and should be indulged with caution, as it hides the na- 
 tural figure of the column, alters its proportions, and 
 affects the simplicity of the whole composition. There are 
 few examples of these bandages in the remains of anti- 
 quity, and in general it will be advisable to avoid them in 
 all large designs, reserving the rustic work for the inter- 
 columniations, where it may be employed with great pro- 
 priety, to produce an opposition which will help to render 
 the aspect of the whole composition distinct and striking. 
 
 But in smaller works, of which the parts, being Jew, 
 are easily comprehended, they may be sometimes tolerat- 
 ed, sometimes even recommended, as they serve to diver* 
 sify the forms, are productive of strong contrasts, and 
 contribute very considerably to the masculine bold aspect 
 
OF THE TUSCAN ORDER. 181 
 
 of the composition. Le Clerc' thinks them proper in 
 gates of citadels and prisons, of which the entrances should 
 be terrific, and they are likewise fit for gates to gardens 
 or parks, for grottos, fountains, and baths, where elegance 
 of form and neatness of workmanship would be out of 
 character. Delorme, who was exceeding fond of these 
 cinctures, has employed them in several parts of the 
 Thuilleries, covered with arms, cyphers, and other enrich- 
 ments ; but this seems absurd, for they can never be con- 
 sidered in any other light than as parts, which, to avoid 
 expense and trouble, were left unfinished. We likewise 
 find in different parts of the Louvre, vermiculated rustics, 
 of which the tracts represent flowers de luce, and other 
 regular figures,— a practice still more unnatural than the 
 forementioned, though Monsieur Daviler 1 very gravely 
 tells us that it should always be done with propriety, and 
 express a relation to the owner of the structure ; that is, 
 
 ' "Traite d' Architecture" Ordre Toscan. "Des Architectes assez consi- 
 derez out quelquefois cercle la Tige de plusieurs ceintures de Bossage, 
 comme on en voit au Palais de Luxembourg, et autres lieux de distinction ; 
 mais ces sortes d'ornemens rustiques ne sont point du tout a imiter, si ce 
 n'est a des portes de citadelles ou de Prison, pour rendre leur entree af- 
 freuse et desagreable. — Si neanmoins on peut souffrir ces sortes d'Ornemens 
 rustiques en quelques endroits, ce ne doit etre que sur des Colonnes Tos- 
 canes, ou tout au plus sur les Doriques, et jamais sur les autres Colonnes 
 plus delicates particulierement quand elles sont cannelees." [ed.] 
 
 " Cours dArchitecture qui comprend les ordres de Vignole," &c. par 
 A. C. Daviler, 2 vols. 4to. La Haye, 1730. Tom. i. page 9. 
 
 Aug. Char. Daviler, born 1653, died 1700, was a native of Paris. He was 
 elected by the French Academy one of their travelling students, at an early 
 age, and took his departure from Marseilles with Desgodetz and the cele- 
 brated Vaillant. The ship in which they sailed was captured by Corsairs, 
 and carried into Algiers. His captivity lasted sixteen months, during 
 which he designed and executed a mosque at Tunis, for the barbarians. 
 Besides the work above-mentioned, he translated Scammozzi. See Mi- 
 lizia. [ ED .J 
 
182 OF THE TUSCAN ORDER. 
 
 the figures should represent his arms, his crest, motto, 
 cypher, and so forth, as it' worms were draughtsmen and 
 understood heraldry. 
 
 In the plates of designs for gates, doors, and windows, 
 and likewise in those of different compositions, at the end 
 of the book, are given several designs of rustic columns, 
 and other rustic work; all collected from buildings of 
 note in different parts of Europe ; and for the manner of 
 executing them, as it cannot well be described, the stu- 
 dent is referred to various parts of Somerset Place, to the 
 Horse Guards, the Treasury, the Doric entrance of the 
 King's Mews, the gate of Burlington House, &c. : in all 
 which, the different kinds of rustication are managed with 
 taste and command of the chissel. 
 
 De Chambrai, in the introduction to liis parallel of an- 
 cient and modern architecture, treats the Tuscan order 
 with great contempt, and banishes it to the country, as 
 unworthy a place, either in temples or palaces ; but in the 
 second part of the same work, he is more indulgent, for 
 though he rejects the entablature, the column is taken 
 into favor, " and compared to a queen seated on a throne, 
 surrounded with all the treasures of fame, and distribut- 
 ing honors to her minions, while other columns only seem 
 to be servants and slaves of the buildings they support." 
 
 The remainder of this passage, too long to be here in- 
 serted at full length, is calculated to degrade and totally 
 to exclude from buildings, the Tuscan order, but by a 
 different mode of employing and dressing the column, 
 to exalt its consequence, increase its majesty and beauty, 
 so as to stand an advantageous comparison with any of 
 the rest. He therefore wishes, in imitation of the ancient 
 architects, to consecrate the Tuscan column to the com- 
 
OF THE TUSCAN ORDER. 183 
 
 memoration of great men and their glorious actions, in- 
 stancing Trajan's column, one of the proudest monu- 
 ments of Roman splendor, which is of that order, — was 
 erected by the senate and people of Rome, in acknow- 
 ledgement of his services, and has contributed more to 
 immortalize that emperor than the united pens of all his- 
 torians. He farther instances the Antonine column, 
 likewise erected at Rome, on a similar occasion, in honor 
 of Antoninus Pius, and another of the same sort at Con- 
 stantinople, raised to the emperor Theodosius, after his 
 victory over the Scythians ; both which prove, by their 
 resemblance to the Trajan column, that this sort of appro- 
 priation, recommended by him, had passed into a rule 
 among the ancient masters of the art. 
 
 I shall not here dispute the justness of Mr. De Cham- 
 brai's remarks, but may venture to affirm that not only 
 the Tuscan column, but the whole order, as represented 
 in the annexed design, which being in fact the production 
 of Vignola and Scamozzi, I may praise without the impu- 
 tation of vanity, is extremely beautiful, — a useful, even 
 necessary gradation in the art, and for its purposes, infe- 
 rior to none of the rest. 
 
 The Tuscan order, as it conveys ideas of strength and 
 rustic simplicity, is very proper for rural purposes, and may 
 be employed in farm-houses, in barns, and sheds for im- 
 plements of husbandry, in stables, maneges, and dog- 
 kennels, in greenhouses, grottos, and fountains, in gates 
 of parks and gardens, and generally wherever magnifi- 
 cence is not required and expense is to be avoided. Serlio 
 recommends the use thereof in prisons, arsenals, treasu- 
 ries, sea-ports and gates of fortified places ; and Le Clerc 
 
ISt OF THE TUSCAN ORDER. 
 
 observes ', that though the Tuscan order as treated by Vi- 
 truvius.by Paltadio, and some others, ought to be entirely 
 rejected, yet according to the composition of Vignola, 
 there is a beauty in its simplicity which recommends it to 
 notice, and entitles it to a place both in private and pub- 
 lic buildings, as in colonades and porticos surrounding 
 squares or markets, in granaries or storehouses, and even 
 in royal palaces, to adorn the lower apartments, offices, 
 stables, and other places, where strength and simplicity 
 are required, and where richer, or more delicate orders 
 would be improper. 
 
 In conformity to the doctrine and practice before-men- 
 tioned, seven diameters, or fourteen modules, have been 
 given to the height of the Tuscan column, a proportion 
 very proper for rural or military works, where an appear- 
 ance of extraordinary solidity is required ; but in town 
 buildings, intended for civil purposes, or in interior deco- 
 rations, the height of the column may be fourteen and a 
 half, or even fifteen modules, as Scamozzi makes it; which 
 augmentation may be entirely in the shaft, without chang- 
 ing any measures either of the base or capital. Nor need 
 the entablature be altered, for as it is composed of few 
 parts, it will be sufficiently bold, although its height be 
 somewhat less than one quarter of the height of the co- 
 lumn. 
 
 ■ Traite il'Architccture, Art. v. Edit. La Have, 1/14, p. 10. [ed.] 
 

 
 
 
 
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OF THE DORIC ORDER. 185 
 
 OF THE DORIC ORDER. 
 
 In the parallel are given three profiles of the Doric order j 
 one of which is taken from the theatre of Marcellus, and 
 the other two are copied by Pirro Ligorio, from various 
 fragments of antiquity in and near Rome. Vignola's se- 
 cond Doric profile bears a near resemblance to the most 
 beautiful of these, and was not improbably collected from 
 the same antique which Ligorio copied, though it must 
 be owned that Vignola has, in his composition, far ex- 
 ceeded the original, having omitted the many trivial in- 
 significant mouldings with which that is overloaded, and 
 in various other respects improved both its form and pro- 
 portions. 
 
 This profile of Vignola's, being composed in a greater 
 style, and in a manner more characteristic of the order, 
 than any other, I have chosen for my model, having, in 
 the general form and proportions, strictly adhered to the 
 original, though in particular members I have not scrupled 
 to vary, when observation taught me they might be im- 
 proved'. 
 
 Vignola, as appears by the preface to his rules, sup- 
 posed that the graceful and pleasing aspect of Architec- 
 tonic objects, was occasioned by the harmony and simpli- 
 city of the relations existing between their parts, and in 
 composing his profiles he constantly regulates his mea- 
 sures by these simple affinities, imagining the deviations 
 
 * The chief alteration is in the cornice. See subsequent note. Ced.^ 
 
 B B 
 
186 OF THE DORIC ORDER. 
 
 from them in his antique models, to proceed rather from 
 the inaccurate execution of the workmen, than from any 
 premeditated design in the contriver. To this notion may 
 be ascribed many little defects in the proportions of his 
 mouldings and minuter members, which, though trifling 
 in themselves, are yet, from the smallness of the parts 
 where they happen to be, of consequence, and easily 
 perceivable by a judicious eye. These I have therefore 
 endeavoured to correct, not only in this, but in others of 
 his orders, which from their conformity to the best an- 
 tiques, I have in the course of this work chosen to imi- 
 tate'. 
 
 It has already been observed that the real relations 
 subsisting between dissimilar figures have no connection 
 with the apparent, the form and situation of the object 
 viewed, ever altering the affinity, and it is a truth too evi- 
 dent to require demonstration. No one will deny, for in- 
 stance, that the ovolo in the annexed Doric cornice *, 
 
 1 The author on general principles differs here, not only from Vignola, 
 but from a very large portion of later architects, amongst whom will be 
 found perhaps as intelligent an architect, and one as alive to proportion, as 
 the world ever saw, viz. Sir Christopher Wren, under whose banners, 
 thou"h he in some matters was deficient in good taste, I am not fearful of 
 appearing. See note at page 36. Messcr Jacopo Barozzi's preface i> ten. 
 long fur insertion here, but the view with which he determined to ascertain 
 the relative proportions of the orders, for his own private use, will explain 
 the whole of his svstem, and shew that he well knew his mrxlicn: " Per 
 potcrini appoggiare con fcrmczza inaggiore, mi son proposto innanzi quelli 
 ornamenti antiehi delli cinque ordini, quali nelle anticaglie di Roma si ve- 
 dono, e questi tutti insieme considerandoli. e con diligenti misure esami- 
 nandoli, ho trovato quelli, che al giudizio commune appajono piu belli, e 
 con piii grazia si apprcscntano agl'occhi nostri ; questi ancora avere certa 
 corrispondenza, e proporzion? di numeri insieme meno intrigata, anzi cias- 
 cun minimo membro, misurare li maggiori in tante lor pnrti appunto," 
 &c. [>»•] 
 
 1 PI. Doric Order. 
 
OF THE DORIC ORDER. 187 
 
 viewed in its proper elevation, will appear much larger 
 than the capital of the triglyph, under and contiguous to 
 it, though they are in reality nearly of the same dimen- 
 sions ; and if the same ovolo were placed as much below 
 the level of the spectator's eye, as it is in the present case 
 above, it is likewise evident that it would appear consider- 
 ably lower than any flat member of the same height. 
 These things being so, a strict attachment to harmonic 
 relations seems entirely out of the question, since what is 
 really in perfect harmony, may in appearance produce the 
 most jarring discord '. 
 
 Perfect proportion in architecture, if considered only 
 with regard to the relations between the different objects 
 in a composition, and as it merely relates to the pleasure 
 of the sight, seems to consist in this, — that those parts 
 which are either principal or essential, should be contrived 
 to catch the eye successively from the most considerable 
 
 1 The argument used by the author does not hold. It is indeed true 
 that in the abstract, " the real relations subsisting between dissimilar 
 figures have no connection with the apparent," but it must be remembered 
 that the parts of an order, however dissimilar inter se, are still parts of one 
 whole ; that each of them ought to have some relation to that whole, and 
 that there must, to make the whole pleasing, be some relation or proportion 
 existing throughout ; whether the proportions should be arithmetical, geo- 
 metrical, harmonical, or sesquialteral, it is needless to discuss in this place. 
 It is, however, quite certain, that many of the celebrated and most beauti- 
 ful structures of this metropolis, are designed in sesquialteral proportions ; 
 among them the tower and spire of Bow Church may be named without 
 fear of contradiction. It is singular, that the author, to fortify his opi- 
 nion, should take the ovolo above the Doric triglyph, to argue upon and 
 prove his assertion, because the ovolo is known to be improper, except 
 when placed above the level of the eye of the spectator ; or if used below, 
 otherwise than as a crowning member. Who, for instance, could substitute 
 an inverted ovolo, and this is putting the point pari casu, for the inverted 
 cyma recta, above the plinth of a pedestal ? See note, p. 29. Qed.] 
 
188 OF THE DORIC ORDER. 
 
 to the least, according to their degrees of importance in 
 the composition, and impress their images on the mind, 
 before it is affected by any of the subservient members ; 
 yet, that these should be so conditioned as not to be en- 
 tirely absorbed, but be capable of raising distinct ideas 
 likewise, and such as may be adequate to the purposes for 
 which these parts are designed. 
 
 The different figures and situations of the parts may, 
 in some degree, contribute toward this effect ; for simple 
 forms will operate more speedily than those that are com- 
 plicated, and such as project will be sooner perceived than 
 such as are more retired ; but dimension seems to be the 
 predominant quality, or that which acts most powerfully 
 on the sense, and this, it is apprehended, can only be dis- 
 covered by experience, at least to any degree of accuracy. 
 When therefore a number of parts, arranged in a particu- 
 lar manner, and under particular dimensions, excites, in 
 the generality of judicious spectators, a pleasing sensation, 
 it will be prudent on every occasion, where the same 
 circumstances subsist, to observe exactly the same ar- 
 rangement and proportions, notwithstanding they may in 
 themselves appear irregular and unconnected. 
 
 In composing the orders and other decorations which 
 are contained in the present publication, this method has 
 constantly been observed, the author having himself, with 
 that view, measured with the utmost accuracy, and not 
 without some danger, many ancient and modern celebrated 
 buildings, both at Rome and in other parts of Europe, 
 strictly copying such things as appeared to be perfect, 
 and carefully correcting others which seemed in any degree 
 faulty ; relying therein not alone on his own judgment in 
 doubtful cases, but much on the opinion and advice of se- 
 
OF THE DORIC ORDER. 189 
 
 veral learned ingenious artists of different nations, with 
 whom he had the advantage of being intimately connect- 
 ed when abroad. 
 
 Sensible he is that the extraordinary degree of accuracy 
 which has been aimed at in these compositions is of little 
 consequence to the generality of spectators, who see in 
 the gross and feel by the lump. Nevertheless, as in poesy, 
 music, painting, and indeed in all arts, there are delicacies 
 which, though they escape the vulgar notice, afford un- 
 common pleasure to persons of enlightened conception ; 
 so in architecture this kind of perfection is the source of 
 secondary pleasures, less forcible perhaps, but not always 
 less delightful, than the first. These may be compared to 
 those excited by the energy or graces of language in 
 poetry ; by the shakes, swells, inflections, and other arti- 
 fices of the instrument or voice, in music, which give sen- 
 timent and expression to the performance ; or in painting, 
 by a judicious choice and artful disposition of the objects, 
 a nice discrimination of the passions, an elegant taste of 
 design, and a spirited masterly touch of the pencil. To 
 all but local colour and general resemblance, the unskil- 
 ful are commonly blind ; but the correct eye and ripened 
 judgment derive their chief pleasure from that which the 
 ignorant rarely perceive, and seldom or ever taste. 
 
 It may perhaps be objected that the proportions here 
 established, though proper and good on one occasion, 
 may on many others be defective ; but this objection will, 
 I flatter myself, have little weight, when it is remembered 
 that the situation of capitals and entablatures with respect 
 to the order of which they are parts, is constantly the 
 same, and the points of view more or less distant, accord- 
 ing to the size or elevation of the order; and that, conse- 
 
190 OF THE DORIC ORDER. 
 
 quently, the apparent magnitudes of all their parts, will 
 always have very nearly the same proportion to each 
 other, even though they should be exalted to a second or 
 third story. 
 
 With regard to bases indeed, their being placed on pe- 
 destals, or immediately on the ground, will occasion some 
 little difference in their appearance ; and when they are 
 raised to a second story, their figure and apparent propor- 
 tions will be considerably altered. Nevertheless it doth 
 not seem necessary, in either of these cases, to vary their 
 dimensions ; for in the former of the two, the alteration 
 would be trifling, and in the latter, the object being far 
 removed from the eye, the spectator will rather be occu- 
 pied in considering the general mass, than in examining 
 its parts, which, on account of their distance, cannot be 
 distinctly perceptible. 
 
 The height of the Doric column, including its capital 
 and base, is sixteen modules, and the height of the enta- 
 blature, four modules ; the latter of which being divided 
 into eight parts, two of them are given to the architrave, 
 three to the frize, and the remaining three to the cornice. 
 
 In most of the antiques, the Doric column is executed 
 without a base. Vitruvius likewise makes it without 
 one ; the base, according to that author, having been 
 first employed in the Ionic order, to imitate the sandal or 
 covering of a woman's foot. Scamozzi blames this prac- 
 tice ', and most of the moderns have been of his opinion, 
 the greatest part of them having employed the Attic base 
 
 1 Lib. vi. c. (5. " Oltrcchc adalcune Colonne, nc egli, (Vitruvio) nr altri, 
 non fanno le Basi alia Doricu, e cosi le Colonne rimangono spoliate ; tutte 
 cose, chc contravengono alia ragione, che lo vuole, e all' opere c'hanno fatto 
 gli antichi j> iu ludati." [bd.] 
 
OF THE DORIC ORDER. 19] 
 
 in this order. Monsieur De Chambrai, however, whose 
 blind attachment to the antique is, on many occasions, 
 sufficiently evident, argues vehemently against this prac- 
 tice, which, as the order is formed upon the model of a 
 strong man, who is constantly represented bare-footed, is, 
 according to him, very improper ; and "though," says he, 
 "the custom of employing a base in contempt of all an- 
 cient authority, has by some unaccountable and false no- 
 tions of beauty prevailed, yet I doubt not but the purer 
 eye, when apprised of this error, will easily be unde- 
 ceived, and as what is merely plausible will, when exa- 
 mined, appear to be false, so apparent beauties, when not 
 founded in reason, will of course be deemed extrava- 
 gant '." 
 
 Le Clerc's remarks on this passage are very judicious, 
 and as they may serve to destroy a notion which, soon 
 after our Athenian discoveries, about thirty years ago, 
 was much too prevalent among us, and might, perhaps, in 
 some future hour of extravagance, prevail again, I shall, 
 for the benefit of such as are unacquainted with the ori- 
 ginal, translate the whole passage. " In the most ancient 
 monuments of this order," says he, " the columns are 
 without bases, for which it is difficult to assign any satis- 
 factory reason. Monsieur De Chambrai, in his parallel, 
 is of the same opinion with Vitruvius, and maintains that 
 the Doric column being composed upon the model of a 
 naked, strong, and muscular man, resembling a Hercules, 
 should have no base, — pretending that the base to a co- 
 lumn is the same as a shoe to a man. But I must own, I 
 
 1 Parallels Part i. c. 2. [m.] 
 
192 OF THE DORIC ORDER. 
 
 cannot consider a column without a base in comparing it 
 to a man, but I am, at the same time, struck with the idea 
 of a person without feet rather than without shoes ; for 
 which reason I am inclinable to believe either that the ar- 
 chitects of antiquity had not yet thought of employing 
 bases to their columns, or that they omitted them in order 
 to leave the pavement clear; the angles and projection of 
 bases being stumbling-blocks to passengers, and so much 
 the more troublesome as the architects of those times fre- 
 quently placed their columns very near each other, so 
 that had they been made with bases, the passages between 
 them would have been extremely narrow and inconve- 
 nient. And it was doubtless for the same reason that Vi- 
 truvius made the plinth of his Tuscan column round, — 
 that order, according to his construction, being particu- 
 larly adapted to servile and commercial purposes, where 
 conveniency is preferable to beauty. However this be, 
 persons of good taste will grant that a base not only 
 gives a graceful turn to the column, but is likewise of real 
 use, serving to keep it firm on its plan, and that if columns 
 without bases are now set aside, it is a mark of the wisdom 
 of our architects, rather than an indication of their being 
 governed by prejudice, as some adorers of antiquity 
 would insinuate" '. 
 
 In imitation of Palladio and all the modern architects, 
 except Vignola, I have made use of the Attic base in this 
 order, and it certainly is the most beautiful of any, though 
 for variety's sake, when the Doric and Ionic orders are 
 employed together, the base invented by Vignola, of which 
 
 * Le Clerc, Traite d' Architecture, Art. v. p. 12. C ED 
 
OF THE DORIC ORDER. 193 
 
 a profile is annexed, may sometimes be used. Bernini has 
 employed it in the colonades of St. Peter's, and it has 
 been successfully applied in many other buildings. 
 
 The ancients sometimes made the shaft of the Doric 
 column prismatic, as appears by a passage in the fourth 
 book of Vitruvius; and at other times they adorned it 
 with a particular kind of shallow flutings, described from 
 the centre of a square, no interval or fillet being left be- 
 tween them. Of this sort, there are now some columns 
 to be seen in the temples of Pactum, near Naples, in 
 different parts of Sicily, and in the church of St. Peter 
 in Catenis, at Rome. The first of these manners has 
 not, I believe, been imitated by any of the modern 
 masters ; nor is the second very frequent : Scamozzi 
 blames it for its want of solidity ' ; the projecting angles 
 between the flutings being easily broken, and, if the ma- 
 terial be soft, very subject to moulder. 
 
 Vitruvius gives to the height of the Doric capital one 
 module * ; and all the moderns, except Alberti 3 , have fol- 
 lowed his example. Nevertheless, as it is of the same 
 kind with the Tuscan, they should both bear nearly the 
 same proportion to the heights of their respective columns, 
 and consequently, the Doric capital ought to be more - 
 than one module, which it accordingly is, both at the 
 Coliseum, and in the theatre of Marcellus : being in the 
 former of these buildings, upwards of thirty-eight minutes, 
 and in the latter thirty-three minutes high. 
 
 In the design here offered, I have made the height of 
 the whole capital thirty-two minutes, and in the form and 
 
 1 Parte Seconda, Lib. vi. c. 11. Tko-I 
 
 * De Ratione Dorica, Lib. iv. c. 3. [ed."] 
 
 3 De Re jEdificatoria, Lib. vii. c. 8. [ EDl ] 
 
 C C 
 
194 OF THE DORIC ORDER. 
 
 dimensions of the particular members, I have deviated 
 but little, from the profile of the theatre of Marcellus. 
 The frize, or neck, is enriched with husks and roses, as 
 in Palladio's design, and as it has been executed by San- 
 gallo', at the Farnese Palace in Rome, and by Cigoli 1 , 
 in the Cortile of the Strozzi at Florence, as well as in 
 several buildings of note in this metropolis. The projec- 
 tion of these husks and flowers, must not exceed that of 
 the upper cincture of the column. 
 
 The architrave is one module in height, and composed 
 only of one fascia and a fillet, as at the theatre of Mar- 
 cellus : the drops are conical, as they are in all the an- 
 tiques ; not pyramidal, as they are improperly made by 
 most of our English workmen : they are supposed to 
 represent drops of water draining from the triglyph, and 
 consequently they should be cones, or parts of cones, not 
 pyramids. 
 
 The frize and the cornice, are each of them one 
 module and a half in height : the metope is square, and 
 enriched with a bull's skull, adorned with garlands of 
 beads, in imitation of those on the temple of Jupiter 
 
 1 Antonio Sangallo, born in the Florentine territory, died 1546. The 
 Farnese Palace, as high as the great cornice, is a noble monument of his 
 splendid talents. When the building was so far complete, Cardinal 
 Farnese was raised to the holy chair, and being desirous of crowning it 
 with the grandest cornice which could be designed by the architects of 
 the age, he invited them to a competition. — Michel Angelo bore off the 
 laurels, and the cornice remains a surprising effort of his more than won- 
 derful genius. Sangallo was in his day one of the architects < > t" the fabric 
 of St. Peter's, and in that situation had the honor of being a colleague of 
 Rafaelle d'Urbino. [BD.J 
 
 - Luigi Cigoli a Florentine architect, born 1569, died 1613. This 
 artist designed the pedestal for the statue of Henry IV. as it formerly 
 stood, on the Pont Neuf at Paris. [ ED -D 
 
OF THE DORIC ORDER. 195 
 
 Tonans, at the foot of the capitol. In some antique frag- 
 ments, and in a greater number of modern buildings, the 
 metopes are alternately enriched with these ox-skulls, and 
 with pateras ; but they may be filled with any other orna- 
 ments, of good forms ; and frequently with greater pro- 
 priety. Thus, in military structures, heads of Medusa, 
 or of the Furies, thunderbolts, and other symbols of 
 horror, may be introduced : likewise helmets, daggers, 
 garlands of laurel or oak, and crowns of various kinds ; 
 such as those used among the Romans, and given as 
 rewards for different military achievements : but spears, 
 swords, quivers, bows, cuirasses, shields, and the like, 
 must be avoided : because the real dimensions of these 
 things are too considerable to find admittance in such 
 small compartments : and representations in miniature, 
 always carry with them an idea of triviality, carefully to 
 be avoided in architecture, as in all other arts. In sacred 
 buildings, cherubs, chalices, and garlands of palm or 
 olive, may be employed ; likewise doves, or other symbols 
 of moral virtues. And in private houses, crests or badges 
 of dignity, may sometimes be suffered ; though seldom : 
 and indeed never, when they are of such stiff, insipid 
 forms, as stars, garters, modern crowns, coronets, mitres, 
 truncheons, and similar graceless objects : the ill effects 
 of which may be seen at the Treasury, in St. James's 
 Park, and in many other places. 
 
 Too much variety in the ornaments of the metopes, 
 must be avoided ; lest the unity of the composition should 
 be destroyed. It is best never to introduce more than 
 two different representations, which should not consist 
 of above one, or at most two objects each ; of simple 
 forms, and not overcharged with ornaments. In the dis- 
 
190 OF THE DORIC ORDER. 
 
 position of these, care must be taken to place them with 
 symmetry j those on the right, in correspondence with 
 those on the left. Wherefore, when a triglyph happens 
 to be in the middle of a front, it becomes necessary to 
 couple the middle ones, by filling the two metopes, on 
 each side of the central triglyph, with the same sort of 
 ornaments ; as is done at the gate of Burlington House 
 in Piccadilly ; distributing the rest alternately, throughout 
 the composition, as usual. It is likewise to be observed, 
 that ornaments in metopes, are not to project so much as 
 they do at Bow Church, or at General Wade's house in 
 Burlington-gardens ; where, from their great relief, they 
 are far more striking than the triglyphs ; which ought to 
 predominate, as being essential, and principal parts in the 
 composition. Palladio in his Basilica of Vicenza, has 
 given to the most elevated parts of the ox-skulls and pate- 
 ras, with which the metopes are filled, very little more 
 projection, than that of the triglyph ; and in this, he has 
 copied the ancients, who seldom or never, gave more 
 projection to any ornament, than that of the frame or 
 border, in which it was inclosed : as appears by those ini- 
 mitable fragments in the Villa Medici, and many others 
 in different parts of Rome, and elsewhere. The channels 
 of the triglyph on their plan, commonly form a right 
 angle ; but, to give them more effect, a narrow square 
 groove may be cut in the inner angle, from top to bottom ; 
 and quite into the solid of the frize. 
 
 In the cornice, I have deviated very little from my ori- 
 ginal'. Le Clerc, who in his Doric profile has imitated 
 
 1 Palladio, Scarnozzi, Alberti, Vignola and Viola, have each placed two 
 fascia? in the Doric architrave — whilst Serlio, Barharo, Cataneo, and our 
 author, have only one. — Alberti seems to have been the first of the moderns 
 
-' ■ •* ■»/,//>/,*/*/>* .- //'///'*/';//}<■/// ///, .///'////,<■/. //,/}r/-///*.J 
 
 
 ' /t/<jMt/st te 
 
 
OF THE DORIC ORDER. 197 
 
 that of Vignola, makes the mutules as broad as the capital 
 of the triglyph : Mr. Gibbs has followed his example ; 
 and they have been executed in that manner, on a couple 
 of doors to houses on the north side of Lincoln's Inn-fields. 
 But Vignola's method is preferable, who makes them no 
 broader than the triglyph ; as it is more sightly, and more 
 conformable to the carpenter's art : in which, the width 
 of the rafter, never exceeds the width of the beam or 
 joist, it stands upon. The ornaments of the soffit, are 
 nearly the same as those of Vignola. They should be 
 entirely sunk up, wrought in the solid of the corona, and 
 never drop down lower than its soffit. There is no neces- 
 sity for cutting them deep : in most of Palladio's build- 
 ings, they do not enter above two minutes, into the corona ; 
 and that is quite sufficient. 
 
 Vignola's other Doric profile ', is in imitation of that 
 of the theatre of Marcellus ; in it he has very judiciously 
 pointed out, and in some measure, corrected the faults of 
 the original : but reverence for the antique, has made him 
 rather too sparing of his amendments. I have given a 
 design of this profile *, with such farther corrections as 
 appeared necessary ; the most considerable of them, con- 
 sisting in the enlargement of the dentils, which are 
 neither in the antique model, nor in Vignola's profile, 
 
 who used modillions, which certainly improve the profile very much. I 
 am inclined— upon a comparison of Sir W.'s profile with all the rest— to 
 give the preference to that of Vignola, which, with the exception of con- 
 tinuing the margin which encloses the mutules on the soffit of the modil- 
 lions to the re-entering angles, as given by the author, I think much more 
 complete and beautiful. Vignola's profile is the 9th plate in Stampani's 
 Edition. C ED -1 
 
 1 Plate 10, Stampani Edit. C ED ] 
 
 1 PI. Doric Entablatures. 
 
198 OF THE DORIC OKDl.lt. 
 
 sufficiently conspicuous, to hold their due place in the 
 composition. 
 
 At the theatre of Marcellus, the ornaments of the soffit 
 are not in a horizontal position, but hang down towards 
 the front of the corona; which, as it appears by Yitru. 
 vius, was a common practice among the ancients ; and 
 done to imitate the inclination of the rafters. Palladio, 
 and Vignola, have both adopted this particularity; which, 
 Daviler supposes to have been first used, in order to 
 make the projection of the entablature, appear more con- 
 siderable '. To me it has an exceeding disagreeable ap- 
 pearance ; the whole soffit seems in a falling state : and 
 so far is it from producing the effect which Daviler sup- 
 poses, that it actually makes, as it evidently must, the 
 projection seem less than in reality it is. 
 
 Yignola's two Doric entablatures, says Daviler, are 
 both of them so elegantly composed, that it is scarcely 
 possible to determine, which of them ought to have the 
 preference 1 . The first, which is entirely antique, is the 
 lightest, and consequently properest for interior decora- 
 tions, or objects intended for near inspection; the other, 
 composed by Vignola himself, from various fragments of 
 antiquity, being bolder, and consisting of larger parts, 
 seems better calculated for outside works, and places 
 where the point of view is either distant or unlimited. 
 On polygonal plans, however, the mutule cornice must be 
 avoided ; because the soffits of the angular mutules, would 
 form irregular and very disagreeable figures : neither 
 
 1 Del'ordre Dorique, Vol. i. p. 34 " Ce qui augmente l'apparence de 
 
 S lillie, et ce qui aveo la mouchette pendante et le Canal refbuilld sous 
 
 le devant du Larmier rend le profil plus gigantcsquc et plus noble." f_ ed.] 
 
 1 Ibid. Vol. i. p. 32. [ed.] 
 
OF THE DORIC ORDER. 
 
 199 
 
 should it be employed in concaves of small dimensions, 
 for the same reason ; nor in places where frequent breaks 
 are requisite ; it being extremely difficult, often impos- 
 sible, to prevent the intitules from penetrating, and muti- 
 lating each other, in various unsightly manners. And 
 wherever this cornice is used on a convex surface, the 
 sides of the mutules must be made parallel ; for it would 
 be both disagreeable and unnatural, to see them broader, 
 and consequently heavier in front, than where they spring 
 out of the mutule band. 
 
 Palladio's Doric entablature, is likewise very beautiful : 
 I mean as it is executed in the Basilica of Vicenza, where 
 it differs widely from the profile in his book ', and is far 
 preferable thereto" 1 . In the same plate with Vignola's 
 
 1 PI. Doric Entablatures. 
 
 ; The author's plate referred to in the preceding note, will be found to 
 
 differ widely from the profile which is here inserted. The Editor's first 
 
'200 OF THE DORIC OHDEK. 
 
 dentil entablature, there is a design of it, accurately copied 
 from that building ; which may serve as one instance of 
 many, to show how little the measures of his book are to 
 be relied upon. 
 
 Of all the entablatures, the Doric is most difficult to 
 distribute, on account of the large intervals between the 
 centres of the triglyphs, which neither admit of increase, 
 or diminution, without injuring the symmetry and regu- 
 lar beauty of the composition. These constantly confine 
 the composer to intercolumniations, divisible by two mo- 
 dules and a half; entirely exclude coupled columns ; and 
 produce spaces, which, in general, are either too wide or 
 too narrow for his purposes. 
 
 To obviate these difficulties, the triglyphs have often 
 been omitted, and the entablature made plain ; as at the 
 Coliseum in Rome, the colonnades of St. Peter's, of the 
 
 intention was to have corrected the plate, hut as he professes to give the 
 plates of Sir W. C. precisely similar to those of the three first Editions of 
 the work, he preferred the insertion in this note of a correct representation 
 of the entahlature which he made on his examination of the huilding 
 while at Vicenza. The Doric profile which Palladio exhihits in his first 
 hook, is that artist's general idea of what the order should he — of course, 
 in execution he varied it as taste and circumstances induced him. But in 
 respect of the example hefore us, if the reader turn to his third hook, 
 and compare the plate therein with the profile in the preceding page, 
 he will see no great cause for complaint on the part of our author. 
 On the contrary, allowing for the hlock engraving of that age not heing 
 quite so well managed as now, he will find the profiles singularly corre- 
 spondent. It must he manifest to every one the least acquainted with the 
 subject, that Sir W.'s gutts in the external angle of the soffit of the corona 
 arc misplaced, and an abuse of which our great master Palladio never 
 could have been guilty. The substitution, too, of the patera for the ox- 
 skull in the metope adjoining the angle, is also absurd — as in that case it 
 would be nccessarv to miter it on the quoin of the frieze. The profile at the 
 Chiericato palace is nearly the same as the above. L" ED 
 
OF THE DORIC ORDER. 201 
 
 Vatican, and in many other buildings, both at home and 
 abroad. This indeed, is an easy expedient : but while it 
 robs the order of its principal characteristic distinction, 
 leaves it poor, and very little superior to the Tuscan, the 
 remedy seems desperate, and should never be employed 
 but as a last resource '. 
 
 The ancients employed the Doric, in temples dedicated 
 to Minerva, to Mars, and to Hercules ; whose grave and 
 manly dispositions, suited well with the character of this 
 order. Serlio \ says it is proper for churches dedicated 
 to Jesus Christ, to St. Paul, St. Peter, or any other Saints, 
 remarkable for their fortitude, in exposing their lives, and 
 suffering for the Christian faith. Le Gere, recommends 
 the use of it, in all kinds of military buildings ; as arse- 
 nals, gates of fortified places, guard rooms, and similar 
 structures 3 . It may likewise be employed in the houses 
 of generals, or other martial men ; in mausoleums erected 
 to their memory, or in triumphal bridges and arches, built 
 to celebrate their victories. 
 
 I have made the height of the Doric column, sixteen 
 modules ; which, in buildings where majesty, or grandeur 
 are required, is a proper proportion : but in others, it may 
 
 * Jacopo Tatti, better known by the name of Sansovino, from having 
 been a scholar of Andrea Cantucci da Monte Sansovino, gave out 
 
 the following problem to puzzle the architects of Italy What means 
 
 must be adopted for the purpose of making the angular metope of the Doric 
 order exactly one half of the breadth of the other metopes ? They all had 
 a tilt at the question, but without success. Sansovino, Columbus like, 
 solved it by lengthening the frieze just so much as was wanting to make 
 up the breadth sought, so that it overhung the upper part of the shaft of 
 his columns. A very silly expedient. Sansovino was nevertheless an archi- 
 tect of considerable talent and reputation, and an intimate friend of the cele- 
 brated Pietro Aretino. He was born in 1479, and died in 1570. [f.b.] 
 1 Lib. iv. c. 6. C ED ] 
 
 3 Des differens Ordres de Colonnes, Art. v. p. 11. L SD -1 
 
 D D 
 
20 c 2 OF THE DORIC ORDER. 
 
 be somewhat more slender. Thus, Vitruvius 1 makes the 
 Doric column in porticos, higher by half a diameter, than 
 in temples ; and most of the modern architects, have on 
 some occasions, followed his example. In private houses 
 therefore, it may be 16£, 161, or 165 modules high ; in 
 interior decorations, even seventeen modules, and some- 
 times perhaps a trifle more : which increase in the height, 
 may be added entirely to the shaft, as in the Tuscan 
 .order, without changing either the base or capital. The 
 entablature too, may remain unaltered in all the aforesaid 
 cases ; for it will be sufficiently bold, without alteration. 
 
 ' Lib. iii. c. 2. [ei>.] 
 

 ^■BHB 
 
 -t- t ■ * ■ t -t i — ,-,,-».,,.,. 1 -^.vi l Vl , ( — r 
 
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 77//: Ionic 
 
 ORDER 
 
 
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OF THE IOXIC ORDER. 203 
 
 OF THE IOXIC ORDER. 
 
 Amongst the ancients, the form of the Ionic profile, 
 appears to have been more positively determined than 
 that of any other order ; for in all the antiques at Rome, 
 the temple of Concord excepted, it is exactly the same 
 and conformable to the description Vitruvius has given 
 thereof. 
 
 The modern artists have likewise been more unanimous 
 in their opinions upon the subject ; all of them, excepting 
 Palladio and his imitators, having employed the dentil 
 cornice, and the other parts of the profile, nearly as they 
 are found in the Coliseum, the temple of Fortune, and 
 the theatre of Marcellus. 
 
 In Palladio's works, we meet with three different Ionic 
 entablatures ; all of them very beautiful. The first is the 
 true antique, which he has made use of at the palace of the 
 Porti ; and in several doors and windows of the Thiene, 
 and Valmarana palaces, in Vicenza. The second, is a 
 very judicious imitation of the entablature in the temple 
 of Concord ; and is executed by him in the upper arcade 
 of the Basilica, in the same city. The third, which is an 
 invention of his own ; being the same with that in his 
 book ; he has employed with some small^difference, at the 
 Chiericato palace', at the rotunda of Marchese Capra*, 
 
 ' In the City of Vicenza. E EDt ] 
 
 2 Not quite a mile southward of Vicenza. C ED 
 
204 OF THE IOXIC ORDER. 
 
 and in various others of his buildings in the Vicentine, or 
 at Venice. 
 
 In the first plate of the Ionic order, there is a design 
 of the antique profile, collected by me, from different an- 
 tiquities at Rome. The height of the column is eighteen 
 modules, and that of the entablature, four modules and a 
 half, or one quarter of the height of the column, as in 
 the other orders, which is a trifle less than in any of the 
 regular antique Ionics. The base is Attic, as in all the 
 antiques ; and the shaft of the column may either be plain 
 or fluted, with twenty-four, or with twenty flutings only, 
 as at the temple of Fortune, of which, the plan should 
 be a little more than semi-circular, as it is at the temple 
 of Jupiter Tonans, and at the forum of Nerva, because 
 then they are more distinctly marked. The fillet, or in- 
 terval between the flutes, should not be broader than one- 
 third of their width, nor narrower than one quarter 
 thereof. The ornaments of the capital, are to correspond 
 with the flutes of the shaft ', and there must be an ove 
 or a dart above the middle of each flute. The volutes are 
 to be traced according to Goldman's method*, which is the 
 best. I have given a design of it, with an exact descrip- 
 tion upon the plate. Perrault prefers Delorme's method 
 of describing it 3 ; yet certainly it is not so perfect ; for 
 
 ' Seepage 30. C E1 »] 
 
 1 Nicholas Goldman, a native of Breslaw in Silesia, born 1623, died 
 1G0.">. was a mathematician of some reputation. His chief works are — 
 " Elementa Architectura? iUilitaris," 8vo. 1643. — " De usu Proportion- 
 arii Circuli," " De Stylomctricis," 1662 ; and a Treatise on Civil Archi- 
 tecture, published by Sturm in 1008, with many Engravings. C EU 
 
 '• Architecture de Philibcrt Delorme," Tom. I. Liv. v. c. 27- " Dcs 
 mesures du chapiteau lonique, et la fafon comme Ton doit faire scs 
 volutes." C ED 
 

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OF THE IONIC ORDER. 205 
 
 in Goldman's, the circular portions that compose the 
 volute, have their radii at their junction, in the same 
 straight line, so that they meet without forming an angle ; 
 whereas, in that of Delorme, the radii never coincide 
 and consequently no two of the curves can join without 
 forming an angle. The space, in Delorme's volute be- 
 tween the first quadrants, in the first and second revolu- 
 tion is of the same breadth throughout; both the quadrants 
 being described from the same centre : but in Goldman's, 
 the space between the revolutions diminishes regularly 
 from the very first. Moreover, Delorme has given no 
 directions for describing the inner spiral, which determines 
 the breadth of the fillet, and which, in his design, is 
 nearly of the same breadth from first to last ; but Gold- 
 man has taught the manner of describing it, so as to 
 diminish gradually, with the same accuracy as the outward 
 spiral '. 
 
 Palladio's volute, differing but little from that of De- 
 lorme a , has nearly the same defects : and though Mr. 
 
 ' The author must have misunderstood Perrault, " 1' Architecture 
 de Vitruve," &c. 2nd Edit. Fol. Paris, 1684, who, in page 93, note 
 35, differs in some points from both Goldman and Delorme. In another 
 note, 41, page 94, he agrees with Goldman on the correction of a passage 
 in the text of Vitruvius. I cannot help thinking that the volute which 
 Perrault, page 95, has produced, is superior in tournure to that which our 
 author has given, and the Frenchman has evolved it by an ingenious 
 reading of the text of Vitruvius, aided by the correction of the German. 
 Philibert Delorme's is clumsy, and it is difficult to conceive how the 
 author could have imagined that Perrault was indebted to him. Gold- 
 man's volute becomes too thin in the second revolution. C ED- ] 
 
 2 Palladio's volute appears to me that which an artist would turn — the 
 other seems fabricated by a boor. Let the student compare them, it will 
 be instructive and advantageous to him. E ED 
 
20G OF THE IONIC ORDER. 
 
 Gibbs has in some measure amended it, yet his likewise 
 is faulty in the breadtli of the fillet, which is equal 
 through the greatest part of the first revolution. 
 
 Vignola and Scamozzi, Serlio, Alberti, and others have, 
 in their architraves, imitated those of the theatre of Mar- 
 cellus, and of the Coliseum ; having composed them of 
 three fascias distinguished from each other, only by small 
 projections. This, has but an indifferent effect; the sepa- 
 rations so faintly marked, are not sufficiently striking ; 
 and the architrave is left too destitute of ornaments, for 
 the rest of the profile : a defect most striking, whenever 
 the mouldings of the profile are enriched. 
 
 On the other hand, Palladio's and Delorme's archi- 
 traves appear too rich ; being likewise composed of three 
 fascias, separated by mouldings. I have therefore in this 
 particular, chosen to imitate the profile of the temple of 
 Antoninus and Faustina, where there are only two fas- 
 cias, separated from each other by a moulding. 
 
 The three parts of the entablature, bear the same pro- 
 portion to each other in this, as in the Tuscan order : the 
 frizc is plain, as being most suitable to the simplicity of 
 the rest of the composition ; and the cornice is almost an 
 exact copy from Vignola's design, in which there is a 
 purity of form, a grandeur of stile, and close conformity 
 to the most approved antiques, not to be found in the pro- 
 files of his competitors. 
 
 If it be required to reduce this entablature, to two 
 ninths of the height of the column, (which, on most occa- 
 sions, is a proportion preferable to that of one quarter ; 
 particularly, where the eye has been habituated to con- 
 template diminutive objects) it may easily be done ; by 
 

 
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OF THE IONIC ORDER. 207 
 
 making the module for the entablature, less by one ninth, 
 than the semi-diameter of the column ; afterwards divid- 
 ing it as usual, and observing the same dimensions as 
 are figured in the design. The distribution of the dentil 
 band will, in such case, answer pretty nearly in all the 
 regular intercolumniations ; and in the outer angle there 
 will be a dentd, as there is in the temple of Fortune, at 
 Rome. 
 
 In interior decorations, where much delicacy is re- 
 quired, the height of the entablature may be reduced even 
 to one fifth of the column, by observing the same 
 method, and making the module only four fifths of the 
 semi-diameter. 
 
 Of Palladio's profiles, that imitated from the temple of 
 Concord, appears to me the best : its height is equal to 
 one-fifth of the height of the column. The design which 
 I have given of it, is closely copied from the Basilica, at 
 Vicenza : but it will be more perfect, if the frize be made 
 flat, and its height augmented, so as to equal that of the 
 architrave ; by which means, the proportion of the enta- 
 blature to the column, will be better ; for the relation of 
 one to five, is, generally speaking, too small. In the cor- 
 nice it will likewise be well to add, between the corona 
 and fillet, under the cyma, an ogee of the same dimen- 
 sion with that over the modillions. Thus all the parts 
 will be equally rich, and the upper cyma be better sup- 
 ported. This, Scamozzi has done in his profile : though 
 in other respects, his Ionic entablature may be considered 
 as a copy from Palladio ; the fillet, being thus sustained 
 by the ogee, may be diminished a trifle. 
 
 Palladio's other profile, I have copied from the rotunda 
 
208 OF THE IONIC ORDER. 
 
 of Capra' ; its height is likewise one fifth of the column. 
 The frize, as in the former design, is low and swelled : 
 but it will be better to raise it to the same height with the 
 architrave, and keep it upright as before directed ; for the 
 swell gives it a clumsy form, and appearing a continuity 
 of the same undulations which compose the architrave 
 and cornice, serves to render the outline of the whole 
 entablature confused and much too abundant in curves. 
 The frize when so formed, conveys the idea of a piece of 
 timber, used without being hewn ; as was the practice of 
 ruder times among the Greeks, and cannot with propriety 
 be introduced in a finished work. 
 
 In the antique, there are few examples of these swelled 
 frizes. Palladio probably took his hint, from the temple 
 of Bacchus, near Rome, where the swelled frize has been 
 used in a Composite order: or perhaps, from the Basilica 
 of Antoninus, where it has been employed in a Corin- 
 thian : with little success at the last, and with much less 
 at the first of these places ; for as the columns are there 
 insulated, and the profile is marked at the four angles, the 
 deformity becomes so much the more conspicuous ; and, 
 notwithstanding Palladio's partiality to this form of frize, 
 which so frequently recurs in most of his works ; it seldom 
 or never can be introduced with success, but on doors or 
 windows, where the profile of the architrave is not marked 
 under it : there indeed, the swell forms a good contrast 
 with the upright jambs, and has the farther advantage of 
 contracting the spread of the cornice, which, in narrow 
 intercolumniations, is very convenient ; and in most cases, 
 
 ' Villa del Marchese Copra above mentioned. This villa, at Vicenza. is 
 familiarly called La Rotonda. C ED 
 
OF THE IONIC ORDER. OQg 
 
 may prevent the licentious practice, of making the frize 
 and cornice no wider than the aperture of the door or 
 window, and supporting them on each side with a sort of 
 scroll, asattheSorbonnein Paris, and at the Mansion 
 House in this city. 
 
 Palladio, in both these profiles, has enriched the soffit 
 of the corona with roses, which are here omitted, as in 
 most cases they ought to be. However, when the column 
 is fluted, and the rest of the composition much adorned, 
 they may, and should be, introduced ; care being taken to 
 proportion the pannels, and other parts surrounding them, 
 in the same manner as if the order were Corinthian or 
 Composite. 
 
 The antique Ionic capital differs from any of the 
 others ; its front and side faces are not alike. This par- 
 ticularity, occasions great difficulty, wherever there are 
 breaks in the entablature; or where the decoration is 
 continued in flank, as well as in front : for either, all the 
 capitals in the flank must have the baluster side outward, 
 or the angular capitals will have a different appearance 
 from the rest ; neither of which is admissible. The archi- 
 tect of the temple of Fortune at Rome ', has fallen upon 
 an expedient, which in some degree, remedies the defect. 
 In that building, the corner capitals have their angular 
 volutes in an oblique position, inclining equally to the 
 front and side, and offering volute faces both ways. 
 Wherever persons are violently attached to the antique, 
 or furiously bent on rejecting all modern inventions, how- 
 ever excellent, this is the only mean to gratify them ; 
 but when such is not the case, the angular capital invented 
 
 This is however far from a pure example. Qed.] 
 
 E E 
 
210 OF THE IONIC ORDER. 
 
 by Scamozzi ', or imitated and improved by him, from 
 the temple of Concord, or borrowed from some modern 
 compositions extant in his time, ought to be employed ; 
 for the distorted figure of the antique capital, with one 
 volute straight and the other twisted, is very perceptible, 
 and far from being pleasing to the eye. 
 
 Annexed is a design of Scamozzi's capital, and another 
 of a very beautiful one, executed in St. Peter's, of the 
 Vatican ; probably composed by Michael Angelo. Simi- 
 lar capitals may also be seen in the church of the Roman 
 college, and in various other buildings at Rome. 
 
 In this order, I have employed the Attic base. Of the 
 antique base described by Vitruvius, and used by Vignola 
 and Philibert Delorme, in their Ionic orders, and by 
 Sir Christopher Wren, in some parts of St. Paul's, I 
 think there is no example among the antiques ; and being 
 universally esteemed a very imperfect production, I have 
 not even given a design of it. 
 
 As the Doric order is particularly affected in churches 
 or temples, dedicated to male saints ; so the Ionic is prin- 
 cipally used in such as are consecrated to females, of the 
 matronal state. It is likewise employed in courts of jus- 
 tice, in libraries, colleges, seminaries, and other structures 
 having relation to arts or letters ; in private houses, and 
 in palaces ; to adorn the women's apartments ; and, says 
 Le Clerc 1 , in all places dedicated to peace and tranquil- 
 lity. The ancients employed it in temples sacred to 
 
 ' This is no invention of Scamozzi — See Stuart's Athens, Temple on 
 the Ilissus, anil of Minerva Polias. C ED ] 
 
 * Art. v. p. 14 — Des Jitferens Ordres de Colonnes. C ED 
 
OF THE IONIC ORDEK. 211 
 
 Juno, to Bacchus, to Diana, and other deities whose dis- 
 positions held a medium, between the severe and the 
 effeminate '. 
 
 ' Vitruvius, Lib. i. c. 2 — " Junoni, Dianee, Libero patri caeterisque 
 Diis qui eadem sunt similitudine, si aides Ionicae construerentur, habita 
 erit ratio mediocritatis, quod et ab severo more Doricorum et a teneritate 
 Corinthiorum, temperabitur earum institutio proprietatis." Qed.] 
 
212 OF THE COMPOSITE ORDER. 
 
 OF THE COMPOSITE ORDER. 
 
 Strictly speaking, the ancients had but four orders ; 
 the Composite was not considered by them as a distinct 
 production. Vitruvius expressly tells us, Book IV. chap. 
 1, that on Corinthian columns, other capitals of various 
 kinds were employed, which nevertheless ought not to 
 change the names of the columns, because their propor- 
 tions remained still the same '. 
 
 ' On which passage Perrault, in his Translation of Vitruvius, adds the 
 following note: — " Cecy s'entend a mon avis du Chapiteau de l'Ordre Com- 
 posite qui est fait de l'assemblage des parties des autres Chapiteaux, comme 
 de celle de l'lonique dont il emprunte l'Echine et les volutes, et de celles 
 du Corinthien dont il a les feuillages. Ceux qui prctendent avec Philander 
 que Yitruve n'a point parle de l'Ordre Composite, se fondent sur ce qu'il a 
 dit que la divcrsite des ornemens du chapiteau, ne change point l'espece de 
 la colonne, comme si la difference specifique des colonnes consistoit dans 
 la proportion de leur hauteur, a coniparaison de leur grosseur : mais cette 
 raison ne doit point empescher qu'il ne soit vray de dire que Vitruve a 
 traite de l'Ordre Composite aussi-bien que du Corinthien, puisque selon 
 Vitruve l'Ordre Corinthien n'est different de l'lonique que par le chapi- 
 teau, et qu'il est vray que le soul changement des ornemens du chapiteau 
 pent faire un Ordre different, hien que la proportion de toute la colonne 
 ne soit en rien changee : car les Ordres Composites qui nous restent des 
 Anciens, tels que sont ceux de l'Arc de Titus et deceluy de Veronne, n'ont 
 rien dans leurs colonnes qui soit different de l'Ordre Corinthien que les 
 ornemens du chapiteau. Cependant Philander dit que l'Ordre Composite 
 n'a est* introduit que long temps aprcs Vitruve ; bien que l'on tienne que 
 le Baptistere de Constantin qui est d' Ordre Composite, a este basty des 
 ruines d'Edificea tres-anciens, et que le Temple de la Concorde dont on 
 voit encore des restes i Rome, a este fait par Camillus qui vivoit long- 
 temps avant Vitruve : Or les colonnes de ce Temple tiennent de l'lonique 
 et du Dorique. ce qui les peut faire passer pour Composites : si ce n'est 
 que Philander cntende par Ordre Composite un certain Ordre regie, qui est 
 celuy qii'on appelle autrement Itidique, et non pas tout ce qui participe 
 de plusieurs autres Ordres : ce qui fait que quelques-uns uomment ces 
 
THE Ri ? CO <■>/ * 'S I 
 
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 ' 
 
 S 10 iS to i* .V 
 
 . ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ . ! 
 
OF THE COMPOSITE ORDER. 213 
 
 The moderns, however, have ranked the Composite 
 with the four orders mentioned by Vitruvius ; having, 
 among the great number of different Composite capitals 
 to be met with in the remains of antiquity, chosen for 
 their model, that which has been used in the triumphal 
 arches in the temple of Bacchus, and at the baths of Dio- 
 clesian : rather, I believe, as agreeing most with the de- 
 scription of Vitruvius, who observes that these capitals 
 were composed of the Ionic, Doric, and Corinthian, than 
 from any preference in point of beauty to many others. 
 
 Neither doth it appear, that the ancients affected any 
 particular form of entablature to this order : sometimes 
 they made the cornice entirely plain, as in the temple of 
 Bacchus ; at others, enriched with dentils, and differing 
 very little from the Ionic, as in the arch of Septimius Seve- 
 rus : and in the arch of Titus, there are both dentils and 
 modillions, the whole form of the profile being the same 
 with that of the Corinthian, as it is executed in most of 
 the antiques at Rome and elsewhere. 
 
 The modern architects, have varied more in this, than 
 in any other of the orders. Abandoned, as De Cham- 
 brai ' observes, by their guide Vitruvius, and left entirely 
 at large, they have all taken different paths, each follow- 
 ing the bent of his own particular fancy. Among them, 
 Serlio has been least successful ; having chosen for the 
 model of his entablature, that of the fourth order of the 
 Coliseum : a composition too clumsy, even for a Tuscan 
 order. Delorme, however, has followed his example; 
 
 Ordres Composez, qui peuvent estre infinis, et les distinguent du Compo- 
 site, qui est un Ordre fixe, et qui a une figure et des proportions certaines 
 et etablies dans un grand nombre de fameux Edifices." L ED -1 
 
 • Parallele— Part ii. c. 4. [ ED -] 
 
214 OF THE COMPOSITE ORDER. 
 
 and mistaken the columns of the fourth order of the Coli- 
 seum, which are Corinthian, for Composite. 
 
 Palladio, in his profile, has imitated the cornice of the 
 frontispiece of Nero, and corrected its defects with much 
 judgment. His architrave is likewise taken from the same 
 Lmilding, but he has omitted its beautiful frize, and sub- 
 stituted in its place a swelled one, similar to that of the 
 Basilica of Antoninus. His whole entablature is too low, 
 being only one fifth of the column, and it is remarkable 
 that though he has made the column more delicate than 
 in the Corinthian order, yet his entablature is made far 
 more massive, being composed of fewer and much larger 
 parts. In the design given on the second plate of the 
 Composite order, Palladio's measures have been closely 
 observed ; but if the frize were augmented, so as to raise 
 the entablature to two ninths of the column, made up- 
 right, and enriched with ornaments, it would be more 
 perfect, and might be employed with success in works of 
 large dimensions, which require to be seen from a consi- 
 derable distance ; but for interior decorations, or in places 
 where much delicacy is required, the composition is some- 
 what too massive. 
 
 Palladio's capital and base, are imitations from the arch 
 of Titus. The latter of them is designed without a 
 plinth, as it is executed in the temple of Vesta at Tivoli, 
 and joined to the cornice of the pedestal by a slope, which 
 not only has a bad effect, but is in itself defective, be- 
 cause the base is thus divested of its principal member, 
 and rendered disproportionate '. 
 
 1 Where the column rises from a deep plain pedestal without cornice or 
 base, the practice which our author condemns, is very far from being offen- 
 sive or disagreeable. L ED, J 
 
OF THE COMPOSITE ORDER. 215 
 
 Vignola's Composite has nothing in it remarkable. The 
 architrave diners but little from that of the frontispiece of 
 Nero, and the cornice is nearly the same with that of his 
 Ionic order, the principal difference consisting in the 
 transposition of some mouldings, and enlargement of the 
 dentils ; both which seem rather alterations for the worse 
 than improvements '. 
 
 Scamozzi's entablature being, like Palladio's, only one 
 fifth of the column and much divided, has a trifling ap- 
 pearance. The cornice however is, upon the whole, well 
 composed, and in a great measure imitated from that of 
 the third order of the Coliseum ; the capital is much like 
 Palladio's, and the base is Attic, enriched with astragals, 
 as at the Basilica of Antoninus. 
 
 The design which I have given in the first plate of the 
 Composite order, is an invention of my own ; in which I 
 have attempted to avoid the faults, and unite the perfec- 
 tions, of those abovementioned : how far with success is 
 left to the reader's determination, and at any rate, re- 
 course may still be had to Palladio, Scamozzi, or Vignola, 
 as heretofore. The height of the column is twenty mo- 
 dules, that of the entablature five ; the base is Attic, and 
 its measures are the same as in the Doric or Ionic orders, 
 but as the module is less, all its parts are of course propor- 
 tionably more delicate. The shaft is enriched with flu- 
 tings, which may either be to the number of twenty or of 
 twenty-four, as on the Ionic column ; for there is no rea- 
 
 1 I nevertheless prefer Vignola's as well as Scamozzi's capitals to the 
 profile which our author has given ; that of the former is far more elegant 
 in its form as well as in the details. But Vignola's entablature is not in tone 
 with his capital ; the want of modillions renders its aspect too meagre and 
 plain. [ed.] 
 
21 6 OF THE COMPOSITE ORDER. 
 
 son why, in different orders, their number should either 
 be augmented or diminished ; the module being less, the 
 flutes will likewise be less, and correspond exactly with 
 the character of the rest of the composition. 
 
 The capital is of the kind which all the moderns have 
 employed in this order, being enriched with leaves of the 
 acanthus, as all the antique capitals of this sort are. With 
 regard to the method of tracing it, few directions will suf- 
 fice, for the designs are exactly drawn and figured. The 
 curvatures of the abacus are described from the summits 
 of equilateral triangles ; the projection of the volutes is de- 
 termined by a line drawn from the extremity of the astra- 
 gal to the extremity of a horn of the abacus; and the pro- 
 jection of the leaves is determined by another line drawn 
 parallel to that from the fillet, under the astragal. 
 
 The manner of executing both these and all other en- 
 riched capitals in this city, is, generally speaking, bad. I 
 do not, however, mean to accuse our English workmen of 
 incapacity ; many of them are excellent, and in neatness 
 of execution, out-do, perhaps, those of any other country, 
 — but, sometimes from the parsimony of their employers, 
 and in some degree, perhaps, for want of thorough skill 
 and facility in design, their performances are often insipid, 
 without intention or effect, and by no means expressive 
 either of the taste or intelligence of the performer. 
 
 Many even of our greatest architects have too much 
 neglected the detail ; having employed their attention 
 wholly on the general disposition of their compositions. 
 This neglect, though authorised by great examples, ought 
 by no means to be imitated. It is the business of the ar- 
 chitect to attend to the minutest objects, as well as to the 
 most considerable. If the entire execution of the fabric 
 
f '■/'//■ /;?//,////,- //s//i 
 
 
 Bj&Ab 
 
 ,//*<£*. 
 
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 ■ '■'*},-//•- 
 
 ■ 
 
 . 
 
OF THE COMPOSITE ORDER. Q\j 
 
 be left to his direction, the faults that are committed will, 
 of course, be stated to his account, and therefore it will 
 be prudent in him to select the ablest workmen, and to 
 furnish them with proper models and precise instructions, 
 in which he will shew the extent of his capacity, and dis- 
 tinguish himself from the common herd of those who, 
 without due qualifications, assume the title of architects. 
 The most masterly disposition, incorrectly executed, can 
 only be considered as a sketch in painting, or as an ex- 
 cellent piece of music miserably murdered by village fid- 
 dlers, equally destitute of taste and powers of execution. 
 Care must be taken in Composite, as well as in Corin- 
 thian capitals, that the feet of the lower leaves do not 
 project beyond the upper part of the shaft of the co- 
 lumn, as at St. Carlo in the Corso ' at Rome, and at the 
 Banqueting-House in London; for nothing can be 
 uglier. Neither are these leaves as they mount, to bend 
 forwards, as in many of the antiques, and in some modern 
 buildings, because they then hide a considerable part of 
 the upper row of leaves, and give a stunted disagreeable 
 form to the whole capital. The different divisions of the 
 acanthus leaf, and bunches of olive or parsley which 
 compose the total of each leaf, must be firmly marked, 
 and massed in a very distinct manner ; the stems that 
 spring from between the upper leaves are to be kept low 
 upon the vase of the capital, while rising between the 
 leaves, then spring gradually forwards, to form the dif- 
 ferent volutes ; and the ornaments, which sometimes are 
 
 1 St. Carlo in the Corso was built at the expense of the people of Lom- 
 bard)- about 1612, on the designs of Onorio Lunghi and Pietro da Cortona. 
 The chapel in the western transept, by Paolo Posi, is one of the most mag- 
 nificent in Rome. Ced.1 
 
 F F 
 
218 OF THE COMPOSITE ORDER. 
 
 used to adorn the sides of the angular volutes, are never 
 to project beyond the fillets between which they are con- 
 fined. These are all the directions that well can be 
 given in writing, but those who would excel in orna- 
 mental works of this kind or any other, must consult the 
 foliages and flowers of nature, the buildings, ancient or 
 modern, in which they have been executed with care and 
 judgment. The Ionic, Composite, and Corinthian capi- 
 tals to be seen in various parts of Somerset Place, were 
 copied from models executed under my direction at 
 Rome, and imitated, both in point of forms and manner of 
 workmanship, from the choicest antique originals. They 
 may serve as guides to such as have had no opportunity 
 of examining the buildings from which these models were 
 collected. 
 
 The parts of the entablature bear the same proportion 
 to each other as in the Ionic and Tuscan orders. The 
 architrave is nearly of the same form with those of Palla- 
 dio and Vignola, and that of the Basilica of Antoninus. 
 The frize is enriched with foliages, in imitation of those 
 on the frize of Nero's frontispiece, of which the most 
 prominent parts should never project more than doth the 
 uppermost moulding of the architrave under them. 
 
 The cornice is imitated from Scamozzi, and differs from 
 the Corinthian only in the modillions, which are square, 
 and composed of two fascias. The soffit of the intervals 
 between the dentils must be hollowed upwards behind the 
 little fillet in front, as they are in most of the antiques, 
 which occasions a dark shade that marks the dentil more 
 distinctly ; and the same method must be observed in the 
 Ionic and Corinthian orders, for the same reason. The 
 roses in the soffit of the corona are not to project beyond 
 
OF THE COMPOSITE ORDER. 219 
 
 its horizontal surface, and care must be taken not to vary 
 them so much as at St. Peter's of the Vatican, because 
 the unity of the composition suffers thereby ; the modil- 
 lions or dentils might, with almost as much propriety, be 
 varied. It will be proper, therefore, in small compositions, 
 to make them all alike, as they are in most of the an- 
 tiques ; that so they may not strike nor occupy the at- 
 tention of the beholder as objects for distinct contempla- 
 tion, but as parts of one great whole. In larger composi- 
 tions, they may be of two kinds, but similar in outline and 
 dimension, which occasions more variety, yet without 
 confusion ; for then the images succeed each other so ra- 
 pidly, and are, from their similitude, so instantaneously 
 comprehended, that the third impression takes place be- 
 fore the first is in any degree obliterated ; so that nearly 
 the same effect is produced as by a continued succession 
 of the same object. 
 
 But though this variety be practised, and is to a certain 
 degree allowable in small objects which the eye peruses at 
 a glance, or in such as being merely accessory, may or 
 may not be introduced, and do not affect the general out- 
 line or bent of the composition, yet it is by no means to 
 be tolerated in columns and other principal or essential 
 parts, which, from the number of their constituent points, 
 are not conveyed to the mind at once, either with ease or 
 perfect clearness, and therefore, if varied, cannot fail of 
 exciting confused ideas. 
 
 In the fourth book of Palladio we find, among other 
 ancient temples, one, of which the portico consists of four 
 Corinthian columns and two pilasters. The pilasters are 
 fluted in a perpendicular direction ; two of the columns 
 are fluted spirally, and the other two have the shafts co- 
 
220 OF THE COMPOSITE ORDER. 
 
 vered with laurel leaves, — a variety absurd as unpleasing, 
 which totally destroys the general effect of the composi- 
 tion, and conveys no idea but that of a structure made up 
 of discordant fragments, as they happened to come in the 
 builder's way '. 
 
 The Romans used the Composite order more frequently 
 in their triumphal arches than in any other buildings ; 
 meaning, as Serlio supposes a , to express their dominion 
 over those nations that invented the orders of which this 
 is composed. It may, says Le Clerc 3 , be used with pro- 
 priety wherever elegance and magnificence are to be uni- 
 ted, but it is more particularly adapted to buildings de- 
 signed to commemorate signal events, or celebrate the 
 virtues and achievements of conquerors and legislators, 
 because the capitals and other ornaments may be com- 
 posed of emblems and of allusive representations, agree- 
 able to the custom of the ancients, as appears by very 
 many fragments of capitals and other members of archi- 
 tecture, scattered about in different parts of Rome and 
 elsewhere. Some of these are represented in the second 
 plate of the Composite order, and more may be found in 
 the works of Montano 4 , Le Clerc, Piranesi, and others, 
 
 ' This is the small temple at Trevi, between Foligno and Spoleto. Pal- 
 ladio thus apologizes for its bizarrerie. " Gli Antichi in simil sorte di edi- 
 ficij, e massime ne i piccioli, posero grandissima diligenza ncl polire cias- 
 cuna parte, e far loro tutti quegli ornanienti, che fossero possibili, e che sU'S- 
 sero bene ; ma nelle fabriche grand] come Anfitheatri, e simili, polirono so- 
 lamenti* alcuneparticellc, lasciando il rimanente rozo per schifarc la spesa," 
 &c. Lib. iv. c. 25. E ED -D 
 
 1 Libro iii. page 88, Venice Edit, of 1019. [ ED ] 
 
 3 Traits d' Architecture. Art. v. page 1 4. [ ED -] 
 
 4 Montano (Giov. Bat.). "Li cinque Libri di Architettura." Fol. Roma, 
 1691 . There was an edit, of this book in 1684. [ KD -D 
 
OF THE COMPOSITE ORDER. 221 
 
 of whose works the reader will find a catalogue in the 
 ABECEDARIO pittorico '. 
 
 The Composite entablature may be reduced to two- 
 ninths of the column, which, to avoid fractions, I shall 
 call four modules and a half, by making the module only 
 nine-tenths of the semi-diameter, and observing the same 
 measures as are figured in the design, and there then will 
 be a dentil in the outward angle, as in the Ionic order. It 
 may likewise, if required, be reduced to one-fifth, by mak- 
 ing the module four-fifths of the semi-diameter : though, 
 in cases where it may be necessary to diminish so much, it 
 will always be better to employ the Ionic cornice, which, 
 being composed of fewer parts, will still retain an air of 
 grandeur, notwithstanding the smallness of the general 
 mass. 
 
 Most authors give to the Composite order the last 
 place, as being last invented, and a compound, which, of 
 course, ought to be preceded by all the simples. I have, 
 however, followed Scamozzi's arrangement, his appearing 
 to me the most natural j for his orders succeed each 
 other according to their degree of strength, and in the 
 progression that must absolutely be observed, whenever 
 they are to be employed together. 
 
 1 Orlandini (Fr. Pellegr. Ant.). Abecedario pittorico, nel quale sono 
 descritte le vite degli antichissimi pittori, scultori ed Architetti, &c. 4to. 
 Venezia, 1753. Qed.] 
 
QQQ OF THE CORINTHIAN ORDER. 
 
 OF THE CORINTHIAN ORDER. 
 
 The three columns in the Campo Vaccino ', supposed 
 remains of the temple of Jupiter Stator, are generally al- 
 lowed to be the most perfect models of the Corinthian 
 order amongst the antiques at Rome. Palladio, in his 
 fourth book, where he gives the whole profile at large, 
 acknowledges that he never had seen any work better exe- 
 cuted, or more delicately finished ; that its parts are beau- 
 tifully formed, well-proportioned, and skilfully combined ; 
 all which last qualities are certainly signified by his Benis- 
 simo intesi. 
 
 With these favorable sentiments, it is extraordinary 
 that, in his design of the Corinthian order, he should so 
 very considerably deviate from this excellent original as 
 scarcely to leave the smallest shadow of resemblance. 
 
 Vignola, in his Corinthian profile, has chiefly imitated 
 the abovementioned fragment, and the interior order of 
 the Pantheon, another very perfect model. His composi- 
 tion is uncommonly beautiful, and, without dispute, su- 
 perior to that of any other master; he having artfully 
 collected all the perfections of his originals, and formed a 
 whole far preferable to either of them. 
 
 The design which I have given differs but little from 
 that of Vignola 1 . The column is twenty modules high, 
 
 ' As this order has received the admiration of ages, the Editor has 
 thought proper to give an additional plate of it. It will be useful to compare 
 its profile with that of our author, whose exemplification of the Corinthian 
 is certainly inferior to those of his other orders. [kd.] 
 
 1 However small the dilference which our author has made, I think he 
 

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OF THE CORINTHIAN ORDER. 22S 
 
 and the entablature five ; which proportions, are a me- 
 dium between those of the Pantheon, and of the three 
 columns. The base of the column, may be either Attic 
 or Corinthian ; both are beautiful. Palladio and Scamozzi 
 have employed the Attic base enriched with astragals ; 
 but so frequent a repetition of the same semi-circular 
 forms in junction, has a very indifferent effect ; as may be 
 observed at the church of St. Martin in the Fields, at the 
 Bank, and in various other buildings of this city, in 
 which the profiles and forms of Palladio, good, bad, or 
 indifferent, have indiscriminately been employed. 
 
 If the entablature be enriched, the shaft of the column 
 should be fluted, provided it be not composed of varie- 
 gated marble ; for a diversity of colours renders even 
 smooth surfaces confused, and ornaments of sculpture 
 only serve to make the confusion greater. The flutings 
 may be filled to one third of their height with cablings, 
 as on the inside order of the Pantheon ; which strengthen 
 the lower part of the column, and make it less liable to 
 damage, But when the columns are not within reach, 
 nor subject to be hurt by passengers, the cables are better 
 omitted, as the general hue of the shaft will then be the 
 same throughout, and seem of a piece ; which, when a 
 part of the flute is filled, and the other part left empty, 
 is not the case ; for the shaft then appears divided, and 
 is less calculated to produce a great effect. 
 
 In some very rich buildings, the cablings are composed 
 of reeds, husks, spiral-twisted ribands, flowers, and va- 
 rious other ornaments. At the Thuilleries in Paris, there 
 are some Ionic columns exquisitely wrought in this 
 
 has ruined Vignola's profile. The additional height of capital is decidedly 
 for the worse. L ED, J 
 
2^1 OF THE CORINTHIAN ORDER. 
 
 manner ; one of them by Jean Gougeon's ' own hand, 
 and the rest under his immediate inspection. 
 
 It is however, far better to reserve such niceties for 
 interior decorations. In exterior compositions, whatever 
 doth not contribute to the forcible effect of the whole 
 structure, is in a great measure useless, sometimes even 
 detrimental ; and an expense, which might more judi- 
 ciously be employed, where it would be more attentively 
 considered. In general, it may be laid down as a maxim, 
 that excessive ornaments, though they may, and often do, 
 increase the magnificence of a building, almost always 
 destroy, more or less, the grandeur of its effect. Parts in 
 themselves large, formed and disposed to receive broad 
 masses, or strong oppositions of light and shade, must 
 necessarily excite great ideas ; but when these parts are 
 broken into a number of small divisions, and their sur- 
 faces so varied, as to catch a thousand spotty impressions 
 of light, demi-tints, and darkness, the whole will, of 
 course, form a confused appearance of trifling objects, 
 which divide the attention, and are utterly incapable of 
 exciting any powerful emotions whatever. 
 
 The capital is enriched with olive leaves, as are almost 
 all the antiques at Rome, of this order; the acanthus 
 being seldom employed, but in the Composite '. De Cor- 
 
 1 Jean Gougeon, a French sculptor and architect in the reign of Fran- 
 cis I., was an artist of very superior talents, and occasionally employed 
 himself in modelling. Being a Protestant, he was one of the unfortunate 
 sufferers in the horrid massacre on St. Bartholomew's day, 1572. Qed.] 
 
 1 The Acanthus, Brancorsina, Bear's paw, "Axa.So?, a creeping flex- 
 ible plant, whose leaves are wider than those of the common lettuce, and 
 of considerable length. Its root bears some resemblance to a bear's fore 
 paw; hence, in Italian, it has received the name of Brancorsina. Its 
 habitat is in damp situations, but it may be raised in any garden. 
 There are two species — one, which is prickly and jagged, resembling a 
 
OF THE CORINTHIAN ORDER. 225 
 
 demoy, however, prefers the acanthus ; and observes that 
 the flexible sprigs, which accompany the leaves of that 
 plant, may more naturally be supposed to form the con- 
 tour of the volutes, than the stiff branches of a laurel, or 
 an olive tree. " Strange it is, says he, that we soon cease 
 to esteem what is natural ; nature and reason must always 
 be violated, and thus a confused jumble of little pointed 
 leaves of an olive, or a laurel, is preferred to the simple 
 and graceful outline of the acanthus." 
 
 De Cordemoy's observation is, strictly speaking, just ; 
 yet to variety, something must be sacrificed, some liber- 
 ties taken ; and both the ancient as well as modern 
 sculptors, have, by uniting several olive, laurel, or parsley 
 leaves together, to form distinct bunches, separated by 
 filaments between which they seem to grow, contrived to 
 compose leaves, different in appearance from the acan- 
 thus indeed, yet, neither more confused nor less graceful 
 than that. 
 
 thistle — this is the shorter species, and from its thorny appearance, is pro- 
 perly the Acanthus from axavfla, a thorn. The other sort is cultivated, 
 and has a smooth leaf, and is the plant of which Virgil speaks — 
 
 " aut flexi tacuissem vimen acanthi." 
 
 Georg. Lib. iv. 123. 
 
 It was used for medicinal purposes. — See Pliny, Lib. ii. c. 22. And is 
 the species which was adapted by the early architects to the decoration 
 of the Corinthian capital — and in other ornamental foliage, as we find in 
 Virg. Ec. iii. 44. Edit. Heyn. 
 
 " Et nobis idem Alcimedon duo pocula fecit, 
 Et molli circum est ansas amplexus Acantho." 
 Propertius, 1. iii. eleg. 7- v. 14 — and Virgil again, JEn. i. t>49, &c. 
 
 " Et circumtextum croceo velamen Acantho." 
 
 There was a tree also which bore the name of Acanthus — found chiefly 
 in Egypt. L ED -1 
 
 G G 
 
226 OF THE CORINTHIAN ORDER. 
 
 With respect to the manner of tracing and working 
 this capital, the designs, with what has heen said on the 
 same subject in the Composite order, will serve as a suffi- 
 cient explanation. 
 
 The divisions of the entablature bear the same propor- 
 tion to each other, as in the Tuscan, Ionic, and Com- 
 posite orders. The frize is enriched with a bas relief, 
 composed from various fragments in the Villa Medici at 
 Rome '. The parts and ornaments of the cornice, are all 
 regularly disposed, and perpendicularly over each other : 
 the coffers in the soffit of the corona are square, and the 
 borders round them equal on all sides, as they are in the 
 arch of Titus, and as Palladio has made them; a pre- 
 caution neglected by Vignola, notwithstanding his usual 
 regularity. 
 
 The ancients frequently employed the Ionic entabla- 
 ture in the Corinthian order, as appears by many of 
 their buildings ; and sometimes, according to Vitruvius, 
 even the Doric ; though of the latter practice, there is 
 not now, that I know of, any example extant. The 
 same author observes, that the Greeks in their works, 
 never employed the dentils under the modillions, because 
 the rafters, which are represented by the dentils, could 
 never in reality be placed under the beams or joists, which 
 are represented by the modillions. However this may be, 
 we are certain that the Romans were not so very scru- 
 pulous ; for in their most esteemed works, such as the 
 
 1 The basso relievo which the author has selected to decorate his frieze, 
 is very ill chosen for the purpose. It is so overloaded and insubordinate 
 to the whole, that a glance is sufficient to condemn it. The great talents 
 of Messrs. Lowry and Moses have, however, in the plate to this, made it 
 much more supportable than it is in the original editions. r. ED -] 
 
OF THE CORINTHIAN ORDER. 227 
 
 temple of Jupiter Stator, the forum of Nerva, the temple 
 of Jupiter Tonans, and several others, we find the dentils 
 placed under the modillions. These examples will suffi- 
 ciently authorise the same practice. The origin or reason 
 of things of this nature is remote, and known to but 
 few ; while the general effect of a composition, is obvious 
 to all. If deviating, therefore, from what is little known 
 and less felt, will eminently contribute towards the per- 
 fection of that which all see and all approve, it cannot 
 justly be censured. 
 
 This liberty, however, of deviating from the origin or 
 reason of things, was by the ancients, and must by us, 
 be exercised with great caution, as it opens a wide door 
 to whim and extravagance, and leaves a latitude to the 
 composer, which often betrays and hurries him into ridi- 
 culous absurdities. Bernini sometimes quitted the beaten 
 road with judgment ; but Borromini ', first his scholar, and 
 at length his rival, in attempting to conquer by novelty, 
 and quitting the ancient rules, was submerged in an ocean 
 of extravagance. Thus, says the author of his life, from 
 being among the first men of his time for abilities and 
 extent of genius, Borromini sunk to a level with the last, 
 by a ridiculous application of his talents. 
 
 I do not know who first introduced among us the fa- 
 vorite ornament of festoons standing up like arches, 
 instead of hanging down as nature directs ; nor do I 
 recollect the name of him who, in the church of St. Romolo 
 
 1 Francesco Borromini was born in 1599 — he studied architecture under 
 Carlo Maderno. So jealous was he of the fame and reputation of Ber- 
 nini, that he is said to have stabbed himself in Rome, 1667- It is, how- 
 ever, rather strange that such a cause should have led him to so desperate 
 an act, because, from the number of his edifices, he must have enjoyed con- 
 siderable employment in his profession. C KD -D 
 
Q28 OF THE CORINTHIAN ORDER. 
 
 at Florence, has, for the sake of variety, placed the capi- 
 tals at the feet of his columns : but select these facts, as 
 absurd instances, among others, of the length to which 
 innovators may carry any system unrestrained by rules, 
 and subject to no other laws than the crude momentary 
 effusions of a vitiated fancy. Things evidently absurd, 
 no time nor authority can sanctify. 
 
 When the modillion cornice is employed on large con- 
 cave surfaces, the sides of the modillions and coffers of 
 the soffit, should tend towards the centre of the curve, 
 as in the Pantheon : but when the concave is small, it 
 will be better to direct them towards the opposite point 
 in the circumference, that the contraction may be less 
 perceptible, and the parts dependent thereon suffer less 
 deviation from their natural form. The same rules must 
 be observed with regard to dentils, to the abacus anil bases 
 of columns or pilasters, and likewise to the flanks of the 
 pilaster itself. But on a convex surface, the sides of all 
 these should be parallel to each other, for it would be 
 unnatural, and very disagreeable to see them narrowest 
 where they spring out of the cornice, diverging as they 
 advance forwards, forming sharp angles, and a sort of 
 mutilated triangular plan, with enlarged solids and dimi- 
 nished intervals : all calculated to destroy the usual pro- 
 portions and beauty of the composition. 
 
 The Corinthian entablature may be reduced to two 
 ninths, or one fifth of the height of the column, by the 
 same rules as are given in the Ionic and Composite orders: 
 but where it becomes necessary, or is judged expedient, 
 to make the entablature so small as one fifth, it will, I ap- 
 prehend, be best to substitute the Ionic ' entablature, as 
 Palladio has done in the Peristyle of his Olympic Theatre 
 
OF THE CORINTHIAN ORDER. 229 
 
 at Vicenza, and in many others of his buildings : or else 
 to retrench the dentils of the cornice, as in one of Serlio's, 
 and in Scamozzi's profiles ; the part of the cornice under 
 the modillion band, remaining then composed of only the 
 ovolo and ogee, separated by a fillet, as in the temples 
 of Trevi and Scisi in Umbria, mentioned in Palladio's 
 fourth book. 
 
 The Corinthian order is proper for all buildings, where 
 elegance, gaiety, and magnificence are required. The 
 ancients employed it in temples dedicated to Venus, to 
 Flora, Proserpine, and the nymphs of fountains; because 
 the flowers, foliage, and volutes, with which it is adorned, 
 seemed well adapted to the delicacy and elegance of such 
 deities '. Being the most splendid of all the orders, it is 
 extremely proper for the decoration of palaces, public 
 squares, or galleries and arcades surrounding them ; for 
 churches dedicated to the Virgin Mary, or to other virgin 
 saints : and on account of its rich, gay, and graceful ap- 
 pearance, it may with propriety be used in theatres, in ball 
 or banqueting rooms, and in all places consecrated to fes- 
 tive mirth, or convivial recreation. 
 
 ' " Veneri, Florae, Proserpinse, fontium Nymphis, Corinthio genere con- 
 stitute, aptas videbuntur habere proprietates, quod his Diis propter tene- 
 ritatem, graciliora et fiorida, foliisque et volutis ornata opera facta, augere 
 videbuntur justum decorem." Vitruvius, Lib. i. c. 2. 
 
<230 OF PILASTERS. 
 
 OF PILASTERS. 
 
 Pilasters are, I believe, a Roman invention, and cer- 
 tainly an improvement. The Greeks employed antse ' in 
 their temples, to receive the architraves where they en- 
 tered upon the walls of the cell. These, though they were 
 in one direction of equal diameter with the columns of 
 the front, were in flank extravagantly thin in proportion 
 to their height, and neither their bases nor capitals bore 
 any resemblance to those of the columns they accompa- 
 nied. The Roman artists disgusted, probably, with the 
 meagre aspect of these anta?, and the want of accord in 
 their bases and capitals, substituted pilasters in their 
 places, which being proportioned and decorated in the 
 same manner with the columns, are certainly more seemly, 
 and preserve the unity of the composition much better. 
 
 Pilasters differ from columns in their plan only, which 
 is square, as that of the column is round. Their bases, 
 capitals, and entablatures have the same parts, with all the 
 same heights and projections as those of columns, and 
 they are distinguished in the same manner, by the names 
 of Tuscan, Doric, Ionic, Composite, and Corinthian. 
 
 Of the two, the column is, doubtless, most perfect. 
 Nevertheless, there are occasions in which pilasters may 
 
 1 One of the most objectionable practices' of the day, is the servile 
 imitation of the Greek antae. It is quite inconsistent with any regard to 
 the primitive types from which the Grecian architecture is supposed to 
 have originated. Added to this, their application in such very thin lamina- 
 against the walls as could be pointed to in some Pseudo-Grecian build- 
 ings about the metropolis, produces a remarkably silly and sheepish 
 effect. C ED 
 

 . - t//,,/ ' /,/■////,■//./,/■ S/A/.i/,/- i//////,//j. 
 
 " <'u/r////"n 
 
 ■r/.i /?■/■ ///'• t 
 
 •mslnay. 
 
OF PILASTERS. 231 
 
 be employed with great propriety ; and some, where they 
 are, on various accounts, even preferable to columns. 
 
 I am not ignorant that several authors are of a different 
 opinion : a certain French Jesuit ' in particular, who 
 some thirty years ago, first published an essay on archi- 
 tecture, which from its plausibility, force, and elegance of 
 diction, went through several editions, and operated very 
 powerfully on the superficial part of European connois- 
 seurs. He inveighs vehemently against pilasters, as against 
 almost every other architectonic form but such as were 
 imitated by the first builders in stone, from the primitive 
 wooden huts ; as if, in the whole catalogue of arts, archi- 
 tecture should be the only one confined to its pristine 
 simplicity, and secluded from any deviation or improve- 
 ment whatever. 
 
 To pilasters the essayist objects, because they are, in 
 his opinion, nothing better than bad representations of 
 columns. Their angles, says he, indicate the formal 
 stiffness of art, and are a striking deviation from the sim- 
 plicity of nature ; their projections, sharp and inconve- 
 nient, offend and confine the eye, and their surfaces with- 
 out roundness, give to the whole order a flat air : they 
 are not susceptible of diminution, one of the most pleas- 
 ing properties of columns ; they are never necessary, and 
 to sum up the whole, he hates them : his aversion was 
 first innate, but has since been confirmed by the study of 
 architecture. 
 
 Concerning the reverend father's inborn aversion, much 
 need not be said, and several others of his objections, as 
 they consist more of words than meaning, seem not to 
 
 ■ The Abbe Laugier. C ED 
 
232 OF PILASTERS. 
 
 require any refutation ; but to assert that pilasters are not 
 susceptible of diminution, shews very little acquaintance 
 either with books of architecture or with buildings. There 
 are many instances, in the remains of antiquity, of their 
 being diminished, particularly when accompanying co- 
 lumns ; they are so, in the temple of Mars the avenger, 
 in the frontispiece of Nero, in the portico of Septimius Se- 
 vcrus, and in the arch of Constantino, all at Rome. Sca- 
 mozzi ' always gave to his pilasters the same diminution 
 as to his columns ; Palladio has diminished them in the 
 church of the Redentorc at Venice, and in many others 
 of his buildings; as Inigo Jones 1 has likewise done in 
 
 1 He says, Parte Seconda Lib. sesto, Cap. ii. " I Pilastri ancor essi 
 tengono una certa simiglianza con le Colonne, ma pero sono quadrilatcri, ad 
 imitazione degli albcri squadrati." [ ED -] 
 
 1 This justly celebrated English architect was the son of Ignatius Jones, 
 a clothworker, and was born in the vicinity of St. Paul's, about 1572. He 
 is said to have been apprenticed to a joiner, but that he remained long in 
 such fetters is not probable, from the circumstance of his early skill in 
 landscape painting, of which a specimen is, I believe, still to be seen in 
 Chiswick Honse. It is not settled who had the honor of being his patron ; 
 some place it to the account of the Earl of Arundel, others to that of Wil- 
 liam, Earl of Pembroke. At the expense, however, of one of these, he vi- 
 sited Italy, in which country he spent much of his time at Venice. From 
 Venice he passed into Denmark, on the invitation of Christian IV. In 
 160(5 he returned to his native country, in the suite of the king of Den- 
 mark, whose sister James I. had married. Mr. Seward observes that the 
 first of his winks in England was the interior of the church of St. Cather- 
 ine Cree in Leadenhall Street. Soon after his arrival, he was appointed ar- 
 chitect to tin' queen, and was also in the service of Prince Henry ; to these 
 he gave so much satisfaction, that the king granted him the reversion of 
 Surveyor-! icneral. On the death of Prince Henry in 1612, Jones visited 
 Italy a second time, where he remained until the office just mentioned fell 
 to him. His liberality and disinterestedness on this occasion deserve to 
 be recorded. Finding the office greatly in debt, he not only served without 
 pay till the embarrassments were removed, but prevailed upon his fellow 
 officers to do the like, — by which expedient the debt was soon cleared. He 
 
OF PILASTERS. 233 
 
 many of his, particularly at the Banqueting-House at 
 Whitehall. 
 
 And if we go back to the origin of things, and consider 
 pilasters, either as representing the ends of partition walls, 
 or trunks of trees reduced to the diameter of the round 
 trunks which they accompany, but left square for greater 
 strength, the reason for diminishing them will, in either 
 case, be strong and evident. 
 
 It is likewise an error to assert that pilasters are never 
 necessary, but that columns will at all times answer the 
 same end, for, at the angles of all buildings, they are evi- 
 dently necessary both for solidity and beauty, — because 
 
 wrote, by desire of the king, an account of Stonehenge, in 1620, in which 
 year he was appointed one of the Commissioners for repairing St. Paul's 
 Cathedral in London. On the death of James, he was continued in his 
 situation by Charles I., for whom he executed the Banqueting-House, barely 
 the fiftieth part of a palace at Whitehall, the designs for which had been 
 made in the previous reign. In June 1633, the order was issued for the 
 reparation of St. Paul's ; on which Jones was, immediately afterwards, em- 
 ployed. During the reign of Charles I. Jones gave many proofs of his genius 
 and fancy, in the machinery and designs for the scenic representations of • 
 masques and interludes, then so much in fashion, — Ben Jonson was usually 
 the poet on these occasions. In 1614 these great men had a misunder- 
 standing, which led the last named to lampoon Inigo under the character 
 of Lantern Leatherhead, a hobby-horse seller, in his " Bartholomew Fair." 
 The rupture, after much coarse and virulent satire on the part of the poet, 
 ended only with his death. About 1640 our architect fell into trouble on 
 account of the times, for, during the usurpation, he was obliged to pay 
 545/. ; being the composition for his estate, as a malignant. Jones was 
 restored to his post by Charles II. but it was then little more than an 
 empty title. Grief, it is supposed, occasioned by the calamity of his former 
 master, put a period to his existence July 21, 1652. He was interred in 
 the chancel of St. Bennet's, Paul's Wharf, London. His works are too 
 well known to need an enumeration here : suffice it to say, that he was the 
 father of pure architecture in this country. Several of his buildings may 
 be seen in Campbell's Vitruvius Britannicus. His principal designs were 
 published by Kent, fol. 1727, some of his lesser designs fol. 1744 ; and 
 
 H H 
 
234. 
 
 OF PILASTERS. 
 
 the angular support having a greater weight to bear than 
 any of the rest, ought to be so much the stronger ; so 
 that its diameter must either be increased, or its plan al- 
 tered from a circle to a square. The latter of which is 
 certainly the most reasonable expedient on several ac- 
 counts, but chiefly as it obviates a very striking defect, 
 occasioned by employing columns at the angles of a build- 
 ing, which is that the angle of the entablature is left 
 
 others were also published bv 3Ir. Wart-. The Water Front of Old So- 
 merset House, here inserted, has lately been indifferently copied in this 
 
 II I II 
 
 \m 
 
 metropolis. Inigo Jones left a copy of Palladio, the Venice Edit, of 
 1601, with notes on the margin, in his own hand writing. He seems to 
 have carried this copy about with him on his travels, from the notes being 
 dated. The book, which has been badly preserved, is in the Library at 
 Worcester College ; from it was traced a copy of the autograph of Jones, a 
 facsimile of which is subjoined. See Note, page 24. 
 
 [ED.] 
 
OF PILASTERS. 235 
 
 hanging in the air without any support ; a sight very dis- 
 agreeable in some oblique views, and in itself very un- 
 solid. 
 
 It is indeed customary in porches and other detached 
 compositions to employ columns at the angles, and it is 
 judicious so to do, for of two defects the least is to be 
 preferred. And although father Laugier, the writer 
 whose objections I have just now cited, could see no rea- 
 son for rejecting detached pilasters when engaged ones 
 were suffered, yet there is a very substantial reason, 
 which is, that a detached pilaster, in some oblique views, 
 appears thicker than it does in front, nearly in the ratio 
 of seven to five, and consequently if, when seen in front, 
 it appears well proportioned in itself, and with regard to 
 the columns it accompanies, it never can appeal - so when 
 viewed upon the angle ; as may be observed in the colon- 
 ades of the great court at Burlington- House in Piccadilly, 
 and at the porch of St. George's Church, near Hanover- 
 Square. 
 
 Engaged pilasters are employed in churches, galleries, 
 halls, and other interior decorations, to save room, for as 
 they seldom project beyond the solid of the walls more 
 than one quarter of their diameter, they do not occupy 
 near so much space even as engaged columns. They are 
 likewise employed in exterior decorations ; sometimes 
 alone, instead of columns, on account of their being less 
 expensive, as at the Duke of Queensbury's House in Bur- 
 lino-ton Gardens, General "Wade's House in the same 
 place, and in many other buildings here in London ; at 
 other times, they accompany columns, being placed be- 
 hind them to support the springing of the architraves, as 
 in the Pantheon at Rome, and in the porch of St. Martin 
 
236 OF PILASTERS. 
 
 in the Fields, Westminster ; or on the same line with 
 them, to fortify the angles, as in the portico of Septimius 
 Severus at Rome, and in the church of St. Laurence of 
 the Jewry in London. Blondel says', they may likewise 
 be employed instead of columns, detached, to form peri- 
 styles and porticos, but there is no instance of this, that I 
 remember, in all the remains of antiquity ; neither has 
 any modern architect, I believe, been so destitute of taste 
 as to put it in practice. 
 
 When pilasters are used alone, as principal in the com- 
 position, they should project one quarter of their diameter 
 beyond the walls, asScamozzi* teaches, and as they do at 
 •the Banqueting-House, Whitehall, which gives them a 
 sufficient boldness, and, in the Corinthian and Composite 
 orders, is likewise most regular, — because the stems of 
 the volutes, and the small leaves in flank of the capital, 
 are then cut exactly through their middles. But if the 
 cornice of the windows should be continued in the inter- 
 pilaster, as is sometimes usual, or if there should be a cor- 
 nice to mark the separation between the principal and se- 
 cond story, as at the Mansion-House of London, or large 
 imposts of arches, the projection must, in such cases, be 
 increased, provided it is not otherwise sufficient to stop 
 the most prominent parts of these decorations ; it being 
 
 1 " On peut les mettrc au lieu des rondes dans les portiques, dans les 
 peristyles," &c. Blondel, Cours d'Architecture, Liv. viii. chap, i." Qed.] 
 
 * ** I pilastri per regola generale quando saranno da se soli appoggiati 
 alle mura deono uscire la quarta parte della loro larghezza, perche cosi 
 fanno bello aspetto, e capiscono anco gli aggetti de gli ornamenti delle 
 Porte, e Finestre, e Nicchi, o Tabernacoli, che fussero tra essi ; le quali non 
 deono mai sopra avanzarc al diritto di fuori d' essi Pilastri ; e di questo vi- 
 tio si hanno molto schiffato gli Antichi." Scaniozzi, Parte Seconda, 
 Lib. vi. c. 11. L ED 1 
 
OF PILASTERS. 237 
 
 very disagreeable to see several of the uppermost mould- 
 ings of an impost or cornice cut away perpendicularly, in 
 order to make room for the pilaster, while the cornice or 
 impost on each side projects considerably beyond it, as 
 has been done at St. Peter's of the Vatican, as well as in 
 several other buildings of Rome, and other towns of Italy. 
 Mutilations are, on all occasions, studiously to be avoid- 
 ed, as being destructive of perfection, and strong indica- 
 tions either of inattention or ignorance in the composer. 
 
 When pilasters are placed behind columns, and very 
 near them, they need not project above one-eighth of 
 their diameter, or even less, excepting there should be 
 imposts or continued cornices in the inter-pilaster ; in 
 which case what has been said above must be attended to. 
 But if they be far behind the columns, as in porticos, 
 porches, and peristyles, they should project one-sixth of 
 their diameter at least ; and when they are on a line with 
 the columns, their projection is to be regulated by that 
 of the columns, and consequently, it never can be less 
 than a semi-diameter, even when the columns are engaged 
 as much as possible. This extraordinary projection, how- 
 ever, will occasion no very great deformity, as the largest 
 apparent breadth of the pilaster will exceed the least 
 only in the ratio of eleven to ten, or thereabouts. But if 
 columns be detached, the angular pilaster should always 
 be coupled with a column, to hide its inner flank, as in 
 the portico of Burlington-House ; because the pilasters 
 will, otherwise, appear disproportionate when seen from 
 the point of view proper for the whole building ; espe- 
 cially if the fabric be small, and the point of view near. 
 
 It is sometimes customary to execute pilasters without 
 any diminution ; in the antiques there are several instances 
 
238 OF PILASTERS. 
 
 thereof, as well as of the contrary practice, and Palladio, 
 Vignola, Inigo Jones, and many of the greatest architects, 
 have frequently done so. Nevertheless, it is certain that 
 diminished pilasters are, on many accounts, much prefer- 
 able. Their is more variety in their form ; their capitals 
 are better proportioned, both in the whole and in their 
 parts, particularly in the Composite and Corinthian or- 
 ders ; and the irregularities occasioned by the passage 
 of the architraves, from diminished columns to undimi- 
 nished pilasters, are thereby avoided ; as are likewise the 
 difficulties of regularly distributing the modillions and 
 other parts of the entablature, either when the pilasters 
 are alone, or accompanied with columns. 
 
 Another disagreeable effect of undiminished pilasters is 
 likewise obviated by rejecting them. Indeed I am at a 
 loss to account for it, and, as it is diametrically opposite 
 to a received law in optics, I imagined it might be the re- 
 sult of some defect in my own sight, till by enquiry, I 
 found others were affected in the same manner. It is this ; 
 the top of the shaft always appears broader than the 
 bottom ; as any one may observe by casting a glance on the 
 pilasters of St. Paul's, of St. George's, Hanover Square, 
 or any others that are not diminished. The author of 
 r Esprit cles Beaux Arts accounts for a similar effect in a 
 manner more subtle, I believe, than true. He makes it 
 to be the result of a nice comparison between the real 
 and the apparent distance, which, to me, seems to have 
 little, or rather no share at all in it. An ingenious writer ■ 
 of our own country observes, that the senses strongly af- 
 fected in some one manner, cannot quickly change their 
 
 1 See Burke's Enquiry into the Origin of our Ideas of the Sublime and 
 Beautiful. 
 
OF FiLASTEKS. OQg 
 
 tenor, or adapt themselves to other things, but continue 
 in their old channel until the strength of the first mover 
 decays. This being admitted, it is not improbable that 
 the capital, which is immediately above the shaft, being 
 considerably broader and certainly the first attractive ob- 
 ject, may have an influence on the apparent upper breadth 
 of the shaft, and occasion the effect abovementioned. Per- 
 haps, too, the light may in some measure contribute there- 
 to, it being stronger at the foot of the shaft than towards 
 its top. 
 
 The shafts of piasters are sometimes adorned with flu- 
 tings in the same manner as those of columns, the plan of 
 which may be a trifle above a semi-circle, and they must 
 be to the number of seven on each face, which makes 
 them nearly of the same size with those of the columns. 
 The interval between them must be either one-third or 
 one-fourth of the flute in breadth, and when the pilaster 
 is placed on the pavement, or liable to be broken by the 
 touch of passengers, the angle may be rounded off, in the 
 form of an astragal ; between which and the adjoining 
 flute, there must be a fillet or interval of the same size 
 with the rest, as in the porch of the Pantheon at Rome. 
 
 The flutes may, like those of columns, be filled with 
 cablings to one-third of their height, either plain, and 
 shaped like an astragal, or enriched, according as the rest 
 of the composition is simple or much adorned. Scamozzi ' 
 is of opinion that there should be no flutings on the sides 
 of engaged pilasters, but only in front, and, whenever cor- 
 nices or imposts are continued home to the pilaster, this 
 should particularly be attended to, that the different 
 
 1 " Ne mai si deono cannellare i Pilastri ne' loro fianchi, che escono fuori 
 delle mura." Scamozzi, Parte Seconda, Lib. vi. c. 11. [ E »H 
 
240 OF 1'ILASTEKS. 
 
 mouldings of these members by entering into the cavities 
 of the flutes, may not be cut off in irregular and dis- 
 agreeable forms. But if the flanks of the pilaster are en- 
 tirely free, it may be as well to enrich them in the same 
 manner as the front, provided the flutes can be so distri- 
 buted as to have a fillet or interval adjoining to the wall ; 
 which is always necessary to mark the true shape of the 
 pilaster distinctly. 
 
 The capitals of Tuscan or Doric pilasters are profiled in 
 the same manner as those of the respective columns ; but 
 in the capitals of the other orders, there are some trifling 
 differences to be observed. In the antique Ionic capital, 
 the extraordinary projection of the ovolo makes it neces- 
 sary, either to bend it inwards considerably towards the 
 extremities, that it may pass behind the volutes, or in- 
 stead of keeping the volutes flat in front, as they com- 
 monly are in the antique, to twist them outwards till they 
 give room for the passage of the ovolo. Le Clerc ' thinks 
 the latter of these expedients, the best, and that the ar- 
 tifice may not be too striking, the projection of the ovolo 
 may be considerably diminished, as in the annexed de- 
 sign a , which, as the moulding can be seen in front only, 
 will occasion no disagreeable effect. 
 
 The same difficulty subsists with regard to the passage 
 of the ovolo behind the angular Ionic volutes. Le Clerc 3 , 
 therefore, advises to open or spread the volutes suffi- 
 ciently to leave room for the ovolo to pass behind them, 
 as in the design 4 annexed ; which may easily be done, if 
 
 ■ Traite d' Architecture, Section troisieme. L ED ~]- 
 
 1 PI. of Pilasters, fig. 2. 
 
 3 Trait e d' Architecture, Section troisieme. £kd.]. 
 
 ♦ PI. of Pilasters, fig. 1. 
 
OF PILASTERS. 241 
 
 the projection of the ovolo is diminished. Inigo Jones 
 has, in the Banqueting House, made the two sides of 
 the volutes parallel to each other, according to Sca- 
 mozzi's manner, and at the same time has continued the 
 ovolo in a straight line under them ; so that the volutes 
 have an enormous projection, which, added to the other 
 faults of these capitals, renders the whole composition 
 unusually defective and exceedingly ugly. 
 
 What has been said with regard to the passage of the 
 ovolo behind the volutes in the Ionic order, is likewise 
 to be remembered in the Composite ; and in the Corin- 
 thian the lip or edge of the vase or basket may be bent 
 a little inwards towards its extremities, by which means 
 it will easily pass behind the volutes. The leaves in the 
 Corinthian and Composite capitals must not project be- 
 yond the top of the shaft, as they do at St. Carlo in the 
 Corso at Rome, and at the Banqueting-House, White- 
 hall ; but the diameter of the capital must be exactly the 
 same as that of the top of the shaft. And to make out the 
 thickness of the small bottom leaves, their edges may be 
 bent a trifle outwards, and the large angular leaves may 
 be directed inwards, in their approach towards them, as 
 in the annexed design ', and as they are executed in the 
 church of the Roman College at Rome. Where the small 
 leaves have a considerable thickness, though the diameter 
 of the capital is exactly the same as that of the shaft, in 
 each front of the Composite or Corinthian pilaster-capi- 
 tal, there must be two small leaves, with one entire and 
 two half large ones. They must be either of olive, acan- 
 thus, parsley, or laurel, massed, divided, and wrought in 
 
 " PL of Pilasters, fig. 3. 
 
 I I 
 
242 OF PILASTERS. 
 
 the same manner as those of the columns are, the only 
 difference being that they will be somewhat broader. 
 
 The employing half, or other parts of pilasters that 
 meet, and, as it were, penetrate each other in inward or 
 outward angles, should, as much as possible, be avoided, 
 because it generally occasions several irregularities in the 
 entablatures, and sometimes in the capitals also. Particular 
 care must be taken never to introduce more than one of 
 these breaks in the same place, for more can never be ne- 
 cessary. In many of the churches at Rome, we see half 
 a dozen of them together, which produces a long series 
 of undulated capitals and bases and a number of mutilat- 
 ed parts in the entablature, than which nothing can be 
 more confused or disagreeable. 
 
 Instead of pilasters, it is sometimes customary to em- 
 ploy columns that penetrate each other in the inward 
 angle. There are several instances of this at Paris, par- 
 ticularly about the Louvre, but it is a practice universally 
 condemned, and the bad effect thereof may be seen on 
 the front of the Royal Exchange towards Cornhill, and 
 within the Banqueting- House at Whitehall. 
 

 ,///.! ////'/ f It ///'////■//.> 
 
 ' 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 - 
 
 
 I 
 
 -4.:J_- 
 
 
 
OF PERSIANS AND CARYATIDES. 243 
 
 OP PERSIANS AND CARYATIDES. 
 
 Besides columns and pilasters, it is sometimes custom- 
 ary to employ representations of the human figure, to sup- 
 port entablatures in buildings. The male figures are 
 called Persians, Telamones, or Atlantides, and the females 
 Caryans or Caryatides. The origin of this custom, Vitru- 
 vius ' tells us, is as follows. 
 
 The inhabitants of Carya, a city of the Peloponnesus, 
 having joined the Persians in a war against the rest of the 
 Greeks, and that war being terminated by the defeat of 
 the Persians, the Greeks commenced hostilities against 
 the Caryates, took their city, demolished it, and putting 
 all the males to the sword, carried the females into cap- 
 tivity ; and to treat them with still greater ignominy, they 
 forbad the ladies to divest themselves of their robes, or 
 any of their ornaments ; that so, they might not only be 
 once led in triumph, but in a manner suffer the mortifica- 
 tion of a triumph all their lives after, by appearing con- 
 stantly in the same dress as on the triumphal day. And 
 further, as an everlasting testimony of the punishment in- 
 flicted on the Caryates, and to inform posterity what had 
 been the nature of their chastisement ; the architects of 
 that time, instead of columns, employed the representa- 
 tions of these women, to support the entablatures of their 
 public buildings. 
 
 The Lacedaemonians did the same thing after the battle 
 of Platea, erecting with the spoils taken from the enemy 
 
 1 Lib. i. cap. 1. 
 
214 OF PERSIANS AND CARYATIDES. 
 
 a gallery, which they called Persian ; wherein statues, in 
 the form of captive Persians, with their usual dresses, sup- 
 ported the arches, intending thereby to punish that nation 
 in such a manner, as its pride had merited, and to leave 
 posterity a monument of the valour and victories of the 
 Lacedaemonians. 
 
 The introduction of figures of men and animals to sup- 
 port burthens in buildings or otherwise, had certainly an 
 earlier origin than that ascribed to it by Vitruvius. It 
 seems to have been a very early and favourite idea among 
 several people of the remotest antiquity. Homer mentions 
 the practice in the seventh book of the Odyssey 1 , and I 
 think, in one or more other places of his poems. Hiram's 
 molten sea*, was supported by twelve bulls, and on the 
 walls of the oracle he placed alternate cherubim and palm 
 trees, supporting wreaths of flowers, and probably the 
 deling. In the sepulchre of King Osymandyas, which, 
 as Diodorus Siculus relates, was ten furlongs in circuit ; 
 there was a stone hall, forming a space of four hundred 
 feet every way, of which the roof instead of pillars was 
 supported by animals, each of a single stone, and twenty- 
 four feet high, being carved in the ancient Egyptian 
 manner. The roof was also entirely of stone, composed 
 
 OaivovTE? tura:,- Kara d^ara aatTU^ovKra'f. 
 
 Odyss. H. v. 100. [ed] 
 1 " And he made a molten sea, ten cubits from the one brim to the other ; 
 it was round all about, and his height was five cubits, and a line of thirty 
 cubits did compass it round about. It stood upon twelve oxen, three 
 looking; towards the north, and three looking towards the west, and three 
 looking towards the south, and three looking towards the east: and the 
 sea was set above upon them, and all their hinder parts were inward."— 
 1 Kings, vii. 23, 25. [ed.] 
 
OF PERSIANS AND CARYATIDES. 245 
 
 of stones twelve feet square ; the whole being coloured to 
 represent an azure sky, bespangled with stars. Of the 
 number or natures of these animals, nothing is said ; but 
 if the whole space was covered, more than one thousand 
 would Jiave been requisite to support the roof, and more 
 than a thousand stones to form it. In several Indian 
 buildings too, supposed to be of great antiquity, may be 
 observed figures of men and animals supporting the roofs, 
 after the manner described in the sepulchre of Osyman- 
 dyas ; particularly in that cut in the solid rock near 
 Bombay, usually called the Elephanta '. 
 
 Among the antiquities at Rome, there are various frag- 
 ments of male figures, which, from their attitudes, and 
 some ornaments about them, may be conjectured to have 
 served as supports to the entablatures of buildino-s : but 
 there are no remains of any female statues of that kind, 
 excepting the three Graces supporting an urn, in the Villa 
 Borghese. Pliny 1 makes mention of some by the hand 
 of Praxiteles, which in his time, were in the library of 
 Asinius Pollio at Rome ; and of other female figures in 
 the Pantheon, where, although the structure was enriched 
 with several works of Diogenes the Athenian, they were 
 held in much esteem : they seem to have been cut in 
 
 1 For an account of the origin of the use of Caryatides, see the " Exami- 
 nation of the Elements of Beauty in Grecian Architecture, with a brief In- 
 vestigation of its Origin, Progress, and Perfection," prefixed to this edition 
 page 53. r_ ED .] 
 
 5 " Rorns Praxitelis opera sunt, Flora, Triptolemus, Ceres in hortis 
 Servilii : Boni Eventus, et Bonse Fortunae simulachra in Capitolio : item 
 et Masnades, et quas Thyadas vocant, et Cargatidas : et Sileni, in Pollionis 
 Asinii monumentis, et Apollo et Neptunus." — Plin. Lib. xxxvi. cap. 4. 
 Our author has made, therefore, a mistake in the ownership of the Cary- 
 atides here mentioned by Pliny. Ted.") 
 
24G OF PERSIANS AND CARYATIDES. 
 
 basso or alto relievo, to have been placed over the co- 
 lumns, and were probably, as Fontana conjectures, 
 employed to adorn the Attic, and support its cornice. 
 
 Among the antiquities of Athens, published by Mr. Le 
 Roy 1 , there are five Caryatides supporting an entabla- 
 ture, contiguous to the temple of Erectheus. They bear 
 a considerable resemblance to those celebrated ones of 
 Jean Gougeon ", in the Swiss Guard Room of the Louvre 
 at Paris ; of one of which, there is a representation, fig. 8, 
 plate of Caryatides. Speaking of these figures, Monsieur 
 Le Roy expresses himself in the following manner. " The 
 history of the Caryatic order, says he, is so curious, 
 that almost all authors have quoted it ; but though we are 
 well informed of its origin, yet we have hitherto learnt 
 nothing of the proportions observed therein by the an- 
 cients. Vitruvius is silent upon the subject, there is no 
 monument of that order at Rome, and the only ancient 
 example perhaps, existing in Europe, which is that here 
 given, has hitherto remained unnoticed. The four figures 
 standing in front, resemble each other entirely, excepting, 
 that the two to the right have the right leg foremost, and 
 the two to the left, the left leg ; in order to symmetrise 
 more perfectly. They arc crowned with capitals, upon 
 which is placed the entablature, remarkable by a suppres- 
 sion of the frize, a peculiarity which the ancients, per- 
 haps, usually practised to characterize this order. 
 
 " The general mass of the entablature is very high ; it 
 exceeds a third of the height of the figures, and it would 
 
 1 Of course the reader would not refer to Le Roy's book if he wished to 
 see an approximation to a likeness. Fortunately for this country, one of 
 these statues is at the British Museum. Representations of them are to be 
 found in the antiquities of Athens, by Stuart and Revett. [«»■] 
 
 See note supra, page 224. [ ED 
 
OF PERSIANS AND CARYATIDES. 247 
 
 be difficult to ascribe a reason for this excess, were it not 
 considered that a full dressed woman, which these repre- 
 sent, forms a shape more in the proportion of a very short 
 Doric column, than of an elegant Ionic one ; which pro- 
 bably induced the architect to enlarge his entablature, to 
 prevent its appearing too slight for the figures. Be this as 
 it may, the profile of the entablature is very perfect. The 
 dentils in the cornice shew it to be Ionic, and there are 
 on the upper fascia, an ornament consisting of little 
 rounds, like nail heads, which has not been introduced in 
 any of the,othcr orders. 
 
 " But that whicffismost excellent in this building, is 
 doubtless the Caryatides themselves. There are now only 
 five left of the six originally there ; they are of a beau- 
 tiful design, with drapery in the style of that of the Flora 
 in the Farnesian Palace at Rome." 
 
 I perfectly agree with M. Le Roy as to the beauty of 
 the figures, but whatever might have been the architect's 
 inducement to enlarge his entablature, he certainly has 
 done it to a monstrous excess ; it seems calculated to 
 crush the figures to atoms, and all that, in my humble 
 idea, can either be said of the profile of the cornice, or the 
 clumsy capitals on which the entablature stands, is, that far 
 from deserving to be admired, they would scarcely be 
 tolerated any where but in a traveller's book ; and it 
 seems very extraordinary that Monsieur Le Roy, who is 
 himself a man of excellent taste, should applaud what in 
 his own judgment he must condemn. 
 
 Jean Gougeon, in his beautiful composition at the 
 Louvre abovementioned, has far surpassed this Greek spe- 
 cimen of the Caryatic order. His figures, which are 
 twelve feet high, and of exquisite workmanship, stand on 
 
218 OF PERSIANS AND CARYATIDES. 
 
 bases one sixth of that height ; on their heads are capitals 
 of the Doric order, of which the shape and proportion 
 serve to decorate, but not to overload the head ; the capi- 
 tals support a tribune, forming the entablature, which 
 consists of architrave, frize, and cornice. It is richly de- 
 corated of the Ionic order, and measures one quarter of 
 the height of the figures, including the bases on which 
 they stand. By introducing these bases, the sculptor 
 has artfully contrived to diminish the height, and conse- 
 quently the bulk of his figures ; and by a regular di- 
 vision of his entablature, he has rendered it light, and at 
 the same time that it is truly proportioned to the figures 
 by which it is supported. 
 
 It is not customary now, as formerly, says Le Clerc", to 
 represent Caryatides, with attributes of slavery and servi- 
 tude. Such characters are too injurious to the Fair. On 
 the contrary, they are at present considered as the richest, 
 most valued ornaments of buildings, and represented 
 under the figures of Prudence, Wisdom, Justice, Temper- 
 ance, &c. 
 
 Freart de Chambrai * blames this practice, which he 
 considers as the effect of inadvertency in the architects who 
 first introduced it ; observing, that if they had sufficiently 
 reflected on the text of Vitruvius, with regard to the ori- 
 gin of Caryatides, they would have perceived the impro- 
 priety of employing the representations of saints and 
 angels, loaded like slaves, with cornices and other heavy 
 burdens ; and likewise, that of employing the Caryatic 
 order promiscuously, in all sorts of buildings, particularly 
 
 1 Traite de l'Architecture, sect. 4. C ED G 
 
 * Paralkle. [eb.] 
 
OF PERSIANS AND CARYATIDES. 249 
 
 in sacred structures, which are the houses of God, and 
 asylums of mercy, where vengeance and slavery ought 
 never to appear. 
 
 On the other hand Blondel observes ', that though this 
 remark be just, if the origin of these ornaments be rigo- 
 rously attended to ; yet to serve in any shape in the house 
 of God, and in particular at the altar, has always appeared 
 in the minds of the prophets and saints so glorious and 
 great, that not only men, but angels ought to esteem it a 
 happiness; and that consequently it can be no indication 
 of disrespect, to employ their representations, in offices 
 which they themselves would execute with pleasure. 
 
 The ancients, says the same author, made frequent use 
 of Caryatic and Persian figures, and delighted in diver- 
 sifying them in a thousand manners. The modern artists 
 have followed their example, and there is a great variety 
 of compositions of this kind to be met with in different 
 parts of Europe ; of some of which, designs are exhibited 
 in the annexed plate, and others may be invented and 
 adapted to different purposes with great propriety, pro- 
 vided the figures introduced be analogous to the subject, 
 as Mr. Ware * observes ; and seem at least a necessary 
 part in the composition. Thus, says Le Clerc 3 , if they 
 
 1 Cours D'Architecture, Livre viii. c. 7, Seconde Partie. Latterly the 
 daughters of Pandrosus have been copied with great accuracy, and em- 
 ployed moreover as appliquees to a Christian Church in the Metropolis. 
 They have found admirers, even so exhibited. [ed.] 
 
 1 Isaac Ware, Esquire, of his Majesty's Board of Works, the author of 
 a book entitled " A Complete Body of Architecture," fol. London, 1756, 
 a work of sterling merit, which, strange to say, seems little sought after in 
 the present day. It relates to the practical, as well as the theoretical and 
 decorative, part of the art, and there is no doubt, was of infinite service 
 to our author in his compilation of the work now before the reader. Mr. 
 Ware translated the Works of Palladio. Folio, London, s. a. [ed.] 
 
 3 Traite de r Architecture. [ ED H 
 
 K K 
 
250 OF PERSIANS AND CARYATIDES. 
 
 are employed to support the covering of a throne, they 
 may be represented under the figures and symbols of heroic 
 virtues ; if to adorn a sacred building, they must have an 
 affinity to religion, and when they are placed in banquet- 
 ing rooms, ball rooms, or other apartments of recreation, 
 they must be of kinds proper to inspire mirth and promote 
 festivity. 
 
 In composing them, particular care must be taken to 
 avoid indecent attitudes, distorted features, and all kinds 
 of monstrous or horrid productions, of which there are 
 such frequent instances in the works of our northern pre- 
 decessors. On the contrary, the attitudes must be simple 
 and graceful ; the countenances, though varied, always 
 pleasing, and strongly marked with the expression pecu- 
 liar to the occasion, or the object represented. There must 
 be no variety in the general form or outline, of the differ- 
 ent figures employed in the same composition, and but 
 little flutter in the draperies, which ought to sit close to 
 the bodies of the figures, with folds contrived to express 
 distinctly, both their action and shape. Le Clerc ob- 
 serves, that they should always have their legs close 
 together, and the arms close to the body or head, that so 
 they may have, as much as possible, the shape of columns, 
 whose office they are to perform ' ; and it may be added, 
 that for the same reason, their attitudes should be as 
 nearly perpendicular as can conveniently be, without 
 giving a stiff constrained air to the figures. 
 
 The same author observes, that Caryatides ought always 
 to be of a moderate size; lest, being too large, they should 
 appear hideous in the eyes of the fair sex ; and indeed, 
 as these figures are generally represented in endearing 
 
 1 Traite de 1' Architecture. Ware also gives the same advice. f_KD. ~] 
 
OF PERSIANS AND CARYATIDES. 251 
 
 offices, and under the forms of amiable and benevolent 
 beings, the caution seems very proper. It will therefore 
 be judicious never to make them much larger than the 
 human stature. 
 
 But male figures may, on the contrary, be of any size, 
 the larger the better ; as they will then be fitter to strike 
 with awe and astonishment. There are few nobler 
 thoughts, in the remains of antiquity, than Inigo Jones's' 
 Persian Court; the effect of which, if properly executed, 
 would have been surprising and great in the highest 
 degree. 
 
 Male figures may be introduced with propriety in arse- 
 nals or galleries of armour, in guard rooms, and other 
 military places, where they should represent the figures of 
 captives, or else of martial virtues ; such as Strength, 
 Valour, Wisdom, Prudence, Fortitude, and the like. 
 Their entablature must be Doric, and bear the same pro- 
 portion to them, as to columns of the same height; and 
 the proper entablatures for Caryatides will be either Ionic 
 or Corinthian, according as the character of the figures is 
 more or less delicate. 
 
 Persian or Caryatic figures ought never to be employed 
 
 1 In the design for the great palace at Whitehall. The court in ques- 
 tion was proposed to be a circle whose diameter was 21 feet, bounded 
 on the ground story by an open arcade, the piers between the arches of 
 which were decorated by Persians on plinths, carrying an appropriate enta- 
 blature. The upper story, which extended over the void created by the ar- 
 cade below, was ornamented between the windows with Caryatides, with 
 capitals on their heads of the Corinthian order, carrying an entablature of 
 that order, the whole surmounted by a balustrade. An architect may be 
 permitted to regret the hypocritical and puritanical vagaries of those days, 
 that led to a frustration of the design of building a palace here, which 
 would have thrown all the present palaces of Europe into the background. 
 See Inigo Jones's Designs, published by Kent, fid. 1727- [ ED -] 
 
252 OF PERSIANS AND CARYATIDES. 
 
 to support the same entablature with columns ; for figures 
 of men or women, as high as columns, are considerably 
 more bulky ; and when they are of an uncommon size, 
 convey an idea of greatness, that entirely destroys the 
 effect of the columns, by making them appear very trifling. 
 Neither should they be placed upon columns, as they are 
 in the court of the Old Louvre at Paris, for the same 
 reasons. 
 
 Palladio, sensible of this inconvenience, yet willing to 
 introduce a specimen of Persian figures, has in the Val- 
 marana Palace at Vicenza, divided the large Composite 
 pilasters which decorate the front, into five parts ; three 
 of which he has given to a diminutive Corinthian order, 
 squeezed into the inter-pilasters, and feebly sustaining the 
 extremities of the fabric, while the remaining two parts 
 are at the angles, occupied by figures on pedestals, as di- 
 minutive as the aforesaid Corinthian order, and introduced 
 with as little propriety, more especially as they are made 
 to support the ends of an enormous bulky Composite 
 entablature, of which the height surpasses two-thirds of 
 that of the figures themselves. 
 
 It is sometimes customary to employ Terms, instead of 
 Caryatides or Persians, to support the entablatures of 
 gates, monuments, chimney-pieces, and such like compo- 
 sitions. These figures owe their origin to the stones used 
 by the ancients to mark the limits of each particular per- 
 son's possessions. Numa Pompilius, to render these invio- 
 lable, and prevent encroachments, erected the Terminus 
 into a deity, instituted festivals and sacrifices to his honour, 
 and built a temple on the Tarpeian Mount, which he de- 
 dicated to him, and in which he was represented under 
 the figure of a stone. 
 
OF PERSIANS AND CARYATIDES. 253 
 
 In process of time, however, the God Terminus was re- 
 presented with a human head, placed on a post or stone, 
 shaped like an inverted obelisk ; which being on particu- 
 lar solemnities adorned with garlands, composed altogether 
 a very pleasing form ; to the imitation of which, may with 
 great probability be attributed the introduction of these 
 ornaments into building, where they have been varied into 
 a great diversity of shapes. I have occasionally, in the 
 course of this work, given some designs of them ; and 
 many others may be invented, and adapted to the parti- 
 cular purposes for which they shall be intended. 
 
 In consideration of their origin, the Termini are proper 
 ornaments in gardens and in fields, where the upper part 
 of them may represent Jupiter, who, in the remoter ages 
 of antiquity, was protector of boundaries; or some of the 
 rural deities, as Pan, Flora, Pomona, Vertumnus, Ceres, 
 Priapus, Faunus, Sylvanus, Nymphs and Satyrs. Mr. 
 Ware' recommends the use of them as boundaries to 
 counties, where they may be enriched with ornaments 
 allusive to the produce, manufacture, and commerce of 
 each respective county. 
 
 The three first figures in the annexed plate of Persians 
 and Caryatides, are copied from Candelabra, in St. Pe- 
 wter's of the Vatican. They are cast from models of 
 Michael Angelo Buonaroti, and repaired either by him- 
 self or doubtless under his direction, for the workman- 
 ship is very perfect. Figure 2 may be employed in 
 buildings, but the others are more proper for the angles 
 of covered ceilings, or other such ornamental works, being 
 not unlike some introduced by the Caracci, in the Farne- 
 
 1 In his " Complete Body of Architecture," page 250. [ed.] 
 
254 OF PERSIANS AND CARYATIDES. 
 
 sian ceilings at Rome. No. 4 is a copy of one of the 
 figures that surround the choir in the cathedral of Milan, 
 which are the work of Andrea Biffi, a celebrated Mda- 
 nese sculptor. No. 5 is executed in the Judgment-Hall 
 of the Stadt-House of Amsterdam, by Artus Quellinus. 
 No. 6 is an admired work of Michael Angelo, now in the 
 Villa Ludovisi at Rome. No. 7 is in part by the same 
 hand, and executed from the waist upwards, in the mo- 
 nument of Pope Julius the Second, in the church of St. 
 Peter ad Vinrula", at Rome. No. 8 is one of those exe- 
 cuted by Jean Gougeon, in thp Swiss Guard-Room of 
 the Old-Louvre, at Paris, as has before been mentioned. 
 No. 9 and 10 are taken from paintings of Daniel da Vol- 
 terra, in the church of the Trinita dei Monti, at Rome. 
 No. 11 is a figure in basso relievo, on the Goldsmiths' 
 arch at Rome ; and No. 12 is copied from an original de- 
 sign of Polidoro da Caravaggio, now in my possession. 
 
 ' Originally built by Baccio Pintelli, by order of Julius II. but altered 
 to its present state by Francesco Fontana, in 1705. C ED 
 
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