AN 
 
 ESSAY on DESIGN: 
 
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 D R A W I N G, 
 
 And the feveral ART S depending' thereon . 
 
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Duke of RUT L 
 
 My LORD, 
 
 HOUGH this Addrefs, made 
 without Leave or Application, 
 is perfectly unmixed with mercenary 
 Views ; yet Your Grace will give 
 me Leave to own that it is not alto- 
 gether difinterefted. I think myfelf 
 interefted in the Honour and Advan- 
 tage of my Country, and coniequently 
 in the Arts which I have endeavourea 
 to recommend: I addrefs your Grace as 
 
 A a 
 
D EDICATIO K 
 
 a Lover and Judge of thofe Arts, and 
 as a Nobleman whom Fame has long 
 fince pointed out for one of their moft 
 diftinguifhed Patrons. What is uni- 
 verfally faid, I may be allowed to 
 repeat : And in refpeQ: to that De^ 
 licacy, which is always attendant on 
 good Senfe, true Tafte, generous 
 Education, and the moft polite Con- 
 verfe, I will not prefume to fay 
 more. I am, 
 
 May it pleafe your Grace, 
 
 Tour Grace’s tnbjl humble 
 And mojl obedient Servant , 
 
 J. Gwl N. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 I HAVE made ufe of the Word Defign in this 
 Ejfay , to exprefs the fupreme inventive Art 
 of the Fainter , Sculptor, or Architect abflradly 
 conjidered j inftead of Defigning, which fig - 
 nifies properly the Pradice of that Art, though it 
 has hitherto been commonly cbofen in Englilh to 
 denote the Art itfelf. This Dijlindion, I pre- 
 fume, will be a fufficient Apology for my Devi- 
 ation from the common Track ; without having 
 Recourfe to Writers in foreign Languages , by 
 whofe Exa?nple I might be fully juftified. 
 
 The great Organ or Infir ument of this Art , 
 is Draught, or Drawing. I jhould have made 
 the fame Dtfiindion in the Ufe of ihefe two W ords, 
 as I have do?ie in the former, if I had thought it 
 would have been as eafily admitted. But if my 
 Intention be clear, it was all I aimed, 'at j 
 having attempted to exprefs myfelf only as a 
 Lover of the imitative Arts, not as an Artifi. 
 
 Drawing is mechanical , and may therefore 
 be taught , in feme Meafure, to any Perfen of 
 moderate Talents, who applies fufficiently to the 
 Pradice of it : But Defign is the Child of 
 Genius, and cannot be wholly infufed: The Prin- 
 ciple of it mufi exifl in the Soul, and can be 
 called forth only by Education, and improv'd by 
 P rad ice. Thus the Art of Plumbers may be at- 
 tained by the Ear ; the Knowledge of Bodies, Pro- 
 A z per ties 
 
11 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 perties , Faffs, Events, and Fables , by Reading : 
 But the Vis Poetica, which difiinguijhes the 
 Bard from the fournalifi , or Verfifyer, mujl be 
 the Gift of Heaven. 
 
 Neither this poetic Energy, nor the inven- 
 tive Power of the Defigner, can be taught 
 in Schools or Academies : But they both may be 
 buried in Rufl and Inaffion , unknown even to 
 the PoJfeJJbrs, if Schools and Academies do not 
 prefent the Objeffs that excite and attraff them 
 into Motion. 
 
 In the liberal Sciences, in the Knowledge of 
 Nature, and the Means of conveying it, we are 
 not inferior to any other Nation in Europe. 
 He that defigns, as well as he that writes, mujl 
 find his Advantage in this ; fince the Learning 
 of the Hiflorian, Poet, and Philofopher , are as 
 requifite to the accomplifked Painter, as to him 
 that is diftinguifhed by either of thofe particular 
 Appellations. At leaft, the Painter cannot uni - 
 verfally excel without a Finffure of all thofe 
 Sciences, in which the Profejj'ors of Literature 
 are feverally and diftinffly excellent. 
 
 But the great eft Pre-requifite, the moft efenti- 
 tilly necefjary of all Qualifications, is Skill in 
 Drawing. Without this neither the Genius nor 
 Learning of theHeJigner , Painter, or Sculptor , can 
 bedifplayed to Advantage. It is the fine qua non, 
 after all other Accomplijhments are obtained. 
 
 Monfieur de Voltaire, in a Pafage I have 
 quoted from him, * obferves that the Italians, 
 
 on 
 
 * Page 9, 
 
PREFACE. Hi 
 
 on the Revival oj the liberal Arts and Sci- 
 ences, gave them the Name of Virtue. From 
 this Word was derived the 'Term Virtuofo, 
 which has been accepted throughout Europe, 
 and is of daily Uje in England. Should not 
 this Appellation intimate , to thofe who a fume it 
 to themfelves , that the Study of what is beau- 
 tiful , in Nature or Art , ought to render them 
 more Virtuous than other Men f 
 
 That thofe Studies have really fuch a Ten- 
 dency , when not perverted to lafcivious or im- 
 moral Purpojes , is undeniable : And whether , 
 when thus perverted , they ought to be ranked 
 among the Ornaments of Life , I very much 
 doubt . W ? are certain that the Poets , Artijls , 
 and Philofophers , who have acquired the highefl 
 Seats m the Temple of Fame , are not thofe who 
 profit uted their Genius or Skill to the Gra- 
 tification of thc fenfual and culpable Pafjions, 
 
 The Painter , the Sculptor , the ArchiteSl 
 {who, with the Mupcian , properly diftin- 
 
 guifked from other Artifis by the Epithet 
 liberal, added to their Prof efjions ) have fo near 
 an Affinity with the Poet , the Philofopher , the 
 Orator , and the Geometrician , that there needs no 
 Apology for the frequent Parallel I have made 
 betwixt them in this Effay. A noble and ad- 
 mired Author , no lefs an one than the Earl of 
 Shaftfbury’, has done the fame ; and whiljl he 
 prefers the Artifi of Genius , to the mere Scho- 
 lar by Profefiion , gives fuch Reafons for it, as 1 
 jhould do myfelf an Injury not to tranjcribc . 
 € Hardly can I forbear , lays his Lord in ip, 
 
 ‘ making 
 
iv F R E F A C E. 
 
 * mailing feme Apology for my prefent Re- 
 
 c courfe to the Rules of common Artijh , to the 
 e Mafters of Exercifes , ^ Academies of 
 
 * Painters , Statuaries , reft of the 
 
 1 Virtuofo-Tribe. But in this 1 am fo fully 
 1 fatisfted 1 have Reafon on my Side , that, let 
 1 Cu'ftom be ever Jo ftrong againfl me, I had 
 1 rather repair to thefe inferior Schools , to 
 
 * fearch for Truth Nature, than to 
 1 fotne other Places , where higher Arts and 
 ‘ Sciences are profefjed . 
 
 ‘ / perjuaded that to be a Virtuofo (fo 
 
 * j a Gentleman ) is a higher Step 
 1 towards the becoming a Ma?i of Virtue and 
 
 * good Senfe, than the being what in this Age 
 ' ‘ we call a Scholar ; for even mere Nature it - 
 1 felft in its primitive Simplicity , is a better 
 £ Guide to Judgment, than improved Soph i fry, 
 
 • * pedantic Learning. The faciunt, nac, in- 
 
 * telligendo, ut nihil intelligunt, will be ever 
 1 applied by Men of Difcernment and free 
 
 * Thought to fuch Logick, Juch Principles , 
 
 * fuch Forms and Rudiments of Knowledge, as 
 
 * are eftablifhed in certain Schools of Lite - 
 
 * nature and Science. The Cafe is fuftjciently 
 
 * under food, even by thofe who are unwilling to 
 
 * confefi the Truth of it. Effects betray 
 
 * their Caufes ! And the known Turn and 
 
 * Figure of thofe Under [landings, which fpring 
 i from Nurferies of this Kind, give a plain 
 1 Idea of what is judged on this Occafton . 
 
 To imitate Nature agreeably is undoubtedly 
 the Perfection of Art j but this can be done 
 
 only 
 
PREFACE. v 
 only by a good Eye, which makes a beautiful 
 Choice among the Objects that Nature prefents. 
 This is well explained by the fame noble Author , 
 whofe Thought , attentively conjidered , might re- 
 concile thofe who difpute concerning the Pro- 
 priety and juft Extent of that Imitation. 
 
 ‘ A Painter , fays his Lordfliip, if he have 
 c any Genius, underjlands the Truth and Unity 
 
 * of Defign ; and knows he is even then unna- 
 
 * tural, when he follows Nature too clofe , and 
 4 flriCtly copies Life. For his Art allows him 
 1 not to bring all Nature into his Piece , but 
 1 a Part only. However , his Piece , if it be 
 c beautiful , and carries Truth , mufl be a 
 c whole itjelf, complete , independent , 
 
 4 withal , as great and comprehenfve as he can 
 4 /«#/£<? /V. Particulars, on this Oc- 
 
 4 mufi yield to the general Defign, 
 
 4 all Things be fubjervient to that which is 
 4 principa l : In order to form a certain Eali- 
 4 nefs oj Sight , <2 fmple, clear , united 
 
 4 View , which would be broken and difiurbed 
 4 the ExpreJJion of any Thin ? peculiar or 
 f diflinCt. ’ 
 
 Upon the latter Part of this Quotation , there 
 is one Remark which unavoidably occurs. It 
 is, That in Architecture, as well as Sculpture , 
 nothing Jhould be crouded in , that was not Part 
 of, or analogous to, the Builder's Original 
 Defign. Our Gothic Structures , <2; ^ 
 
 ejleem them, in comparifon with thofe built 
 after the Models of Greece cr Rome, _y<f£ 
 generally compleat , according to the original 
 
 Idea 
 
vf PREFACE. 
 
 Idea of their rcfpeCtive Architects. Hence iit 
 proceeds , that the Monuments in Weftminfterr- 
 Abbey, though feme of them finely executead, 
 neither add Beauty to, nor receive it from, thhe 
 Place that contains them, which was by mo 
 Means intended as a mere Golgotha for thhe 
 Remains of the royal , noble , or meritoo- 
 rious Dead ' Mo ft of theje Monuments arre 
 only /luck againft Parts of the StruBure, anud 
 do not fell up Vacancies , but hide and deforrm 
 particular Members of the original Wholetf. 
 We may except the two at the Weft Entramcce 
 of the Choir , which have the Analogy that givees 
 them a Grace , and makes them ornamental l : 
 While the reft , to a difecerning Eye, appeaar 
 only like a great Stock in the Work-Jhop of < a 
 Statuary. Phere is, in a Word, fo much Dijfe'e- 
 rence betwixt Richnefs and Grandure , thaat 
 the former t improperly placed, ferves rather t to 
 difguife the latter, than drefs her to more Add- 
 vantage : Which proves what is advanced iiin 
 the following Sheets, viz. That for want oof 
 proper Education to form our Judgment, wve 
 impofe on ourfelves a falfe Tafte, which ofitem 
 Qccajions a nee dlefes Expence. 
 
 Let me juft afk, and fubmit the Queflion tto 
 the higher Powers ; Would not an elegant Pride , 
 judicioufey and purpofely defigned for a Re/bo-o- 
 fitpry to the Monuments of the Great , be a nan- 
 tional Ornament, an Incentive to Emulatimn , 
 a kind of \ Temple of Honour, in which the Nob- 
 ble- minded would endeavour to procure a Plac es 
 by the Practice of Virtue f 
 
 A bN 
 
A N 
 
 ESSAY on DESIGN, 
 
 WITH 
 
 PROPOSALS for a PUBLIC 
 
 ACADEMY. 
 
 UDE and uncultivated Nature 
 directs only to Works of Necef- 
 fity, fuch as providing for the 
 Suftenance, Eafe, and Defence 
 of the Body. This we find by 
 the moft antient Monuments of the Hiftory 
 of thofe Nations who have fince been called 
 polite, and may flill fee in the leaft frequented 
 
 B Parts 
 
2 An ESSAY on DESIGN, &c. 
 
 Parts of Africa and America. But when People 
 once think of forming large Societies, with 
 various Degrees of Subordination under any 
 particular Form of Government, the Power 
 and Opulence of fome always awaken the In- 
 genuity and Induftry of others, who by con- 
 tributing, for Reward, to the Pleafures of their 
 Superiors, become Sharers in their better For- 
 tune: Hence arifc all thofe Arts that have 
 not Neceffity for their immediate Objeft. 
 
 And among thefe, the Arts which depend 
 on Dejign have been thought the greateft Orna- 
 ments of Society, and have ever proved, where 
 they have arifen to any Degree of Eminence, 
 the Balls of the moft defirable and honourable 
 Reputation. Some Nations indeed there have 
 been, as the Romans in particular, who have 
 grown famous only by their Military Atchieve- 
 ments and Civil Policy : But that Fame would 
 have reached us very imperfectly, if the Seat of 
 'their Oonquefts had not been* among; more 
 polite Nations, or they had not themfelves been 
 at laft polifhed by thofe Arts which at tirft 
 they defpifed. Vanquilhed Athens had fub- 
 dued her Conquerors by the Works of her 
 Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, as well 
 as by thofe of her Poets and Hiftorians, before 
 
 thofe 
 
An E S S A Y on D E S' I G N, &c. 3 
 
 thofe Conquerors had among them Writers of 
 fuch elegant Tafte as Livy, Salluft , Virgil, 
 Horace , and Cicero, who transmitted to Po-. 
 fterity, in all the Ornaments of Drefs, the 
 Deeds and Virtues of their Anceftors. We 
 mention this to {hew the Connexion between 
 the elegant Productions of Literature and thofe 
 of Art, which generally lead each other on to 
 Perfection, for both, , in faCt, have Dejign for 
 their Foundation : But the Intent of this Eflay 
 is to treat of Dejign chiefly as it relates to the 
 Works of the Hand, and is reprefented vifibly 
 on Vellum, Canvas, Stone, Metal, Wood, or 
 fome other extended Subftance. 
 
 The firft who are recorded to have ex- 
 celled in thefe Arts, were the Chaldeans and E- 
 gyptians : But fo remote are we from the Time 
 when thofe Nations were at the Height of their 
 Glory, that little is now known of them, ex- 
 cept in the Angle Article of their Buildings. 
 What the Architecture of the Chaldeans was, 
 we learn from the Writings of the moll; an- 
 tient Hiftorians j few Monuments, if any, now 
 remaining of the Works themfelves : But the 
 Antiquities of Egypt, fome of them almoft 
 entire, are fcarcely to be numbered ; every cu- 
 rious Traveller, who vifits the Borders of the 
 B 2 Nik, 
 
4 An ESSAY on DESIGN, &e. 
 
 Nile , finding, or obferving fomething before 
 undeferibed. Thefe Remains give us fome 
 Idea of the Genius of the People, which led 
 them in the firft: Place to confult Majefty and 
 Strength, and then to make Ornament fubfer- 
 vient to what was more fubftantial. If we 
 could read their Language, ftill prefervfcd in 
 their Hieroglyphicks, (while we admire the 
 Edifices on which it appears) we might have a 
 better Idea of the Extent of the Egyptian 
 Knowledge in other Particulars. 
 
 In this relpeft the Greeks had the Advan- 
 tage of their Predeceflbrs j we not only know 
 that they had an Apelles and a Phidias , but 
 cotemporary Writers, or Writers who lived 
 not long after their great Artifts, inform us in 
 what the feveral Excellencies of each Mafter 
 confided. We know how Science and Art> 
 in the polite Age of the Athenian Republic, 
 and the fucceeding Reigns of the Macedonian 
 Conquerors, went Hand in Hand to adorn and 
 celebrate the Country of the Mufes. Enough 
 fiill remains of the Temple of Minerva to give 
 us fome Sketch of the Veneration paid by the 
 Athenians to their tutelary Goddefs. 
 
 O f the Paintings of antient Greece we can 
 hardly expeft any original Examples : But we 
 
 have 
 
An ESSAY on DESIGN, &c. $ 
 
 have undoubtedly many Works of their Statu- 
 aries, which are ftill looked upon as the moft 
 excellent Models to copy after. In all we have 
 of this kind, the CorreCtnefs of the Delign and 
 the Strength of the Expreffion command our 
 Attention ; as in the "Writers of the fame Age, 
 we admire the artful Plan and elegant Com- 
 petition of their Works. 
 
 A s to the Romans , they had the Greeks not 
 only for their InftruCtors, but often for their 
 Operators likewife in the Arts we are fpeaking 
 of. Hence we are not certain, in the admired 
 Antiquities of this Empire, whether we trace 
 the Work of a Grecian or a Roman Hand. But 
 of the Auguftan Age we have Paintings as well 
 as Statues,* fome of which have long been in 
 the PoflefTion of the Curious in England. The 
 Pantheon of Agrippa , now called the Rotunda , 
 is a noble and entire Monument of the Archi- 
 tecture of that Age. To mention others would 
 be needlefs in this fhort Effay, when fo many 
 Books have been written upon the Buildings 
 and Statues only of Antient Rome , and fo many 
 Prints and Models have been taken from the 
 antient Venus , Apollo , Hercules , and Laccoon . 
 
 * A moft extraordinary Treafure of this kind has been 
 of late Years found in the fubterraneous City of Hercu- 
 laneum '. 
 
 The 
 
6 An ESSAY on DESIGN, &c. 
 
 The Decline of true Taite, the Removal of 
 the Seat of Empire from Rome to Conjlanti- 
 nople , the Irruptions and long Refidence of bar- 
 barous Nations in the moft cultivated Parts of 
 Italy ; and, laftly, the Taking of Conflantinople > 
 by thofe Enemies of Art the Turks, oblige us 
 to leave a long Chafm betwixt the glorious Days 
 of the Roman Empire, and the Dawn of Art 
 again in T ufcany in the fifteenth Century. From 
 this Province it fpread over the other Parts of 
 Italy, and fhone forth in a great Number of 
 Rival Schools. Great-Britain, France , the 
 Netherlands, and Germany imbibed fome Rays 
 of the fame Light: But in England it has hither- 
 to been hidden, obftrufred, or unregarded ; ex- 
 cept during fome happier Intervals, when the 
 Goddefs of Tafte has paid a fhort Vifit to the 
 Great. Art has been in fmall Eftimation, un- 
 lefs the Artift was foreign. Our Neighbours 
 have fpoken contemptuoufly * of us without 
 Referve ; and the few Englifhmen who have 
 indifputably excelled, were fcarcely rewarded 
 with honeft and impartial Approbation from 
 their own Countrymen. 
 
 M. Perrault , in his Parallels of the Antients 
 and Moderns, diftributes the Times in which 
 
 * The Abbe le Blanks Letters, publifhed in Englijh in 
 1747, afford remarkable Inftances of this. 
 
 Painting 
 
An ESSAY on DESIGN, ®c. 7 
 
 Painting flourifhed into three Ages, which he 
 calls Gaffes : £ Thefirft, fays he, takes in the 
 
 < Age of Zeuxis , Apelles , Timanthes , and the 
 
 < reft who are fo much admired in Antiquity. 
 
 < The fecond takes in the Age of Raphael , 
 
 1 Titian, Paul Veronefe, and thole other great 
 * Mafters who flourished in Italy in the laft 
 ( Age. The third contains the Painters of our 
 « own Age, as PouJJin , Brun , and the like. 
 
 M. Voltaire , in the Introduction to his 
 
 intended Hiftory of the Age of Lewis XIV. 
 has enumerated four Ages of the World, in 
 which the polite Arts and Literature were car- 
 ried to the greateft Height. What he fays of 
 them in general is fo much to my Purpofe, 
 that I (hall copy fome of his Words, as they 
 are given us by his Tranflator j adding fuch 
 Remarks of my own as occur to me on the 
 Occafton. The Englijh Reader will excufe me, 
 if any Thing in the latter appears like Digref- 
 fion, when he fees that the Tendency of them 
 is to vindicate the Genius of our own Nation. 
 
 * T h e firft of thefe Ages, fays he, which 
 { fhines with true Glory, is that of Philip and 
 c Alexander ; or that of Pindar , Demofthenes , 
 < Ariftotle , Plato , Apelles , Phidias , Praxiteles ; 
 
 and 
 
8 An ESSAY on DESIGN, &c. 
 
 * and this Honour was confined within the 
 
 * Limits of Greece , the reft of the Globe be- 
 
 * ing overfpread with Ignorance and Barbarity. 
 
 ‘The fecond Age is that of 'Julius Ccefar 
 ‘ and Augujlus , which is likewife denoted by 
 ‘ the Names of Lucretius , Cicero , Livy , Virgil 
 € Horace , Ovid, Varro , Vitruvius * 
 
 This way of characterizing the bright Ages 
 of Greece and Rome , firft by the Princes who 
 reigned, and then by the Men of great Genius, 
 who lived in and adorned them, is extremely 
 judicious, worthy of M. de Voltaire , and grate- 
 fill to all Profeflors of the Arts and Sciences. As 
 it is Fame that thefe Gentlemen chiefly covet, 
 how pleaftng muft it be for a Painter, a Statu- 
 ary, or a Poet to refled, that if he can reach 
 to true Excellence, fome future Hiftorian, of 
 fine Tafte, may join his Name to that of King 
 George the Second, in fpeaking of the Middle 
 of the Eighteenth Century ? 
 
 I shall only add here, that I would chufe 
 to take thefe two Ages a little higher than the 
 French Author has done ; and therefore, as in 
 fpeaking of Greece , I mention the Athenian Re- 
 public before the Macedonian Conquerors ; fo 
 
An ESSAY on DESIGN, &e. g 
 
 in the Roman Age of Politenefs, I would in- 
 clude the elegant Scipio , Paulus Mmilius , and 
 others, with the Artifts whom they patro- 
 nized. 
 
 ‘The third Age (continues M. de Voltaire) 
 
 * is that which followed the Taking of Con - 
 ‘ Jlantinople by Mahomet II. in the Year 1453. 
 
 ‘ At this Time a Family, confifting of mere 
 ‘ Citizens, undertook a Talk, which ought 
 ‘ to have been the Bulinefs of the Kings of Eu- 
 ‘ rope. The Medic ean Family invited to Flo - 
 
 * rence the polite Arts, which the Turks were 
 ‘ driving out of Greece , their antient Seat. 
 
 * Italy then fhone with fuperior Glory : All 
 ‘ the Sciences in general rofe there to new 
 ‘ Life *. The Italians honoured them with 
 ‘ the Name of Virtue , as the firft Greeks had 
 ‘ diftinguifhed them by that of Wifdom. There 
 
 * appeared a Tendency in all Things towards 
 ‘ Perfection. At this Time Michael Angelo , 
 
 ‘ Raphael, Titian , Tajfo , Ariojlo flourifhed ; 
 
 * c But fee each Mufe, in Leo's Golden Days, 
 
 4 Starts from her Trance, and trims her wither’d Bays ! 
 
 * Rome’s antient Genius, o’er its Ruins fpread, 
 
 4 Shakes off the Duft, and rears his rev’rend Head ! 
 
 4 Then Sculpture and her Sifter Arts revive, 
 
 4 Stones leap’d to Form, and Rocks began to live; 
 
 4 With Tweeter Notes each riftng Temple rung; 
 
 ‘ A Raphael painted, and a Vida fung. 
 
 Pope’; E 'gay on Criticifn . 
 C Engraving 
 
IO An ESSAY on DESIGN, &c. 
 
 1 Engraving was invented; true Architecture 
 4 re-appeared in greater Beauty and Splendor 
 
 * than when Rome was in its triumphant State ; 
 
 * and the Gothic Rufticity, which had dif- 
 
 * figured the Face of all Europe, was banifhed 
 4 from Italy > to make Room in all Parts of it 
 c for true Tafte. 
 
 4 The Arts, which had always been tranf- 
 c planted out of Greece into Italy , met with a 
 4 favourable Soil, and fpread themfelves on a 
 
 * fudden. France , England , Germany, Spain , 
 
 4 were alfo defirous of fome of thofe Fruits ; 
 
 4 but thefe either never reached thofe Climates, 
 
 4 or degenerated too fafh’ 
 
 What our Author fays farther on this 
 Head, relating to the low State of Learning and 
 the Arts in his own Country, from the Time 
 of Francis I. to that of Lewis XIV". I pais 
 over. He proceeds : 
 
 4 Lastly, the fourth Age is that called the 
 4 Age of Lewis XI Y. and among the four 
 4 Ages, this perhaps is that which comes the 
 1 neared to Perfection. Enriched with the Dif- 
 4 coveries of the other three, it made a more 
 4 confiderable Progrefs in one Article than the 
 4 three put together. All the Arts indeed were 
 4 not carried to a greater Height than under 
 4 the Medicean Family, under Augujlus , or un- 
 
 4 der 
 
Ah ESS AY on DESIGN, &c. u 
 
 4 der Alexander j but the rational Faculties of 
 4 Man in general have been very much culti- 
 4 vated and improved. True Philofophy was 
 c not known till this A£ra ; and it may be juflly 
 ‘ affirmed, that the univerfal Revolution which 
 4 was brought about, in our Arts, our Genius, 
 4 our Manners, and our Government (to com- 
 4 pute from the latter Part of Cardinal Riche - 
 4 lieu* s Adminiflration to tliofe Years which 
 4 followed the Death of Lewis XIV.) diffufed 
 ‘ fo bright a Glory over our Country, as will 
 
 * diflinguifh it to latefl Poflerity. This happy 
 
 * Influence was not confined barely to France , 
 
 4 but fpread into England , where it raifed that 
 4 Emulation which this witty and fagacious 
 4 People then flood in need of. It has carried 
 4 Tafle into Germany , and the Sciences into 
 4 Mufcovy j it has given new Life to Italy , 
 
 4 which was in a drooping Condition ; and 
 4 Europe owes its Politenefs to Lewis XIV.’ 
 
 Tho’ it was far from being my principal De- 
 fign, when I intended to have recourfe to M. de 
 Voltaire for his Diftindlion of the polite Ages, 
 to play the Critic on the Authority I thought 
 proper to quote ; Yet the Honour of my Coun- 
 try calls upon me to make a few Stridlures on 
 this and the preceeding Paragraph. 
 
 C 2 
 
 Trui 
 
12 An ESSAY on DESIGN, 6 fc. 
 
 • 
 
 True Philofophy, we grant, was not known 
 till the Asra of Lewis XIV. but we cannot 
 allow the Merit of difcovering and cultivating 
 it to the Countrymen of M. de Voltaire : They 
 had their Romance of Defcartes, but we had 
 the folid Principles of Sir Ifaac Newton ; and if 
 they boaft of their Search after "Truth by Fa- 
 ther Malbranche , we need only fhew them 
 Mr. Locke’s Ef ay on Human Underjlanding. We 
 had our Bacon , our immortal Bacon , the Fa- 
 ther of modern Difcoveries in both the natural 
 and intellectual World, when not a French- 
 man dared to quit the old Track of Thinking 
 prefcribed by Arifiotle . With RefpeCt to Ge- 
 nius, our Milton, Butler , Dryden , Waller , Ot- 
 way, Congreve , Prior , Rowe, Pope , (who all 
 come betwixt the laft Years of Richelieu's Mi- 
 nirtry and the firft of Lewis the XV’s Reign) 
 are at leaft equal to their Corneille, Racine, Mo - 
 Here, and La Fontaine : But if they deny this, 
 we call in our Spenfer, Shakefpear , Johnfon , 
 and Fletcher , who lived before his AJra of 
 Lewis XIV. and fhew that England , under 
 Elizabeth, was the firft Nation that transplanted 
 true T arte from Italy . What then becomes of 
 his Remark, when, fpeaking of the Medicean 
 Age, he fays, that the polite Arts either never 
 
 reached 
 
An ESSAY on DESIGN, &c. 13 
 
 reached France, England , Germany , Spain, or 
 degenerated too faft ? 
 
 The Art of Dejign, formed upon the great 
 Italian Mafters, flourilhed alfo in England be- 
 fore the Age of Lewis XIV. We had our 
 Inigo Jones before France had her Manfart : 
 And for the fuperior Excellence of the Briton , 
 we will leave his Works to be compared, not 
 with any Thing France then had (for fire had 
 nothing excellent) but with all that her Ar- 
 chitects have fince produced thro’ the whole 
 boafted Age of Louis le Grand. We had our 
 Age before France , and it continued thro’ the 
 latter Part of Elizabeth down to the fatal Civil 
 War, when the Frenzy of Fanaticifm excluded 
 all that was juft and beautiful. King Charles t. 
 was a Prince of Tafte fuperior to any other of 
 his Time, and, if the Troubles of his Reign 
 had not prevented him, would have left us a 
 Palace * with which Ver failles fhould not have 
 been named. Sculpture, and every fine Ita- 
 lian Art, would have flourifhed under this 
 Monarch, and the accomplifhed Falkland , if 
 wrong Notions of Government had not un- 
 happily rendered him unable to encourage 
 Arts and Sciences. 
 
 * See the Defigns of Inigo I ones, pubiiflied by 
 Mr, Kent. 
 
 Yet 
 
14 An ESSAY on DESIGN, & c . 
 
 Yet thefe Notions of Government, bad as 
 we juftly call them, were not worfe than thofe 
 which prevailed in France under Lewis XIV. 
 which our French Hiftorian makes to be glo- 
 rious alfo in this Refped:. If the French of 
 that Time had been copied in their Arts of 
 Government, we had not now feen a free 
 Nation in Europe. But it was in the Age of 
 Lewis XIV. that England threw off the ci- 
 vil Yoke of Arbitrary Power, and fpurned 
 at thofe who would have again fuperinduced 
 the difcarded Yoke of Ecdefiaftical Tyranny. 
 We became free, while the French , with all 
 their Refinements, were daily finking into 
 Slavery : Our Genius, if lefs regular, when firfl 
 •edeemed from its Shackles, than theirs, was 
 more noble and fublime. It was indeed owing 
 *o our greater Share of Freedom, from the 
 ./Era wherein the Reformation was eftablifhed, 
 that we had fuch Men as Bacon, Raleigh, 
 Burleigh , Spenfer, and Hooker, at a Time when 
 M. de Voltaire himfelf confeffes his own Coun- 
 trymen to have been in the moft profound 
 Ignorance. 
 
 Having vindicated the Honour which is our 
 own Due, I cannot forbear paying a tributary 
 Word or two to the three Ages of Alexander , 
 
 Augujlus , 
 
An ESSAY on DESIGN, &c. 15 
 
 Auguftus , and the De Medicis. Had France , 
 in th tLouifian Age, an Hiftorian worthy to be 
 compared with Herodotus , Thucydides, Polybius , 
 Tacitus , or Father Paul ? Their Thuanu * 
 lived before, and was rather a Cotemporary 
 with our Raleigh , and the Venetian laft named. 
 He had, to his Honour, imbibed fome of that 
 Liberty of thinking, andfpeaking his Mind, to 
 which his Countrymen were not at that time 
 fo much Strangers, as they became afterwards 
 in the Age of LewisX IV. What Poet of France , 
 in this vaunted Period, can be mentioned in. 
 Competition with Virgil or Tajjo t Homer was ' 
 too early, and therefore is not brought into the 
 Controverfy. But even in the Arts of Dejign , 
 for which the Encouragement of Lewis XIV. 
 made the French mod: famous, I do not find 
 in France a Raphael , a Michael Angelo , or a 
 Palladio , among the native French . Their 
 fine Pieces of Archite&ure were very few, and 
 they too perhaps might fuffer by a critical 
 Examination, The Facade of a Louvre is 
 not fufBcient to create the Character of a Na- 
 tion : Their Statuaries, by what I can learn, 
 were chiefly Italians ; and their Pou/Jin and 
 Le Brim , the mod: excellent of their Painters, 
 were of Italian Forming. Perhaps our Dob* 
 fon and Fuller , with the fame Advantages, 
 
 would 
 
i6 An ESSAY on DESIGN, &c.' 
 
 would not have been inferior to thele two 
 celebrated Frenchmen. We had, at the fame 
 Time, Productions of each kind that Ihewed 
 no Inferiority of Genius, tho’ they wanted to 
 . have been regulated by the lame Culture. That 
 Culture and Regulation Lewis gave, and for 
 which all Europe owes Honour to his Memory. 
 We are obliged to confefs, it is what we hi- 
 therto want, and I have undertaken this fhort 
 Difcourfe with a View to promote it among 
 my Countrymen. 
 
 Did we alone think ourfelves capable, 
 tinder the like Encouragement, of equaling 
 either the Italians or French , there might be 
 fome Necellity of giving more particular In- 
 Ranees t6 prove what I advance. But all the 
 World acknowledge us fufficient for whatever 
 we undertake in Art or Science, and that both 
 always improve under our Hands, when other 
 Nations have exhaufted their. Genius upon 
 them. M. de Voltaire , in the Paffage laft 
 quoted from him, calls us a witty and fagacious 
 Nation. The Abbe le Blanc , one of the laid 
 Frenchmen who has wrote of our Arts and 
 Manners as an Eye-Witnefs, is continually 
 calling us a wife People. This is a Compli- 
 ment carried fo high, that I would almoft 
 
 fcruple 
 
An ESSAY on DESIGN, &c. i 7 
 
 fcruple to give it Currency at prefent: We 
 have Genius, Sagacity, Art, and all but 
 Wifdom : That too will be juftly called our 
 Portion when we have a public Eftablifhment 
 to encourage and cultivate our other Qualities; 
 
 M. le Blanc, while he talks of our Wifdom, 
 is conftantly depreciating our Tajle. Tho’ in 
 our Writings we abound with good Matter, 
 we know not, according to him, how to make 
 a good Book : That is, we are deficient in 
 Rule, Judgment, and Method : We have no 
 Criterion by which to form our Ideas of Ex- 
 cellence ; and therefore, while we are lavifh of 
 the moft folid and beautiful Materials, cannot 
 attain that Perfedion in the Execution which 
 we do not purfue in the Defign. To what is 
 this owing ? Is it not manifeftly to the Want 
 of being perfed in the Rudiments and Prin- 
 ciples of Writing? For that we have not Steadi- 
 nefs. Patience, and Perfeverance, at leafl equal 
 to the French , was never, that I know of, 
 pretended. 
 
 In like manner foreign Painters, Engravers, 
 and Statuaries, affed to contemn the Profeffors 
 of the fame Arts who had their Education in 
 England ; and the fame Reafon they have to 
 
 D aflign, 
 
iS An ESSAY on DESIGN, &c. 
 
 aflign, viz. 'That they want a Tajle in their 
 Performances. Perhaps they have too often 
 fome Ground for their Cenfure : But that 
 Ground is not, as thefe Foreigners vainly think, 
 in the want of any Power which themfelves 
 poflefs. Our Artifls have Capacity, Ingenuity, 
 and InduJftry equal to thofe of any other Coun- 
 try : But unhappily they have never been 
 properly initiated into the Rudiments of thofe 
 Arts. They have wanted, while young, the 
 Affi dance of an Academy , which Ihould lead 
 them on from the firft Principles of Geometry 
 and Perfpedtive, thro’ all the Rules of correct 
 Drawing, and make them conceive a true 
 Standard of Excellence before they attempt to 
 excell. Where the Mind is not thus firmly 
 principled, the Eye will be drawn chiefly to 
 the Expreflioii and Colouring, which are the 
 Work of the Pencil ; and the Pupil will learn 
 thefe Parts, without any juft Notion of that 
 Proportion and Harmony which ought to con- 
 ftitute a Whole, and give the Parts their di- 
 ftind and chara&eriftical Graces. 
 
 What we call Tafle in judging, is true 
 Defign in Execution. In both, the Ideas muft 
 be the fame : But to judge with Tafte the Ideas 
 only are fufficient; wherea^ to defign truly 
 
 and 
 
An ESSAY on DESIGN, &c. 19 
 
 and beautifully, there mull be Practice added 
 to them. A perfect Connoifleur, tho’ no Ar- 
 tift himfelf, is not only pleafed with a fine 
 Piece of Painting or Sculpture, but he knows 
 from whence his Pleafure arifes, and perhaps 
 can fee, what efcaped the Artift, how it might 
 have been excited to a higher Degree. The 
 Artifi, who defigns with Tafte (for I will 
 now join the Words) conceives, before he takes 
 his Crayon in Hand, what the Pleafure is that 
 he intends to give, what are the Means by 
 which he propofes to give it, and knows, by 
 the Principles of his Art, how far thofe Means 
 will anfwer his Purpofe, if in the Execution 
 he comes up to his own Idea in the Sketch. 
 The Notion of Beauty is in neither of them * 
 vague imaginary Conceit, but the Refult of a 
 Syftem of Knowledge, founded on Truth and 
 Nature. The Artift, it is allowed, feldom 
 or never, in Execution, comes up fully to his 
 own Ideas : That would be too much for Man, 
 and too near an Approach to that Perfection 
 in Nature which Art endeavours only to imi- 
 tate: But the more elevated the Ideas are, the 
 rnore . excellent will the Performance be, 
 if, with Elevation of Sentiment, there be at 
 the fame Time a true Knowledge of Harmony 
 and Proportion. This is Art; the other may 
 D 2 b c ; 
 
20 An ESSAY on DESIGN, &c. 
 
 be Genius only : Which DiftinCtior. ought ever 
 to be obferved. 
 
 Genius is indeed the principal Qualifica- 
 tion of a great Mafter. All the Remains of 
 the Roman Architecture and Sculpture would 
 not have made a Michael Angelo cr a Raphael 
 TJrbin , if Nature had not firft been extremely 
 bountiful of her Gifts. This muft be acknow- 
 ledged : Yet Michael Angelo and Raphael \ 
 if they had never feen thofe excellent Remains 
 of Antiquity, if they had not ftudied them 
 well, and found, upon Comparifon, an Idea 
 of Beauty more noble, auguft, and regular, 
 arifing from them, than from the nicely la- 
 boured Works of later Ages, thofe admirable 
 Men might have wafted their vaft Talents in 
 crowding with richer Ornaments the already 
 crowded Gothic Structures : Inftead of reftoring 
 the antient Tafte, the Luxuriancy of their Ima- 
 ginations might probably have led them farther 
 into Error than their Predeceffors. But Har- 
 mony and natural Proportion ftruck them when 
 they firft beheld it : They examined and found 
 the Principles from which this genuine Beauty 
 arofe. Fired by the Difcovery, they purfued the 
 Light of it, and even excelled thofe who had 
 taught them what was Excellency. 
 
 To 
 
21 
 
 An ESSAY on DESIGN, &c. 
 
 To teach the firft Principles from which 
 this Beauty refults ; to fhew what is meant by 
 Perfpc&ive, and the Effect it has in a Reprefen- 
 tation ; the Proportions of the human Body, 
 and all other Objects animated or hill j how 
 to draw a correct Out-line, and all the other 
 expreflive Strokes in a Pifture, and then to 
 avoid Confufion in filling up the Figures ; to 
 know the Power of Lights and Shades in all 
 Situations; in a Word, to take, by Rule, every 
 Circumftance that Art can teach, in order 
 juftly and truly to reprefent Nature ; This is 
 Maftery, this is Defign, this is what I would 
 recommend to public Encouragement. 
 
 Admitting then, as above, that all thefe 
 Acquifitions, if not made by a Genius, will 
 not at laft lurnifh out an excellent Painter, 
 Architect, or Sculptor ; yet they will certainly 
 preferve the flowed: and dulled: Mind, which 
 attends to them, from thofe Abfurdities which 
 Genius, without the fame Knowledge, may fall 
 into. This regular Artift, without Genius, 
 may be a good Copyift, tho’ not an Original. 
 But why, after all, muff he needs be a Painter, 
 an Engraver, an Architett, or a Statuary ; as 
 if a Tafle in Defign, and the Knowledge of 
 Drawing, were of no Ufe in other Profeflions ? 
 
 Whereas 
 
22 An ESSAY oh DESIGN, & e. 
 
 Whereas, on the contrary, it is true, that there 
 is fcarce any Mechanic, let his Employment 
 be ever fo timple, who may not receive Ad- 
 vantage from the Knowledge of Proportion, 
 and more ftill from a little Tafte in Deiign. 
 Perrault , in his Lives of the illudrious Men 
 of France , in the laft Century, places Ballin , 
 a Goldfmith, after BouJJin , Le Brun ) and 
 he Sueur , Painters, and the Engravers Callot 
 and Nantueil , on account of his curious Work- 
 manship. And Le Brun himfelf, while the 
 King’s Painter, was Superintendent of the 
 Gobelins. 
 
 The Word Gobelins * is commonly known 
 to be the Name of a Building in Paris , 
 which Lewis XI V. purchafed, and made a 
 Manufactory of all Manner of curious Works 
 for adorning the Royal Palaces of his King- 
 dom. Here were Weavers of Tapeftry, Gold- 
 fmiths, Carvers, and many other Trades, all 
 under the Direction of that great Matter of 
 
 * It had been the Houfe of Giles Gobelin , who em- 
 ployed a great Number of Hands, and is faid to have 
 been the firft who found out the Secret of Scarlet Dying. 
 The Stream that runs by it, and is ufed in this Dying, has 
 alfo obtained the Name of Gobelin from this Artift. 
 
 Defign, 
 
An ESSAY on DESIGN, &c. 23 
 
 Delign, who refided among them, and 
 finifhed his Days in his Apartment there. 
 Some of the molt beautiful Pieces of Tapeftry 
 were wrought here from his Drawings, as 
 were many other extraordinary Works. We 
 may remember an Attempt made in England , 
 under the Direction of a Painter alfo, to work 
 Tapeftries at Chelfea : But the Scheme was not 
 under Royal Protedion, and therefore funk, 
 in its Infancy, I fuppofe thro’ the Infufficiency 
 of private Encouragement. 
 
 It is needlefs to enquire what were the Mo- 
 tives of Lewis XIV . in the ready Patronage 
 he fhewed to all Works of Ingenuity. We 
 know he had once a Minifter of fine Tafte, 
 who pufhed him on not only to this, but to the 
 Promotion of Commerce and Navigation. 
 Richelieu , in the Reign of his Father, began 
 to cherifh Learning and learned Men : But it 
 was Colbert that formed the Age of Lewis the 
 Great, This Monarch, vain-glorious to the 
 laft Degree, tho’ himfelf little aquainted with 
 the Sciences, was eafiiy prevailed on to encou- 
 rage whatever he was told would contribute 
 %o his own Fame and Reputation. The Mi- 
 uifter and the Monarch both had their Ends, 
 and the Artift had his Reward. 
 
 While 
 
24 An ESSAY on DESIGN, &c. 
 
 While Colbert's whole Scheme took Effect, 
 we were in Danger of being eclipfed by the 
 Arms of France , as much as we were by her 
 Arts. The Naval Power of the French 
 Monarch, towards the Conclufion of the laffc 
 Century, was fo great, that it became formidable 
 to England and Holland. We are happy that it 
 hath fince been negle&ed, and that our Supe- 
 riority on the Ocean is greater than that of 
 France in her Academies. Navigation and 
 Commerce are the folid Parts, and they are 
 undeniably ours : But why fhould we not have 
 the Ornamental likewife in Proportion ? Our 
 Naval Victories deferve more to be celebrated 
 than the Land Depredations of the Conqueror 
 of Flanders. They promife us Trade and 
 Riches, which the other cannot procure to the 
 Prince who now prides himfeif in them. But 
 this Prince will have his Deeds celebrated by 
 his own Subjects in Pi&ure and Sculpture, 
 which can raife and adorn Adtions that 
 in themfelves are devoid of Merit. We have 
 feldom any Records but the plain Journals of 
 Fadts, in Which our brave Commanders are 
 the artlefs Hiftorians of their own A&ions. 
 But do not an Anfon , a Warren , or Hawke , 
 deferve to have their Deeds preferved on Can- 
 vas, Stone, or Copper, as much as a Saxe or 
 a Lcwendahl? 
 
 And 
 
An ESSAY on DESIGN, &c. 25 
 
 And if this be the Cafe with regard to the 
 Servants of the Public, what fhall we fay 
 when we come to fpeak of our Sovereign ? 
 The mild, the merciful, the juft, the mode- 
 rate, the tender Father of his People, the De- 
 fender of Truth and Property, not to his own 
 Subjects only, but to the Opprefs’d and In- 
 jur’d in all Parts of Europe 3 does He lefs me- 
 rit triumphal Arches, and the hiftorical Tri- 
 bute of Medals, Prints, and Statues, than the 
 Ravager of Provinces, the Infradtor of Trea- 
 ties, the Tyrant of his own People, and the 
 Enemy of all the neighbouring Nations ? 
 
 His Majefty, attentive only to what is for 
 the Profperity, Wealth, and Security of O- 
 thers, has none of this vain Regard to his Own 
 Applaufe, which ufually elates the Hearts of 
 other Monarchs. But the Moderation of the 
 Prince fhould animate the Zeal of the Peo- 
 ple, particularly of Perfons of Diftindtion, 
 who feel the immediate Efflux of his Good- 
 nefs, and of opulent Societies, who flourifh 
 under the Protection of his Navies, to encou- 
 rage thofe Arts which immortaliz’d the Names 
 of Alexander , Augujlus , Leo , and Lewis. Much 
 better than of either ofthefe is the Claim of 
 King George II. as hiftorical Argument will here- 
 in after 
 
26 An ESSAY on DESIGN, &c. 
 
 after fflew j though it fhould happen, as we 
 hope it will not, to be negleded in the more 
 fplendid Memorials of Reprefentation. The 
 Suppreffion of an unnatural Rebellion, the 
 Triumph of Clemency over Fadion, a Check 
 put to the Progrefs of Ambition, the complete 
 Union of this long-divided Illand, and the 
 undoubted Sovereignty of the Sea afferted by 
 the Briti/h Flag, are nobler Subjeds for the 
 Artiff, and willfurnifh him with more gene- 
 rous and elevated Sentiments, than the Maf- 
 facre of Fontenoy , or the infernal Bombard- 
 ment of Ber gen-op- Zoom, 
 
 A Love of the polite Arts is not irreconcila- 
 ble with the Purfuit of Commerce and Riches : 
 As it is ufually grafted upon the Succefs 
 of the latter, fo it may live and grow with it 
 in perfed Harmony. The mod polite Ages 
 of all Nations, have alfo been the Ages of their 
 greateft Affluence and Profperity. Studies of 
 mere Ufe are cultivated through mere Ne- 
 ceffity, but affociate well with more elegant 
 Refearches in the Seat of Leifure and Abun- 
 dance ; and fuch, without Vanity, we may at 
 prefent call Great Britain , loaded though ffle 
 be with Debts, and with a War fcarcely off 
 her Elands : Her Refour'ces have all along 
 
 increafed 
 
An ESSAY on DESIGN, 27 
 
 increafed with her Efforts on the Ocean, and 
 while they continue to increafe, fine will rife 
 with Eafe under all her Burdens and In- 
 cumbrances. 
 
 In the folid and deep Parts of Learning we 
 have not only gone beyond the French , but 
 
 have even been before-hand with them in their 
 Cultivation. Our Royal Society is more * an- 
 tient than the Academy of Sciences at Paris, 
 and has furnifhed Europe with greater Variety 
 of ufeful Productions : He that compares the 
 j Tranfaffiions of the firft, with the Memoirs of 
 the latter, will be fully convinced of this 
 Truth. 
 
 Many Years before this, indeed, ana even 
 under the Miniftry of Cardinal Richelieu , the 
 French had an Academy for the Regulation 
 and Settlement of their Language. That great 
 Politician, whofe Cabinet was the Source from 
 whence iffued moft of the memorable Events 
 that then paffed in Europe , had the Foible to 
 pique himfelf much upon his fine Language, 
 and his Knowledge in Criticifm and Poetry : 
 
 * The Royal Society of London was founded in 1663, 
 and the Academy of Sciences at Paris not till 1666,, 
 
 E 2 Though 
 
28 An ESSAY on DESIGN, &c. 
 
 Though in thefe his Judgment was as fuper- 
 ficiaf as that of the great Corneille, whom the 
 Minifter endeavoured to fupprefs, might have 
 been deficient in Solidity, if he had been call’d 
 upon to a<ft or advife many of the Things he 
 fo affeCtingly defcribes. Men have their dif- 
 ferent Talents : That of Richelieu was to go- 
 vern Kingdoms, and that of Corneille to paint, 
 with all the Force and Grace of Language, 
 their Revolutions, But the Minifter’s Conceit 
 of his own Abilities in the latter Way, gave 
 rife to the Inftitution I have mentioned : The 
 Members of the new Academy were to flatter 
 their Patron, at the fame Time that they re- 
 fined their Language : The Talk that has ever 
 fince lain upon them of writing annual Pane- 
 gyrics on the King, who, after Richelieu and 
 Seguisr , became their Patron, and of making 
 fet Orations in Piaife of all their deceafed 
 Members, has given them fuch a Turn for 
 Flattery, that little elfe has been pioduced in 
 this learned Society, whatever fome Members 
 of it may have feparately given the World, 
 Though their Body confifts of Forty, they 
 were Forty Years in compiling their Dictio- 
 nary of Words, and had flill their Grammar, 
 Rhetoric, and other Works to produce in 
 purfuance of their Plan : Not to mention, that 
 
 this 
 
An ESSAY on DESIGN, &c. 29 
 
 this Didionary itfelf abounds with Errors and 
 Defeats. 
 
 The late Dr. Swift, under the Miniftry of 
 the Earl of Oxford , had form’d a Projed of 
 fome fuch Academy in England , in order to 
 afcertain our Language, and wrote to his Lord- 
 (hip a very elegant Letter on the Subjed. But, 
 as it is doubted by competent Judges, whether 
 the French Academy has not taken more from 
 the Strength, than it has added to the Beauty 
 of the French Tongue, perhaps it was no 
 great Misfortune that the Defign mifcarried. 
 The grammatical Rules of a Language may 
 be, in a great Meafure, fixed ; but the Copia 
 of its Words cannot be retrained. Horace , 
 eighteen hundred Years ago, made Cuftom 
 the fovereign Judge in this Matter. And as 
 Furetiere , a fingle Man, compiled, in the O- 
 pinion of many, a better Didionary than 
 the whole Academy, of which he at firft 
 was a Member, may we not hope, that 
 an Undertaking, now on Foot, will fup- 
 ply the Want of an Academy for Words in 
 England ? It is in Art, in Matters reducible to 
 Rule, that fuch Inftitutions may be exped- 
 ed to fucceed and dourilh, and not in prefuming 
 to fit in fovereign Judgment upon a Caufe, 
 
30 An ESSAY on DESIGN, &c. 
 
 of which the Merits muft ever be difpu- 
 table. 
 
 The French Academy of Mecals and In- 
 fcriptions, and that of Belles Lettres, now united 
 into one, proceed upon more certain Princi- 
 ples : They have Art for their Guide, and 
 have therefore favoured the World with a 
 great Number of ufeful Memoirs : Many Paf- 
 fages and Monuments of Hiftory and Anti- 
 quity, have, by their Labours, been elucidated. 
 In England , we have only private Societies of 
 Antiquarians, that feem to be founded upon 
 this Plan, and none of them, that I know of, 
 have obliged the World, as Societies, with any 
 Collections of their Difcoveries. 
 
 But the Academy which, of all others, 
 appears to have been moft for the Glory and 
 Advantage of France, is that of Painting and 
 Sculpture. It is this that we have in View, 
 which we are ambitious to fee imitated, and 
 improved upon in England. Attempts to get 
 fuch an Edablifhment have been fometimes 
 made, but always hitherto have failed. The 
 moft that our Artifts have been able to attain, is 
 to keep up, at their own Expence, a Meeting 
 among themfelves, which they honour indeed 
 
 with 
 
An ESSAY on DESIGN, &c. 31 
 
 with the Name of an Academy, though it has 
 none of the Requifites to fuch an Inftitution. 
 Thofe who ftudy the Art of Defign, with a 
 View of carrying it to the greateft Perfedion 
 they are able, and make it the Bafis, not of 
 their Reputation only, but alfo of their For- 
 tune, (or, perhaps, their mere Subfiftence) are 
 feldom bleffed with fuch eafy Circumftances, 
 as to have both Time to beftow, and Money 
 to give, for their Improvement. It is requilite, 
 in order to bring up a Number of fuch Perfons 
 to any Degree of true Excellence, that there 
 fhould be a Fund to fupport them through the 
 unfruitful Part of their Studies, to fupply them 
 with all Utenfiis and Conveniencies for the 
 Probation and Culture of their Talents, and to 
 reward the Succefsful, the Happy, and the In- 
 duftrious, in proportion to the feveral Degrees 
 and Qualities of their Merit : This would 
 make London a Seat of Arts, as it is now 
 of Commerce, inferior to none in the Uni- 
 verfe. 
 
 It feems neceflary, in order to give an Idea 
 of what we folicit to have in England , that we 
 fhould infert fome brief Account of the Infti- 
 tution and Form of the French Academy of 
 Painting and Sculpture, 
 
 ' As 
 
3 a An ESSAY 0,7 DESIGN, &c. 
 
 As thofe who compofed the Academy for 
 fixing the Language, under the Miniftry of 
 Richelieu , were a Set of Gentlemen who be- 
 fore met together in private, to communicate 
 and criticife on each others Works; fo the 
 firft Members of the Academy of Painting and 
 Sculpture, were a Set of Artifts, Part in the 
 Service of the King, and Part otherwife, who 
 had for fome Time held private Afiembiies, 
 in order to exercife themfelves in fiich Matters 
 as might contribute to keep up and advance the 
 A rts depending on Defign. As the Body grew 
 more numerous, and the Advantages arifing 
 from their Meetings more obvious, they be- 
 came more public in their Meetings : They 
 ventured to call in the Protection of the Mi- 
 nifter, who was then Cardinal Mazarine ; and 
 great Caufe they had to do it on a parti- 
 cular Occafion, which is well worth rela- 
 ting. 
 
 Ignorance has always been the Enemy of 
 Art : It prov’d fo mod apparently in this Cafe, 
 The Gentlemen and Artifts, who exercifed 
 themfelves in Defign, with a View to revive 
 the antient Tafte, and imitate the antient Per- 
 formances in Painting, Sculpture, and Archi- 
 tecture, had not yet any DiftinCt ion from the 
 
 common 
 
An ESSAY on DESIGN, &c. 33 
 
 common Clafs of Mechanics. When they 
 came to put the Skill they had acquired into 
 Pra&ice, they raifed the Envy of the Sign- 
 Poft-Daubers, Stone-cutters, and Bricklayers. 
 Some of our Artifts were Men of liberal Edu- 
 cation, who had not gone thro’ the Drudgery 
 of five or feven Years Servitude, in order to 
 acquire a Right of following an Occupation in 
 which there was neither Skill nor My fiery. 
 As their Works came therefore to be admired, 
 the Freemen of Paris , very tenacious of their 
 Privileges, thought proper to make legal En- 
 quiry, by what Right they pra&ifed the 
 Trades of Stone-cutter and Painter-ftainer. 
 The Artifts were hereby obliged to defift, and 
 the old Tafte and Method muft have con- 
 tinued in all public Works, if the Cardinal 
 had not thought the Affair worthy of his 
 particular Attention. Mazarine was an Italian , 
 and had fome Relifh for thofeArtsby which 
 his Countrymen had been more than a Cen- 
 tury diftinguifhed. Upon their humble 
 Application, he procured an Edidt from 
 Lewis XIV. by which the Procefies againft 
 thefe Intruders (as the Freemen deemed 
 them) were put a Stop to. Art had an ho- 
 nourable Diftindlion given it from mere La- 
 bour, and thofe who could defign a Pidlure, 
 F a 
 
34 An ESSAY on DESIGN, & c . 
 
 3. Bafs-Relief, a Statue, or a public Edifice, 
 had a Right to praCtife without Moleftation 
 from the Bruffi-men and Mafons. 
 
 Mazarine, the Prime Minifter, now accept- 
 ed the titular Protectorship of the new Aca- 
 demy, and Seguier , Chancellor of France , fub- 
 mitted to be Vice Protestor. This Order of 
 Council, in Favour of the Academifts, was 
 iSTued in ‘January 1648 : Their Privileges con- 
 tinued from that Time, but the Society did 
 not immediately arife to its prefent Luftre. 
 
 Colbert, the great Patron of Arts, Sciences, 
 Commerce, and Manufactures, was the MU 
 riifter who finished the Work which his Pre- 
 deceSTor had begun. He got a more firm and 
 ample Establishment of the Academy by its 
 prefent Name, and in its prefent Form, at the 
 Beginning of the Year 166 4. He appointed 
 it to conSift of twenty five Members, twelve 
 of whom were to be Officers, by the honourable 
 Name of Profeflors or Elders, eleven were 
 to be called Academicians, and the remaining 
 two were to be Syndics, or affiftant Rulers. 
 Thefe Syndics are now called Ufhers and the 
 Reader would do well to remember, that when 
 we fay, the Academy had then its prefent 
 
 Form, 
 
An ESSAY on DESIGN, &c. 35 
 
 Form, we mean fundamentally, great Improve- 
 ments having been at Times fuperinduced upon 
 this Eftablilhment. The firft of the Elders, 
 and, confequently, the Head of the Society, 
 Was the celebrated Charles le Brun. 
 
 Not long after this laft Order of Council, 
 the Duties of the Academy were regulated in 
 thirteen Articles, which were granted it by 
 way of Letters Patent. In about five or fix 
 Years more, the Articles were multiplied to 
 twenty-one, which had alfo the fame Royal 
 Confirmation. Thefe Articles were all re- 
 giftered in the Parliament of Paris , in fpite 
 of the Oppofition made again fi their Ac- 
 ceptance by the abovementioned free Painters 
 and Mafons. The Parliament, as well as the 
 Court, diftinguifhed real A rt from a dull 
 Courfe of Labour. All Encouragement that 
 the Academifts could defire, was ready to 
 meet their Willies. They have obtained, 
 fince what I have mentioned, many other, 
 and yet more ampleStatutes, in theirFavour. it 
 is foreign from our Purpofe to recite them, fince 
 Copies of them at large may be eafily procured, 
 whenever the Britijh Public Spirit lhall think 
 them worthy to be imitated, or to improve 
 upon them in a like Eftablifhment. Seguier was 
 F 2 Pro- 
 
36 An ESSAY on DESIGN, &c. 
 
 ProteCtor after the Death of Mazarine , and 
 Colbert , who obtained a new Eftablifhment, 
 accepted the Vice-ProteCtorfhip. 
 
 The firft Affemblies of the Academifts were 
 held in the Royal College at Paris. Could 
 Lewis XIV. do them a greater Honour than 
 when he afterwards removed them into his 
 Palaces ? The Lhullieries , the Gallery of the 
 Louvre , the Palace Bnon , and the old Louvre , 
 have been fucceffively the Theatres of this 
 Academy. The Members, in Gratitude, or- 
 namented the feveral Buildings that were al- 
 lotted them with their choiceft Performances. 
 They celebrated, not only the Monarch, but 
 the Minifters, who had been their Benefactors, 
 with the mofl. exquifite Labours of the Pencil 
 and the Chiffel. 
 
 Nor was an Exchange of Honours all. that 
 followed this Inftitution. Lewis XIV. was 
 well informed, that an Eftablifhment of this 
 Sort could not fubfift without pecuniary Gra- 
 tifications. .Pen lions were therefore affigned 
 to the Officers, and a Fund was appointed for 
 their punctual Payment, and for the Purchafe 
 cf Models, and all other Neceffiaries, towards the 
 Improvement of the Art of Delign. The 
 
 Mem- 
 
An ESSAY on DESIGN, &c. 37 
 
 Members were releafed from the common Ex- 
 pences of Suits and Caufes in the ordinary 
 Forms, and all fuch Matters, relating to them, 
 were ordered to be cognifable before the Coun- 
 cil of State. As to the Works of the Mem- 
 bers themfelves, both in Painting and Sculp- 
 ture, the Academy was to form a Judgment, 
 without any Inter-mediation. Who can be 
 fo good Judges of Arts, as the Artifts them- 
 felves ? Who are fuch fevere Cenfurers of every 
 Fault, as thofe who emulate each other in the 
 Purfuit of Excellence ? 
 
 I had almoft fallen into what I purpofed to 
 avoid, a particular Detail of the feveral Laws 
 of the Academy : But there are fome few Par- 
 ticulars that fhould not be omitted. The 
 Members take an Oath to the Prefident, and 
 the Determinations of the Society have the 
 Force of Statutes. None but Members of the 
 Academy can call themfelves King’s Painters 
 or Engravers ; and thofe who are fo, are at Li- 
 berty to keep Exercifes in all Parts of the City. 
 Their Manner of diflributing Prizes is very 
 folemn, and the Value of the Reward is infi- 
 nitely enhanced by the Honour of receiving it. 
 Plurality of Voices determines in thefe Cafes, 
 and the Candidate muft have worked a Month 
 
 under 
 
3$ An ESSAY on DESIGN', & c . 
 
 under theProfelTor in waiting. All the chief 
 Officei s are exempted from feveral Services and 
 Obligations, to which other Members of the 
 Community are fubjed, and endowed with 
 feveral Privileges that are not lhared with them 
 by their Fellow Citizens. The Works of the 
 Academicians are not to be copied without 
 Leave. They have a Right of ereding their 
 Pupils into Mailer- Artilfs by Certificate Letters 
 under their own Hand. All the highelf Of- 
 fices of the Academy are enjoyed only by thofe 
 who profefs the whole Art of Defigning, and 
 are equally ready at Portrait and Hillory, Land- 
 fcape and Architedure. As to Engravers in 
 Copper, and Painters in a particular Province, 
 as of Landfcapes only, Flowers, Fruit, or the 
 like, they cannot rife above the Dignity of 
 Couafellors. Some Gentlemen, who are only 
 Lovers of Arts, and difcover a Tafle of what 
 is excellent, are admitted to this Rank. Artilfs 
 may thus have the Honour to be patronized 
 by thofe of their own Body, who, though 
 greatly fuperior in P ortune, cannot rile to the 
 lame Rank in that Body with themfelves. 
 
 Having mentioned the Names of fome 
 Officers that I did not take notice of in Ipeak- 
 mg of the Eftablifhment of the Academy, it 
 
 is 
 
An ESSAY on DESIGN, tic. 39 
 
 is proper to obferve, that, in the prefect im- 
 proved State of this Society, there is a PipCtor, 
 a Chancellor, four ReCtors, a Treafurer, feveral 
 Counfellors, and twelve Profeflors of the Art of 
 Defign; one particularly of Geometry, and 
 one of Anatomy. Without a Knowledge of 
 Geometry and Anatomy, the Art of Defign 
 cannot be brought to Perfection : It is proper 
 the Noviciate, therefore, fhould be expert 
 in thofe Arts, before he proceeds to the 
 Clafs that is to qualify him for commencing 
 Matter. 
 
 Asa farther Honour to the Academy, it 
 had, in 1682, an Hiftoriographer afiigned to 
 it, who is to tranfmit in Writing to Pofterity 
 the memorable TranlaCtions of this illuftrious 
 Body : For though fome of their Works may, 
 in themfelves, be more durable than the Books 
 that treat of them, they cannot be fo univerfal. 
 LeCtures and Conferences are alfo frequently 
 held on the feveral Branches of the Art of 
 Dettgn, and the other Parts of Painting and 
 Sculpture : Like wife on the beft Writers who 
 have treated of ihefe Subjects. * 
 
 Besides 
 
 * Mr. Guerin , in his Account of this Academy, 
 after a Preface on the Introduction and Increafe of Arts 
 
 and 
 
40 An ESSAY on DESIGN", 
 
 Besides this Academy at Paris, there is 
 alfo a french Academy of Painting and Sculp- 
 ture at Rome, which was eftablittied by the 
 fame Monarch Lewis XIV. in 1676. This 
 is properly a School only for the great Matters, 
 who, having perfected themfelves as much as 
 they can at Paris , and gained the Prize in the 
 
 Academy 
 
 and Sciences under Lewis XIV. gives the Names of the 
 twelve ProfefTors, who were put at the Head of the 
 Academy, February 1, 1648 ; enumerates the dalles of 
 the Fellows ; mentions the Dire&or, who prefides over 
 the Le&ures, and is changed every three Years; ther 
 perpetual Chancellor, who is Keeper of the Seals ; the 
 four Redlors, two of whom are perpetual, and fupply 
 the Place of the Dire&or in his Abfence ; the two Af- 
 fiftant Re&ors, who officiate for the Re&ors in their 
 Abfence likewife ; the twelve ProfefTors, each of whom, 
 in his Month, alternately delivers the Precepts of the 
 Alt, and takes Care of the Pupils Studies ; the eight 
 Affiftant Profefiors ; the two ProfefTors of Anatomy, 
 Geometry, and Perfpe&ive ; the Treafurer, who keeps 
 the Money and Monuments belonging to the Academy, 
 and pays the Royal Penfions ; the Councilors, either 
 honorary , admitted for their Love and Culture of thofe 
 Arts, and who, though not Fellows of the Academv, 
 may produce their Pieces in the Deliberations, or acade- 
 mical, who excel the reft in the Arts theyprofcfs ; and the 
 Secretary, who writes down, and preferves their Tranf- 
 actions. The reft of that Author’s Work is taken up 
 in defcribing the moft excellent Pieces, giving an Ac- 
 count of their Authors, and the Rooms in which they 
 meet, and keep their Performances. 
 
An ESSAY on DESIGN, &c. 41 
 
 Academy there, are fent with a Penfion to 
 ftudy the Antiques, and fuch Pieces of the 
 Italian Matters as cannot be feen in France : 
 For though many of the Works of the Firtt- 
 rate Artifts are now difperfed over all the 
 other Parts of Europe , and particularly in 
 France and England \ yet Italy is ttill the Store- 
 houfe of thefe Rarities. One of the Rec- 
 tors from Faris prefides in this Academy, and 
 he Brun was the firtt who had this Com- 
 miffion. As only thofe who have gained the 
 Prize at Paris , are fent hither Penfioners 3 fo 
 none are at all admitted but the fuperior Ar- 
 tifts, who have before diftinguilhed them- 
 felves by their Performances. 
 
 It is requiftte here to mention, that there is 
 at Paris another Academy, for the Study of 
 Architecture in particular. 
 
 From this Narrative, which might have 
 been extended much farther, an Idea will be 
 formed of the Extent, Ufe, and Value of an Aca- 
 demy for the Promotion of Painting, Sculpture, 
 and Architecture, or, in more general Terms, 
 of the Arts depending on Dejign. Shall we not 
 be fired with Emulation to rival thefe Neigh- 
 bours, who are our confirmed Enemies in 
 G Politicks, 
 
42 An ESSAY on DESIGN, & c . 
 
 Politicks, while they triumph over us in their 
 regular Method of Introduction to the Arts ? 
 It has been faid, that England is a Century 
 behind France in Learning and Politenefs. I 
 have proved that this Affertion does not in 
 general hold good ; but it is punctually true 
 with regard to an Inditution of the Nature 
 we are pleading for. January 1748, accord- 
 ing to the French Style, is feveral Months pad, 
 which completes a Century fince the firft Or- 
 der of Council in P avour of the F arijian Ar- 
 tifts* May the Omen prove happy \ We 
 rnufl: be careful, or we Ihall fuffer the Arts 
 and ociences to travel by us into the more 
 Northern Parts of Europe , without inviting 
 them to day by any folid Encouragement. 
 
 Need we infid on other Motives, than 
 what have already occurred in this Eday, for 
 the making of fuch an Edablilhment in Eng- 
 land? The Honour of the Nation ought 
 fuiely to be of confiderable Weight in this 
 Matter. What, fhall we be ever obliged to 
 foreign Workmen for all that is beautiful and 
 maderly in our Churches and Palaces ? We 
 pique ourfelves much upon the Glory of our 
 Arms 3 and his Majedy, in his drft Speech 
 
 to 
 
An ESSAY on DESIGN, &c. 43 
 
 to the prefent Parliament, allures us, “ That 
 “ though the Succefs in the Low Countries 
 “ has not been anfwerable to our Wifhes, 
 “ and juft Expeditions, yet it muft be al- 
 <c lowed to the Honour of this Nation, that 
 c< no part of the Misfortunes can be imputed to 
 “ us.” By Sea we have in difputably triumphed, 
 and the Enemy had no Way to cover his own 
 Difgrace, but by frankly acknowledging our 
 Superiority. And fhall this Enemy fubdue 
 us in the Elegancies of Art, and Refinements 
 of Life ? We are apt enough to imitate the 
 French in their Fopperies and Exceftes : Let 
 an Emulation of them in what is noble and 
 praife-worthy, at leaft keep pace with our 
 Purfuit of their Fafhions. 
 
 But there may be great pecuniary Advan- 
 tages, fuch as ought to engage the Attention 
 of the mere Merchant, obtained from our 
 Improvements in the Art of Dejign. If we 
 had more regular Artifts, and in greater 
 Number, not only much Money, which is 
 now fent to France and Italy , might bfc faved, 
 but a very profitable Exportation might be 
 made of thofe Works that were not purchafed 
 by our own Connoiftieurs. 
 
44 An ESSAY on DESIGN, &c. 
 
 If we confider the great Number of fo- 
 reign Statues, Paintings, and Prints, that are 
 brought into this Kingdom, the prodigious 
 Price that is given for fome, and the more 
 than equitable Price that is given for all ; Muft 
 not the Confideration fugged: to us, that there 
 is a very great Balance againft us in Trade ? 
 We often hear of a Sum given for a fingle 
 Piece, the Work of an ancient or foreign 
 Mafter, that equals the annual Revenue of a 
 Gentleman’s Edate. Nay, and fometimes in 
 thefe Cafes, the Ignorance of the Purchafer, 
 or the confident Knavery of the Seller, im- 
 pofes on us a Copy of little Value, indead of 
 an ’Original. I fay, on us ; for fo, in this 
 Light of viewing the Matter, we ought to 
 edeemit; becaufe, whatever is' paid for one of 
 thefe extravagant Articles of Luxury, more than 
 it will again fell for at a foreign Market, is fo 
 much Lofs to the common national Stock, as 
 well as in the private Fortune of the imme- 
 diate Sufferer. 
 
 That we have annually a great many of 
 thefe lofing Articles, will not, I believe, be dif- 
 puted ; and whatever one Nation, by fuch 
 Means, draws from another, mud: contribute, 
 more or lefs, to the Exchange of Property be- 
 twixt 
 
An ESSAY on DESIGN, &c. 45 
 
 twixt them. The fmalleft Branch of Trade, 
 if carried on to our Difad vantage, muft in time 
 contribute to impoverish us, and enrich thofe 
 who deal with us on the beneficial Side. We 
 had a very great Balance againft us in the Trade 
 with J France, upon fuch Commodities only 
 as were for immediate Confumption. This 
 was difcovered by the Merchants themfelves, 
 who did not bring thofe enormous Articles, of 
 which we are now Speaking, into the Account. 
 And as to our T rade with Italy , tho’ I do not 
 intend to make Calculations, I would venture 
 to affirm, that if we have at any Time been 
 Gainers by it in the Way of common Mer- 
 chandize, we have been greater Lofers in the 
 Articles of Painting and Statuary. 
 
 But if the Britijh A r tills were Superior to 
 the French and Italian , and could raife a Tri- 
 bute on thofe Nations for any curious Produc- 
 tions, we (hould not only Save all this Balance 
 againft us, but put into our own Pockets as 
 much more to their Disadvantage. This would 
 be adding continually to our Wealth, and con- 
 sequently to our Strength and Influence. 
 
 But what would even this be, compared 
 with the greater Influx of Riches, that would 
 
 accompany 
 
46 jin ESSAY on DESiGN, (sc. 
 
 accompany Perfons ofDiftinffion from foreign 
 Nations? Do we vifit Italy for the Purity of 
 its Religion, or France for the Freedom of its 
 Government? An Italian or Frenchman will 
 hardly venture to fay this, unlefshe be igno- 
 rant, and a Bigot. Is it becaufe they are com- 
 mercial Nations, more than ourfelves ? Nei- 
 ther can that be admitted. Why then is it 
 but becaufe the Cities of Italy abound with 
 Temples and Palaces, venerable and ancient 
 in themfelves, and enriched with all the Pro- 
 fufion of Art by the greateft Mafters ? But be- 
 caufe France is in the Road to Italy , whom 
 Ihe has robbed of many of her Treafures, and 
 whom (he rivals in expenfive Projects, tho’ 
 not in the Beauty of Execution ? Had we as 
 curious Works of our own, in the fame Abun- 
 dance, fhould we be at fo much Expence and 
 Lofsof Time to vifit thofe of our Neighbours? 
 They who are loudeft again!! the Folly and A- 
 bufe of Travel, can fcarceiy be of this Opinion : 
 There would be no Pretence for the Fops and 
 Fools, if the Men of Tafte and Good Senfe did 
 not meet with fome Entertainment. Admit- 
 ting, therefore, that the greateft part of our 
 Travellers are of the former Clafs, thofe of the 
 latter mull, in this refpeft, always lead the 
 Fafhion. 
 
 HOMER 
 
Jin ESSAY on DESIGN, &c. 47 
 
 HOMER makes it one of the charafteri- 
 ftical Excellencies of his TJlyJfes , that he had 
 feen many Cities, and knew the various Man- 
 ners of Men. They who are Advocates for the 
 Mode of ranging over Europe , will be apt to 
 quote this Example, and thofe of Pythagoras, 
 Plato , and other Ancients, who vifited the Places 
 mod: celebrated for Learning and Wifdom, to 
 fupport their Arguments.But thefe Ancients were 
 all great Men, who actually procured Benefit to 
 themfelves, and to their Country, by their labo- 
 rious Journies. That Genius’s of their Rank 
 fhouldftill, for the Advantage of Mankind, neg- 
 ledt no Means of Information, I am truly of 
 Opinion. But how few of our modern Travel- 
 lers would be able to avail themfelves of this 
 Plea ? As it is, however, the mofl plaufible 
 one that can be brought, it deferves to be 
 briefly examined. 
 
 Chaldea and Egypt i to which the ancient 
 Grecians travelled, were Countries much el- 
 der in Literature and the Sciences than Greece : 
 They were alone pofTeffed, for many Centuries, 
 of thofe noble Models that have fin ce been 
 copied in the Nations of Europe : Whoever 
 was ambitious of imbibing fuperior Knowledge, 
 technical or moral, had no other Sources than 
 
 thefe 
 
48 An ESSAY on DESIGN, &c. 
 
 thefe to draw from ; no other, till fome of 
 the moft curious and communicative Greci- 
 ans, having themfelves drank large Draughts, 
 became, in their Turns, the Fountains of the 
 fame Knowledge to their Cotemporaries and 
 Succeflors. Homer lived in an Age, in which 
 we know of no otherWriter of Reputation, nor 
 fcarely of a great or wife Man in AJia or 
 Greece , for whofe Charafter we are not in- 
 debted to him. Thefe few, we may prefume, 
 had moft of them drawn from the original 
 Sources : It was therefore a moft praife-wor- 
 thy Quality to have travelled, to have feen 
 many Cities and Men, as without fuch Toils, 
 the Mind could not be enlarged, nor Expe- 
 rience collected. In like manner, Travel will 
 always be commendable in Men of Tafte 
 and real Curiofity, while neighbouring Nati- 
 ons have thofe Means of Inftru&ion, or De- 
 light, which we are deficient in ourfelves: 
 But -could we only rival our Neighbours in 
 the elegant and polite Arts, (as we already 
 confefledly do in Literature) the fame Mo- 
 tive would not remain : The Men of Senfe 
 would not wafte the Time which they 
 efteem fo precious, and the Grand Tour of 
 our Petit Maitres would not be juftified by 
 grave Example. 
 
 The 
 
An ESSAY on DESIGN, &c. 49 
 
 The Lacedaemonians were certainly a brave, 
 and Hiftory has called them, a wife People ; 
 yet they forbad Travel to their Youth, as it 
 contributed, in their Opinion, to foften and 
 corrupt their Manners. If we have not been 
 already too much foftened and corrupted, 
 the Comparifons made betwixt former Ages 
 and the prefent, are unjuft. And do not all, 
 who make thefe Comparifons, afcribe the Dif- 
 ference to the bad Habits we have learned from 
 Foreigners, whom, in point of Bravery, our 
 Anceftors would have defpifed ? Not only the 
 Culture of our Lands, and the Manufactures 
 of our own Productions, but the Arts of Peace 
 and War were known to thofe Anceftors : What 
 then do moft of our young Gentlemen learn ? 
 Are the dancing a Minuet, and humming an 
 Italian Air, fo great Excellencies ? And even, 
 admitting they were, the Care of the prefent 
 Age has provided Mailers capable of teach- 
 ing them both even at Home. Nobody can 
 fay, that we are not in this refpect, fufficient- 
 ly frenchijied and Italianized. 
 
 Voyagers write much of the Wifdomof 
 the Chinefe 5 and in fome of them I have read^ 
 that there is a Handing Law of their Empire, 
 to prevent the Natives of it from going abroad, 
 H Tho’ 
 
50 An ESSAY on DESIGN, Gf c . 
 
 Tho’ great Numbers of them therefore are feen 
 in fome of the European Settlements in India, 
 they are all Fugitives from their Country, and 
 the very Refufe of it. Hence we need not 
 wonder that they are ufually branded with the 
 Name of Sharpers. The great Numbers of 
 them that, a few Years ago, were barbaroufly 
 murdered at Batavia , were Men, who, upon 
 the Dutch Principle of Gain, had thrown off 
 the Prote&ion of the Laws they were born 
 under : And for this Reafon it was, that the 
 reigning Emperor of China , when called up- 
 on to refent an A< 5 t of fuch Cruelty, ex- 
 cufed himfelf, as I have been affured, by al- 
 ledging, that they were none of his Subjects, 
 and therefore he had no Bufmefs to interfere 
 in their Quarrel. 
 
 But, to have done with all other Confidera. 
 tions, let us flop a little to refleft on the great; 
 Advantages that may be derived from Draw- 
 ing, and a Knowledge of tbe Art of Defign, 
 to all Ranks and Profeffions of Men. 
 
 The curious Traveller, of whom we have 
 been fpeaking, cannot, without this Art, make 
 thofe Improvements he goes in Purfuit of 
 lie may be pleafed with Beauty in general, 
 
 when 
 
An ESSAY on DESIGN, &c. 51 
 
 when he fees it in the venerable Remains of 
 the great Mailers ; but, without Skill to deli- 
 neate the feveral Parts, and trace out thofe 
 Lines of Proportion and Harmony from which 
 each refpedlive Beauty refults, he will not be 
 able either to account for his own Pleafure, or 
 to convey to others any diflindl Ideas of what 
 he hath feen and obferved. Hence it is, that 
 among our numerous Accounts of Voyages 
 and Travels, many of them evidently written 
 by Men of Genius and Knowledge, Men pof- 
 fefifed of every Qualification but this One, which 
 they had either never been put in mind of at 
 School, or been taught to look upon as too 
 mechanical to have a Place among their fub- 
 limer Studies, we have fo very few that give 
 us any new and ufeful Information, or ena- 
 ble the Artifts at Plome, who cannot be at 
 the Expence of the like Journeys, but are 
 Mailers of the imitative Skill, whenever Ob- 
 jedl§ are fairly reprefented, to improve their 
 natural and acquired Talents in their feveral 
 Profeflions, 
 
 The noble Author of the Charadleriltics, 
 whofe every Line was written with the Ideas 
 of Beauty and Proportion ftrongly and di- 
 ftindtly imprelfed on his Mind, is a moll emi- 
 H 2 nent 
 
52 An ESSAf on DESIGN, £?c. 
 
 nent Exception from this Cenfure which falls 
 too generally on modern Travellers. In his 
 Notion of the hiftorical Draught or Tablature 
 of the Judgment of Hercules , he hath, with 
 regular Skill, and lively Imagination, {truck 
 out a Subject both for Painting and Sculpture, 
 and Poefy their Sifter Art, which have all been 
 iince laudably employed in working after fo 
 mafterly a Sketch. 
 
 To Navigators, who traverfe the vaft Ocean, 
 and whofe Safety depends upon their Know- 
 ledge of their Situation every Moment, the 
 Art of Drawing is fo abfolutely neceftary, that 
 the Negleft of it hitherto has been equally fatal 
 and unaccountable. In the Art of War, how 
 requifite it is, and how fhamefully it has on 
 our Part been pretermitted, the recent Ex- 
 perience of the four or five Years laft elapfed, 
 does but too fully demonftrate. We can on- 
 ly hope that the Inftitutions at Woolwich and 
 Tort] mouth, by training up a fufficient Num- 
 ber of young Men in the ufeful Parts of Know- 
 ledge, cf which this of Drawing is one of 
 the moft efiential, may vindicate to our Na- 
 tion, in future Wars, as much Applaufe for our 
 military Skill, as is now given without Re- 
 ferve to our Courage. If we do not imitate 
 
 our 
 
An ESSAY on DESIGN, &c. 53 
 
 our Neighbours in an Art, which is now be- 
 come fo effectual, as almoft to take Place of 
 Numbers, Weight, and perfonal Prowefs, 
 how fhall we ever hope again to conquer them 
 in the Field, or to maintain our Superiority 
 over them on the Ocean? 
 
 In the Ordonnance Marine , Lewis XIV. 
 orders, “ That there be Profeffiors to teach 
 “ Navigation publickly in all the Sea-port 
 <c Towns, who muft know Defining , and 
 tc teach it their Scholars, in order to lay 
 “ down the Appearances of Coafts, and 
 “ the like. They are to keep their Schools 
 {C open, and read four Times a Week to the 
 tc Seamen, where they mud; have Charts, 
 “ Globes, Spheres, Compares, Quadrants, 
 et Aflrolabes, and all Books and Inftruments 
 “ neceffary to teach their Art. The Dire<ftors 
 “ of Hofpitals are obliged to fend thither 
 <f yearly, two or three of their Boys to be 
 “ taught, and to furniffi them with Books 
 4C and Infbuments. Thofe Profeffiors are 
 tc obliged to examine the Journals depofited in 
 “ the Office of Admiralty, in the Places of 
 tc their Eftablifhment ; to corredt the Errors 
 <c in Prefence of the Seamen, and to reftore 
 :{ them within a Month.” 
 
 King 
 
54- An ESSAY on DESIGN, & c . 
 
 ICing Charles IF. who well underftood the 
 Importance of Eftablifhments of this Nature, 
 founded fuch aSchoolin Chrijl’ sHofpital f wh\ch 
 has produced many eminent Proficients. King 
 William eftablifhed a Mathematical Lefture, 
 to breed up Engineers and Officers, which 
 was difeontinued, however, after the Peace 
 of Ryfwick. The Fault of the Englijh has ufur 
 ally been, to negledt the Means of teaching 
 military Qualifications, when the Ufe of them 
 has not been immediately necefiary. But the 
 above-mentioned Schools, now eftablifhed at 
 Woolwich and P or tf mouth, to teach the Arts 
 relating to War, feem to promile a more laft- 
 ing Duration. 
 
 It appears from the Account, lately pub- 
 lifhed, of the mofl remarkable Voyage of the 
 prefent Age, that the worthy Gentleman, 
 fince called up to the Rank of Nobility, who 
 commanded in it, had a true Senfe of the 
 whole Duty of his Employment, and looked 
 upon the Application of a Skill in Drawing 
 as no inconfiderable Part of it. We muft take 
 the Sentiments, in the Introdu&ion of that 
 Work, for the Commander’s own, though 
 
 publifhed 
 
An ESSAY on DESIGN, &c. 55 
 
 publifhed under another Name. They are fo 
 foil to the Point I am upon, and their Au- 
 thority is fo much better than my own, that 
 a Quotation from them will fupply the Place 
 of much that I mud ehc have faid upon the 
 Subiedt of j Drawing t with refpeCt to the 
 Public. 
 
 “ I cannot, fays Mr. Walter , finifh this 
 “ Introduction, without adding a few Re- 
 “ flections on a Matter very nearly connedt- 
 tc ed with the prefent Subject, and, as I con- 
 “ ceive, neither deflitute of Utility, nor 
 “ unworthy the Attention of the Public 5 I 
 “ mean, the animating my Countrymen, 
 “ both in their public and private Stations, 
 “ to the Encouragement and Purfuit of all 
 “ kinds of geographical and nautical Obfer- 
 “ vations, and of every Species of mechanical 
 “ and commercial Information. It is by a 
 c< fettled Attachment to thefe feemingly mi- 
 “ nute Particulars, that our ambitious Neigh- 
 
 bours have eftablifhed fome Part of that 
 “ Power, with which we are now ftruggling : 
 “ And as we have the Means in our Hands 
 “ of purfuing thofe Subjects more effectually 
 “ than they can, it would be a Difhonour to 
 “ 11s fonger to neglect fo eafy and beneficial 
 
 cc a 
 
r 6 An ESSAY on DESIGN, &c. 
 
 “ a Practice : For, as we have a Navy much 
 “ more numerous than theirs, great Part 
 “ of which is conflantly employed in very 
 “ diffcant Stations, either in the Protedion of 
 “ our Colonies and Commerce, or in affifc- 
 “ ing our Allies again# the common Enemy, 
 “ this gives us frequent Opportunities offur- 
 “ nifhing ourfelves with fuch kind of Mate- 
 “ rials as are here recommended, and fuch 
 “ as might turn greatly to our Advantage, 
 <c either in War or Peace. 
 
 <£ For, not to mention what might he 
 “ expeded from the Officers of the Navy, if 
 “ their Application to thefe Subjeds were 
 properly encouraged, it would create no 
 4t new Expence to the Government to efia- 
 bliffi a particular Regulation for this Pur- 
 pofe; fince all that would be requifite, 
 “ would be conflantly to embark on board 
 fome oi our Men of War, which are lent 
 * c on thefe diilant Cruizes, a Perfon, who with 
 st the Charader of an Engineer, and the 
 il Skill and Talents neceflary to that Proftf- 
 hon, ffiould be employed in drawing fuch 
 tc Coafts, and planning fuch Harbours, as the 
 <c Ship ffiould touch at, and in making iuch 
 te other Obfervations of all kinds, as might 
 
 “ either 
 
An ESSAY on DESIGN, &c. 57 
 
 “ either prove of Advantage to future Navi- 
 ££ gators, or might any ways tend to promote 
 “ the public Service. 
 
 “ Besides, Perfons habituated to this Em- 
 <£ ployment (which could not fail at the fame 
 ct Time of improving them in their proper 
 <c Bufinefs) would be extremely ufeful in many 
 <c other Lights, and might ferve to fecure our 
 “ Fleets from thofe Difgraces, with which 
 <c their Attempts againft Places on Shore have 
 ££ been often attended: And, in a Nation 
 ££ like ours, where all Sciences are more 
 ££ eagerly and univerfally purfued, and better 
 <£ underftood than in any other Part of the 
 <£ World, proper Subjects for fuch Employ- 
 <£ ments could not long be wanting, if due 
 ££ Encouragement were given to them. 
 
 <£ This Method here recommended is 
 C£ known to have been frequently praftifed by 
 ££ the French, particularly in the Inftance of 
 <£ Monfieur Frezier , who has publifhed a 
 <£ celebrated Voyage to the South-Seas : For 
 ££ this Perfon, in the Year 1711, waspur- 
 <£ pofely fent by the French King into that 
 * £ Country, on board a Merchantman, that he 
 <£ might examine and defcribe the Coafts, and 
 
 I ££ take 
 
58 An ESSAY on DESIGN, &c. 
 
 “ take Plans of all the fortified Places, the 
 <c better to enable the French to profecute 
 t{ their illicit Trade, or, in cafe of a Rup- 
 i( ture with the Court of Spain, to form their 
 “ Enterprifes in thofe Seas with more Readi- 
 “ nefs and Certainty. 
 
 “ Should we purfue this Method, we 
 tc might hope, that the Emulation among thofe 
 “ who were thus employed, and the Expe- 
 “ rience, which even in Time of Peace, they 
 “ would thereby acquire, might at length 
 “ promife us a Number of able Engineers, 
 “ and might efface the national Scandal, which 
 <{ our Deficiency in that Species of Men has 
 fometimes expofed us to : And, furely, 
 <c every Step to encourage and improve this 
 “ Profeffion, is of great Moment to the 
 <c Public ; as no Perfons, when they are pro- 
 perly inftrudted, make better Returns in 
 <c War, for the Encouragement and Emolu- 
 <c ments bellowed on them in Time of Peace. 
 “ Of which the Advantages the French have 
 reaped from their Dexterity, (too nume- 
 s£ rous and recent to be foon forgot) are an 
 “ ample Confirmation. 
 
An ESSAY on DESIGN, &c. 59 
 
 “ And having mentioned Engineers, or 
 “ fuch as are fkill’d in Drawing, and the 
 “ other ufeful Practices of that Profeflion, as 
 “ the propereft Perfons to be employed in 
 “ thefe foreign Enquiries 5 I cannot (as it of- 
 <c fers itfelf fo naturally to the Subject in 
 “ Hand) but lament, how very imperfect 
 “ many of our Accounts of diftant Countries 
 “ are rendered by the Relators being unfkil- 
 “ ful in Drawing, and in the general Prin- 
 <c ciples of Surveying, even where other 
 “ Abilities have not been wanting. Had 
 “ more of our Travellers been initiated in 
 
 cc 
 
 cc 
 
 cc 
 
 cc 
 
 cc 
 
 cc 
 
 cc 
 
 <( 
 
 c< 
 
 u 
 
 (C 
 
 cc 
 
 cc 
 
 tc 
 
 it 
 
 thefe Acquirements, and had there been 
 added thereto forpe little Skill in the com- 
 mon agronomical Obfervations, (all which 
 a Perfon of ordinary Talents might attain 
 with a very moderate Share of Application) 
 we fhould, by this Time, have feen the 
 Geography of the Globe much corre&er 
 than we now find it j the Dangers of Na- 
 vigation would have been confiderably 
 leffened, and the Manners, Arts, and Pro- 
 duce of foreign Countries, would have been 
 much better known to us than they are. 
 Indeed, when I confider the ftrong Incite- 
 ments that all T ravellers have to acquire 
 fome Part, at leaf!:, of thefe Qualifications, 
 I 2 “ efpecially 
 
60 An ESSAY on DESIGN, &c, 
 
 elpeciaily Drawings when I confiderhow 
 much it would facilitate their Obfervations, 
 afiiif and drengthen their Memories, and 
 of how tedious, and often unintelligible, a 
 Load of Defcription it would rid them, I 
 “ cannot but wonder that any Perfon, that 
 intends to vifit didant Countries, with a 
 “ View of informing either himfelf or others, 
 “ fhould be unfurnifhed with fo ufeful a Piece 
 “ of Skill. 
 
 <c And to inforce this Argument ftill far- 
 ft ther, I mud add, that befides the Ufes of 
 “ Drawing which are already mentioned, 
 Cc there is one, which, though not fo ob- 
 <c vious, is yet perhaps of more Conlequence 
 than all that has been hitherto urged • and 
 t{ that is, that thofe who are accudomed to 
 <c draw Objeds, obferve them with more 
 Diftindnefs, than others who are not habi- 
 tuated to this Practice : For we may eafily 
 find, by a little Experience, that in view- 
 ing any Objed, however fimple, our At- 
 “ tention or Memory is fcarcely at any Time 
 fo firong, as to enable us, when we have 
 turned our Eyes away from it, to recoiled 
 “ exadly every Part it confided of, and to 
 c< recall all the Circumdances of its Appear- 
 
 “ ance ; 
 
An ESSAY on DESIGN, &c. 61 
 
 «« ance j fince on Examination it will be di£- 
 « covered, that in fome we were miftaken, 
 an d others we had overlooked : Bat he 
 « that is employed in drawing what he fees, 
 “ is at the fame Time employed in rectifying 
 “ this Inattention j for by confronting his 
 “ Ideas copied on the Paper, with the Ob- 
 «* jeCt he intends to represent, he finds in what 
 < { Manner he has been deceived in its Ap- 
 <; pearance, and hence in Time acquires the 
 “ Habit of obferving much more at one View, 
 “ and retains what he fees with more Cor- 
 “ reCtnefs, than he could ever have done 
 “ without his Practice and Proficiency in 
 cc Drawing . 
 
 <c If what has been faid merits the Atten- 
 tc tion of Travellers of all Sorts, it is, I think, 
 <c more particularly applicable to the Gentle- 
 <{ men of the Navy ; fince without Draw - 
 “ ing and Planning , neither Charts nor Views 
 “ of Land can be taken ; and without thofe, 
 c * it is fufficiently evident, that Navigation is 
 c< at a full Stand. It is doubtlefs from a Per- 
 “ fuafion of the Utility of thefe Qualifications, 
 “ that his Majefly has eftabiifhed a Draw - 
 “ ing-Mafter at Portfmouth , for the Inftruc- 
 <( tion of thofe who are prefumed to be after- 
 
 “ wards 
 
6 2 Aft E S S A V on D E S I G N, 
 
 “ wards intruded with the Command of the 
 “ Royal Navy : And though fome have 
 “ been fo far milled, as to fuppofe, that the 
 “ Perfedion of Sea-Officers confided in a 
 <c Turn of Mind and Temper refembling the 
 “ boiderous Element they had to deal with, 
 “ and have condemned all Literature and 
 “ Science as effeminate, and derogatory to 
 “ that Ferocity, which, they would perhiade 
 “ us, was the mod unerring Charade- 
 “ ridic of Courage : Yet it is to be hoped, 
 (t that fuch Abfurdities as thefe have at no 
 “ Time been authorifed by the public Opi- 
 
 nion, and that the Belief of them daily 
 c< diminidies.” 
 
 To proceed: Every Gentleman, though 
 he does not travel, nor ferve his Country either 
 in the Fleet or the Army, will always find 
 fome Skill in Drawings if he has it, of great 
 Ufe to him ; will often be obliged, if he has 
 it not, to depend on the Ingenuity and Ho- 
 nedy of others for much of his Entertain- 
 ment and Indrudion. Though it is not 
 expeded that every Perfon of great Fortune 
 fhould be a pradical Surveyor, and adually 
 plan his own Edate, and draw the Ichnogra- 
 phy and Elevation of his own Manfion ; 
 
 yet 
 
An ESSAY on DESIGN, &c. 63 
 
 yet to be able to do this, and to examine, by 
 his proper Skill, fuch Particulars as create 
 in his Mind either Doubt or Difguft, mull 
 contribute greatly to his Satisfaction and De- 
 light, *and fometimes even to his Profit. His 
 Fronts, his Walks, his Parterres, his Offices, 
 and even the Furniture of his Apartments, 
 may all receive greater, and perhaps at the 
 fame Time lefs expenfive Beauties from the 
 Knowledge of the Matter, than would other- 
 wile be bellowed on them. And if this be 
 the Cafe in lefs curious Matters, how much 
 more will it be fo in the Purchafe of Pictures, 
 Statues, and other rich Ornaments, where 
 the Ignorance or Craft of Agents, if folely 
 trufted to, may at once burthen him with a 
 heavy Expence, and bring his Tafte into Dis- 
 reputation ? 
 
 Our Seminaries of liberal Education, in 
 the Opinion of the Judicious, will want 
 a great Part of Perfection, till Drawing is 
 looked upon as a neceflary Article in the 
 Courfe of fcholaltic or academical Education. 
 Would Perfons cf Ability take this into Con- 
 fi deration, we might foon have Appointments 
 for the Profeffors of this Art, as well as of 
 others not more ufeful ; and the Drawing - 
 
 Majter , 
 
64 An ESSAY on DESIGN, &c. 
 
 Mafler , in private Schools, would at lead: rank 
 equally with the Mailers of French and 
 Dancing. 
 
 Would thofe Perfons of Ability confider 
 a little farther, and, befides thinking fome 
 Skill in Drawing necelfary for their Children, 
 (for I would not exclude the young Ladies 
 from it, any more than the young Gentle- 
 men) refolve, from a Principle of public Spirit, 
 to encourage our own profeffed Artifts as much 
 as polhble, at lead; fo far as not to give more 
 for the Work of a Foreigner, of equal Value, 
 than for that of one of our own Mailers, they 
 would foon perceive this a great Spur to Emu- 
 lation, and Emulation is a certain Guide to 
 Excellence. It redounds to the Honour of 
 one Nobleman I have heard of, (I hope if 
 he be lingular at prelent, he will not long con- 
 tinue fo) that he hath devoted one Apart- 
 ment in his fumptuous Villa to Englijh Merit 
 only, and purpofes to Ell it with the moll 
 excellent Works of our bell Mailers in the 
 Art of Delign. It was from the Encourage- 
 ment of the noble Italian Families, that the 
 great Italian Artids were enabled to purfue 
 and dnidi their Works • and the Prefer vation 
 of fo many of thofe Works, in the Perfection 
 
An ESSAY on DESIGN, &c. 65 
 
 they are now feen, is owing to their being 
 placed in the Houfes of the Great, in Palaces, 
 and in Churches. By the fame Means only 
 can Englijh Artifls think to obtain, and trans- 
 mit to future Ages, the Reputation they 
 would labour, not without flattering Hopes 
 of Succefs, to defer ve of the Public. 
 
 If we defcend from the Gentlemen of 
 Eftate, and confider the two other Ranks 
 of People into which the better Sort of the 
 Inhabitants of this Ifland may be divided, we 
 fhall find the Art of Drawing not only orna- 
 mental in every State and Degree, but in moft 
 of them abfolutely neceffary,as the mod: certain 
 Means of obtaining true Skill and Reputation. 
 The two Ranks I mean are, 1. Of Perfons 
 in the liberal Arts and Sciences, including as 
 well thofe Arts and Sciences which do not, 
 as thofe which do, confer academical De- 
 grees on the Profeffors ; and, 2. The whole 
 Body of Artifans and Mechanics, including 
 the principal Merchants and Tradefmen, Far- 
 mers, Gardeners, Stewards, and all thofe in 
 the Direction of fuch Affairs as have the In- 
 creafe and Improvement of our Landed or 
 Perfonal Wealth for their Objedt. From this 
 Defcription it will appear, that none are left 
 K out 
 
66 An ESSAY on DESIGN, &c. 
 
 out but the mere fervile and labouring Order 
 of People ; to whom no other Knowledge is 
 neceflary but their Duty to God, their Supe- 
 riors, and one another ; and thefe muft al- 
 ways be the greateft Number in any Com- 
 munity. 
 
 The firft of the liberal Profeflions, that of 
 Divinity , feems indeed to have lefs need of 
 this Art than either of her Sifters : Yet here it 
 is not ufelefs, nay, it is even neceflary in the 
 Interpretation of fome Parts of the Scripture. 
 Can a Map of the Garden of Eden y and the 
 Terreftrial Paradife, be delineated but by 
 Skill in Drawing ? Can the Proportions of 
 Noah's Ark, and its Capacity to contain two 
 and two of all living Animals, with their Pro- 
 vender, be underftood without a tolerable 
 Knowledge of Lines and geometrical Figures? 
 The Vifions in the prophetical Books of the 
 Old Teftament, and fome of thofe in the Apo- 
 calypfe in the New, will give more Pleafure 
 to a Draughtfman than to a common Reader. 
 Thus far extends the Profeftion of a Divine, 
 limply considered : But if we view him as a 
 
 Gentleman, a Philofopher, a Perfon conver- 
 sant in all the Studies of Humanity, one who 
 labours to recommend the Purity of Faith 
 
 by 
 
An ESSAY on DESIGN, &c. 67 
 
 by the Ornaments of Science (an Art which 
 in the prefent Age is almoft abfolutely necef- 
 fary) whatBranch of Knowledge or Learning 
 can we allow him to be deficient in, and not 
 detract from the venerable and refpe&ful Idea 
 of his Character ? 
 
 Come we next to Phyfck , which, taken 
 in its mod comprehenfive and true Senfe, in- 
 cludes the whole Knowledge of Nature, or 
 the Purfuit of fuch Knowledge in general, 
 otherwife called Natural Philojophy : Can 
 
 we think of an Accomplishment that a Phy- 
 fician of this Kind may want, and not be de- 
 fective in what he pretends to ? But Draw- 
 ing he more efpecially requires, as he will 
 perpetually have Occafion to copy the Objects 
 that prefent themfelves in the various Parts of 
 the Univerfe. We enter not into Particulars ; 
 becaufe the Catalogue, to human Conception, 
 is infinite. But if we take Phyfick in the Senfe 
 of Medicine only, including Pharmacy and 
 Chirurgery *, how neceffary is Drawing to ob- 
 
 * Mr. Cowper , the great Anatomift, was very expert 
 in this Art ; and, if I remember right, drew thofe fine 
 Cuts in his two Volumes of Anatomy. Dr. Mead has 
 feveral anatomical Paintings of his, which are efteemed 
 very good. 
 
 K 2 
 
 tain 
 
\ 
 
 68 An ESSAY on DESIGN, ® c . 
 
 tain a perfed Skill in the Anatomy of the 
 human Body, and the Oeconomy of its va- 
 rious Parts. Modern Phyficians themfekes 
 allow, that the Advantages they enjoy beyond 
 the Antients, are chiefly to be afcribed to 
 the Experience gained from Difledions, and 
 the accurate Draughts that have been made 
 of Difeafes and their Appearances. Anato- 
 my, by the Help of Drawing , has proceeded 
 to a Companion of other Animal Syftems 
 with that of Man, and of Animal Life in 
 general with Vegetable and Mineral. How 
 great are the Advantages refulting from all 
 this, cannot be difficult to comprehend. 
 
 To talk of Drawing to a Gentleman of 
 the Law, would be apt, at firft, to give 
 him a different Idea from what we now pur- 
 fue : But that Gentleman, when he comes 
 
 to refled, will find our Sort of Drawing a 
 neceflary Auxiliary in the Conveyance of 
 Eftates andHoufes, or the Litigation of Pro- 
 perty in them, which are the common Sub- 
 jeds of his Draughts. If he does not poflefs 
 the Art himfelf in both Senfes (which per- 
 haps is not required to his Profefiion) he 
 muff frequently call in the Afliftance of the 
 Mapmaker and Surveyor. But in his Gentle- 
 man's 
 
An ESSAY on DESIGN, 9 c. 69 
 
 man’s Capacity, whether Civilion or common 
 Lawyer, as a Profeffor of an Art which he 
 would be angry fhould we call illiberal , he 
 can no more be excufed a Want of this Skill, 
 than the Divine or the Phyfician. 
 
 Having thus mentioned the three Pro- 
 fefiions, which are called learned by Way of 
 Diftin&ion, other fub-divifions under this 
 general Head may be avoided. 
 
 In proceeding from the liberal Sciences to 
 the mechanic Arts (which are almoft innu- 
 merable) I would defire every polite Reader 
 to aflift me with his Imagination, and every 
 Artifl to make the particular Application of 
 my general Remarks to himfelf, and his own 
 Bufinefs : For were I to enter into an En- 
 
 numeration of all that I could now think of, 
 to whom Drawing is either abfolutely necef- 
 fary, or would be greatly ufeful, I fhould 
 juftly incur the Charge of a needlefs Prolixity, 
 if not of defcending lower than the Picture, 
 hitherto given of my Subject, may feem to 
 require. The Bailiff, the Farmer, and all 
 whofe Bufinefs is relative to the Lands, may 
 include themfelves in what we have faid of 
 the Surveyor. The Carpenter, the Mafon, 
 
 the 
 
jo An ESSAY on DESIGN, &c. 
 
 the Bricklayer, the Glazier, with fome others, 
 whofe Trades have a refpect to Building, 
 might be difpleafed if' I were to put them in 
 any other Clafs than that of Archite&s; and 
 real Architects, while they find the Afiif- 
 tance of thefe Artifts neceffary to execute 
 their Defigns, muft not be afhamed to fhel- 
 ter their Auxiliaries under the Shadow of 
 their Wings. All Men whofe Employment 
 is in the fafhioning of Earth, Wood, Metal, 
 or Stone, or in ornamenting the various Uten- 
 fils of Life which are fafhioned from thefe, 
 muft acknowledge that Drawing turns great- 
 ly to their Account; and that if they can 
 form no Defigns of their own, they are con- 
 ftantly obliged to copy thofe of better Ar- 
 tifts. 
 
 Weavers, Embroiderers, and other Perfons 
 employed in the Manufacturing of Silks, 
 Stuffs, or Cottons, are obliged, if unfkill’d 
 themfelves, to have Recourfe to thofe who 
 make Pattern-Drawing their Profeflion 
 
 How 
 
 f Hence the Complaints of Perfons engaged in thefe 
 Parts of the Weaving Trade, where Deftgn, lnveniion y 
 or, as they term it, Fancy , are concerned. Thefe Men 
 have long been convinced of the Neceflity of Drawing 
 
 in 
 
An ESSAY on DESIGN, &c. 71 
 
 How much fuperior to thefe dependent Artifts 
 fhall we efteem thofe Engravers, who, with 
 great Neatnefs of the Burin y have few or no 
 Ideas of their own to follow, and are obliged 
 to work after the Defigns of Others in all they 
 perform ? Muft it not occur to all Such, 
 that their great Defeft is the Want of Skill in 
 the Art of Drawing ? Can any Labour feem 
 too arduous, if by it they may attain this ori- 
 ginal Idea, this animating Soul of all their 
 other Skill ? I leave this Thought to the 
 Reflection of every one who is fenfible of his 
 own Deficiency. 
 
 I n a Word, the Aftronomer cannot in Fancy 
 parcel out the Heavens, nor the Geographer 
 defcribe the Divifions of the Earth that really 
 exift, without fome Proficiency in the Art 
 of Drawing. Under the Direction of thefe we 
 
 in thofe Branches, and it is with great Concern that they 
 lament, that notwithftanding the Perfe&ion to which 
 the Silk Manufacture is brought in London , particularly 
 in Spittlejields , our greateft Artifts, for want of Skill to 
 delineate, and thereby improve their own Conceptions, 
 are, in the Article of brocaded Silks in particular, re- 
 duced to the Neceftity either of calling in the Affiftance. 
 of the better inftruded, though not more ingenious, 
 French , who refide among them, or of fervilely imi- 
 tating their lefs elaborate Performances. 
 
 place 
 
72 An ESSAY on DESIGN, &c. 
 
 place all the Artids who work on Indruments 
 for the Meafure of Time or Space, by what- 
 foever Denomination they are known. Not 
 one of thefe Mechanics who is not dridtly 
 bound to the Rules of exadt Proportion. 
 
 Thus, which Way foever we look, from 
 the moft fublime Contemplation down to the 
 mod: minute Work of the Hand, on the 
 Productions of Nature, or Performances of 
 Art, our Argument appears in full Strength, 
 That Drawing is a ufeful Part of Education, 
 
 Can we help lamenting, after this, that 
 nothing has yet been done towards the more 
 general Attainment of fo univerfal a Benefit ? 
 Can we help reproaching our national Negli- 
 gence, and, amidft all the Prejudices favour- 
 able to ourfelves, avoid bellowing their due 
 Share of Praife on our more frugal and in- 
 dudrious Neighbours ? 
 
 W h a t a fmall Sum, compared with the 
 annual Revenue of the Crown, would fuffice 
 to fupport an Academy for promoting and 
 improving the Arts of Defign ? The Income 
 of many a private Gentleman, arifing from 
 his paternal Edate, would be more than fuffi- * 
 
 cient 
 
An ESSAY on DESIGN, &c. 73 
 
 cient for thisPurpofe. The Salary and Profits of 
 fome fingle Places, the Duty of which does 
 not require the Application or Genius of an 
 able Mailer in the polite Arts, would a- 
 bundantly fatisfy and animate many fuch 
 Makers. Few of them labour for Riches: 
 A Competency, Countenance from the Great, 
 Applaufe and Encouragement in proportion 
 to their Degrees of Excellency, are ufually 
 the only ObjeCts that fuch Perfons have in 
 View. Art, like Virtue, has a Satisfaction 
 in the Contemplation of itfelf, which keeps out 
 foreign Confiderations, thofe Purfuits of ex- 
 ternal Pleafures that engage the Attention of 
 common Men, who are unemployed, becaufe 
 thev are unfkilful. So little would, in this Cafe, 
 be fufiicient, that a fmall Saving, almoft un- 
 felt by anv Individual, in fome expenfive 
 Articles of the Adminiilration of Govern- 
 ment, would do more than, I prefame, would 
 be afked, if a Committee of our greateft 
 Mailers were appointed to draw up a Scheme 
 for eftabliihing an Academy to teach the Art 
 of Defign. 
 
 It was by no means my Intention to 
 meddle with any Thing foreign to the gene- 
 ral Defign of thefe Pages, and therefore I 
 
 L fhould 
 
74 ESSAY on DESIGN, &c. 
 
 fliould not have mentioned the Words , Sav- 
 ing, or Adminijlration of Government , in this 
 Light, if I had not forefeen an Objection 
 which fome may be ready to make againft 
 fuch a Propofal at this Time. Have we not 
 been long in an expend ve War (they may fay) 
 and do not the Deficiencies of every Year, 
 and the growing Debt of the Nation, con- 
 vince every Man, that this is not a Seafon for 
 laying any new Burden on the Public ? But 
 could that be called a new Burden on the 
 Nation which fo little would be required to 
 fupport ? What is annually given to preferve 
 and continue the Gothic Tafle in the old Re- 
 pofitory of Tombs at Weftminfer , would, if 
 properly applied, be fufficient to raife among 
 us the Tafle of Rome and Athens. And may 
 I be permitted to fay, without particular Re- 
 flections, that a com pleat Maftery of the Sub- 
 ject in Englifhmen , if they had been employ- 
 ed, might have faved more than would have 
 bred up an hundred fuch Mailers, by prevent- 
 ing the Misfortune that has happened at Wejl- 
 minfter Bridge ? Yet thefe are both public 
 Works, carried on through a Time when the 
 Nation has been engaged in that expend ve 
 War, and under that Load of Debts mention- 
 ed in the Objection. But I have already 
 
 fhewn, 
 
An ESSAY on DESIGN, &c. 75 
 
 fhewn, that, far from lofing, the Public 
 muft, in a fhort Time, be a great Gainer by 
 the Flourifhing of Painting, Sculpture, and 
 Architecture, ^pong our own Subjeds. 
 
 Our Hope in the Heat of the War, (and 
 that Hope feemed to be founded in Reafon) 
 was, that Lewis XV. our Enemy, was great- 
 ly diftrefled for Money to carry on his perni- 
 cious Scheme againft the Liberties of Man- 
 kind : Yet that Prince, in Imitation of his 
 
 Great Grandfather, did, even then, fpare an 
 additional Sum of 12,000 Livres a Year 
 (great to the Artifts, but little to him, being 
 not much above 500/. Sterling) for the far- 
 ther Encouragement of the Painters and 
 Sculptors in the Academy at Paris. How 
 will his Actions, for this Gratuity, be cele- 
 brated by the Pencil, the Burin, and the 
 Chifiel ? A fmall Penfion of 500 Livres, or 
 lefs than 25/. a Year, with the Title of 
 King’s Painter, is as honourable in the Sight 
 of the Public, and may be as beneficial to 
 him that pofleffes it, when bellowed upon 
 true Merit, as a ProfefTor of Art would even 
 defire. It is upon the Work which gained him 
 this DiftinCtion that the Artifl values him- 
 ielf, and not upon the pecuniary Acquifitions 
 L 2 he 
 
y6 An ESSAY on DESIGN, &c. 
 
 he has made by being thus diftinguifhed : 
 And yet thefe too, ifhefeek them, will flow 
 in to him from the Public, purely in Confe- 
 quence of the Honour done him by his So- 
 vereign. 
 
 For Care is taken, in the Difpofition of 
 thefe Honours, that no Man has them who is 
 unworthy of public Encouragement : The 
 
 King, in this Cafe, trufts his Confcience with 
 the eftablifhed Members of the Academy. 
 Recommendation, Friendfhip, private Pique, 
 can rarely influence thefe Decifions. Each 
 Artift is too jealous of the Reputation of his 
 own Judgment, to facrifice that to any other 
 Conflderation. And if any one might be in- 
 clined, on a particular Occaflon, to do fo, the 
 Number of Judges is too great for the Court 
 to be biafled. There is the utmoft Reafon to 
 fuppcfe, that Tides and Penflons, beftowed 
 by a Prince in this Manner, will always fall 
 to the moft Deferving. 
 
 The French King indeed is arbitrary ? 
 and has the abfolute Difpofal of the whole 
 Revenue of his Crown : But the Public 
 
 Money in Great Britain is both given and 
 appropriated dy Parliament, except the Reve- 
 2 nue 
 
An ESSAY on DESIGN, &c. 77 
 
 nue of the Civil Lift, which, we are told, is 
 pretty nicely parcell’d out betwixt the feveral 
 Officers belonging to the Royal Houfhold. This 
 is a Matter of which I am no competent Judge 5 
 but I cannot help thinking that much might 
 be done by thofe who have the advifing of 
 his Majefty, and the Partition of his annual 
 Appointment. His Royal Heart, I will ven- 
 ture to fay, would readily incline to what- 
 ever might be propofed for the .Honour and 
 Benefit of his People, though the Propofition 
 had not the farther Merit of being fo mani- 
 feftly conducive to the Glory of his own 
 Reign. 
 
 But if the Civil Lift fhall be thought fo 
 facred, that no Dedudion can or ought to be 
 made from it, a very fmall Rent-Charge upon 
 any Fund or Office that produces more than it 
 is appropriated for, or any other Means that 
 might be thought of in the Wifdom of the 
 Ltgiflature, would, without afteding theGrofs 
 of the Nation in the leaft fenfible Degree, lay a 
 Foundation for lading Fame to our Country. 
 Bin I would not prefume to enlarge here, 
 where the barely dropping of a Hint may be 
 corift rued Preemption : My Propofition, at * 
 
 prefent, fhall not extend to either a Royal or 
 
73 An ESSAY cn DESIGN, & c . 
 
 Parliamentary Eflablilhment, which mull: de- 
 pend entirely on the Tafte and Intereft of 
 thofe in Power. Till fome fuch Scheme, 
 under the benign Influence of a Britijh Me - 
 cams, takes Place, I would humbly propofe 
 to have an Academy fupported by private and 
 voluntary Subfcription. 
 
 The Tafte of fubfcribing to Hofpitals and 
 Infirmaries is now very much in vogue, Sup- 
 pofe you make an Hofpital for Genius, flnce 
 lhe is fo little able to provide for herfelf. 
 Pile Men of Genius, I am fure, , will excule 
 the Metaphor ; and you cannot more ufefully 
 beftow your Charity. To the Rich and 
 Powerful I fpeak, who are found, in fuffici- 
 ent Numbers, charitable on other Occafions. 
 
 I am afraid they mull be Men of Tafte too 
 that encourage this Propofal : But fome Men 
 of Tafte we have, who are polfelTed both of 
 Wealth and Power. Wealthy Perfons, of 
 lower intellectual Character, love to follow 
 the Falhions $ and the Encouragement of a 
 few leading Men is only wanting to make this 
 Subfcription falhionable. If they will but 
 try the Experiment, I know my Countrymen 
 fo well as to anfwer for the Concurrence of o- 
 thers. Many, who were not before thought fo, 
 
 will 
 
An ESSAY on DESIGN, &c. 79 
 
 will fubfcribe to be reputed Men of Tafte ; and 
 it would require more Ill-nature, and more In- 
 gratitude, than will be found in this Society, 
 to convince them of their Miflake. It will 
 be their own Fault if they are not fully repaid 
 in Pleafure. 
 
 T o refume the Metaphor of an Hofpital : 
 
 I cannot fee why the Mind does not as well 
 deferve one as the Body. This Inftitution 
 will not interfere either with that for expofed 
 and deferted Children, or with the many for 
 curing the Sick and Wounded of their Ma- 
 ladies : Yet in the Senfe I give the Term, 
 
 it will anfwer all the Purpofes of both. 
 
 That for Children propofes nothing 
 more than to preferve them from the Wants, 
 Accidents, and Vices, to which they might 
 other wife be expofed. It is to teach bodily 
 Labour, according to the growing Strength, 
 and fo much of Literature only as will in- 
 ftruCt them to be honeft Members of Society, 
 and good Chriftians, Their Qualifications 
 for the polite Arts are not to be enquired into, 
 (nor indeed could this be well taken into the 
 Plan) becaufe they are in general defigned, 
 as their unhappy Introduction to the World 
 
 feems 
 
So An ESSAY on DESIGN, &c. 
 
 feems to have appointed them, for a State of 
 Servitude. But may not fome of thefe, if 
 properly taken care of, be of Ornament to 
 Society, as well as of Ufe ? May it not fo 
 happen, that the fecond Charity may be well 
 bellowed on them, after they have received 
 all the Benefits of the firfi: ? How many an 
 Orphan-Genius has been thrown on the World 
 neglected, and perifhed unknown for want 
 of Culture? How many happy Talents, for 
 want of proper Direction, have funk into 
 low and hurtful Purfiiits, which have made 
 them fcandalous to that Community which 
 they might have adorned ? The Bent of fuch 
 Minds, if an Opening had been made to 
 them, might have been to Art and Induftry ; 
 but Neceffity has thrown it off to Cunning 
 and Indolence. 
 
 And where Genius languilhes, and grows 
 obfcure, tho' through the Fault of him who 
 poffeffes it, it would certainly be proper that 
 fome Means fhould be found for its Reco- 
 very. That this Misfortune too often hap- 
 pens is certain, and yet no Means have been 
 provided tor its Redrels An Infitution like 
 this i am arguing for. would, I prefume, un- 
 der certain Regulations, anfwer this Purpofe 
 
 as 
 
An ESSAY on DESIGN, &c. 81 
 
 as well as the former. Only let thofe who 
 are amiably forward in Subfcriptions remem- 
 ber, that want of Education is the Expojing , 
 and want of Encouragement the Difeafe of 
 Genius. 
 
 It is with the Confent, and indeed at the 
 Defire both of Artifts and Lovers of Art, 
 that I have given thefe Thoughts to the Pub- 
 lic: Yet they have been fo modeft as not to 
 lay me down any particular Plan foi the For- 
 mation of their Academy. They feem de- 
 firous, by what I perceive, to take the Senfe 
 of thofe who may incline to be their Bene- 
 factors upon this SubjeCt. I have given a 
 Sketch of the Conftitutions of the Academy 
 at Paris, which certainly would be well 
 to follow in all that cannot be mended. It 
 is an AbftraCt only that I have made : Eutif 
 an Englijh Academy of Painting, Sculpture, 
 and Architecture, were to be ereCted, not 
 only the French Regulations, and the Rea- 
 fons of them, but thofe of all other Inflitu- 
 tions of the fame Kind in Europe , would 
 certainly be confulted : New Laws would 
 
 be made, fuiting the Genius and Manners of 
 our Country, and Corredions would for fome 
 time be requifite, as Experience fhewed the 
 M Ne- 
 
82 An ESSAY on DESIGN, (Sc. 
 
 Neceffity of them. It is fo in all new Efta- 
 blifhments : Even the Wifdom of the Bri- 
 
 tijh Legiflature, in what it enafts for the 
 Good of the whol e Public, often fees Occa- 
 sion to make Amendments. A few fhort 
 Rules, however, I would fubmit to Confi- 
 deration, juft as they arife to my Mind, 
 without being anxious whether they are ac- 
 cepted or rejected, in the Form I give them. 
 
 That the Subfcribers appoint a Com- 
 mittee among themfelves, who ihall hear the 
 ^pinion of acknowledged Artifts, and re- 
 ceive into their Body fuch as they think pro- 
 per, in order to form Regulations for the fu- 
 ture Society. 
 
 That the Committee appoint a Trea- 
 furer and Secretary, who fhall be accountable 
 at every Meeting for all their Receipts, Dif- 
 burfements, and Tranfaftions. 
 
 That a Part of the Fund be applied to 
 the Purchafe of a commodious Building, 
 which fhall be properly divided and fur- 
 led for the Reception and Practice both 
 of Pupils and Artifts. 
 
 That 
 
An ESSAY on DESIGN, £? c. 83 
 
 That a certain Number of the principal 
 Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, of the 
 greateft Reputation, be appointed Officers of 
 the faid Academy, with a Head, under fuch 
 Title as fhall be thought proper to be given, 
 either for Life, or for a certain Time by Ro- 
 tation. 
 
 That thefe Officers, however claffied or 
 diftinguifhed, fhall be the Judges in all Cafes 
 that regard the Acceptance of Pupils, the 
 Election of Members, or the Merit of Per- 
 formances. 
 
 That the Officers have proper Salaries for 
 their Care in the InftruCtion of Pupils, ac- 
 cording to the Parts they take upon them, 
 and the Reputation they have acquired. 
 
 That certain Days be fixed for general 
 Aflemblies of the Academifts, and a certain 
 Number of Hours every Day for the At- 
 tendance of Pupils. 
 
 That an Eftablifhment be made for a 
 certain Number of Youths, to be maintained 
 by the Academy at as fmall an Expence as 
 M 2 poffible. 
 
jAn ESSAY vt2 DESIGN, &c t 
 
 poffible, where a promifing Genius appears, 
 and Parents or Friends are wanting to pay 
 for fuch a Maintenance. 
 
 That any Youth who ffiall be approved 
 by the Officers of the Academy, ffiall have 
 Liberty to attend, draw, paint, engrave, 
 carve, or do whatever the Infpe&ors, guid- 
 ed by his Genius, fhall think moil proper 
 for him. 
 
 That all Artifts, in the feveral Ways 
 this Defign includes, who are out of Em- 
 ployment, or defirous of Improvement, 
 fhall have Liberty to ftudy in the Academy, 
 and a certain Number of them have a Table 
 found daily. 
 
 That the Performances of fuch Artifts 
 ffiall be publickly fold at certain ftated 
 Times, and a Part of the Money given to 
 them ; the reft being employed to the Ufes 
 of the Society. 
 
 That Rewards and Titles be given im- 
 partially, as well to them who are, as who 
 are not Penfioners of the Academy. 
 
 Having 
 
An ESSAY on DESIGN, 85 
 
 Having mentioned Titles, let me be in- 
 dulged the further Extravagance, if it be one, 
 of giving my Opinion, that an inferior Order 
 of Knighthood, to be bellowed with great 
 Referve and Caution, would be a wonderful 
 Spur to Diligence upon the Members of fuch 
 an Initiation. His P ruffian Majelty has lately 
 confecrated a new Order to Merit in general : 
 But St, Luke is the peculiar Patron of Painters, 
 and might afford this Order a Name extremely 
 proper. ’Tis true, the Phyficians claim a Title 
 in this Saint likewife : But as they have their 
 God Mfculapius, and their divine Old Man Hip- 
 pocrates, entirely to themfelves, I think it is 
 but reafonable for them, on this Ocoafion, to 
 part with their Share in the Evangelifl. 
 
 By way of Addition to my own Idea of a 
 Plan for an Academy, I fhall venture, before I 
 conclude, to give my Readers fome Account 
 of an Inflitution at Bologna in the Year 1710, 
 in favour of the Arts depending on Defign, 
 and of the mofl extend ve Stru&ure which 
 the noble Author intended to build on that 
 Balls, as I find it in a Letter from Bologna 
 written the fame Year. 
 
 * Count 
 
36 An ESSAY on DESIGN, &V. 
 
 4 CouNT Marjigli, General of the Pope’s 
 ‘ Army, has founded here an Academy for 
 Painting, Sculpture, Architecture, &c. in 
 ; Favour of whicF he has obtained from* the 
 
 * Senate of B°l°gna an eftablifhed Revenue, 
 which is to be divided into Penfions for 
 
 f the Members of the Academy. It was 
 opened the 2d o i "January 1710 : All the 
 
 ‘ N °bility and p erfons of Quality of this 
 
 * City were prefent at the Opening it, and 
 Count Marjigli caufed to be fet out to open 
 
 ; View divers Works of Marble, Brafs, and 
 other Pieces of Antiquity, which he has 
 prefented to the Academy, to ferve for Mo- 
 t deF Learners. The Pope has by an A- 
 poftolical Brief authorifed this Academy, 
 which after his Holinefs’s Name is called 
 
 * Academia Clementina . 
 
 ‘General Marjigli has prefented to 
 ‘ the Senate of Bologna his Library, with 
 ‘ his Collection of Rarities, that he might 
 ‘ engage them to 'fecond his Intentions. 
 
 ‘ Thofe Rarities are to be ranged in the molt 
 ‘ proper Order for inftruCting Scholars, and 
 ] wili therefore be called InJUtutio Marfig- 
 liana , and they are to be placed in feven 
 ‘ Apartments. 
 
 ‘ The 
 
An ESSAY on DESIGN, &c. S 7 
 
 ‘ The JirJl is defigned for that Part of the 
 
 * Mathematics which relates to the military 
 
 * Art: For which it will be furnifhed with 
 ‘ Sixty different Models of Fortification, and 
 
 * divers Models of Pieces of Artillery, with 
 
 * all their military Furniture. 
 
 ‘The fecond is to be the Obfervatory > 
 ‘ which will be furnifhed with a great Num- 
 ‘ her of Aftronomical Inftruments of feveral 
 
 * Sizes. Thefe two Apartments will have 
 
 * each a Dire&or, one of which is to teach 
 ‘ the Art of Fortifying Places, and the other 
 ‘ to inftru£t Perfons in taking Obfervations 
 ‘ of the Heavens. 
 
 ‘ The third is to be for Experiments in 
 ‘ Natural Philofophy : And the fourth for 
 ‘ Curiofities of Nature. Thefe two Apart- 
 ‘ ments are to have but one Director. 
 
 ‘The fifth Apartment will be furnifhed 
 ‘ with ancient Works, and Pieces relating to 
 ‘ Erudition : And the Jixth is to be the Li- 
 ‘ brary. Both thefe Apartments are to have 
 ‘ but one Direttor, who is to difcharge the 
 ‘ Functions of Library Keeper and Anti- 
 
 * quary. 
 
 ‘ The 
 
88 An ESSAY on DESIGN, &c. 
 
 £ The feventh is the Academy of Paint- 
 1 ing ahovementioned ; which is already 
 4 opened, and Exercifes are performed in it 
 4 on certain fixed Days. 
 
 4 Besides thefe Apartments, there are to 
 
 * be Shops for Gun-fmiths, T urners, Clock- 
 
 * makers, Inftrument-makers, Printers, and 
 4 others, who are to work for the feveral 
 ‘ Apartments. 
 
 * N o Perfon is to be chofen a Director, 
 4 unlefs he be a Member of the Academy, 
 4 and pu< lick Profefior in the Univerfity of 
 4 this City. At the End of every Year an 
 4 Account will be given of the Labours and 
 4 Studies of the Members of the Academy, 
 4 which is to be under the Dire&ion of the 
 4 Senate of Bologna 
 
 I could have gone farther with my own 
 Scheme, and perhaps to no better Purpofe: 
 For Laws of this Kind require more Know- 
 ledge than I pretend to, and more Time than 
 I have bellowed on them. If in the Chaos 
 I have prefen ted either of my own Thoughts, 
 or the Practice of Foreigners, there appears 
 
 Mat- 
 
An ESSAY on DESIGN, t§c. %9 
 
 Matter worthy to be made ufe of, and Pa- 
 trons enough are willing to engage, I have 
 carried my whole Point. A few loofe Re- 
 flections put together may fufflce, when the 
 Truth of each of them is known and ac- 
 knowledged feparately, and nothing feems 
 wanting but that general Attention which I 
 have endeavoured to raife. 
 
 When I mentioned an Hofpital , it was 
 only to feel the String with which the prefent 
 Age feems fo inclinable to be touched. We may 
 now alter the Expreflion from Charity to real 
 IntereJi and Pleafnre. The beneficent Pa- 
 tron of Learning and Arts will moft likely 
 be the SubjeCt of them : If he taftes them, 
 he will have the double Pleafure of receiving 
 his juft Tribute, and obferving how his En- 
 couragement has fucceeded : If Flattery on- 
 ly fuits his Palate, he may probably have 
 enough to fatisfy his Vanity. For the Profef- 
 fors of the Arts I am treating of, though their 
 Genius is exceedingly raifed by great Actions, 
 will not be more backward than the Colleges 
 in preferving the Merit of thofe whom they 
 know only by their Benefactions. 
 
 Suppose then we change our Hofpital to 
 an Academy, in the Senfe of the Word re- 
 ceived by the Learned ? Perhaps we may 
 N not 
 
, &C, 
 
 QG uln ESSAY O'rl D E S I (j i\ 
 
 not find it lefs worthy of this Name than the 
 Schools which have been longer pofleffed of 
 it. The- Art of Defign teaches at leaft as much 
 iifeful Knowledge, in the Commerce of Life, 
 as the Latin and Greek Tongues, if we add 
 to them all the Reading they open the Door 
 to. Could we graft this Scion upon the pre- 
 fent old Stock, we fhould not hear that fo 
 many Youths had loft their Time at the U- 
 niverfity. A Man may be pleafed with Lines 
 and Angles, who cannot with Patience hear 
 the Names of Declenfions and Conjugations, 
 Dadtyls and Spondees, or Majors and Minors, 
 The Word Vnroerfity , as difiinguithed 
 from City or Community , feems to have a very 
 imperfect Senfe put on it, unlefs we allow it 
 to comprehend a Place of general Inftitution; 
 a Place where all that can improve or call 
 forth Genius, whatever Biafs it may take 
 out of the common beaten Path of Life, is ex- 
 hibited, taught, and encouraged. That this 
 is not ali comprized in unadtive Speculations, 
 Words, or the Knowledge conveyed by 
 Books, is very evident. 
 
 The antient Artifts are recorded in Hifio- 
 ry with as much Honour as the antient Phi- 
 lofophers and Poets. We have not, indeed, ' 
 £b many of their Works : They cannot, as 
 
 Books 
 
An ESSAY on DESIGN, &c. 91 
 Books can, be multiplied by Tranfcript or 
 Impreffion j which renders the firft Injury, 
 done them by Time, irreparable : But then 
 
 their Language, while they exift, is univer- 
 fal ; it gave equal Delight to the Greek and 
 the Barbarian, and will fix the Attention of 
 a fenfible native American , as well as of the 
 moft accomplifhed Polylinguift. 
 
 A public Profefior of Defign, Painting, 
 Sculpture,or Architecture, was thought no Dis- 
 grace, but, if excellent, a great Honour, to 
 theUniverfity of Athens. . Why Should he be 
 Igfs acceptable at Oxford or Cambridge? Would 
 it lefifen the Dignity of the moft accomplifhed 
 Englifh Nobleman, if he were to patronize the 
 Arts with which Alcibiades confefled him- 
 felf delighted ? 
 
 Ireland, Britain's younger Sifter, Seems 
 to have got the Start of her in the Encourage- 
 ment of all the ufeful and ornamental Arts : 
 Yet Ireland. , at the fame Time, does not 
 want Scholars, Orators, Poets, or Philofo. 
 phers. The Sciences and Arts, when they 
 once become acquainted, are extreme good 
 Friends : They love, promote, and heighten 
 each other. Were the Experiment to be 
 made here, a Man would run no great Rifk 
 ip becoming accountable for the Confequence. 
 
9 2 jin ESSAY on DESIGN, &c. 
 And (liquid we not be difpleafed, as a Nation,' 
 to be ranked, by Foreigners, after one of ©ur 
 own Colonies ? 
 
 Beauty appears in various Forms and 
 Dreffes ; but in them all is deferable and 
 amiable. To encourage the Purfuit of her, 
 by a regular Syftem, where (he feems mod 
 neglected, is the Defign of thefe Sheets. 
 
 T o conclude then : If a Man would be a 
 
 good Mechanic, a Soldier, a Gentleman, a 
 delighted Obferver of the Objects that Art 
 and Nature daily prefent ; if he would exe- 
 cute well, or judge well; if he would pleafe 
 judicioufly, or be pleafed himfelfj Let him 
 learn the Art of Design. 
 
SPECIAL 65-5 
 
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