THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 fA'i 

 
 .^■ifirr Sir x/osfyua JtevftoMs. 
 
 f /^y. 
 
 fiajv^^c/
 
 A TREATISE 
 
 THE DECORATIVE PART 
 
 CIYIL ARCHITECTURE 
 
 SIR WILLIAM CHAMBBES, 
 
 K.P.8., F.R.S., F.S.A., F.S.S.S. 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS, NOTES, AND AN EXAMINATION 
 
 GEBCIAN ARCHITECTURE, 
 
 JOSEPH GWILT, ARCHITECT, F.S.A. 
 
 REVISED AND EDITED BY W. H. LEEDS. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 LOCKWOOD AND CO., 7, STATIONERS' HALL COURT. 
 
 1862.
 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 UEl.I.V AND CO., I'ltlNTEns, 18 TO 22, OLD BOSWIiLL COUKT, 
 
 ST. CLEMENT'S, STUAND, W.C.
 
 C55t 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 ^ 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Dedication .......... 
 
 vii 
 
 Preface to this Edition .......... 
 
 V 
 
 Life of Sir William Chambers ........ 
 
 1 
 
 Of the Elements of Beauty in Architecture . . . • ■ • 
 
 11 
 
 Of the Origin of Grecian Architecture ....... 
 
 18 
 
 Of the Progress .and Perfection of Grecian Architecture .... 
 
 31 
 
 Dedication to the Third Edition ....... 
 
 53 
 
 Preface to the Third Edition ........ 
 
 54 
 
 Introduction ......... 
 
 63 
 
 Of the Origin and Progress of Building ...... 
 
 77 
 
 Of the Parts which compose the Orders of Architecture, and of their Properties 
 
 
 Application, and Enrichments ...... 
 
 100 
 
 Of the Orders of .Vrchitecture in general ...... 
 
 110 
 
 Of the Tuscan Order ........ 
 
 130 
 
 Of the Doric Order ......... 
 
 137 
 
 Of the Ionic Order ........ 
 
 15-2 
 
 Note on ditto .......... 
 
 159 
 
 Of the Composite Order ........ 
 
 160 
 
 Of the Corinthian Order ........ 
 
 167 
 
 Note on the Orders ........ 
 
 172 
 
 Of Pilasters .......... 
 
 173 
 
 Note on ditto ......... 
 
 183 
 
 Of Persians and Caryatides ........ 
 
 184 
 
 Note on Caryatides ......... 
 
 194 
 
 Of Pedestals .......... 
 
 195 
 
 Of the Application of the Orders of Architecture ..... 
 
 201 
 
 Of Intercolumniations ......... 
 
 202 
 
 Note on ditto ......... 
 
 208 
 
 Of Arcades and Arches ........ 
 
 209 
 
 Note on ditto ......... 
 
 219 
 
 Of Orders above Orders ........ 
 
 220 
 
 Of Basements and Attics ........ 
 
 305 
 
 Note on Uustication ......... 
 
 235 
 
 Of Pediments ...... . . 
 
 236 
 
 613951
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Of Balustrades ...... 
 
 Note on Balusters ...... 
 
 Of Gates, Doors, and Piers . . . . . 
 
 Note on Doors ...... 
 
 Of Windows ....... 
 
 Note on ditto ...... 
 
 Of Niches and Statues ...... 
 
 Note on ditto ...... 
 
 Of Chimney-Pieces ...... 
 
 Note on ditto ...... 
 
 Of Proliles for Doors, Windows, Niches, Chimney -Pieces, &c. 
 
 Of Block Cornices and Extraneous Entablatures 
 
 Note on ditto ....... 
 
 Of the Proportions of Rooms .... 
 
 Note on ditto ..... 
 
 Of Ceilings ....... 
 
 Note on Ceilings and Ceiling Fenestration 
 Designs for Casines, Temples, Gates, Doors, &c. . 
 Concluding Remarks ...... 
 
 List of Terms ...... 
 
 Index ....... 
 
 
 PACK 
 
 . . 247 
 
 
 2.53 
 
 , 
 
 254 
 
 
 273 
 
 
 275 
 
 . 
 
 287 
 
 
 289 
 
 
 293 
 
 
 295 
 
 
 299 
 
 
 300 
 
 
 305 
 
 
 30() 
 
 
 307 
 
 . 
 
 309 
 
 
 310 
 
 
 314 
 
 I'ollowing 3'2S 
 
 
 321 
 
 
 329 
 
 
 333
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 Since the time of Sir William Chambebs very great changes 
 have come over both architectural theory and practice. For a 
 while " ultra-Greek," or what was passed off for and accepted as 
 such, was in the ascendant, until its insufficiency to do more than 
 give us the merest copyism, and the most wearisome repetition 
 of the same forms and features, led to another vicissitude in a 
 quite contrary direction, Gothic, for which the way had been 
 prepared by antiquarian researches, studies, and publications, 
 was welcomed as a change, and a further one has since taken 
 place, an endeavour being noAv made to bring that style into 
 vogue, and establish it as the most suitable one for secular as 
 well as ecclesiastical buildings, and, moreover, to introduce into 
 it much of quite foreign character. The result of such attempt 
 remains to be seen ; yet, even if successful, it can be so only 
 partially, for hardly ever can our Anglo-Italian be discarded 
 from practice in our secular architecture. Hardly can the 
 study of it be dispensed with were it regarded only as a matter 
 of curiosity. 
 
 For secular architecture — more especially for i)ublic edifices 
 — no more apj)ropriate style presents itself than Modern Classic, 
 that is, Classic as Ave find it enlarged by the great masters at 
 the period of the so-called Revival, who shoAved themselves to 
 be successful Inventors^ Avhen left to their oavu resources and 
 
 B 
 
 ^
 
 VI PREFACE. 
 
 compelled to provide for new requirements. Such was eminently 
 the case with respect to Fenestration, which was made to play 
 so important a part in design and general composition. 
 Out of the ancient Classic, which had become a dead style of 
 architecture, a living one was then formed, tolerably complete 
 and consistent, and assuredly far more copious, more flexible, 
 and more generally applicable than was the first or antique 
 Classic. The leaders of the " Revival " would have done 
 greatly better had they been compelled to think for themselves 
 without any assistance from the then recently discovered writings 
 of Vitruvius, of which the study operated as a fatal blight upon 
 the budding spring-time of a nascent style. The Revivalists 
 allowed themselves to be enslaved by their superstitious 
 deference to the text of an ancient author, whose meaning is 
 frequently not a little obscure, and whose work contains much 
 more to interest the archicologist and scholar than to inform 
 and instruct the architect. 
 
 If not altogether Avhat it might be made, were it to be 
 refashioned. Sir William Chambers' Treatise is a work of 
 sterling merit and permanent value. It lays a most excellent 
 foundation, at least, for the study of the Modern Classic style ; 
 and the present reissue of it, at an almost nominal price, will 
 bring it within the reach of very many who may now have the 
 opportunity of studying it for the first time. Something is 
 needed to stem the rampant Gothicism of the day, which seems 
 to aflf'ect, as its characteristic, the veriest sansculottism in regard 
 to architectural design and comj^osition, 
 
 VVitliout ]>resuming too much, it may be anticijiated that, 
 when completed, tlie ])resent edition of so standiU'd a code of 
 nrcliitectural teaching as Chambers' is acknowledged \o l)e.
 
 PREFACE. Vll 
 
 will Hiid its way both into America and our British Colonies, 
 where, it' nowhere else, it seems to be needed. 
 
 AVith respect to the style whose leadino; elements are here 
 exhibited, those who allow themselves to be intluenced by mere 
 names, may object to it, that it is avowedly of foreign origin ; 
 and that objection might be allowed to have some weight, were 
 it now for the very first time proposed to adopt the style which 
 tlie practice of two centuries has not only familiarised us with, 
 but has rendered ineradicable. Great as aesthetic differences 
 may be, it is the one that has been established as the universal 
 European style. The very fact of its being decidedly anti- 
 JNIedia^val in character ought to recommend it to us all the 
 more, since all our social sympathies, and feelings, and tastes, 
 are enlisted on the side of Modernism, in opposition to 
 ]Media}valism. 
 
 By those who are opposed to it, it is alleged against the style 
 here taught and reconuuended that it does not admit of further 
 progress ; nor is it to be denied that such injurious notion is 
 countenanced by ordinary practice in it. Yet it does not, there- 
 fore, follow that further advance is impossible because it has 
 not been attempted. On the contrary, rather encouraging than 
 disheartening is it to perceive that so much is now left to be 
 done which has hitherto been overlooked. As a style, our 
 Anglo-Classic, or Anglo-Italian is not to be estimated by the 
 power — or, perhaps, rather the want of power — on the part of 
 those who employ it. Whatever may be the innate and latent 
 qualities of a style, however excellent it may be in itself, 
 it cannot possibly supply imagination, or bestow a}sthetic 
 sensibility. It is the same with a style of architecture 
 as witli a language: any one of tolerable capacity may be 
 
 B 2
 
 Viii PREFACE. 
 
 taught to speak and write correctly, and the same may be done 
 with the architectural student. He may be instructed how to 
 nvoid positive faults ; how to attain the station of respectable 
 mediocrity. It is a fatal mistake to suppose that intelligent 
 art-instruction is all-sufficient for the advancement of art, and 
 peopling the world with real artists. However judicious, tech- 
 nical instruction can do no more than conduct the student up to 
 that point where he must be left to work out further progress 
 for himself; and with Chambers for his guide, even should he 
 not advance, he will hardly go astray. 
 
 W. H. L. 
 
 *^* The notes now added will be distinguished by the 
 signature (L).
 
 A MEMOIR 
 
 OF THE 
 
 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM CIIAMBERS. 
 
 That brancli of the family of Chambers from which the sub- 
 ject of this Memoir immediately descended, was possessed of a 
 good estate at liipoii in Yorkshire, whereon it resided, and 
 whence one of its members went over to settle at Stockholm, 
 not merely as a merchant, but also with a view of recovering a 
 large sum of money advanced by an ancestor to a former king 
 ■of Sweden. The particulars of this transaction are related by 
 Chalmers in his Biographical Dictionary. William Chambers. 
 Avho now claims our attention, was by birth a Swede, having 
 been born at Stockholm, and was sent over when very young 
 to Yorkshire for his education. Early in life he went in the 
 capacity of a supercargo to the East Indies, and, if Ave have 
 been rightly informed, made two voyages to that quarter of 
 the world ; in one of which he visited Canton, and having con- 
 siderable taste for drawing, made sketches of the buildings and 
 costume of the Chinese, which, on his arrival in England some 
 years after,* he published, with the assistance of those excel- 
 lent engravers, Grignion, Foudrinier, and Rooker. 
 
 Abandoning, however, the commercial pursuits in which he 
 was originally engaged with his family, and by Avhich his bro- 
 ther John acquired a large fortune in the East Indies, he fol- 
 
 • In the vear 1757.
 
 MEMOIR OF THE LIFE OF 
 
 lowed the natiiral bent of his genius, and travelled into Italy 
 for the purpose of studying the science of architecture, not 
 only by measuring and drawing the invaluable remains of 
 antiquity, but likewise those admirable productions of the 
 revivers of the arts which distinguished the fifteenth and six- 
 teenth centuries. He carefully examined and studied with 
 unwearied application the works of Michael Angelo, Sangallo, 
 Palladio, Scamozzi, Vignola, Peruzzi, Sanmichele, Bernini, and 
 other Italian architects, whose designs were in general guided 
 by the rules of the ancients, but whose extraordinary talents, 
 exalting them above the character of mere imitators, produced 
 an originality in their compositions that fully established their 
 fame, and pointed them out as the fittest models for succeed- 
 ing artists. JMr. Chambers knew how to distinguish and to 
 combine all the excellencies of those great men, and his 
 intuitive good taste and sound judgment led him also to 
 examine into the merits of those French architects Avhose 
 productions have been since so much esteemed and applauded, 
 amono- whom Claude Perrault and Jules Mansard held the 
 most distinguished rank. At Paris he studied under the- 
 celebi'ated Clerisseau, and acquired from him a freedom of 
 pencil in which few excelled him. If we mistake not, 
 Reynolds, W ilton, and some other English artists of note, were 
 his contemjioraries on the continent. 
 
 Until Le Hoy published his Antiquities of Greece, little 
 attention was paid to Greek Architecture; but in a very 
 short time, and ahnost coeval with that work, Stuart, Revett, 
 and others, gave to the world their splendid publications of 
 those Grecian remains, which had thitherto escai)ed the bar- 
 barous si)oliations and ravages of Mahometan superstition ; 
 and the academies of tlie arts in most of the enlightened 
 nations of Europe were suddenly enriclied by their interesting 
 and invalii.'iblc discoveries. Jiut either from the same predi- 
 lection foi- the Koman school which had infhienced the Italian 
 architects Avho had pi'eceded him, or from the narrowness
 
 Sm WILLIAM CHAMBERS. 
 
 of his finances, Sir William Chambers never trod the Clas- 
 sical ground of Attica, nor even visited Sicily or Pa^stum, 
 where he niii>ht have beheld some of the most ancient and 
 imposing works of the Grecian republic. It was evident, 
 therefore, that Mr. Chambers derived from other sources 
 his extensive knowledge in the art, and this he etfected, as 
 we have seen, not only by searching into the causes which 
 ])roduccd those delightful effects apparent in the remains of 
 Roman grandeur, by a close and discriminating observation 
 of the style and manner of the great revivers of the arts, but by 
 storing his mind ^vith the excellent precepts laid down by 
 authors who had not only written upon the art, but had likewise 
 practised it. Possessing, by these means, all the theoretic 
 knowledge necessafy to his profession, he ultimately fixed his 
 residence in London, and in Russell Street, near Covent Garden, 
 first took up his abode. As he inherited but little wealth, to his 
 own merit, and the casual interest of a brother architect he was 
 indebted for that success and celebrity he afterwards so justly 
 acquired. Mv. John Carr, of York, being asked by the Earl of 
 Bute if he could reconunend him an artist to instruct the Prince, 
 afterwards George the Third, in the study of architecture, Carr, 
 who had just then become acquainted with Mr. Chambers, and 
 had seen and admired his drawings, told his lordship that he 
 knew a young man who Avould exactly answer his purpose, and 
 accordingly recommended Mr. Chambers. Lord Bute introduced 
 him to the Prince, who became in course of time so much 
 attached to him that, when he came to the crown, he appointed 
 him his chief architect, and promoted him whenever any oi)})or- 
 tunity oftered. Some property at Kew having been purchased 
 for the residence of the Princess Dowager of Wales, Mr. 
 Chambers was employed to lay out the grounds, and to design 
 a number of buildings and temples in a variety of styles, both 
 European and Asiatic, to embellish the spot. Kent had formerly 
 been em])loyed for a similar purpose in the adjacent gardens of 
 Richmond. The buildings and views in Kew Gardens were
 
 MEMOIR OF THE LIFE OF 
 
 published in 1763, the plates having been eugraA^ed by the best 
 artists of that period, and the expense of the publication borne, 
 as the author informs us, by royal bounty. But his " Treatise on 
 the Decoratke Part of Civil Architecture,'' by far the most useful 
 work on that science which had ever appeared in this country, 
 tended most to establish his reputation, both as an author 
 and architect of research, judgment, and refined taste. The 
 truths it inculcates, and the proportions and forms it recom- 
 mends, the result of long experience and repeated observation 
 of structures which have stood the test of centuries, cannot fail 
 to impress upon every mind, that there is a criterion of taste 
 in architecture as well as in the other liberal arts, — that genius 
 is consistent Avith rules, — and that novelty is not necessarily 
 an imi)roA'ement. 
 
 The King Avas pleased to appoint him his private architect, 
 and he was introduced into the Office of Works as Comptroller, 
 and, ui)on the ncAV modification of that Board, by Mr. Burke's 
 Act, succeeded Whitshed Keene as Surveyor-General of his 
 JNIajesty's works. 
 
 When the bridge at Blackfriars Avas in contemplation, Mr. 
 Chambers, encouraged by the poAverful interest of Mr. Paterson, 
 an opulent merchant in the city, gave designs for that structure, 
 in competition Avith other architects; but his drawings Averc 
 deemed too magnificent and expensive for execution, and those 
 of JNlr. Mylne Avere ad()i)ted. 
 
 In the year 1708 Avas instituted "Tue Koyal Academy op 
 AiiTS, IN LoxDON," to the establishment of Avhich Mr. Chambers 
 Avas principally instrumental, by possessing a great inOuence 
 Avith the King, Avho Avas graciously pleased to sanction tlu^ 
 undertaking, and ai)pointed Mr. Chambers Treasurer to the 
 Institution, and Mr. Keynolds (afterwards Sir Joshua) to fill 
 the chair of the President. 
 
 In the year 1771, having presented to flu; King of Sweden 
 some highly finished drawings of Ivcav Gardens, his majesty 
 conferred on him the order of the Polar Star ; aiul he was per-
 
 SIK WILLIAM CHAMBERS. 
 
 mittod by his Britannic INIajesty to assume the usual style and 
 title annexed to Hritish kniii;hthood. 
 
 About this i)eriod he made a design for Lord Clive, for his 
 villa at Clarenu)nt, near Esher, in Surrey, but that of JNIi'. ]5ro\vn, 
 the celebrated landscai)e gardener, being ])referred by his lord- 
 shi}), gave rise to a diilerence between these gentlemen, which 
 was never entirely reconciled ; Mr. Chambers considering Mr. 
 Brown an intruder on an art in which neither his talents nor 
 his education could entitle him to any respect. Ui)on this, in 
 1772, our Author i)ublished his ^'Dissertation on Oriental Garden- 
 ing;' and in the introduction severely satirized the taste of Mr. 
 Brown. This work gave occasion to the famous " //c^yo/c Epistle 
 to Sir Williaiu Chambers^' which was at first supposed to be 
 written by INIr. Anstey, the author of " The Netc Bath Guide," 
 but was afterwards understood to be the i)roduction of Mason, 
 the poet, whose i)oem u})on gardening is very generally known. 
 
 Mr. Chambers fortunately obtained the j)atronage and 
 friendship of the Earl of Besborough, whose superior taste in the 
 liberal arts was well known to every man of science. For this 
 distinguished nobleman he l)uilt a villa at Roehampton, in 
 Surrey ; of which, says jMr. Dallaway, " the portico is singularly 
 correct and elegant ;" and the same author adds, " that he also 
 designed a superb mansion for Lord Abercorn at Duddingston, 
 near Edinburgh." Amongst others of his noble employers 
 were ranked the Duke of liedford, the Lord Viscount Middle- 
 ton, Earl Gower, and Lord Melbourn; for the two last he built 
 mansions at Whitehall and in Piccadilly. 
 
 Gothic architecture, not having been then revived in this 
 country, aflorded but little occasion for the exercise of his 
 talents in the i)ractice of it, though he had always a great 
 veneration for that style of building. The only instance of this 
 kind in which he appears to have been concerned was in some 
 additions and alterations to Milton Abbey in Dorsetshire. 
 
 About this period the parishioners of St. Mary-la-bonne 
 having it in contemplation to erect a new parochial church, Mr. 
 
 c
 
 MEMOIR OF THE LIFE OF 
 
 Chambers was invited to make the designs, and accordingly 
 produced several for the approbation of the vestry ; but the one 
 most admired was upon a circular plan, with a Doric portico, 
 and surmounted by a dome, — a design exquisitely beautiful, but 
 ill-adapted to the service of the Church of England. It is, not- 
 withstanding, much to be regretted that, as a work of art, it 
 was never carried into execution. The l^arl of Pembroke, justly 
 appreciating his abilities, employed him at his celebrated seat 
 at Wilton, near Salisbury, where his triumphal arch, Palladian 
 bridge, and other works, ever command the admiration of all 
 persons of taste who visit that delightful spot. At Blenheim he 
 so happily conformed to the singular style of the original archi- 
 tect, that no discordance was produced by the additions he 
 planned to that magnificent structure. We cannot here forbear 
 noticing the market-house at Woodstock, another work of this 
 master, the simplicity of \vliich, and its appropriate character, 
 cannot fail to be admired. 
 
 On the invitation of Lord Charlemont, with whom Sir William 
 Chambers was on terms of strict intimacy, he went over to 
 Ireland, and designed and built a very beautiful casine for his 
 Lordship at Marino. In the summer of the year 1774 he re- 
 visited Paris, and once more enjoyed the society of those artists 
 with whom he liad some years before cultivated a friendshii), 
 and was nuich gratified l)y their reception of him, and their 
 great attention to liim during his stay. He was, as he after- 
 wards expressed himself, })articularly struck with the great 
 improvement in the French Architecture which had taken phice 
 within a few years : a more chaste and classical taste lia> ing 
 succeeded to tlie heterogeneous style in which most of the 
 buildings in Paris had before been composed. That city indeed 
 conid then boast of a inunber of very excellent Architects, who 
 were an honour to their country, notwithstanding the pre- 
 judice which has always prevailed in England against the taste 
 ol (nu- (ijillic neighbours ; aiul the names of Le Roy, Dewailly, 
 Peyre, Le Doux, vVntoine, Perronet, Soufilot, and others, well
 
 SIR WILLIAM CHAMBERS. 
 
 known by their inuonious works, Avill ever reflect the greatest 
 credit on the state of the art in France at that period. 
 
 In or about tlie year lT7o, upon the resignation or demise 
 of INIr. l\obinson, of the Office of Works, who had prepared 
 designs for the i)nblic bnihlings then in agitation at Somerset 
 House, in a phiin, substantial style, but with little or no preten- 
 sions to decorative Architecture, Sir William Chaml)ers was 
 selected by the Government to make entirely new^ designs; these 
 were approved, and being ordered to be carried into execution, 
 the first stone was laid in 177G. How he succeeded in this great 
 undertaking the i)ublic have long since judged. As the edifice 
 arose, it did not, however, fail to attract the severity of criticism; 
 and the public journals, and other periodical publications of the 
 day, teemed with illiberal animadversions on a structure not half 
 completed. It has been well observed, that "all men have 
 eyes, but few have judgment," and in this instance the remark 
 was strongly verified. It must, however, be admitted, that 
 amidst an abundance of architectural beauties some faults and 
 improprieties are discernible. The dignity and grandeur which 
 ought to prevail in a building of this character is in some degree 
 weakened by the multiplicity of the parts, which too much in- 
 terfere with each other ; and the incongruous mixture of rustics 
 with the principal order, which is Corinthian, tends to destroy 
 the effect its correct and beautiful proportion would otherwise 
 produce. Still, after all that has been said upon the subject, one 
 truth we may confidcnfly assert, that by this, the most magnifi- 
 cent of our later public buildings, Sir William Chambers esta- 
 blished are]>utation of which it will be difficult for his opponents 
 of the present day, or those of the future, to deprive him. We 
 are not, however, Avriting a critique, but a Memoir. 
 
 Sir William Chambers dwelt some years in Poland-street, 
 and afterwards removed to a house which he had erected in 
 Berners-street, residing occasionally, however, at an estate he 
 had purchased at Whitton, near Hounslow, or at his official 
 house at Hampton Court. He was respected and visited by 
 
 c2
 
 8 MEMOIR OF THE LIFE OF 
 
 those who were the most celebrated either for wit, arts, or 
 letters, amongst whom we have the pleasure to recollect Doctors 
 Johnson and Goldsmith, Garrick, Biu'ney, Reynolds, Caleb 
 Whitefoord, and many other celebrated characters. In the 
 latter part of his life he gradually retired from business, and 
 resided in a small house in Norton-street, but being of a cheerful 
 and convivial disposition, he occasionally associated with a few 
 friends of the same profession, Avho had instituted a sort of club 
 known by the name of the Architects' Society. This Society 
 held their monthly meetings at the Thatched House tavern. 
 
 For some time before his death, he was afflicted with a kind 
 of asthmatic complaint, which frequently obliged him to have 
 recourse to an inhaler, and other artificial means of respiration, 
 to obtain that breath of which nature Avas but too rapidly 
 depriving him. He died on the 8th of ]May, 179(i, in the seventy- 
 first year of his age, and was buried in Westminster Abbey. 
 His funeral was attended by several persons of rank, and by 
 those artists and literary characters who had long known and 
 appreciated his merits, both as a man and as an artist. 
 
 By the lady to whom he had been united early in life he 
 had four daughters and one son. The eldest of his daughters 
 was married to a son of Sir IJaljdi JMilbank, a gentleman of a 
 most res})ectal)le family in the north of England ; the second to 
 a Mr. Innis, a West India merchant ; the third was united to a 
 Ca]itain Harward, an officer in the Guards, and the youngest to 
 a Colonel Cottin ; and his son married a daughter of the late 
 A(bnirnl l^-ord IJodney. 
 
 Immediately antecedent to the period in whidi our author 
 made his debut, for it is not necessary on this occasion to touch 
 on the history of our Architecture, the ingenious ]Mr. Kent, a 
 prol(''(je of the Earl ol" Burlington, had giv^en several proofs of 
 his aichitectural skill. In historical i)ainting, for he also pro- 
 fessed that art, Kent cannot, liowever, be said tohavea])j)roached 
 to any great degree of excellence. Colin Campbell, in his 
 \\';nis(c;id House, which we regret is, ironi a concurrence of
 
 sill WILLIAM CUAMBIiRS. 9 
 
 luifortuiuite eiroumstauces, no longer in existence, and in many 
 others of his designs, evinced great correctness and purity of 
 taste; and the same cliaste, though tar superior style, is 
 observable in the worksof Sir Robert Taylor, who was originally 
 intended for a sculptor, and those also of Mr. James Paine, the 
 elder. The two last mentioned Architects nearly divided the 
 ])ractice of the profession between them, for they had few com- 
 petitors till Mr. Robert Adam entered the lists, and distinguished 
 himself by the superiority of his taste in the nicer and more 
 delicate parts of decoration. JVIr. Adam had been a great 
 traveller, and had filled his ])ortfolios with innumerable 
 drawings and sketches from the inexhaustible mines of Italy 
 and Greece. While these successful Architects were in their 
 full zenith, Mr. Chambers was gradually making his way under 
 the patronage of royalty; and the publication of his incom- 
 parable Treatise decided his pre-eminence in an art wherein his 
 predecessors and contemporaries had run into the extremes of a 
 simplicity bordering upon tameness, or a redundancy of orna- 
 ment which destroyed the etiect it was intended to produce. 
 
 To Sir William Chambers we are indebted for many im- 
 provements in the interior decoration of our buildings. He 
 introduced a more graceful outline, an easy flowing foliage, and 
 an elegant imitation of such flowers and plants, and other objects 
 in nature as were best adapted to the purpose of architectural 
 ornament; and the pains he took to instruct the decorative 
 artists and artificers who were employed by him in the execution 
 of his designs, effected a change in this branch of Architecture 
 equally remote from the immeaning forms of the preceding age, 
 and the perliai)s too delicate and lace-like designs of an ingenious 
 contemporary Architect. 
 
 The exteriors of his buildings are marked and distinguished 
 by a bold and masculine style, neither i)onderous on the one 
 hand, nor too meagre on the other. He hapi)ily united the 
 grandeur and luxuriance of the Roman, Florentine and Genoese 
 schools, with the severe correctness of the Venetian and Vicen-
 
 10 MEMOIR OF THE LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM CHAMBERS. 
 
 tine : this was the natiu'al result of his early studies, and the 
 judicious discrimination of his own powerful mind. 
 
 In one circumstance he may be said to have been peculiarly 
 fortunate, and especially in his great work at Somerset House ; 
 we allude to the excellent and superior manner in which his 
 designs were carried into execution. He had judgment to select 
 and good sense to attach to him, by affability and courtesy, such 
 practical men as were mainly to contribute to his own future 
 reputation. 
 
 His chief pupils were Mr. James Gandon, lately deceased, who 
 resided many years in Ireland, where the Custom House and other 
 public works at Dul)lin reflect the greatest credit on his taste and 
 abilities ; he was also the Editor of the fourth and fifth Volumes 
 of the Vitruvius Britannicus : Mr. Edward Stevens, who died at 
 Kome about the year 17T6: the late Mr. John Yenn, who suc- 
 ceeded him as Treasurer of the Royal Academy : jMr. Thomas 
 Hard wick,* and Mr. llol:)ert Browne, late of the office of his 
 INIajesty's Works, who was also one of Sir William Chambers's 
 executors. 
 
 Reflecting upon the various events Ave have just recorded, and 
 the splendid manner in which the accpiiremcnts of this great 
 master were brought into action, we perceive that the natural 
 endowments of his mind, accompanied by industry and per- 
 severance, and above all by integrity and honornl)le conduct 
 through life, raised him to the head of his profession, and gained 
 him the esteem and veneration of the scholar, the admiration of 
 the artist, and the love and respect of those who looked up to 
 liim for i)rotection and sui)])Ort. It is almost needless to i)ress 
 the ('xan)i)lc of such a character upon the ingenuous and liberal 
 mind. We confidently trust it will have its due weight ui)on Ihe 
 rising generation, and that Architecture may again flourish un- 
 contaminated by the l)aseness of ignorant pretenders, unin- 
 fluenced by the caprice of power or the erroneous notions of 
 originalify. 
 
 • To whom wc arc indebted for this Memoir.— [G.]
 
 AN EXAMINATION 
 
 or THE 
 
 ELEMENTS OF BEAUTY 
 
 IN 
 
 GRECIAN ARCHITECTURE, 
 
 A BRIEF INVESTIGATION OF ITS ORIGIN, PROGRESS, AND 
 
 PERFECTION. 
 
 BY JOSEPH GWILT. 
 
 " Si qnis unnuam de nostris Hoininibus a Genere isto, studio ac voluntato non abhorrens fuit, me et 
 esse arbitror, et magis ctiam turn, cum erat plus otii, fuisse." — Cicero. Orat. pro L. Flacco. 
 
 There is, perhaps, no subject on which persons are more apt to differ in 
 their opinions than on the beauty of a building. Upon due reflection, we shall 
 find that this ought not to be a matter of surprise ; for when we consider that 
 the prototypes of architecture are entirely different in their nature from those 
 employed in the other arts of design, whose objects of imitation are in their 
 extent limited only by the range of animate and inanimate creation, and that 
 those are so constantly subjected to our senses that their images are easily 
 understood and compared, it will be manifest that, in an art which has no 
 regulated standard of comparison, opinions must often be at variance with one 
 another. 
 
 In architecture, the creative power of nature herself is the model imitated. 
 It is an art which appeals directly to the understanding, and has not the means 
 of flattering the senses in the same way as her sister arts ; hence her produc- 
 tions are not universally appreciated : in truth, they are rarely understood, 
 except by those whose education and acquirements have qualified them to 
 judge. The beautiful models of nature, however, are the index and guide of 
 the painter and sculptor ; a successful imitation of these models, even without 
 an advance on the part of the artist towards those higher intellectual beauties
 
 12 
 
 ox THE ELEMENTS 
 
 wliicli distinguish the historical painter, is capable of affecting us with verv 
 agreeable sensations. Nay, the low and still life of the Flemish school has its 
 admirers, and justly. But the architect creates the beauty he produces. The 
 other artists easily address the senses and passions, whilst he can only rely on 
 his appeal to the understanding. His powers of art are, therefore, limited to 
 operations on the cultivated mind. With the multitude, magnitude and rich- 
 ness arc more valued than the utmost elegance of form or the most fascinating 
 series of proportions. 
 
 The object of an artist's inquiry is not so much to investigate meta- 
 physically the cause of beauty in the productions of his art, as to study the 
 effects that flow from those which, by the common consent of ages, are esteemed 
 beautiful,* and thus shorten his road by an a priori method. It is in this way 
 that he will more readily obtain information on those qualities which act on the 
 understanding and excite our affections bv means of the beautiful result thev 
 exhibit. f These qualities may be classed as follows J: — 
 
 Magnitude and Strength, as qualities which affect the eye. 
 Order and Harmony, as qualities which affect the understanding. 
 EicHNESS and Simplicity, as qualities which excite the affections, in 
 which taste is the principal guide. 
 
 These qualities answer to the three divisions which those who have 
 written on architecture have usually adopted, namely : — 
 
 Construction, in which the chief requisites are Magnitude and Strength. 
 Design or Disposition, in which the principal requisites are Order and 
 Harmony. 
 
 Decoration, whose requisites are Richness or Simplicity, according to the 
 
 nature of the composition. 
 
 That there are, however, many other circumstances which tend to the 
 
 production of an agreeable and beautiful result is sufHciently obvious. One of 
 
 them should be more particularly noticed, because there can be no doubt of its 
 
 influence in the excitement of our admiration of the splendid monuments of 
 
 Grecian art ; it is, an association with the " times and countries which are 
 
 most hallowed in our imagination. It is difiicult for us to see them, oven in 
 
 * "The most ccitaiiic token of evident goodncsse, is if tlie gcncrall pcrswasion of men doc so account 
 it." llookcr'8 Ecclcsiasticnll Politic, B. 1. 
 
 t It is ratlicr surprising tliat a recent noble writer on tlio subject should have cmi)Ioycd several pages 
 in the consideration and refutation of Mr. IJurke's ingenious but false speculations as to the recjuisites of 
 Smallnetf, Smoolhncss, Delicacy, &c. Sec Lord Aberdeen's Kmpiiry into the Principles of IJcauty in Grecian 
 Architecture, 8vo. London, 1823. 
 
 X See Art. Beau. Knrjclop. Method.
 
 BEAUTY IN AUCHITECTUUi;. 13 
 
 their modern copies, without feeling them operate upon our minds, as relics of 
 those polished nations where they first arose, and of that greater people hy 
 ■whom they were afterwards horrowed.* This is one of those causes which 
 produce such an effect on our minds when we contemplate the stupendous 
 ecclesiastical structures of the middle ages, to which must — at least, hy every 
 man of taste — he assigned a very extraordinary and exalted degree of heauty. 
 In these edifices, though to all appearance designed on principles essentially 
 different from those employed hy the Greeks, the elements of beauty arc identi- 
 cally the same ; but an analysis to prove such an hypothesis is not within the 
 range of the present inquiry. Our cathedrals, it cannot be denied, are very 
 much aided, in their effect on the mind, by the recollections which carry us 
 back to those ages when religion was all splendour and society all chivalry. In 
 short, ancient architecture, of whatsoever class, country, or period, cannot be 
 separated, in a just estimation of its merits, from the history of the nation in 
 which it flourished : it is the influence and character of the age and nation to 
 which it belongs by which it is sanctioned and modified. 
 
 Magnitude and Strength. — We are assured from experience that 
 beyond certain limits of size and strength, the productions of architecture cease 
 to be beautiful : in fact, beyond a given extent, any mass of matter which 
 fatigues the eye in embracing its extraordinary dimensions, so that the organ 
 must undergo great exertion in order to understand and appreciate the parts 
 is by no means an agreeable object. In architecture, extraordinary magnitude 
 may be considered a vicious excess : for instance — a gallery of such length that 
 the eye cannot with distinctness penetrate to the end — a column too lofty — a 
 buildino; whose site is such, that the visual angle can never include its extent 
 — a building too lofty under the same circumstances — in short, all excessive 
 dimensions — these arc to the eye as distressing as a light which is too strong 
 and powerful. f — On the contrary, there is a repugnance to those objects in 
 architecture which are extremely diminutive. In these the eye is limited 
 and constrained within such narrow bounds, that it experiences almost 
 the same sensations as arc imparted by the flame of a dim, feeble, inefficient 
 light. 
 
 Writers on the principles of taste, and especially Mr. Alison, have made 
 magnitude a quality necessary to the existence of the sublime. That it is so 
 in the works of nature when associated with ideas of power and danger and 
 terror is undeniable : but it will scarcely be admitted that these ideas can be 
 said to find a place in the production of architecture. On which account, 
 
 • Alison on Taste, Vol. II. p. 157. t See Encyc. MetLoJ. Art. Beau.
 
 14 ON THE ELEMENTS OF 
 
 raao^nitude may in them perhaps be more properly classed among the essentials 
 of beauty. 
 
 It would be difficult to conceive that any work in the art under our exami- 
 nation could be considered beautiful, if unaccompanied by a requisite strength 
 or stability, or at least such an appearance of either as would carry a conviction to 
 the mind that it possessed sufficient for its existence and duration. Though 
 magnitude, speaking widely, is intimately associated with the idea of propor- 
 tionable power or strength ; yet stability is well known to be independent of 
 magnitude. The celebrated Campanile at Pisa, cannot from its predicament, 
 be denominated a beautiful object. The first idea which occurs to the mind 
 in contemplating it, is its apparently dangerous state. However pleasing its 
 abstract form, however elegant the arrangement and proportions of its detail, 
 still it never can excite those agreeable sensations which would be necessarily 
 called into action, if its perpendicularity wore restored. Our amazement and 
 terror would then indeed cease, and we might have some satisfaction in making 
 an analysis of those details which, except as matter of history, or speculative 
 curiosity, is not now considered worth the labour.* 
 
 To apply the foregoing observations at length to the remaining examples of 
 Grecian architecture cannot be necessary. To the magnitude, strength, and 
 consequent stability of these structures we may however add one important 
 feature. It is that the sites of them are almost invariably well chosen, and 
 calculated to display their beauties to the greatest advantage. 
 
 Strength and stability in architecture are almost synonymes with fitness or 
 adequacy, at least in appearance, of the several parts of the structure to the 
 performance of their different offices. Thus, the strength and stability of an 
 order depend on the fitness of the column to support the entablature, and on 
 the other hand, on tlie entablature not containing a greater quantity of matter 
 than the column is either really or apparently able to sustain. f To the Greeks 
 we are indebted for those canons of proportion in the orders which age has 
 approved, adopted and almost sanctified. In the Ionic order of this people 
 
 * " All things tliat are, liave soiuu operation not violent or casuall. Ncytlior dotli any tliioir ever 
 begin to exercise the Banic, without sonic fore-conceived end for which it worketh. And the end which it 
 worketli for is not obtained, unlesse the workc be also fit to obtain it by. For unto every end every 
 operation will not serve. That which doth assigne unto each thing the kind, that which doth moderate the 
 force and power, tliat which doth appoint the forme and measure of working, the same wo Icrnie a law. So 
 that no certainc'end could be olitnincd, unless the actions whereby it is attained were regular, that is to 
 HBy, made sutcablc, fit, and correspondent to IJn'ir end, by some canon rule or law." Hooker's Ecclcs. 
 Politic, ». 1. 
 
 t Sec note on Arcades, Chombcrs's Civil Architecture, infiii.
 
 BEAUTY IN ARCIIITECTUKE. 15 
 
 advantage was taken of the happy medium between their early and clumsy, 
 Doric, and the lighter Uouian examples which closed the scene of 
 genuine art. 
 
 OiiOER AND Harmony. — We will now pi-oceed to the consideration of 
 Order and Harmony as elements of Beauty in Architecture. By the word 
 order is meant, a disposing of the several parts of a building in their appro- 
 priate places, as related to each other and to the whole. Whilst harmony is 
 that which it would from its Greek derivation almost strictly import,* namely, 
 a joining together of the parts in a consistent and uniform manner, so that all 
 matter which is foreign or unsuitable to the composition be rejected. 
 
 There are no edifices in any style of architecture, in which harmony is 
 more pre-eminent than in the Grecian temple. Perhaps, for harmony, the 
 Gothic style, in those of its structures which are entirely of one period, yields 
 only to the Grecian : the reason is evident — the origin, progress, and per- 
 fection of both styles were the result of the habits and characters, and wants of 
 the people that produced them. 
 
 Harmony may, however, be carried to such an extent as to generate a 
 monotonous effect, as it most evidently does in the architecture of the Egyp- 
 tians, wherein, as well from an excess of simplicity, as from the absence of 
 variety, it cloys without satisfying. It may be compared to a musical composi- 
 tion, strictly conformable to the laws of counterpoint, wherein the author so 
 constantly dwells on the same key, without making use of his privilege of 
 modulating into others, that he fails to fix the hearer's attention for more than 
 a few seconds. Harmony can never exist in a building whose subdivisions are 
 contrived without such an attention to uniformity of character as to impress on 
 the mind an idea of unity, and if one may be permitted to use the term, an 
 expression of the structure's destination. It is moreover particularly to be at- 
 tended to, in regulating and modifying the decorations that are employed — for 
 instance, delicacy, lightness, and excess of ornament would ill suit a building 
 whose character and destination were of a nature discordant with those 
 qualities. 
 
 Richness and Simplicity — are qualities in the discreet use of which the 
 Greeks carried the art to the highest degree of perfection, at least in the works 
 of the best ages. One of the most exquisite examples of appropriate richness 
 that can be cited, is the beautiful monument of Lysicrates, whilst for the 
 reverse of that quality none can be better cited than the Parthenon. Each is 
 
 ' "Uf iiaXtara avriov tKaarov apuoviav rote /ttyaXoif Xi9oic Iti'ai, (I'ausanias, Argol. c. 25) in speaking of 
 the walls of Tiryns. 
 
 D 2
 
 16 ox THE ELEMENTS OF 
 
 dressed with an appropriate quantity of ornament ; the first captivates, the last 
 is imposing and majestic. 
 
 It is well worthy of remark, that those mouldings of the corona, which in 
 the Ionic order arc frequently enriched by a system of foliage carved in relief, 
 were in the Parthenon painted in colors— so that a considerable degree of 
 richness was thus obtained without distracting or leading away the eye from 
 more important parts, or affecting the contours of the mouldings when viewed 
 in an oblique direction. 
 
 As richness and simplicity belong exclusively to the third division of 
 building, viz., decoration : it follows, that ornaments are to be chosen or 
 rejected according to the associations which exist between their adoption and 
 the effects which they are calculated to produce on the mind. When we aim 
 at an effect of grandeur and stability, but few ornaments are admissible, 
 becauscj many subdivisions of the detail, which is the case where decoration is 
 unsparingly used, destroy the ideas of strength, as, in fact, they weaken, or 
 appear to weaken, the parts whereon they arc employed. Hence, according to 
 its destination, ornament and variety therein must be more or less introduced 
 into the work ; alwavs bearing in mind that excess and overloading, w}ien 
 ornament is profuse, distract and fatigue the eye and tend to destroy the effect 
 of the best arranged designs. 
 
 Decoration, when judiciously introduced, becomes in many instances* a 
 language, intelligible only, however, when the artist is capable of speaking it 
 correctly and the spectator of comprehending it. It is then a system of hiero- 
 glvphic writing, and the building to which it is applied becomes historical, 
 and tells its tale more nobly and appropriately than it can ever do through the 
 undignified medium of mural inscriptions. AVhat can be more judicious or 
 appropriate than the sculpture in the metopes and pediment of the Parthenon. 
 Ornament here, not only creates a variety on the surface of the work, but 
 relates. In the aid of the sculptor, a history intimately connected with the 
 religious and moral destination of the edifice to which it is applied. 
 
 The strenuous advocates of the Grecian style arc not willing to admit that 
 it has defects, but that there are such, will be submitted to the reader in inves- 
 tigating its origin, progress, and perfection, in the following pages, as they 
 incidentally come into consideration. 
 
 If the student desire to profit by the use and application of tliis style of 
 arehitectu!"e in liis jnactice, any course he can pursue will be better than the 
 coninion expedient of tamely copying the profiles of its examples into his designs, 
 
 * Sec Encyc. MclLoil. Art. Harmonic.
 
 Hli.VUTV IN AUCniTECTURIi;. 17 
 
 as he finds thoui dolinoatod in the authors to wliieli he is usually referred. An 
 artist can only make them properly suhservient to his purpose, hy entering into 
 the views and feelings which actuated the inventors themselves. It is a sin- 
 gular proof of the invention of the ancients, that no two examples of the same 
 order are precisely similar. Their variety seems equal to that which we ob- 
 serve in the reverses of their coins. 
 
 This short and compressed view of the Elements of Beauty in Grecian 
 Architecture, cannot be more appropriately concluded than in the words of 
 Alison.* " The life of man," says that author, " is very inadequate to the 
 duration of such productions, and the present period of the world, though old 
 with respect to those arts which are employed on perishable subjects, is yet 
 j'oung in relation to an art which is employed upon so durable materials as 
 those of ai'chitecture: instead of a few years, therefore, centuries must probably 
 pass before such productions demand to be renewed, and long before that period 
 is elapsed, the sacredncss of antiquity is acquired by the subject itself, and a 
 new motive given for the preservation of similar forms. In every country, ac- 
 cordingly, the same effect has taken place : and the same causes which have 
 thus served to produce among us, for so many years, a uniformity of taste with 
 regard to the style of Grecian architecture, have produced also among the 
 nations of the East, for a much longer course of time, a similar uniformity of 
 taste, with regard to their ornamental style of architecture ; and have perpe- 
 tuated among them the same forms which were in use among their forefathers 
 before the Grecian orders were invented." 
 
 * Vol. II. p. 166.
 
 18 ON THE ORIGIN OF 
 
 ON THE ORIGIN OF GRECIAN ARCHITECTURE. 
 
 Though Babylonia,* Chaldea, and Egypt, had attained very considerable 
 proficiency in their architectural works at a very early period, as we must con- 
 clude from the accounts in the Holy Scriptui-es, no less than from those of 
 ancient authors, yet neither of these countries, can from all that we collect, be 
 said to have known or understood the principles of the art so as to have ren- 
 dered it capable of affecting the mind otherwise than by the enormous magni- 
 tude of the works it produced. Nimrod built three cities in Chaldea.f 
 Nineveh was founded by Ashur,| and we read of the establishment of towns in 
 Palestine as early as the age of Jacob and Abraham. § Later, in Homer's time, 
 Egypt boasted her celebrated Thebes,|| which had at that period been long in 
 existence. The age of the architectural wonders and excavations of India is 
 undecided. It seems likely that the Egyptians gained their architecture from 
 the East, or as Jacob Bryant^ supposes, that the buildings of both nations were 
 erected by colonies of some great original nation. This supposition is borne 
 out amazingly by the singularities in common of the Indian and Egyptian styles . 
 In the ornaments applied to each there is a striking similarity, and each 
 delighted in structures of extraordinary dimensions. It was in Greece, how- 
 ever, that true architecture was reared ; in that country she received all the 
 elementary beauties of which she was susceptible, as well as those in her gener al 
 forms with which the habits and character of the nation invested her. But it 
 is not to be presumed that the Oriental and Egyptian architecture were devoid 
 of beauty ; on the contrary, much is to be admired in the detail of each. In 
 
 * Strabo speaks of many magnificent works which he attributes to Semiramis, and says that besides 
 those in Babylonia, there were monuments of ]{abylonian industry all over Asia. He speaks of Xo((ioi 
 (high altars) and strong walls and battlements of various cities, together with subterraneous passages of 
 communication. Also aqueducts, for the conveyance of water under fijround ; and passages of groat length 
 upwards by stairs. Also bridges, — lib. xvi. 
 
 t "And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of 
 Shinar." Gen. x. 10. 
 
 I "Out of that land went forlli Ashur, and builded Nineveh, and the city of llehoboth and Calah." 
 Tbi.l v. 11. 
 
 Genesis, xix. 20. — xxviii. 1!). 
 
 II Oil' Bit' if 'Opxafiiviv vpoTivtaatrai, oil' 'Aaa 0i)Pai 
 Alyt/nria^ iJ^i TrXtinra Sofioi^ h* Kriifiaret Kurat^ 
 
 AV y tKaTofiTTvXoi flfTt.^ Iliad I. •IHl. 
 
 Krirrat ^i ipaa't roic TTipi T6v''0fnpiv TToKiv Iv T^ Ott^nitii r^ Knr' A'tyvTrrov tKarnfiTri'Xov — Diod. SlC. Ill', i. 
 fol. IM. Kdit. VVi'sseling — Herodotus Euterpe. 
 % Quort*jcdit. Vol. III.
 
 GRECIAN ARCHITECTURE. 19 
 
 that of the latter the forms of its masses are peculiarly grand. It has been 
 noticed in a preceding page that the monotony of the ornaments which the 
 Egyptians employed, renders them in some respect deficient in point of beauty,* 
 but let us always recollect it was from the foliage used by the Egyptians, par- 
 ticularly that of the Lotus and Palm-tree,f and even from their employment of 
 Volutes, that the Grecians evolved the Corinthian capital. They had sufficient 
 penetration to discover the sound principles on which the Egyptian architecture 
 was founded, and judgment to select, improve and adopt what was worthy of 
 imitation. 
 
 It was, of course, by very slow steps that architecture proceeded to that 
 perfection which it attained in Greece. The mechanical arts must have made 
 considerable progress before buildings of stone could have been constructed. If 
 we may believe Pliny, | their early houses were but simple huts built of earth 
 and clay, resembling the caverns from which they had but just emerged. The 
 same author says, that the Greeks attributed the honor of inventing bricks to 
 Euryalus and Ilyperbias, brothers and natives of Attica. But the time in 
 which these persons lived is unknown, and their introduction of the use of bricks 
 into Greece is the utmost that can be assigned to them, if indeed the whole 
 story be not a fable. 
 
 The Athenians were amongst the earliest of the nations of Greece, who 
 became a body politic. From their indisposition to move far away from their 
 country, they received as some conjecture, the appellation of Ai<t-o)(^0o)'£c,§ though 
 according to Plato, the import is more literal, from a belief that their an- 
 cestors actually sprang from the earth. The earliest of their kings, of whom 
 we have notice was Ogyges, but of him little more than his name is known. 
 
 * Supra — p. 15. 
 
 t Denoii, Voyage dans la Basse et la Haute Ejjypte. Plates 44 and 4.5. j 
 
 The use of the Palm leaf in the Capitals of the Egyptian columns may have had its origin iu an early 
 and popular notion, that the palm-tree rose under any weight that was placed on it, and iu proportion to 
 the degree of depression — ^^Qairtp dpTtaTdjjivov riji iSia'iofiiviiJ." Plutarch, Syniposiac. lib. vi. c. 4. 
 
 " Si, super palnia=, inquiunt, arboris lignum magna pondera imponas, ac tam graviter urgeas oneres(Jue, 
 tit magnitude oneris sustineri non queat, non deorsum palma cedit, nee intra flectitur, sed adversus pondus 
 resurgit et sursum nititur recurvaturque." Aulus Gell. lib. iii. c. 6. 
 
 I " Laterarias, ac domos constituerunt primi, Euryalus et Hyperbias fratres Athcnis : antea specus 
 erant pro domibus." Pliu. lib. vii. s. 57. See also Pausanias, Attic, c. 28, and jEschylus, Prometh. 
 Vinct. 449. 
 
 § Isocrat. in Pana>g. pa. 65, fol. Rasil. 1750. 
 
 " Adsunt Athcnienses, unde humanitas, doctrina, rellgio, fruges, jura, leges ortse, atque in omnes terras 
 distributse putantur : de quorum urbis possessione, propter pulchritudinem etiam inter decs certamen ftiisse 
 proditum est : qua; vetustate ea est, ut ipsa ex sese suos Cives genuisse dicatur." Cicero Orat. jiro L. Flacco. 
 
 II In Menexen. Fol. Francof. 1602, pa. 518.
 
 20 ON THE ORIGIN OF 
 
 His son Eleusinus, however, built the city of Eleusis, so that the father who also 
 governed Bceotia* must have introduced some civilization into those parts of 
 Greece. The kingdom of Argos owed its foundation to Inachus,f whose son 
 Egialeus is said to have founded the kingdom of Sicyon. It has been conjec- 
 tured, and with every appearance of probability, that the above two chiefs 
 belonged to some of those different colonies which moved from Asia and Egypt, 
 and first civilised the inhabitants of Greece, teaching them to dwell in cities, 
 and to lead a less wandering life. These doubtless brought with them some 
 remembrance of the arts of their native countries. The step from the unwieldy 
 Egyptian column to the Grecian Doric was indeed wide, yet experience shows 
 us how very gradual is the advance of science, and through what a number of 
 stages it must pass before it even approaches perfection. 
 
 The earliest edifices of the Greeks were far from exhibiting skill or 
 elegance. The temple at Delphi, celebrated by Homer,! and supposed by 
 Bryantvj to have been originally founded by Egyptians, was according to 
 Pausanias,|j little better than a hut covered with laurel branches. During the 
 time of Vitruvius the ruins of the building wherein the Areopagus assembled 
 were still visible : even this was, according to that architect,*|y but a miserable 
 sort of structure. Cadmus,** about 1519 B. C. has the reputation of having 
 introduced to the Greeks the worship of the Egyptian and Fhamician deities, 
 and of having instructed them to quarry and work the stone of the countryf f 
 
 * Pausaiiias — Bocotic. cap. 5. 
 
 t 'Apyor o' 'Ivaxiti'V — Strabo. Arcatl. lib. viii. 
 
 I Iliad I. 404 et seq. 
 
 § Analysis of Ancient IMytliology, vol. I. pa. 378. 
 
 II TlouiQrp'at Cf Tuv rttuv rip A-TroWiot'i to apxauWciTov ^iKpinjc (pttot, KOjUfr^tiyai c't -nvt; ic'Xn^oi'c (tTro ri/i' W0»'j;«; 
 r r,r iv Tolc TtftTTiffi. KaXi'i^Jir o' uv axujtft ovrtoc yt uv th} '!re(pi(T\tiitaTtrri.tfvot; o vai'iv, Pli<.K."ic. c. 5. 
 
 % Vitruvius, lib. ii. c. 1. 
 
 *' Jacob Bryant treats Cadmus in tlio same manner as he docs tlic ntlior Grrcian heroes, denying 
 altogether the cxi.stence of such a person, an<l attributing the good works done by him to tlie Colony of 
 Cadniians instead of tlieir leader. This is, however, a matter of little eonseiiuenec to our present purpose. 
 Ilei'odotus tells us, tliat wlien tlie Cadmians came to Attiea, tliev introduei-d a new system of Architectvire 
 and built Temples in a style (piite different from that to whicli the natives had been used. And he describes 
 the buildings in question as erected at a distance from those of the country. 'Kjri t-oi'tou oi) tov AdiHW/mi'mt 
 Toil 'ErfOKXioi; fiovvapxiovTOi liaviariaTai Kaf/ieioi in 'Apyilioi', Kai Tpijroi'rai tc Tovg 'Ey^eXfaj" oi Si ri^vpawi 
 inroXii^Oivrai varipov inrt) Boiwrwr, fivaxCipioxmi ig 'A^i'ivag. Kai afi 'ipa iitri Iv 'A^iii'yai i^pvfiiva tCjv oiiUv (ifTa 
 Toiffi XoiTTUKTi ' A^tivaiotfftf tiWa Tf Kfxi<'pi'ft^'n'a riui' JXXwi' ifiu/v^ Kni ^i} Koi 'Axohjc AilfnjrpoQ ijoor Tf Kai vpyta' 
 Herodotus, Tcrpsich. (il. 
 
 tt I'liny, lib. vii. sect. •'57. Euripides, speaking of the Walls of ancient Myecna', considers them as the 
 productions of the Cyclopeans oftcr the I'hccnician rule and method. 
 
 wf Ttt KVKXtlitruiv t^dOpa^ 
 
 4'oiviKt Kavovt Kai tvkuii; iipiwa/ih'a. Here. I'ur. 1)39.
 
 GRECIAN ARCHITECTURE. 21 
 
 SO as to make it usoful in buildinq;, and morcovci- of having taught them the art 
 of fusing and working metals. From this period the Greeks rapidly advanced 
 in civilisation ; but the present state of the art at that early period cannot 
 be satisfactorily determined, and the difficulties in the way of acquiring any 
 certain knowledge on the subject render the task irksome, perhaps impossible 
 to perform. The laws of Draco in the 39th Olympiad are the most ancient 
 writing, says Bryant, to which we can securely appeal. "When the Grecians began 
 afterwards to bestir themselves, and to look back upon what had passed, they 
 collected whatever accounts could be obtained. They tried also to separate 
 and arrange them to the best of their abilities ; and to make the various parts 
 of their history correspond. They had still some good materials to proceed 
 upon, had they thoroughly understood them ; but herein was a great failure. 
 Among the various traditions handed down, they did not consider which really 
 related to their country, and which had been inti-oduced from other parts."* 
 If Pausanias could be relied on, the Greeks had, at an extremely early period, 
 erected some very extraordinary buildings. This author, moreover, speaks of 
 the Treasury of Minyasf king of Orchomenus, and the Walls of TirynsJ he 
 designates as a work worthy the admiration of every age. The first mentioned 
 building if constructed by Minyas must have existed previous to the taking of 
 Troy, for Minyas reigned 1377 years before the Christian ajra, and the Walls 
 of Tiryns, said to have been built by Proteus,§ which consist of immense irre- 
 gular blocks of stone, must have been constructed about the same period. 
 Goguet,|| to whom I am much indebted, observes that if these edifices are so 
 ancient, it is very singular that Homer, Herodotus, Diodorus and Strabo should 
 have never made any remark on, nor even mention of the Treasury of Minvas. 
 Apollodorus and Strabo, however, speak of the Walls of Tiryns,^ saving that 
 thev were built bv workmen whom Proetus had brought from Lycia, and 
 
 • Vol. I., page 132. 
 
 ■j" (ijjfravpuv re ctvQpMTCoiv mv ifTfifv Mii'vac TTowroc *c vTTOCoxijV \pi}iiaTi'n' t'oKooofiiiiraro. Boeotic. C. 36. 
 
 J T« Tiix^l rti if Tipvi'BL ovci tTri f'^pnx^^ ityuptvov pviiiDjc, ov^i bvTa iXuTTOvoQ Oav^tiTot^. Ibid. 
 
 § These Walls are of the Jeseription usually called Cyclopean. Jacob Bryant, in speakinjr of the 
 buildings of Tii-yns, and of the .seven Cyulopcans, mentioned by Strabo, lib. viii. Arg., by whose assistance 
 thoy were constructed, turns the men into the buihlings or towers themselves. " These towers," he says, 
 " were erected likewise ibr Purait or Purathcia, where the rites of Fire were celelirated : but Pnrait or 
 Puraitus, the Greeks changed to nnolroj ; and gave out that the Towers were built for Proetus, whom they 
 made a king of that country." According to Strabo, lib. viii., the Cyclopes were a nation driven out of 
 Thrace, which settled in Asia Minor, and which came into Greece to work for him. Sec also Herodotus, 
 Terpsichore, c. 6. 
 
 II Origine des Lois, 8vo. Paris, 1809, Vol. 11., pa. 182. 
 
 \ See note »iipra.
 
 22 ox THE ORIGIN OF 
 
 Homer* records TlpiwOa Tuy^'ioiaaav. The lasting Walls of Tiryns still exhibit, 
 in the small portion which remains, the work and arrangement of a very 
 remote age. 
 
 It has been conjecturedf that the Treasury of Minyas bore a resemblance 
 to the Treasui'y of Atreus at Mycenae, still in existence, in which the beds of 
 the courses of stones are horizontally adjusted, and manifest an advanced stage 
 of the art. What has been called the vaulting of this last mentioned Treasury 
 is not entitled to that appellation. Though the internal face of the work is in 
 the form of a circular spindle generated by the revolution of a segment of a 
 circle about its chord, and not a paraboloid^ as a noble author has stated, yet 
 its construction indicates no knowledge of the principles of arching or vaulting. 
 The curve is obtained bv each course corbelling over in horizontal beds and bv 
 afterwards woi'king the inverted steps to the shape required. Now in respect 
 of that of ]\Iinyas, Pausanias says that it was vaulted and constructed of 
 marble, although there is no likelihood, even so late as the age of Homer, that 
 this material was employed in Gi'ccian bviildings. Had that been the case, 
 says Goguet, " Homer would scarcely have omitted the mention of it in his 
 description of the Palace of Alcinous§, and much less in the Palace of 
 Menelaus, which was celebrated by him for the gold, silver, brass and ivory 
 which it contained. 
 
 If the introduction among the Greeks of the instruments necessai'y for 
 working materials be assigned to Dasdalus, which it would be if we might rely 
 on the authors of antiquity, |1 it will be no easy task to reconcile the accounts 
 of Pausanias and othei's with the truth, inasmuch as this person is allowed on 
 all hands to have existed, if at all, long subsequent to the periods above men- 
 tioned. Goguet has therefore made him altogether a fabulous personage, taking 
 the name AAIAAA02 to mean nothini'' more than a skilful workman, a meaning 
 which he says has not escaped the notice of Pausanias. It is indeed surprising, 
 had so wonderful an artist existed, that he should not have been celebrated by 
 
 * Iliad. B. 55!). 
 
 t In an "Inquiry into the Principles of Beauty in Grecian Architecture, &c." by George, Eiu-l of 
 Aberdeen. 12ino. London, 1822, pa. 92. 
 
 J Ibid. It is presumed that the author may have meant a parabolic spindle. 
 § Odyss. A. 72. 
 
 Diod. Sic. lib. iv. 
 
 " Namque liuic tradidcrat, fatorum ignara, doccndani 
 Progcniem gcrmana suam, nalalibus actis 
 Bis puerum senis, animi ad preccpta capacis." 
 
 Ovid. Mctaiii. lib. viii. 541. 
 
 riiny, lib. vii., sect. 57.
 
 GRECIAN ARCHITECTURE. 23 
 
 Homer, or that Herodotus, who availed himself of every opportunity for 
 launching into anecdote, should, in describing the Labyrinth of Egypt, have 
 said nothing in relation to that of Crete, especially as it would have been so 
 much to the honor of his own country.* Goguet is of opinion that «nany of 
 the instruments whose introduction was attributed to D;cdalus were not known 
 to the Greeks even in the time of Homer, who does not specify in his poems 
 any other than the hatchet with two edges, the plane, the auger, and the 
 rule.f Neither square, compasses, nor saw arc particularised. The Greek 
 signification, TrpUoi; of a saw or its equivalent is not found in any of his works. 
 The information gained from the Homeric writings, whose authenticity it 
 is unnecessary to discuss in this place, and from the Odyssey more particularly, 
 which, if not so ancient as the Iliad, must, nevertheless, have soon followed it, 
 and is admitted on all hands to be of very high antiquity, shows us that in the 
 age of the poet, the patriarchal was the form of government that prevailed,! 
 and that the chief buildings of those days were the palaces of the princes. 
 At this period, the Altar appears to have been the only structure for sacred 
 use : it was little more than a hearth on which the victim was prepared for the 
 meal. In earlier times the tops of mountains§ were selected not only by the 
 Greeks but by other nations for the worship of their Gods. Thus we find 
 Hector sacrificing on the top of Ida : 
 
 tic," fioi TToXXa /.■JokSv etti ftij(n' itCljiV 
 
 "ISijg'tv Kopv(py(Ti noXvirri'xovj aXKoTt S* auTS 
 
 'Ev xoXfi uKpoTUTy. Iliad X. 170. 
 
 * Athenagoras, Leg. pro Christ, xiv. says that before Homer and Hesiod no sculptor's art appeared in 
 Greece nor representations of the gods. Al S' ilxovis fiixin in'iTriu ■n-XaaTiKi), Kui ypiKjiim), Kui uvdpiavTOTroitjTiKi) 
 fiaav, 6vSi Ivoftl^ovTo. 
 
 f "TliXtKvt' ftiyat^, x"^>:tov, I'lfKpoTfpioOiv avaxfili'oi'." Odyss. E. 239 et. seq. Forsyth, in the usual 
 caustic style of his Notes to the valuable " Remarks on the Antiquities, Arts, and Letters in Italy," second 
 edit. 8vo. Lond. 1816, p. 292, says, " All Homer's cutlery is made of o^i'i x"^'<v-: his p^aXK-tiic is a jack-of-all 
 trades, and the metal itself is thus generalised by him." 
 
 Xa\K€Vov caiSaXa TroXXti, 
 
 TlopTrat; rf, yyapTrrug ^' fXi/crtCj KaXvKag rt, Kai uphove. 
 
 Iliad 2. 400. 
 I Principles of Design in Architecture, 8vo. London, 1809. 
 
 § " And he brought him into the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars." — 
 Numbers, x.xiii. 14. 
 
 Strabo informs us that the Persians always performed their worship upon hills. "Uipam roivw 
 iyaXfiara fuv Kai ^(ofiovg oi'x' i^pvovrat' ^vovtri St tv ii^tiXtp Tuirtit tov uvpapuv I'lyovftevoi Ala. Lib. XV. See 
 also Herodotus, Euterpe. 
 
 Virgil makes his hero choose a high situation for a temple to Venus : 
 " Turn vicina astris Erycino in vertice sedes 
 Fundatur Vcneri Idalia; : tumuloque sacerdos 
 Et lucus late sacer, additur Anchiseo." 2En. v. 760. 
 
 e2
 
 24 ON THE ORIGIN OF 
 
 Not until after Homer's time was a regular priestliood established in Greece. 
 At Sparta the office of priest was vested in the Kings. In Egypt,* and in 
 many other places, the dignity was obtained by inheritance. When the prin- 
 cipal person was absent, it was customaiy for the next highest in rank present to 
 offer the sacrifice. Thus was Eurajeus engaged, as we find by the Odyssey. 
 In this age we consequently find the altar in the King's palace — the part 
 therefore in which it stood must occasionally have been used as a temple. 
 Hence, it seems probable that until the sacerdotal was separated from the 
 kinglv office, the Grecian temple, properly so called, had no existence. 
 
 Though it be entirely conjectural, it will not be amiss to consider in this 
 place, as well as can be collected from a junction of different passages in the 
 Odyssey, the nature of the palaces described in it ; but more especially that of 
 Ulvsses, for which we can collect more materials than for the others. Our 
 chief concern is with the AYAH. In the Odyss. 2. 236, 7? as well as in other 
 passages we find a distinction made between it and the A0M02. From its 
 etymology, ''Aw, it should be, locus suhdialis. It is sometimes, indeed, used for 
 the whole palace,f but this is by no means its import in the Odyssey. In the 
 AYAH Telemachus slew the female attendants of Penelope, tying them up by a 
 rope over the 90A0Z, ceiling. j; If, therefore, the AYAH was open at top, 
 where could the BOAOS have been, if not belonging to the AI90Y2A cloister, 
 which was ipiSov-n-o^ (sonorous echoing), § and circumscribed the open part of 
 the AYAH. It, the eOA02, was supported by KI0NE2, posts or columns. 
 In the centre of the AYAH stood the BQM02 altar. The ME20AMAI in this 
 arrangement will turn out to be the spaces between the columns or posts, or in 
 other terms the intercolumniations, which is the vulgar translation of the word. 
 In this case, the passage in which Telemachus is described as seeing the light 
 on the walls, &c., becomes quite intelligible. 
 
 "KfiTTiji; fiut ro7\'0( /ifyaowr, KuXai re fitrrutfuiiy 
 'EiXaTivai n coKm^ Kin Kwvit; vi^ita k\ovTiCi 
 •Wd'j'orr' o0^rt\/ioTc. — Oilyss. T. 170. 
 
 It is clear that the word AI90Y2A, whose I'oot is iViOw (luceo) will bear 
 the interpretation above given, whctlior the other conjectures advanced be or 
 
 * 'KiTiav it TiQ tt-jToOavy^ tovtov ti ttuI^ ('(vrtKariaraTui^ Ilerod. Kuterpe. 
 
 See also Virgil — " Re.x Anius, rex idem Iloniinuni, Plucbiiiue sacerdos." jEncid iii. SO., on which 
 passage Servius observes, "Majorura cniin Iia'c erat cousuetudo, ut I'c.x esset etiam, sacerdos et ronlifex, 
 undo hodicque Iraperatores rontifices dicanius." 
 
 t Iliad. Z. 247. 
 
 I Odyss. X. 4G6. 
 
 § Ibid. r. 17G.
 
 GRECIAN ARCHITECTURE. 25 
 
 not well founded, — and from such an arrangement the transition to the 
 hypivthral temple is by no means violent or extraordinary. It is, moreover, 
 coincident with the disposition of the Egyptian temple,* and therefore not 
 perhaps altogether conjectural. 
 
 Whilst on this subject perhaps a few words might serve to illustrate the 
 condition of the art at the period of which we are speaking — for this purpose 
 we will take the house of Alcinous, which is described as follows :f — 
 
 " Ulysses went to the celebrated house of Alcinous and stood considering 
 many matters, before he approached the brazen threshold, OYAOS. — A 
 splendour like that of the sun appeared throughout the lofty roofed house, 
 Y4'EPE'1>H2, of Alcinous. Brazen walls were to be seenj on every side from 
 the threshold to the innermost part. On these was a capping, 9PirK02, of a 
 blue colour. Golden doors in the interior enclosed the well-secured house. 
 Silver jambs, :i;TA0MOI, stood on the brazen threshold. The lintel 
 YIlEPeYPION, was of silver, the cornice, KOPQNH, of gold. On each side 
 of the door were gold and silver dogs, whicfi were by Vulcan so ingeniously 
 contrived, that they would never experience the infirmities of age — these 
 guarded the house of the magnanimous Alcinous. 
 
 " Within, seats were attached to the wall, in different places, from the 
 entrance to the inner part of the house, and on them were covers of a light 
 texture wrought by the women. These seats were occupied by the chiefs of 
 the Phfeacians, who sate eating and drinking. They were continually feasting. 
 
 " Golden youths with blazing torches in their hands, stood on the w^cll- 
 built altars, to light the house for the guests at night," &c., &c. 
 
 Returning to the construction and arrangement of the AYAH, it has been 
 surmised in a preceding page that it might, under all the ciixumstances, have 
 furnished a hint for the rectangular and columnar disposition of the temple 
 itself. We are unable to trace the degrees which intervened between the sole 
 use of the altar and the establishment of the Greek temple, or when the latter 
 became a necessary appendage to the religion of the country. § " We are 
 equally uninformed how the revolution happened which abolished the civil, 
 judicial, and military offices of Kings, leaving the sacerdotal. But though the 
 King's palace seems to have had no part appropriated to religious ceremony, 
 
 * See Denon, I'late 34, which represents the interior of the Temple of ApoUinopolis at EJfou. 
 
 t Odyss. H. 81. 
 
 J I am aware that iXiiXdcuT tp^a Kal ii'iu, does not perhaps exactly bear the interpretation given — but 
 as there is some doubt of the precise meaning of the passage, which is by no means particularly 
 important here — the translation will sufficiently answer the purpose. 
 
 § Principles of Design in Architecture, page 2G.
 
 26 . ON THE ORIGIN OF 
 
 yet being the dcpositoiT of whatever furniture and utensils the rite of sacritice 
 required, a substitute would be wanted when this palace was no more. To 
 supply this want the cell seems to have been added to the Greek temple." It 
 is supposed by Eusebius and others* that temples owe their origin to the 
 reverence which the ancients had for their deceased friends and relations and 
 benefactors, and that they were nothing more than stately monuments erected 
 in honor of the early heroes who had conferred whilst living some public 
 benefit on mankind. The temple of Pallas, for instance, at Larissa, was the 
 sepulchre of Acrisius ; Cecrops was interred in the Acropolis at Athens, and 
 Eriethonius in the temple of Minerva Polias. So the passage in Virgil 
 -3i]neid. lib. ii. v. 74. 
 
 Tumulum antiquse Cereris, sedemque sacratam 
 Venimus, — 
 
 shows the practice of the ancients in this respect. A custom prevailed of even 
 offering sacrifices, prayers, and libations at almost every tomb, — and in some 
 cases the sepulchre of the dead was as much an asylum or sanctuary as after- 
 wards the temple itself. That this honor was not confined to the Gods, but 
 extended to other great persons, may be seen by the evidence of Strabo.f 
 
 The houses of the Greeks at a very early period had an upper story over 
 some part or parts of them. The passages in the Iliad, J which tend to the 
 proof of this, have by some persons, perhaps to strengthen a weak argument, 
 been pronounced of doubtful antiquity. It will be needless, however, 
 to examine this assertion critically, because it is quite manifest that 
 the Eastern dwellings were not confined within the limits of a single 
 story. In Scripture we shall find several notices which prove this point 
 satisfactorily. David, for instance, withdrew himself to weep for Absolom, 
 in the chamber over the gate.§ Ahaz erected his altars upon the terrace 
 of the upper cJiamher.W We read of the summer chamber of Eglon which 
 seems to have had sfair.t to it, through which Ehud escaped after he had 
 revenged Israel.^ And these are all of them, by the Seventy, translated 
 YnEPQON, the word used by Homer. Terraces on the tops of the Eastern 
 
 • Potter's Arcliffolog. Grace. Cliap. iii. Vol. I. 
 t Lib. ii. pa. IGO. Falconer's Edit. 
 J Iliad. Ii. .514, 16, 184. 
 § 2 Samuel, xviii. :i5. 
 II 2 Kingfl, xxiii. 12. 
 
 TJ 1 Judges, iii. 20 — 23. Sec also Ilarmer's " Observations on various Passages of Scripture," and 
 1 Kings, vi. 8.
 
 GRECIAN ARCHITECTURE. 27 
 
 houses were also general, for the Jewish law enacted that persons should sur- 
 round them with a protecting railing.* In some of the Egyptian remains 
 there are distinct traces of even more than two stories, and it is not, therefore, 
 too much to contend for the existence of one in the time of the poet. 
 
 The word KAIMA3 frequently occurs in the Odyssey in connection with 
 the verbs ANABAINEIN or KATABAINEIN and the word vwipu>ov above 
 mentioned. Whether it signify a ladder or a staircase is of no importance, 
 though the usual progress of invention would seem to indicate the priority of 
 the ladder. Neither is it of consequence to our present purpose to fix with 
 precision the exact situation of the v-mpMov or ccenaculum ; whether at the back 
 part of the house or over the So/io? itself, it is sufficiently clear that it was 
 necessary to reach it by means of a staircase.f 
 
 Stone and brick were the materials most commonly employed in the works 
 of the Egyptians, from whom if Greece gained her knowledge in the arts, one 
 can hardly see the necessity for the intermediate step of those wooden 
 structures which are said to have been the original type of the Doric Temple. 
 It is, indeed, true that the forests of the country would have supplied timber 
 in abundance, and the little labour requisite to work it would have been an 
 additional inducement for its employment. 
 
 The deducement of the parts of the Doric Order entirely from wooden 
 buildings is not without some anomalies which will be afterwards noticed in 
 speaking of that order. The idea seems to have been current in the time of 
 VitruviuSjJ but upon his authority in mattei's of historical research not much 
 reliance is to be placed. It cannot, however, be denied that up to a compara- 
 tively late period timber was very extensively used in the construction of the 
 Greek temple. In the time of Xenophon it was a material not considered 
 too mean to be employed in forming the " statues of Deities in the smaller 
 temples, whei'e neither a great revenue appropriated to religious purposes, nor 
 extensive public favour, afforded means for large expense."§ 
 
 If the wooden temples had altogether escaped the flames which consumed 
 so many of them, it is not to be expected that they would, from the nature of 
 the material, have escaped the all-devouring hand of time. As the principles 
 
 * Deut. xxii. 8. " AVhen thou buililest a new house, then thou shalt make a battlement for thy roof, 
 that thou bring not blood upon tliinc house if any man fall from thence." Through the want of this species 
 of fencing or railing at the palace of Circe, Elpenor, one of the companions of Ulysses, had the misfortune 
 of breaking his neck. Odyss. K. 552 et. seq. 
 
 t Odyss. P. & seq. 49. S 205 *. 6. &c. 
 
 X Lib. iv. c. 1. 
 
 § Principles of Design in Architecture, p. 31.
 
 28 ON THE ORIGIN OF 
 
 of construction must bear some relation to the nature of the materials : the 
 proportions of the wooden temple would in all probability have been different 
 from those in which stone was employed. The epistylium or beam laid on the 
 top of the supports in the former, probably ran through each side of the 
 building in one piece, but a block of stone, could it have been procured suffi- 
 ciently long and deep for the purpose, would not have been raised to its place 
 and deposited on the heads of the columns without such assistance from the 
 complication of the mechanical powers, as would in those days, if even known, 
 have proved so unwieldy and expensive as to have rendered their application 
 inexpedient. Here then is the first step towards a reduction of the space 
 between the columns which is denominated an intercolumniation : for it is to 
 be remembered that at the period of which we are speaking, the arch was to 
 all appearance unknown. 
 
 Some general notion may be formed of the comparative antiquity of the 
 different examples of the Grecian Doric by measuring their heights in terms 
 of the lower part of the diameter of their shafts, of which more notice will be 
 taken in a subsequent page — in this place, it is only necessary to state, that 
 the massive proportions of the early Doric, such for instance as those used in 
 the Temple at Sclinuns in Sicily, where the columns arc only five diameters in 
 height, at a later period assumed a much greater appearance of delicacy and 
 elegance, and that the intercolumniations of this order gradually increased as 
 the art progressed towards perfection. 
 
 The account of the Origin of the Orders of Architecture as given by 
 Vitruvius seems too absurd a fable to need much discussion. It will not 
 escape the notice of any one, that the time Avhich he assigns for their origin, is 
 long previous to the time of Homer, who does not in any part of his poems 
 give the slightest hint w hich could lead us to a belief that there was what is 
 understood by the \vord ordku to be found in any part of the buildings he 
 describes, which liad it existed, it seems at least probable, he would have 
 mentioned. He speaks of temples consecrated to Neptune and Minerva, 
 without describing them ; it is likely, therefore, that they wore only altars to 
 tliose deities.* — AVc will, however, give the account from Vitruvius, which is 
 as follows :t — 
 
 " Dorus, son of Ilcllen and the Nymph Orscis reigned over Achaia and 
 Peloponnesus. He built a temple of this (the Doric) order on a spot sacred to 
 
 * O'lyss. Z. 2GG. Iliad. '/.. 207. Sec also avyiTii, page 22. 
 •f Lib. iv. c. 1.
 
 GRECIAN ARCHITECTURE. 20 
 
 Juno at Argos, an ancient city. Many temples similar to it were afterwards 
 raised in the other parts of Achaia, though at that time its proportions were 
 not precisely estahlished. 
 
 " When the Athenians in a general assembly of the States of Greece, 
 sent over into Asia, by the advice of the Delphic oracle, thirteen colonies at 
 the same time, they appointed a Governor over each, reserving the chief com- 
 mand for Ion, the son of Xuthus and Creusa, whom the Delphic Apollo had 
 acknowledged as son. He led them over into Asia, where they occupied 
 the borders of Caria, and built the great cities of Ephesus, Miletus, Mvus, 
 (afterwards destroyed by inundation, and its sacred rites and suffrages 
 transferred by the lonians to the inhabitants of Miletus), Priene, Samos, Tecs, 
 Colophon, Chios, Erythrsp, Phocani, Clazomene, Lebedos and Melite. This 
 last, as a punishment for the arrogance of its citizens, was detached from the 
 other states in the course of a war levied on it, in a general council, and in 
 its place, as a mark of favor towards King Attains and Arsinoe, the city of 
 Smyrna was received into the number of Ionian States. These received the 
 appellation of Ionian, after the Carians and Lelegaj had been driven out, from 
 the name Ion, of the leader. In this country, allotting different sites to sacred 
 purposes, they erected temples, the first of which was dedicated to Apollo 
 Panionius.* It resembled that which they had seen in Achaia, and from the 
 species having been first used in the cities of Doria, they gave it the name of 
 Doric. As they wished to erect this temple with columns, and were not 
 acquainted with their proportions, nor the mode in which they should be 
 adjusted, so as to be both adapted to the reception of the superincumbent 
 weight, and to have a beautiful effect, they measured a man's height by the 
 length of the foot, which they found a sixth part thereof, and thence deduced 
 the proportion of their columns. Thus the Doric order borrowed its pro- 
 portion, strength and beauty from the human figure. | On similar principles 
 they afterwards built the Temple of Diana ; but in this, from a desire of 
 varying the proportions, they used the female figure as a standard, making 
 the height of the column eight times its thickness, for the purpose of giving it 
 
 * The Ripont Eilition — as well as Roe's, Berlin, 1800 — has it Neptune. Schneider, however, restores 
 it to Apollo, quotiiig Ilesychius and Wesseling's Herodotus, Clio. 147, where Apollo is called nariwi/ioj. 
 
 t The tradition concerninji; Anta;us might have furnished Vitruvius, had he been in the right cue at 
 the time, with an origin of the introduction of o.t and other skulls into friezes. This character covered the 
 roof of a temple of Neptune with the skulls of Foreigners, whom he slew in engagements with him. 
 'IciciJC "'J^' 'Avrawy <pi\'Ji tCjv ^VJSWS tHjv ^T-uijtivtov T0I2 KPANI0I2 initptiv ruv rov Hotjiuiiji'OQ vaov. So 
 that skulls were used early as ornamenta iu building. Pindari Carm. Edit. Heyn. Scholia, Tom. 3. 
 fol. 826.
 
 30 0\ THE ORIGIN OF GRECIAN ARCHITECTURE. 
 
 a more lofty effect. Under this new order they placed a base as a shoe to the 
 foot. They also added volutes to the capital, resembling the graceful curls of 
 the hair, hanging therefrom to the right and left certain mouldings and foliage. 
 On the shaft channels were sunk, bearing a resemblance to the folds of a 
 matronal garment. Thus were two orders invented, one of a masculine 
 character, without ornament, the other of a character approaching the delicacy, 
 decorations and proportion of a female. The successors of these people, 
 improving in taste, and preferring a more slender proportion, assigned seven 
 diameters to the height of the Doric column, and eight and a half to the 
 Ionic. That species of which the lonians were the inventors has received the 
 appellation of Ionic. The third species, which is called Corinthian, resembles 
 in its character the graceful, elegant appearance of a virgin, whose limbs are 
 of a more delicate form, and whose ornaments should be unobtrusive. The 
 invention of the Capital of this order arose from the following circumstance. 
 A Corinthian virgin, who was of marriageable age, fell a victim to a violent 
 disorder ; after her interment, her nurse collecting in a basket those articles 
 to which she had shown a partiality when alive, carried them to her tomb, and 
 placed a tile on the basket, for the longer preservation of its contents. The 
 basket was accidentally placed on the root of an acanthus plant, which, pressed 
 by the "weight, shot forth, towards spring, its stems and large foliage, and in 
 the course of its growth reached the angles of the tile, and thus formed volutes 
 at the extremities. Callimachus, who, for his great ingenuity and taste in 
 sculpture, was called by the Athenians KaraTejifoi:, happening at this time to 
 pass by the tomb, observed the basket and the delicacy of the foliage which 
 surrounded it. Pleased with the form and novelty of the combination, he 
 took the hint for inventing these columns, using them in the country about 
 Corinth," &c. 
 
 Whoever reads the above account can give it but little credit. The 
 testimony of Vitruvius on matters which occurred so long before his time, 
 unless authenticated by earlier writers, cannot be received in an investigation 
 similar to that in which we are engaged. — We will now proceed to a con- 
 sideration of tlu! Progress and Perfection of Grecian Architecture.
 
 31 
 
 ON THE rROGIlESS AND PERFECTION OF GRECIAN 
 
 ARCHITECTURE. 
 
 History furnishes us with few means of ascertaining the progress and 
 condition of the tine arts among the Greeks, between the period commonly 
 assigned to the siege of Troy, and that of the time of Solon and Pisistratus, 
 590 years A.C.* In Greece Proper, it is probable that the advancement was 
 slow, whilst its colonies established on the coast of Asia Minor were making- 
 rapid strides towards perfection. Goguet speaks of Asia Minor as the cradle 
 in which architecture was rocked, and the soil on which it grew and flourished, 
 and thinks that we must look to that country^forLth e o rigin o f the Doric and 
 IoBic_onlcrs,^— This will be presently examined. Th e Corinthian order, from 
 what we can learn, did not appear till some time afterwards, and is generally 
 allowed to haye been the invention of the mother country itself. One of the 
 earliest temples of the Greeks, that of Jupiter at Olympia, must, according to 
 Pausanias,f have been built about 630 years before the Christian era. That 
 of Diana at Ephesus was begun at a period little less remote, if LivyJ be right 
 in his assertion that it was reared at the time that Servius Tullius was King 
 of Rome ; and that date, be it observed, accords with the statements of other 
 ancient writers. § Notwithstanding the magnitude of these works, the science 
 of mechanics was in its infancy. Even in the time of Thucydidcs,|| the 
 powers of the crane, though known, were not compendiously applied for raising 
 weights. Before proceeding more particularly to the view which it is proposed 
 to take of the Greek architectural orders, it may be convenient to state here, 
 that the Greeks bestowed but little attention on their private houses.^ All 
 
 * The Egyptians in the time of Solon were advanced in science. Solon was told by one of their 
 priests that the Grecians were children in science ; that they were utterly ignorant of the mythology of 
 other nations ; and did not understand their own. Plato in Tima;o. Clemens. Strom. Lib. 1. 
 
 f TiKTuv ci lyhcTo aiiTou Aijioiv sffixwp'of) !i°d t^e intention in erecting the temple is afterwards men- 
 tioned. Pausan. Eliac. Pr. c. 10. 
 
 I " Jam turn erat inclitum Diana; Ephesia; fanum : id communitcr a civitatibus Asia; factum fama 
 ferebat." Liv. Hist. Lib. 1, c. 45. 
 
 § Diogenes Laertius, Lib. "2, scg. 103, mentions Theodorus of Samos .is the person who advised the 
 foundation of this temple to be placed on lajers of charcoal. — orros; ianv !> av/iiiovXivaas avOpaKai; inroTtOiji'at 
 rots a«/iiXioi£ To5 iv 'E^t(T<(). And Theodorua, according to Herodotus, Thalia, Aristotle, de Itep. Lib. 5, c. 1 1 , 
 and Pausanias Arcadie. c. 14., flourished in the time of Polycrates, Tyrant of Samos, a contemporary of 
 Amasis, King of Egypt, 559 B.C. 
 
 II Thucydid. lib. iv. 
 
 ^ Demosthenes, Orat. adv. Aristocratem. 
 
 F 2
 
 32 ON THE PROGRESS AND PERFECTION OF 
 
 the splendour and magnificence of the art was reserved for the embellishment 
 of their temples and other public buildings. 
 
 If the birthplace of the Doric order gave it a name, to which of the 
 provinces which went under the name of Doria is it to be referred, for they 
 were many ? To what author shall we turn to enlighten us on this subject, 
 Taesides Vitruvius, on the verv face of whose account we tind such a mass of 
 absurditv ? It would be ridiculous to suppose that the order was perfected by 
 one person, or in one period, and at this time all the researches that can be 
 made are unfortunately not likely to give us a satisfactory account of the name 
 Avhich it bears. Names are often the last means that should be resorted to for 
 ascertaining the import or origin of the things which bear them. 
 
 The detail of the Doric Order is said by a host of writers, with Vitruvius 
 at their head, to have been borrowed from the assemblage of timber framing 
 in a common hut, and that it was the result of copying in stone the form and 
 parts of a wooden building. This, it must be confessed, seems contrary to the 
 ordinary progress of the arts and sciences. Stone buildings would scarcely be 
 the immediate followers of those constructed in timber, where bricks were 
 known ; however, if that were the case, the latter must have been carried 
 to great perfection in their forms, arrangement, and proportions, and 
 have attained a certain style and character before they could have been 
 deemed objects worthy of imitation. The observation in the Encyclopedic 
 ]\Iethodiquc* on this subject is so sensible, that the writer shall speak for 
 himself: — "Tout nous indiquc qu'unc telle metamorphose ne put s'efFectuer 
 (jue par une suite non interrompue, mais tres Icnte d'opcrations subordonnces 
 a beaucoup de causes, dont les unes pcuvent encoi'c se saisir ou se devincr, et 
 dont les autres ont echappe a I'attention mcme des contemporains, et doivcnt 
 encore se soustraire aux recherches curieuses dc la posteritc." In short, says 
 the same writer, if the Doric order could be atti'ibuted to an invcnfor, that 
 inventor was a people among whom similar wants existed for a long period, 
 and among wliom a style of building was retained suitable to the climate and 
 tile liabits (jI' their life, and one which time slowly and gradually modified 
 and brou{j;ht to perfection, on ])rincii)les rendered sacred by custom. 
 
 The system of imitation in the Doric order has the appearance of having 
 been I'ounded on the elementary forms of the hut ; but it was guided, if that 
 really be the case, by the same; ])rinci))Ie3 which Nature herself adopts in her 
 works, without the aid ol' \\irKli no I)ouuds could liave been set to tlu; 
 imagination and caprice of its improvers. In the copy no part can be said to 
 
 ■" .\rt. Dori'jnc.
 
 GRECIAN ARCHITECTURE. 
 
 33 
 
 be precisely similar to the model ; the {"ormer displays sentiment, not 
 calculation. The triglyplis and metopes, which are said to represent what in 
 the original were the ends of beams and the spaces between them, are generally 
 found onlv in the exterior of the building. The inclination of the mutulcs, 
 originating, as it is said, in the slope of the rafters, is still preserved, though 
 the front in which they appear be of a nature to require an horizontal 
 arrangement of them. These things show that the artists at least adopted a 
 free and not a servile imitation of the primitive types. One cannot, however, 
 refrain from observing that on an inspection of Denon's plate of the Portico 
 of the Temi)lc of Tentyris,* in the entablature whereof are to be found 
 projections and intervals in its upper division, bearing a striking resemblance 
 to the arrangement of the Doric frieze, a suspicion is induced that the usual 
 hypothesis wants stronger confirmation than it has generally seemed torequire.f 
 It is true that the projections in question are in the form of reeds, but the 
 general effect, especially when we observe the way in which the intervals are 
 
 * Voyage de TEgyplo, plate 14. 
 
 f I am indebted to a very wortby Irieiid, Jlr. Charles Barry, for the following interesting and valuable 
 ■note, which I shall give in his own words, expressing my regret that he has not hitherto favored the 
 public witli some portion, at least, nf the information ho lias acquired in the course of those extendeil 
 travels and researches in Greece, Kgypt, and Talestinc, which he takes so much pleasure in liberally com- 
 municating to his friends. 
 
 " The tombs of IJcnihassan are excavated in a rock a short distance from the Nile, on its right bank, 
 .ibout 48 French leagues south of Cairo. Two of them have architectural fronts, consisting of two fluted 
 columns in antis, similar to the accompanying Sketch No. 1. The columns are about 5A diameters in 
 
 No. 1. 
 
 height. The flutes are shallow, and -20 in number, and the capital consists of an abacu.s only. There are 
 no indications of a base or plinth. Above the architrave, which is plain, is a projecting ledge of the rock, 
 in the form of a cornice, the soffit of which is sculptured apparently in imitation of a series of reeds laid
 
 34 
 
 ON THE PROGRESS AND PERFECTION OF 
 
 ornamented, cannot fail to bring to mind the arrangement of the Doric Frieze 
 and Cornice, not to mention the reeding at the external angles, which cor- 
 responds with the angular triglyphs of the Doric order. The introduction of 
 the angular triglvph seems to have been an anomaly which could not have 
 arisen, had the primitive type been what we have just seen. What could be 
 more absurd than to give the end of the same beam two faces at right angles 
 with its longitudinal direction. On the supposition of the type being the hut, 
 and of the detail of the order being derived from the component parts of a 
 
 transversely and horizontally tor its support. This was probably the system originally adopted for the 
 
 support of the flat mud roof of the primitive Egyptian hut, and may perhaps have given rise to the dentils 
 
 and mutules of Greek and Roman architecture. In the interior of several of the tombs arc some very 
 
 remarkable columns supporting the rock above, which forms the ceiling. One of them is 
 
 represented in Sketch No. 2. ' They seem very satisfactorily to explain the origin of a 
 
 column of like form peculiar to Egyptian Architecture, and employed in many of the 
 
 Egyptian temples. The prototype would appear to have consisted of four large reeds of 
 
 the Nile, placed upon an angular block, and tied together by cords near the top, forming 
 
 thereby the capital. Small sticks are introduced between the reeds at the place of 
 
 ligature, to render the figure of a more oii'Cular form, and afford the means of firmly 
 
 tying the whole together. The top is crowned by a square abacus, and the reeds being 
 
 there confined, the effect of any incumbent weight upon them would be to produce the 
 
 form represented in the sketch. A slight deflection of the shaft would also take place, and 
 
 may not this account for the origin of the entasis of Columns. 
 
 " Another remarkable instance of fluted Egyptian columns occurs in an excavated 
 temple at Kalaptchic on the left bank of the Nile, about 25 Erench leagues above the 
 first cataracts. The temple consists of two chambers, the largest of which has its roof or 
 incumbent rock, supported by two of the columns alluded to, as in Sketch No. 3. The 
 abacus is square, and 11 inches thick; the shaft, which has a trifling diminution, is 
 7 feet 8 inches high, and 3 feet 2 inches diameter. The circumference is in 24 divisions, 
 whereof 4, which are at right angles witli each other, are flat faces, covered with hiero- ^°- — 
 
 glyphics, and the other intervening ones are sunk into flat elliptical flutes, quarter inch deep. Oa 
 the top and bottom of the shaft is a plain horizontal band. The plinth is 
 circular, it projects considerably beyond the shaft, and is chamfered on the top 
 edge. 
 
 " There are several instances of polygonal shafls in the Egyptian 
 temples. A remarkable one is in a temple at Eluthias, on the right bank 
 of the Nile, a few miles south of Esneh, where, in the interior of a large 
 vestibule, the whole of the roof is supported upon polygonal culunms of 
 sixteen sides. 
 
 " There is every reason to suppose, fiom the nature of the sculpture 
 and the hieroglyphics, that the tondis and tcnqiles alluded to arc of very 
 remote anti<|uity, orjiduriiig the most flourishing i)eriod of the Arts in Egypt. 
 The general resemblance of the fluted columns to those of the Grecian Doric 
 Order is manifest, and in addition to many other remarkable indications in the 
 Egyptian Temple, clearly point to Egypt as the source of both Greek and 
 Roman Architecture. 
 
 iji 'iiiillHi 
 
 ■.ffff I 
 
 C. IJahrv." 
 
 No. 3.
 
 GRKCIAN ARCHITECTURE. 
 
 35 
 
 hut, the Romans, and afterwards the restorers of art in Italy, were justified in 
 altering this defect, which was the father of many more, in the arrangement 
 of the intcrcolumniations. It is almost needless to observe that the materials 
 of Egyptian architecture, from the great scarcity of wood in the country, 
 must have generally been stone or brick. The large blocks of the former 
 material precluded the necessity of making timber roofs, and it is therefore 
 hardly reasonable to seek the origin of the projections of the entablature at 
 Tentyris, and of other more ancient examples, in the ends of beams. 
 
 Proportions, and the rules necessary to be observed for the purpose of 
 giving them elegance and effect, are only necessary to preserve uniformity in 
 the principles on which we proceed, and for preventing too great a latitude 
 of imagination in the productions of art. We may be assured that whenever 
 these become so fixed in any country, that its artists feel fettered by the 
 restrictions which too rigid an adherence to ancient rules imposes, invention 
 and taste are extinguished. The extraordinary difference which we find in the 
 proportions and parts of the same order, plainly shows that the artists of 
 Greece considered themselves restricted only in the general proportions. 
 This cannot be more clearly shown than by a reference to the following table 
 of seventeen examples of the Doric order. In the first column are the names 
 of the edifices ; the second column contains the height of the columns in 
 English feet ; the third the height of the columns in terms of their lower 
 diameter ; and the fourth, the height of the capital in similar terms. The 
 fifth column gives the diameter of the column, taken at the top of the shaft, 
 also in terms of the lower diameter. 
 
 SAME OF EDIKICK- 
 
 Temple at Corinth 
 
 Ilypoethral Temple at Paistum 
 
 Enneastyle ditto 
 
 Greater Hexastyle Temple at Selinuns. 
 
 Temple of Jlinerva, Syracuse 
 
 Octastyle Ilypaethral Temple, Selinuns 
 Temple of Juno Lucina at Agrigentum 
 
 Temple of Concord, Agrigentum 
 
 Hexastyle Temple at Pjestum 
 
 Temple of Jupiter Fanliellenius 
 
 Parthenon 
 
 Temple of Theseus, Athens 
 
 Temple of Slinerva, Sunium 
 
 Temple of Apollo, Island of Delos 
 Doric Portico of Augustus, Athens . . . 
 
 Temple of Jupiter Nemeus 
 
 Portico of Philip of Jlaccdon 
 
 Height in 
 EnylisU feet. 
 
 Biametci-s 
 hish. 
 
 Heii,'lit ol' 
 CapitalH. 
 
 23-713 
 
 4-065 
 
 •405 
 
 28950 
 
 4-134 
 
 •549 
 
 21000 
 
 4-329 
 
 •500 
 
 32-678 
 
 4-361 
 
 •490 
 
 28-665 
 
 4-410 
 
 •486 
 
 48-585 
 
 4-572 
 
 •450 
 
 21-156 
 
 4-605 
 
 
 22-062 
 
 4-753 
 
 •487 
 
 20-353 
 
 4-795 
 
 •564 
 
 15-796 
 
 5-397 
 
 •4S6 
 
 34 232 
 
 5-566 
 
 •459 
 
 18-717 
 
 5-669 
 
 •502 
 
 19-762 
 
 5-899 
 5-931 
 
 •372 
 
 26-206 
 
 6-042 
 
 
 33-932 
 
 6-515 
 
 •• 
 
 19-330 
 
 6-535 
 
 -480 
 
 DijimetcT 
 
 at top of 
 
 Shaft. 
 
 •73 
 
 •687 
 -661 
 •769 
 •762 
 •592 
 •755 
 •767 
 -717 
 -742 
 •782 
 •772 
 •762 
 •754 
 ■780 
 •816 
 -825
 
 36 
 
 ox THE PROGRESS AND PERFECTION Ol' 
 
 The above view of the order exhibits some remarkable peculiarities on 
 which it will be necessary to remark, after submitting another Table showing 
 the proportion of the Entablature and its parts, to the height of the Column, 
 in terms of the Diameter. 
 
 XAME OF EDIFICE. 
 
 Temple at Corinth -SIO" 
 
 HypaHliral Temple atPa;stum 
 
 Enneastyle Temple at Paistiim 
 
 Temple of Juno Lucina, Agrigcntum. 
 
 Temple of Concord, ditto 
 
 Hexastjle Temple at Pa?stum 
 
 Temple of Jupiter Panliellenius 
 
 Parthenon 
 
 Temple of Theseus 
 
 Temple of Minerva, Sunium 
 
 Portico of Augustus 
 
 Portico of Philip of Maccdon 
 
 Ilfisht of 
 Architrave. 
 
 Of frieze. 
 
 Of Coruice. 
 
 •8107 
 
 wanting 
 
 wanting 
 
 ■6934 
 
 •6761 
 
 -.5714 
 
 •79-22 
 
 •69-26 
 
 wanting 
 
 •9195 
 
 -7440 
 
 wanting 
 
 •7787 
 
 •7711 
 
 •4174 
 
 •7583 
 
 •7461 
 
 ■41-23 
 
 •856-2 
 
 •8578 
 
 wanting 
 
 •7195 
 
 •7188 
 
 •5392 
 
 •8296 
 
 •8209 
 
 •3130 
 
 •8072 
 
 -8072 
 
 •3134 
 
 •6647 
 
 •7051 
 
 •3544 
 
 •6:394 
 
 •S107 
 
 •4169 
 
 Of Total 
 Entablature. 
 
 1-7409 
 
 1-9762 
 
 i^gier 
 
 1^97-5 
 
 1-9G44 
 1-9278 
 I-7^242 
 
 1-8670 
 
 From an inspection of the above Table it appears that the height of the 
 Doric column, speaking in round numbers, varies from four diameters in height 
 to six and a half, and its upper diameter from seven to eight-tenths of the 
 inferior diameter. The heights of the capitals in terms of the lower diameter, 
 vary from thirty -seven to fifty-six hundredths. 
 
 It has been said * that the height of the capital in terms of the upper 
 diameter of the shaft will afford some indication of the comparative antiquity 
 of an example. But after the very singular and concurring proportions of the 
 entablatures just exhibited in the fourth column of the second table, wherein 
 we find only so slight a difference as a quarter of a diameter among eight 
 examples, there cannot remain a doubt that the ancients considered the relation 
 to the lower more than to the superior diameter of the column. 
 
 The best method, however, of ascertaining the antiquity of an example 
 is by a view of the progress which would naturally take ])lace in the art, rather 
 than by comparison of the parts with each other. The comparison, however, of 
 the height of columns themselves with their lower diameters, and of their 
 height with tliat of the entablature, is the natural mode of invcstig.iting their 
 antiquity. In the entablatures of the second table it will be seen, that, com- 
 
 * Lord Aberdeen's Inquiry, page 152.
 
 GRECIAN ARCHITECTURE. 37 
 
 pared with the total height of the order, the most massive is one-third 
 thereof, and the lightest one-fourth, and these, it must bo observed, nearly 
 coincide with the heaviest and slenderest columns. Neither are those other 
 marks which are said to indicate the antiquity of columns, such as the three 
 grooves found under the capitals, nor the form of the guttaj, to be relied on. 
 As to the latter they are different even in the same building. In one of the 
 temples at Pjcstum, the sofite of the corona is formed into coffers, and has no 
 niutules at all. 
 
 It has been recently discovered* that the columns of the Parthenon have 
 an ENTA2I5:, or swelling. An examination of several examples with the view 
 of comparing them with each other, would be not only extremely interesting, 
 but would serve to illustrate Vitruviusf on this point, which was a refinement 
 in art, though perhaps not early practised. It might perhaps determine the 
 i;omparativc ages of buildings more satisfactorily than any of the means which 
 have hitherto been resorted to for that purpose. 
 
 In the Temples of Fsestum, Corinth, and Segesta, the intercolumniations 
 are about equal to the diameter of the column, and they are nearly the same 
 at the Parthenon. At the Temple of Theseus they exceed that width by 
 about a quarter of a diameter, and in an example at Syracuse they arc some- 
 what less than a diameter. 
 
 Two or three smaller matters remain to be noticed. These are the 
 varieties in the forms of the echinus of the capital, and in those of the flutes. 
 The echinus is sometimes inclined at once inward by a straight line, or by a 
 slight curve without any double flexure. It is sometimes very much extended 
 in its projection from the shaft ; whilst in other examples we find it nearly 
 approaching the quarter round of the Eomans. When curved, the contour 
 will be found composed of segments of curves formed by the section of a cone. 
 The form of the flutes on the plan is variable ; we sometimes find them 
 segments of circles, and at other times they are of a curvilinear form, partaking 
 somewhat of the ellipsis. Their number also varies. In the examples at 
 Athens, the number is twenty ; whilst at Prostum the exterior order of the 
 great temple has twenty-four, the lower interior order twenty, and the upper 
 interior only sixteen. 
 
 Those who from a passage in the Odyssey J have discovered that the 
 
 * By Mr. C. R. Cockerell, whose liberality in communicating the result of his researches I have much 
 pleasure in acknowledging, 
 t Lib. 3, c. 2. 
 
 Aov()OCuKt]c; tfroa^tv iit^oov, — Otlyss. A. 1 -7.
 
 38 ON THE PROGRESS AND PERFECTION OF 
 
 fluting of columns was made for the purpose of receiving and holding the 
 spears of the persons whose duties led them to the temple, and that this want 
 gave rise to the invention, do great injustice to the ingenuity of the Grecians. 
 It is here unnecessary to argue in refutation of so strange a conjecture. We 
 will only in passing observe, that a more inconvenient place for the AOYPOAOKH 
 could not possibly be assigned than such a situation, nor one where obstruction 
 would have been more unnecessarily created than in the comparatively narrow 
 intercolumniations of the Grecian temple ; nor one, if the spears were to 
 stand in contact with the recess of the channel, in which they would have been 
 more liable to be constantly displaced by accident. It is probable that the 
 fluting is nothing more than an improvement which Grecian refinement would 
 make on the polygonal column of Egypt. 
 
 Until after the defeat of Xerxes, when the active spirit of the Athenians 
 languished for an object, we do not find that singular elegance in their works 
 in the fine arts, which through the exertions and fostering hand of Pericles 
 appeared about 430 years before Christ. The Peloponnesians and their 
 colonies had erected the temples at Corinth, Nemea, Paestum, Syracuse, and 
 other places in Sicily. From the introduction of architecture into Greece, a 
 period of little more than three centuries elapsed before it burst forth with 
 astonishing lustre, and was raised to the summit of perfection. 
 
 In the country that gave birth to the Doric Order, speaking of it as 
 applied to Greece generallv, it is not difficult to imagine that the art was 
 not destined to be restrained within the limits of a single order ; it was in 
 truth impossible that it should have remained within such narrow bounds. It 
 is more than probable that the orders advanced almost jxiri jxissu, and it 
 would be difficult to prove that the Ionic Order is of much less antiquity than 
 that which has just been examined. Except in the capitals of the Ionic and 
 Corinthian Orders, one can scarcely say in which of the three the greatest 
 degree of richness is manifest, more especially when we consider how 
 exquisitely the metopes were sometimes decorated. On a glance at the 
 capitals in (juestion, and a comparison of them with many examples of the 
 corresponding member in Egyptian Architecture, one would suppose there 
 can b(^ no doubt on their origin. 
 
 ll inav be, and is, indeed, true, that tlie Ionian colonies gave a preference 
 to the Ionic Order: so did the Romans to tlie Corinthian, and yet whoever 
 siiid lliiit the llomans invented the Corinthian Order ? '\\w. writer in tlie 
 IOiic_\rl(i[ic(li(' ]\Ictlii)(lii|ue* seems to think thai Persia cnnics in for sonic slian; 
 
 * Art. liiiiiijui'.
 
 GKECIAN ARCHITECTURE. 39 
 
 of the invention of the Ionic capital : " Toutofois los dcssins que nous 
 possedons dus Mon unions do I'lnde, nous font voir entre les di versos couronne- 
 ments de colonncs, imagines par la fantaisie dans eette contree, certains 
 chapiteaux a oroilles rotombantos en forme de volutes, quo peut-etre quelqucs 
 critiques prendroient pour des imitations du chapiteau lonique. Cettc fornio 
 de chapiteau n'auroit ello pas ete plutot en Greco, uno derivation du gout 
 Asiatique." 
 
 The same species of variety which has been noticed in the different 
 examples exhibited of the Doric, is not less observable in those of the 
 Ionic order, as may be seen by a comparison of tlie Ionic edifices of Athens 
 with those on the coast of Asia Minor ; but it is not necessary to enter into 
 the subject so much at length as we have done in respect of the Doric Order. 
 
 Aware that the angular Ionic capital has its admirers, it may be proper to 
 state that many men of taste are of a different opinion, and that it has been 
 thought a defect which should be avoided in modern works. In a peripteral 
 temple, much of the beauty would have been lost if the baluster side of the 
 capital had been in the same direction as that of the flanks. The expedient 
 which the Greeks adopted to remedy this evil was ingenious as well as judicious. 
 It should, however, never be employed in porticoes which do not project more 
 than one intorculumniation, or in peripteral buildings. 
 
 The most ancient temple of the Ionic Order has been said to be that 
 of Juno at Samos. Herodotus* says it was considered one of the most 
 stupendous edifices erected by the Greeks. It is but recently that any 
 information has been obtained respecting this temple, or rather its ruins.f 
 It appears to have been built about 540 years before the Christian era. The 
 octastyle Temple of Bacchus at Teos, that of Apollo Didymaius, near Miletus, 
 and of Minerva Polias at Priene, are the chief temples of the colonies of 
 which we know anything at this period. Hermogenes, the architect of the 
 Temple of Bacchus, is said by Vitruvius to have originally intended it to have 
 been of the Doric Order, but that, even after the preparation of all the 
 materials, thinking that the Ionic was more suitable for a temple, he laid them 
 aside and employed the order in question. | This, however, is a story not 
 authenticated by any other author, as we believe, and one may or may not, 
 knowing the character of the writer in these respects, treat it as Hermogenes 
 is said to have treated his Doric materials. 
 
 * Herodotus, Euterpe. 
 
 t Second Edition of tlie Ionian Antiq., Vol. I. c. 5. 
 
 J " Nam is, cum |)aratani babuisset :uaruioiis copiam, in Doricse iCdis perfectionem, comrautavit ex 
 eddcm copid et earn lonicara Libero Patri fecit." Vitruv. lib. iv. c. '3. Edit. Schneider, 1807. 
 
 g2
 
 40 
 
 ON THE PROGRESS AND PERFECTION OF 
 
 Proceeding to a more minute investigation of the three Athenian examples, 
 the little Temple on the Ilyssus, the Temple of Minerva Polias, and the Portico 
 of that of Erectheus, the following table will show the height of the columns 
 in English feet. The second column contains the height of the shaft and capital 
 in terms of the lower diameter, the third the height of the capitals in similar 
 terms, the fourth the diameter at the top of the shaft. 
 
 EDIFICE. 
 
 Temple on the Ilyssus ... 
 Temple of Minerva Polias 
 Temple of Erectheus 
 
 Height of the 
 columns in 
 English feet. 
 
 14-694 
 25-387 
 21-625 
 
 Diameters 
 high. 
 
 8-241 
 9-119 
 9-337 
 
 Height of 
 Capitals. 
 
 •658 
 •716 
 •775 
 
 Diameter 
 
 at top of 
 
 .shaft . 
 
 •850 
 -833 
 -816 
 
 In the Table subjoined we shall have a view of the height of the 
 Entablatures. 
 
 Temple on the Ilyssus 
 
 Temple of Minerva Polias. 
 Temple of Erectheus 
 
 Architrave. 
 
 Frieze. 
 
 Cornice. 
 
 -916 
 
 •816 
 
 -533 
 
 •858 
 
 •808 
 
 •6-21 
 
 ■901 
 
 •956 
 
 
 Total. 
 
 2-265 
 
 2-287 
 
 The height of the Ionic column varies in the three examples quoted, from 
 eight diameters and a quarter to nearly nine and a half in height, and the 
 upper diameter of the shaft from full eight-tenths to seventeen-twentieths. 
 The want of similarity in the capitals renders them unfit for comparison with 
 each other. The mean height of the entablature is about a fourth of the 
 lieight of the whole order. The cornice of the Grecian Ionic may be generally 
 considered as bearing a constant ratio to the whole height of the entablature 
 as two to nine. The arehitrave is found, in most examples, divided into 
 fascia;, below the cymatiuni. 
 
 The Base, a figure which has not yet been considered, requires a little ol' 
 our attention. In the examples at Athens we find it consisting of two tori, 
 with a scotia oi- Inx-hilus between them. A fillet above and below the scotia 
 separates it from tin; tori. The iornier fillet is in general coincident with 
 a vertical line let fall from the extreme projection of the superior torus. The 
 low(!r fillet in tlie t(!mpl(! on the Ilyssus projects about half way between the 
 incavation of the scotia and the extreme jjrojcction of the lower torus. The 
 height of tlie scotia and two tori are nearly equal, in the temple just iiiiiuid
 
 GRECIAN ARCHITECTURE. 41 
 
 SI bead ami fillet are sot on the ujiikt torus to receive the shaft of tlu; coluniii. 
 It will not escape observation, that in the Temple of Erocthcus, as well as 
 that on the Ilvssus, the lower torus is uncut, whilst the otlusr is fluted horizon- 
 tally, and that in the bases of the Temple of Minerva Polias, the upj)er torus 
 is sculptured with a yuilloche. The form of the scotia is a portitm of a curve 
 formed by one of the conic sections, 'ihe base thus described has been 
 usually denominated attic. It was, however, used in the colonies, as in the 
 Temple of Bacchus, at Teos, though in that the upper torus is not sculptured. 
 The bases of the Temple of Minerva Polias at Prienc, and that of Apollo 
 Didyma^us near Miletus, are of very different and singular form. The upper 
 torus of the former is to the height of the base as "427 nearly to I'OOO, and 
 its contour is not parabolic. The lower half is divided horizontally into four 
 flutes, below this are two scotia; separated from each other by two astragals 
 and fillets at the top and bottom of each, except where they join the upper 
 torus above, and the plinth below. 
 
 The volute, which so distinguishes this order from the others, is found 
 with considerable varieties. In the edifices of the Ilyssus and the Temple of 
 Minerva Polias at Priene, also of Apollo Didymajus, this member contains only 
 one channel between the revolutions of the spiral, whereas in those of Erectheus 
 and ]\Jinerva Polias at Athens, each volute has two distinct spirals with 
 channels between them. In the former of these two the column terminates 
 with an astragal and fillet just below the level of the eye of the volute ; in 
 that of Minerva Polias, with a single fillet. In each of them the neck of the 
 capital is ornamented with honeysuckles. 
 
 The flutes of the columns are usually of an elliptical form, and their 
 number twenty-four. In the Temples of Minerva Polias and Erectheus at 
 Athens, those of Bacchus at Teos, and Minerva Polias at Priene, they descend 
 into the apophvge of the shaft of the column. They are, moreover, distinguished 
 from the Doric flutes by fillets separating them from each other. 
 
 No notice has been thought necessary respecting the Tomb of Theron at 
 Agrigentum, which is a singular instance of the mixture of the Ionic column 
 with a Doric entablature. Some antiquarians may perhaps admit " the 
 antiquity of this monument, or the truth of the appellation it has received," 
 but surely no architect who has philosophically investigated the principles of 
 his art will be inclined to concur in any such opinion. 
 
 In the Corinthian Order, as in the Ionic, the chief distinguishing feature 
 is the capital. Long previous to the age in which Callimachus, its reputed 
 inventor, existed, — perhaps even before capitals or columns themselves were
 
 42 ox THE PROGRESS AND PERFECTION' OF 
 
 known to the Greeks, — leaves of the palm-tree, flowers of the lotus, and even 
 volutes, were applied as ornaments in the capitals of Egypt. The form of the 
 bell itself, of the Corinthian capital, bears no trifling resemblance to the 
 contour of the lotus flower.* The difference of character between the Greek 
 Corinthian and the Egyptian capital lies in the height. The Greeks, who so 
 well knew how to improve and adopt, or reject, endowed their capital with a 
 lightness and elegance to which the inventions of the Egyptians, perhaps from 
 moral causes, were never carried ; but the similitude between them is such 
 that there never was a case which stood less in need of historical proof to 
 identify the source of the invention, if it be but granted that there was the 
 slightest intercourse between the two countries — a point which is sufficiently 
 notorious. 
 
 Unfortunately, our knowledge of the Greek Corinthian is very limited, 
 and though the delicacy of construction in this order would have necessarily 
 tended to an earlier destruction and decay of its examples than would have been 
 the case with those of the Doric and Ionic orders, yet, considering the very few 
 Corinthian ruins which remain among so many others, it is not presuming, 
 perhaps, too much, to conclude that it was not so great a favorite among the 
 Grecians as the other two orders.f 
 
 The only examples which can be produced of this order in a genuine 
 Greek taste are, the Tower of the Winds and the Choragic Monument of 
 Lysicrates at Athens ; but the former of these can scarcely be denominated 
 Corinthian ; we shall, therefore, be obliged to confine our observations to the 
 latter, as the only example before Greece was subdued by the Romans. 
 
 In the Choragic Monument, 
 
 The height of the columns in English feet is ll'G37 
 
 The height of the colun\n in terms of the diameter 10'318 
 
 Tlie height of tlie ciipitul in terms of tlie diameter 1-216 
 
 Tlie diameter of the shaft at top in terms of tlie lower diameter 0'833 
 
 Height of the architrave 085 
 
 frieze 0-483 
 
 cornice 0-833 
 
 Total height of the entablature 2-166 
 
 " Deiion, I'lates 44 and 45 ; also Ciuatremere de Ciuinc)''s elegant Dissertation, " De 1' Architecture 
 Egypticnne, considcree dans son origine, ses prineipes, et son gout." 4to. Paris, 1803. Plates 1 and 2. 
 
 f Pausanias says it was used by Scopas for the npper range of columns of the Temple of Minerva at 
 Tegffia. 'O /xtr Ct) 7r(;wr«f tiTTiv ai'riit (cnir/xuf rt^if Kn'n'toi' Aafiiof, uct tTri Ttivrni Ko^n'rOior. ifrriitcafn ^t Ktti tKroc 
 TOu vaov KioviQ Ipyaoiui; rr/t" 'lui'u/i: 'Afixtrinrui'a ci iTrvif^avi'tftiiv XKiiTrav avrbv yit'to^ut TVf llafitvv. k. r. \. 
 Pausnn. Arcndlc.
 
 GRECIAN AUCIMTlXTUnE. 43 
 
 The height of the entablature here becomes somewhat less than a fifth of the 
 total hcijfht of the order. The base varies little in its form from that of the 
 Ionic onlcM", but there is no horizontal fluting in the upper torus. 
 
 The celebrated bas-relief of the Villa Albani is a proof that the 
 Corinthian capital was known before the time of Callimachus. Its style and 
 execution stamp it as a very early work, and I cannot agree with a noble writer,* 
 that the execution of the Corinthian temple is at all out of keeping with the 
 other parts of the work. These capitals, which are without foliage, imme- 
 diately remind us of the Egyptian capital. f On the capitals of the Athenian 
 edifices we cannot conclude more properly than in the words of a writer in 
 the Encyclopedie Methodique :J — " Le feuillage qui deoore les chapiteaux des 
 deux edifices d'Athenes, est evidemment le feuille de I'Olive. On ne s'etonnera 
 pas que I'arbre consacree a la deesse tutclaire d'Athenes ait prete sa feuille 
 aux premiers chapiteaux Corinthes de I'Attique ; cette feuille est encore 
 aujourd'hui consacree a I'ordre Corinthien, et les architectcs mcme en preferent 
 la forme a cello de TAcanthe." 
 
 Besides the oi'ders which have been enumerated, the Greeks occasionally 
 used the figures denominated Caryatides, for the support of the entablature. 
 The following account of their origin is not without interest. 
 
 Yitruvius,§ Book I., c. 1, on the introduction of statues for supporting an 
 entablature, observes that " Carya, a city of Peloponnesus, took part with the 
 Persians against the Grecian states. When the country was freed from its 
 invaders, the Greeks turned their arms against the Caryans, and upon the 
 capture of their city, put the males to the sword, and led the women into 
 captivity. The architects of that time, for the purpose of perpetuating the 
 ignominy of this people, instead of columns in the porticoes of their buildings, 
 substituted statues of these women ; faithfully copying their ornaments, and 
 the drapery with which they were attired, the mode of which they were not 
 permitted to change." 
 
 Vitruvius is not, however, supported in the above account by any writer 
 on the afl'airs of Greece, and it is clear that the origin of these statues for 
 architectural purposes is of much higher antiquity than the invasion of Greece 
 
 * Lord Abcrileen's IiKiuiry, page 175. 
 
 f The reader may refer to a representation of this bas-relief in the " Monumenti inediti" of 
 Winckelmann. 
 
 X Art. Corinthien. 
 
 § Tliis account is reprinted from an unpublished pamphlet by the author, written in 1820, and 
 printed in the year 1821, entitled, "Cursory Remarks on tlie Origin of Caryatides,'' addressed to John 
 liritton, Esfpiirc, F.S.A., &c.
 
 44 ON THE PROGRESS AND PERFECTION OF 
 
 by the Persians. Herodotus,* indeed, says that some of the states sent to 
 Xerxes the required offering of earth and water ; but no mention is made of 
 Carya, nor, consequently, of the ignominious treatment it met with, which must 
 have been too notorious, if true, to have been unknown, and as a matter of 
 history too curious to have been passed over in silence. Whether the use of 
 statues to perform the office of columns travelled into Greece from Egypt or 
 India, may be left for the discussion of those who respectively support the 
 claims of one or the other of those countries to a priority of skill in archi- 
 tecture ; both will, however, furnish examples of their application. In the 
 latter country we have the authority of Diodorus Siculus, for two immense 
 specimens. Speaking of the tomb of King Os} mandyas, Diodorus says,f that 
 it was " ten stadia in circumference ; itb entrance of variegated stone ; two 
 hundred feet long, and forty-five cubits high. Hence you proceed to a stone 
 Peristylium, four hundred feet square, supported by animals, sixteen cubits 
 high, each in one stone, instead of columns, and carved after the ancient 
 fashion." Again, | speaking of Psammeticus, he says, " Having now obtained 
 the whole kingdom, he built a propylseum on the east side of the temple, to 
 the god at Memphis ; which temple he encircled with a wall, and in this propy- 
 la;um, instead of columns, substituted colossal statues koXottovq inroariiaac:, 
 twelve cubits in height." 
 
 The use of statues, and the representations of human and other figures, 
 is a prominent feature in Egyptian architecture. The temple at Ipsambul 
 is indeed a striking proof of it. In India many instances of a similar 
 use of statues are to be found; as in the excavations at the temple near 
 Vellore,§ described by Sir C. Mallet, where heads of lions, elephants, and 
 imaginary animals, project forwards for tlic apparent purpose of supporting 
 the roof of the cave of Jugnath Subba ; and at Elephanta, colossal statues are 
 ranoed alonff the sides, as hioh as the underside of the entablature. It has 
 before been mentioned that it is not here necessary to settle the comparative 
 
 * See his Polliymnia, fnl. 4"21. Edit, (ironovii. 'J'liey were nine in nuuibor. The Thessaliiins, 
 Dolopians, Knians, Periebi, Locri, IMagnetes, tlie Meliaus, Aolutaiis of Phthiolis, Thebans, and tlio rest of 
 tlic people of ]5ocotia, except the Thespians and IMatieaiis. 
 
 "t Tom. I. f, .^fi. Wesscling. Kdit. A^ku trraciiov ^»«Tir l'7r('(()Kai /■JfifTiXMur,' fnnifia to7' 7r(>otTayo(iti'0h'Toc 
 0<n>ftari'{)ov. tovtov ci. Kurd fikv ritv utrocov i»7r«|>x(n' -jrvXuii'a XiOttv TroiKiXov, to /<fi' ft^iKOQ ^ittXeO^wi'^ to c*^' i'-i^oj; 
 TtT(Kti:opTa Kai TrivTt irtJXMV cuXOuvrt ci avrov tlvai XtOivov TTtpitrrvXov TirpayovioVy tKatrrtjc rrXfj'ftaf ov(ti}^ 
 TiTTapiov TrXfOpwj'. V7rt)pt7<r0(n ci ai'U row kuU'iov Ctoot" -mix^p iKKai^iKa fioroXiOa^ ruv rvirov rov op\rnoi' r(Ki7roj' 
 ItftyafTfifya. 
 
 i Ibid. 
 
 § Asiatic Researches, Vol. VI.
 
 GRECIAN ARCHITECTURE. 45 
 
 dates of Egyptian and Indian architecture ; yet most agree that the hitter was 
 anterior to all except that of Egypt, and many that it is more ancient than 
 that of EgTpt itself. The object at present is to show — their early origin 
 being, it is supposed, satisfactorily settled to have been of much higher 
 antiquity than Vitruvius makes it — that the first statues which could be strictly 
 called Caryatides were either applied to temples of Diana, or were representa- 
 tions of virgins who were engaged in her worship. 
 
 KAPYA, the nut-tree, Nux Juglans, which riutarch says,* received its 
 name from its eiFects on the senses,f was that into which Bacchus, after 
 cohabitation with her, transformed Carya, one of the three daughters of Dion, 
 King of Laconia, by his wife Iphitea. The other two daughters, Orphe and 
 Lyco, were turned into stones, for watching too closely the intercourse of their 
 sister with the lover. Diana, who is supposed to have made the Lacedajmonians 
 acquainted with this story, as well perhaps as with the excellence of the fruit 
 of the tree, was therefore worshipped by that people under the name of Diana 
 Caryatis.J 
 
 There is, however, another account of the origin of the name of Diana 
 Caryatis, which does not at all affect our hypothesis. It is to be found in one 
 of the old commentators on Statius,§ and is to the following effect : — Some 
 virgins being threatened with danger, whilst celebrating the rites of the goddess, 
 took refuge under the branches of a nut-tree, K«,f^fi ; in honor and perpetua- 
 tion of the memory of which event, a temple was raised to Diana Caryatis. 
 If this, however, allude to the famous interposition of Aristomenes, to 
 
 * Symposiacon, lib. ii. 'I'/'/i' ts yaii koiwciv ourwc uvofiairnt; on Tmvjiu (iaiiv ku'i KtipojTiKov ufaXaa. 
 K. r. \. 
 
 t Kfipof, Sopor. 
 
 X See the note of Servius, Virg. Ec. 8. Edit. Burman. Vol. I. i'. \-2>i : it i.s on tlio passage, "Sparge 
 marite nuces," and as follows : 
 
 " Sane fabula de nucis origine talis est : Dion Ke.x Laconia; fiiit, qui habuit u.xorcni Ipliiteam I'rogna 
 filiam ; quae cum Apollinem summo cultu et reverentia hospitio recepisset, ille reuiunerari volcns circa se 
 hospitum cultum, tribus Cliabus eorum, qua; Orj lie, Lyco et Carya appellata; sunt, divinationem concessit, 
 adjecto no proditriccs numinum esse vellent ; neve qufcrerent quod esset nefas scire. Fust Liber Pater 
 advcniens, a Dione vel ejus uxore receptus hospitio est, qui cum amata a se Carya coitura miscuit : sed cum 
 inde icgi'e Liber profectus esset, cogcnte amoris impatientia denuo ad hospitus redit, causam pra;tendens 
 dedicandi fani, quod ei Rex voverat ; sed Lyco et Orphe, intellecto circa sororem Caryam Liberi aniore, earn 
 custodire cceperunt, nc cum Libero ei esset copia coeundi ; quas cum Liber Pater monerct, terreretijue, ut 
 saltern prajcepta Apollinis custodientes, pertinacem diligcnsiam compescerent, videretque ab his et sororem 
 acrius custodiri, et suum secretum studiosius inquiri, Orphen et Lyco, immisso furore, ad Taygetam montem 
 rnptas in saxa convertit. Caryam vero (piam amavcrat, in eodeni nionto in arborcm sui nominis vertit, qua; 
 Latino nux dicitur ; quod postea Diana ita factum Laeonas docuit. Unde tcinplum Caryatid! Diana; a 
 Laconibus consecratum." 
 
 § B.arthius, lib. iv. v. 225. 
 
 H
 
 46 ON THE PROGRESS AND PERFECTION OF 
 
 protect some Spartan virgins, who were taken by his soldiers, it is not 
 perhaps, quite borne out by the words of Diodorus. It is hardly necessary 
 to observe that Aristomenes lived 67 1 years before Chi'ist, and consequently 
 150 years before Darius, the first invader of Greece. 
 
 Salmasius says, " Diana was worshipped in that place, Carya near Sparta, 
 under the name of Diana Caryatis, and that at her temple and statue the 
 Lacedaamonian virgins had an annual festival, and danced according to the 
 custom of the country."* Hence, he continues, arose the name given to those 
 statues, which, according to Pliny,f were made by Diogenes of Athens, for 
 decorating the Pantheon at Rome. 
 
 Returning, however, to the subject, it is to be observed, that there was a 
 temple to the goddess at Carya, of which Pausanias gives the following account 
 in his Laconics : — " The third tui'ning on the right leads to Carya, and the 
 sanctuary of Diana, for the neighbourhood of Carya is sacred to that goddess 
 and her nymphs. The statue of Diana Caryatis is in the open air, and in 
 this place the Lacedsemonian virgins celebrate an annual festival with the old 
 custom of the dance."J The note of Kuhnius, on this passage, after a reference 
 to Hesychius, contains the following notice : " Caryatides etiam dicuntur 
 Lacsense saltantes, sinistra ansatse, uti solebant Caryatides puellaj in honorem 
 Dianse." 
 
 Some persons have supposed that the assemblage of peasants on the 
 celebration of these dances, gave rise to the pastoral poems tei'med Bucolics, 
 from their singing on those occasions Bov/coXkt^oi, pastoral poems, from Bon/coXoc, 
 a neathci'd ; — such was the opinion of Probus ;§ and Hoffman, || to whom I am 
 much indebted for my information on this subject, quotes the following passage 
 from Statius in corroboration of it : — 
 
 " IIujus ApollinesB currum comitantur Ainyclse. 
 Quos Pylos, ct (lubiis Malea vitata carinis, 
 Plaudentiijue liabiles Caiyoe resonare Diaiuc." ThebaiJ. Lib. 4, v. 22'3. 
 
 * Exercitatioiies Plinianse, in Sol. Polyhist. 603 et seq. 
 
 j- Lib. 36, c. .57. " Agripp.-B Pantheum decoravit Diogenes Atheniensis ; et Caryatides in columnis 
 templi ejus probantur inter pauca operum : sicut in fastigio posita signa, sed propter altitudinem loci minus 
 celebrata." There seems to be some doubt as to the precise situation in the building which these statues 
 occupied. I confess I am fully satisfied with tlie place assigned to them by Fontana De Pavthco aliisque 
 conspictds veteribus Fanis. Romaj, 1694, viz. in the second or upper order of the interior, now occupied by 
 pilasters. 
 
 \ Laconic. C. 10. " Tpi'n) fii Ik rqc iSov rijc ivOiiar ////3oXj) Karri Ta Si^k'i Ic Kopj'of oyii, Km (( Tt) Icpliv 
 TTJc 'Aprj/iieof. rb yrfp x^p^ov 'Aprifiifoc xai 'Nv/i^wv irrriv m Kfipuni. Kui I'lyaXfia taniKfi' 'Aprt/iu'of h' vraiOpM 
 KapvartSnc' xopo^C '« IvravBa at AaKiSai/iov'tiav wapWj'oi kotA !toc lirrain, Kfil iwix'^'pioi avrtnc Ka9iiXTt]K(v ipKX'f't- 
 
 § Vitft Virgllii. 
 
 11 Lexicon, in loco.
 
 GRECIAN ARCHITECTURE. 47 
 
 Plutarch, in his life of Artaxerxes, relates that after Clearchus had fallen, 
 through treachery, into the hands of Tissaphernes, he gave Ctesias a ring, 
 engraven with the representation of a dancing Caryatid.* 
 
 From the foregoing observations, it may be reasonably inferred, that the 
 statues called Caryatides were originally applied to, or used about, the temples 
 of Diana ; and instead of representing captives or persons in a state of 
 ignominy, were in fact nothing more than figures of the virgins who celebrated 
 the worship of that goddess. It is most probable that after their first intro- 
 duction, other figures in buildings sacred to other divinities, gradually came 
 into use, as in the Pandroseum, where it is likely that they are the representa- 
 tions of the virgins who assisted at the Panathenaia, and were called 
 Canephone. 
 
 However appropriate these figures were in early days, it may be a fair 
 question for discussion how far their application to modern purposes is in good 
 or bad taste. Their exclusion from sacred buildings at least appears abso- 
 lutely necessary, the allusion they have to heathen worship seeming sufficient, 
 one would suppose, for their rejection. They may, peradventure, be more 
 suitable and in character in palaces and theatres, where parade and pageantry 
 are the leading features. Their introduction, for instance, at the Louvre, is 
 far from being obtrusive or disagreeable. 
 
 The inclined sides of the roof of the Greek temple continuing through to 
 the two ends, formed a pediment, which was often decorated by the hand of the 
 sculptor. It seems manifest that the angle at which a roof should be inclined 
 to the horizon, so as to shelter effectually the interior of the building from the 
 effects of the rain and snow, depends on the climate to which the building is 
 to be subjected. Thus, greatly inclined roofs are necessary only in cold and 
 temperate climates. In hot climates we find the dwellings covered with ter- 
 raced roofs, which are there suflScient protection against the elements ; but as 
 we advance northward a greater slope is necessary, and will or ought to be 
 found of increased declivity the greater the distance from the equator. That 
 this principle has operated on the styles of architecture in different countries is 
 evident from a comparison of the Gothic of this country and of Germany 
 with that of more southern latitudes. This will account for the low elevation 
 of the pediment in the Grecian temples, in which we find the inclination of the 
 roofs admirably adapted to the climate in which they are erected.f 
 
 * " Elvat ti y\»i<>i]v iv ri) aijipayUt KapvariSai upxavjiivaq." 
 
 f " Capltolii iiistigium illud, et cieterarum asdiuin, non venustas, sed necessitas ipsa fabricata est. 
 Nam cum esset habita ratio, quemadmodum ex utraque tecti parte aqua delaberetur ; utilitatem templi, 
 
 h2
 
 48 ON THE PROGRESS AND PERFECTION OF 
 
 This point has been exceedingly well treated in the Encyclopcdie Mctho- 
 dique,* where the reader will find a table showing the inclination which 
 should be assigned to roofs in the principal cities of Europe. The table is 
 adjusted with reference to their different climates, and the length of the longest 
 day at each place. The results correspond in a singular manner with the 
 practice of the ancients, as will be seen by the following extracts. 
 
 The inclination of a roof for the latitude of Athens should be 16^ degrees ; 
 comparing this with 
 
 Degrees. 
 The Temple of Ei-ectlieus, which is \Ji 
 
 The Temple of Theseus .... 15 
 
 The Partheuou 10 
 
 Propylfca 1-li 
 
 wc may see how closely the proper practice of the art follows the exigencies of 
 Nature herself. Though it is rather foreign to this investigation, it is im- 
 possible to refrain from subjoining a few Roman examples, wherein the climate 
 required, according to the table, an inclination of twenty-two degrees. 
 
 Degrees. 
 That of the Pediment of Septimius Severus is .actually "22 
 Temple of Concord, and also of Jlars Ultor 23i 
 
 Temple of Fortuna Vliilis 24 
 
 Pantheon 24 
 
 Temple of Antoninus and Faustina 24 
 
 The most important discovery in architecture, in respect of its results, 
 that was ever made, was the invention of the arch. When or where it was 
 invented is quite uncertain. This is a subject which has occasioned much 
 discussion, and perhaps will, at this remote period, never be satisfactorily 
 settled. It is, however, now pretty generally agreed that it did not appear till 
 after the age of Alexander. Visconti, nevertheless,! on the authority of a 
 passage in I'lutarch,']; assigns the period of the invention to the age itself of 
 Alexander. " The perfect arch," says a writer who has been often quoted, § 
 " appears to have been comparatively of late birth. The want of a name for it, 
 properly Greek, in so cojjious a language, and so ready for all occasions, would 
 
 fasti^rii dignitfis con,secula est : ut, ctiam si in cculo I'apitulium .statucretur, ulii imber esse non posset, 
 tuill.'im sine fastigio di^^nilatriu lialiilunim fuissc videatur." — C'ic. de Oralure, Lib. 3, c. 46. 
 
 * Art. Ciimhin. 
 
 ■f Mcmoire sur Ics Ouvrages de Sculpture dans la Collection de Milord Comte Elgin. London, 181G, 
 p. 127. 
 
 \ 'KkKi'i^ai ci Ti'iQ vTtti Ti)v (lUTtira \j/a\uni: K, T. X. I'hlt. Agis ct Clcomcn. 
 
 § Principles of Design in Architecture.
 
 GRECIAN AKCHITECTURE. 49 
 
 suffice to show how little the thing was known in early times among- the 
 Grecian ])cople. Ily some it has hecn supposed much earlier known, or much 
 earlier in known use among the llomans. That extraordinary structure, mag- 
 nificent in its wav, the Cloaca Maxima at Rome, has been attril)uted to 
 Tarquinius Priscus ; but Tarquinius Priscus, though a llomau king, was a 
 Grecian man. A sewer, however, or a drain of some kind, in the bottom 
 between the Palatine and Capitoline Hills at Rome, would, in almost the 
 earliest ago of the city, be obviously necessary towards any convenient union 
 of those two hills in one town." The present sewer, however, bears evident 
 mai'ks of having been much more recently constructed than the time in 
 question. 
 
 Till after the reign of .Alexander, there are no authors who use the words 
 90A0S,* A^'I^,f and "^AAIS,! in a sense which can lead us to consider them 
 as signifying an arch, nor is there any description extant in which we can trace 
 the figure of an arch constructed on scientific principles. If its origin be 
 Eastei-n, there is a strong probability that its appearance was not till after the 
 age of Alexander. Dutens, an ad\ocate for the early use of the arch among 
 the Grecians, was long since answered by a noble lord of great classical 
 acquirements, from whom, in the foregoing pages, it has been my misfortune 
 sometimes to differ on subjects more immediately perhaps within my vocation. 
 " During that time " (the age of Alexander), says that author, " the greatest 
 change took place in the arts and sciences of Greece. They had arrived at a 
 degi'ee of improvement, which, though perhaps in some measure exaggerated, 
 was certainly far beyond what former ages had witnessed. The use of the arch 
 was probably communicated to the Romans by the Greeks, at the time that 
 thev bestowed on their conquerors every other species of art and refined taste. 
 In Sicily and Magna Gi'ecia, it might have been introduced somewhat earlier."§ 
 
 * OOAOS. oiKOf ii't o^i'i (;;ro\/(yoi'(T«j' f'x""' '"')'' Tf)-»;i' naTcwKivuciiivor. Ilesych. ill loco. Soo page 24. 
 ■j" 'A'^Ii!, itr, Ta KrK\a rwtf tookiZv. ai :rfo(0?r)£m( ij KafiafKti. Hesycll. 
 J ^AAI£. TO iipixtfoi'. Kai Kajtunn. Kai Ta\tia Kiinjnuj. Tl»i(l. 
 
 § Edinburgh Review, Jan. 180G. Kevicw of Dutens' AVork, " Rccherclies sur lo Terns le jjUis rcculu 
 dc rUsage des Voutes." 4to. Lond. iMOo, said to be written by Lord Aberdeen.
 
 50 
 
 OBSERVATIONS ON THE PLATES TO THE GRECIAN 
 
 ARCHITECTURE. 
 
 PLATE I. 
 
 PARTHENON AT ATHENS. 
 
 This Temple, of whicli the parts and profile are given in the plate, was erected in the age of Pericles. 
 The architect was Ictinus, and the sculptor Callicrates. The plan of the temple is a pai-allelogram, about 
 228 feet by 100 feet, including the outer columns. It had eight coliunns in fi'ont and rear, and seventeen 
 on each flank. As the general featiu-es of this extraordinary and beautiful edifice are well known, from its 
 representation in Stuait's " Athens," it will be necessary to state here some few particulars only which have 
 come to light since the publication of that woi-k. 
 
 The ceiling of the Pronaos appears to have been supported by four columns ; and it seems more than 
 probable that the cell was surrounded by columns, inasmuch as the marks of some of them 2 feet 1 inch 
 diameter are indicated on the pavement, and their distance 8 feet 4 inches from centre to centre. A frag- 
 ment, moreover, of a polygonal shaft of 20 sides, and 2 feet 1 inch diameter, has been discovered among 
 the rubbish. The shaft of each column of the portico is composed of twelve coui-ses of stones, and the bod 
 of each has two circles described upon it, the outer one 9 inches from the edge and the termination to the 
 surface which bears a polish. Between the two circles the sui-face is level, but not polished. The inner 
 circle is rough and a little sunk, probably for mortar. About the centre is a square hole, 3 inches deep, as 
 well as a hole in the upper stone : into these wooden dowels were inserted. It is worthy of remark that 
 the stones of the Frieze were put together with cramps of (I) this form. 
 
 The diameter of the coliunns is 6 feet 2-12 inches, according to Stuart, whose measm-es have been 
 adopted, though it is much to be regretted that the detail of that author frequently disagrees with his totals. 
 The measures on the plate are founded on the diameter of the column, taken at H feet 2-72 inches, which, 
 divided by 60, gives 1-24532 inches = 1 minute. 
 
 PLATE n. 
 
 GIIEAT IIEXASTYLE TEMPLE AT P^ESTUM. 
 
 Tlic temple from which this example is selected is I'eripteral-IIypicthral. Its length on the upper step 
 202 feet 7 inches, and its breadth 82 feet 2 inches. The age of this temple has not been ascertained with 
 precision. There are foui'tcen columns on each flank. Their diameter ia 6 feet 8-2 inches; consequently 
 1 minute = l-yUGG inches.
 
 OliSKUVATIONS ON THK PLATES. 61 
 
 PLATE III. 
 
 TEMPLE OF APOLLO AND PORTICO OF PHILIP IN THE ISLAND OF DELOS : AND TEMPLE AT 
 
 CORINTH. 
 
 In the Island of Dclos, says Stuart, " are two examples of the Doric order, both excellent in their 
 kind, one of which belongs to what 1 imagine to have been the Temple of Apollo ; the other to the Portico 
 of Philip. The latter, on account of the lightness of its proportions, difl'ers from all the examples we have 
 given, and is more suitable for common use." It was found impossible to make out the extent or plans of 
 either of the above buildings. The shafts of the two columns of the Temple of Apollo are fluted at their 
 upper and lower extremities, but the intermediate part is plain. The diameter is 3 feet l-ll inch; a 
 minute is therefore = -6185 inch. The diameter of the columns of the Portico of Philip is 2 feet 
 11 -5 inches; a minute, consequently, = -5916 inch. Rather more than a third of the lower part of the 
 shafts are polygonal, above which they arc fluted in the ordinary way. 
 
 Stuai't conjectures the Temple at Corinth to have been Peripteral Hexastyle. The columns have 
 twenty flutings, wliich tenninate under the listels of the capital, and are segments of circles. The guttae 
 are round, and detached from the architrave. The material, a rough, porous stone ; the shafts of the 
 columns are each of one block only, and the whole has been covered with stucco. The architraves are of 
 one stone each, from centre to centre ol' columns. The drops under the triglyphs were all broken off, and 
 could not, therefore, be measured. The columns are 5 feet 10 inches diameter; a minute, consequently, 
 = 1-1666 inches. 
 
 PLATES IV AND V. 
 
 IONIC TEMPLE ON THE ILYSSUS. 
 
 This Temple stood on the southern bank of the Ilyssus. Its length, measured on the upper step, is 
 41 feet 7 inches, and its breadth 19 feet 6 inches. It was Amphiprostylos Tetrastyle. The Cymatium in 
 the original is destroyed. Stuart conjectures the frieze was ornamented with bassi relievi. The echinus of 
 the capital continues under the volutes, which are diagonal m the external angles and mitred on the 
 internal angles, by the junction of two semi-volutes. The flutes are twenty-four in number. Diameter of 
 the columns, 1 foot 9-4 inches; a minute, therefore, = -3566 inch. 
 
 PLATES VI. VII. AND VIIL 
 
 TEMPLES OF MINERVA POLIAS, AND ERECTHEUS, ATHENS. 
 
 The reason for my adoption of these names, in accordance with Stuart, cannot be entered into here. 
 I am inclined to think Stuart right, notwithstanding the passage in Pausanias, Attic, c. 26, quoted by 
 Mr. Wilkins,* from whom I differ with considerable hesitation. The temples of Minerva Polias, Erectheus, 
 and Pandrosus, which together compose one building, stand about 150 feet to the north of the Parthenon. 
 That towards the west was the Temple of Minerva Polias ; that towards the east the Temple of Erectheus ; 
 and that on the south side was the Pandroseum, whose entablature and roof were supported by caryatides. 
 
 The first-named has a tetrastyle portico projecting two intercolumniations ; its dimensions are about 
 3.3 feet 6 inches by 17 feet 6 inches. Diameter of the columns, 2 feet 9-4 inches; so that a minute 
 = -5.572 inch. 
 
 The Erectheum has an hexastyle portico, projecting only one intercolumniation ; it extends in front 
 about 37 feet. The diameter of the columns is 2 feet 3-8 inches; a minute, therefore, = -4633 inch. Tlie 
 upper member of the cornice, in the profile of the Temple of Minerva Polias, is a restoration. 
 
 • Atheniensia, p. 142.
 
 52 OBSERVATIONS ON THE PLATES. 
 
 PLATE IX. 
 
 CHORAGIC MOXUJIENT OF LYSICR.\TES, COMMONLY CALLED THE LANTERN OF DEMOSTHENES. 
 
 This beautiful example, stands on the eastern end of the Acropolis of Athens. " It is composed of 
 three distinct parts," says Stuart. " First, a quadi-angular Basement ; secondly, a circular Colonnade, the 
 intcrcolumuiations of which were entirely closed up ; and thirdly, a Tholus or Cupola, with the ornament 
 which is placed on it." The diameter of this building taken on the lower step is 10 feet 8 inches. The 
 columns are 1 foot 1'- inch diameter; a minute consequently = •22 inch. 
 
 PLATE X. 
 
 TEMPLE OF JUPITER OLYMPIUS. 
 
 This is one of the most considerable remains of Athenian magnificence. It has been erroneously called 
 by the name here given. Stuart considers the ruins rather the remains of a stoa or portico, than of either 
 u palace, as some have supposed it, or of a temple. The external walls enclose a lai'ge quadrangular space 
 of 37G feet by 252. In the middle of it are the remains of a gate or entrance. The whole extent of the 
 front is ornamented with Corinthian columns and terminated at each extremity by a Ptoroma, or projecting 
 wall, faced with a Corinthian pilaster. The original number of the columns was eighteen. Four of them, 
 fluted, were in the centre of the front on the upper step — carrying an Entablature and Pediment, and 
 forming a Portico before the Gate. On each side were seven columns, not fluted, on pedestals level with 
 the ui)per step of the Portico. The abacus ol the capital in this Example has acute angles, similar to 
 those of the Temple of Vesta at Rome. The lower part of the sliafts of the fluted columns arc cabled. 
 Their diameter is 2 feet I1'3 inches; so that a minute = -5883 inch. 
 
 PLATE XL 
 
 A AVindow from the Temple of Minerva Polias with the detail of the IMouldiugs in profde. Also two 
 Examples of Caryatides, No. 1, from the Pandroscum. No. 2, from the Townlcy Collection.
 
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 TO 
 
 THE KING. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 The present publication treats of an Art, often the amusement of Your 
 Majesty's leisure moments ; and which, in all ages, great princes have delighted 
 to encourage : as one, amongst those most useful to their subjects, best calcu- 
 lated to display the power and splendour of their government ; fittest to 
 convey to posterity the munificence, skill and elegance of the times in which 
 they flourished ; the memorable events and glorious deeds in which they were 
 engaged. 
 
 The indulgent reception afforded to the two former editions of this work, 
 induced me not only to enlarge, and attempt improvements, in this third 
 Edition, but likewise to solicit the honor of its appearance under the auspices 
 of Your Majesty's patronage ; and the condescension with which that mark of 
 royal approbation was granted proves Your Majesty's desire to promote even 
 the smallest advances towards perfecting the Arts of Design. 
 
 The institution of a Royal Academy ; an Exhibition, become splendid 
 under Eoyal Patronage ; English Productions of Art, contending for pre-emi- 
 nence with those of the first Schools on the Continent ; are events, unexpected, 
 as unhoped for, till Your Majesty's Accession. 
 
 For the benefits derived from these events. Artists of all degi-ees look up 
 with reverence to the Throne; and so powerful is the example, such the 
 influence of Royal Patronage, that the same spirit of encouragement has 
 
 » This dedication was to His late revered Majesty George III., and was prefixed to the Third Edition. 
 
 I
 
 54 DEDICATION. 
 
 rapidly been diiFased through all classes of Your Majesty's subjects ; even men 
 of inferior rank now aspire to taste in the Fine Arts ; and by a liberality of 
 sentiment formerly unknown, excite the artists to emulate and excel each other : 
 circumstances not only much to their own honor, but contributing greatly to 
 augment the splendour of the nation, to improve its taste, and stamp additional 
 value on its manufactures, to extend its commerce, and increase the profits 
 arising therefrom. 
 
 That Your Majesty may long reign over happy nations, and continue w^th 
 equal ardour a Patronage which already has produced such beneficial effects, is 
 the earnest wish of 
 
 Your Majesty's 
 
 Most dutiful Subject, 
 
 And ever faithful Servant, 
 
 WILLIAM CHAMBERS.
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 Amongst the various arts cultivated in society, some are useful only, being 
 adapted to supply our natural wants, or assist our natural infirmities ; others 
 again are instruments of luxury merely, and calculated to flatter the pride or 
 gratify the desires of man ; whilst others there are, contrived to answer many 
 purposes, tending at once to preserve, to secure, to accommodate, delight, and 
 give consequence to the human species. 
 
 Architecture, the subject of our present enquiry, is of this latter kind ; 
 and when viewed in its full extent, may truly be said to have a very consider- 
 able part in almost every comfort or luxury of life. The advantages derived 
 from houses only, are great, they being the first steps towards civilization, and 
 having certainly great influence both on the body and mind. Secluded from 
 each other, inhabitants of woods, of caves, or wretched huts ; exposed to the 
 inclement vicissitudes of seasons, and the distressing uncertainty of weather, 
 men are generally indolent, dull, and abject, with faculties benumbed, and 
 views limited to the gratification of their most pressing necessities ; but 
 wherever societies arc formed, and commodious dwellings are found, in which, 
 well sheltered, they may breathe a temperate air, amid the summer's heat or 
 winter's cold ; sleep, when nature calls, at ease and in security ; study 
 unmolested ; converse, and taste the sweets of social enjoyments ; there they 
 are spirited, active, ingenious and enterprising, vigorous in body, speculative 
 in mind ; agriculture and arts improve, they flourish among them ; the 
 necessaries, the conveniences, and soon even the luxuries of life, become there 
 abundant. 
 
 Mere strength, however, even the steadiest perseverance, obtains with 
 difiiculty the desired produce ; but inventions facilitate and shorten labour, 
 multiplying productions, so as not only to supply domestic wants, but likewise 
 to treasure up stores for foreign markets.* 
 
 * The author in the Third Edition has much obscured his meaning. In the Second Edition the 
 passage is much clearer — " Invention facilitates labour ; and what mere strength and perseverance obtains 
 
 i2
 
 56 PREFACE. 
 
 Architecture, then, smooths the way for commerce ; she forms commodious 
 roads through marshes or other grounds naturally impracticable ; fills up 
 valleys, unites or levels mountains ; throws bridges over deep or rapid waters ; 
 turns aside or deadens the fury of torrents ; constructs canals of navigation, 
 builds ships, and contrives ports for their secure reception in the hour of 
 danger ; facilitating thus the intercourse of nations, [by] the conveyance of mer- 
 chandise from people to people. 
 
 A well regulated commerce is ever the source of wealth ; and luxui'y has 
 ever been attendant on riches. As the powers of gratification increase, fancy 
 multiplies wants, till at length, indolence or pleasure, vanity and superstition, 
 fears and resentments, give birth to a thousand superfluous, a thousand 
 artificial cravings, the greater part of which could not be gratified without 
 the assistance of architecture ; for splendid palaces, magnificent temples, costly 
 dAvelling-houses, amphitheatres, theatres, baths and porticos, triumphal arches 
 and bridges, mausoleums, and an endless number of similar inventions, are all 
 either necessary instruments of ease and pleasure, or striking testimonies of 
 wealth, of grandeur and pre-eminence, either present or past. 
 
 Nor are there any other objects, whether necessary or sujMjrfluous, so cer- 
 tainly productive of their design, so permanent in their cff'ects, or beneficial in 
 their consequences ; fine furniture, rich dresses, brilliant equipages, numerous 
 domestics, are only secondary attractions at first ; they soon feel the effect of 
 time, and their value fluctuates, or dies, with the fashion of the day, while 
 the productions of architecture command general attention, are monuments 
 lasting bevond the reach of modes, and record to latest posterity the con- 
 sequence, virtues, achievements, and munificence of those they commemorate.* 
 
 The immediate and most obvious advantages of building are, employing 
 many ingenious artificers, many industrious workmen and labourers of various 
 kinds ; converting materials of little value into the most stately productions of 
 human skill, beautifying the face of countries, multiplying the conveniencies 
 and comforts of life. 
 
 But thes(>, however great, are not the most considerable ; that numerous 
 train of arts and manufactures, contrived to furnish and adorn the works of 
 
 with (lifTiculty, in;;eniou8 contrivances produce with ensc, and in abundance. Hence domestic wants arc 
 constantly supplied, and stores supplied ibr tbrcign markets."' It appears j)roliable tliat tlie author neg- 
 lected to correct the press with his usual diligence and care in this passage, and that the words " produce '' 
 and "productions" might not inconveniently cliange places. — [l''i>.] 
 
 * Mores tuos fabrica' loijiiuntur, ipiia nemo in illis diligona agnoscitur, nisi i^ui ct in suis sensibus 
 ornatissimus repcritur. Cassiodorus, HI), iv. — [Kd.]
 
 PREFACE. 57 
 
 architecture, which occupies thousands, and constitutes many lucrative branches 
 of commerce ; that certain concourse of strangers to every country celebrated 
 for stately structures, who extend your fame, adopt your fashions, give reputa- 
 tion, and create a demand for your productions, are considerations of the 
 highest consequence ; in short, the advantages of building extend to the 
 remotest ages, and at this day, the ruins of Ancient Rome in a great measure 
 support the splendour of the present, by the number of travellers who flock 
 from all nations to visit the ancient remains and modern magnificence of that 
 famous city, and who, in the course of a few centuries, have thei-e expended 
 incredible sums of money by long residence, and in the jjurchase of old 
 pictures, antique statues, busts, bas-reliefs, urns, and other curious productions 
 of art, of which, by some extraordinary good management, there is a treasure 
 never to be exhausted ; the waste of four hundred years is scarcely perceivable. 
 
 Nor is architecture less useful in defending, than prosperous in adorning 
 and enriching countries ; she guards their coasts with ships of war, secures 
 their boundaries, fortifies their cities, and by a vai-iety of artful constructions 
 controls the ambition and frustrates the attempts of foreign powers ; curbs the 
 insolence and averts the danger, the horror of internal commotions. 
 
 Thus architecture, by supplying men with commodious habitations, 
 procures that health of body and vigour of mind which facilitate the invention 
 of arts, and when by the exertion of their skill or industry, productions 
 multiply beyond domestic wants, she furnishes the means of transporting 
 them to other markets ; and whenever by commerce they acquire wealth, she 
 points the way to employ their riches rationally, nobly, benevolently, in 
 methods honorable and useful to themselves and their descendants, which add 
 splendour to the state and yield benefit both to their contemporaries and to 
 posterity ; she further teaches them to defend their possessions ; to secure 
 their liberty and lives from the attempts of lawless violence or um*estrained 
 ambition. 
 
 An art so variously conducive to the happiness of man, to the wealth, 
 lustre, and safety of nations, naturally commands protection and encourage- 
 ment ; in effect, it appears that in all civilised times, and well regulated govern- 
 ments, it has been much attended to, and promoted with unremitting assiduitv, 
 and the perfectioning of other arts has ever been a certain consequence, for 
 where building is encouraged, painting, sculpture, and all the inferior branches 
 of decorative workmanship, must flourish of course ; and these have an influence 
 on manufactures, even to the minutest mechanic productions ; for design is of 
 universal benefit, and stamps additional value on the most trifling performances.
 
 58 PREFACE. 
 
 the impoi'tauce of which, to a commercial people, is obvious ; it requires no 
 illustration.* 
 
 Let it not, however, be imagined that building, merely considered as 
 heaping stone upon stone, can be of great consequence, or reflect honor either 
 on nations or individuals ; materials in architecture are like words in 
 phraseology, having separately but little power, and they may be so arranged 
 as to excite ridicule, disgust, or even contempt, yet when combined with skill, 
 expressed with energy, they actuate the mind with unbounded sway. An able 
 writer can move even in rustic language, and the masterly dispositions of a 
 skilful artist will dignifj- the meanest materials, while the weak efforts of the 
 ignorant render the most costly enrichments despicable.f To such, the compli- 
 ment of Apelles may justly be applied, who, on seeing the picture of a Venus 
 magnificently attired, said to the operator, " Friend, though thou hast not 
 been able to make her fair, thou hast certainly made her fine." 
 
 Hitherto architecture has been considered in a general light, under its 
 different divisions of naval, military, and civil. I purpose, however, in the 
 present work, to confine myself to the last of these branches, as being of more 
 general use, and that to which my own study and practice have been more 
 immediately directed. 
 
 It is not to be supposed that so difficult an art as ai'chitecture, after 
 having lain many centuries absorbed in the general cloud of barbarism, 
 should at once emerge in full perfection, or that the first restorers of the 
 ancient manner of building could at once bring it to a degree of purity, 
 incapable of further improvement. With very little assistance from books 
 upon the subject, and that often obscure, unintelligible, or erroneous, while 
 they were labouring to separate beauty from deformity, endeavouring to restore 
 to light what length of time, casualties, war and violence had been active to 
 deface — to annihilate — we must neither censure with severity their omissions, 
 
 * The influence of the arts of design, if evidence were necessary to corroborate the author's assertion, 
 is sufficiently manifest, for example, in one branch of our manufactures, that of Pottery. Let the fictile 
 vessels in use a century back be compared in respect of form with those of the present day. The com- 
 parison is calculated to surprise and astonish us. — ^[Ed.] 
 
 "I" Some of Palladio"s finest examj)les !U-e of brick. The cortile of the Carita at Venice is an instance. 
 The Interiors of the Redentore and St. Giorgio, in the same city, have but a coat of plaster on them. 
 The beautiful Palazzo Thiene at Viccnzii, at least tliat part which was executed, is left with its roekworked 
 basement in brickwork chipped out. — Form alone fastens on the mind in works of art. The rest is mere- 
 tricious if used as a substitute to supersede this grand desideratum. Laugier says, " Les Proportions 
 sont si esscnticllcs en Architecture, ipi'un natiinent bien proporlioniie, n'eut il d'aiUeurs d' autre merite 
 (jue le bcl ajjjiareil des Matcriaux, fi;ra loujours de relict, tundis ipie I'ornement prodiguo il un edifice 
 sans proportions ne Sfuuroit reussir." — Observations sur TArchiteclurc. La Iluyc, 1765. — [Ki>.]
 
 PREFACE. 59 
 
 nor wonder at their mistakes, yet with all due reverence for the memory of those 
 illustrious artists, it niav be remarked that they left much undone and taught 
 manv errors. Tlu'ir inoasuros and designs were, generally speaking, incorrect, 
 their plates ill engraved,* and the want of method, and of precision in treating 
 their subject, renders the study of it in their works exceedingly discouraging. 
 
 It is indeed true that later writers have in a great measure supplied their 
 omissions and rectified their faults. Few subjects have been more amply 
 treated of than architecture, nor any by persons better (jualified ; insomuch 
 that little remains either to be discovered or improved, every branch of the 
 art having been maturely considered and brought very near the utmost degree 
 of certainty of which it is capable. 
 
 Yet one thing of gi-eat use remained to be done — at least in our lan- 
 guage! — which was, to collect in one volume what lay dispersed in many 
 
 * On AVooden Blocks, as iu the works of Serlio. The plates, however, to the different editions of 
 Daniel Barbaro's Vitruvius do not deserve this character. They are accurately and tastefully executed, 
 and may vie with any productions of the present day. [Er>] 
 
 t The following is a list of the chief works on Architecture in our own language, previous to the time 
 of this third Edition : — 
 Aldrich, H., Elements of Civil Arch. 8vo. 1789, Oxford. 
 Builder's Dictionary. 2 vols. 8 vo. London, 1734. 
 City and Countrey Purchaser and Builder's Dictionary, or the Compleat Builder's Guide, by T. N. 
 
 Philomath. Svo. Lond. 1703. 
 
 Second Edition, by Richard Neve. Svo. Lond. 1726. 
 
 Freart, Roland sieur do Chambray, Parallel of the antient Architecture with the Modern. Translated by 
 
 Evelyn, fol. Lond. 1733. 
 Gerbier, Sir Balthazar's, Counsel and Advice to all Builders, for the Choice of their Surveyors, Clerks 
 
 of their Works, Bricklayers, Masons, Cai-penters, and other Workmen therein concerned. 18nio. 
 
 Lond. 16G3. 
 
 Second Edition. 18mo. Lond. 1664. 
 
 Gwyn's, J., Essay on Design. Svo. Lond. 1749. 
 
 Qualifications of a Surveyor. 8vo. Lond. 17.52. 
 
 Essay upon Harmony as it relates chiefly to Situation and Building. 
 
 Le Clerc's, Sebast., Treatise of Architecture. 2 vols. Svo. Translated by Chambers. Lond. 1732. 
 
 Another edition, 1733. 
 Morris's Lectures on Architeiture. Svo. Lond. 1734. 
 Nutshell's (OIKIAIA) being Ichnographic Distributions for Small Villas, &c. by Jose Mac Packe (James 
 
 Peacocke). Svo. Lond. 1785. 
 Palladio's First Book of Architecture, translated by Godfrey Richai'ds. 4to. Lond. 1663. 
 Arcliitecture, by Giac. Leoni, with Notes and Remarks by Inigo Jones, fol. Lond. 1742. (There 
 
 is another edition of this Book, which purports, by the title-page, to contain the Notes of Inigo Jones, 
 
 but they are nevertheless omitted.) 
 , by Ware. fol. Lond. sine an. 
 
 Price's British Carpenter. 4to. Lond. (4th edit.) 1 759. 
 Ware's, L, Complete Body of Architecture, fol. Lond. 1756.
 
 60 PREFACE. 
 
 hundreds, much the gTcater part of them written in foreign languages ; and to 
 select from mountains of promiscuous materials a series of sound precepts and 
 perfect designs. 
 
 Whoever has applied to the study of architecture will readily grant that 
 there are few pursuits more perplexing : the vague foundation on which the 
 more refined parts of the art are built has given rise to such a multiplicity of 
 jarring opinions, all supported by at least plausible arguments, that it is 
 exceedinglv difficult to discriminate or distinguish what is real from that which 
 is merely specious ; the connexions which constitute truth or fallacy being 
 often far distant, beyond the sight of superficial observers. Whence, the 
 merit of performances is too often measured by the fame of the performer, by 
 the taste of the age in which they were produced, by vulgar report, party 
 opinion, or some other standard equally inadequate, and not seldom by precepts 
 delivered some centuries ago, calculated for other climates, other men, and 
 other customs. 
 
 To obviate these inconveniences the author ventured, soon after his return 
 from Italy, upwards of thirty years ago, to attempt such a compilation as is 
 above mentioned, by a publication of the first edition of the present work. He 
 flattered himself that, if well conducted, it would greatly shorten the labom's 
 of the student, and lead him to truth by easy and more inviting paths ; that it 
 might render the study of architecture and its attendant arts more frequent, 
 serve to promote true taste, and to diflTuse the love of Virtti among persons of 
 high rank and large fortune, — the fit encouragers of elegance. 
 
 His design was, without bias from national or other prejudices, candidly to 
 consider what had been produced upon the subject, and to collect from the works 
 or writings of others, or from his own observations, in all parts of Europe famed 
 for taste, such particulars as seemed most interesting or propcrest to give a just 
 idea of so very useful and truly noble an art. 
 
 Sensible that all ages had produced bad or indifferent artists, and that all 
 men, however excellent, must sometimes have erred, it was his intention 
 neither to be influenced l)y particular times nor by the general reputation of 
 particular persons. Where reason or demonstration could be used he purposed 
 to employ them, and where they could not, to substitute in their places 
 generally admitted opinions. Abstruse or fruitless arguments he wished 
 carefully to avoid, nor was it his intention to perplex the unskilful with a 
 
 Wciltiin's, Sir Henry, Kloiiic-nts of Arcliitccttiro. -Ito. Loiul. 16-24. 
 
 Wilslord'H, Tliomas, Art of Iluilding, or an Introduction to all Young Surveyors in Common Slructui'cs. 
 8vo. Lond. 1659.— [Ed.]
 
 rUKl'ACE. 61 
 
 minibor of iiidlsciiiuiiiiitc cxanipK's, liaviiin- judijfcd it imuli more eligible to 
 oft'er :i few calculattHl to serve at onee as standards for imitation or ouides to 
 judge by in similar productions. Precision, porsi)icuitv, and brevity were to 
 be attempted in tlie style, and in the designs, simplicity, order, character, and 
 beauty of form. 
 
 The difficulty and extent of sucli a task, undertaken early in life, ren- 
 dered success very uncertain, and filled the writer's mind with manv apprehen- 
 sions ; but the indulgent encouragement, so liberally extended to the two 
 former publications of this work, and the frequent calls for a third, are 
 pleasing testimonies that his endeavours have not been wholly in vain. He 
 ventures to consider the sale of two numerous editions written upon a subject 
 rather instructive than entertaining, and in a language generally unknown to 
 foreign artists, as a proof of the utility of his undertaking, at least in the 
 country where he most wished to have it useful. And stimulated by a desire 
 of rendering it still more deserving public notice, he has carefully revised and 
 considerably augmented this thiixl edition, — he does not presume to say improved 
 it, — but flatters himself the experience gained by thirty vcars' very extensive 
 practice, since the original publication, has enabled him to judge with some degree 
 of certainty at least of what might be left out, be added, or altered to 
 advantage. 
 
 Amongst the additions to this third edition* there is an introductory 
 discourse, designed to point out and briefly to explain the requisite qualifica- 
 tions and duty of an architect at this time ; and in the course of the work 
 many additional hints, explanations, and elucidations have been inserted, 
 wherever they seemed either necessary for better understanding the text, for 
 the further information of the reader, or for giving additional force and greater 
 authority to what had been before advanced. It has furthermore been 
 attempted on different occasions to point out to the student the course he 
 ought to steer, the dangers he has to avoid, the object he must constantly 
 keep in view. 
 
 To these additional articles in the text arc added four entire new jjlates, 
 one of chimney-pieces, the rest containing vases, urns and other ornamental 
 pieces, designed by the author, and executed for their Majesties, his Grace the 
 
 * The title of the first as well as of the second edition is as follows : — " A Treatise on Civil Aiclii- 
 tecture, in which the Principles of that Art are laid down, and Illustrated by a gi-eat number of Plates, 
 accurately designed and engraved by the best Hands," &e., &c. The first edition was published 1759, the 
 second, 176S, the third, 1791, in which the title was changed (perhaps needlessly) by the author to that 
 which is prefixed to the present edition. — [En.] 
 
 K
 
 62 PREFACE. 
 
 Duke of Marlborough, the Earl of Charlemont, and some other persons of high 
 rank. Several of the old plates have also been altered, and it is hoped some- 
 what improved. 
 
 The favoui'able reception this Treatise on the ornamental part of archi- 
 tecture has experienced both in England and abroad, is such as certainly 
 required a full discharge of the original engagement, by treating upon the art 
 in its remaining branches. But such and so constant have been the writer's 
 avocations, that in the course of thirty years it has never been in his power 
 properly to set about so extensive an undertaking, and a variety of concurring 
 circumstances, i-ender it less so now than ever. Loose materials have, indeed, 
 been abundantly collected, and many designs have from time to time been 
 made with an eye to the general intention ; but there are so many more to 
 make, so much to correct and methodize, that he must, however reluctantly, 
 relinquish the task, and consign the remainder to the execution of some future 
 pen. 
 
 In the mean time from the method throughout observed in treating the 
 present subject, it is presumed that this part may now be, as it has hitherto 
 been, considered as a distinct work, in all respects unconnected with anything 
 that might or may follow ; which form was originally fixed upon for the 
 advantage of the subscribers as well as for the security of the publisher ; and 
 has now been continued partly from necessity and in part for the benefit of 
 purchasers, many of whom have little or no occasion to study any more of the 
 art than what the present publication contains, the remaining branches, though 
 very important to builders, being of little service to connoisseurs or men of 
 taste, who aspire to be judges of the beauties or deformities of a structure, 
 without caring mu(;h about the rest, or having the fatigue of entering into 
 particulars either concerning its value, its disposition, or construction.
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Civil Architecture is that branch of the builder's art which has for its objects 
 all structures, either sacred or profane, calculated to sujjply the, wants and 
 comforts, or to promote, extend, and diversify the pleasures of life ; cither 
 contrived to facilitate the business, give lustre to the duties, or display the 
 state and distinctions of society. Its purpose is to erect edifices, in which 
 strength and duration shall unite with beauty, convenience, and salubrity ; to 
 ascertain their value ; and to build them with every attention to safety, ease, 
 and economy. 
 
 Many and singularly opposite must be the qualities and attainments of 
 him who aspires to excel in an art so variously directed. " Architecture," 
 says Father Laugier,* " is of all useful arts that which requires the most dis- 
 tinguished talents. There is perhaps as much genius, good sense, and taste 
 requisite to constitute a great architect, as to form a painter or poet of the 
 first class. It would be a strange error to suppose it merely mechanical, and 
 confined to digging foundations or building walls, by rules of which the practice 
 supposes nothing more than eyes accustomed to judge of a perpendicular, and 
 hands expert in the management of a trowel. In contemplating the builder's 
 art, all that indeed strikes a vulgar imagination are, confused mounds of 
 incommodious ruins, formless heaps of collected materials, dangerous scaffold- 
 ings, a frightful clatter of hammers, tools, and working machinery, an army of 
 slovenly bespattered labourers and workmen ; but these are only as it were the 
 rough bark of an art, the ingenious mysteries of which, though only discover- 
 able to few observers, excite the admiration of all who comprehend them. 
 They perceive inventions of which the boldness implies a genius at once fertile 
 and comprehensive, proportions of which the justness announces a severe and 
 systematic precision, ornaments of which the excellence discovers exquisite and 
 
 * Introduction to " Essai sur r Architecture." 8vo. Paris, 17.55. 
 
 Laugier, Marc Antoine, was born in Provence, 1713; died, 1769. He quitted the order of Jesuits, 
 of which he was early in life a member. His book, entitled " Observations sur 1' Architecture," 12mo. La 
 Haye, 1765, is worthy a place in every architectural library. — [Ed.] 
 
 K 2
 
 64 IXTRODLCTIOX. 
 
 delicate feeling ; and whoever is qualified to taste so many real beauties will, 
 I am certain, far from attempting to confound architecture with the inferior 
 arts, bo strongly inclined to rank it amongst those that are most exalted." 
 
 Vitruvius* requires that the architect should have both ingenuity and 
 application, observing, that wit without labour, or labour without wit, never 
 arrived at perfection. " He should," says he, " be a writer and draughtsman ; 
 understand geometrv, optics, and arithmetic ; be a good historian and philo- 
 sopher ; well skilled in music ; and not ignorant in either physic, law, or 
 astronomv. The same author further requires that he should be possessed of a 
 great and enterprising mind ; be equitable, trusty, and totally free from 
 avarice, without which it would be impossible to discharge the duties of his 
 station with due propriety. Ever disinterested, he should be less solicitous of 
 acquiring riches than honour and fame by his profession." 
 
 And Pythius,y another ancient writer, cited by Vitruvius, insisted that an 
 architect should be more expert in every profession connected with his art than 
 the ablest professors of each art respectively. 
 
 To this, however, Vitruvius does not assent, observing, " that the human 
 mind cannot arrive at perfection, in so many difficult and various parts of know- 
 ledge. It is," savs he, "even rare in the course of a century to find a man 
 superlatively excellent in any profession, why then is it expected that an 
 architect should ccjual Apelles in painting, Myron and Polycletus in sculpture, 
 Hippocrates in medicine, Aristoxenus in music, or Aristarchus in purity of 
 lano-ua<re. Tvthius should have remembered that every art consists of two 
 parts, theory and practice ; the latter of which appertains peculiarly to its 
 professors, but the former is counnou to them and to the learned in general. 
 If, therefore, an ai'chitect be sufficiently master in all the arts connected with 
 his profession to judge perfectly of the merit of their productions, it is the 
 most that should l)e insisted upon ; and if so (lualitied he shall not need to 
 blush at his own insufficiency." J 
 
 In fart tlie lousiness of an architect requires him rather to be a learned 
 judge than a skilful operator; and when he knows how to direct and instruct 
 others with precision, to examine, judge, and value their performances with 
 masterly accuracy, lie may truly be said to have acquired all that most men 
 can acquire. There art; liut lew instances of such prodigies as Michael Angelo 
 
 * Vitniviup, Lil). I. c. i. 
 
 f Pythius was tlii; iircliitcct of a magn'iQccnt temple at riiciie, JeJIcatod to Jliiicrva. Vitiuv. 
 Lib. I. c. i. — [Ed.] 
 J Vitruv. ibid.
 
 INTRODUCTION. t)5 
 
 Buonaroli, who was at onto the first ai'chitcct, painter, geometrician, anato- 
 mist, anil scnlptor of his time. 
 
 Vitruvius t'lirtherniore ohservcs that an art onriclietl with such variety of 
 kiiowU'dgo is onlv to he learned hy long and constant application, and advises 
 his contemporaries never to assume the title of architects till they are perfect 
 masters of their own profession and of the arts and sciences with wdiich it is 
 connected ; a caution that even in the present times may perhaps not he 
 unnecessary. 
 
 It will not readilv occur why a man should ho cither historian or philoso- 
 pher, musician or physician, lawyer or astronomer, before he ventures to 
 commence architect. Our author, however, assigns his reasons, which, for 
 the sake of brevitv, are here omitted. The curious reader will find them in 
 the original book, to which he is referred for further information.* 
 
 Some part of all this knowledge, though it might have been necessary to an 
 artist of the Augustan age, is not absolutely so now ; some part of it, too, seems 
 rather ostentatiouslv introduced, more to enumerate the learned writer's own 
 qualifications than such as were indispensably necessary to every man of his 
 profession. The remaining part shall be mentioned in its place, while I ven- 
 ture to give an opinion concerning the requisite qualifications of an architect, 
 differing in some particulars from those above given, but more adapted, I 
 flatter mvself, to the wants, customs, and modes of life of our cotemporaries, as 
 well as to the duties and avocations of a modern architect. 
 
 Architecture being an active as well as a speculative art, in which exertions 
 of the bodv, the organs of sense and of utterance are equally necessary with 
 efforts of the mind; it naturally follows that such as intend to make it their 
 profession, should enter the lists with a good stock of health, vigour, and 
 agility ; thev should neither be lame nor unwieldy ; neither awkwai'd, slow, 
 nor helpless ; neither purblind nor deaf ; nor have anything ridiculous about 
 them, either natural or acquired. Their understanding should be sound ; the 
 sight and apprehension quick ; the reasoning faculties clear, and unwarped by 
 
 * The author hardly takes the meaning of Vitruvius, who certainly intended to say no more, than that 
 an architect should be a man of very general information, which it is presumed nobody will deny. Vitruvius, 
 who inllated everything whereof he treated, has douljtless made a vast show on the subject, in his first 
 chapter, but he has nevertheless greatly ijualificd the extent to which the different sciences are required 
 to be carried. Thus towards the end of the first chapter, he says, speaking of the architect — " Ergo satis 
 abunde is vldctur fccisse, qui e.\ singulis doctrinis partes et rationes earum raediocriter hnbet notas, eas(jue 
 qua; neeessaria; sunt ad architecturam, uti si quid de his rebus et artibus judicarc et probare opus fuerit; 
 ne destituatur vel deficiat." Vitruv. Lib. I. c. i. — [Ed.]
 
 66 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 prejudices ; the temper enterprising, steady, resolute, and though benevolent, 
 rather spirited than passive, meek, or effeminate. 
 
 The necessity of these qualities in one destined to direct and manage 
 great works, to govern and control numerous bands of clerks, inspectors, 
 artists, artificers, workmen, and labourers, must be sufficiently obvious. And 
 as at the present time, few engage in any profession till qualified for the world 
 by a proper school-education at least, it must bo supposed that to a competent 
 proficiency in the learned languages the student adds a thorough knowledge of 
 his own, so as to speak and write it correctly at least, if not elegantly ; that he 
 is a good penman ; versed in accounts ; a ready practitioner in arithmetic ; 
 and has received and profited by such other instructions as tend to fix the 
 moral character, to inculcate integrity, to polish the minds and improve the 
 manners of youth.* 
 
 Proficiency in the French and Italian languages is also requisite to him, 
 not onlv that he mav be enabled to travel with advantaoe and converse without 
 difficulty, in countries where the chief part of his knowledge is to be collected, 
 but also to understand the many and almost only valuable books treating of his 
 profession, the greater part of which have never been translated. And as 
 among seamen there is a technical language, of which no admiral could be 
 ignorant without appearing ridiculous, so in architecture and the professions 
 connected therewith, there are peculiar modes of expression and terms of art 
 of which an architect must by no means be ignorant, as that knowledge 
 impresses upon the minds of the workinen a respectable idea of his abilities, 
 consequently a deference for his opinions ; and furthermore enables him to 
 explain to them intelligibly what he intends or wishes to be performed. 
 
 To these qualifications, mental and corporeal, must be united genius, or a 
 strong inclination and bias of mind towards th(! i)ursuit in cpiestion, without 
 which little success can be expected. This quality, whether it be the gift of 
 Godf or a fortuitous propensity,! whether innate or acquired, has not unaptly 
 
 * If success were a proof of talent, one nii^lit l)e inclineil to (luostion the necessity of good education 
 and learning in any profession. The most ignorant often blunder through and make the largest fortunes. 
 Corinthian cheeks are ever the most valuable possession. As the apothecary ends his career in the capacity 
 of physician, so the carpenter, bricklayer, niasoUj cl alii tie greire, usually rise up anil finally revolve in an 
 architectural orbit. — [Ed.] 
 
 t " The Lord hath called IJezaleel, and hath tilled him with the spirit of Ciod, in wisdom, in under- 
 standing, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, and to devise curious works. 
 
 "And he hath put it in his heart, that he may teach, both he and Aholiab, them hath he tilled with 
 wisdom of heart to work all manner of work." — Exodus, xxxv. 30—34. 
 
 J "III the window of his mother's apartment, lay Spenser's Fairy Queen, in wliirh ho very early took 
 delight to read, till, by feeling the charms of verse, he liecame, as he relates, irrecoverably a poet. Such
 
 INTRODUCTION. &J 
 
 been compared to those instincts implanted by nature in different animals, by 
 which they are enabled to comprehend and to perform certain things with 
 much ease, while others, not having- the same natural disposition, neither com- 
 prehend nor can perform them. Thus the man of genius, or he whose mind 
 is peculiarly adapted to the contemplation of his subject, comprehends with 
 ease, distinguishes with perspicuity, treasures up with nice selection whatever 
 is ingenious, extraordinary, useful, or elegant ; his imagination, ever active in 
 a favourable pursuit, will abound in ideas, combinations, and improvements, 
 equally new, striking, and agreeable ; while he who mistakes his way, and 
 applies to studies for which nature or early impressions have not prepared him 
 labours sluggishly, without relish as without effect ; like Sisyphus, ever toiling 
 up a hill, the summit of which he is never to reach. 
 
 As many sorts of knowledge, very opposite in their natures, come under 
 the architect's consideration, his genius must be of a complex sort, endowed 
 with the vivacity and powers of imagination requisite to produce sublime or 
 extraordinary compositions, and at the same time with the industry, patience, 
 and penetration necessary to investigate mathematical truths, discuss difficult 
 sometimes irksome subjects, and enter into details of various sorts, often as 
 tiresome as they are necessary ; a genius equally capable of expanding to the 
 noblest and most elevated conceptions, or of shrinking to the level of the 
 meanest and minutest inquiries ; — as Dr. Johnson expresses it, a mind that at 
 once comprehends the vast and attends to the minute. 
 
 Dispositions of this nature are seldom found, their constituent qualities 
 are in some degree incompatible, and hence, perhaps, chiefly arises the rarity 
 of complete masters in the profession. The lively student naturally strikes 
 into the paths which afford most scope for his fancy ; he exercises himself in 
 the arts of composition, and in the different branches of design ; improves his 
 knowledge of painting, sculpture, books, and structures ; forms his taste, and 
 turns his whole attention towards the sublimer parts of the art, neglecting all 
 the while the inferior knowledge, so useful, so absolutely necessary in practice, 
 and of which a perfect master can never be ignorant. Ambitious to excel, he 
 must not neglect attainments without which he cannot operate, while they 
 may be purchased at the expense of industry and steady perse vei'ance.* 
 
 are the acciJents, which sometimes remembered, and perhaps sometimes forgotten, produce that par- 
 ticular designation of mind and propensity for some certain science or employment, whicn is commonly 
 called genius. The true genius is a mind of large general powers, accidentally determined to some 
 peculiar direction. Sir Joshua Reynolds, the great painter of the present age, had the first fondness of 
 his art excited by the perusal of Hichardson's Treatise." — Dr. Johnson's Life of Cowley. 
 
 * The Architectural Student will do well to keep in mind what Sir Joshua Reynolds says on another
 
 68 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 A celebrated Italian artist,* whose taste and luxuriance of fancv were 
 unusually great, and the effect of whose compositions, on paper, has seldom 
 been equalled, knew little of construction or calculation, yet less of the con- 
 trivance of habitable structures, or the modes of carrvin"- real works into 
 execution, though styling himself an architect. And when some pensioners of 
 the French academy at Rome, in the author's hearino- charaed liini witli 
 ignorance of plans, he composed a very complicated one, since published in his 
 work, which sufficiently proves that the charge was not altogether groundless. 
 
 art, antl which i:- (juite applicable ill our own. '-In this art, as in others, there are many tcacliors, who 
 profess to show the nearest way to excellence ; anil many expedients have been invented by which the 
 toil of study might be saved. But let no man be seduced to idleness by specious promises. Excei.lexce 
 IS NEVKR GKAXTED TO MAX, i!iT AS THE Eewaed OF Lahoir. It argues, indeed, no small strength oi 
 mind to persevere in habits of industry, without the pleasure of perceiving those advances, which, like 
 the hand of a clock, whilst they make hourly approaches to their point, yet proceed so slowly as to escape 
 observation." — Second Discourse on Painting. — [En.] 
 
 * Oiov. Battista Piranesi, the celebrated engraver, is here alluded to. lie was a Venetian, and was 
 born in 1720: his death happened in the year 1788. A list of his works may not be unacceptable, and is 
 therefore subjoined : — 
 
 1. llis earliest work — the dedication to which is dated 174S, though published in 174o — is entitled, 
 
 " Antichita Romane de' Tempi della llepubblica e de' primi Impcratori." 2 parts. iS plates. 
 Roma, 1748. 
 
 2. Architetture varie. 27 plates. Roma, 1750. 
 
 3. C'arceri d'Invenzione. 16 plates. No date, but sujiposed 1750. 
 
 4. Trofei d'Augusto, &c. 10 plates. Roma, 1753. 
 
 5. Archi triondili, Tempj ed Anfiteatri. 31 plates. Rcjma, circa 17.J3. 
 
 G. Antichita Romane. This embraces the fragments of the ancient plan of Jlonic in tlio Jluseiuu of 
 the Capitol. 224 plates. 4 vols. Roma, 175G. To these there is a Sn]ipK'mer.t by the son, F. 
 Piranesi. 2 vols. 1785. 
 
 7. Rovine<lel Castello dell'acqua (iiulia. 20 plates. Roma, 17G1. 
 
 8. Antichitii d'Albano c di Castcl Gandolfo. 55 plates. Roma, 17G1-2. 
 
 9. De Roraanorum magnificentia et Architcctura. 44 plates. Ronue, 17G1. 
 
 10. Campus Martius anti(|ua; urbis. 54 plates. Ronuc, 17G2. 
 
 11. Lapides Capitolini sive Fasti Consulares. 12 plates. Roma>, 17G2. With this usually occurs the 
 
 Antichitii di Cora, 14 plates. 
 
 12. Diverse manicre d'adornare i Cammini. Gf) plates. Roma, 17G!). 
 1.1. Colonna Trajana. Large folio. 21 plates. Roma, 1770. 
 
 14. Vasi, Candclnbri, &c. 114 plates. Roma, 1778. 
 
 15. Vcdute di Roma, about 137 plates. Besides these, there is also a small work of this author, now 
 
 very scarce, in whieli, extremely irritated against Lord Cliarlemont, lie assigns his reasons for not 
 dedicating to him his Antichita Romane. For this work he etched, in cjuarto, exact copies of the 
 four original frontispieces which were to have immortalised the name of his patron, witii views of 
 the inscriptions rc-engraved as they now stand, as though llic liisl, inscriptions had been cut out 
 of the stones, and tlie new ones inserted on small ])iccch let inlo llicm. There are also head and 
 tail jiicces alluding to the matters and persons involveil in the <llspule. This w<iik is dated 1757. 
 A representation of Lord Churlcmont's (ihe nobleman above mentioned) ca>ino will be found 
 among Sir W. C.'s plates. — [Ei'-]
 
 INTRODUCTION. 69 
 
 Indeed it is not unfroqucnt in some countries of the continent to find ingenious 
 composers and able draughtsmen with no other reading than VignoLi's rules, 
 and without anv skill whatever in the executive parts, or knowledge oi" the 
 sciences belonging thereto. 
 
 On the other hand, the student of a moi'e saturnine cast, unable or fearful, 
 perhaps, of soaring so high, applies his powers to the operative and economical 
 branches of the art, resting satisfied in the parts of design and composition to 
 imitate or copy others, content, if by borrowing whatever falls in his way, he 
 avoids any striking absurdities, and reaches that state of mediocrity which, 
 though it may escape censure, commands no praise. 
 
 In countries where mechanics assume the profession, and arrogate the 
 title of architects, men of this sort abound ; they are, by foreigners, styled 
 portfolio artists, and their productions, collected without judgment from 
 different stores, must ever be discordant — without determined style, marked 
 character, or forcible effect, always without novelty, and having seldom either 
 grandeur or beauty to recommend them. They arc pasticcios in building, 
 generally more imperfect than those of the stage. 
 
 But though genius be the basis of excellence, alone it can produce but 
 little : the richest soil, when neglected, affords no other crop than weeds, and 
 from the happiest disposition, without culture, without knowledge of rules to 
 guide, or judgment to restrain, little more can be expected than capricious 
 conceits or luxuriant extravagancies. 
 
 Of mathematical knowledge, geometry, trigonometry, and conic sections 
 should be understood, as teaching the construction, properties, contents, and 
 divisions of the forms used in building. Likewise mechanics and hydraulics, 
 which treat of the formation, and ascertain the effects of all kinds of machinery, 
 simple or complex, used in building ; likewise of the raising, conveyance, and 
 application of water, as well for the common uses of life as to produce 
 many extraordinary effects, very ornamental in gardening, and efficacious in 
 manufactures.* 
 
 These sciences furthermore treat of the gravitation of bodies, and in what 
 
 • Mathematics have, perhaps, been too much neglected by some of the Ai-chitects of this country. 
 The consequence has been the establishment of a new brancli of art whose professors are called Civil 
 Engineers. As art is open to all, we would not quarrel with these gentlemen, souic of them possessing 
 talents of the very highest nature, if they would be content with practising strictly in their vocation. In 
 their designs, even the best that they have produced, though cried up by their partisans which they have in 
 the high places, there .ire many violations of architectural projjriety, so that it would surely not be asking 
 too much of them to submit to the advice and coiTection of those that have made the arts of design the 
 principal study of their lives. — [Ed.] 
 
 L
 
 70 INTRODUCTION, 
 
 manner, and bv what laws, they move and act upon each other under different 
 circumstances, with many other particulars of frequent and material use in an 
 art where vast weights are to be moved, and in which structures, of whatever 
 form, must be calculated to can*}- great and indeterminate burthens, to 
 stand the shock of heavy laden carriages, and to resist the utmost fury of the 
 elements. 
 
 By optics, particularly that part which is called perspective, the artist is 
 enabled to judge with precision of the effects of his compositions when 
 carried into execution, and also to represent them more ' pleasingly in design, 
 as well for his own satisfaction, as to give his employers a more perfect idea 
 of his intentions than could be collected from geometrical drawings. And an 
 acquaintance with the other branches will be useful on many occasions, in 
 the distribution of light, to produce particular striking effects, and in the 
 disposal of mirrors, to create deceptions, multiply objects, and raise ideas 
 of far greater than the real magnitude or extent of that which is exhibited 
 to view. 
 
 As to a painter, or sculptor, so to an architect, a thorough mastery in 
 design is indispensably necessary ; it is the sine qua 7ion, and the mai a 
 bastanza of Carlo Maratta*, is full as applicable in one art as in the others ; 
 for if the architect's mind be not copiously stored with correct ideas of forms, 
 and habituated by long practice to vary and combine them as the fancy 
 operates : or if his hand has not the power of representing with precision and 
 force what the imagination suggests, his compositions will ever be feeble, 
 formal, and ungraceful, and he will stand unqualified to discharge the principal 
 part of his duty, which is, to invent and dispose all that enters into his design, 
 and to guide the painter, sculptor, and every other artist or artificer, by advice 
 and precise directions, as far at least, as relates to the outline and effect of 
 their performances, that all may be the effort of one mind, master of its object, 
 and all the parts be calculated to produce a general uniformly supported whole; 
 which never can be the case where artists and artificers are left to themselves, 
 as each, naturally enough, considers the perfection of his own part, sometimes 
 without comprehending, and always without attention to, the whole composition. 
 
 • Carlo Maratta,;! painter of the Roman School, born 1625, died 1713. He was nickiiaiueil Carhtccio 
 delln Madonna hy Salvator Rosa, from his fon.luo33 for painting Madonnas. The allusion of the author 
 relates to hin never bein;^ satisfiLMl with his forms and drapery, wliich ho always employed himself in 
 correcting to the last moment of finishing a picture. Fuscli very justly observes that his talent seldom rose 
 above mediocrity. He was nevertheless extremely popular in his time in Rome, as the churches and 
 palaces there amply testify. — [Ki>-]
 
 INTRODUCTION. 71 
 
 Even Bernini,* though an able architect, could seldom refrain from sacrificing 
 architecture to the graces of sculpture and painting, the ill consequences of 
 which, are sutticicntly conspicuous in several of his works, but particularly in 
 his ])iazza of St. Peter's, where the statues placed upon the colonnades, 
 instead of standing upright as they should do, in all such situations, are so 
 whimsically contorted, that at a little distance they seem to be performing 
 a dance, and very considerably injure the eflfect of that magnificent approach 
 to the first building in the Christian world. 
 
 To the knowledge, practice, and facility of hand just mentioned, composers 
 in architecture must unite a perfect accjuaintance with all kinds of proportions, 
 having relation either to the grandeur, beauty, strength, or convenience of 
 structures, their variations as occasions require, and the different effects which 
 situation, distance, light, or other circumstances have upon them, which is a 
 science of very considerable difficulty, and to be obtained only by much 
 experience and close observation. 
 
 He furthermore must be well versed in the customs, ceremonies, and 
 modes of life of all degrees of men, his contemporaries, their occupations and 
 amusements, the number and employments of their domestics, equipages and 
 appurtenances, in what manner the business allotted to each is performed, and 
 what is requisite or proper to facilitate the service, with many other particulars 
 which, though seemingly trifling, must not be unknown to him who is to 
 provide for the wants, and gratify the expectations of all. 
 
 Neither must he be ignorant of ancient history,! fable and mythology, nor 
 of antiquities, as far as relates to the structures, sculpture, ornaments, and 
 utensils of the Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, and Etrurians, as the established 
 style of decoration, collects its forms, combinations, symbols, and allusions, from 
 these abundant sources, which time, and the concurring approbation of many 
 ages, have rendered venerable. 
 
 The painter's canvas and the sculptor's block, are their ultimate objects ; 
 but the architect's attention must at once be directed to the grandeur or 
 
 * Giovanni Lorenzo Rernini, born at Naples in 1589, (lied 1680. His residence was chiefly at Rome, 
 where with great reputation he practised as an architect and sculptor. He was, under Urban VIJJ., one of 
 the architects of St. Peter's, to which, besides other parts, he added those of the great colonnades in front 
 of the Church and the Baldachino under the Cupola. Ho was in general request throughout Europe. At 
 Paris he made designs for completing the Louvre (see a subsequent note in Chambray), and for England he 
 execated three busts of Charles I. from a picture by Vandyke. Bernini was also a painter ; several of his 
 pictures are in the Florentine Gallery. He received the honour of Knighthood from Gregory V. — [Ed.] 
 
 ■f The author somewhat contradicts himself; at page 8G he seems rather disinclined to admit Vitru- 
 vius's qualifications. See note on the passage. — [Ed.] 
 
 L 2
 
 72 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 beauty, strength, duration, fit contrivance, and economical execution of his 
 compositions — qualities that ever clash, and which it often is exceedingly 
 difficult to i-econcilc. His different plans, elevations, and sections must all be 
 considered at the same time, and, like the parts of a piece of music, be 
 contrived to harmonize and set each other off to most advantage. 
 
 To the excellence of the designer's art, must yet be added the humbler, 
 though not less useful skill, of the mechanic and accountant, for, however able 
 the draughtsman, he should not deem himself an architect, nor venture upon 
 practising in that capacity, till master of the executive parts of this profession. 
 
 These imply an acquaintance with all the known approved methods of 
 building every kind of structure, securely and for duration ; how difficulties 
 arising from situation, nature of soils, or other adventitious circumstances, are 
 to be surmounted, and precisely what precautions the occasion may require, in 
 order to avoid superfluous expense, by avoiding to employ superfluous remedies. 
 
 They further imply a power of conducting large works with order and 
 economy, of measuring correctly, according to established usages, of regulating 
 the accounts with accuracy, of employing with discci'iiment, directing and 
 governing with skill and temper, many men of different professions, capacities 
 and dispositions, all without violence or clamour, yet with full effect. 
 
 To mastery in these particulars must be added, proficiency in all the arts,, 
 liberal or mechanic, having relation to the building or adorning structures — a 
 capacity of determining exactly the goodness of the different materials used, 
 with the degree of perfection and consequent value, at all times, of every kind 
 of work, from the stately splendid lU'oductions of the pencil and chisel to the 
 most trifling objects em})loyed in a fabric, together with all the circumstances 
 constituting their value, as upon these its occasional fluctuation must depend. 
 
 Considerable as this detail may seem, it is yet insufficient. A builder,, 
 like a chemist, must analyse his substances — be so much master of the 
 constituent parts of his composition, their necessary forms and dimensions, 
 that, as those of the profession term it, he may be able to take the whole 
 building to pieces, and estimate from his designs the total amount of the 
 structure before a single stone is prepared. 
 
 To ignorance, or inattention in this particular, of Avhich, for serious 
 reasons, no architect should ever be ignorant or careless, nuist be ascribed the 
 distressful, oftrn llic iiiiiiinis, uiici'rlaiiilv of (■oiniuon ('sliuiates — for some who 
 condescend to estimate ihcii- own jn'oductions know jxu-haps, but imperfectly, 
 how their designs are to be tiirri(-d iiilo execution, and consecpiently omit in 
 the valuation, much, tluit must be done. And some, who being too great for
 
 INTRODUCTION. 73 
 
 such niinuto investigations!, eniplov ntlicrs to estimate without describing 
 thoroiiLihly the manner in which they intend to proceed, leave them so much 
 in the dark that, even if capabk", tliey can do Httle more than guess at the 
 value, and are seldom or ever right in their conjeclures.* 
 
 Others there are who, being eitlicr unqualified or too idle to calculate 
 themselves, and perhaps too parsimonious to employ any other person, for it is 
 a work of time and considerable expense, value by the square — an operation 
 both easy and expeditious, but of all the most fallacious, excepting in common 
 buildings of similar forms and dimensions, built and finished in the same 
 
 * The following ironie;il iiccount of the close of the labours of some who assumed the name of 
 architect was, a few years ago, not very far from the truth. It is extracted from an exeellcnt little book, 
 entitled OIKIAI.A, or Nutshells, 8vo. Lend. 1785, by the late James Peacock, of Guildhall, whose virtues 
 and moral excellence will be honoiu-ed as long as the memory of his surviving friends remains sound, under 
 the fictitious anagrannuatic name of Jose Mac Packk, a hricldaijcr' s labourer. At the end of this book 
 he says : — 
 
 "It will not be improper, perhaps, to close this little work with another intimation respecting an 
 operation to be performed when the building is finished, and the artist has all the workman's accounts 
 under his hand ; this is called dochhi!;, and is performed two ways, the old manner proceeds cautiously, by 
 analysis and detail, and being very generally known, requires nothing particular to be said of it here. 
 
 " The new method stands recommended, on account of the ease and expedition wherewith it is 
 effected, and the great and respectable air the operator derives fi-ora it (the general and happy concomitant 
 of ambiguity and mystery) ; it is certainly a grand objection to the old method, that it requires so great .an 
 insight into the nature, qualities and values of all sorts of materials and workmanship ; an inferior and 
 intricate kind of knowledge, by far too mean and troublesome for gentlemen of exalted views to attend to. 
 There is, however, one very capital objection to a general use of the new manner, which is that now and 
 then a workman is turbulent and refractory, and pays no more regard to the fiat or dignity of an architect 
 than he would to those of an old apple woman, and would sooner s<|uander his money away among those 
 rogues the lawyers than forego a single guinea of his property to add to or uphold the fame of any architect 
 whatsoever; so that if the artist does not know his man the old manner is abundantly to be preferred, or 
 at least such a degree of relaxation from the new mode as, after mature deliberation, prudence will naturally 
 dictate. This may be very well done without losing sight of that valuable quality or disposition, ever 
 Argus like, awake to, and alert in seizing all kinds of advantages (very often maliciously called low 
 cunning), and which may be exercised in its fullest extent where the workman is known to be a poor 
 ignorant and timorous wretch, foolishly afraid that tmv is not alwat/s justice, and whose maxim is that the 
 first loss is generally the least." 
 
 Then follows an anecdote of a gentleman who had employed his architect to examine some bills, 
 among them one of a smith whose bill had been docked, " who had been under very j)articular obligations 
 to the gentleman, and from whose bill, apparently of X30, stood a deduction of £6." The gentleman, 
 after expostulating with him for his villainous ingratitude, as well as dishonesty, in attempting such an 
 imposition upon him, assured him "he should have no future opportunity of exercising a similar conduct 
 
 with respect to him." The smith humbly begged to know the reason. " Reason ! Sir, why Mr. 
 
 informs me here you have overcharged me £6 in this bill." " Why then, Sir," replies Vulcan, " I am ^£3 
 in your honour's debt ; this is the first time I ever made a charge of this strange nature." The truth is, 
 Vulcan was but a lame scribe, and had inadvertently made the amount of his bill, which was £3, appear so 
 much like £30 that any person, looking no further than at tlio total, might have made exactly the same 
 mistake the surveyor did.
 
 74 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 manner, where the amount of what has been done may be a guide to vaUie by. 
 But in extraordinary works these rapid estimators never hit the mark, and are 
 generally so far wide of it as to draw shame and reproaches on themselves ; 
 regret, difficulties, sometimes ruin, both on the employer and the tradesmen 
 employed. 
 
 As one in whose honour and judgment the employer confides, and to whom 
 the employed look up for protection and justice as mediator and judge between 
 them on subjects generally important, the architect's skill, vigilance, and 
 activity, should equal the consequence of his station, and, studious to sustain 
 his character, attentive to justify the confidence reposed in him, he must 
 neither inadvertently nor otherwise bring on unexpected ruinous expenses ; 
 neither countenance nor suifer imposition on the one hand, oppressive 
 parsimony or ill-directed liberality on the other. 
 
 Let it not however be inferred from anything here said that errors in 
 estimation proceed on every occasion from the ignorance or inadvertency of the 
 architect : those who build are often whimsical themselves, or advise with such 
 as are — they are pleased to-day, disgusted to-morrow, with the same object, 
 hence alterations commence, deviation succeeds to deviation, their first ideas 
 are extended, improved, and varied, till, by insensible gradations, both the 
 form and value of the original design are entirely changed. 
 
 All that, in such cases, the architect can do, and, in dischai'ge of his duty, 
 should do, is, at the time, to notify by written information the consequences of 
 the alterations taking place. I say written, for words are soon forgot, or, if 
 remembered, explained away, and sometimes denied ; but written testimony 
 admits of no equivocation, it cannot be disputed, and will fix the blame where 
 it should be fixed — not on the architect's want of care or judgment, but on the 
 builder's wavering disposition. 
 
 Ornamental gardening,* which in Italy, France, and other countries of 
 
 * Ornamental gardening was a favorite subject witli Sir W. Chambers. In 1772 lie published a 
 treatise, in 4to., entitled " A Dissertation on Oriental Gardening," which went to a second edition in the 
 next year. This was much ridiculed in a publication which soon followed it, entitled " An Heroical Epistle 
 to Sir William Chambers, Knight, Comptroller-General nf His Majesty's Works, and Author of a late 
 Dissertation on Oriental Gardening," generally attributed to Mason, the author of " The English Garden." 
 It opens with the following verses : — 
 
 Knight of the Polar Star ! by fortune placed 
 
 To sliine the cynosure of IJritisli taste ; 
 
 Whose orb collects, in one refulgent view, 
 
 The scattered glories of Chinese virtii : 
 
 And spreads their lustre in so broad a blaze, 
 
 That Kings themselves are dazzled while they gaze. 
 To this succeeded an " IIi.Toie Postscript to the Public," occasioned by the favorable reception of the
 
 INTRODUCTION. 75 
 
 the European continent, constitutes a part of the ai'chitect's profession, is here 
 in otlier hands, and, with a few exceptions, in very improper ones. Shoukl that 
 pleasing art he ever practised by men wlio have made composition in general a 
 study, who, by having seen much, have stored the fancy with copious imagery, 
 and by proficiency in the arts of design, formed a correct and elegant taste, we 
 might expect to find much more variety and far higher perfection in works of 
 that sort than can now be expected, or is yet to be boasted of. 
 
 It seems almost superfluous to observe that an architect cannot aspire to 
 superiority in his profession without having travelled, for it must be obvious 
 that an art founded upon reasoning and much observation is not to be learnt 
 without it : books cannot avail, descriptions, even drawings or prints are but 
 weak substitutes of realities, and an artist who constantly inhabits the same 
 place, converses with the same people, and has the same objects always 
 obtruding on his view, must necessarily have very confined notions, few ideas, 
 and many prejudices. Travelling rouses the imagination : the sight of great, 
 new, or uncommon objects elevates the mind to sublime conception, enriches 
 the fancy with numerous ideas, sets the reasoning faculties in motion ; he who 
 has beheld with attentive consideration the venerable remains of ancient 
 magnificence, or studiously examined the splendor of modern times, in the 
 productions of the sublime Buonarroti, Bramante, Vignola, Palladio, RafFaello, 
 Polidoro, Peruzzi, Sansovino, Sanmichele, Ammanati, Bernini, Pietro de 
 Cortona, and many other original masters, whose works are the ornament and 
 pride of the European continent, must have acquired notions far more 
 extensive and. superior to him whose information has been gleaned from the 
 copiers, or feeble imitators, of these great men and their stupendous works, — 
 he must be, in composition, more animated, varied, and luxuriant ; in design, 
 more learned, correct, and graceful ; ever governed by a taste formed at the 
 fountain's head upon the purest models, and impressed with the effect of those 
 great objects, which some time or other in life have been the admiration of 
 most who either claim distinction, or aspire to elegance, he must always 
 labour with greater certainty of success. 
 
 Bv travelling, a thorough knowledge of different countries, their language 
 and manners are alone to be attained in perfection; and by conversing with 
 men of different nations, we learn their opinions, hear their reasons in support 
 of them, and are naturally led to reason in our turn — to set aside our national 
 
 Epistle, 4to. Lond. 1774. Then came "A Familiar Epistle to the Author of the Heroic Epistle." The 
 bitternesa however of the "Heroic" was adequately retorted in the " Familiar Epistle." — [Ed.]
 
 76 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 prejudices, reject our ill-founded maxims, and allow for granted that only 
 which is clearly proved, or is founded on reason, long experience, and careful 
 observation. 
 
 Thus habituated to consider with the rigour of critical accuracy, we learn 
 to see objects in their true light, without attention either to casual approbation 
 or dislike, to distinguish truth through the veil of obscurity, and detect 
 pretence however speciously sustained. Travelling, to an artist, is as the 
 university to a man of letters — the last stage of a regular education, which 
 opens the mind to a more liberal and extensive train of thinking, diffuses an 
 air of importance over the whole man, and stamps value upon his opinions; it 
 affords him opportunities of forming connections with the great, the learned, or 
 the rich ; and the friendships he makes while abroad are frequently the first 
 causes of his reputation and success at home.* 
 
 * Ridolfi (Part i. c. 20) justly observes, " La cognizione di quest' arte non e conecduta ad ognuno, 
 ma riservata a colore, cLie con luiigo studio lianno di cosi diliicile e laboriosa materia gli ultimi termini 
 appresi." — [Ed.]
 
 77 
 
 OF THE ORIGIN AND mOGRESS OF BUILDING. 
 
 Ik'iLDiNGs wcro certainly among the first wants of mankiml, and architecture 
 iiuist undoubtedly be classed among the earliest antediluvian arts. Scripture 
 informs us that Cain built a city ;* and soon after the deluge we hear of many 
 cities, and of an attempt to build a tower that sliould reach the sky f — a 
 miracle stopped the progress, and prevented the completion of that bold 
 design. I' 
 
 The first men, living in a warm climate, wanted no habitations ; every 
 jrrove afforded shade from the ravs of the sun, and shelter from the dews of the 
 night ; rain fell but seldom, nor was it ever sufficiently cold to render closer 
 dwellings than groves either desirable or necessary, even in the hour of repose ; 
 they fed upon the spontaneous productions of the soil, and lived without care 
 as without labour. 
 
 But when the human species increased, and the produce of the earth, 
 however luxuriant, was insufficient to supply the requisite food ; when frequent 
 disappointments drew on contention, with all its train of calamities, then 
 separation became necessary, and colonies dispersed to different regions, where 
 frequent rain, storms, and ])icrcing cold, forced the inhabitants to seek for 
 better shelter than trees. 
 
 At first they most likely retired to caverns formed by nature in rocks, to 
 hollow trunks of trees, or to holes dug by themselves in the earth ; but, soon 
 disgusted with the damp and darkness of these habitations, they began to 
 search after more wholesome and comfortable dwellings. § 
 
 The animal creation pointed out both materials and manners of 
 construction — swallows, rooks, bees, storks, were the first builders; man 
 
 ' Genesis iv. 17. " Aiul lie builded a City, and called the name of the City after Lis son Enoch."— 
 [Ed.] 
 
 t Genesis xi. 3 to 8. 
 
 + " Tant que les desccndans de Nor demcurcrent reunis, ils furent ii portee de cultivei- cc qu'on avoit 
 pu conserver de dccouvcrtes anturieures au deluge. Le projet quils coni,urent et exccuterent en partie, 
 de batir une Ville dans la plaine de Sennaar, le dessein d'y elever une tour d'une hauteur prodigieuse, 
 prouvent que les nouveau.x habitans de la terre n'etoient pas cntierement destitues do connoissances en 
 Architecture." L'Origine des Lois par (ioguet, 1 re Ep. liv. ii. c. 3. — [Ed.] 
 
 § Diodorus Sic. lib. i. sect. 8. Vitruvius, lib. i. c. 2. Pausanias, I'hocic. c. 17.— [Ed.] 
 
 M
 
 78 OF THE ORIGIN AND 
 
 observed their instinctive operations, he admired, he imitated, and, being 
 endued with reasoning faculties, and of a structure suited to mechanical 
 purjjoses, he soon outdid his masters in the builder's art. 
 
 Rude and unseemly, no doubt, wei'e the first attempts ; without experience 
 or tools, the builder collected a few boughs of trees, spread them in a conic 
 shape, and covering them with rushes, or leaves and clay, formed his hut, 
 sufficient to shelter its hardy inhabitants at night, or in seasons of bad weather.* 
 But in the course of time men naturally grew more expert ; they invented tools 
 to shorten and improve labour ; fell upon neater, more durable modes of 
 construction ; and forms better adapted than the cone to the purposes for which 
 their huts were intended. They felt the want of convenient habitations, 
 wherein to taste the comforts of privacy, to rest securely, and be effectually 
 screened from troublesome excesses of weathers. They wanted room to 
 exercise the arts to which necessity had given birth ; to deposit the grain that 
 aocriculture enabled them to raise in abundance ; to secure the flocks which 
 frequent disappointments in the chase had forced them to collect and 
 domesticate. Thus stimulated, their fancy and hands went arduously to woi'k, 
 and the progress of improvement was rapid. 
 
 That the primitive hut was of a conic figure it is reasonable to conjecture, 
 from its being the simplest of solid forms and most easily constructed. And 
 wherever wood was found, they probably built in the manner above described, 
 but soon as the inhabitants discovered the inconvenience of the inclined sides, 
 and the want of upright space in the cone, they changed it for the cube ; and, 
 as it is supposed, proceeded in the following manner. 
 
 Having, says Vitruvius, marked out the space to be occupied by the hut, 
 thev fixed in the ground several upright trunks of trees to form the sides, 
 filling the intervals between them with branches closely interwoven and spread 
 over with clay. The sides thus completed, four beams were laid on the upright 
 trunks, which being well fastened together at the angles of their junction, 
 kept the sides firm, and likewise served to support the covering or roof of the 
 building, composed of smaller trees placed horizontally like joists, upon which 
 were laid several beds of reeds, leaves and earth or clay.f 
 
 Bv degrees other improvements took jjlace, and means were ibund to make 
 the fabric lasting, neat and handsome, as well as convenient. The bark and 
 other protuberances were taken from the trees that formed the sides, these 
 trees were raised above the dirt and humidity on stones, were covered at the 
 
 * Diod. Siuulus, lib. i. sect. 4.'). Koi rut; o/iciyireij; Ik rCiv KitXiiiiuiv KaraaKiviiliiaOm. — [Ed.] 
 t Vitruvius, lib. ii. c. 1. Struljo, lib. iv. Tai'itus df Moiibus Germ. — [Kd.]
 
 Tlj . 
 
 Tim rniMITIVL jBt/ILDryGS fee. 
 
 ITtf Fir^'-t ^crt cf ffiiti 
 
 The Secend scrz cf Shitj- 
 
 Th- ™.>-i? ,f .,-- r^ fff.f. ifJir-h .-!T' Nrth 
 
 TheDr 
 
 ••:.• rr.jpr.ui .'.'.r /rf^jT'\ 
 
 JTte^riiTh/i/eef-dteJhtifU of JITtascus ta.i&hfru . 
 
 T' 
 
 WCKEn* ad. ur C(iftaiU.'L-5 iaf . 
 
 J.Rcff* sc. 
 
 RiMfA^ /m thf tropriftrrs of tht Bntldinff Ncv^r 
 
 SIR Wt L L t 
 
 AM CHAMBERS TREATISE. 
 
 Pr\«T«3&.na Xea< By C F.l7b*^» *i^*^a 'UtX.^r.
 
 PUOGRESS Ol' nUlLDING. 81 
 
 top w itli othei" stones, and firmly bound round at both ends with osier or cords 
 to secure them from splitting. Tiic spaces between the joists of the roof were 
 tlosed up with day or wax, and the ends of them either smoothed or covered 
 with boards. Tlie different Ijcds of materials that composcul the covering were 
 cut straight at the caves, and distinguished from each other by different pro- 
 jections. The form of the roof too was altered ; for being, on account of its 
 flatness, unfit to throw off the rains which sometimes fell in great abundance, 
 it was raised in the middle on trees disposed like rafters, after the form of a 
 gable roof. 
 
 This construction, simple as it appears, probably gave birth to most of the 
 parts that now adorn our buildings, particularly to the orders, which mav bo 
 considered as the basis of the whole decorative part of architecture, for when 
 structures of wood were set aside, and men began to erect solid stately edifices 
 of stone, having nothing nearer to imitate, they naturally copied the parts 
 which necessity introduced in tlie primitive hut* ; insomuch that the upright 
 trees, with the stones and cordage at each end of them, were the origin of 
 columns, bases and capitals ; the beams and joists gave rise to architraves and 
 friezes, with their triglyphs and metopes ; and the gable roof was the origin of 
 pediments, as the beds of materials forming the covering, and the rafters 
 supporting them, were of cornices with their corona, their mutules, modillions, 
 and dentils. 
 
 That trees were tlie originals of columns seems evident, from some very 
 ancient Egyptian ruins still existing ; in which are seen columns composed of 
 many small trees tied together with bandages to form one strong pillar, which, 
 before stone was in use, became a necessary operation in a country where no 
 large timber was to be had, and in which the stupendous size of their structures 
 constituted the principal merit. Herodotus describes a stately stone building 
 
 * .Sec the Scriptures («), Homer (4), Herodotus (c), Strabo (d), Diodorus Siculus (e), I'ausanias (f), 
 Pliny (g-), Justin (A), Quiiitus Curtius (0- 
 
 (a) See preceding notes p. 77, and Daniel, iv. 30. Gen. .x. 11. Jonah iii. 3, 4. .and iv. 1 1. on Nineveh ; 
 — whose size was such that there were in it more than six-score thousand persons wlio could not discern 
 -between their right hand and their left hand, and also much cattle. 
 
 (i) Iliad I. 381. 
 
 (c) Herodotus, lib. i. 
 
 (fl) Strabo, lib. xvi; also Arrian. dc Exped. Alex. lib. vii. 
 
 (<■) Diodorus, lib. i. ii 
 
 (/) Pausanias, lib. viii. 33. 
 
 (g) Plin. lib. xxxvi. sect. xvii. 
 
 (h) .Justin, lib. i. cap. 2. 
 
 (i) Quintu»Curtiui=, lib. v. c. 1. — [Ed.]
 
 82 OF THE ORIGIN AND 
 
 which stood in the court of the temple of Minerva at Sais, the columns of which 
 were made to imitate palm-trees. 
 
 The form of the bundle pillar* above mentioned, though deriving its existence 
 from necessity, is far from disagreeable. It was evidently a beauty in the eyes 
 of the ancient Egyptians, since it was imitated by them in stone. And it seems 
 more natural to suppose that fluted columns owe their origin to the intermediate 
 hollows between the trees composing these pillars, than to the folds of a 
 woman's garment, to which they have but very little resemblance. 
 
 Vitruvius, the only remaining ancient writer upon the decorative part of 
 architecture, ascribes almost every invention in that art to the Greeks — as if 
 till the time of Dorus it had remained in its infant state, and nothing had till 
 then appeared worth notice ; and most, if not all the modern authors, have 
 echoed the same doctrine. Yet, if ancient history be credited, the Egyptians, 
 Assyrians, Babylonians, and other nations of I'cmote antiquity, had exhibited 
 wonders in the art of building even before the Grecians were a people. f 
 
 It must indeed be confessed, that though the works of the Asiatic nations 
 were astonishing in point of size and extent, yet in other respects they were of 
 a nature calculated rather to give a high idea of the power and wealth of the 
 founders, than of their skill or taste. We plainly see that all their notions of 
 grandeur were confined to dimension, and all their ideas of elegance or beauty 
 
 * Stone as a material in building, was not likelj' to succeed to the wood of the huts mentioned by 
 the author. The cutting and dressing it must have taken considerable time to conquer. Bricks dried in 
 the sun, most probably followed timber as a material for enclosures. These indeed were employed in 
 building the tower of Rabel. " And they said one to another, go to, let us make brick, and burn them 
 thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar." Gen. xi. 3. Rrick was much 
 used at a remote period among the Egyptians. Exod. i. 14. v. 7. — [Ed.] 
 
 It is an inference by no means clear or necessary, that the basis of decorative architecture is indebted 
 to the earlier timber framework for its origin — iiiasmiicli as the step between the Iiut and the Grecian 
 Temple is, if the Greeks gained any knowledge of the art from the Egyptians, whicli it is presumed cannot 
 be denied, the flat roofed Temple of Egypt, in whose large hollowed crown moulding, mutules or blocks are 
 not readily traced. It is not meant to mislea<l the student by denying the hypothesis ; he is only cautioned 
 against an admission of it entirely, without much more research than can lie entered into here of the 
 current story on this point which has been so generally adopted. It is doubtless from the covering of roofs 
 with timber, that the pediment has its origin, but this was proliably at a late period and at a time when the 
 art was considerably advanced. The student will do well to read carefully the chapters on Architecture in 
 Goguet'.B " Origine dcs Lois." — [Ed.] 
 
 t The favourite system of reducing each component part of an order to its corresponding type in an 
 assemblage of timbers, is one which, at this distant period from the origin of the ai-t, is, to say the least of 
 it, not likely to prove satisfactory. The timber system has had its admirers in these later days, even in 
 Gothic architecture, whose invention is so much nearer our own time, sec the wood and wicker churches ni 
 Sir James IlaH's "Essay on the Origin, History and Principles of Gothic architecture," 4to, Lend. 1813. 
 Rut the result has not been attendeil with conviction. — [Ed.] •
 
 PROGRESS OF BUILDING. 83 
 
 to richness of materials or gaudiness of colouring. Wc observe a barrenness of 
 fancy in their compositions, a simplicity and sameness in their forms, peculiar 
 to primitive inventions. But even in the early works of the Egyptians, beside 
 their prodigious dimensions, there are evident marks of taste and fancy.. It is 
 in them we trace the first ornamental forms in architecture, and to their 
 builders we arc most probably indebted for the invention of columns, bases, 
 capitals and entablatures. Wc likewise read of roofs supported by figures of 
 colossal men and animals* in the works of the Egyptians, several ages before 
 the introduction of Persians or Caryatides in the structures of Greece, and of 
 temples adorned with stately porticoes, enriched with columns and sculpture, 
 and built before there were any temples in Greece. 
 
 Hence it may be inferred that the Grecians were not the inventors of orna- 
 mental architecture, but had that art, as well as their religion and gods, from the 
 Egyptians — or from the Phoenicians their nearer neighbours, whose skill in arts 
 is said to have been anterior to theirs — though both were of Egyptian origin. 
 
 Diodorus Siculus observesf, that the Egyptian priests proved, both by 
 their sacred records and also by other undoubted testimonies, that not only the 
 poets and philosophers of Greece travelled anciently into Egypt to collect their 
 knowledge, but also their architects and sculptors, and that everything in 
 which the Grecians excelled, and for which they were famous, was originally 
 carried from Egypt into Greece. 
 
 The Phoenicians however were very early celebrated for their proficiency 
 in the arts of design, | and there is no doubt but the Greeks availed themselves 
 of their inventions. 
 
 We are told that Hiram§ made two capitals for the pillars Jachin and 
 
 * See subsequent note uniler the section on Persians and Caryatides. — [Kd.] 
 
 f Kaiwep yap rqg X'"P''S ^^ iraXaiov roig ^ivois cvaimSarov oiJ(Ti;<; cid rdg 7rpoitpt]fieva<; airiag o/iuig 
 iairivaav ilg avT>)v TrapafioXeTi', tCjv fiiv apxaLoraruiv Opipivg, Kai 6 !roiijr/;£ O^ripog' ruiv Sk niTaytvianpuiv aXXoi 
 Ti irXilovg Kai IlvOayopas 6 Sa/iiof, m Sk (coi SoKuiv i vo/ioOirTig. Died. Sic., lib. i. — [Ed.] 
 
 J 1 Kings, V. 6. 
 
 " lis s'appliquercnt a cultiver Ics arts, et bicutut ils y firent Ics plus grands progrcs." Goguet, Origine 
 des Lois, Ire Epoque, liv. iv. The Tyrian dye is sufficiently celebrated. See on this point Bochart 
 Phaleg. lib. iv. 35. 
 
 § Kings, vii. 13, 14.—" And King Solomon sent and fetched Ilirani out of Tyre. He was a widow's 
 son of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in brass : and he 
 was filled with wisdom and understanding, and cunning to work all works in brass. — And he 
 came to King Solomon, and wrought all his work. For he cast two pillars of brass, of 
 eighteen cubits high a piece : and a line of twelve cubits did compass either of them about," 
 et seq. By the diagram in the margin constructeil on the text, it is evident that the pro- 
 portions were similar to those of the Egyptian column. The lily-work mentioned as decora- 
 ting the chapitei(^will no less bring to the reader's mind, the lotus leaves found in almost all 
 the Egyptian capitals.— [Ed.] ,, ^„,,^^ 
 
 CircuinftireDce.
 
 84 OF THE ORIGIN AND 
 
 Boaz, in Solomon's temple ; which, as fai* as can be collected from the accounts 
 given of them in several parts of Scripture, very much resembled the Corintliiau 
 capital both in form and proportions, though executed some centuries before 
 Callimachus is reported by Vitruvius to have invented it at Corinth. The 
 cherubim of Hiram too, and the colossal figures of men and animals in the 
 structures of the Egyptians, were prior inventions, and undoubtedly suggested 
 to the Greeks tlieir ideas of Persians and Carvatides. 
 
 And though architecture is certainly indebted to the Grecians for con- 
 siderable improvements, yet it may with confidence be averred that they never 
 brought the art to its utmost degree of excellence. The art of building, says 
 Leon Baptista Alberti,* " sprang up and spent its adolescent state in Asia ;• 
 after a certain time it flowered in Greece, and finally acquired perfect maturity 
 in Italy among the Romans." And whether we call to mind the descriptions- 
 given by ancient writers of Nineveh, Babvlon, Thebes, Memphis, the Egvptian 
 pyramids, the sepulchres of their kings, their temples, and other public monu- 
 ments, or contemplate, among the Roman works, their palaces, amphitheatres, 
 baths, villas, bridges, mausoleums, and numerous other yet existing testimonies- 
 of their splendour ; it must candidly be confessed that the Grecians have been 
 far excelled by other nations, not only in the magnitude and grandeur of their 
 structures, but likewise in point of fancy, ingenuity, varietv, and elegant 
 selection. 
 
 How distant the Grecians were from perfection in proportions, in the art 
 of profiling, and other parts of the detail, will soon be evidiMit to anv impartial 
 exaniincr, who compares the publications of Le Roi, Stuart, Revett, and other 
 
 * Luonis I)ai)tist;u Alljerti, Flcirt'iitiui, Libri de llo ,Kdirn.';Uiiria Dcoeiu, lib. vi. c. :i. 
 
 Alberti, an eminent Italian architect, and one of the earliest scholars that appeared on the revival of 
 letters, was born at Venice in the end of the fom-teenth or beginning of the lifteenth century. Jlili/.ia 
 gives the year 1398 as that of his birth. He died about l-47i. In 1447 he became a canon of Santa 
 Maria del Fioro at Florence — in the conduct of the works of whiih f.d)ric he succeeded BrunoUescbi. He 
 was one of the restorers of pure architecture in Italy, which abounds with his works. — ^The Church of San 
 Francesco at Himini is considered his best. The works of Alberti, written in Latin, are — His Dialogue, 
 entitled, " Momus dc Princi|)0," Rome, 1520. — "Trivia, sive de causis senatoriis," 4to. Basil, 1538. — He 
 composed 100 "Fables" or Apologues, and a poem, entitled " IIecatomphilc,"on the art of Love, which was 
 translated by Bartoli into Italian 15G8, and into French in 1534 and 1584. Many treatises on rhilosophy, 
 Mathematics, and Antii[uity. One on Sculpture, and another "De I'ictura, iM-iustuntissima et nnn(|uam 
 satis luuflata arte." His treatise " De lie ..Ddificatoria," was first published by his brother Bernard after his 
 death, fol. Florence, 1485. It is addressed by Politian to Lorenzo de Medici, by wIkmu il was palroiused- 
 Another edition in 4to. was printed in Paris, \.)12. It was translated into Italian by Peter Lauro, small 
 4to. Venice, 154G, Clialmer's liiog. Diet, .says 1549; by C'osimo Bartoli, (bl. Florence, 1550, and into 
 English by James Lconi, from the Italian of Bartoli, 3 vols. In\. l.undun, IT'.Mi ; in one vol. 1755. 'J'lie last 
 edition was printed nt Bologna, 1782. Vasari attributes to Alli'/rti the invention of the camera obscura. —
 
 PROGRESS OF BUILDING. 
 
 85 
 
 ingenious Levantine travellers* with the antiquities of the Romans, either on 
 the spot, or as they have been given in books, by Palladio, Scrlio, Dcsgodetz, 
 Sandrart, Pirancsi, and other authors. Tlic last of those here mentioned has 
 
 • It i.s but tUIr to yivc tlio un.swcr of Mr. AVilley Kovcloy, to the remarks which the author thought 
 right to uiake on (rreciau architecture, with a. caution, however, to the reader again.st a lielief tliat Sir 
 Williaui Cliambers would have been fearful of entering the lists during Stuart's lifetime, iui insinuation 
 which the ingenious editor of the third volume of ' Stuart's Athens' has, perhaps, in the heat of the contro- 
 versy, inadvertently thrown out. 
 
 " Though I can add nothing to the high roput<ation of Grecian art, it seems incumbent upon me, as 
 having superintended the publication of the present work, not to pass wholly unnoticed the obsei-vations 
 which have been lately given to the world by Sir AV. Chambers on this subject — observations which have so 
 little foundation in real facts or in just taste as must detract greatly from his weight and consequence as an 
 author, and produce a general regi-et, amongst those best acquainted with the subject, that a work of such 
 real merit should labour under so unfavouriible a prejudice. What, indeed, but the most determined 
 antipathy could have led him to the extremity of attempting utterly to e.xelude the architectural produc- 
 tions of the Grecians from the studies of the artist ? Thus it is that men are ever prone to undervalue the 
 a<lvantages they do not possess ; and it is with equal propriety that other artists might represent travelling 
 as wholly unnecessary, and maintain that prints and descriptions convey as complete a knowledge of the 
 most celebrated buildings of antiquity as actual inspection. Crude and incoherent attemjits at execution 
 would then bring the art itself into contempt." Stuart and Revetfs Antiq. of Athens. Vol. III. Lond. 
 1794. Prciacc, p. x. 
 
 Again, Preface, p. xi : " The task of replying to the arguments and insinuations of this autlior would 
 BO doubt have been performed by jSIr. Stuart had they been published in his lifetime, as Sir William seems 
 to have first intended (p. 2G, Sir W. C). But they were kept back from the public till the death of that 
 indefatigable and valuable traveller. I feel it therefore incumbent upon me to defend him against this 
 posthumous attack." 
 
 Same page, we have " Sir William has taken his notions on Grecian architecture from ' books .md 
 prints ' only, expressly contrary to his own advice to students, and has been guided by the imperfect speci- 
 mens of Le Roi, who, though an ingenious author, is well known to have visited Greece in the most rapid 
 and cursory manner, and has therefore fallen, as might be expected, into the most glaring en-ors. A 
 flagrant instance of Sir W^.'s inaccuracy occurs where he speaks of the Lantern of Demosthenes and the 
 Parthenon, wliich, by mentioning together, he treats as if they were similar, and respecting which he aflirms, 
 in direct contradiction to the fact, that the Parthenon is not so considerable as the church of St. Jlartin-in- 
 the-fields. The comparative dimensions of each are as follows : — 
 
 
 St. Mai-tin's. 
 
 Furthenon. 
 
 Kxcess in tavour 
 ol Hie Parthenon. 
 
 Xicn^rth 
 
 ¥t. In. 
 
 IGl 9 
 
 80 9 
 
 33 4 
 
 3 4 
 
 IG 
 
 7 4 
 
 40 8 
 
 G6 10 
 
 Ft. 111. 
 227 7 
 101 1 
 34 2-8 
 6 1-8 
 .58 
 11 2-8 
 45 5-6 
 101 1 
 
 Ft. In. 
 63 10 
 
 Breadth 
 
 '>0 4 
 
 Hei'^ht of Columns 
 
 10-8 
 
 
 2 9-8 
 
 
 
 Ileightof the Entablature — supposed jths of the Column 
 
 Height of the whole Order 
 
 abt. 3 10 
 .5 O'G 
 
 Breadth of Portico 
 
 34 3 
 
 
 
 " The measures of both are taken' on the upper step. Artists who ever saw an antique temple or ever 
 read Vitruvius, know that St. Martin's Church, though one of the best in London, is no more than a very 
 
 N
 
 86 OF THE ORIGIN AND 
 
 published a parallel between the fairest monuments of Greece and Rome, which 
 is recommended to the inspection and perusal of those who have not vet seen it. 
 
 Indeed, none of the few things now existing in Greece, though so pom- 
 pously described and neatly represented in various publications of our time, seem 
 to deserve great notice, either for dimensions, grandeur of style, rich fancy, 
 or elegant taste of design ; nor do they seem calculated to throw new light 
 upon the art, or to contribute towards its advancement, not even those erected 
 by Pericles or Alexander, while the Grecian arts flourished most ; neither 
 the famous lantern of Demosthenes, nor the more famous* Parthenon, which, 
 though not so considerable as the church of St. Martin, in St. Martin's Lane, 
 exclusive of its elegant spire, had for its architects Phidias, Callicrates, and 
 Ictinus ; was the boast of Athens ; and excited the envy and murmurs of all 
 Greece. We find indeed, in Pliny and other ancient writers very pompous descrip- 
 tions of temples, such as that of Apollo at Miletus, of Ceres and Proserpine at 
 Eleusis, of the Olympian Jupiter at Athens, and above all, of Diana at Ephesus, 
 one of the seven wonders of the world. But if the Grecian architecture was 
 defective in the time of Alexander, it must have been more so some centuries 
 earlier ; and concerning temples built in bogs,f and founded upon wool to resist 
 earthquakes, and of which the stones were set with sandbags, some doubts 
 may be indulged, as well as of those made of wax,| yet resisting the ardor of a 
 Grecian sun ; or those of brass, yet catching fire and melting down. 
 
 At first sight it may appear extraordinary that a people so renowned in 
 arms, so celebrated for poetry, rhetoric, and every sort of polite learning, and 
 who carried sculpture further than any of the ancient nations, should be so 
 deficient in architecture ; yet, upon further consideration, many reasons will 
 occur why it necessarily should be so : Greece, a country small in itself, was 
 divided into a number of little states, none of them very powerful, populous, or 
 
 inferior imitation of the Greek Prostyle temple, ami will not enter into the sli<:;htcst degree of comparison 
 with the chaste grandeur, the dignified simplicity and sublime efTeot of the Parthenon." 
 
 This note has already extended to such length that the reader must refer to the pages of Mr. Keveley's 
 preface for the remainder of the contest, they are too long to extract; it is therefore closed liy observing 
 that the advocates of what may be truly called the sublime architecture of Greece seem to forget the lines 
 of Virgil : 
 
 I''i-axiiiu3 in .'jylvis pulehcrrima, pinus in iiortis, 
 I'opulus in (luviis, abios in montil)US altis ; 
 
 and that the deposit of a Greek temple in the streets of London cannot be consiilered a mark of good taste; 
 or if it be, that the Banqueting House at Whitehall ought to be held up in derision. — [Ed.] 
 
 * Plutarch in Pericl. — [Ki>.] 
 
 t Pliny, lib. xxxvi. cap. 14. — [Ed.] 
 
 { Pausanias I'hocid. c. 6. — [Ed.]
 
 PROGRESS OF BUILDING. 87 
 
 rich, so that they could attempt no very considerable works in architecture, 
 having neither the space, the hands, nor the treasures that would have been 
 necessary. " It must be owned," says Monsieur D'Ablancourt,* " that Greece, 
 even in the zenith of her greatness, had more ambition than power : we find 
 Athens flattering herself with the conquest of the universe, yet unable to 
 defend her own territories against the incursions of her neighbours ; and who 
 can refrain from laughter at the Lacedemonians — rivals in fame with the 
 Athenians, vet in despair, and reduced to sue for peace by the loss of four 
 hundred men !" The lake of Mccris would have deluged all Pelojjonnesus, and 
 ruined all Greece ; Babylon would have covered Attica, and more men had 
 been employed to build that city than there were inhabitants in all the 
 Grecian states. The Egyptian labyrinth was a hundred times larger than 
 that pf Crete, and more materials have been employed in one of the Egyptian 
 pyramids than were used in all the public structures of Athens. 
 
 If at the same time it be recollected that Greece, while divided into many 
 governments, was constantly harassed with domestic wars, and, from its union, 
 always in an unsettled situation ; that an uncommon simplicity of manners 
 prevailed among the Grecian states, and the strictest maxims of equality were 
 zealously adhered to in most of them, it will be easy to account for the small 
 progress made by the Greeks in architecture. Demosthenesf observes, that 
 the houses of Aristides, Miltiades, or any other of the great men of their time, 
 were no finer than those of thinr neighbours, such was their moderation, and 
 so steadily did they adhere to the ancient manners of their country. One of 
 the laws of Lycurgus ordained that the ceilings of houses should only be 
 wrousfht bv an axe, and their grates and doors be left rou<>:h from the saw — -no 
 other tools than these being permitted, which law was so scrupulously observed 
 among the Lacedemonians that, when King Leotychidas saw, at Corinth, a 
 ceiling, of which the timbers were neatly wrought, it was so new a sight to him 
 that he asked his host, if trees grew square in that country. It seems, indeed, 
 as if these sumptuary laws of Lycurgus had made a general impression, and 
 inspired the Greeks rather with contempt than veneration for splendid 
 
 * Nicholas Perrot, Sieur d'Ablancourt, a man, says Bayle, more celebrated for his Translations than 
 his original productions, was born in 160G, and died in 1664. He published Versions of many ancient 
 authors, among which were the works of Tacitus, Lucian, Cfesar, Thucydides and Arrian. See his Thucy- 
 dides for the quotation of the author ; and for a list of his worlis, Moreri's Diet. — [Ed.] 
 
 ■\ Demosthenes merely mentions the great frugality of Aristides, saying nothing respecting hi.s private 
 dwelling. The houses of Tliemistocles and Miltiades are alluded to in the Oratio adv. Ai-istocratem. The 
 words are, TeKfti'ipwv U 9tiu<TroK\eovs fiiv yrip oUiav, xai ri/v Mikndlov, Kai tuiv toti Xa/inpuiv, tirif dpa dlSev 
 vfiuiv oTToia TTOT tffrij/, 00^ TUIV TToWutv ovSiv atfivorepav ovaaV' — [El*-] 
 
 N 2
 
 88 OF THE ORIGIN AND 
 
 structures ; even in their best time they accounted it an effeminate folly to 
 be ostentatious in that respect. " All the states of Greece," says Plutarch, 
 " clamoured loudly against Pericles for decorating Athens like a vain fantastic 
 woman, and adorning it with statues and temples, which* cost a thousand 
 talents. "t 
 
 What magnificence the Grecians displayed in their structures was 
 confined to their public buildings, which were chiefly temples, wherein there 
 appears to have been nothing very surprising cither for dimensions, ingenuity of 
 contrivance, or excellence of workmanship. Greece, almost constantly the 
 theatre of war, abounded not like Italy in magnificent villas, where the 
 richest productions of art were displayed. Their public roads were not 
 adorned with mausoleums to commemorate their heroes, nor the towns with 
 arches or bridges to celebrate their triumphs. The Grecian theatres were 
 inconsiderable, compared with those of the Romans ; the naumachia; and 
 amphitheatres unknown amongst them, as were also the thermae in which the 
 Romans affected so much splendor. 
 
 In latter times, indeed, the Greeks, particularly the Athenians, abated of 
 their original severity : the orator above mentioned observes that, in his time 
 there were some private houses more magnificent than public edifices ; but 
 this does not appear to have been very common, and consequently could not be 
 productive of much additional splendor ; even Alcibiades, the most luxurious 
 Greek of his time, for he was accused of wearing a purple cloak, and of 
 sleeping upon a bed with a canvas bottom, doth not seem to have been better 
 lodged than other Athenians, excepting that his house was painted. 
 
 Since, therefore, the Grecian structures arc neither the most considerable, 
 most varied, nor most perfect ; it follows that our knowledge ought not to be 
 collected from them, but from some purer, more abundant source, which, in 
 whatever relates to the ornamental part of the art, can be no other than the 
 Roman antiquity yet remaining in Italy, France, or elsewhere — vestiges of 
 buildhigs erected in the politest ages by the wealthiest, most splendid, and 
 powerful people of the world, who, after having removed to Rome, from 
 Carthage, Sicily, Egypt, and Greece, the rarest productions of the arts of 
 
 * The Parllicnon is said to have cost a tliousaml talents, not ([uito so much as was cxpcnilod in onions 
 and rttdiahes at tlie building of a pjraniid. Sec Diodorus Siculus («). 
 
 t " 'iianip iWa'iii'a yvvtuKa jr(()<o7rrii/i()';ji' \iOinr 7roXiiriXi7r, »:«i fiyiiX/iorn, Kai iHoi'i; x'^'oraXtivToir.'' — 
 Plutarcbi Pericles. — [Ei>.] 
 
 («) Lib. i. 'EiriyiypawTcii c' ijri riji; /iii'^'oyof to 7r\i)""'; ruit' ui'(i\iMi'Tiov x(»)/<''"uv we 'I'f Xiix'ni'" "ni
 
 PROGRESS OF BUILDING. 89 
 
 design ; as also the ablest artists of the times, were constantly cmployetl, during 
 many centuries, in the construction of all kinds of edifices that cither use, 
 convenience, luxury or splendor required. Pliny* informs us that the works 
 of the Komans wore much more considerable than those of any other people ; 
 that in the course of thirty-five years more than a hundred sumptuous palaces 
 had been erected in Home, the most inconsiderable of which was tit for the 
 residence of a king, and that in his own time, the time of Vespasian, there 
 were a great number much more splendid than any of the hundred above 
 mentioned. The palaces of Caligula and Nero were in extent like towns, and 
 enriched with everything that the most exquisite taste and the most unbounded 
 liberalitv could suogest. 
 
 Co 
 
 The Romans began early to cultivate architecture : several considerable 
 works were erected by their kings, and many more during the magistracy of 
 their consuls. Julius Cajsar was passionately fond of that art ; and, besides 
 the buildings erected by him in Ilome,f " he embellished with considerable 
 structures," says Suetonius, " the principal cities of Italy, France, Spain, Asia, 
 and Greece."! Augustus boasted on his death-bed that he had converted 
 Rome into a city of marble :§ he not only built much himself, but excited his 
 friends, to follow the example ; and Meca^nas, his favourite and minister, was 
 the patron of arts, as well as of letters. 
 
 Caligula|| and Nero^ were, to the utmost, splendid in their buildings. 
 The latter carried his passion for architecture, as it is said, even to the 
 exti'avagant excess of burning Rome, that he might have the pleasure of 
 
 * Pliny in his 36th book, to Tyhich the reader must refer ibr a more extended account, dilates on the 
 magnificence of tlie city. Speaking of the palace of Lepidus, which at the time of its construction was 
 considered in the first rank, he says : " At hercule intra aimos xxxv eadem centesimuni locum non 
 obtinuit." Plin. Hist. Nat. 4to. Delph. 1G85. Tom. v. p. 311.— [Ed.] 
 
 ■f Nam de ornanda instruendiiijue urbe, item de tuendo ampliandoquc impcrio, plm'a ac majora in dies 
 Jestinabat. In priuiis JNIartis Templum, quantum nusquara csset, exstrucre, rcpleto et complanato lacu in 
 quo naumachise spectaculura ediderat ; theatrumijue sumraaj magnitudinis Tarpeio monti adcubans. 
 Suetonius in Vita Jul. C;csaris, sect. 44; see also sect. 36. Dio Cassius, lib. xliii. cap. 22, 2.5. Plin. 
 xxxvi. 15, &c. — [Ed.] 
 
 I Superque Italia;, Galliarumquo ot Ilispaniarum, Asia^ quoque et Gra:cia; potentissimas urbes pra;ci- 
 puis opei-ibus exornans. Suetonius in Viti Jul. Cajsaris, sect. 28. — [Ed.] 
 
 § Urbem neque pro majestate imperii omatam, et inundationibus incendiisque obnoxiam, excoluit adeo, 
 ut jure sit gloriatus, marmoream se relinquere, quara latericiam accepisset. Suetonius, Ca;sar Octavian. 
 sect. 28. Dio Cassius, lib. li. c. 22 : liii. c. 1, 2, 27 : liv. c. 25, 26 : Iv. c. 8, 12 : Ivi. c. 25, 27.— [Ed.] 
 
 II Suetonius, Ca:3. Calig. lib. iv. sect. 21, 22, 37. Dio Cassius, lib. v. c. 7. 
 
 ^ Forraara a;dificlorum urbis novam excogitavit : et ut ante insulas ac domos porticus essent, de 
 quarum solariis incendia arcerentur : casque sumtu suo exstruxit. Suetonius, Nero, sect. 16, 31 also, 
 wherein is an account of the Domus Aurea, 38. Suetonius, Vita Neronis. Dio Cassius, lib. Ixii. c. 16, 18.
 
 90 OF THE ORIGIN AND 
 
 rebuilding it with greater regularity and magnificence, which he after- 
 wards did. 
 
 During the reigns of Claudius,* Vespasian,f Titus,| Domitian,§ and 
 Nerva, many very considerable public works were erected both at Rome and 
 in other parts of the Roman dominions ; and Vespasian not only re-edified the 
 capitol with greater magnificence than before, but also all the other public 
 buildinsfs of Rome, which had suffered bv the outrages of the Vitellians. He 
 obliged the proprietors of ruined houses to rebuild them, and caused to be 
 erected several new edifices of great cost and magnificence, such as the Temple 
 of Peace, the largest covered building of antiquity ; another, dedicated to 
 Minerva, of the richest and most exquisite workmanship ever exhibited in 
 Rome, the first artists then alive having been employed to paint, carve, and 
 incrustate the same. He also built the largest amphitheatre in the world, 
 capable of containing eighty thousand spectators, and many other works of less 
 note. His care and munificence extended themselves in like manner to all 
 other parts of the Roman empire, in which he erected new cities and towns, 
 repaired, adorned, and fortified such as were old or ruinous. 
 
 Titus, his successor, was so attentive to the beauty of his metropolis that, 
 when a dreadful fire had destroyed many of its temples and public buildings, 
 he resolved to re-edify them at his own charge, with all possible expedition, 
 disposing of the furniture and ornaments of his own palaces to defray the 
 expense. Death prevented the completion of his intentions ; but Domitian 
 finished what he had left undone, and also adorned Rome with many new 
 structures, particularly with a palace, surprising for the magnificence of its 
 colonnades, the number of its rooms, the splendor of its baths and female 
 apartments. His love for building was such that he wished to be another 
 Midas, to the end that he might indulge his passion without control. 
 
 Trajan, in whose reign the Roman empire was in its most flourishing- 
 state, cultivated all the arts of design, and with the assistance of the celebrated 
 Apollodorus, his principal architect, executed many very considerable works. 
 He erected a bridge of stone over the Danube, sixty feet wide, one hundred 
 and fifty feet high, and almost two miles in length. He also built several 
 cities among the Dacians, embellished Rome and other parts of Italy with 
 
 • Dio Cassius, lib. Ivi. c. 10, 13. 
 
 f Ibid. lib. Ixvi. c. 15. Suetonius, lib. viii. c. H, 9, 18. 
 
 J Suetonius, lib. viii. c. 8. 
 
 § IbiJ. Viti Domitinni, c. 5, "Pluriiiia ct auipli.ssima opoiii iiiocinlio ab.<iiiiila rostituil," liut he 
 deprived the founders of all sbnre of praise, "Omnia suli lilulo liiiituiii sun, nc tiiiie ulla juisliiii auctoris 
 nieniorid."
 
 PROGRESS OF BUILDING. 91 
 
 many public edifices, rebuilt Antioch, which had been almost totally destroyed 
 by an earthquake, and also repaired many other towns in Syria that suffered at 
 the same time bv the same calamity.* 
 
 Adrian, f whose skill in diffei'cnt branches of polite knowledge is well 
 known, particularly in the arts of design, embellished various parts of the 
 Roman empire with splendid and beautiful structures, such as his bridge and 
 mausoleum at Rome, his villa near Tivoli, his wall in Britain, which extended 
 from the river Eden in Cumberland to the Tyne in Northumberland ; many 
 temples and other public buildings in Gaul, in Greece, and in Africa, where 
 he re-edified a considerable part of Carthage. He also rebuilt Jerusalem 
 which Titus had demolished about sixty years before, and erected, in Egypt, a 
 stately pillar to the memory of Pompey; 
 
 Antoninus PiusJ re-edified a great part of Rome, Narbonne, Antioch, and 
 Carthage, all which cities had suffered considerably by fire. And it was his 
 custom whenever anv damage happened to a city by an earthquake, a fire, an 
 inundation, or other calamitous accidents, to repair it with money taken out of 
 the public treasurv. He greatly improved the ports of Terracina and Gaeta, 
 built considerable baths at Ostia, aqueducts at Antium, temples at Lavinium ; 
 and all must be sensible how powerfully the example of princes operates upon 
 the minds of their subjects, inspires the same passions, and excites to the same 
 pursuits. 
 
 In short, architectui-e continued to flourish among the Romans, though 
 with abated lustre, till Constantino removed the seat of empire to Byzantium, 
 
 * Dio Cassius, Lib. Ixviii. c. 13, where the reader will find au account of this extraordinary bridge. 
 See also the same book, c. 15 and 16, for other works by him. His architect, ApoUodorus, is mentioned in 
 a subsequent note. — [Ed.] 
 
 t Dio Cassius, Lib. Ixix. c. 16. iElius Spartianus, in vita Adrian! Csesaris. Hist. Aug. Scriptores, 
 Lug. Bat. 1671, p. 179 et seq.— [Ed.] 
 
 { Opera ejus hicc extant RomaB, Tcmplum Adrian! honor! patris dicatum, C4ra;co-stadium post incen- 
 dium restitutum, instauratum amphitheatrum, Sepulchrum Adrian!, Templum Agrippa;, Pons Sublicius, 
 Phari restitutio, Cajeta; portus, Tarracinensis portus restitutio, Lavacrum Ostiense, Antiatum aquaeductus, 
 Templa Lanuviana. Multas etiam civitates adjuvit pecunia, ut opera vel nova facerent, vel Vetera resti- 
 tuerent. .Julius Capitolinus, Vita Antonini Pii. 
 
 "In less than a century Constantinople disputed with Rome itself the pre-eminence of riches and 
 numbers," A.D. 334, Gibbon's Decline and Fall, Vol. 111. 8vo. edit. But taste and skill were on the 
 wane. In another part he states that " The magistrates of the most distant provinces were therefore 
 directed to institute schools, to appoint professors, and, by the hopes of rewards and privileges, to engage in 
 the study and practice of architecture a sufficient number of ingenious youths who had received a liberal 
 education. The buildings of the new city were executed by such artificers as the reign of Constantine 
 could afford." " To revive the genius of Phidias and Lysippus surpassed indeed the power of a Roman 
 Emperor." Ibid. At a later period, namely, in the time of Justinian, the church of St. Sophia showed an 
 accession of skill, which, however, wanted art to captivate. — [Ed.]
 
 92 OF THE ORIGIN AND 
 
 and the number of stately structures with which Rome and the Roman 
 dominions abounded is almost incredible. Their very remains excite at this 
 day the astonishment and admiration of every judicious beholder, in spite of all 
 that length of time, wars, party rage, barbarism, casual events, superstition, 
 and avarice have done to destroy them. 
 
 In these remains there will be found abundant materials to work upon, 
 and form a complete system of decorative architecture. The labours of the 
 celebrated masters of the fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth centuries mav, 
 perhaps, be added to enrich the stock, and we may avail ourselves of their 
 labours to facilitate or shorten our own ; but it should always be remembered 
 that, though the stream may swell in its course by the intervention of other 
 supplies, yet it is purest at the fountain's head. And whoever aims at 
 being superiorly eminent in any profession must not receive his information at 
 second hand from others, but mount himself to the origin and reason of things. 
 " The man," says Michael Angelo, " who follows another always is behind, but 
 he who boldly strikes into a different path may climb as high as his competitor, 
 and though the road be somewhat more rugged, yet, if his efforts are crowned 
 with success, the reward will amply compensate for the risk and labour of the 
 enterprise." 
 
 An anonymous Italian writer observes, that the superiority of Raphael, 
 may perhaps be owing to his having been so universally admired and copied ; 
 that the modern sculptors never equalled the ancient, because they have done 
 nothing but imitate them ; and if, says he, all the ancient paintings hitherto 
 discovered arc inferior to the modern, it is perhaps owing to our painters not 
 having had the works of an Apelles to copy. 
 
 Nature is the supreme and true model of the imitative arts, upon which 
 every great artist must form his idea of the profession in which he means to 
 excel ; and the anticjuc is to the architect what nature is to the painter or 
 sculptor — the source from which his chief knowledge must be collected, the 
 model upon which his taste must be formed. 
 
 But as in nature few things are faultless, so neither must it be imagined 
 that every ancient production in architecture, even among the Romans, was 
 perfect or a fit model for iiuitatioii, as blind adorers of antiquity arc sometimes 
 disposed to believe. On the contrary their remains are so extremely unequal 
 that it requires the greatest circumspection and eftbrt of judgment to make a 
 liropor choice. The Roman arts, like those of other nations, had their rise, 
 their era of perfection, their decline. At Rome, as in London or Paris, there 
 were few great architects, but many very indifferent ones ; and the Romans
 
 PROGRESS OF BUILDING. 93 
 
 had their connoisseurs, as we have ours, who sometimes would dictate to the 
 artist, and cramp the fortunate sallies of his genius, force upon him and the 
 world their own whimsical productions, promote ignorant flatterers, discourage, 
 even oppress, honest merit. 
 
 Vitruvius, supposed to have lived in the Augustan age, complains loudly 
 of this hardship, and there is a rcmarkahle instance of the vindictive spirit 
 of an ancient connoisseur, in Adrian, wlio put to death the celebrated 
 x\pollodorus,* for having ventured a shrewd remark upon a temple designed 
 bv that Emperor, and built under his direction. 
 
 In the constructive part of architecture the ancients do not seem to have 
 been great proficients. I am inclined to believe that many of the deformities 
 observable in the Grecian buildings must be ascribed to their deficiency in 
 that particular, such as their gouty columns, their narrow intercolumniations, 
 their disproportionate architraves, their hypaithral temples, which tlicy 
 knew not how to cover, and their temples with a range of columns running 
 in the centre to support the roof, contrary to every rule either of beauty or 
 convenience. 
 
 Neither wore the Romans much more skilful ; the precepts of Vitruvius 
 and Pliny on that subject are imperfect, sometimes erroneous, and the strength 
 or duration of their structures is more owing to the tjuantity and goodness of 
 their materials than to any great art in putting them together. It is not 
 therefore from any of the ancient works that much information can be obtained 
 in that branch of the art. 
 
 To those usually called Gothic architects we are indebted for the first 
 considerable improvements in construction ; there is a lightness in their works, 
 an art and boldness of execution, to which the ancients never arrived, and 
 which the moderns comprehend and imitate with difficulty. England contains 
 
 * The story is to be found in Dio Cassiiis, Rcimari EJ. Hamburg, 17.32, fol. 1153. Hadrian liad .sent 
 tlie designs of a temple he proposed to build in lionour of Venus and Rome for the opinion of Apollodorus, 
 or ratlier to show the architect tliat lie could manage without his assistance, a bravado to which tlio artist 
 replied by observing that the building would be too low if the statues of the Goddesses should ever be 
 inclined to rise up from their seats for the purjiose of walking out to take the air, " av ydo «i S-««i, »>>;, 
 t?ni'n'7i(rT£(j^«i re cni i^cXiih' ijiXi'imomi', o» ("(iiz/jji'/iroiTai." Anotlicr anecdote of this independent architect, 
 from the same author, and just preceding what has just been alluded to, will perhaps be better given in the 
 words of Casaubon. Note on a passage of iElius Spartianus in his life of Hadrian. See tlie Historias 
 Augusta: Scriptores, "ApoUodoro architecto, do suis operibus aliquid cum Trajano communicant!, cepit 
 —airaXaXiiv et obstrepcre Hadi-ianus : cui architectus, Abi ct cucurhitas ypd<pt : nam horum uiliil sets. \'idetur 
 rcspexisse ad aliquam Hadi-iani tabulam ubi cucurbitas feliciter jiinxissct." — [Kr*.] 
 
 O
 
 94 OF THE ORIGIN AND 
 
 many magnificent examples of this species of architecture, equally admirable 
 for the art with which they are built, the taste and ingenuity with which they 
 are composed.* 
 
 One cannot refrain from wishing that the Gothic structures were more 
 considered, better understood, and in higher estimation, than they hitherto 
 seem to have been. Would our dilettanti, instead of importing the gleanings 
 of G-reece — or our antiquaries, instead of publishing loose incoherent prints, 
 encourage persons duly qualified to undertake a correct elegant publication of 
 our own cathedrals and other buildings called Gothic, before thev totally fall 
 to ruin, it would be of real service to the arts of design, preserve the 
 remembrance of an extraordinary style of building now sinking fast into 
 oblivion, and at the same time publish to the world the riches of Britain in the 
 splendour of her ancient structurcs.f 
 
 Michael Angelo, who, skilled as he was in mathematical knowledge, 
 could have no very high opinion of the ancient construction, boasted that 
 he would suspend the largest temple of antiquity, meaning the Pantheon, 
 in the air, which he afterwards performed in the cupola of St. Peter's, 
 at Rome. And Sir Christopher Wren has conducted all parts of St. 
 Paul's, and many others, his numerous admirable works, with so much 
 art that they are, and ever will be, studied and admired by all intelligent 
 observers. To him, and to several ingenious artists and artificers since 
 his time, we owe many great improvements in carpentery, which the 
 English have established upon better principles, and carried to higher 
 perfection than any other nation. 
 
 Some of the French architects have likewise been very skilful in 
 construction. The mason's art in particular has been considerably improved 
 by that nation. And we are indebted to the French, to the Italians, and to a 
 
 * There is more constructive skill shown in Salisbury an<l other of our cathedrals than in all the 
 works of the ancients put togetlier. The balance of the thrusts of the different arches — the adjustment of 
 thickness in the vaultings and the exceeding small ratio of the points of support in these buildings to their 
 whole superficies — and added to these the consequent lightness and elegance of form which they exhibit, 
 leave us nothing to desire in this respect. — [Ed.] 
 
 ■f Since the author's time this desideratum has been, in a great measure, accomplished by (he great and 
 valuable labors of the author of the Architectural Antifjuities of Groat Britain. The indefatigable exer- 
 tions of John Uritton, Esi]., F.S.A., and the care with which he has perpetuated the remains of our ancient 
 architecture, entitle him to the gratitude of all lovers of the fnie arts. The descriptions and delineations 
 of the cathedrals now in course of publication arc of the highest class. That which in another nation 
 would have been done at the expense of the Government, this enterprising and able anticjuarian has nearly 
 comi)leted at his own risk, in the most judicious and elegant manner. — [Eu.J
 
 PROGRKSS OF BUILDING. 95 
 
 few of our own countrymen, for many valuable books,* in which the manner of 
 conducting great works is taught, the necessary machines, tools, carriages, and 
 other apparatus described, together with the properties, modes of preparing 
 and of employing all kinds of materials used in building. They likewise have 
 treated of the nature of soils, and the manner of laying foundations, of raising 
 
 • Architettura di Andrea Palladio (a). Architettura Universale di Vincenzo Scamozzi (6). Archi. 
 di Sebastiano Serlio (c). Leo. Bap. Albert! de Re ^Edilicatoriil (d.) Architecture de Pliilibert de Lorme (c). 
 Secrets d'Ardiitecture, and I'Art de Charpentcric de Mathieu Jous.se (/). Felibien principes de 1' Archi- 
 tecture, &c. (i'). La Pratique du trait par Desai'gues(/(). Belidor Sciences des Ingenieurs, and Archi- 
 tecture IIydraulique((). Gautier traite des Pouts et des Chaussees (A). Blondel Cours d' Architecture (/)■ 
 
 (a) Palladio (Andrea). 1 Quattro Libri dell' Architettura, 1st Edit. Venetia, fol. 1575 ; 2nd Edit. 
 ibid. 1581 ; 3rd Edit. ibid. 1601. There is a modern spurious edition, which it will be sufficiently easy 
 upon inspection to detect. The principal Translations into English are by WaTe and Leoiii, both in folio. 
 The latter has Inigo Jones's Notes on the author : of this there are two editions, one of which does not 
 carry the Notes in question, though the title-page states the contrary. The proper edition of the latter is 
 in folio, Lond. 174-2. The portrait of Palladio is an imposition in both. The buildings of Palladio by 
 Ottavio Bertotti Scamozzi, in 4 vols, folio, Vicenza, 1776-83, with a 5th vol. containing Lord Burlington's 
 publication of the Roman baths, Lond. 1730, should be in the library of every architect. — [I^d-] 
 
 (i) Scamozzi (Vincenzo) Idea dell' Architettura, 2 vols, folio, Venezia, 1615 ; a reprint of this edition 
 appeared, foli^, Piazzola, 1687. Scamozzi's Works have been translated into French by D'Aviler and Dury, 
 folio. La Haye, 1736; the edition of 1713, Leyden, which professes to be the work of Scamozzi, has no 
 relation to the above work. — [Ed.] 
 
 (c) Serlio (Sebastiano) I'Ai-chitettura di, 4to. Vicenz.a, 1.584; Venetia, 1619, both good 
 editions. — [Ed.] 
 
 ((/) Albert! (Leo. Bapt.) Libri de re aidificatori^ deoem, 1st edition, Florence, 148.5, folio ; reprinted 
 in 4to. Paris, 1512. Translated into Italian by Peter Lauro, .small 4to. Venice, 1546 ; by Cosimo Bartoli, 
 folio, Florence, 1550; and into English by Leoni, folio, Lond. 1726 — 1755, and Bologna, 1782. — [Ed.] 
 
 (e) Lorme (Philibert de) (Euvres d' Architecture, folio, 2 vols, in 1. Paris, 1626, or Rouen, 1648. 
 The first edition, the Treatise on Arcliitecture, in 9 books, was published in Paris, 1567. The 10th book, 
 on Carpentry, entitled, "Xouvelle Invention pour bien batir, et a petit frais," was published in folio, Paris, 
 1561, 1568, 1576.— [Ed.] 
 
 (/) Jousse (Math.) Secrets d' Architecture, folio, 1642. The Art of Carpentry, &c., by this author 
 was corrected and augmented by De la Hire, folio, Paris, 1751. — [Ed.] 
 
 (g) Felibien. Les Principes de 1' Architecture, de la Sculpture, et de la Peinture. 4to. Paris, 
 1699.— [Ed.] 
 
 (A) Published by Abraham Bosse, in 1643. The title of the work, which is in 1 vol. Svo. is, 
 " Systime de Desargues sur la pratique du trait a preuve pour la coupe des picrres." — [Ed.] 
 
 (i) Belidor (Bern.) " Architecture hydraulique, ou I'art de conduiro, d'Olever et de menager les e.aux 
 pour les differens besoins de la vie," 4 vols. 4to. Paris, 1737 — -53. There was another edition, 1780, of 
 ■which copies are to be found, with a new title-page, bearing the name of Didot, and with some new plates. 
 The last edition by Navier, 4 vols. 4to. 1819, published by Didot, contains some additions. 
 
 " La Science des Ingenieurs dans la conduite des travaux de fortification et d'architecture mililaire," 
 4to. Paris, 1729 and 1749 ; a new edition was published in 1814, with the notes of Navier. — [Ed.] 
 (A) Gautier (11.) Traite de la construction des ponts et chaussees, 8vo. Paris, 1721 — 65. 
 (/) Blondel. There are two of this name, uncle (Francois) and nephew (.lacques Franc.) both of 
 whom published a "Cours d' Architecture;" the former in 5 vols, folio, Paris, 1675 and 1698 ; the latter 
 9 vols. 8vo. Paris, 1771 : but the second part of the last-mentioned work, published 1773, is imperfect, 
 owing to the death of tlie author. — [Ed.] 
 
 o 2
 
 96 OF THE ORIGIN AND 
 
 superstructures, and of every other particular having relation to the mechanic 
 arts connected with buildino'. 
 
 These books,* the structures above mentioned, and many others to Ik; 
 found in England or elsewhere, are the schools from which the architect must 
 collect the rudiments of construction, but practice, experience, and attentive 
 observation are requisite to render him consummately skilled in this important 
 part of his profession. f 
 
 Architecture des Voiites par DeiTan(l(m). De la Kue Traite de la Coupe des PieiTe3(«)- EvclyiVs 
 Silva(o). Wotton's KemainsQ;). Zabajrlia Opere((/). Price's British Carpenter (r). Savot Archi. 
 Franeoise (i). Xeve's Builder's Dictionary (0- Frezier Coupe des Pierres(i() (with the translations in 
 English, French, or Italian, of those that are translated) ; and many others of less note. 
 
 * See note p. 95. 
 
 f The number of works on architecture which have issued from the presses of the Continent leav3S 
 the student no reason to complain of the want of theoretical or practical treatises on his art. 
 
 A few may be named as worthy a place in the architect's library : — 
 
 Article "Architecture" of the Encyclopedic iMctliodique, by Quat. de Quincy, 4 Parts, already pub- 
 lished, 4to. Paris, 1 "88—18-20. 
 
 " Traitv t!ioori(]ue et pratique de I'ai't de batii'," par M. Rondelet, architecte, 8vo. 4 vols. Paris. 
 
 " Traite de la Construction des Fonts, suivi de divers Memoires concernant les Canau.x de Naviijation," 
 par Ganthey, 3 vols. 4to. Paris, 1809—16. 
 
 "Memoires sur les objets les plus importans d' Architecture," par M. Patte, 4to. Paris, 17(39. 
 
 " Architecture consideree sous le rapport de I'Art, des Moeurs, et de la Legislation," par C. N. 
 Ledoux, folio, Paris, 1804. 
 
 "Plans, Coupes, Elevations de diverses Productions de I'Art de la Charpentc," par Kraffl, Paris, ISCa. 
 
 And many others. — [En.] 
 
 (m) Derrand (Fr.) " I/Ai-ehitecture des Voutes, ou I'art des traits et coupe des voutes." Folio, 
 Paris, 1642 and 1742.- [Ed.] 
 
 (n) De la Rue (J. B.) "Traite de la Coupe des Pierres, ou par une methodo facile et abregee, Ton- 
 peut aisement se j)erfectionner en cette science." Folio, Paris, 1728. — [Ed.] 
 
 (o) Evelyn's (John) " Sylva," best edition, by Dr. Hunter, 2 vols. 4to. York, 1786.— [Ed.] 
 
 (/)) AVotton's (Sir Henry) " Remains." It is singular that the author should have .alluded to this 
 copy (12mo.) of the " Elements of Architecture," which was edited by old Izaak Walton, in the ReliquiiP 
 Wottoniana;, bccau.se the treatise was published by itself in 4to. London, 1624. — [Ed.] 
 
 (7) Zabaglia (Nic.) " Castclli e Ponti con alcune ingeniosc pratiche e con la descrizionc del trausporto 
 deir obclisco Vaticano e di altri, del Dom. Fontana." Folio, Roma, 1 743. The Latin title is " Contig- 
 nationes ac Pontes." — [Ed.] 
 
 (r) Price's (Francis) " The British Carpenter : or a Treatise on Carpentry," &c. Several editions : 
 the 4th is the bc8t. 4to. London, 1759.— [Ed.] 
 
 (.1) Savot (Louis) L'Architecture Francoise des Bi\timons particuliers, 8vo. Paris, 1685. — [Ed.] 
 
 (/) Neve's " City and Countrey Purchaser and Builder's Dictionary : or the Compleat Builder's 
 Guide." There are two editions of this book, both 8vo. The first, Lond. 1703, by T. N. Philomath. The 
 other, Lond. 1720, by Richard Neve Philomath: the latter is the better book, though not the most 
 curious. — [Ed.] 
 
 (a) " Frezier (AmedOc Fr.) Traite de Stercotomie, ou la thcoric et la pratiijue de la Coupe des Pierres 
 et des Bois," Strasburg, 1738, or 3 vols. 4to. Paris, 1754. — An abridgment of this work under the title of 
 " Elcmcns dc Stercotomie," was published 1759. — [Ei>.]
 
 PROGRESS OF BUILDING. 9/ 
 
 The architect's aim being, as has been observed, to erect handsome, 
 strong, convenient, saUibrions, and comfortal)le edifices, to ascertain their 
 vahio, and to build thoni with safety, case, and frugality, the principles of his 
 art may be ranged under four distinct heads, which arc — distribution, 
 construction, decoration, and economy. 
 
 Of construction and decoration, it has been shown whence his knowledge 
 should be collected ; and of distribution, which comprehends all particulars 
 relative to health, convenience, comfort, pleasure and profit, the artist may 
 collect his general idea from books or observations made upon buildings erected 
 for various purposes, in different climates and ages ; but it is only by practice 
 that he can become expert in discovering the advantages or defects of situation, 
 the nature of climates or expositions, the qualities of air, water, soil, and many 
 other things necessary to be known, and it is only by a thorough acquaintance 
 with the customs and modes of living of his own times, and with the 
 dispositions, amusements, occupations, and duties of his contemporaries that 
 he can effectually learn how to supply their wants or gi'atify their wishes. 
 
 In countries where general custom governs most things, and where all 
 persons of the same rank think, act, and live nearly after the same manner, 
 the distributive part of architecture has not so many difficulties ; but wherever 
 that is not the case, every new employer opens a fresh field for investigation, 
 and the artist's task is never at an end. 
 
 The economy of architecture is of so complicated, so extensive a nature, 
 that it is almost impossible for any man to know it perfectly, much more 
 for an architect, whose mind must be loaded with a great variety of other 
 knowledge. When, therefore, an artist has fixed his abode in any particular 
 country or great city, it will be best to limit his researches at first to that 
 place alone, informing himself of the different quarries, woods, kilns, sea-ports 
 or other markets from whence it is supplied with materials for building, as also 
 of the different natures and degrees of goodness of these materials, the 
 propercst times for providing them, the best means of transporting them to the 
 places of their destination, their value, and upon what circumstances that 
 value depends, to the end that he may be enabled at all times to account for 
 the fluctuation of price, and to ascertain what they are justly worth. 
 
 The principal difficulty of this inquiry arises, not only from the many 
 causes upon which the value of things and their rise or fall depends, but from 
 the caution with which dealers and tradesmen of almost all denominations, 
 conceal the secrets of their trade, and the real profits they have thereon.
 
 98 OF THE ORIGIN AND 
 
 His next step must be to find out all the able artists and artificers of the 
 place and its environs, to form an acquaintance with them, and examine 
 carefully in what branches they particularly excel, how far their skill extends, 
 what their dispositions, circumstances, and tempers are, with their characters 
 and connections, that, by combining these particulars, he may employ their 
 abilities upon every occasion to most advantage, as well for them as fur 
 himself. 
 
 He must then make diligent inquirv into the usual prices allowed for 
 every sort of labour or workmanship, according to its degree of perfection, how 
 much time and what materials are requisite to produce given quantities 
 thereof, what profits, according to the usage of the place, are allowed thereon 
 to the master workmen, and in what manner it is measured or accounted for 
 when done, that he may be entire master of his subject, and enabled to judge 
 equitably between the employer and employed, as his station requires. These 
 inquiries will at the first be attended with considerable difficulty for the 
 reasons before mentioned, but, like propositions in geometry, one information 
 will facilitate another, and in the course of a few years' practice the artist, if 
 he be industrious and skilfully inquisitive, will have acquired a thorough 
 acquaintance with whatever concerns his own circle, and then he may extend 
 his inquiries to other parts. What is already known will serve as a clue to 
 further knowledge, and, by degrees, he may become a very competent 
 judge of every economical particular in all the provinces of an extensive 
 kingdom. 
 
 If in this chapter, or in other parts of the work, for it may be as well to 
 apologize at once for all, the author has ventured to think for himself, and some- 
 times to start opinions differing from those of other men, he begs leave to say that 
 it proceeds, not from the affectation of being either singular or dogmatical, but 
 fr( m conviction that his notions are always founded in reason or proved by well 
 attested facts, and delivered with a wish to guide the reader right. All that 
 has been said respecting the superiority of the Roman architecture was written 
 a considerable time ago, when the Grecian had been extolled into repute, and 
 structures were erecting in different parts of England after Attic designs. 
 Fortunately, the sight of these first specimens excited no desire for more ; 
 after a few ineffectual struggles the Roman manner obtained a complete 
 victory. There seemed, at that time, no further necessity to fight its cause, 
 and these observations, intended for the second edition of this work, were then 
 suppressed. But latterly the Gusto Greco has again ventured to peep forth,
 
 PROGRESS OF BUILDING. 99 
 
 and once more threaten an invasion.* What therefore was omitted in the 
 second edition it has hoen judo;od necessary to insert in this as a caution to 
 straoglers.f 
 
 • No one can be insensible to the exquisite beauties of Greek art, nor unmoved by the elegant and 
 captivating arrangement of the Greek Temple. It is in the application of the severer Greek architecture 
 to English religious ceremonies and English hiibits, without that modification which circun. stances and the 
 climate itself seem to require, that the objections arise. Let the reader survey the metropolis, and compare 
 the new churches and other public buildings with the works of Jones, Wren, Burlington, Sir Robert 
 Taylor, and those of our Author, and he will be satisfied that our better acquaintance with Grecian archi- 
 tecture has not generally improved tlie style of our public edifices.— [Ed.] 
 
 ■f It must be confessed that Chambers' low estimate of Greek architecture does not say much for 
 either his sensibility as artist, or Lis liberal-mindedness aa critic. Others have since erred in the opposite 
 extreme, depreciating Roman as being little better than sadly degenerate Greek, without taking any 
 account of its positive merits. Both the one and the other have their short-comings, yet both are now to be 
 studied for their respective excellencies, with a praiseworthy disregard of that pedantic truthfulness to 
 precedent, or express pattern, which in the eyes of the uninitiated looks very much like lazy, mechanical 
 copyism. As known to us, Greek architecture is altogether insufficient now for actual application without 
 the adnii.\ture of some alloy, which need not, however, prevent the metal, or ensemble, produced by the 
 fusion together of originally quite distinct elements, from becoming a homogeneous mass. Possible, it 
 surely is, to add to Roman grandeur Attic grace, and not stopping there, or at Renaissance and After- 
 Renaissance and Anglo-Classic, to go on advancing in the same direction. The architect ought to take 
 warning from the fate of Lot's wife, who, by looking backwards, was petrified into purity by being con- 
 verted into a pillar of salt. He should, on the contrary, be a Janus, capable of clearly discerning what lies 
 before him as well as what lies behind. — [W. H. L.]
 
 100 
 
 OF THE PARTS WHICH COMPOSE THE ORDERS OF ARCHI- 
 TECTURE, AND OF THEIR PROPERTIES, APPLICATION, 
 AND ENRICHMENTS. 
 
 As ill many other arts so in architecture, there are certain elementary 
 forms which, though simple in their nature and few in number, are the 
 principal constituent objects [elements] of every composition, however com- 
 plicated or extensive it may be. 
 
 Of these there are in our art two disLinct sorts, the first consisting of 
 such parts as represent those that were essentially necessai-y in the construction 
 of the primitive huts, as the shaft of the column with the plinth of its base, 
 and the abacus of its capital, representing the upright trees, with the stones 
 used to raise and to cover them. Likewise the architrave and triglyph 
 representing the beams and joists, the mutules, modillions, and dentils, either 
 representing the rafters or some other pieces of timber employed to support 
 the covering, and the corona representing the beds of materials which 
 composed the covering itself. All these are properly distinguished by the 
 appellation of essential parts, and form the first class. The subservient 
 members contrived for the use and ornament of these, and intended either to 
 support, to shelter, or to unite them gracefully together, which are usually 
 called mouldings, constitute the second class. 
 
 The essential parts were most probably the only ones employed even in 
 the first stone buildings, as may be collected from some ancient structures yet 
 rcmaininjjf : for the architects of those earlv times had certainlv vexT imijcrfect 
 ideas of beauty in the productions of art, and therefore contented themselves 
 with l)arely imitating the rude model before tliem ; but coming in time to 
 compare the works of their own hands with animal and vegetable productions, 
 each species of whiili is couiposcd of a great diversity of forms, aff^ording an 
 inexhaustible lunii nf amusement to the mind, they could not but conceive a 
 disgust at the frequent repetition of s(piare figures in their buildings, and 
 theref(»re thought of introducing certain intermediate parts, which might 
 seem to be of some use, and at the same time be so formed as to give a more 
 varied pleasing appearance to the whole composition ; and this, in all proba- 
 bility, was the origin of mouldings.
 
 /V,2 , 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 XvCU 2Uri£A. ^r ^i(j iV 
 
 StAi/uw OveUi.^QiHO'^^fiiwii, 
 
 J/tvertt^ Cyma, Tlilt/n m-Oqe^ 
 
 l(/rt.< .•! l\m.tttiJ. 
 
 FS ih^'ffj Jfl 
 
 Ihilisked by the h-oprutcrs uf Ou Madding News. W60 
 
 SIR WtLLIAH CMAMBCRS' TREATISE. 
 
 bated from Sioaa 'vj C Y CVffin* i Sp» Jmitm .
 
 Tin: ORDERS OF AUCIIITECTL'RK, KTC. 103 
 
 Of I'cgular mouldings tlioro aro oiglit;* wliicli aiv, tlic Ovolo,f tlic 
 Talon, J the Cyma§, the Cavi'tto,|| the Torus,^ the Astragal,** the Scotia,tt 
 and the Fillet-it 
 
 Soo iilate i>f I'Oguliii' mouUlings. ^ Torus or Toro (tl). 
 
 •f Ovolo, or Echinus, or qiuirtor round (a). ** Astragal (c), Jicad, or Baguette. 
 
 J Talon or Ogee, or reversed Cyma(ft). ff Scotia or Trocliilos (/). 
 
 § C'yma, Cyma Ilecta, Cyniatiuni (o). {]: Fillet, Listel, Anntdet. 
 II Cavetto, or nioulli, or hollow. 
 
 (a) £cliinus — " It is indeed a (juarter round, and sometimes more, swelling above the cinctures, and 
 comnuinly next to the ahacus, carved with oval.i and dart.t (by our workmen called eggs an<l nn/tcvs as 
 little politely), which is frequently shut up with a smaller oro/o of l/eaih a.nil chaplcts, ov like ornament ; 
 but so adorned, it commonly runs under the Ionic volntu, and tliat ol' tlic composita, and next the Doric 
 abacas, as in that singular example of the Trajan Cohnnn it creeps under the plinth of the capital. Such 
 as pretend to etymologies for everything they hear, will have it ixivoc, tthocI rii ixt'v, or awix'"' iavriir, 
 because of a kind of self-contraction ; others more rationally from the resemblance and roughness in the 
 carving, Ixii'ov rpnxurffioi;, as bristling with darts like a hedgehog, or rather the thorny husk of a 
 chestnut, which being opened discovers a kind of oval-Cgured kernel, which <lcutcd a little at the toi) the 
 Latins call ilecacuminnta oca." " In the Corinthian an echinus frequently comes in between the corona 
 and deulilli." An Account of Architects and Architecture, &c., by John Evelyn, Esij., Fellow of the 
 Royal Society, Folio, lGi)G, p. -21.— [Ed.] 
 
 (A) " Ci/niatium inverted, which is no more than a wrought or plain ogee as our workmen barbarously 
 name it. The term is Ki'fturwv, iindula, and signifies a rolling wave, to the resemblance whereof it is 
 moulded. I5y some it is called the throat, as from the Italian and French, gola, gueule, or doucine, 
 and of these there are tiro kinds, the _first and principal hath always its cavity above, and doth constantly 
 jet over the corona or drip like a u-avc ready to fall, and then is properly called sima," " the other has 
 its hollow below, and is named inversa, the one convex the other concave. The letters { thus placed do 
 reasonably well express these kind of mouldings." An Account of Architects and Arcliitecture, &c., by 
 John Evelyn, Esq., Fellow of the Royal Society, Fol. 1696, page 30— [En.] 
 (c) Cyma — see preceding Note. — [Ed.] 
 
 (f/) Torus " from ri'-poi,-, denoting the roundness and smoothness of it. Torus cnim rjuicquid rotundum ; 
 or rather as Scaliger, quod artifaialiter elaboratiir Sf- tornctur, hecansc artificially made so ; but why not 
 from its swelling and brawnincss ? It much resembles the shape of a round cusliion," &c. Ibid, page 18. 
 -[Ed.] 
 
 (e) " Astragal, which besides other things, as the scptem spina: vertebra: near the neck, has here its 
 analogy from that bone a little above the heel," &c. Ibid, page 18. — [Ed.] 
 
 (/) " Trochile, from Tptx'" or rpoxa, a rundle or pulley-wheel, which it much resembles, and is that 
 cavity appearing next to tha torus : The Italiajis name it hastonc, or more properly cavetto, m\i\ corticc 
 tanquam haculi cortex, the hollow rind of a tree, as harbaro. Our workmen retain the ancient scotia, 
 from Skot-io, its obscurity proceeding from the shade of the hollowness, but more vulgarly they call it the 
 casement" &c. Ibid. p. IS. 
 
 It is singular that Sir William should have omitted to notice the situations which the several mould- 
 ings should and should not occupy. 
 
 For instance — The Ovolo should be used only above the level of the eye of the spectator. 
 The Cavetto must not be seen in bases or capitals. 
 
 The Cyma Recta only to be used in crowning members, though in Palhidio's Doric, 
 and other examples, it is found occasionally in the bed mouldings under the 
 corona. 
 The Scotia always below the eye, and always between the fdlets attached to Tori. 
 The Fillet at all heights, and in most situations. — [Ed.] 
 
 p 2
 
 104 OF THE PARTS WHICH COMPOSE 
 
 The names of these are allusive to their forms ; and their forms are 
 adapted to the uses which they are intended to serve. The ovolo and talon, 
 being strong at their extremities, are lit for supports. The cyma and 
 cavetto, though improper for that purpose, as they are weak in the extreme 
 parts, and terminate in a point, are well contrived for coverings to shelter 
 other members : the tendency of their outline being very opposite to the 
 direction of falling water, which for that reason, cannot glide along their 
 surface, but must necessarily drop. The torus and astragal, shaped like 
 ropes, are intended to bind and strengthen the parts on which they are 
 employed ; and the use of the fillet and scotia, is only to separate, contrast 
 and strengthen the efifect of other mouldings, to give a graceful turn to the 
 profile, and to prevent that confusion which would be occasioned by joining 
 several convex members together. 
 
 That the inventors of these forms meant to express something by their 
 different figures, will scarcely be denied ; and that the above-mentioned were 
 their destinations, may be deduced, not only from their figures, but from the 
 practice of the ancients in their most esteemed woi'ks : for if we examine the 
 Pantheon, the three columns in the Campo Vaccino, the temple of Jupiter 
 Tonans, the fragments of the frontispiece of Nero, the basilica of Antoninus, 
 the forum of Nerva, the arches of Titus and Septimus Sovcrus, the theatre 
 of Marcellus, and indeed almost every ancient building, either at Rome or 
 in other parts of Italy and France, it will be found, that in all their profiles, 
 th(^ cvma and the cavetto are constantly used as finishings, and never applied 
 where strength is required : that the ovolo and talon are always employed as 
 supporters to the essential members of the composition, such as the modillions, 
 dentils, and corona ; that the chief use of the torus and astragal is to fortify 
 the tops and bottoms of columns, and sometimes of pedestals, where they are 
 frequently cut in the form of ropes, as on the Trajan column,* in the Temple 
 of Concord, and on several fragments which I have seen, both at Rome and at 
 Nismes in Languedoc ; and that the scotia is employed only to separate the 
 members of bases, for which purpose the fillet is likewise used, not only in 
 bases, but in all kinds of profiles 
 
 Hence it may be inferred, that there is something positive and natural in 
 these primary forms of architecture, and consequently in the parts which they 
 compose : and that Palladio erred in employing the cavetto under the corona, 
 in three; of his orders, and in making such frccjuent use through ;ill his 
 
 * The author scenn to have forgotten that the Toru3 of the Trajan column is decorated with laurel 
 leaves bound with hands at certain intervals, and hy no means bearing any resemblance to a rope.— [Ei>.]
 
 THE ORDERS OF ARCIIITECTURE, ETC. 105 
 
 profiles of the cynia, as a supporting member. Nor has Vignola been more 
 judicious in finishing his Tuscan cornice with an ovolo ; a mouhling 
 extremely improper for that purpose, and productive of a verj- disagreeable 
 ettect ; for it gives a mutilated air to the whole profile, so much the moi'e 
 striking, as it resembles exactly that half of the Ionic cornice which is under 
 the corona. Other architects have been guilty of the like improprieties, and 
 are therefore equally reprehensible.* 
 
 There are various manners of describing the contour or outline of 
 mouldings : the simplest, however, and the best, is to form them of quadrants 
 of circleSjf as in the annexed designs ; by which means the diifercnt depres- 
 sions and swellings will be more strongly marked, the transitions be made 
 without any angle, and the projections be agreeable to the doctrine of 
 Vitruvius and the practice of the ancients : those of the ovolo, talon, cyma, 
 and cavetto, being equal to their height, that of the scotia to one-third, 
 and those of the curved parts of the torus and astragal to one-half 
 thereof. 
 
 On particular occasions, however, it may be necessary sometimes to 
 increase, and at other times to diminish these projections, according to the 
 situation, or other circumstances attending the profile, as will hereafter appear. 
 And whenever it so happens, the ovolo, talon, cyma and cavetto, may 
 cither bo described from the summits of equilateral triangles, or be composed 
 of quadrants of the ellipsis ; of which the latter should be preferred, as it 
 produces a stronger opposition of light and shade, and by that means marks 
 the forms more distinctly. The scotia may likewise be framed of elliptical 
 portions, or quadrants of the circle, differing more or less from each other, 
 than in the annexed designs •,X ^Y which means its projection may either be 
 increased or diminished ; but the curved part of the torus and astragal must 
 always be semicircular, and the increase in their projection be made by 
 straight lines. 
 
 In some antiques, and likewise in various modern buildings, where the 
 parts are far removed from the eye, or where, from the extraordinary size of 
 the structure, it has not been practicable to give to every member its due 
 projection, recourse has been had to artifice, in order to produce the desired 
 effect. At St. Peter's of the Vatican, this practice is very frequent ; and I 
 
 • All sense in the application of appropriate forms in mouldings seems now extinct, and Palladio set 
 at defiance. He who can in the present day produce the newest and most extraordinary moulding in 
 profiling an order is the greatest genius. 
 
 f PI. Mouldings. 
 
 J PI. Mouldings.
 
 106 OF THE PARTS WHICH COMPOSE 
 
 have given a section of the cornice,* terminatino- the pcndentives of the 
 dome, which may serve as a guide, in cases where the like is necessary. 
 
 It will however be proper to observe, that a frequent use of this expe- 
 dient is to be avoided ; as the artifice never succeeds, but where, by reason of 
 the great distance, it is undiscoverable : for the incisions and contortions 
 made in the mouldings, entirely destroy the natural beauty of their form. 
 
 Certain of the modern Italians, and likewise some of our own learned 
 virtuosi, who eagerly grasp at every innovation, having observed these forms 
 in the works of Michael Angelo, and in some of the temples of antiquity, 
 without sufficiently considering why they were there introduced, have very 
 injudiciously made use of them all in their own works ; by which practice, their 
 compositions, though having in other respects a certain degree of merit, are, 
 in this particular, highly censurable. 
 
 An assemblage of essential parts and mouldings, is termed a profile ; and 
 on the choice, disposition, and proportions of these, depend the beauty or 
 deformity of the composition. The m ost perfect profiles are such as consist 
 of few mouldings, varied both in form and size, fitly applied, with regard to 
 thtnr uses, and so distributed, that the straight and curved ones succeed each 
 other alternately. In every profile, there should be a predominant member, 
 to which all the others ought to seem subservient, and made either to support, 
 to fortify, or to shelter it from injm-ies of weather; and whenever the profile 
 is considerable, or much complicated, the predominant should always be 
 accompanied with one or more other principal members, in form and dimension 
 calculated to attract the eye, create momentary pauses, and assist the percep- 
 tion of the beholder. These predominant and principal members ought always 
 to be of the essential class, and generally rectangular. Tluis in a cornice, the 
 corona predominates ; the modillions and dentils are principals in the com- 
 position, the cyma and cavetto cover them, the ovolo and talon support 
 them. 
 
 When ornaments are employed to decorate a profile, some of the 
 luouldings should always be left plain, in order to form a proper repose : for 
 when all arc enriched, the figure of the profile is lost in confusion. In an 
 entablature, the corona should not bi; ornamented, nor tlie niodillion band, nor 
 till' difi'crcnt fascias ol' tlu' architrave : neither should the plinths of columns, 
 fillets, nor scarcely any square members bo carved, for generally sj)eaking, 
 tliev are cither ])rimi])al in the composition, or used as boundaries to other 
 
 * ri. iMnul, lings, Fig. 1.
 
 THE OllUEUS OK ARCIIITECTURU, ETC. 107 
 
 parts ; in botli whii'h cases, their figures sliould be simple, distinct, and 
 uiienibarrassod. Tlio dentil baud should remain uncut, where the Ovolo 
 and Talon immediately above and below it are enriched ; as in the I'antlujou 
 at Homo, and at St. Paul's in London. For when the dentils arc marked; 
 particularly if thev be small, according to Palladio's Corinthian design; the 
 three members are confounded together, and being covered with ornaments, 
 become far too rich for the remainder of the composition : which arc defects at 
 all times studiously to be avoided, as a distinct outline, and an ccpial 
 distribution of enrichments, must, on every occasion, strictly be attended to. 
 
 Scamozzi observes,* that ornaments should neither be too frugally 
 employed, nor distributed with too much profusion ; their value will increase 
 in proportion to the judgment and discretion shown in their application. For, 
 in effect, says he, the ornaments of sculpture used in architecture, arc like 
 diamonds in a female dress, with which it would be absurd to cover the face, 
 or other principal parts, either in themselves beautiful, or appearing with 
 greater propriety in their natural state. 
 
 Variety in ornaments must not be carried to an excess. In architecture 
 they arc only accessories, and therefore they should not be too striking, nor 
 capable of long detaining the attention from the main object. Those of the 
 mouldings in particular, should be simple, uniform, and never composed of 
 more than two different representations upon each moulding, which ought to 
 be cut equally deep, be formed of the same number of parts, all nearly of the 
 same dimensions, in order to produce one even, uninterrupted hue throughout ; 
 that so the eye may not be more strongly attracted by any particular part than 
 by the whole composition. 
 
 When mouldings of the same form and size are employed in one profile, 
 they should be enriched with the same kind of ornaments ; by which means, 
 the figure of the pi'ofile will be better apprehended, and the artist will avoid 
 
 * Parte Sccomla, Libro vi. c. 3. •' Inoltrc j^Ii oniamcnti nou si dcono porro, iiu profusi, no troppo 
 abbondanti, iiu meno scarsainente, n>' con alcuna avaritia : percio allhora saranno lodati, quaiido si luctteranno 
 con giudicio, c temperatamente", e sopra tutto di liollissiiue I'uriiK', c con osatissimc proportioni, cos! nolle loro 
 parti, como nollo niomljra particolari : osscndo gli ornament!, clie si pongono nelle parti do gli cdilici ll 
 puuto come le gioie, con le fpiali si sogliono adornarc i I'rincipi, e Ic Principesso, i gran Signori, e Dame ; 
 poiclio ipielle non si lodano ti ragione, clie sono disposto ncllc parti naturali gratioso, e bollo : onde 
 vediamo, clic non si adorna giamai no Ic guancie, no il potto, no simiglianti luoglii." Piazzola, Edit. Pol. 
 1687. 
 
 Vincenzo Scamozzi, an architect of great talent, was born at Vicenza, 15.30. He -was cducatod in 
 his profession by his father, and at Palladio's death succeeded to the cliief employments in the above city. 
 His publications were " L'Idea dell' Architcttura Universale," 2 vols. Pol. 161.5, reprinted in 1687; and 
 " Discorsi sopra le antichitil di Roma," 158.3. Fol. He must not be confounded witli another person, who 
 took the same surname, for reasons which the reader will find in !Milizia's Lives of the Architects, and wlio 
 was the Editor of Palladio's Buildings, 4 vols. Pol. — [Ed].
 
 108 OF THE PARTS WHICH COMPOSE 
 
 the imputation of a puerile minuteness, neithei* much to his own credit nor of 
 any advantage to his works. 
 
 It must be observed, that all ornaments of mouldings are to be regularly 
 disposed, answering perpendicularly above each other, as at the three columns 
 in the Campo Vaccino, where the middles of the modillions, dentils, eggs, and 
 other ornaments, are all in one perpendicular line. For nothing is more 
 careless, confused and unseemly, than to distribute them without any order, as 
 they are in many of the antiques, and in most of the buildings of this metro- 
 polis : the middle of an egg answers in some places to the edge of a dentil, in 
 some to its middle, and in others to the interval ; all the I'est of the ornaments 
 being distributed in the same slovenly, artless manner. The larger parts must 
 regulate the smaller: all the ornaments in the entablature are to be governed 
 by the modillions, or mutules ; and the distribution of these must depend on 
 the intervals of the columns, and be so disposed, that one of them may come 
 directly over the axis of each column. It is further to be observed, that the 
 ornaments must partake of the character of the order they enrich. Those 
 used in the Doric and Ionic orders, are to be of simpler forms, and of larger 
 bulk, than those employed in the Composite or Corinthian. 
 
 When friezes or other large members are to be enriched, the ornaments 
 may be significant, and serve to indicate the destination or use of the building ; 
 the rank, qualities, profession and achievements of the owner : but it is a 
 foolish practice to crowd every part with arms, crests, cyphers, and mottoes ; 
 for the figures of these things are generally bad, or vulgar, and their introduc- 
 tion betrays an unbecoming vanity in the master of the fabric. Hogarth 
 has humorously ridiculed this practice, by decorating a nobleman's crutch with 
 a coronet. 
 
 In sacred places, all obscene, grotesque, and heathenish representations 
 ought to be avoided : for indecent fables, extravagant conceits, or instruments 
 and symbols of Pagan worship, are very improper ornaments in structures con- 
 secrated to Christian devotion. 
 
 With regard to the manner of executing ornaments, it is to be remem- 
 bered, that as in sculpture a drapery is not estimable unless its folds arc con- 
 trived to grace and indicate the parts and articulations of the body it covers, 
 so in architecture the most exquisite ornaments lose all their value, if they 
 load, alter, or confuse the form they are designed to enrich and adorn. 
 
 All ornaments of mouldings must therefore be cut into the solid,* and 
 
 • One of the most <Jelij;litf»l exiiiniilcs in verification of tins HOund principle, is the capitiil of the 
 order used in the circulur temple at Tivoli, in wliicli llie leaves, instead of l)cing npplujucs to the bell of 
 the capital, are absolutely cut out of it. The eflTect is wonilerful as well as pleasing. — [Ed-]
 
 THE ORDERS 01' ARCHITECTURE, ETC. 109 
 
 never be applied on their surface, as D'Aviler erroneously teaches, because it 
 alters both their figure and j)roportion. The profile must first be finished 
 plain, and afterwards be adorned, the most prominent parts of the ornaments 
 being made ecpial with the surface of the mouldings they enrich ; and great 
 care must be taken that the angles, or breaks, be kept perfect and untouched 
 with sculpture ; for which reason it is customary at the angles of most mouldings, 
 to place water leaves, or other plain leaves, the middle filament of which forms 
 the angle, and keeps its outline entire. 
 
 The method of the ancient sculptors, in the execution of architectonic 
 ornaments, was to aim at a perfect representation of the object they chose to 
 imitate ; so that the chestnuts, acorns, or eggs, with which the ovolo is com- 
 monly enriched, are in the antiques, cut round, and almost entirely detached ; 
 as are likewise the berries, or beads on the astragal, which are generally as 
 nnich hollowed into the solid of the bodv, as the moulding projects beyond it : 
 but the leaves, shells, and flowers, that adorn the cavetto, cyma, talon, and 
 torus, arc kept flat, like the things they represent. 
 
 In the application of their ornaments, they observed to use such as 
 retpiired a considerable relief, on mouldings that in themselves ai'c clumsy, as the 
 ovolo and astragal ; which by means of the deep incisions made in them to form 
 these enrichments, acquired an extraordinary lightness ; but on more elegant 
 parts, as the cavetto and cyma, the} employed thin bodies, which could be 
 represented without entering too far into the solid. The ornaments of their 
 cornices were boldly marked, that they might be distinguished from afar ; but 
 those of the bases of columns, or of pedestals, being nearer the eye, were more 
 slightly expressed ; as well on that ac(H)unt as because it would have been 
 improper to weaken these parts, and impossible to keep them clean, had there 
 been any deep cavities in them to harbour dust and filth. 
 
 When objects arc near and liable to close inspection, every part of the 
 ornament should be expressed and well finished ; but when they arc much 
 exalted the detail may be slightlv touched or entirely neglected ; for it is 
 sufficient if the general form be distinct and the principal masses strongly 
 marked. A few rough sti-okes from the hand of a skilful master are much 
 more effectual than the most elaborate finishings of an artless imitator which, 
 seldom consisting in moi'e than smoothing and neatly rounding off the parts, 
 are calculated to destroy rather than to produce effect.
 
 110 OF THE ORDERS OF 
 
 OF THE ORDERS OF ARCHITECTURE IN GENERAL.. 
 
 The orders of Architecture, as has been observed, are the basis upon 
 which the whole decorative part of the art is chiefly built, and towards which 
 the attention of the artist must ever be directed, even where no orders ai'e in- 
 troduced. In them originate most of the forms used in decoration ; they 
 regulate most of the proportions ; and to their combination, multiplied, varied, 
 and arranged in a thousand difl^erent ways, architecture is indebted for its most 
 splendid productions. 
 
 These orders are different modes of building, said originally to have been 
 imitated from the primitive huts, being composed of such parts as were essential 
 in their construction, and afterwards also in the temples of antiquity, which, 
 though at first simple and rude, were in the course of time, and by the 
 ingenuity of succeeding architects, wi'ought up and improved to such a pitch of 
 perfection that they were, by way of excellence, distinguished by the name of 
 orders. 
 
 Of these there arc five :* three, said to be of Grecian origin, are called 
 Grecian ordei's, being distinguished by the names of Doric, Ionic, and 
 Corinthian ; they exhibit three distinct characters of composition, supposed to 
 have been suggested by the diversity of character in the human frame. The 
 remaining two being of Italian origin, are called Latin orders ; they are distin- 
 guished by the names of Tuscan and Roman, and were probably invented with 
 a view of extending the characteristic bounds on one side still further towards 
 strength and simplicity, as on the other towards elegance and profusion of 
 enrichments. 
 
 At what time the orders were invented, or by whom improved to the 
 utmost, remains at least doubtful. Of their improvement we can now only 
 judge from the structures and fragments of antiquity, built in different ages, 
 and still remaining to be seen in various parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa. 
 And of their origin little is known but from the relation of Vitruviusf , the 
 
 • PI. OnlcrR. 
 
 •f Lib. iv. c. 1. For a learncil anil impartial examinntioii of tlic acctmnt given by Vilruviiis relating 
 to the origin of the Grecian Orders of Architecture, whicb it is much regretted would exceed the limits of 
 a note, the student is most particularly recommended to the perusal of (Joguct, "L'Originc des Lois, des 
 Arts, ct dc9 Sciences." 2e Epoquc, Livrc ii. and ^e Epofjuc, Livre ii. — See also page 30 supra. — [Eu.]
 
 ARCHITECTURE IN GENERAL. 113 
 
 veracity of which has been much questioned, and is probably not much to be 
 depended upon. 
 
 " Doras," says he, " son of Ilellen and the nymph Orsois*, king of Achaia 
 and of all the Peloponnesus, having formerly built a temple to Juno, in the 
 ancient city of Argos, this temple happened to be in the manner which is called 
 Doric, and was afterwards imitated in many others built in the several cities of 
 Achaia. 
 
 " About the same time the Athenians, after having consulted the oracle of 
 Apollo at Delphi, by the common consent of all Greece, sent into Asia thirteen 
 colonies, each under the command of a separate captain, but all under the 
 general direction of Ion, son of Xuthus and Crcusa. Ion being arrived in 
 Asia, conquered all Caria, and founded thirteen large cities, the inhabitants 
 whereof, having expelled the Carians and Lelega;, called the country Ionia, in 
 honour of Ion, their leader, and erected temples, of which the first, dedicated 
 to Apollo Panionius, was built after the manner of those they had seen in 
 Achaia, which they called Doric, because temples of the same sort had been 
 erected in the cities of the Dorians. 
 
 " But some time after, building a temple to Diana, different from these, 
 and of a more delicate structure, being formed upon the proportions of a female 
 bodv, as the Doric had been on those of a robust man, and adornino- the 
 capitals of their columns with volutes, to represent the curls of a woman's hair, 
 and the shafts with flutings, to express the folds of her garment ; they gave to 
 this second manner of building the name of Ionic, because it was invented and 
 first used by the lonians. 
 
 " The third sort of columns, which are called Corinthian, and represent 
 the delicate figure of a young girl, owe their birth to the following accident. 
 
 " A young woman of Corinth being deadf , her nurse placed on her tomb 
 a basket containing certain trinkets in which she delighted when alive, covering 
 it with a tile, to shelter them from the weather. The basket happened acci- 
 dentally to be set on a root of an acanthus, which pushing forth its leaves and 
 sprigs in the spring, covered the sides of it, and some of them, longer than the 
 rest, being obstructed by the angles of the tile, were forced downwai-ds, and by 
 degrees curled into the form of volutes. 
 
 " Callimachus, a celebrated sculptor, passing near the tomb, observed the 
 basket, and in how graceful a manner the leaves of the acanthus had sur- 
 
 * Chambers lias it Optica, wliicli Le seems to Lave adoiitod without consulting Philanders note in 
 loco.— [Ed.'} 
 
 t PI. Primitive Buildings.
 
 114 OF THE ORDERS OF 
 
 rounded it ; the form pleased him exceedingly, he imitated it on the tops of 
 some columns, which he afterwards executed at Corinth, establishing and 
 regulating, by this model, the manner and proportions of the Corinthian 
 order*." 
 
 Of the two Latin oi'ders, the Tuscan is said to have been invented by the 
 inhabitants of Tuscany before the Romans had intercourse with the Greeks, or 
 were acquainted with their arts, whence it is called Tuscan. Probably, how- 
 ever, these people, originally a colony of Greeks, only imitated in the best 
 manner they could what they remembered in their own country, simplifying the 
 Doric, either to expedite their work, or perhaps to adapt it to the abilities of 
 their workmen. 
 
 The second Latin order, though of Roman production, is but of modern 
 adoption, the ancients never having considered it as a distinct order. It is a 
 mixture of the Ionic and Corinthian, and is now distinguished by the names of 
 Roman, or Composite. 
 
 The ingenuity of man has hitherto not been able to produce a sixth order, 
 though large premiums have been offered, and numerous attempts been made 
 by men of first-rate talents to accomplish it. Such is the fettered human ima- 
 gination, such the scanty store of its ideas, that Doric, Ionic and Corinthian 
 have ever floated uppermost, and all that has ever been produced amounts to 
 nothing more than different arrangements and combinations of their parts, with 
 some trifling deviations scarcely deserving notice, the whole generally tending 
 more to diminish than to increase the beauty of the ancient orders. 
 
 The substitution of cocksf , owls, or lions' heads, &c., for roses, of trophies, 
 cornucopias, lilies, sphinxes, or even men, women and children for volutes, the 
 introduction of feathers, lyres, flower de luces, or coronets for leaves, are more 
 alterations than improvements ; and the suspension of festoons of flowers, or 
 collars of knighthood, over the other enrichments of a capital, like lace on 
 cmbroiderv, rather tends to com])licate and confuse the form than to augment 
 its grace or contribute to its excellence. 
 
 The suppression of parts of the ancient orders, with a view to produce 
 novelty, has of late years been practised among us with full as little success. 
 And though it is not wished to restrain sallies of imagination, nor to discourage 
 
 • The cnpitaU of many of the Egyptian columns furnish a much more probable origin of the Corin- 
 thian capital, even to the invention of tlio volute. See jjlatos M'i, :!4, 44 and 4.') in Ucnon's work. — The 
 story i.s so very pretty that one regrets to have the charge of umlirniining it. See also Introductory 
 ■Kssay on Grecian Architecture, page 15. — [Ed.] 
 
 t I'l. Compo.site Entablatures and Capitals.
 
 ARCHITECTURE IN GENERAL. 115 
 
 genius from attempting to invent, yet it is apprehended that attempts to alter 
 the primary forms invented by the ancients, and established by the concurring 
 approbation of many ages, must ever be attended with dangerous consequences, 
 must always be difficult, and seldom, if ever, successful. It is like coining 
 words, which, whatever may be their value, arc at first but ill received, and 
 must have the sanction of time to secure them a current reception. 
 
 An order is composed of two principal members,* the column and the 
 entablature, each of which is divided into three principal parts. f Those of 
 the column are the base, the shaft, and the capital ; those of the entablature 
 are the architrave, the frieze, and the cornice. All these are again subdivided 
 into many smaller parts, the disposition, number, forms and dimensions of 
 which characterise each order, and express the degree of strength or delicacy, 
 richness or simplicity, peculiar to it. 
 
 The simplest and most solid of all is the Tuscan. J It is composed of few 
 and large parts, devoid of ornaments, and is of a construction so massive that 
 it seems capable of supporting the heaviest burdens ; whence it is by Sir 
 H. Wotton,§ compared to a sturdy labourer dressed in homely apparel. 
 
 The Doric order, || next in strength to the Tuscan, and of a grave, robust, 
 masculine aspect,^ is by Scamozzi, called the Herculean.** Being the most 
 ancient of all the orders, it retains more of the structure f f of the primitive huts 
 in its form than any of the rest, having triglyphs in the frieze to represent the 
 ends of joists and mutules in its cornice, to represent rafters with inclined 
 soffits, to express their direction in the originals, from which they were 
 imitated. Its column, too, is often seen in ancient works, executed without a 
 base, in imitation of the trees used in the first buildings, without any plinths 
 
 * PI. of Primitive Buildings. 
 
 t Il)id. 
 
 I PI. of Orders. 
 
 § " First, therefore, the Tuscan is a plain, massie, rurall Pillar, resembling some sturdy well-limb'd 
 Labourer, homely clad, in which kinde of comparisons, Vitruvius himself seemeth to take pleasure. 
 Lib. iv. cap. 1." — Elements of Architecture. — [Ed.] 
 
 li PI. of Orders. 
 
 ^ "The Dorique order is the gravest that hath been received into civill use, preserving, in comparison 
 of those that follow, a more misculine aspect, and little trimmer than the Tuscan that went before, save a 
 sober garnishment now and then of lions' heads in the cornice, and of triglyphs and metopes always in the 
 frize." " To discern him will be a piece rather of good heraldry than of architecture, for he is best knowne 
 by his place, when he is in company, and by the peculi.ar ornament of \ns frize, before mentioned, when he 
 is alone." — Elements of Architecture, by Sir Henry Wotton." — [Ed.] 
 
 ** Parte seconda, lib. vi. c. 10, "L'ordine Dorico, il quale tiene del forte, & Ilerculeo," 
 &c.— [Ed.] 
 
 tt PI- Primitive Buildings.— [Ed.]
 
 116 OF THE ORDERS OF 
 
 to raise them above the ground. Freart de Chambrai,* speaking of this 
 order, observes that delicate ornaments are repugnant to its characteristic 
 solidity, and that it succeeds best in the simple regularity of its proportions. 
 " Nosegays and garlands of flowers," says he, " grace not a Hercules, who 
 always appears more becomingly with a rough club and lion's skin ; for there 
 are beauties of various sorts, and often so dissimilar in their natures that those 
 which may be highly proper on one occasion may be quite the reverse, even 
 ridiculously absurd, on others." 
 
 The lonicjf being the second of the Gi'ecian orders, holds a middle 
 station between the other two, and stands in equipoise between the grave 
 solidity of the Doric and the elegant delicacy of the Corinthian. Among the 
 antiques, however, we find it in different dresses ; sometimes plentifully adorned, 
 and inclining most towards the Corinthian ; sometimes more simple, and 
 bordering on Doric plainness, all according to the fancy of the architect or 
 nature of the structure whei'e employed. It is throughout of a more slender 
 construction than either of the afore-described orders ; its appearance, though 
 simple, is graceful and majestic ; its ornaments should be few, rather neat than 
 luxuriant, and as there ought to be nothino- exaooerated, or affectedlv striking 
 in any of its parts, it is, not unaptly, compared to a sedate matron, rather in 
 decent than magnificent attire. J 
 
 * Roland Freart, Sieur dc Chambrai, native of Clianibray, a learned architect of the seventeenth 
 century, died in 1676. About 16-10 he was employed by Louis XIII. in a mission to the Pope to collect 
 antiquities, and engage the ablest artists to reside in France. Among the latter he brought Poussin to 
 Paris. His works are, a French translation of Da Vinci on Painting, Fol. Paris, 1651, and one of 
 P-illadio's Architecture, Paris, 1650. Of this, a fine edition was printed by Nicolas dii Eois, at the Plague, 
 in 1726, who hiis diviilcd the translator into two persons, asserting that Freart published 0!;e edition of 
 Palladio, and the Sieur de Cliambrai another. Freart's most valu.able work was the " Parallcle de I'Arehi- 
 tecturo .antique avec la moderne," Paris, 1650, Fob, reprinted by Erard in 1702. This was translated by 
 Sir John Evelyn, and enriched by him with much additional matter. Bernini was associated with 
 Chamlirai in the works at the Louvre, and the following anecdote from Milizia (Mcniorio degli Architetti 
 antichi e moderni), is as creditable to one as to the other of those architects. " Quando fu in Francia il 
 Bernini il Re incarico 1\I. de Chambray di lavorar di coneei'to con (picH' Architotto, il quale rieonobbe subito 
 Ic cognizioni supcriori del Francese, cd elibc il coraggio di confessarlo al Re stesso, dicendogli, che sua 
 Maesta avrebbe potuto dispensarsi di farlo venire si da lontano, poichfe egli avea trovato in M. do Chambray 
 iin Maestro ch'ei si farebbe onore di si'guitare, c eh'ei non era si temerario da canibinr nicnle :d suo 
 progetto del Louvre." — Vita di Rolando Freart dc C'hambiay. — [Ei>.] 
 
 t PI. of Orders. 
 
 I "The lonirpie order doth represent a kinde of feminine slenderncssc ; yet, saith Vitrumvs^ not like a 
 light housewife, but in a decent dressing, hath much of the »H«/n>7i(?." " Best knowno by his trimmings, 
 for the bodie of this cohwiiu: is perpetu.ally chancled, like a thicke plcighted gowne. The ctij)itall 
 dressed on each side, not uuich unlike women's wires, in a spirall wreathing, which they call the loniar. 
 ro/Mta."— [En.]
 
 AUCHITECTUKE IN GENEIIAL. 117 
 
 " The Corinthian,"* says Sir Henry Wotton, " is a column lasciviously 
 decked, like a wanton courtezan. f Its proportions are elegant in the extreme, 
 every part of the order is divided into a great variety of mcmhcrs, and 
 abundantly enriched with a diversity of ornaments." " The ancients," says 
 De Chambrai, " aiming at the representation of a feminine beauty, omitted 
 nothing either calculated to embellish or capable of perfecting their work." 
 And he observes, " that in the many examples left to this order such a 
 profusion of different ornaments is introduced that thev seem to have exhausted 
 imagination in the contrivance of decorations for this masterpiece of the art. 
 Seamozzi calls it the Virginal, | and it certainly has all the delicacy in its form, 
 with all the gaiety, gaudiness, and affectation in its dress peculiar to young 
 women." 
 
 The Composite ordcr,§ being, properly speaking, only a different species 
 of the Corinthian, distinguished from it merely by some peculiarities in the 
 capital, or other trifling deviations, retains in a great measure the £amc 
 character, and requires no particular description. || 
 
 To give a striking idea of these different properties, and to render the 
 comparison between the orders more easy, I have represented^ them all of the 
 same height, by which means the gradual increase of delicacy and richness is 
 easily perceivable, as are likewise the relations between the intercolumniations 
 of the different orders and the proportions which their pedestals, imposts, 
 archivolts, and other parts with which they are on various occasions accom- 
 panied, bear to each other. 
 
 The proportions** of the orders were by the ancients formed on those of 
 
 * PL of Orders, page 111. 
 
 ■)■ Sir Henry adds, " and therein much participating, as all inventions do, of the place where they were 
 first bom; Corinthe having been without controversie one of the wantonest townes in the world." — [Ed.] 
 
 \ Parte seconda, lib. vi. cap. 10, " Gracilc e Virgin.ile." — [Ed.] 
 
 § PI. Orders. 
 
 II " The last is the Compounded order, his name being a briefe of his ymlvrc : for tliis pillar is nothing 
 in effect but a rrndlie, or an amasse of all the precedent ornaments, making a new kinde by stealth, and 
 though the most richly tricked, yet the poorest in tliis, that he is a borrower of all his beautie." — Sir 
 Henry Wotton's Elements of ArcLitect\ire. There is much quaintness in the description of the orders by 
 the most worthy and excellent Provost of Eton College, but there i.? more than an equal quantity of truth 
 feeling, .and artist-like discrimination in his writing on the subject. He was a man worthy such an 
 amiable, simple-minded, and pious biographer as honest Izaak Walton. — [Ed.] 
 
 ^ PI. Orders, page 111. 
 
 ** Proportion (^pro poriione, according to a certain measure or size, or in a certain relation) is, in 
 architecture, those ratios of the whole to its parts, and of the parts among themselves which are suitable to 
 their use and situation. In numbers, it is a similitude of ratios, a term with whicli proportion is often 
 confounded, though their meanings are altogether different; ratios being the relation to each other of two 
 things or magnitudes, whilst proportion relates to four or more terms or things, or two or more ratios, each 
 
 R
 
 118 OF THE ORDERS OF 
 
 the humau body, and consequently it could not be their intention to make a 
 Corinthian column, which, as Vitruvius observes, is to represent the delicacy 
 
 having two or more terms. There are various species of proportions in numbers, as, arithmetical, where 
 there is an equality between the differences of the terms, as 12, 9, 6 ; geometrical, wherein there Is an 
 equality between the quotients of the terms, as 9, 6, 4, for 9 divided by 6 is the same as 6 divided by 4, 
 each being li; harmonical, wherein the first term is to the third as the difference between the first and 
 second is to the difference between the second and third, or in four terms, where the first is to the fourth 
 as the difference between the first and second is to the difference between the third and fourth, as 6, 4, 3, 
 or with four terms, 24, 16, 12, 9; a. sesquialteral ratio is that wherein the greater term contains the less 
 once, with a remainder equal to exactly half the less term, as 3 to 2. 
 
 Wren, in one of his Essays published in the Parentalia, says, " There are two causes of beauty, natural 
 and customary. Natural is fi-om geometry, consisting in uniformity (that is, equality) and proportion. 
 Customary beauty is begotten by the use of our senses to those objects which are usually pleasing to us 
 for other causes, as familiarity or particular inclination breeds a love to things not in themselves lovely. 
 Here lies the great occasion of errors, here is tried the architect's judgment, but always the true test is 
 natural or geometrical beauty." 
 
 The most obvious principle in respect to proportion seems to be that no support should be burthened 
 with a greater quantity of matter than itself contains, or, in other words, than the weight placed on a 
 column should not more than equal its own weight, or that in a series of columns, as in a portico, for 
 instance, the cubical contents of the entablature and pediment, if any, should not be greater than those of 
 the supports or columns. How far the ancients acted on this principle will be presently seen, by a 
 comparison in this respect of some of the finest remains of their works. Wren, at all events seems, though 
 a shrewd and accurate observer, to have had no idea of such a principle, because he remarks that though 
 the Corinthian was slenderer yet it bore a greater weight of entablature than the more ancient orders, 
 forgetting that its columns are, or ought to be, always placed nearer to each other. 
 
 It is astonisliing that the author, a man of sound understanding, should place in the passage any 
 reliance on the dreams of Vitruvius, in respect of the orders of architecture having been formed on the 
 proportions of the human body ; it is as absurd a proposition as one more recently broached (O. B. Sca- 
 mozzi's Palladio), wherein an analogy is pretended to be discovered between the musical concords and the 
 proper proportions of buildings. These doctrines will not do for the present age. The laws of statics, 
 though not perhaps in the earliest periods so well understood as now, were nevertheless so intuitively felt 
 as to guide the first architects in their proportions, rather than those laws deducible from things which 
 were heterogeneous. If indeed at all known. 
 
 AVhen the principle of weight for weight is abandoned the work can only be stable from the apiilica- 
 tion of science to counteract the tendency to ruin by some means of reaction. This is particularly 
 observable in the Gothic structures, wherein we always find an equipoise for the thrusts of their stone 
 vaulting by the most obvious and scientific means. 
 
 To return, however, more strictly to the subject, we have taken five examples of celebrated buildings, 
 wherein, as a method of ascertaining the truth of the principle just adverted to, the superficies of the 
 columns, cut through their axes vertically by a plane parallel to the front of the building, are compared with 
 the area of the entablature and pediment of each resi)ectively. The weights of each being as the cubes of 
 the square roots of the areas, these areas will equally represent the supports and weights in either of 
 the terms. 
 
 In the Parthenon, the supports arc to the weights as . 
 
 Hut if the Htep.s bo reckoned the ratio will be as . 
 
 In the Dome Pottxico, the supports are to the weights as 
 
 In the PsEUDO-DiPTRBAi, Tbmple at 1'/e8tum, the supports 
 are to the weights as ....... . 
 
 In the Temple of MnECTiiEus, as . 
 
 In the Pantheon at Rome, as 
 
 l.';46 : 
 
 1843 or 
 
 1 : 
 
 : M9 
 
 2183 : 
 
 1843 or 
 
 1 : 
 
 : 0-84 
 
 4070 : 
 
 3990 or 
 
 1 : 
 
 ; 0-98 
 
 1090 ; 
 
 ; 1103 or 
 
 1 
 
 : l-Ol 
 
 2640 : 
 
 2800 or 
 
 1 
 
 : I 07 
 
 1566 : 
 
 1723 or 
 
 I 
 
 : 110
 
 ARCHITECTURE IN GENERAL. 119 
 
 of a young girl, as thick and much taller than a Doric one, which is designed 
 to represent the bulk and vigour of a muscular full-grown man. Columns so 
 formed could not be applied to accompany each other without violating the 
 laws both of real and apparent solidity, as in such case the Doric dwarf must 
 bo crushed under the strapping Ionic, or gigantic Corinthian virago, trium- 
 phantlv rising uppermost, and reversing the natural, the necessary predomi- 
 nance in the composition. 
 
 Nevertheless Vignola,* ralladio,|| Scamozzi,t Blondel,J Perrault,§ and 
 many others, if not all the great modern artists, have considered them in this 
 
 So that there is every appearance of this theory being far from fanciful. The reader may consult with 
 advantage Lcbrun's " Theorie de riVrchitocture Grecque ct Romaine, deduites de I'Analise des Monumens 
 Antiques," Fol. Paris, 1807, a work which first induced the Editor to turn his attention to the subject. 
 
 In the progress of the orders from Tuscan to Composite, that is, from seven to eleven diameters in 
 height, if the entablature be a constant quantity equal to one quarter the height of the column, its bulk 
 increases as the iutercolumniations decrease, and is in an inverse ratio to the width of the tntercolumniations. 
 
 For in the Tuscan J- of | ^ IJ in terms of the diameter. 
 
 Doric i of f = 2 do. 
 
 Ionic i of » = 2i do. 
 
 Corinthian . . . . i of 'f = 2i do. 
 
 Composite . . . . a of V = 2J do. —[Ed.] 
 
 * Giacomo Barozzi of Vignola, in the territory of Modena, according to Chalmers, of Bologna, whence 
 he takes his name, was born in 1507, and died 1573, though Chalmers says 1575. In his early days he 
 delighted in painting, but his success was not equal to his love for that branch of the arts. He afterwards 
 applied himself to architecture, and the study of perspective, in which his genius led to better results. He 
 succeeded Michael Angelo as architect of St. Peter's, and his fame as an architectural author is not less 
 than his reputation as a practical artist. His works are, " Piegole dei cinque ordiui d'Arehitettura," Fol. 
 no date, 32 plates. The best, according to Chalmers, is that printed at Amsterdam in 1631 or 1642, Fol. 
 The French editions are not valuable. — [Ed.] 
 
 I See note, page 107.— [Ed.] 
 X See note I, page 95. — [Ed.]. 
 
 § Claude Perrault, who was one of the greatest architects France ever produced, was born at Paris in 
 1613, and died October 9, 1688. Bred a physician, he exhibited an early taste for the fine arts and liberal 
 sciences, of which he acquired consummate knowledge. His greatest work was the admirable fa(,:ade of the 
 Louvre. Voltaire pronounced it one of the most august monuments of architecture in the world : but 
 there have been and are many persons more capable of judging on this matter than M.Voltaire. It is, 
 however, notwithstanding its architectural inaccuracies, a very splendid design, and an honor to the French 
 capital. 
 
 By the advice of Colbert, Perrault translated Vitruvius into French, and illustrated it with notes and 
 plates. The first edition was in 1673, Fol. The second edition, which is the best, is Fol., Paris, 1084. 
 His other wock on architecture was " Ordonnance des cinq Especes de colonues selon les Anciens," Fol. 1 683. 
 Besides these, he published several other of his productions. — [Ed.] 
 
 II Andrea Palladio, bom in the territory of Vicenza, in the year 1518, died in 1580. To his birth and 
 existence this country is especially indebted for its progress in architecture, and for the formation of a school 
 which has done it honor, and given it a character of the first class, in the opinion of its continental 
 neighbours. Among the names which that school enrols are those of Inigo Jones, Sir Christopher Wren, 
 
 R 2
 
 120 OF THE ORDERS OF 
 
 light ; that is, they have made the diameters of all their orders the same, and 
 consequently their heights increasing, which, besides giving a wrong idea of 
 the character of these different compositions, has laid a foundation for many 
 erroneous pi-ecepts and false reasonings to be found in different parts of their 
 works, of which notice will in due time be taken. 
 
 In the opinion of Scamozzi, columns should not be less than seven of their 
 diameters in height, nor more than ten ; the former being, according to him, a 
 good proportion in the Tuscan, and the latter in the Corinthian order. The 
 practice of the ancients in their best works being conformable to this precept, 
 I have, as authorized by the doctrine of Vitruvius, made the Tuscan column 
 seven diameters in height, and the Doric eight, the Ionic nine, as Palladio and 
 Vignola have done, and the Corinthian and Composite ten ; which last measure 
 is a mean between the proportions observed in the Pantheon, and at the three 
 columns in the Campo Vaccine, both which are esteemed most excellent models 
 of the Corinthian order. 
 
 Nicholas Ilawksmoor, James Gibbs, Lord Burlington, Carr of York, Sir Kobort Taylor, our author himself, 
 and a long list whose works reflect a lustre on the name of Palladio, which all the new churches and 
 Grecian profiles of this age will not eclipse. 
 
 The celebrated Gian-Giorgio Trissino was his Maecenas. At his charge ho visited Rome three several 
 times, where he applied himself to the study and restoration of the remains of the magnificent structures of 
 the ancient city. The result was a happy modification of the orders and their proportions to domestic 
 habitations, unknown, and hence unpractised, till his time. 
 
 Of his numerous and captivating buildings, this note does not afibrd the space for a list. Every one, 
 however, has heard of the church of the Redeemer at Venice, and of the Villa Capra at Vicenza. " These," 
 if the language may be used without profanation, " arc the work of his hands." What an age must that 
 have been for oui- art wherein two such master spirits as Sanmichele and Palladio were contemporaries, 
 for the former lived till 1559. 
 
 Palladio, at the age of si.'ity-two years, was snatched aw.ay from this world. His fuucr.il was attended 
 by all the Olympic academicians of Vicenza, and his remains deposited in Santa Corona, a church of the 
 Dominicans in that city. His figure was rather small, his countenance remarkably mild and benign, and 
 the height of his forehead involuntarily reminds us of our immortal Shakspeare's face. His demeanour and 
 conduct were mo dcst and obliging, and the esteem in which ho was held on these accounts by all persons with 
 whom he had business, is a strong jiroof of the truth of the accounts of his biographers. Wilizia s.ays of his 
 works, "Le Nazioni piu colte d'Europa studiano i suoi lilni, e gl' Inglesi spezialmentc lo stimano il 
 loro Newton dell' Architettura." Palladio furnished D. Barbaro with (he plates I'or his translation of 
 Vitruvius. 
 
 The edition, 4 vols. Fob, of this architect's buildings, was published under the following curious circum- 
 stances. Vinccnzo Scamozzi, of whom sec in a preceding note, page 107, left his property to any one of 
 his countrymen, Viccntines, who should become the best .architect of his d.ay, under the obligation, how- 
 ever, of assuming his name, Ottavio Bertotti, born 17'2G, in the judgment of the family of Cajn-a, was 
 that person. To him was adjudged the patrimony, aud, having taken the name of Scamozzi, he celebrated 
 himself by tlic publication in question. This Ottavio Bertotti was not without employment in his profession 
 in the neighbourhood of his native place. For the edition of his works sec a preceding note, jiagc 95. — 
 [Ed.]
 
 ARCIIITKCTURE IN GENERAL. 121 
 
 The height of the entablature, in all the orders, I have made onc-quartcr 
 of the height of the column, which was the common practice of the ancients, 
 who, in all sorts of entablatures, seldom exceeded or fell much short of that 
 measure. 
 
 Nevertheless Palladio, Scamozzi, Albcrti, Barbaro,* Catanco,! Delorme,J 
 and others of the modern architects, have made their entablatures much lower 
 in the Ionic, Composite and Corinthian orders, than in the Tuscan or Doric. 
 This, on some occasions, may not only bo excusable, but highly proper, parti- 
 cularly where the intcrcolumniations are wide, as in a second or third order, in 
 private houses, or inside decorations, where lightness should be preferred to 
 dignity, and where expense, with every impediment to the conveniency of the 
 
 ♦ Daniel Barbaro, born in 151:3, died in 1570, was a man of very considerable learning, and was ambas- 
 sador from Venice to England, which he quitted ia 1551. His arehiteotural works are " Pratica della 
 Prospcttiva," Fol. Venice, 1568, and an Italian translation of Vitruvius, with copious notes, and plates 
 furnished by Palladio, 4to, Venice, 1584. This translation has passed through many editions.— [Ed.] 
 
 ■j- Pietro Cataneo, an Italian architect, who wrote a commentary on Vitruvius, in his own language, Fol. 
 Venice, 1554 — 67. — [Ed.] 
 
 { Philibert Delorme, a native of Lyons, was born in the beginning of the si.^teenth century. He may 
 be fairly ranked among the restorers of architecture in Prance ; but as the father of constructive skill, more 
 especially in carpentry, he has the highest claims on our gratitude. His employment in Paris and its 
 vicinity, was very e.\tended. In the former the Palace of the Tuileries, in its original state, was from his 
 designs, Jean Bullant being said to have been associated with him for the purpose of carrying them into 
 execution. Both these architects have been honored by Chambray, who thought them not unworthy to 
 stand by the side of the greatest masters in his celebrated " Parillele." 
 
 The taste of the age decoyed Delorme into the customary division of his facjades into " pavilions," as 
 the French term them, with towers whose quoins are heavily rusticated, a practice destructive of all effect, 
 as well as unity of design, and calculated to make that appear /jeWe which its volume alone would otherwise 
 have rendered imposing. 
 
 Delorme was the author of two works on architecture, viz. a complete Treatise, in 9 books, Fol. Paris, 
 1567, and the other on Carpentry, entitled, " Nouvelle Invention pour bien batir et ii pctits frais," Fol. Paris, 
 1561. The latter contains an entirely new system of carpentry, in which the chief feature is a substitution of 
 comparatively thin curviform ribs for the heavy trussed roofs, then in general use. These ribs are formed of 
 planks in thicknesses rarely more than three or ibur feet long, about a loot wide, and one inch thick ; their 
 forms, of course, depending on those of the plan and section. They are secured at their feet by a strong 
 wall plate, laid horizontally. The joint of each plank is broken in the middle of the contiguous plank. 
 As the whole security of the system depends on the perpendicularity of the ribs, they are kept in their 
 •vertical direction by keys which pierce them, pinned or wedged on each side of the rib. The most 
 magnificent specimen of tliis species of carpentry, was in the dome of the Halle aux Bleds at Paris, 
 designed by Legrand and Molinos, now replaced, in consequence of its destruction by fire, with a cast-iron 
 ribbed dome. 
 
 Not the least merit of Delorme's invention is, that of its requiring but small timbers iin- very extended 
 spans, independent of its consequent lightness. Specimens of this sort of construction will be found in 
 KraflVs L'Art de la Charpente, Fol. Paris. 
 
 Quatremere de Quincy, under the avi. Delorme, Encyc. Methodiquc, says of this architect's works, that 
 Ihey, "assurent ^ son nom une gloire peutctre plus reelle, mais a coup sur plus durable, que eelle qu'il 
 doit i ses edifices en partlc detruits ou denatures." — [Ed.]
 
 122 OF THE ORDERS OF 
 
 fabric, are carefully to be avoided, but to set entirely aside a proportion which 
 seems to have had the general appi-obation of the ancient artists, is surely 
 presuming too far. 
 
 The reason alleged in favour of this practice is the weakness of the 
 columns in the delicate ordei's, which renders them unfit for supporting heavy 
 burdens ; and where the intervals are fixed, as in a second order, or in other 
 places, where wide intercolumniations are either necessai-y or not to be avoided, 
 the reason is certainly sufficient ; but if the artist is at liberty to dispose his 
 columns at pleasure, the simplest and most natural way of conquering the 
 difliculty is to employ more columns, by placing them nearer to each other, as 
 was the custom of the ancients. And it must be remembered that though the 
 height of the entablature in a delicate order is made the same as in a massive 
 one, yet it will not, either in reality or in appearance, be equally heavy ;* for 
 the quantity of matter in the Corinthian cornice, A, is considerably loss than 
 in the Tuscan cornice, B ; and the increased number of parts composing the 
 former of these will, of course, make it appear far lighter than the latter.f 
 
 With reo-ard to the parts of the entablature I have followed the method 
 of Serlio,J in his Ionic and Corinthian orders, and of Perrault, who, in all his 
 orders, excepting the Doric, divides the whole height of the entablature into 
 ten equal parts, three of which he gives to the architrave, three to the frieze, 
 four to the cornice ; and in the Doric order he divides the whole height of the 
 entablature into eight parts, of which two are given to the architrave, three to 
 the frieze, and three to the cornice. 
 
 These measures deviate very little from those observed in the greatest 
 number of antiques now extant at Kome, where they have stood the test of 
 many ages ; and their simplicity renders theni singularly useful in composition, 
 as they are easily remembered and easily applied. 
 
 Of two manners used by architects to determine the dimensions of the 
 mouldings, and the lesser parts that compose an order, I have chosen the 
 simplest, readiest, and most accurate, which is, by the module or semi-diameter 
 of the column, taken at the bottom of the shaft, and divided into thirty 
 minutes. 
 
 * Fig. 2, Plate of Mouldings. 
 
 t See note at page 107. 
 
 i Scbastiano Serlio, a Uologncse, who died in 1552, was a scliolar of Baldassare rcruzzi, and was llio lii-st 
 arcliitect who measured, and published representations of, the principal remains of Roman architecture. 
 Ili» death occurred at Fontaincljleau, wliilst in tlie service of Francis I. The first edition of hi.s wurlc is 4tOj 
 Viccnza, 1.584 ; one also at Venice, same size, IGli). — Lliu.]
 
 ARCHITECTURE IN GENERAL. 123 
 
 There arc, indeed, many who prefer the method of measuring by equal 
 parts, imagining beauty to depend on the sim])licity and accuracy of the 
 relations existing between the whole body and its members, and alleging that 
 dimensions which have evident affinities are better remembered than those 
 whose relations are too complicated to be immediately apprehended. 
 
 With regard to the former of these suppositions it is evidently false, for 
 the real relations subsisting between dissimilar figures have no connection with 
 the apparent ones ; and with regard to the latter it may or may not be the 
 case, according to the degree of accuracy with which the partition is made : 
 for instance, in dividing the Attic base, which may be numbered among the 
 simplest compositions in architecture, according to the different methods, it 
 appears to me as easy to recollect the numbers, 10, 1\^, 1, 4f, 1, 5|, as to 
 remember that the whole height of the base is to be divided into three equal 
 parts ; that two of these three are to be divided into four, that three of the 
 four are to be divided into two, and that one of the two is to be divided into 
 six, which are to be divided into three. 
 
 But admitting it were easier to remember the one than the other, it doth 
 not seem necessary nor even advisable, in a science where a vast diversity of 
 knowledge is required, to burden the memory with a thousand trifling dimen- 
 sions. If the general proportions be known, it is all that is requisite in 
 composing, and v/hcn a design is to be executed it is easy to have recourse to 
 figured drawings or to prints. The use of the module is universal throughout 
 the order and all its appurtenances : it marks their relations to each other, and 
 being susceptible of the minutest divisions, the dimensions may be speedily 
 determined with the utmost accuracy, while the trouble, confusion, uncertainty, 
 and loss of time in measuring by equal parts are very considerable, seeing it is 
 necessary to form almost as many different scales as there are different parts to 
 be divided. 
 
 Columns, in imitation of trees, from which they drew their origin, are 
 tapered in their shafts. In the antiques the diminution is variously performed, 
 sometimes beginning from the foot of the shaft, at others from one-quarter or 
 one-third of its height, the lower part being left perfectly cylindrical. 'J'he 
 former of these methods was most in use amongst the ancients, and being the 
 most natural, seems to claim the preference, though the latter has been almost 
 universally practised by modern artists, from a supposition, perhaps, of its 
 being more graceful, as it is more marked and strikingly perceptible. 
 
 The first architects, says Mons. Auzoult, probably made their columns in 
 straight lines, in imitation of trees, so that their shaft was a frustrum of the
 
 124 OF THE ORDERS OF 
 
 cone ; but finding this foi'm abrupt and disagreeable, they made use of somo 
 curve, which, springing from the extremities of the superior and inferior 
 diameters of the column, swelled beyond the sides of the cone, and, by that 
 means, gave a more pleasing figure to the outline. Vitruvius,* in the second 
 chapter of his third book, mentions this practice, but in so obscure and cursory 
 a manner tliat his meaning has not been understood ; and several of the 
 modern architects, intending to conform themselves to his doctrine, have made 
 the diameters of their columns greater in the middle than at the foot of the 
 shaft. Leon Baptista Alberti,f with others of the Floi'entine and Roman 
 architects, carried this practice to a very absurd excess, for which they have 
 been justly blamed, as it is neither niitural, reasonable, nor beautiful. 
 
 ]\Ionsieur Auzoult further observes, that a column, supposing its shaft to 
 be the frustrum of a cone, may have an additional thickness in the middle, 
 without being swelled there, beyond the bulk of its inferior parts ; and 
 supposes the addition mentioned by Vitruvius to signify nothing more than the 
 increase towards tlie middle of the column, occasioned by changing the straight 
 line, which at first was in use, into a curve. 
 
 This supposition is exceedingly just, and founded on what is observable in 
 the works of antiquity, where there is no single instance of a column thicker in 
 the middle than at the bottom, though all, or most of them, have the swelling 
 hinted at by Vitruvius, all of them being terminated by curves, some few 
 granite columns excepted, which are bounded by straight lines : a proof, 
 perhaps, of their antiquity, or of their having been wrought in the quarries of 
 Egypt by unskilful workmen. 
 
 Blondcl in his book, entitled " Resolution des quatre prinoipaux Problcmes 
 d'Architecture," teaches various manners of diminishing columns, the best and 
 simplest of which is by means of the instrument invented by Nicomedes to 
 describe the first conchoid : for this, being applied at the bottom of the shaft, 
 performs at one sweep both the swelling and the diminution, giving such a 
 graceful form to the column that it is universally allowed to be the most perfect 
 practice hitherto discovered. The columns in the Pantheon, accounted the 
 
 * Lib. iii. cap. 2. "De aJjectione, <]iia; adjieitur in iiiodiis Culumnis; qum apud Gra^cos ivraaic 
 apellatur, in cxtrenio libro erit formatio ejus." — AVotton, in his Elements of Arcliitecturc, says, " And here I 
 must take leave to blame a practiee growne (I know not how) in certaine places too familiar, making ;«7/ari 
 swell in tlie middle, as if they were sicke of some /y?iipii>i;/ or drn]>sic, without any autliontiijuc pallei'ii or 
 rule, to my knowleilge, and unseemoly to the very jud^'niciit of sight." — [1'ji>-] 
 
 f This learned author divides the height of the column into seven parts, and places the greatest swelling 
 at the heiglit of the third division of these jiarts from the base, so that, as he takes Vitruvius in the strict 
 letter, it is nearer the middle of the height of the column. — [Iii>-j
 
 ARCHITECTURE IN GENERAL. 125 
 
 most beautiful among the anticiues, are traced in this manner, as appears by 
 the exact measures of one of them, to be found in Desgodetz's* Antiquities 
 of Rome. 
 
 To give an accurate idea of the operation it will l)e necessary first to 
 describe Vignola's method of diminution, on which it is grounded. " As to 
 this second method," says Vignola,t " it is a discovery of my own ; and 
 although it be less known than the former it will be easily comprehended by 
 the figure. Having therefore determined the measures of your column (that 
 is to sav, the height of the shaft, and its inferior and superior diameters), | 
 draw a line indetinitely from C through D, perpendicular to the axis of the 
 colunm ;" this done, set off the distance C D, which is the inferior semi- 
 diameter, from A, the extreme point of the superior semi-diameter, to B, a 
 point in the axis. Then from A, through B, draw the line ABE, which will 
 cut the indefinite line C D in E ; and from this point of intersection, E, draw 
 through the axis of the column any number of rays as E 6 a, on each of which, 
 from the axis towards the circumference, setting off the interval C D, you may 
 find any number of points, a, a, a, through which, if a curve be drawn, it will 
 describe the swelling and diminution of the column. 
 
 Though this method be sufficiently accurate for practice, especially if a 
 considerable number of points be found, yet, strictly speaking, it is defective, 
 as the curve must cither be drawn by hand or by applying a flexible ruler to all 
 the points, both which are liable to variations. Blondel, therefore, to obviate 
 this objection (after having pi'oved the curve passing from A to C through the 
 points a, a, to be of the same nature with the first conchoid of the ancients), 
 employed the instrument of Nicomedes to describe it, the construction of 
 ■which is as follows : — 
 
 Having determined, as above, the length of the shaft with the inferior 
 and supei'ior diameters of the column, and having likewise found the length of 
 the line C D E, take three rulers, either of wood or metal, as F G, I D, and 
 AH: of which let F G and I D be fastened together at right angles in G ; 
 cut a dove-tail gToove in the middle of F G, from top to bottom, and at the 
 point E on the ruler I D (whose distance from the middle of the groove in F G 
 
 * Desgodetz (A.) "Edifices dc Komo dessind'S et measures trcs exactement," Fol, Paris, 1682. The 
 student is cautioned against Marshall's translation of this book, -which is as inaccurate as it is ill-executed ; 
 it is published in two vols. Fol., 1771, Lond. The work on the Antiquities of Rome, lately published by 
 G. L. Taylor and Edward Crcsy, Architects, may be consulted by the student with ureat advantage, and 
 reflects the highest credit on the exertions of those gentlemen. — [Ed.] 
 
 t "De cinque ordini D' Architettura," cap. 7, page ol. Stanipani's Ed., Fol., Rome, 1770. — [Ed.] 
 
 J Figure 3, Plate of Mouldings. 
 
 S
 
 126 OF THE ORDERS OF 
 
 is the same as that of the point of intersection from the axis of the column) 
 fix a pin ; then on the ruler A H set off the distance A B, equal to C D the 
 inferior semi-diameter of the column, and at the point B fix a button, whose 
 head must be exactly fitted to the groove made in F G, in which it is to slide ; 
 and at the other extremity of the ruler A H, cut a slit or channel from H to 
 K, whose length must not be less than the difference of length between E B 
 and E D, and whose breadth must be sufficient to admit the pin fixed at E, 
 which must pass through the slit, that the ruler may slide thereon. 
 
 The instrument being thus completed, if the middle of the groove, in the 
 ruler F G, be placed exactly over the axis of the column, it is evident that the 
 ruler A H, in moving along the groove, will, with its extremity A, describe 
 the curve A a a C, which curve is the same as that produced by Vignola's 
 method of diminution, supposing it done with the utmost accuracy ; for the 
 interval A, B, a, b, is always the same, and the point E is the origin of an 
 infinity of lines, of which the parts B A, 5 o, b a, extending from the axis to 
 the circumference, are equal to each other, and to D C. And if the rulers be 
 of an indefinite size, and the pins at E and B be made to move along their 
 respective ruler, so that the intervals A B and D E may be augmented or 
 diminished at pleasure, it is likewise evident that the same instrument may be 
 thus applied to columns of any size. 
 
 In the remains of antiquity the quantity of the diminution is various, but 
 seldom less than one-eighth of the inferior diameter of the column, nor more 
 than one-sixth of it. The last of these is by Vitruvius esteemed the most 
 perfect, and Vignola has employed it in four of his orders, as I have done in 
 all of them, there being no reason for diminishing the Tuscan column more, in 
 proportion to its diameter, than any of the rest ; though it be the doctrine of 
 Vitruvius, and the practice of Palladio, Vignola, Scamozzi, and almost all the 
 modern architects. On the contrary, as Monsieur Perrault* justly observes, 
 its diminution ought rather to be less than more, as it actually is in the Trajan 
 column, being there only one-ninth of the diameter. For even when the same 
 ])roportion is observed through all the orders, the absolute quantity of the 
 diminution in the Tuscan order, supposing the columns of the same height, 
 exceeds that in the Corinthian in the ratio of ten to seven ; and if, according 
 to the common practice, the Tuscan column be less by one-quarter at (lur top 
 than at its foot, the difference between the diminution in the Tuscan and in 
 the Corinthian columns will be as fifteen to seven, and in the Tuscan and 
 
 • The following Table is extracted and aiiiplilieil liom I'ciraull's " Ordonnance des Ciiin ICspceos do
 
 ARCHITECTURE IN GENERAL. 
 
 127 
 
 Doric nearly as fifteen to nine ; so that, notwithstanding there is a very consi- 
 derable ditlbronco between the lower diameters of a Tuscan and of a Doric 
 column, both being of the same height, yet the diameters at their top will be 
 nearly equal, and consequently the Tuscan column will in reality be no 
 stronger than the Doric one, which is contrary to the character of the order. 
 
 Vitruvius* allots ditFerent degrees of diminution to columns of different 
 heights, giving to those of fifteen foot, one-sixth of their diameter ; to such 
 as are from twenty to thirty foot, one-seventh ; and when they are from forty 
 to fifty foot high, one-eighth only, observing that as the eye is easily deceived 
 in considering distant objects, which always seem less than they really are, it 
 is necessary to remedy the deception by an increase of their dimensions, 
 otherwise the work will appear ill-constructed and disagreeable to the eye. 
 
 Most of the modern architects have taught the same doctrine, but 
 Perrault in his notes, both on this passage and on the second chapter of the 
 sixth book, endeavours to prove the absurdity thereof. In fact, it is on most 
 occasions, if not on all, an evident error, which Vitruvius and his followers have 
 probably been led into through neglect of combining circumstances. For if the 
 
 Colonnes," Partie lore, cap. 8. 
 1-066 : 1-000. 
 
 -The heights ai-e in terms of the Fi-ench foot, which is to the English as 
 
 Doric 
 
 Theatre of Marccllus 
 
 Coliseum 
 
 ! Temple of Concord 
 Temple of Portuiia Virilis. ... 
 Coliseum 
 
 Temple of Peace 
 
 Portico of Pantheon 
 
 Altars of Pantheon 
 
 Temple of Vesta 
 
 Temple of Sybil at Tivoli. ... 
 
 Corinthian . . ' Temple of Faustina 
 
 Columns of Campo Vaccino. 
 
 Basilica of Antoninus 
 
 Arch of Constantine 
 
 Interior of Pantheon 
 
 Portico of Septimius 
 
 Baths of Diocletian 
 
 Temple of Bacchus 
 
 Arch of Titus 
 
 Arch of Septimius Sevei-us... 
 
 Composite... 
 
 HeightofShaft. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 Inches. 
 
 21 
 
 
 
 22 
 
 m 
 
 36 
 
 
 
 22 
 
 10 
 
 23 
 
 
 
 49 
 
 3 
 
 36 
 
 7 
 
 10 
 
 10 
 
 27 
 
 5 
 
 19 
 
 
 
 36 
 
 
 
 37 
 
 6 
 
 37 
 
 
 
 21 
 
 8 
 
 27 
 
 6 
 
 37 
 
 
 
 35 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 8 
 
 16 
 
 
 
 21 
 
 8 
 
 Feet. Inches. 
 3 
 
 ^ 
 11 
 
 8| 
 
 8 
 
 6 
 
 11 
 
 4 
 
 6 
 
 65 
 
 5h 
 
 8i 
 
 5 
 
 4 
 
 4 
 
 ^n 
 
 Dimmution. 
 
 Minutes. 
 12 
 
 ^ 
 
 lOJ 
 10 
 
 ^ 
 
 8 
 
 6i 
 
 8 
 
 8 
 
 6i 
 
 6J 
 
 7 
 
 8 
 
 115 
 
 7 
 7 
 
 Ratio of 
 Diminution. 
 
 0200 
 0077 
 0-182 
 0-125 
 0166 
 0-111 
 0-106 
 0133 
 0111 
 0-133 
 0-133 
 0-111 
 01 06 
 0-117 
 01.33 
 0-125 
 0-200 
 0111 
 0-117 
 117[Ed.] 
 
 * Lib. iii. cap. 2. — [En.] 
 
 S 2
 
 128 OF THE ORDERS OF 
 
 validity of Perrault's arguments bo not assented to, and it is required to judge 
 according to the rigour of optical laws, it must be remembered that the proper 
 point of view for a column of fifty foot high is not the same as for one of 
 fifteen, hut on the contrary more distant, in the same proportion, as the 
 column is higher ; and that consequently the apparent relation between the 
 lower and upper diameters of the column will be the same, whatever be its 
 size. For if we suppose* A to be a point of view, whose respective distance 
 from each of the columnsyg', F G, is equal to the respective heights of each, 
 the triangles /Kg, F A G, will be similar ; and Kf, or A h, which is the 
 same, will be to A g-, as A F, or its equal A II is to A G ; therefore if d e be 
 in reality to 6 c as D E is to B C it will likewise be apparently so ; for the 
 angle d K e will then be to the angle /^ A c as the angle D A E is to the 
 angle B A C, and if the real relations differ the apparent ones will likewise 
 differ. 
 
 I have supposed the eye of the spectator to be in a line perpendicular to 
 the foot of the shaft ; but if the columns be proportionably raised to any height 
 above the eye the argument will still remain in force, as the point of view must 
 of course be proportionably more distant; and even when columns are placed 
 immediately on the ground, which seldom or ever is the case, the alteration 
 occasioned by that situation is too trifling to deserve notice. 
 
 When, therefore, a certain degree of diminution, which by experience is 
 found pleasing, has been fixed upon, thei-e will be no necessity for changing it, 
 whatever be the height of the column, provided the point of view is not limited ; 
 but in close places, where the spectator is not at liberty to choose a proper 
 distance for his point of sight, the architect, if he inclines to be scrupulously 
 accurate, may vary ; though it is in reality a matter of no importance, as the 
 nearness of the object will render the image thereof indistinct, and conse- 
 quently any small alteration imperceptible.f 
 
 Scamozzi,j who esteems it an essential property of the delicate orders to 
 exceed the massive ones in height, has applied tlie above-cited precept of 
 Vitruvius to the different orders, having diminished the Tuscan column one 
 quarter of its diameter, the Doric one-fifth, the Ionic one-sixth, the Roman 
 one-seventh, and tlic Corinthian one-eighth. In (lie foregoing part of this 
 chapter I have shown the fallacy of his notion with respect to the heights of 
 
 * Fig. 4, Plate of Mouldings. 
 
 f It J9 liy an attentive consideration of all these circumstances, nud of the aspect of ;i buildiiitr, tlial 
 the intelligent architect is enabled to "snatch a praco bejond tlie reach of art." — [Ed.] 
 { I'arte Second.!, Lib. vi. c. 0.
 
 ARCHITECTURE IN GENERAL. 129 
 
 his orders, and likewise endeavoured to prove the error of diminishing the 
 Tuscan cohinin more than any of the others, so that it will he needless to say 
 anything further on these suhjects now ; for as the case is similar, the same 
 arguments may he employed in confutation thereof. 
 
 My intention being to give an exact idea of the orders of the ancients, I 
 have represented them under such figures and proportions as appear to have 
 been most in use in the esteemed works of the Romans, who, in the opinion of 
 Leon Bap. Alberti, and other eminent writers, carried ai'chitecture to its 
 perfection. It must not, however, he imagined that the same general propor- 
 tions will, on all occasions, succeed. They are chietiy collected from the 
 temples and other public structures of antiquity, and may by us be employed in 
 churches, palaces, and other buildings of magnificence, where majesty and 
 grandeur of manner should be extended to their utmost limits, and where, 
 the whole composition being generally large, the parts require an cxtraordinai-y 
 degree of boldness to make them distinctly perceptible from the proper general 
 points of view. But in less considerable edifices, and under various circum- 
 stances of which I shall hereafter give a detail, more elegant proportions may 
 often be preferable.
 
 130 
 
 OF THE TUSCAN ORDER. 
 
 Among the antiques there are no remains of a regular Tuscan order ; the 
 doctrine of Vitruvius upon that subject is obscure ; and the profiles of 
 Palladio, Scamozzi, Serlio, Delorme and Vignola, are all, moi-e or less 
 imperfect. 
 
 Of the two designs left us by Palladio, that taken from the description of 
 Vitruvius is unpleasingly rustic. The other, again, is too rich,* and inju- 
 diciously composed. That of Scamozzi is yet richer, and much too like the 
 Doric. Serlio's is heavy ; and Vignola's, though superior to the others, is 
 defective in the cornice, which is clumsy compared with the rest of the order, 
 ill-proportioned in its parts, and incorrectly profiled, as it finishes with a 
 supporting moulding, which has nothing to support, and consequently must 
 excite the idea of a mutilation ; the more striking, as the genei'al outline of 
 the composition resembles exactly the bed moulds of the Ionic cornice, 
 supposing the dentil band left uncut, as is often the case. 
 
 In the design here annexed I have chiefly imitated Vignola's, who in this 
 order has been almost universally followed. Even Inigo Jones, who was so 
 close an adherer to Palladio, has employed Vignola's profile in his York Stairs, 
 and others, his buildings. But as the cornice appears to me far inferior to 
 the rest of the composition I have not scrupled to reject it, and to substitute 
 in its place that of Scamozzi, with such alterations as wore evidently necessary 
 to render it perfect. Conformably to the doctrine of Vitruvius,f and to the 
 almost general practice of the moderns, I have given to the height of the 
 column fourteen modules or seven diameters, and to that of the whole entabla- 
 ture, three and a half modules ; which being divided into ten equal parts, three 
 
 * It cannot be properly called rich. Tlic only differences between Palladio's profile and the author's 
 arc, that in the former there is one more member, viz., in the architrave which has two fasciic, and that in 
 the bed mouldings Pulladio has a cyma recta, fillet, and cavetto. Sir ANilliam has changed these for an 
 ovolo fillet and cyma reversa, and the projection of his capital is greater than that in I'alladio's profile. — 
 The greatest fault of the author's profile lies in the relative proportions of the frie/e and architrave, and 
 has been induced by his desire to get rid of Palladin's lower fascia. — [Eu.] 
 
 t Do Tuscanis rationibus scdium sacrarum. Lib. iv. c. 7. — [Ki>.]
 
 J-Lf 
 
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 taijiu .IV^ ertjoni . 
 
 
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 F.H.OPijvcs dcL 
 
 W. Chambers Lnv. 
 
 J Roffc sr 
 
 J^ihiishfid hv the Ptvprietors of thr HtuhhiUjArws. lri{U> 
 
 SIR V«ILtl*M CriAMBtRS' T«tATiSE. 
 
 Ihfi.u>) friRiiStaiif bj C F.Ch«xhaA IrSoa Xeidn.
 
 OF THE TUSCAN ORDER. 133 
 
 of them arc for the height of the architrave, three for that of the frieze, and the 
 i-cni;iiniiiii;' four for the cornice. The capital is in height one module, the base, 
 inchuiing the lower cincture of the shaft, is also one module, and the shaft, 
 with its upper cincture and astragal, twelve modules. These are the general 
 measures of the order. 
 
 With respect to the particular dimensions of the minuter parts, they may 
 be collected from the design, whereon the heights and projections of each 
 member are figured, the latter of these being counted from perpendiculars 
 raised at the extremities of the inferior and superior diameters of the shaft — 
 a method preferable to that of De Chambrai and Desgodetz, who count from 
 the axis of the column, because the relations between the heights and projec- 
 tions of the parts are more readily discoverable, and whenever a cornice or 
 entablature is to be executed without a column, which frequently happens, it 
 requires no additional time or labour, as the trouble of deducting from each 
 dimension, the semi-diameter of the column is saved. 
 
 Scamozzi, that his bases might be of the same height in all the orders, 
 has given to the Tuscan one, exclusive of the cincture, half a diameter, but I 
 have rather chosen to imitate Vignola and Palladio, who in this order have 
 deviated from the general rule, for as the Tuscan base is composed of two 
 members only, instead of six, which constitute the other bases, it becomes much 
 too clumsy when the same general proportion is observed. 
 
 The Tuscan order admits of no ornaments of any kind ; on the contrary 
 it is sometimes customary to represent on the shaft of its column rustic cinc- 
 tures, as at the Palace Pitti in Florence, that of the Luxembourg in Paris, 
 York Stairs in London, and many other buildings of note. This practice, 
 though frequent, and to be found in the works of many celebrated architects, 
 is not always excusable, and should be indulged with caution, as it hides the 
 natural figure of the column, alters its proportions, and affects the sim- 
 plicity of the whole composition. There are few examples of these bandages 
 in the remains of antiquity, and in genei'al it will be advisable to avoid 
 them in all large designs, reserving the rustic work for the intercolumnia- 
 tions, where it may be employed with great propriety to produce an 
 opposition which will help to render the aspect of the whole composition 
 distinct and striking. 
 
 But in smaller works of which the parts being few are easily compre- 
 hended, they may -be sometimes tolerated, sometimes even recommended, as 
 they serve to diversify the forms, are productive of strong contrasts, and contri- 
 bute very considerably to the masculine, bold aspect of the composition.
 
 134 OF THE TUSCAN ORDER. 
 
 Le Clerc* thinks them proper in gates of citadels and prisons, of which the 
 entrances should be terrific, and they ai'e likewise fit for gates to gardens or 
 parks, for grottos, fountains, and baths, where elegance of form and neatness 
 of workmanship would he out of character. Delorme, who was exceedingly- 
 fond of these cinctures, has employed them in sevei*al parts of the Tuileries, 
 covered with arms, cyphers, and other enrichments ; but this seems absurd, 
 for thev can never be considered in any other light than as parts, which, to 
 avoid expense and trouble, were left unfinished. We likewise find in different 
 parts of the Louvre vermiculated rustics, of which the tracks repi'esent flowers 
 de luce and other regular figures, — a practice still more unnatural than the 
 forementioued, though Monsieur D'Avilerf very gravely tells us that it should 
 always be done with propriety, and express a relation to the owner of the 
 structure ; that is, the figures should represent his arms, his crest, motto, 
 cypher, and so forth, as if worms were draughtsmen and understood heraldry. 
 
 In the plates of designs for gates, doors and windows, and likewise in 
 those of different compositions, at the end of the book, are given several 
 designs of rustic columns, and other rustic work ; all collected from buildings 
 of note in different parts of Europe ; and for the manner of executing them, 
 as it cannot well be described, the student is referred to various parts of 
 Somerset Place, to the Horse Guards, the Treasury, the Doric entrance of 
 the King's Mews, the gate of Burlington House, &c. : in all which, the 
 different kinds of rustication are managed with taste and command of the 
 chisel. 
 
 De Chambrai, in the introduction to his parallel of ancient and modern 
 architecture, treats the Tuscan order with great contempt, and banishes it to 
 the country, as unworthy a place, cither in temples or palaces ; but in the 
 
 * "Traitc d' Architecture" Ordro Toscan. '• Dos Architectes assez considercs ont quchiucfois ccrclc 
 la tigc de plusieui-s ceintures de bossage, comnie on en voit au Palais de Luxembourg, et autros lieux de 
 distinction ; mais ces sortes d'ornomons rustiquos ne sont point du tout !l imitcr, si ce n'est ii dos portes do 
 cila<lelles ou dc prison, pour rendre leur entree afl'reusc et desagrcable. Si neanmoins on pent souffrir ce 
 sortes d'ornemens rustiques en iiuehjues endroits, ce no doit etre que sur descolonnes Toscanes, ou tout au 
 plus sur Ics Dori(iucs, et jamais sur les autres colonnes plus delicates parliculiercnient quand dies sont 
 cannelces. — [Ei>.] 
 
 t " Cours d'Arcliitccture qui comprend les ordrcs dc Vignole," &c., par A. C. D'Avilor, i vols. 4to. 
 l^a Haye, 1730. Tom. i. page 0. 
 
 Aug. Char. D'Aviler, born 1G53, died 1700, was a native of Paris. lie was elected by the Frcncli 
 academy one of their travelling students at an early age, and took his departure from IMarseilles with 
 Desgodetz and the celebrated V'aillant. Tlic ship in which they sailed was .captured by corsairs and 
 carried into Algiers, llis captivity lasted sixteen months, during which ho designed and executed a 
 mosque at Tunis for the barbarians. Besides the work above mentioned he translated Scamozzi. (sec 
 Jlilizia. — [Kd.]
 
 OF THE TUSCAN OUDER. 135 
 
 second part of the same work, he is more indulgent, for though he rejects the 
 entablature, the coUuun is taken into favor, " and compared to a queen seated 
 on a tlirone, surrounded with all the treasures of fame, and distributing lionors 
 to her minions, while other columns only seem to be servants and slaves of the 
 buildings they support." 
 
 The remainder of this passage, too long to bo here inserted at full 
 length, is calculated to degrade and totally to exclude from buildings, the 
 Tuscan order, but by a different mode of employing and dressing the column, 
 to exalt its consequence, increase its majesty and beauty, so as to stand an 
 advantageous comparison with any of the rest. He therefore wishes, in 
 imitation of the ancient architects, to consecrate the Tuscan column to tho 
 commemoration of great men and their glorious actions, instancing Trajan's 
 column, one of the proudest monuments of Roman splendour, which is of that 
 order, was erected by the senate and people of Rome, in acknowledgment of 
 his services, and has contributed more to immortalize that emperor than the 
 united pens of all historians. He further instances the Antonine column, 
 likewise erected at Rome, on a similar occasion, in honor of Antoninus Pius, 
 and another of the same sort at Constantinople, raised to the emperor 
 Theodosius, after his victory over the Scythians ; both which prove, by their 
 resemblance to the Trajan column, that this sort of appropriation, recom- 
 mended by him, had passed into a rule among the ancient masters of the art. 
 
 I shall not hei'e dispute the justness of M. De Chambrai's remarks, but 
 may venture to affirm that not only the Tuscan column, but the whole order, 
 as represented in the annexed design, which being in fact the production of 
 Vignola and Scamozzi, I may praise without the imputation of vanitv, is 
 extremely beautiful, — a useful, even necessary gradation in the art, and for its 
 purposes, inferior to none of the rest. 
 
 The Tuscan order, as it conveys ideas of strength and rustic simplicitv, 
 is very proper for rural purposes, and may be employed in farm-houses, in 
 barns, and sheds for implements of husbandry, in stables, maneges, and dog- 
 kennels, in greenhouses, grottos, and fountains, in gates of pai-ks and gardens, 
 and generally wherever magnificence is not required and expense is to be 
 avoided. Serlio recommends the use thereof in prisons, arsenals, treasuries, 
 sea-ports and gates of fortified places ; and Le Clerc observes*, that though 
 the Tuscan order, as treated by Vitruvius, by Palladio, and some others, ought 
 to be entirely rejected, yet according to the composition of Vignola, there is a 
 beauty in its simplicity which recommends it to notice, and entitles it to a 
 
 * Traite d'Architecture, Art. v. Edit. La Ilajc, 1714, ji. 10.— [Ed.] 
 
 T 2
 
 136 OF THE TUSCAN ORDER. 
 
 place both in private and public buildings, as in colonnades and porticos 
 surrounding squares or markets, in granaries or storehouses, and even in royal 
 palaces, to adorn the lower apartments, offices, stables, and other places where 
 strength and simplicity are required, and where richer or more delicate orders 
 would be improper. 
 
 In conformity to the doctrine and practice before mentioned, seven 
 diameters, or fourteen modules, have been given to the height of the Tuscan 
 column, a proportion very proper for rural or military works, where an 
 appearance of extraordinary solidity is required ; but in town buildings, 
 intended for civil purposes, or in interior decorations, the height of the column 
 may be fourteen and a half, or even fifteen modules, as Scamozzi makes it ; 
 which augmentation may be entirely in the shaft, without changing any 
 measures either of the base or capital. Nor need the entablature be altered, 
 for as it is composed of few parts, it will be sufficiently bold, although its 
 height be somewhat less than one-quarter of the height of the column.
 
 137 
 
 OF THE DORIC ORDER. 
 
 In the parallel are given three profiles of the Doric order ; one of which 
 is taken from the theatre of Marcellus, and the other two are copied by Pirro 
 Ligorio, from various fragments of antiquity in and near Rome. Vignola's 
 second Doric profile bears a near resemblance to the most beautiful of these, 
 and was not improbably collected from the same antique which Ligorio copied, 
 though it must be owned that Vignola has, in his composition, far exceeded 
 the original, having omitted the many trivial, insignificant mouldings with 
 which that is overloaded, and in various other respects improved both its form 
 and proportions. 
 
 This profile of Vignola, being composed in a greater style, and in a 
 manner more characteristic of the order than any other, I have chosen for my 
 model, having, in the general form and proportions, strictly adhered to the 
 original, though in particular members I have not scrupled to vary, when 
 observation taught me they might bo improved.* 
 
 Vignola, as appears by the preface to his rules, supposed that the graceful 
 and pleasing aspect of architectonic objects was occasioned by the harmony 
 and simplicity of the relations existing between their parts, and in composing 
 his profiles he constantly regulates his measures by these simple affinities, 
 imagining the deviations from them in his antique models to proceed rather 
 from the inaccurate execution of the woi'kmen than from any premeditated 
 design in the contriver. To this notion may be ascribed many little defects in 
 the proportions of his mouldings and minuter members, which, though trifling 
 in themselves, are yet, from the smallness of the parts where they happen to 
 be, of consequence, and easily perceivable by a judicious eye. These I have, 
 therefore, endeavoured to correct, not only in this, but in others of his orders, 
 which from their conformity to the best antiques, I have in the course of this 
 work chosen to imitate.f 
 
 * The chief alteration is in the cornice. See subsequent note. — [Ed.] 
 
 t The author on general principles differs here, not only from Vignola, but from a very large portion 
 of later architects, amongst whom will be found perhaps as intelligent an architect, and one as alive to 
 proportion, as the world ever saw, viz.. Sir Christopher AVren, under whose banners, though he in some 
 matters was deficient in good taste, I am not fearful of appearing. See note at page 118. Messer Jacopo
 
 138 OF THE DORIC ORDER. 
 
 It has already been observed that the real relations subsistino- between 
 dissimilar figures have no connection with the apparent, the form and situation 
 of the object viewed ever altering the affinity, and it is a truth too evident to 
 require demonstration. No one will deny, for instance, that the ovolo in the 
 annexed Doric cornice*, viewed in its proper elevation, will appear much 
 larger than the capital of the triglyph under and contiguous to it, though they 
 are in reality neai-ly of the same dimensions ; and if the same ovolo were 
 placed as much below the level of the spectator's eye as it is in the present 
 case above, it is likewise evident that it would appear considerably lower than 
 any flat member of the same height. These things being so, a strict attach- 
 ment to harmonic relations seems entirely out of the question, since what 
 is really in perfect harmony may, in appearance, produce the most jarring 
 discordf. 
 
 Perfect proportion in architecture, if considered only with regard to the 
 relations between the different objects in a composition, and as it merely relates 
 to the pleasure of the sight, seems to consist in this — that those parts which 
 are either principal or essential should be contrived to catch the eye succes- 
 sively from the most considerable to the least, according to their degrees of 
 importance in the composition, and impress their images on the mind, before 
 it is affected by any of the subservient members ; yet, that these should be so 
 
 Barozzi's preface is too long for insertion here ; but tlie view witli whicli he determined to ascertain tlie 
 relative projiortions of the orders, for his own private use, will explain the whole of his system, and show 
 that he well knew his mcstierc. " Per potermi appoggiare con ferraezza maggiore, mi sou proposto innnnzl 
 quelli ornamenti antichi delli cinqvie ordini, quali nelle anticaglie di Koma si vedoiio, c questi tutti insiemo 
 considerandoli, e con diligonti misuro esaminandoli, ho trovato quelli, chc al giudizio commune appajono 
 piu belli, e con piu gi-azia si appresentano agl'occhi nostri ; questi ancora avere certa corrispoudenza, e 
 proporziono di numeri insieme mono intrigata, anzi ciascun mininio membro, misurare li maggiori in taute 
 lor parti appunto," &c. — [Ed.] 
 
 * ri. Doric Order. 
 
 •j" The argument used by the author docs not hold. It is indeed true tliat in tlic abstract " the 
 real relations subsisting between dissimilar figures have no connection with the apparent," but it nuist be 
 remembered that the parts of an order, however dissimilar inter se, are still parts of one whole ; that each 
 of them ought to have some relation to that whole, and that there must, to make the whole pleasing, be 
 some relation or proportion c.\isting throughout; whether the proportions should be arithmetical, 
 geometrical, harmonica), or sesquialteral, it is needless to discuss in this place. It is, however, quite certain 
 that many of the celebrated and most beautiful structures of this metropolis arc designed in sesquialteral 
 proportions : among them the tower and spire of Bow church may be named without fear of contradiction. 
 It is singular that the author, to fortify his opinion, .should take the ovolo above the Doric triglyph to argue 
 upon and prove his assertion, because the ovolo is known to be improper, except when placed above the 
 level of the eye of the spectator ; or if used below, otherwise than as a crowning member. Who, for 
 instance, could substitute an inverted ovolo, and this is putting the point pari aisii, for the inverted cyma 
 recta above the plinth of a pedestal Y See note p. 103. — [Ed.]
 
 /hT«-».-.« ■«•//,«*// 
 
 n.5 
 
 
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 fnhhshrflhy tlh Pn-fjri, h-r.w al' Ifu l>nil,iiihi Xrws. ir.Cu 
 
 Sift VWIILIAM CHAMBERS TRCATISC. 
 
 ftutrj fr tfm Stbiif br ' cCka^osa >~Sfta l^wkib
 
 OF TllK DORIC OUDER. 141 
 
 coiulitioiUHl as not to be entirely absorbed, but be capable of raising distinct 
 ideas likewise, and such as may be adecjuate to the i)urposes for which these 
 ])arts are designed. ^ 
 
 The diflerent Hgures and situations of the parts may, in some degree, 
 contribute toward this effect ; for simple forms will operate more speedily than 
 those that are complicated, and such as project will be sooner perceived than 
 such as are moi'c retired ; but dimension seems to be the predominant quality, 
 or that which acts most powerfully on the sense, and this, it is apprehended, 
 can onl)- be discovered by experience, at least to any degree of accuracy. 
 AVhen therefore a number of parts, arranged in a particular manner, and 
 under particular dimensions, excites, in the generality of judicious spectators, 
 a pleasing sensation, it will be prudent on every occasion where the same 
 circumstances subsist, to observe exactly the same arrangement and propor- 
 tions, notwithstanding they may in themselves appear irregular and un- 
 connected. 
 
 In composing the orders and other decorations which are contained in 
 the present publication, this method has constantly been observed, the author 
 having himself, with that view, measured with the utmost accuracy, and not 
 without some danger, many ancient and modern celebrated buildings, both at 
 Kome and in other parts of Europe, strictly copying such things as appeared 
 to be perfect, and carefully correcting others which seemed in any degree 
 faulty; relying therein not alone on his own judgment in doubtful cases, but 
 much on the opinion and advice of several learned, ingenious artists of 
 different nations, witli whom he had the advantage of being intimately con- 
 nected when abroad. 
 
 Sensible he is that the extraordinary degree of accuracy which has been 
 aimed at in these compositions is of little consequence to the generality of 
 spectators, who see in the gross and feel by the lump. Nevertheless, as in 
 poesy, music, painting, and indeed in all arts, there are delicacies which, 
 though they escape the vulgar notice, afford uncommon pleasure to persons of 
 enlightened conception, so in architecture this kind of perfection is the 
 source of secondary pleasures, less forcible perhaps, but not always less 
 delightful, than the first. These may be compared to those excited by the 
 energy or graces of language in poetry ; by the shakes, swells, inflections, and 
 other artifices of the instrument or voice, in music, which give sentiment and 
 expression to the performance; or in painting, by a judicious choice and 
 artful disposition of the objects, a nice discrimination of the passions, an 
 elegant taste of design, and a spirited, masterly touch of the pencil. To all 
 
 u
 
 142 OF THE DORIC ORDER. 
 
 but local colour and general resemblance, the unskilful are commonly blind ; 
 but the correct eye and ripened judgment derive their chief pleasure from that 
 which the ignorant rarely perceiv^ and seldom or ever taste. 
 
 It may perhaps be objected that the proportions here established, though 
 proper and good on one occasion, may on many others be defective ; but this 
 objection will, I flatter myself, have little weight, when it is remembered that 
 the situation of capitals and entablatures with respect to the order of which 
 they are parts is constantly the same, and the points of view more or less 
 distant, according to the size or elevation of the order ; and that, consequently, 
 the apparent magnitudes of all their parts will always have very nearly the 
 same proportion to each other, even though they should be exalted to a second 
 or third storv. 
 
 With regard to bases, indeed, their being placed on pedestals, or imme- 
 diately on the ground, will occasion some little difference in their appearance ; 
 and when they are raised to a second story, their figure and apparent propor- 
 tions will be considerably altered. Nevertheless it doth not seem necessary, in 
 either of these cases, to vary their dimensions ; for in the former of the two, 
 the alteration would be trifling, and in the latter, the object being far removed 
 from the eye, the spectator will rather be occupied in considering the general 
 mass than in examining its parts, which, on account of their distance, cannot 
 be distinctly perceptible. 
 
 The height of the Doric column, including its capital and base, is sixteen 
 modules, and the height of the entablature, four modules ; the latter of which 
 being divided into eight parts, two of them are given to the architrave, three 
 to the frieze, and the remaining three to the cornice. 
 
 In most of the antiques, the Doric column is executed without a base. 
 Vitruvius likewise makes it without one ; the base, according to that author, 
 having been first employed in the Ionic order, to imitate the sandal or covering 
 of a woman's foot. Scamozzi blames this practice,* and most of the modei'ns 
 have been of his opinion, the greatest part of them having employed the Attic 
 base in this order. Monsieur De Chambrai, however, whose blind attac^hmcnt 
 to the antique is, on many occasions, sufficiently evident, argues vehemently 
 against this j)ractice, which, as the order is formed upon the model of a strong 
 man, who is constantly represented Ijnrc-footed, is, according to him, very 
 improper ; and " though," says he, " the custom of employing a base in 
 
 * Lib. vi. c. G. " Oltre ulie ad ulcuiic Colonne, nii egli (Vitruvici), tii' Jiltri, iioii iamiu Ic liusi alia 
 Dorica, c cosi Ic Colonne riniangono spudatu ; tuttc cose, che eontraveugono alia nigiono, die lo vuok', c 
 air opcre c'lianno fatto gli aniiclii piii loilati." — [l!!i'-]
 
 OF THE OORIC ORDER. 143 
 
 contempt of all ancient authority, has by some unaccov.ntablc and false notions 
 of beauty prevailed, yet I doubt not but the pm-er eye, when apprised -^f this 
 error, will easily be undeceived, and as what is merely plausible will, when 
 examined, appear to be false, so apparent beauties, when not founded in 
 reason, will of course be deemed extravagant."* 
 
 Lc Clerc's remarks on this passage are very judicious, and as they may 
 serve to destroy a notion which, soon after our Athenian discoveries, about 
 thirtv years ago, was much too prevalent among us, anrt might, perhaps, in 
 some future hour of extravagance, prevail again, I shall, for the benefit of 
 such as are unacquainted with the original, ti'anslate the whole passage. " In 
 the most ancient monuments of this order," says he, " the columns are without 
 bases, for which it is difficult to assign any satisfactory reason. Monsieur De 
 Chambrai, in his Parallel,^is of the same opinion with Vitruvius, and main- 
 tains that the Doric column, being composed upon the model of a naked, 
 strong and muscular man, resembling a Hercules, should have no base — 
 pretending that the base to a column is the same as a shoe to a man. But I 
 must own, I cannot consider a column without a base in comparing it to a 
 man, but I am, at the same time, struck with the idea of a person without 
 feet rather than without shoes ; for which reason I am inclinable to believe 
 either that the architects of antiquity had not yet thought of employing bases 
 to their columns, or that they omitted them in order to leave the pavement 
 clear ; the angles and projection of bases being stumbling blocks to passengers, 
 and so much the more troublesome as the architects of those times frequently 
 placed their columns very near each other, so that had they been made with 
 bases, the passages between them would have been extremely narrow and 
 inconvenient. And it was doubtless for the same reason that Vitruvius made 
 the plinth of his Tuscan column round, — that order, according to his con- 
 struction, being particularly adapted to servile and commercial purposes, where 
 conveniency is preferable to beauty. However this be, persons of good taste 
 will grant that a base not only gives a graceful turn to the column, but is 
 likewise of real use. serving to keep it firm on its plan, and that if columns 
 without bases are now set aside, it is a mark of the wisdom of our architects, 
 rather than an indication of their being governed by pi-ejudice, as some 
 adorers of antiquity would insinuate."! 
 
 In imitation of Palladio and all the modern architects, except Vignola, I 
 have made use of the Attic base in this order, and it certainly is the most 
 
 * ParallMe, Part i. c. 2.— [Ed.] 
 
 t Le Clerc, Traite il' Architecture, Art. v. p. 12. — [Ed.] 
 
 u 2
 
 144 OF Tin: doiuc order. 
 
 beautiful of any, though for variety's sake, when the Doric and Ionic orders 
 are employed together, the base invented by Vignola, of which a profile is 
 annexed, may sometimes be used. Bernini has employed it in the colonnades 
 of St. Peter's, and it has been successfully applied in many other buildings. 
 
 The ancients sometimes made the shaft of the Doric column prismatic, 
 as appears by a passage in the fourth book of Vitruvius ; and at other times 
 they adorned it with a j^articular kind of shallow flutings, described from the 
 centre of a square, no interval or fillet being left between them. Of this sort, 
 there are now some columns to be seen in the temples of Pa^stum, near 
 Naples, in different parts of Sicily, and in the church of St. Peter in Catenis,. 
 at Pome. The first of these manners has not, I believe, been imitated by any 
 of the modern masters ; nor is the second very frequent : Scamozzi blames it 
 for its want of solidity ;* the projecting angles between the flutings being 
 easily broken, and, if the material be soft, very subject to moulder. 
 
 Vitruvius gives to the height of the Doric capital one module ;f and all 
 the moderns, except Alberti,J'have followed his example. Nevertheless, as it 
 is of the same kind with the Tuscan, they should both bear nearly the same 
 proportion to the heights of their respective columns, and consequently the 
 Doric capital ought to be more than one module, which it accordingly is, both 
 at the Coliseum and in the theati'c of Marcellus, being, in the former of these 
 buildings, upwards of thirty-eight minutes, and, in the latter, thirty-three 
 minutes high. 
 
 In the design here offered I have made the height of the whole capital 
 thirty-two minutes, and in the form and dimensions of the particular members 
 I have deviated but little from the pi'ofile of the theatre of Marcellus. The 
 frieze, or neck, is enriched with husks and roses, as in Palladio's design, and 
 as it has been executed by Sangallo,§ at the Farnese Palace in Home, and by 
 Cigoli,|| in the Cortile of the Strozzi at Florence, as well as in several buildings 
 
 * Parte SeconJa, Lib. vi. c. 11. — [Ku.] 
 t De Kntione Dorica, Lib. iv. c. 3. — [Ed.] 
 
 I De Re il'Milicatiii-iu, I>ib. vii. c. 8. — [Kd.] 
 
 § Antonio Sangallo, born in tlie Florentine territory, died 1.j-1(!. The I'arncse Palace, as liiyli as the 
 great cornice, is a noble monument of his sjjk'ndid talents. \\'!ion the building was so far complete, 
 Cardinal Farnese was raised to the holy chair, and being desirous of crowning it with tlie grandest cornice 
 whicli could be designed by the architects of the age, he invited them to a competition. — Jlichacl Angelo 
 bore ofT' the laurels, and the cornice remains a surprising ellbrt of iiis more than wonderful genius. 
 Sangallo was in his day one of the architects of the fabric of St. Peter's, and in that situation had the 
 Lonor of being a colleague of llafaellc d'LT^rbino. — [Ed.] 
 
 II Luigi Cigoli, a Florentine architect, born 1.5.'J!), died 1G1.'3. This artist designed tlie pedestal for the 
 statue of Henry IV. as it formerly stood, on the Pont Ncuf at Paris. — [Ed.]
 
 OF THE DOllIC ORDER. 145 
 
 of note in this metropolis. The projection of these husks and flowers must 
 not exceed that of tlie upper cincture of the cohnnn. 
 
 The arcliitrave is one module in lieight, and composed only of one fascia 
 and a fillet, as at the theatre of Marcellus : the drops are conical, as they are 
 in all the antiques ; not pyramidal, as they arc improperly made hy most of 
 our English workmen : they are supposed to represent drops of Avater draining 
 from the triglyph, and consequently they should he cones, or parts of cones, 
 not pyramids. 
 
 The frieze and the cornice arc each of them one module and a half in 
 height ; the metope is square, and enriched with a bull's skull, adorned with 
 garlands of beads, in imitation of those on the temple of Jupiter Tonans, at 
 the foot of the Capitol. In some antique fragments, and in a greater number 
 of modern buildings, the metopes arc alternately enriched with these ox-skulls, 
 and with pateras, but they may be filled with any other ornaments of good 
 forms, and frequently with greater propriety. Thus, in military structures, 
 heads of Medusa, or of the Furies, thunderbolts, and other symbols of horror 
 may be introduced ; likewise helmets, daggers, garlands of laurel or oak, and 
 crowns of various kinds — such as those used among the Romans, and given as 
 rewards for different military achievements ; but spears, swords, quivers, bows, 
 cuirasses, shields and the like must be avoided, because the real dimensions of 
 these things are too considerable to find admittance in such small compart- 
 ments, and representations in miniature always carry with them an idea of 
 triviality, carefully to be avoided in architecture, as in all other arts. In 
 sacred buildings, cherubs, chalices, and garlands of palm or olive may be 
 employed ; likewise doves, or other symbols of moral virtues. And in private 
 iiouses crests or badges of dignity may sometimes be suffered, though seldom ; 
 and indeed iiever, when they are of such stiff, insipid forms, as stars, garters, 
 modern crowns, coronets, mitres, truncheons, and similar graceless objects, 
 the ill effects of which may be seen at the Treasury, in St. James's Park, and 
 in many other places. 
 
 Too much variety in the ornaments of the metopes must be avoided, lest 
 the unity of the composition should be destroyed. It is best never to introduce 
 more than two different representations, which should not consist of above one, 
 or at most two objects each, of simple forms, and not overcharged with 
 ornaments. In the disposition of these, care must be taken to place them with 
 symmetry : those on the right, in correspondence with those on the left. 
 Wherefore, when a triglvph happens to be in the middle of a front, it becomes 
 necessary to couple the middle ones, by filling the two metopes on each side of
 
 146 OF THE DORIC ORDER. 
 
 the central trigh^h with the same sort of ornaments, as is done at the gate of 
 Burlington House, in Piccadilh, distributing the rest alternately throughout 
 the composition, as usual. It is likewise to be observed that ornaments in 
 metopes are not to project so much as they do at Bow church, or at General 
 Wade's house in Burlington gardens, where, from their great relief, they are 
 far more striking than the triglyphs, which ought to predominate, as being 
 essential and principal parts in the composition. Palladio, in his Basilica of 
 Vicenza, has given to the most elevated parts of the ox-skulls and pateras, 
 with which the metopes are filled, very little more projection than that of the 
 triglyph ; and in this he has copied the ancients, who seldom or never gave 
 more projection to any ornament than that of the frame or border, in which it 
 was enclosed : as appears by those inimitable fragments in the Villa Medici, 
 and many others in diiFerent j^arts of Rome and elsewhere. The channels of 
 the triglyph on their plan commonly form a right angle, but, to give them 
 more effect, a narrow square groove may be cut in the inner angle, from top to 
 bottom, and quite into the solid of the frieze. 
 
 In the cornice I have deviated very little from my original.* Le Clerc, 
 who in his Doric profile has imitated that of Vignola, makes the mutulcs as 
 broad as the capital of the triglyph ; Mr. Gibbs has followed his example, and 
 they have been executed in that manner on a couple of doors to houses on the 
 north side of Lincoln's Inn Fields. But Vignola's method is preferable, who 
 makes them no broader than the triglyph, as it is more sightly, and more 
 conformable to the carpenter's art, in which the width of the rafter never 
 exceeds the width of the beam or joint it stands upon. The ornaments of the 
 soffit are neai'ly the same as those of Vignola : they should be entirely sunk 
 up, wrought in the solid of the corona, and never drop down lower than its 
 soffit. There is no necessity for cutting them deep : in most of Palladio's 
 buildings they do not enter above two minutes into the corona, and that 
 is quite sufficient. 
 
 Vignola's other Doric profilef is in imitation of that of the theatre of 
 Marcellus ; in it he has very judiciously ))ointed out, and in some measure 
 
 • Palladio, Soamozzi, All)ci-ti, Vignola and Viola have eacli placed two fasciae in the Doric architrave, 
 whilst .Surlio, IJarbaro, Cataneo, and our author have only one. — Alberti seems to have been the llrst of 
 the modems who used inodillions, which certainly improve tlie profile very much. I am inclined, upon a 
 comparison of Sir W.'s profile with all the rest, to give the preference to that of Vignola, wliich, with the 
 exception of continuing the margin which cnclo.scs the mutulcs on the soflit of the mndillions to the 
 re-entering .augli.'s, as given by the author, f ihiiik riiurh more complete and boautifiil. Vignola's profile is 
 the 9th plate in Stam])ani's Edition. — [Ku.] 
 
 t Plate 10, Stampani Edit.— [Eu.]
 
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 SIR WILLIAM CMAMeLRS' TqeATISE. 
 
 hiBTe<J from Sumf bj r F ''^■^^fri' Ir-Sin loa4ra .
 
 OV TllK DORIC ORDER. 149 
 
 corrected, the faults of the original ; but reverence for the antique has made 
 him rather too sparing of his amendments. I have given a design of this 
 profile,* with such further corrections as appeared necessary : the most 
 considerable of them consisting in the enlargement of the dentils, which are 
 neither in the antique model nor in Yignola's profile suflUciently conspicuous to 
 hold their due place in the composition. 
 
 At the theatre of Marccllus the ornaments of the soflfit are not in a 
 horizontal position, but hang down towards the front of the c;orona, which, as 
 it appears by Vitruvius, was a common practice among the ancitnits ; and done 
 to imitate the inclination of the rafters. Palladio and Vignola have both 
 adopted this particularity, which D'Aviler supposes to have been first used in 
 order to make the projection of the entablature appear more considerable. f 
 To me it has an exceedingly disagi'eeable appearance ; the whole soffit seems 
 in a falling state : and so far is it from producing the effect which D'Aviler 
 supposes, that it actually makes, as it evidently must, the projection seem less 
 than in reality it is. 
 
 Yignola's two Doric entablatures, says D'Aviler, are both of them so 
 elegantly composed, that it is scarcely possible to determine which of them ought 
 to have the preference. J The first, which is entirely antique, is the lightest, 
 and consequently propercst for interior decorations, or objects intended for 
 near inspection ; the other, composed by Vignola himself from various frag- 
 ments of antiquity, being bolder and consisting of larger parts, seems better 
 calculated for outside works and places where the point of view is either distant 
 or unlimited. On polygonal plans, however, the mutule cornice must be 
 avoided ; because the soffits of the angular mutules would form irregular and 
 very disagreeable figures : neither should it be employed in concaves of small 
 dimensions for the same reason ; nor in places where frequent breaks are 
 requisite ; it being extremely difficult, often impossible, to prevent the mutules 
 from penetrating and mutilating each other, in various unsightly manners. 
 And w^herever this cornice is used on a convex surface, the sides of the mutules 
 must be made parallel, for it would be both disagi-eeable and unnatural to see 
 them broader, and consequently heavier in fi-ont than where they spring out of 
 the mutule band. 
 
 * PI. Doric Entablatures. 
 
 t Dc I'ordre Dorique, Vol. i. p. 34. " Ce qui augmeute Tapparence de la Saillio, et ce qui avec la 
 mouchettc pcndante ct le Canal refouille sous le devant du Larmier rend le profil plus gigantcsquc et plus 
 noble." — [Ed.] 
 
 X Ibid. Vol. i. p. 32.— [Ed.] 
 
 X
 
 150 
 
 OF THE DORIC ORDER. 
 
 Palladio's Doric entablature is, likewise, very beautiful ; I mean as it is 
 executed in the Basilica of Vicenza, where it differs widely from the profile in 
 his book,* and is far preferable thereto.f In the same plate with Vignola's 
 dentil entablature there is a design of it, accurately copied from that building, 
 which may serve as one instance of many to show how little the measui-es of 
 his book are to be relied upon. 
 
 Of all the entablatures, the Doric is most difficult to distribute, on account 
 of the large intervals between the centres of the triglyphs, which neither 
 admit of increase or diminution, without injuring the symmetry and regular 
 beauty of the composition. These constantly confine the composer to inter- 
 columniations, divisible by two modules and a half; entirely exclude coupled 
 columns, and produce spaces which, in general, are either too wide or too 
 narrow for his purposes. 
 
 To obviate these difficulties, the triglyphs have often been omitted, and 
 the entablature made plain ; as at the Coliseum in Rome, the colonnades 
 of St. Peter's, of the Vatican, and in many other buildings, both at home and 
 abroad. This, indeed, is an easy expedient ; but while it robs the order of its 
 principal characteristic distinction, leaves it poor, and very little superior to 
 
 * PI. Doric Entablatures. 
 
 I The author's plate, referred to in the preceding note, will be found to differ widely from the profile 
 which is here inserted. The Editor's first intention was to have corrected the plate, but as he professes to 
 
 give the plates of Sir W. C. precisely similar to those 
 of the first three editions of the work, he preferred 
 the insertion in this note of a correct representation 
 of the ent.iblature, which he made on his examination 
 of the Ijnililinp; while at Vicenza. The Doric profile 
 which I'alladio exhibits in his first book, is that 
 artist's general iilea of what the order should bo ; of 
 com-se, in execution, he varied it as taste and cir- 
 cumstances induced him. But in respect of the 
 example before us, if the reader tvn-n to his third 
 book, and compai'c the plate therein with the profile 
 in tlie prcce<ling page, he will see no great cause I'or 
 complaint on the part of our author. On the con- 
 trary, allowing for the block engraving of that age 
 not being quite so well managed as now, he will find 
 the in-ofiles singularly correspondent. It must be 
 manifest to every one the least accjuainted with the 
 subject, that Sir W.'s gutta; in the external angle of 
 the soffit of the corona are mis|ilafed, and an abuse of which our great master PiiUadio never could have 
 been guilty. The substitution, too, of the patera for tlie ox-skull in the metope adjoining the angle, is also 
 absurd — as in that case it would be necessary to miter it on the cpioiu of the frieze. The profile al the 
 Chiericato Palace is nearly the same as the above— [Ed.]
 
 OF THE DORIC ORDER. 151 
 
 the Tuscan. The remedy seems desperate, and should never be employed but 
 as a last resource.* 
 
 The ancients employed the Doric, in temples dedicated to Minerva, to 
 Mars, and to Hercules, whose grave and manly dispositions suited well with 
 the character of this order. Serliof says it is proper for churches dedicated 
 to Jesus Christ, to St. Paul, St. Peter, or any other saints remarka])le for 
 their fortitude in exposing their lives and suffering for the Christian faith. 
 Lo Clerc recommends the use of it in all kinds of military buildings, as 
 arsenals, gates of fortified places, guard-rooms, and similar structures.^ It 
 may likewise be employed in the houses of generals, or other martial men ; in 
 mausoleums erected to their memory, or in triumphal bridges and arches built 
 to celebrate their victories. 
 
 I have made the height of the Doric column sixteen modules ; which, in 
 buildings where majesty or grandeur is required, is a proper proportion ; but 
 in others it may be somewhat more slender. Thus, Vitruvius§ makes the 
 Doric column in porticoes higher by half a diameter than in temples ; and 
 most of the modern architects have, on some occasions, followed his example. 
 In private houses, therefore, it may be 16J, IS^^, or I63 modules high; in 
 interior dccoraticms, even seventeen modules, and sometimes perhaps a trifle 
 more ; which increase in the height may be added entirely to the shaft, as in 
 the Tuscan order, without changing either the base or capital. The entabla- 
 ture, too, may remain unaltered in all the aforesaid cases ; for it will be suffi- 
 ciently bold without alteration.^ 
 
 * Jacopo Tatti, better known by tlie name of Sansovino, h'om having been a scholar ot Andrea 
 Cantucci da Jlonto Sansovino, gave out the following problem to puzzle the architects of Italy: — WJtat 
 means mtist he adopted for the purpose of making the angular metope of the Doric order exactly one-half of 
 the breadth of the other metopes ? They all had a tilt at the question, but without success. Sansovino, 
 Columbus-like, solved it by lengthening the frieze just so much as was wanting to make up the breadth 
 sought, so that it overhung the upper part of the shaft of his columns. A very silly expedient. Sansovino 
 was nevertheless an architect of considerable talent and reputation, and an intimate friend of the celebrated 
 Pietro Arctino. He was born in 1479, and died in 1.570.— [Ed.] 
 
 t Lib. iv. c. 6.— [Ed.] 
 
 J Des differens Ordres de Colonncs, Art. v. p. II. — [Ed.] 
 
 § Lib. iii. c. 2. — [Ed.] 
 
 ^ Differing from him on many other ])oints, we do not here agree with om* author. Si.x, or between 
 six and seven diameters in height ought to be considered the normal proportion of the so-named Doric 
 column. — [L.] 
 
 X 2
 
 152 
 
 OF THE IONIC ORDER. 
 
 Amongst the ancients, the foi-m of the Ionic profile appears to have been 
 more positively determined than that of any other order ; for in all the 
 antiques st Rome, the Temple of Concord excepted, it is exactly the same, 
 and conformable to the description Vitruvius has given thereof. 
 
 The modern artists have likewise been more unanimous in their opinions 
 upon the subject ; all of them, excepting Palladio and his imitators, having 
 employed the dentil cornice, and the other parts of the protile, nearly as they 
 are found in the Coliseum, the Temple of Fortune, and the Theatre of 
 Marcellus. 
 
 In Palladio s works we meet with thi'ee different Ionic entablatures, all 
 of them very beautiful. The first is the true antique, which he has made use of 
 at the palace of the Porti, and in several doors and windows of the Thiene, 
 and Yalmarana palaces, in Vicenza. The second is a very judicious imitation 
 of the entablature in the Temple of Concord, and is executed by him in the 
 upper arcade of the Basilica, in the same city. The third, which is an 
 invention of his own, being the same with that in his book, he has employed, 
 with some small difference, at the Chiericato Palace,* at the Rotunda of 
 Marchese Capra,j and in various others of his buildings in the Yicentine, or 
 at Venice. 
 
 In the first j)latc of the Ionic order, there is a design of the antique profile 
 collected by me iivmi different antirjuities at Rome. The height of the column 
 is eighteen modules, and that of the entablature four modules and a half, or 
 one-quarter of the height of the column, as in the other orders, which is a triHe 
 less than in any of the regular antique Ionics. The base is Attic, as in all the 
 antiques, and the shaft of the column may either be plain or fluted, with 
 twenty-four, or with twenty flutings only, as at the Temple of Fortune, of which 
 tlu; plan should b(> a little more than semi-circular, as it is at the Temple of 
 -Jupiter Tonans, and at the Forum of Nerva, because then they are more 
 distinctly mai-kcd. The fillet, or interval between the flutes, should not be 
 
 * In tlic city of Vicenza. — [Kd.] 
 
 t Not quilc a mile southward of Vicenza. — [I^h.]
 
 
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 Ofui e^tttiauina t}u same oprtntioti tivni aB the tweix-e ('entires, the Cpiittn/r et' the Vchitc yriU he (crnpleted. 
 
 Fie.2. T7tc Cattres fcr iie^erihitKi th.- j'UUt are t'otmd in thu maruter, CviuUiut a Triiiitoie t'f whieh y Jttle AT 
 if e./uai Ti> the juirl ot' the Citheitu cntiitncA hetwceti A¥..tti./ the .fir/,- FV ^v""' '''' ^ I''" ^"' ■"'^ ^'^ 
 plut-e y Jdj-raiUAr F S trrm V tow.u-di A. e.fini to F S the bir.t,hh d' tJie f'iOet.,uid t/iri'i^h tlu: foint S .lrai\' die 
 iuic S T. whuii wiB he (c C 1 m the .•nme proporticn <is AS is to W.p&tee t/us luu on eoxh Ji-ie oi' the (hitre C 
 on die Diameted- of thi- Eye AK.i/ifiJe tt uito thee e^jual pitrt/.anA through die poutt.- ct' division ibv>v U/ur-S parallel 
 To the Diameter Y.\i.\*hieJi will eJtt the Dtagnnals C,2, i^'S.iuui you wiO have ttrelve new (}»Un-s . fivm whcrtek: the- 
 utUTtor tl'nlotif 'f y rillet nt.iv hi' liesaihd, ui tlu- sitme nuuiiut €is the eMericr iiie *VfU 'rom the first Centres 
 
 Piibtislitd by thr Pf't^pnetoTS at' thr liiulilmqlfews. 186(1 
 
 WILLIAM CHAMBERS' TRiATiSE. 
 
 F Ck«du>.i «-Sffi Isadffa
 
 OF THE IONIC OUDEU. 153 
 
 broader than one-third of their width, nor narrower than one-quarter thereof. 
 The ornaments of the capital arc to correspond with the flutes of the sliaft,* 
 and there must be an ovc or a dart above the middle of each flute. The 
 volutes arc to be traced according to Goldman's method,f which is the best. 
 I have given a design of it, with an exact description upon the plate. Perrault 
 prefers Delorme's method of describing it, J yet certainly it is not so perfect ; for 
 in Goldman's the cii'cular portions that compose the volute have their radii 
 at their junction, in the same straight line, so that they meet without forming 
 an angle ; whereas, in that of Delormc, the radii never coincide, and, 
 consequently, no two of the curves can join without forming an angle. The 
 space in Delorme's volute between the first quadrants, in the iirst and second 
 revolution, is of the same breadth thi-oughout, both the quadrants being 
 described from the same centre ; but in Goldman's the space between the 
 revolutions diminishes regularly from the very first. Moreover, Dclorme has 
 given no directions for describing the inner spiral, which determines the 
 breadth of the fillet, and which, in his design, is nearly of the same breadth 
 from first to last ; but (jloldman has taught the manner of describing it, so 
 as to diminish gradually, with the same accuracy as the outward spiral. § 
 
 Palladio's volute, differing but little from that of Delorme,|| has nearly 
 the same defects ; and, though Mr. Gibbs has in some measure amended it, 
 yet his likewise is faulty in the breadth of the fillet, which is equal through 
 the greatest part of the first revolution. 
 
 Vignola and Scamozzi, Serlio, Alberti, and others have, in their archi- 
 traves, imitated those of the theatre of Marcellus, and of the Coliseum ; 
 
 • See page 108.— [Ed.] 
 
 t Nicholas Goldman, a native of Ureslaw, in Silesia, born 1G23, died IGGj, was a mathematician of some 
 reputation. Ilis chief works are — " Elementa Aixhitccturse JMilitaris," 8vo. 1643. — " De usu Proportion- 
 arii Circuli," " De Stylometricis," 1662; and a Treatise on Civil Architecture, published by Sturm in 
 1696, with many engravings. — [Ed.] 
 
 X " Architecture do Thilibert Dclorme," Tom. I. Liv. v. c. 27. " Des Jlesurcs du Chapiteau lonique, 
 et la Fa90n comme Ton doit faire ses Volutes." — [Ed.] 
 
 § The author must have misunderstood Perrault, " 1' Architecture de Vitnivc," &c., 2nd Edit. fol. 
 Paris, 1684, who, in page 93, note 3.j, differs in some points iVom both Goldman and Dclorme. In another 
 note, 41, page 94, he agi-ces with Goldman on the correction of a passage in the te.xt of Vitruvius. I 
 cannot help thinking that the volute which Perrault, page 95, has produced, is superior in tournure to that 
 which our author has given, and tlic Frenchman has evolved it by an ingenious reading of the text of 
 Vitruvius, aided by the correction of the German. Philibert Delorme's is clumsy, and it is difficult to 
 conceive how the author could have imagined that Perrault was indebted to him. Goldman's volute 
 becomes too thin in the second revolution. — [Ed.] 
 
 II Palladio's volute appears to me that which an artist would turn — the other seems fabricated by a 
 boor. Let the student compare them ; it will be instructive and advantageous to him. — [Ed.]
 
 154 OF THE IONIC ORDER. 
 
 having composed them of three fascias distinguished from each other only by 
 small projections. This has but an indiiferent effect; the separations so 
 faintly marked are not sufficiently striking ; and the architrave is left too 
 destitute of ornaments for the rest of the profile : a defect most striking, 
 whenever the mouldings of the profile are enriched. 
 
 On the other hand, Palladio's and Delorme's architraves appear too 
 rich ; being likewise composed of three fascias, separated by mouldings. I 
 have therefore, in this particular, chosen to imitate the profile of the Temple 
 of Antoninus and Faustina, where there are only two fascias, separated from 
 each other by a moulding. 
 
 The three parts of the entablature bear the same proportion to each 
 other in this as in the Tuscan order ; the frieze is plain, as boing most 
 suitable to the simplicity of the rest of the composition ; and the cornice is 
 almost an exact copy from Vignola's design, in which there is a purity of 
 form, a grandeur of style, and close conformity to the most approved antiques, 
 not to be found in the profiles of his competitors. 
 
 If it be required to reduce this entablature to two-ninths of the height 
 of the column (which, on most occasions, is a proportion preferable to that of 
 one-quarter, particularly where the eye has been habituated to contemplate 
 diminutive objects), it may easily be done, by making the module for the 
 entablature less bv one-ninth tlian the semi-diameter of the column ; 
 afterwards dividing it as usual, and observing the same dimensions as 
 are figured in the design. The distribution of the dentil band will, in such 
 case, answer pretty nearly in all the regular intercolumniations ; and in 
 the outer angle there will be a dentil, as there is in the Temple of Fortune 
 at Home. 
 
 In interior decorations, where much delicacy is required, the height of 
 the imtablature mav be reduced even to (me-fifth of the column, by 
 observing the same method, and making the module only four-fiftlis of the 
 semi-diameter. 
 
 Of Palladio's profiles, that imitated ironi the Temple of Concord appears 
 to me the best ; its height is equal to one-fifth ol' the height of ihv column. 
 The design which 1 have given of it is closely copied from the Basilica at 
 Vicenza ; but it will be more perfect if the friezes be made flat, and its height 
 augmented so as to etpial that of the architrave; by which menus, the 
 proportion of the ental)latur(! to the colvnnn will be better ; for the relation of 
 one to five is, generally speaking, too smidl. In the cornice it will likewise be 
 well to add, between the corona and fillet, under tiu^ cyma, an ogee of the
 
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 SIR WILLIAM CHAMBERS' TREATISE. 
 
 PftaWti &vm Stea» pp i i't«mi .
 
 OF THE IONIC ORDER. 15-7 
 
 same dinrension with that over tlic modillioiis. TIius all the parts will he 
 equally rich, and the upper cyma he hotter supported. This Scamozzi has 
 done in his pi'ofile ; thouyh, in other respects, his Ionic entablature may be; 
 considered as a copy from I'alladio ; the fillet, being thus sustained by the 
 ogee, may be diminished a trifle. 
 
 Palladio's other profile I have copied from the Rotunda of Capra ;* its 
 height is likewise one-fifth of the column. The frieze, as in the former design, 
 is low and swelled ; but it will be better to raise it to the same height with 
 the architrave, and keep it upright as before directed ; for the swell gives it a 
 clumsy form, and, appearing a continuity of the same undulations which 
 compose the architrave and cornice, serves to render the outline of the whole 
 entablature confused and much too abundant in curves. The frieze, when so 
 formed, convevs the idea of a piece of timber used without being hewn, as 
 was the practice of ruder times among the Greeks, and cannot with propriet}' 
 be introduced in a finished work. 
 
 In the antique, there arc few examples of these swelled friezes. Palladio 
 probablv took his hint from the Temple of Bacchus, near Rome, where the 
 swelled frieze has been used in a Composite order ; or, perhaps, from the Basilica 
 of Antoninus, where it has been employed in a Corinthian : with little success 
 at the last, and with much less at the first, of these places ; for as the columns 
 are there insulated, and the profile is marked at the four angles, the deformity 
 becomes so much the more conspicuous ; and, notwithstanding Palladio's 
 partialitv to this form of frieze, which so frequently recurs in most of his 
 works, it seldom or never can be introduced with success but on doors or 
 windows, where the profile of the architrave is not marked under it ; there, 
 indeed, the swell forms a good contrast with the upright jambs, and has the 
 further advantage of contracting the spread of the cornice, which, in narrow 
 intercolumniations, is very convenient ; and, in most cases, may prevent the 
 licentious practice of making the frieze and cornice no wider than the 
 aperture of the door or window, and supporting them on each side with a sort 
 of scroll, as at the Sorbonne in Paris, and at the Mansion House in this 
 city. 
 
 Palladio, in both those profiles, has enriched the soflfit of the corona with 
 roses, which are here omitted, as in most cases they ought to be. However, 
 when the column is fluted, and the rest of the composition much adorned, they 
 may and should be introduced, care being taken to proportion the panels, and 
 
 * Villa del Marchesc Capra above mentioned. This villa, at Vicenza, is familiarly called La 
 Rotcnda. — [Ed.] 
 
 Y
 
 158 OF THE IONIC ORDER. 
 
 Other parts siirroundmg them, in the same manner as if the order were Corin- 
 thian or Composite. 
 
 The antique Ionic capital differs from any of the others ; its front and side 
 faces are not alike. This particularity occasions great difficulty wherever there 
 are breaks in the entablature, or where the decoration is continued in flank as 
 well as in front ; for either all the capitals in the flank must have the baluster 
 side outward, or the angular capitals will have a different appearance from the 
 rest, neither of which is admissible. The architect of the Temple of Fortune 
 at Rome* has fallen upon an expedient which, in some degree, remedies the 
 defect. In that building the corner capitals have their angular volutes in an 
 oblique position, inclining equally to the front and side, and offering volute 
 faces both ways. Wherever persons are violently attached to the antique, or 
 furiously bent on rejecting all modern inventions, however excellent, this is the 
 only means to gratify them ; but when such is not the case, the angular capital 
 invented by Scamozzi,f or imitated and improved by him from the Temple of 
 Concord, or borrowed from some modern compositions extant in his time, ought 
 to be employed ; for the distorted figure of the antique capital, with one volute 
 straight and the other twisted, is very perceptible, and far from being pleasing 
 to the eye. 
 
 Annexed is a design of Scamozzi's capital, and another of a very beautiful 
 one, executed in St. Peter's, of the Vatican ; probably composed by Michael 
 Angelo. Similar capitals may also be seen in the church of the Roman College, 
 and in various other buildings at Rome. 
 
 In this order I have employed the Attic base. Of the antique base described 
 by Vitruvius, and used by Vignola and Philibert Delormc in their Ionic orders, 
 and by Sir Christopher Wren in some parts of St. Paul's, I think there is no 
 example among the antiques ; and being universally esteemed a very imperfect 
 production, I have not even given a design of it. 
 
 As the Doric order is particularly affected in churches or tcinj)lcs dedicated 
 to male saints, so the Ionic is principally used in such as are consecrated to 
 females of the matronal state. It is likewise employed in courts of justice, in 
 libraries, colleges, seminaries, and other structures having relation to arts or 
 letters ; in private houses and in palaces, to adorn the women's apartments ; and, 
 says Lc Clerc, in all places dedicated to peace and tranquillity. The ancients 
 employed it in temples sacred to Juno, to Bacchus, to Diana, and other deities, 
 whose dispositions held a medium between the severe and the effeminate. 
 
 * This is, however, fur from a pure example. — [En.] 
 
 f This i» no invention of Sciimozzi — Sec Stuart's Athena, Temple on (ho llissus, ami df Minerva 
 Poliaa -[Ki. ]
 
 NOTE ON TllK IONIC ORDER. 159 
 
 It is ilifncult, if not impossible, to agree willi those wlio refer us to certain columns at Persepolis, as 
 exhibiting the prototype ot the Ionic capital; since wliut is pointed out as rcscnibhinco, strikes as anti- 
 pathetic dillerenee. As regards general ibnn and character, there is not the very slightest similarity, 
 wliatever, between the supposed i'crsepolitan parent and the otis|iring attributed to it ; still less is there 
 any with respect to taste ; the Ibrnicr being as uncouth and unmeaning and capricious in its condguration, as 
 the other is ben inteso, eumorphic and graceful. A Ibrnial and minute contrast between them would 
 certainly be amusing, possibly instructive also ; but it must not be looked tor here. Sullice it then to 
 observe, that what are imagnied to have been prototypic of the so-called Ionic capital arc no more than 
 four little bits of detail stuck upcm the sides of an u])right square moniber super-imposed upon a circular 
 shaft and ca])ital. The question then is, by what process of aesthetic alchemy came those comparatively 
 insignificant, certainly whimsical, adjuncts to be transmuted into tlic refined elegance of the Greek Ionic 
 capital ? The distance between the hypothetically assumed original and the fully developed Ionic 
 capital is so great that there must have been very many intermediate stages of transition ere the metamor- 
 phosis was completed ; yet, not a single one of them can now be traced, or, at any rate, not one is produced. 
 Admitting, however, for the nonce, that the germ of the Voluted capital is to be plainly detected in the 
 Persepolitan example, suAifuct is tantamount to irrefragible proof that it is possible to seize upon a casual 
 hint, however slight, or however rude, and shape out from it some untried, yet eminently successful 
 form of the beautiful. 
 
 It has sometimes been alleged as an imperfection in the Ionic or Voluted capital, that it is iiTcgular in 
 plan ; since, instead of presenting four faces, corresponding with those of the abacus, it has only two, 
 whose flanks, or " baluster" sides, as they are termed, are altogether different in conformation, both vertically 
 and horizontally. Such is undeniably the case ; yet, to say nothing of the variety of appearance so 
 produced, what exipiisite .symphony of contrasted curved lines! The face of the Ionic capital, whether 
 Asiatic or Attic, exhibits as charming a disposition of flowing lines as can well be conceived; and 
 completely difTerent asitisin form, the so-called "baluster" or pulvinated side of the capital contributes to 
 the general expression of animated and graceful flexibility ; for, while its horizontal section shows concave 
 curvature, its vertical section has a convex surface. The marked dissimilarity between the sides and 
 the faces of the cajiital is by no means displeasing — most assuredly does not partake of capriciousness, the 
 entire composition being admirably well motived, and thoroughly logical. We may suppose the problem to 
 have been how to expand the capital horizontally in front, without, at the same time, enlarging the abacus, 
 which had to be accommodated to the soffit of the architrave ; and, never was difficult a;sthetic problem 
 solved more successfully. The lateral expansion of the face produces luxuriant fulness without heaviness; 
 while the volutes are forcibly relieved by shadow — one of them by that which it casts upon the shaft of the 
 column. 
 
 One rather enviable peculiarity of the Ionic or Voluted capital is that it admits of being so shaped as 
 to be perfectly regular, and have four faces all alike, instead of only two. Such form of the capital does 
 not, indeed, appear to have been adopted by the Greeks, but they showed with what facility it might be 
 produced, when they occasionally turned the volute diagonally at the external angles of a portico, in order to 
 obtain two similarly-shaped adjoining faces. It will, perhaps, then be said that though they had recourse 
 to such treatment of the capital, as an expedient to accommodate it to that particular situation, they also 
 rejected it, when not absolutely required for obviating what would have been an offensive irregularity, had 
 the bahister sidn of a capital shown itself in the same range with the /aces of other capitals on the return 
 or flank of the building. Why the Greeks did not avail themselves of the felicitous invention they had 
 hit upon, and carry it out much further, is rather surprising and difficult to be accounted for ; at the same 
 time, we ought, [lerhaps, to be grateful to them, for having been content to indicate a new phase ot the 
 beautiful in the Voluted capital, leaving to those who came after them to apply it without scruple, as 
 being of decidedly Greek origin. 
 
 Existing and well authenticated examples of the antique, afford tolerably convincing proof that the 
 Greeks allowed themselves considerable latitude in the treatment of the orders. So far from adhering to 
 ready-cut and dry profiortions and detail, they sometimes ventured upon untried shapes of beauty, nothing 
 less than shocking to orthodox Vitruvianists, and the adherents of Vignola, and other architectural 
 arithmeticians. 
 
 Of the Tonic, we have a most remarkable variety — undeniably, too, of the best period of Greek art, in 
 the attached columns within the temple of Apollo Epicurius at Bassa; ; than which nothing can be at 
 once more awfully heterodox and more charmingly jiiquant. Not the capital alone, but the entu-e column, 
 with its widely expanded base, and the very peculiar fluting or striating of the shaft, show consummate 
 artistic study, and genuine artistic feeling. 
 
 In the hands of the Romans, and their modern Italian followers, the Voluted capital sadly degenerated. 
 It completely lost its former expression of flowing gracefulness combined with vivifying energy; and it 
 was at length tame<i into such feebleness and insipidity, that its original character was all but entirely efliiced. 
 The volutes themselves were sometimes reduced to such utter insignificance as scarcely to manifest 
 themselves; so that from being one of the most plastic of those three classes, which we now call orders, 
 that form of capital, quite lost all its original a-sthetic raciness of flavour. 
 
 It is almost exclusively the prerogative of the Ionic capital, that it a<lmits of most decided and strongly 
 marked differences, not only as regards its general configuration and plan, but with respect to vai-ious 
 particulars of detail. It can, for instance, either dispen.se with or admit of a necking, which may, again, 
 De either plain or carved; and in the latter case, it affords very great, almost unlimited, variety of 
 ornamentation, so that there is no necessity for adhering to the precedent of the Greek " honeysuckle." Had 
 the Voluted capital no other power of elasticit , than that of enlarging itself, at will, by the addition of a 
 necking, even that alone would be a most enviable privilege ; but in addition to those ah'eady indicated, it 
 possesses several other elements of diversified expression and design. — [W. II. L.] 
 
 y2
 
 160 
 
 OF THE COMPOSITE ORDEK. 
 
 Strictly speaking, the ancients had but four orders ; the Composite was 
 not considered by them as a distinct production. Vitruvius expressly tells us. 
 Book TV., chap. 1, that on Corinthian columns other capitals of various kinds 
 were employed, which nevertheless ought not to change the names of the columns, 
 because their proportions remained still the same.* 
 
 The moderns, however, have ranked the Composite with the four orders 
 mentioned by Vitruvius, having, among the great number of different Compo- 
 site capitals to be met with in the remains of antiquity, chosen for their model 
 that which has been used in the triumphal arches, in the Temple of Bacchus 
 and at the Baths of Dioclesian : rather, I believe, as agi'ceing most with the 
 description of Vitruvius, who observes that these capitals were composed of 
 the Ionic, Doric, and Corinthian, than from any preference in point of beautv 
 to many others. 
 
 * On which passage Pcrrault, in his translation of Vitruvius, adds the following note : — " Cccy s'entend 
 a. men avis du Chapitoau do I'Ordre Composite qui est fait de I'assemblage dcs parties des autrcs Chapiteaux, 
 comme de celle de I'loniquc dont il emprunte I'Echine et les volutes, et de celles du Corinthien dont il a 
 les feuillages. Ceux qui pretendent avec Philander que Vitruve n'a point parle de I'Ordrc Composite, se 
 foudent sur ce ipi'il a (lit que la diversite des orneiuens du chapitcau, ne change point I'esjjece de la colonne, 
 commc si la diflerence specifique des colonncs consistoit dans la proportion de leur hauteur, ii comparaison 
 de leur grosseur : mais cette raison ne doit point cmpescher qu'il ne soit vray de dire que Vitruve a traite 
 de rOrdre Composite aussi-biencjue du Corinthien, puisque selon Vitruve I'Ordre Curintliien n'est diflerent 
 de rionicpie (jue par le chapitcau, ct qu'il est vray (jue Ic seul ehangement des orncmens du chapitcau peut 
 faire uu Ordrc diflerent, bien que la proportion de toute la colonne ne soit en rien changce : car les Ordres 
 Composites (jui nous restent des Anciens, tels que sont ceux de I'Arc de Titus ct de celuy de Vcrono, 
 n'ont rien dans lours colonncs (jui soit diU'crcnt de I'Ordre Corinthien que les orncmens du chapitcau. 
 Ccpcndant i'hilander dit que TOrdrs Composite n'a este introduit que lung-temps aprcs Vitruve; bien que 
 Ton tienne que le Baptistcrc de Constantin (jul est d'Ordre Composite, a este basty dcs ruines d'Kdificcs 
 tres-anciens, et <pie le Temple de la Concorde dont on voit encore des rcstes il Home, a este fait par 
 Camiliiis qui vivoit long-temps avant Vitruve : Or les colonncs de ce Temple tiennent de I'Joniciuc ct du 
 Dorique, ce qui les peut faire passer pour Composites : si ce n'est <|ue I'hiUindcr cnliiulc ]iiir Ordre 
 Composite un certain Onlrc regR-, qui est ccluy (ju'on appelle autremcnt Ilali(pie, et non pas tout ce qui 
 participe de plusieurs autrcs Ordres : ce (jui fait que quelques-uns nonunent ces Ordres Composcz, qui 
 pcuvent estrc infinis, ct les distinguent du Composite, <jut est un Ordrc fixe, et (|ui a une figure ct dcs 
 proportions ccrtaincs ct 6tablic8 dans un grand nonibre de fameux Edifices." — [Ed. J
 
 THE ROiUX. OH rOMPOXITE ()HliEH 
 
 n.io^ 
 
 f u if w iJ Atf ff 
 
 W Outmbrtj I /SI/ 
 
 DMishnl hy ilir Ih'pnrlivs (if thr llnililiiKjA'rws: lli(il> 
 
 SIR WILLIUM C H A M B tRS' T R EAT IS E . 
 
 To follow parte JfiO. 
 
 Aifiicd &<nB Si«a< kjr C.£.CA«&a£ S^Sn ^ulcb .
 
 rin^ 
 
 
 
 'Sti$fiti J'ri^iummi 
 
 •(^■smsassasssssm!^ 
 
 
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 lit iii 
 
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 hdilisliul liy III! Piv/jJIr/clx el' Ihr liiiildiiiiiXrws. I'Kit' 
 
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 SIR WIULI*M C H AM B E.RS' T R £»T IS E. 
 
 ^aTcd from Stoaf ^C F C^«&]u frSoa \j>\ie^
 
 OF THE COMPOSITE ORDER. l6l 
 
 Neither dotli it uppcar that the ancients aflPectcd any particular form of 
 entablature to this order ; sometimes they made the cornice entirely plain, as 
 in the Temple of Bacchus ; at others, enriched with dentils, and differing very 
 little from the Ionic, as in the arch of Septimius Severus ; and in the arch of 
 Titus there arc both dentils and modillions, the whole form of the profile being 
 the same with that of the Corinthian, as it is executed in most of the antiques 
 at Home and elsewhere. 
 
 The modern architects have varied more in this than in any other of the 
 orders. Abandoned, as De Chambrai* observes, by their guide Vitruvius, 
 and left entirely at largo, they have all taken different paths, each following 
 the bent of his own particular fancy. Among them, Serlio has been least 
 successful, having chosen for the model of his entablature that of the fourth 
 order of the Coliseum, a composition too clumsy, even for a Tuscan order. 
 Delorme, however, has followed his example, and mistaken the columns of the 
 fourth order of the Coliseum, which are Corinthian, for Composite. 
 
 Palladio, in his profile, has imitated the cornice of the frontispiece of 
 Nero, and corrected its defects with much judgment. Ilis architrave is like- 
 wise taken from the same building, but he has omitted its beautiful frieze, and 
 substituted in its place a swelled one, similar to that of the Basilica of 
 Antoninus. His whole entablature is too low, being only one-fifth of the 
 column, and it is remarkable, that though he has made the column more 
 delicate than in the Corinthian order, yet his entablature is made far more 
 massive, being composed of fewer and much larger parts. In the design given 
 on the second plate of the Composite order, Palladio's measures have been 
 closely observed ; but if the frieze wei*e augmented, so as to raise the enta- 
 blature to two-ninths of the column, made upright, and enriched with 
 ornaments, it would be more perfect, and might be employed with success in 
 works of large dimensions, which require to be seen from a considerable 
 distance ; but for interior decorations, or in places where much delicacy is 
 required, the composition is somewhat too massive. 
 
 Palladio's capital and base are imitations from the arch of Titus. The 
 latter of them is designed without a plinth, as it is executed in the Temple of 
 Vesta at Tivoli, and joined to the cornice of the pedestal by a slope, which 
 not only has a bad effect, but is in itself defective, because the base is thus 
 divested of its principal member, and rendei'ed disproportionate.f 
 
 ' Parallele— Part ii. c. 4.— [Ed.] 
 
 f Where the column rises from a deep plain pedestal without cornice or base, the practice wliicli our 
 author condemns is very far from being offensive -or disagreeable. — [Ed.]
 
 162 
 
 OF THE COMPOSITE ORDER. 
 
 Vignola's Composite has nothing in it remarkable. The architrave differs 
 but little from that of the frontispiece of Nero, and the cornice is nearly the 
 same with that of his Ionic order, the principal difference consisting in the 
 transposition of some mouldings, and enlargement of the dentils ; both which 
 seem rather alterations for the worse than improvements.* 
 
 Scamozzi's entablatui'e being, like Palladio's, only one-fifth of the column 
 and much divided, has a trifling appearance. The cornice, however, is, upon 
 the whole, well composed, and in great measure imitated from that of the 
 third order of the Coliseum ; the capital is much like Palladios, and the base 
 is Attic, enriched with astragals, as at the Basilica of Antoninus. 
 
 The design which I have given in the first plate of the Composite order, 
 is an invention of my own, in which I have attempted to avoid the faults, 
 and unite the perfections, of those above mentioned ; how far with success is 
 left to the reader's determination, and, at any rate, recourse may still be had to 
 Palladio, Scamozzi, or Vignola, as heretofore. The height of the column is 
 twenty modules, that of the entablature five ; the base is Attic, and its 
 measures are the same as in the Doric or Ionic orders, but, as the module is 
 less, all its parts are of course proportionably more delicate. The shaft is 
 enriched with flutings, which may either be to the number of twenty or of 
 twenty-four, as on the Ionic column ; for there is no reason why, in different 
 orders, their number should either be augmented or diminished ; the module 
 being less, the flutes will likewise be less, and correspond exactly with the 
 character of the rest of the composition. 
 
 The capital is of the kind which all the moderns have employed in this 
 order, being enriched with leaves of the acanthus, as all the antique capitals 
 of this sort are. With regard to the method of tracing it, few directions will 
 suflice, for the designs are exactly drawn and figured. The curvatures of the 
 abacus are described from the summits of equilateral triangles ; the projection 
 of the volutes is determined by a line drawn from the extremity of the astragal 
 to the extremity of a horn of the abacus ; and the projection of the leaves 
 is determined by another line drawn parallel to that from the fillet, under the 
 astragal. 
 
 The manner of executing both these and all other enriched capitals in 
 this city is, generally speaking, bad. I do not, however, mean to accuse our 
 English workmen of incapacity ; many of them are excellent, and in neatness 
 
 * I nevertheless prefer Vignola's as well as Scamozzi's capitals to the pnilili! wliich our aullior has 
 given ; that of the former is far more elegant in its form as well iis in the details. But Vignola's entabla- 
 ture is not in lone with his capital ; the want of raodillions renders its aspect too meagre and plain. — [ICd.]
 
 OF THE COMPOSITE ORDER. 163 
 
 of execution out-do, perhaps, those of any other country ; but, sometimes 
 from the parsimony of their employers, and in some degree, perhaps, for want 
 of thoroujih skill and facility in design, their performances are often insipid, 
 without intention or cftbct, and by no means expressive either of the taste or 
 intelligence of the performer. 
 
 Many even of our greatest architects have too much neglected the detail, 
 having employed their attention wholly on the general disposition of their 
 compositions. This neglect, though authorised by great examples, ought by 
 no means to be imitated. It is the business of the architect to attend to the 
 minutest objects, as well as to the most considerable. If the entire execution 
 of the fabric be left to his direction, the faults that are committed will, of 
 course, be stated to his account, and therefore it will be prudent in him to 
 select the ablest workmen, and to furnish them with proper models and precise 
 instructions, in which he will show the extent of his capacity, and distinguish 
 himself from the common herd of those who, without due qualifications, 
 assume the title of architects. The most masterly disposition, incorrectly 
 executed, can only be considered as a sketch in painting, or as an excellent 
 piece of music miserably murdered by village fiddlers, equally destitute of 
 taste and powers of execution. 
 
 Care must be taken in Composite as well as in Corinthian capitals, that 
 the feet of the lower leaves do not project beyond the upper part of the shaft of 
 the column, as at St. Carlo in the Corso* at Rome, and at the Banqueting- 
 house in London ; for nothing can be uglier. Neither are these leaves as 
 they mount to bend forwards, as in many of the antiques, and in some modern 
 buildings, because they then hide a considerable part of the upper row of leaves, 
 and give a stunted disagreeable form to the whole capital. The different 
 divisions of the acanthus leaf, and bunches of olive or parsley which compose 
 the total of each leaf, must be firmly marked, and massed in a very distinct 
 manner ; the stems that spring from between the upper leaves are to be kept 
 low upon the vase of the capital while rising between the leaves, then spring 
 gradually forwards, to form the different volutes ; and the ornaments, which- 
 sometimes are used to adorn the sides of the angular volutes, are never to 
 project beyond the fillets between which they are confined. These are all the 
 directions that well can be given in writing, but those who would excel in 
 ornamental works of this kind or any other, must consult the foliages and 
 
 * St. Carlo in the Corso was built at the expense of the people of Lombardy about IGI'2, on the 
 designs of Onorio Lunghi and Pietro da Cortona. The chapel in the western transept, by Paolo Posi, is 
 one of the most magnificent in Rome. — [Ed.]
 
 164 OF THE COMPOSITE ORDER. 
 
 flowers of nature, the buildings, ancient or modern, in which they have been 
 executed with care and judgment. The Ionic, Composite, and Corinthian 
 capitals to be seen in various parts of Somerset Place, were copied from models 
 executed under my direction at Eome, and imitated, both in point of forms and 
 manner of workmanship, from the choicest antique originals. They may servo 
 as guides to such as have had no opportunity of examining the buildings from 
 which these models were collected. 
 
 The parts of the entablature bear the same proportion to each other as in 
 the Ionic and Tuscan orders. The architrave is nearly of the same form with 
 those of Palladio and Vignola, and that of the Basilica of Antoninus. The 
 frieze is enriched with foliages, in imitation of those on the frieze of Nero's 
 frontispiece, of which the most prominent parts should never project more 
 than doth the uppermost moulding of the architrave under them. 
 
 The cornice is imitated from Scamozzi, and differs from the Corinthian 
 only in the modillions, which are square, and composed of two fascias. The 
 soiRt of the intervals between the dentils must be hollowed upwards behind the 
 little fillet in front, as they are in most of the antiques, which occasions a dark 
 shade that marks the dentil more distinctly ; and the same method must Ix; 
 observed in the Ionic and Corinthian orders, for the same reason. The roses 
 in the soffit of the corona are not to project beyond its horizontal surface, and 
 cai'e must be taken not to vary them so much as at St. Peter's of the Vatican, 
 because the unity of the composition suffers thereby ; the modillions or dentils 
 might, with almost as much propriety, be varied. It will be proper, therefore, 
 in small compositions, to make them all alike, as they are in most of the 
 antiques ; that so they may not strike nor occupy the attention of the beholder 
 as objects for distinct contemplation, but as parts of one great whole. In 
 larger compositions, they may be of two kinds, but similar in outline and 
 dimension, which occasions more variety, yet without confusion ; for then the 
 images succeed each other so rapidly, and are from their similitude, so instan- 
 taneously comprehended, that the third impression takes place before the first is 
 in any degree obliterated ; so that nearly the same effect is produced as by a 
 continued succession of the same ol)ject. 
 
 Ikit though this variety be practised, and is to a certain degree allowable, 
 in small objects which the eye peruses at a glance, or in such as, being merely 
 accessorv, may or may not be introduced, and do not affect the general outline 
 or bent of the composition, yet it is by no means to be tolerated in coUiiinis 
 and other principal or essential piu'ts, which, from the number of their con- 
 stituent points, are not conveyed to the rniud at once, either with ease or
 
 OF THK COMPOSITE ORDER. 165 
 
 perfect clearness, and therefore, if varied, cannot fail of exciting confused 
 ideas. 
 
 In the fourth book of Palladio wc find, among other ancient temples, one, 
 of which the portico consists of four Corinthian columns and two pilasters. 
 The pilasters are fluted in a perpendicular dii-ection ; two of the columns are 
 fluted spirally, and the other two have the shafts covered with laurel leaves — 
 a variety absurd as unpleasing, which totally destroys the general effect of the 
 composition, and conveys no idea but that of a structure made up of discordant 
 fragments, as thev happened to come in the builder's way.* 
 
 The llomans used the Composite order more frequently in their triumphal 
 arches than in any other buildings ; meaning, as Serlio supposes,! to express their 
 dominion over those nations that invented the orders of which this is composed. 
 It may, says Le Clerc,J be used with propriety wherever elegance and magni- 
 ficence are to be united, but it is more particularly adapted to buildings de- 
 sio^ned to commemorate sifjnal events, or celebrate the virtues and achievements 
 of conquerors and legislators, because the capitals and other ornaments may be 
 composed of emblems and of allusive representations agreeable to the custom 
 of the ancients, as appears by very many fragments of capitals and other mem- 
 bers of architecture scattered about in different parts of Rome and else- 
 where. Some of these arc represented in the second plate of the Composite 
 order, and more may be found in the works of Montano,§ Lc Clerc, Piranesi, 
 and others, of whose works the reader will find a catalogue in the ABECE- 
 DARIO pittorico.W 
 
 The Composite entablature may be reduced to two-ninths of the column, 
 which, to avoid fractions, I shall call four modules and a half, by making the 
 module only nine-tenths of the semi-diameter, and observing the same measures 
 as are fiofiired in the desiofn, and there then will be a dentil in the outward 
 angle, as in the Ionic order. It may likewise, if required, be reduced to one- 
 fifth, by making the module four-fifths of the semi-diameter ; though, in cases 
 
 * This is the small temple at Trovi, between Foligno aud Spoleto. Palladio tlius apologizes for its 
 bizarrerie : — " Gli Anticlii in sirail sorte di edificj, e massime nei piccioli, posero grandissima diligeiiza nel 
 polire ciascuna parte, e far loro tutti (piegli ornamenti, che fossero possibili, e che stessero bone ; ma nelle 
 fabbricLo grandi come Anfitheatri, e simili, polirono solamente alcune particelle, lasciando il rimanentc 
 rozzo per schifare la spesa," &c. Lib. iv. c. 25. — [Ed.] 
 
 t Libro iii. page 88, Venice Edit, of 1619.— [Ed.] 
 
 J Traitc d'Architectm-e, Art. v. page 14. — [Ed.] 
 
 § Montano(Giov.Bat.). " Li cinque Libri di Arcliitettura."' Fol. Roma, 1G91. There was an edition 
 of this book in 1684.— [Ed.] 
 
 II Orlandini (Fr. Pellegr. Ant.) : Abccedario pittorico, nel quale sono descrittc le vlte degli antichissimi 
 pittori, scultori ed Architetti, &c. 4to. Yenezia, 1753. — [Ed.] 
 
 Z
 
 166 OF THE COMPOSITE ORDER. 
 
 where it may be necessary to diminish so much, it will always be better to 
 employ the Ionic cornice, which, being comp osed of fewer parts, will still retain 
 an air of grandeur, notwithstanding the smallness of the general mass. 
 
 Most authors give to the Composite order the last place, as being last in- 
 vented, and a compound which, of course, ought to be preceded by all the simples. 
 I have, however, followed Scamozzi's arrangement , his appearing to me the most 
 natural ; for his orders succeed each other according to their degree of strength, 
 and in the progression that must absolutely be observed whenever they are to 
 be employed together.
 
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 167 
 
 OF THE CORINTHIAN ORDER. 
 
 The three columns in the Campo Vaccino,* supposed remains of the 
 Temple of Jupiter Stator, are generally allowed to be the most perfect models 
 of the Corinthian order amongst the antiques at Rome. Palladio, in his fourth 
 book, where he gives the whole profile at large, acknowledges that he never had 
 seen any work better executed, or more delicately finished ; that its parts are 
 beautifully formed, well proportioned, and skilfully combined ; all which last 
 qualities are certainly signified by his Benissimo intesi. 
 
 With these favourable sentiments, it is extraordinary that, in his design of 
 the Corinthian order, he should so very considerably deviate from this excellent 
 original, as scarcely to leave the smallest shadow of resemblance. 
 
 Vignola, in his Corinthian profile, has chiefly imitated the above-mentioned 
 fragment, and the interior order of the Pantheon, another very perfect model. 
 His composition is uncommonly beautiful, and, without dispute, superior to 
 that of any other master, ho having artfully collected all the perfections of his 
 originals, and formed a whole far preferable to either of them. 
 
 The design which I have given differs but little from that of Vignola.f 
 The column is twenty modules high, and the entablature five ; which propor- 
 tions are a medium between those of the Pantheon and of the three columns. 
 The base of the column may be either Attic or Corinthian ; both are beautiful. 
 Palladio and Scamozzi have employed the Attic base enriched with astragals ; 
 but so frequent a repetition of the same semi-circular forms in junction has a 
 very indifferent effect, as may be observed at the church of St. Martin-in-the- 
 Fields, at the Bank, and in various other buildings of this city, in which the 
 profiles and forms of Palladio, good, bad, or indifferent, have indiscriminately 
 been employed. 
 
 If the entablature be enriched, the shaft of the column should be fluted, 
 provided it be not composed of variegated marble ; for a diversity of colours 
 
 * As tliis order bas received tbe admiration of ages, the Editor has thought proper to give an addi- 
 tional plate of it. It will be useful to compare its profile with that of our author, wliose exemplification of 
 the Corinthian is certainly inferior to those of bis other orders. — [Ed.] 
 
 f However small tbe difiercnce which our author bas made, I think he bas ruined Vignola's profile. 
 The additional height of capital is decidedly for tbe worse. — [Ed.] 
 
 z2
 
 168 OF THE CORINTHIAN ORDER. 
 
 renders even smooth surfaces confused, and ornaments of sculpture onlv serve 
 to make the confusion gi-eater. The flutings may be filled to one-third of their 
 height with cablings, as on the inside order of the Pantheon, which strengthen 
 the lower part of the column, and make it less liable to damage. But when 
 the columns are not within reach, nor subject to be hurt by passengers, the 
 cables are better omitted, as the general hue of the shaft will then be the same 
 throughout, and seem of a piece, which, when a part of the flute is filled and 
 the other part left empty, is not the case, for the shaft then appears divided, 
 and is less calculated to produce a great effect. 
 
 In some very rich buildings the cablings are composed of reeds, husks, 
 spiral-twisted ribands, flowers, and various other ornaments. At the Tuileries, 
 in Paris, there are some Ionic columns exquisitely wrought in this manner, 
 one of them by Jean Gougeon's * own hand, and the rest under his immediate 
 inspection. 
 
 It is, however, far better to reserve such niceties for interior decorations. 
 In exterior compositions, whatever doth not contribute to the forcible effect of 
 the whole structure is, in a great measure, useless, sometimes even detrimental, 
 and an expense which might more judiciously be employed where it would be 
 more attentively considered. In general, it may be laid down as a maxim, that 
 excessive ornaments, though they may, and often do, increase the magnificence 
 of a building, almost always destroy, more or less, the gi'andeur of its effect. 
 Parts in themselves large, formed and disposed to receive broad masses, or 
 strong oppositions of light and shade, must necessarily excite great ideas ; but 
 when these parts are broken into a number of small divisions, and their surfaces 
 so varied as to catch a thousand spotty impressions of light, demi-tints, and 
 darkness, the whole will, of course, form a confused appearance of trifling 
 objects, which divide the attention and are utterly incapable of exciting any 
 powerful emotions whatever. 
 
 The capital is enriched with olive leaves, as are almost all the antiques at 
 Rome, of this order; the acanthus being seldom employed but in the Com- 
 ])ositc.f De Cordcmoy, however, prefers the acanthus, and observes that the 
 flexiljle sprigs, which accompany the leaves of that plant, may more naturally 
 
 * Jean (rougeon, a French sculptor iuid architccl in the w'v^n of Francis I., was an artist of very 
 superior talents, anil occasionally employed himself in nioelellin^. Meing a I'rotestant, he was one of the 
 unlbrtunate sulTcrers in the hdniil massacre on St. Jiartlioloinew's day, 1572. — [Fi>.] 
 
 t The Acanthus, IJrancorsina, Jicar's i)aw, 'AkiivIIoij, a creeping lle.\ible plant, whose leaves arc wider 
 than tliosc of the common lettuce, and of considerable length. Its root bears some resemblance to a bear's 
 fore paw; hence, in Italian, it has received the name of Urancorsina. Its hahiUil is in damp situations, but 
 it may be rai!<cd in any garden. There are two species — one, which is prickly and jagged, resend)ling a
 
 01' TIIK COUINTIIIAN OUDEU. l69 
 
 bo supposed to form tlic contour of the volutes than the stiff branches of a 
 huiii'l or an olivo tree. " Strange it is," says he, " that we soon cease to 
 esteem what is natural ; nature and reason must always be violated, and thus 
 a confused jumble of little ])()inted leaves of an olive or a laurel is preferred to 
 the simple and graceful outline of the acanthus." 
 
 De Cordemoy's observation is, strictly speaking, just; yet to variety 
 something must be sacrificed, some liberties taken, and both the ancient as 
 well as modern sculptors have, by uniting several olive, laurel, or parsley leaves 
 together, to form distinct bunches, separated by filaments between which they 
 seem to grow, contrived to compose leaves, different in aj)pearance from the 
 acanthus, indeed, yet neither more confused nor less graceful than that. 
 
 "With respect to the manner of tracing and working this capital, the 
 designs, with what has been said on the same subject in the Composite order, 
 will serve as a sufficient explanation. 
 
 The divisions of the entablature bear the same proportion to each other 
 as in the Tuscan, Ionic, and Composite orders. The frieze is enriched with a 
 bas relief, composed from various fragments in the Villa Medici at Home.* 
 The parts and ornaments of the cornice are all regularly disposed, and perpen- 
 dicularly over each other ; the coffers in the soffit of the corona are square, 
 and the bordei's round them equal on all sides, as they are in the Arch of Titus, 
 and as Palladio has made them : a precaution neglected by Vignola, notwith- 
 standing his usual regularity. 
 
 The ancients frecjuently employed the Ionic entablature in the Corinthian 
 order, as appears by many of their buildings, and sometimes, according to 
 
 thistle — this is the shorter species, and from its tliorny appearance, is properly the Acanthus, iroin aKtivBa, 
 a thorn. The other sort is cultivated, and has a smooth leaf, and is the plant of which Virgil speaks — 
 
 " aut flcxi tacuissem vimen acanthi." 
 
 Georg. Lib. iv. 1"23. 
 
 It was used for medicinal purposes, — see I'liny, Lib. ii. c. '22, — and is the species which was adapted by the 
 eai'Iy architects to the decoration of the Corinthian capital, and in other ornamental foliage, as we find in 
 Virg. Ec. iii. 44. Edit. Hcjn. 
 
 " Et nobis idem Alcimedon duo pocula fecit, 
 Et moUi circum est ansas ample.xus Acantho." 
 Propertius, 1. iii. eleg. 7. v. 14 — and Virgil again, JKn. i. G40, &c. 
 
 " Et circumtextum croceo vclamen Acantho." 
 There was a tree also which bore the name of Acanthus — found chiefly in Egypt. — [Ed.] 
 
 * The basso relievo which the autlior has selected to decorate his tricze is very ill chosen for the 
 purpose. It is so overloaded and insubordinate to the whole,^hat a glance is suflicient to condemn it. 
 The great talents of Messrs. Lowry and Moses have, however, in the plate to this, made it much more 
 supportable than it is in the original editions, [Eu.]
 
 170 OF THE CORINTHIAN ORDER. 
 
 Vitruvius, even the Doric ; though of the latter practice there is not now, 
 that I know of, any example extant. The same author observes, that the 
 Greeks in their works never employed the dentils under the modillions, 
 because the raftei's, which are represented by the dentils, could never in 
 reality be placed under the beams or joists, which are represented by the 
 modillions. However this may be, we are certain that the Romans were not so 
 verv scrupulous, for in their most esteemed works, such as the Temple of 
 Jupiter Stator, the Forum of Nerva, the Temple of Jupiter Tonans, and several 
 others, we find the dentils placed under the modillions. These examples will 
 sufficiently authorize the same practice. The origin or reason of things of 
 this nature is remote, and known to but few ; while the general effect of a 
 composition is obvious to all. If deviating, therefore, from what is little known 
 and less felt, will eminently contribute towards the perfection of that which all 
 see and all approve, it cannot justly be censured. 
 
 This libertv, however, of deviating from the origin or reason of things, 
 was by the ancients, and must by us, be exercised with great caution, as it 
 opens a wide door to whim and extravagance, and leaves a latitude to the 
 composer which often bctravs and hurries him into ridiculous absurdities. 
 Bernini sometimes quitted the beaten road with judgment ; but Borromini,* 
 first his scholar, and at length his rival, in attempting to conquer by novelty, 
 and quitting the ancient rules, was submerged in an ocean of extravagance. 
 Thus, savs the author of his life, from being among the first men of his time 
 for abilities and extent of genius, Borromini sunk to a level with the last by a 
 ridiculous application of his talents. 
 
 I do not know who first introduced among us the favourite ornament of 
 festoons standing up like arches, instead of hanging down as nature directs ; 
 nor do I recollect the name of him who, in the church of St. Romolo at 
 Florence, has, for the sake of variety, placed the capitals at the feet of his 
 columns; but select these facts as absurd instances, among others, of the 
 length to which innovators may carry any system unrestrained by rules, and 
 subject to no other laws than the crude momentary eff'usions of a vitiated 
 fancy. Things evidently absurd, no time nor authority can sanctify. 
 
 When the modillion cornice is employed on large concave surfaces, the 
 sides of the modillions and coffers of the soffit should tend towards the centre 
 
 * Francesco Borromini was liorn in l.lOi); Iip stiidioil arcliilortiirc under Carlo l^radcrno. So 
 jt;alou9 was he of tlic fame and rei)utationi^f IJernini, tliat lie i» said to liavc stabbed liiniself in Rome, 
 1667. It is, liowever, ratber strange tliat sucli a cause should have led Iiiiii to so des]ierate an act, because, 
 from the number of his edifices, he must have enjoyed considerable cmiiloynicnt in his profession, — [Ed.]
 
 OF THE CORINTHIAN OllDEK. 171 
 
 of the curve, as in the Pantheon ; but when the concave is small, it will be 
 better to direct them towards the opposite point in the circumference, that the 
 contraction may be less perceptible, and the parts dependent thereon suffer less 
 deviation from their natural form. The same rules must be observed with 
 regard to dentils, to the abacus and bases of columns or pilasters, and likewise 
 to the flanks of the pilaster itself. But on a convex surface the sides of all 
 these should be parallel to each other, for it would be unnatural and very 
 disagreeable to see them narrowest where they spring out of the cornice, 
 diverging as they advance forwards, forming sharp angles, and a sort of 
 mutilated triangular plan, with enlarged solids and diminished intervals : all 
 calculated to destroy the usual proportions and beauty of the composition. 
 
 The Corinthian entablature may be reduced to two-ninths, or one-fifth of 
 the height of the column, by the same rules as are given in the Ionic and 
 Composite orders; but where it becomes necessary, or is judged expedient, to 
 make the entablature so small as one-fifth, it will, I apprehend, be best to 
 substitute the Ionic entablature, as Palladio has done in the peristyle of his 
 Olympic Theatre at Vicenza, and in many others of his buildings ; or else to 
 retrench the dentils of the cornice, as in one of Serlio's, and in Scamozzi's 
 profiles ; the part of the cornice under the modillion band, remaining then 
 composed of only the ovolo and ogee, separated by a fillet, as in the temples of 
 Trevi and Scisi in Umbria, mentioned in Palladio's fourth book. 
 
 The Corinthian order is proper for all buildings where elegance, gaiety, 
 and magnificence are required. The ancients employed it in temples dedicated 
 to Venus, to Flora, Proserpine, and the nymphs of fountains ; because the 
 flowers, foliage, and volutes, with which it is adorned, seemed well adapted to 
 the delicacy and elegance of such deities.* Being the most splendid of all the 
 orders, it is extremely proper for the decoration of palaces, public squares, or 
 galleries and arcades surrounding them ; for churches dedicated to the Virgin 
 Mary, or to other virgin saints ; and on account of its rich, gay, and graceful 
 appearance, it may with propriety be used in theatres, in ball or banqueting 
 rooms, and in all places consecrated to festive mirth or convivial recreation. 
 
 * " Veneri, Florae, Proserpinae, fontium Nymphis, Corinthio genere constitutse, aptas videbuntur habere 
 proprietates, quod his Diis propter teneritatem, graciliora et florida, foliisque et volutis ornata opera facta, 
 augere videbuntur justum decorem." Vitruvius, Lib. i. c. 2.
 
 172 
 
 NOTE ON THE ORDERS. 
 
 It is not altogether witliout reason that the hitherto-received as orthodox doctrine of the Five 
 Orders has been of late brought into disrepute. Not only does it authorise, but even insists upon, not 
 only the most servile but the most mechanical copyism. Dispensing with, even prohibiting, any exercise 
 of the artist mind, such system reduces what ought to be design nearly to the level of manufacture. 
 What are termed Orders ought rather to be regarded as Classes of columns and their entablatures, 
 which, though conforming respectively to certain normal proportions, and preserving certain characteristic 
 details, admit of great, almost illimitable diversity. 
 
 Far better would it have been for Modern Classic had the writings of Vitruvius never been brought 
 to light, or else estimated at their real worth, instead of being regarded with superstitious reverence. 
 
 The division of the Orders into Five gives either too many or else too few. Too many, because it 
 -makes distinct orders of the Corinthian, and that variety of it invented by the Romans, and called the 
 Composite. The same may be said of the modern Tuscan and Doric orders, since they plainly enough 
 belong to one and the same general class : or else, if each strongly-pronounced variety of the same original 
 type is to be accounted as a separate order, the orders might be greatly and also very inconveniently 
 multiplied. There are, for instance, authentic e.xamples of the Ionic which have nothing in common — are 
 altogether dissimilar in expression, except that the capital is voluted. The same may be said of the so-called 
 Corinthian or foliaged capital order, to enumerate all the varieties of which woidd be no easy task. Let it 
 suffice, then, for comparison's sake, to pl.ace only two of them in ju.xtaposition : the Tivoli example of 
 Corinthian and that of the Pantheon, or else that exhibited by Chambers himself as the technically-correct 
 representative of the order. Hardly do we need stronger evidence to convince us that it is possible for 
 -striking varieties to be produced which, however strongly-marked may be their differences, partake alike of 
 the same generic character. 
 
 There are very many examples of antique capitals and other sculpturesque architectural details 
 treasured up in museums (some of them have been edited by Pii-anesi) which, though only fragments, are 
 well deserving of being studied, not indeed as lessons for beginners, nor as express models for imitation, 
 yet exceedingly useful as studies to those who are capable of profiting by them ; at any rate they are 
 suggestive, and it is very possible to derive an excellent idea from what, so far from being faultless, recjuires 
 to be reshaped. To protend to improve upon the worthiest examples of the Antique, may, indeed, be 
 justly deemed presumptuous ; yet it surely is, or ought to be, allowable, even laudable, to endeavour to com- 
 pete with them ; and he who has formed his taste by thoughtful artistic study may safely be trusted with a 
 privilege which he would hardly abuse — that of being permitted to break aw.ay (rom technical routine 
 without at the same time deviating fi-om what constitutes the aesthetic .spirit of his models. 
 
 Contrary to what has been urged by some as dissuasive from the artistic liberty here rccommonded, 
 such liberty would rather stimulate to more diligent a'stlictic study. So fiir from being a hasty, crude and 
 ill-considered effusion of the moment, an idea for treating an Order with some touches of originality and 
 inventive power might be the well-matured result of diligent study. The great mistake on the part of the 
 Italian or Modern Clxssic school, and its followers, has been the establishing for the Orders such minute 
 and ovcrstrict rules that, as far as they arc concerned, what ought to be design, and give evidence of individual 
 artistic mind, is reduced to what is little better than a mechanical process. Not altogether undeservedly, 
 therclbrc, has Classic incurred of late, from some, the reproach of servile copyism and wearisome sameness 
 of detail.— [W. H. L.]
 
 173 
 
 OF PILASTERS. 
 
 Pilasters are, I believe, a Roman invention, and certainly an improvement. 
 The Greeks employed antte* in their temples, to receive the architraves where 
 they entered upon the walls of the cell. These, though they were in one 
 direction of equal diameter with the columns of the front, were in flank 
 extravagantly thin in proportion to their height, and neither their bases nor 
 capitals bore any resemblance to those of the columns they accompanied. The 
 Roman artists, disgusted, probably, with the meagre aspect of these antse, and 
 the want of accord in their bases and capitals, substituted pilasters in their 
 places, which, being pi-oportioned and decorated in the same manner with the 
 columns, arc certainly more seemly, and preserve the unity of the composition 
 much better. 
 
 Pilasters differ from columns in their plan only, which is square, as that of 
 the column is round. Their bases, capitals, and entablatures have the same 
 parts, with all the same heights and projections, as those of columns, and they 
 are distinguished in the same manner by the names of Tuscan, Doric, Ionic, 
 Composite, and Corinthian. 
 
 Of the two, the column is, doubtless, most perfect. Nevertheless, there 
 are occasions in which pilasters may be employed with great propriety ; and 
 some where they are, on various accounts, even preferable to columns. 
 
 I am not ignorant that several authors are of a different opinion : a 
 certain French Jesuitf in particular, who, some thirty years ago, first published 
 an essay on architecture, which from its plausibility, force, and elegance of 
 diction, went through several editions, and operated very powerfully on the 
 superficial part of European connoisseurs. He inveighs vehemently against 
 pilasters, as against almost every other architectonic form but such as were 
 imitated by the first builders in stone, from the primitive wooden huts ; as if, 
 
 * One of the most objectionable practices of the day, is the servile imitation of the Greek ant!E. It 
 is quite inconsistent with any regard to the primitive types from which the Grecian architecture is supposed 
 to have originated. Added to this, their application in such very thin lamina; ajjainst the walls as could be 
 pointed to in some pseudo-Grecian buildings about the metropolis, produces a remarkably silly and sheepish 
 effect. — [Ed.] 
 
 t The Abb6 Laugier.— [Ed.] 
 
 2 A
 
 1/4 OF PILASTERS. 
 
 in the whole catalogue of arts, architecture should be the only one confined to 
 its pristine simplicity, and secluded from any deviation or improvement 
 v.hatever. 
 
 To pilasters the essayist objects, because they are, in his opinion, nothing 
 better than bad representations of columns. Their angles, says he, indicate the 
 formal stiffness of art, and are a striking deviation from the simplicity of 
 nature ; their projections, sharp and inconvenient, offend and confine the eye, 
 and their surfaces without roundness, give to the whole order a flat air : they 
 are not susceptible of diminution, one of the most pleasing properties of 
 columns ; thev are never necessary, and to sum up the whole, he hates them : 
 his aversion was first innate, but has since been confirmed by the study of 
 architecture. 
 
 Concerning the reverend father's inborn aversion, much need not be said, 
 and several others of his objections, as they consist more of words than 
 meaning, seem not to require any refutation ; but to assert that pilasters are 
 not susceptible of diminution, shows vei'y little acquaintance either with books 
 of architecture or with buildings. There are many instances, in the remains 
 of antiquity, of their being diminished, particularly when accompanying 
 columns ; they are so in the temple of Mars the avenger, in the frontispiece of 
 Nero, in the portico of Septimius Severus, and in the arch of Constantine, all 
 at Home. Scamozzi* always gave to his pilasters the same diminution as to 
 his columns ; Palladio has diminished them in the church of the Redentoi-e at 
 Venice, and in many others of his buildings : as Inigo Joncsf has likewise 
 don(! in many of his, particularly at the Banqueting-IIouse at Whitehall. 
 
 * lie says, Parte Seconda Lib. sesto, Cap. ii., " I Pilastri ancor essi teugouo una certa simigliaiua con 
 Ic Colonne, ma pero sono quadrilateri, ad iniitazione de gli albcri squadrati." — [Ed.] 
 
 f This justly celebrated Eiij;lisli ai'cLitect was the son of Ignatius Jones, a clotlnvorker, and was born 
 in tlic vicinity of St. Paul's, about 157i2. He is said to have been apprenticed to a joiner, but that he 
 remained long in such fetters is not probable, from the circumstance of his early skill in landscape painting, 
 of which a specimen is, I believe, still to be seen in Chiswick House. It is not settled who had the 
 honor of being his [latron ; some place it to the account of the ICarl of Arundel, others to that of AVilliam, 
 Earl of I'enibroke. At the expense, however, of one of these, he visited Italy, in which country he spent 
 much of his time at Venice. From Venice he passed into Denmark, on the invitation of Christian IV. 
 In UIOG he returned to his native country, in the suite of the King of Denmark, whose sister James I. had 
 married. Mr. Seward observes that the first of his works in England was the interior of the church of St. 
 Catherine Cree in Lcadenhall Street. Soon after his arrival, he was appointed architect to the Queen, 
 and was also in the service of Prince Henry ; to these he gave so much satisfaction, that the King 
 granted him the reversion of Surveyor-General. On the death of Piince Henry in Kil'i, Jones 
 vi.iited Italy a second time, where he remained until the ollice just mcntinncd fell to him. His 
 liberality anil disinterestedness on this occasion deserve to be recorded. Finding the olhce greatly in 
 debt, he not only served without pay till the embarrassments were removed, but prevailed upon his
 
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 SIR WILLIAM CHAMBtRS' TREATISE. 
 
 !V.Dt<d &cm :>:on( bj l* : >*b«inii^ t'S«a lAailob .
 
 OF PILASTERS. 
 
 177 
 
 And if wo go back to tho origin of things, and consider pilasters, cither 
 as representing tho ends of partition walls, or trunks of trees reduced to the 
 diameter of the i-ound trunks which they accompany, but left square for greater 
 strength, the reason for diminishing them will, in either case, be strong and 
 evident. 
 
 It is likewise an error to assert that pilasters arc never necessary, but that 
 columns will at all times answer the same end, for at the angles of all buildings 
 they are evidently necessary both for solidity and beauty, — because the angular 
 
 fellow officers to do the like, — by which expedient the debt was soon cleared. He wrote, by desire of 
 the King, an account ofStoneliongc, in 1620, in which year he was appointed one of the Commissioners for 
 repairing St. Paul's Cathedral in London. On the death of James he was continued in his situation by 
 Charles I., for whom he executed the Banqueting-House, barely the fiftieth part of a palace at Wliitehall, 
 the designs for which had been made in the previous reign. In .June, 1633, the order was issued for the 
 reparation of St. Paul's ; on which .Tones was, immediately afterwards, employed. During the reign of 
 Charles I. .Jones gave many proofs of his genius and fancy, in the machinery and designs for the scenic 
 representations of masques and interludes, then so much in fashion ; — Ben Jonson was usually the poet on 
 these occasions. In 1614 these great men had a misunderstanding, which led the last-named to lampoon 
 Inigo under the character of Lantern Leatherhead, a hobby-horse seller, in his " Bartholomew Fair." The 
 rupture, after much coarse and virulent satire on the part of the poet, ended only with his death. About 
 1640 our architect fell into trouble on account of the times, for, during the usurpation, he was obliged to 
 pay £S45 ; being the composition for his estate, as a malignant. Jones was restored to his post by 
 Charles IL, but it was then little more than an empty title. Grief, it is supposed, occasioned by the 
 
 calamity of his former master, put a period to his exist- 
 ence, July 21, 1652. He was interred in the chancel of 
 St. Bennet's, Pauf s Wharf, London. His works are too 
 well known to need an enumeration here : suffice it to 
 say, that he was the father of pure architecture in this 
 country. Several of his buildings may be seen in 
 CampbcU's Vitruvius Britannicus. His principal designs 
 were published by Kent, fol. 1727, some of his lesser 
 designs, fol. 1744; and others were also published by 
 Mr. Ware. The Water I^ront of Old Somerset House, 
 here inserted, has lately been indifferently copied in thio 
 metropolis. Inigo Jones lefl a copy of Palladio, the 
 Venice Edit, of 1601, with notes on the margin, in his own handwriting. He seems to have carried this 
 copy about with hun on his travels, from the notes being dated. The book, which has Ijeen badly 
 preserved, is in the Library at Worcester College ; from it was traced a copy of the autogrciph of Jones, a 
 fac-siraile of which is subjoined. See Note, page 24. 
 
 [Ed.]
 
 178 OF PILASTERS. 
 
 support having a greater weight to hear than any of the rest, ought to he so 
 much the stronger ; so that its diameter must either he increased, or its plan 
 altered from a circle to a square, the latter of which is certainly the most 
 reasonable expedient on sevei'al accounts, hut chiefly as it ohviates a very 
 striking defect, occasioned by employing columns at the angles of a building, 
 which is that the anMe of the entablature is left hanging in the air without 
 anv support ; a sight very disagreeable in some oblique views, and in itself 
 very unsolid. 
 
 It is indeed customary in porches and other detached compositions to 
 employ columns at the angles, and it is judicious so to do, for of two defects 
 the least is to be preferred. And although Father Laugier, the writer whose 
 objections I have just now cited, could see no reason for rejecting detached 
 pilasters when engaged ones were suffered, yet there is a very substantial 
 reason, which is, that a detached pilaster, in some oblique views, appears 
 thicker than it does in front, nearly in the ratio of seven to five, and conse- 
 quently if, when seen in front, it appears well proportioned in itself, and with 
 regard to the columns it accompanies, it never can appear so when viewed upon 
 the angle ; as may be observed in the colonnades of the great court at Bur- 
 lington House, in Ficcadillv, and at the poi'ch of St. George's Church, near 
 Hanover Square. 
 
 Engaged pilasters are employed in churches, galleries, halls, and other 
 interior decorations, to save room, for as they seldom project l)eyond the solid 
 of the walls more than one-quarter of their diameter, they do not occu])y near 
 so much space even as engaged columns. They are likewise employed in 
 exterior decorations ; sometimes alone, instead of columns, on account of their 
 being less expensive, as at the Duke of Queensbury's House in Burlington 
 Gardens, General Wade's House in the same place, and in many other build- 
 ings here in London ; at other times, they accompany columns, being placed 
 behind them to support the springing of the architraves, as in the Pantheon at 
 Eome, and in the porch of St. Martin in the Fields, Westminster ; or on the 
 same line with them, to fortify the angles, as in the portico of Septimius 
 Severus at Rome, and in the church of St. Laurence of the Jewry in London. 
 Blondcl says*, they may likewise be employed instead of columns, detached, to 
 lonii ])eristyles and porticoes, but there is no instance of this, that I remember, 
 ill nil the remains of antiquity ; neither has any modern architect, I believe, 
 been so destitute of taste as to put it in practice. 
 
 * " On pout Ics mcttrc au lieu dcs rondcs dans les poi't'niucs, ihns Ics peristyles," &c. Blonilol, Couis 
 d'Arcliilcctur-, Liv. viii. cliap. i''. — [Kd.]
 
 OF PILASTERS. 179 
 
 When pilasters are used alone, as principal in the composition, tliev should 
 project one-quarter of their diameter beyond the walls, as Scamozzi * teaches, 
 and as tliev do at the Banqueting-1 louse, Whitehall, which gives them a suf- 
 ficient boldness, and, in the Corinthian and Composite orders, is likewise most 
 regular, — because the stems of the volutes, and the small leaves in flank of 
 the capital, are then cut exactly through their middles. But if the cornice of 
 the windows should be continued in the inter-pilaster, as is sometimes usual, 
 or if there should bo a cornice to mark the separation between the principal 
 and second story, as at the Mansion-llousc of London, or large imposts of arches, 
 the projection must, in such cases, be increased, provided it is not otherwise 
 sufficient to stop the most prominent parts of these decorations ; it being very 
 disagi'eeable to see several of the uppermost mouldings of an impost or cornice cut 
 away perpendicularly, in order to make room for the pilaster, while the cornice or 
 impost on each side projects considerably beyond it, as has been done at St. 
 Peter's of the Vatican, as well as in several other buildings of Home, and other 
 towns of Italy. Mutilations are, on all occasions, studiously to be avoided, as 
 being destructive of perfection, and strong indications either of inattention or 
 ignorance in the composer. 
 
 When pilasters are placed behind columns, and very near them, they need 
 not project above one-eighth of their diameter, or even less, excepting there 
 should be imposts or continued cornices in the inter-pilaster ; in which case 
 what has been said above must be attended to. But if they be far behind the 
 columns, as in porticoes, porches, and peristyles, they should project one-sixth 
 of their diameter at least ; and when they are on a line with the columns, their 
 projection is to be regulated by that of the columns, and consequently it never 
 can be less than a semi-diameter, even when the columns are engaged as much 
 as possible. This extraoi-dinary projection, however, will occasion no very 
 great deformity, as the largest apparent breadth of the pilaster will exceed the 
 least only in the ratio of eleven to ten, or thereabouts. But if columns be 
 detached, the angular pilaster should always be coupled with a column, to hide 
 its inner flank, as in the portico of Burlington House ; because the pilasters 
 will otherwise appear disproportionate when seen from the point of view proper 
 for the whole building ; especially if the fabric be small, and the point of view 
 near. 
 
 * " I pilastri per rogola generale quando sai'anno da se soli appoggiati alle inura dcono uscire la (juarta 
 parte della loro larghezza, perchc cosi fanno bello aspetto, e capiscono anco gli aggetti de gli ornamenti 
 delle Porto, e Finestre, e Xicclie, b Tabernacoli, clic fussero tra cssi; !o quali non deono iiiai sopra avanzare 
 al diritto di fuori d' essi Pilastri; e di (juesto vitio si liaiino molto scbilato gli Antichi." Scamo/.zi, Parte 
 Scconda, Lib. vi. c. 11. — [Ed.]
 
 180 OF PILASTERS. 
 
 It is sometimes customary to execute pilasters without any diminution ; 
 in the antiques there are several instances thereof, as well as of the contrary 
 practice, and Palladio, Vignola, Inigo Jones, and many of the greatest 
 architects, have frequently done so. Nevertheless, it is certain that diminished 
 pilasters are, on many accounts, much preferable. There is moi'e variety in 
 their form ; their capitals are better proportioned, both in the whole and in 
 their parts, particularly in the Composite and Corinthian orders ; and the 
 irregularities occasioned by the passage of the architraves, from diminished 
 columns to undiminished pilasters, are thereby avoided ; as are likewise the 
 difficulties of regulai'ly distributing the modillions and other parts of the 
 entablature, either when the pilasters are alone, or accompanied with columns. 
 
 Another disagreeable effect of undiminished pilasters is likewise obviated 
 by rejecting them. Indeed I am at a loss to account for it, and, as it is 
 diametrically opposite to a I'eceived law in optics, I imagined it might be the 
 result of some defect in my own sight, till by enquiry, I found others were 
 affected in the same manner. It is this ; the top of the shaft always appears 
 broader than the bottom ; as any one may observe by casting a glance on the 
 pilasters of St. Paul's, of St. George's, Hanover Square, or any others that are 
 not diminished. The author of V Esprit des Beaux Arts accounts for a similar 
 effect in a manner more subtile, I believe, than true. He makes it to be the 
 result of a nice comparison between the real and the apparent distance, which, 
 to me, seems to have little, or rather no share at all in it. An ingenious writer* 
 of our own country observes, that the senses strongly affected in some one 
 manner, cannot quickly change their tenor, or adapt themselves to other things, 
 but continue in their old channel until the strength of the first mover decays. 
 This being admitted, it is not improbable that the capital, which is imme- 
 diately above the shaft, being considerably broader and certainly the first 
 attractive object, may have an influence on the apparent upper breadth of the 
 shaft, and occasion the effect above mentioned. Perhaps, too, the light may 
 in some measure contribute thereto, it being stronger at the foot of the shaft 
 than towards its top. 
 
 The shafts of pilasters are sometimes adorned with flutings in the same 
 manner as those of columns, the plan of which may be a trifle above a semi- 
 circle, and they must be to the number of seven on each face, which makes 
 them nearly of the same si/e with those of tlie columns. The interval 
 between them must bo either one-third or one-fourth of i\w flute in l)readth 
 
 • See Burke's "Enquiry into t!io Origin of our Llena of tlie Sublime luul l?e;iuliful."
 
 OF PILASTKKS. 181 
 
 and whoa the pilaster is placed on the pavement, or liable to be broken by the 
 touch of passengers, the angle may be rounded oflf", in the form of an astragal ; 
 between which and the adjoining flute, there must be a fillet or interval of 
 the same si/c with the rest, as in the porch of the Pantheon at Rome. 
 
 The flutes may, like those of columns, be filled with cablings to one-third 
 of their height, either plain, and shaped like an astragal, or enriched, accord- 
 ing as the rest of the composition is simple or much adorned. Scamozzi* is 
 of opinion that there should be no flutings on the sides of engaged pilasters, 
 but only in front, and, whenever cornices or imposts are continued home to the 
 pilaster, this should particularly bo attended to, that the different mouldings 
 of these members, by entering into the cavities of the flutes, may not be cut 
 off in irregular and disagreeable forms. But if the flanks of the pilaster are 
 entirely free, it may be as well to enrich them in the same manner as the 
 front, provided the flutes can be so distributed as to have a fillet or interval 
 adj(nning to the wall ; which is always necessary to mark the true shape of 
 the pilaster distinctly. 
 
 The capitals of Tuscan or Doric pilasters arc profiled in the same 
 manner as those of the respective columns ; but in the capitals of the other 
 orders there are some trifling differences to be observed. In the antique 
 Ionic capital, the extraordinary projection of the ovolo makes it necessary, 
 either to bend it inwards considerably towards the extremities, that it may 
 pass behind the volutes, or instead of keeping the volutes flat in front, as they 
 commonly are in the antique, to twist them outwards till they give room 
 for the passage of the ovolo. Lc Clercf thinks the latter of these expedients 
 the best, and that the artifice may not be too striking, the projection of the 
 ovolo may be considerably diminished, as in the annexed design, | which, as 
 the moulding can be seen in front only, will occasion no disagreeable 
 effect. 
 
 The same diflSiculty subsists with regai'd to the passage of the ovolo 
 behind the angular Ionic volutes. Le Clerc,§ therefore, advises to open or 
 spread the volutes sufficiently to leave I'oom for the ovolo to pass behind them, 
 as in the design || annexed; which may easily be done, if the projection of the 
 ovolo is diminished. Inigo Jones has, in the Banqueting-House, made the 
 
 * " ^lc mai si Jeono cannellave i Pilastri ne' loro fianchi, die escono fuori dellc rauva." Scamozzi, 
 Pai-te Seconda, Lib. vi. c. 11. — [Kd.] 
 
 t Traite d'Architecture, Section troisicme. — [Ed.] 
 + PL of Pilasters, fig. 2. 
 
 § Traite d'Arcliitcctui-e, Section troisit-me. — [Ed.] 
 II PI. of Pilasters, fig. 1. 
 
 2 B
 
 182 OF PILASTERS. 
 
 two sides of the volutes parallel to each other, according to Scamozzi's 
 manner, and at the same time has continued the ovolo in a straight line under 
 them ; so that the volutes have an enormous projection, which, added to the 
 other faults of these capitals, renders the whole composition unusually defec- 
 tive and exceedingly ugly. 
 
 What has been said with regard to the passage of the ovolo behind 
 the volutes in the Ionic order, is likewise to be remembered in the Composite ; 
 and in the Corinthian the lip or edge of the vase or basket may be bent a 
 little inwards towards its extremities, by which means it will easily pass 
 behind the volutes. The leaves in the Corinthian and Composite capitals 
 must not project beyond the top of the shaft, as they do at St. Carlo in the 
 Corso at Rome, and at the Banqueting-House, Whitehall ; but the diameter 
 of the capital must be exactly the same as that of the top of the shaft. And 
 to make out the thickness of the small bottom leaves, their edges may be bent 
 a trifle outwards, and the large angular leaves may be directed inwards, in 
 their approach towards them, as in the annexed design,* and as they are 
 executed in the church of the Roman College at Rome. Where the small 
 leaves have a considerable thickness , though the diameter of the capital is 
 exactly the same as that of the shaft, in each front of the Composite or 
 Corinthian pilaster -capital, there must be two small leaves, with one entii'e 
 and two half large ones. They mus t be either of olive, acanthus, parsley, or 
 laurel, massed, divided, and wrought in the same manner as those of the 
 columns are, the only difference being, that they will be somewhat broader. 
 
 The employing half, or other parts of pilasters that meet, and, as it 
 were, penetrate each other in inward or outward angles, should, as much as 
 possible, be avoided, because it generally occasions several irregularities in the 
 entablatures, and sometimes in the capitals also. Particular care must be 
 taken never to introduce more than one of these breaks in the same place, for 
 more can never be necessary. In many of the churches at Rome, we see half 
 a dozen of them together, which produces a long series of undulated capitals 
 and bases and a numl)er of mutilated ])arts in the entablature, than which 
 nothing can be more confused or disagreeable. 
 
 Instead of ])ilast(M-s, it is sometimes customary to employ colunnis that 
 l)i;iictrate eacli othci- in th(! inward angle. There are several instances of this 
 at Paris, particularly about the Louvre, l)ut it is a practice universally con- 
 demned, and the bad eff'e(;t tliert^of may be seen on the front of the Royal 
 Exchan<'-e towards Cornhill, ami within tlie Ranqucting Mouse at Whitehall. 
 
 • ri. i>( I'ila.sU.T", li''- ■')■
 
 NOTE ON PILASTERS AND ANTiE. 
 
 Laugicr's antipathy to pilasters is so absurd that he liardly deserves serious refutation. It surely does 
 not follow that, because pilasters are less beautiful than columns — certainly much less emphatic and elfective, 
 that they have no sort of beauty or merit of tlieir own to recommend them. It is rather an advantage 
 than the contrary to be able to produce different degrees of expression. Pilasters are, at any rate, 
 preferable to half columns, which, when viewed obliquely, have a maimed and attenuated look. Pilasters 
 combine naturally with the wall to which they are attached, and of which they are, in fact, only so many 
 more strongly pronounced structural parts, and thereby give the e.Kpression of increased strength together 
 with that of compactness. 
 
 There being no authority for pilasters, in what we now understand to have been pure Greek 
 architecture, is no argument against them. Anta;, properly so called, can occur only at the extremity of a 
 wall at right angles to the fai,'ade and its columns ; and the Greeks treated them both logically and 
 :psthetically by making them decidedly contrast with, instead of endeavouring to assimilate them as nearly 
 as possible to, columns by diminishing upwards, and giving them like-moulded bases and like-featured 
 capitals. Verticality was opposed to the obli(iuity of the tapering column, the plain, llat face of the antae 
 to the round and lluted shafts of the accompanying columns. Antse caps, too, bore little resemblance to the 
 capitals of the accompanying columns. Notwithstanding, therefore, that it ha? been done by some modern 
 architects, it is a solecism to apply antse as pilasters, or rather to fashion what are in fact a range of 
 pilasters on the face of a wall similarly to anta; ; the latter, especially Doric anta;, being very ill-suited to 
 show as decoration. A veritable anta forming the termination of a wall defines itself distinctly to the eye, 
 whereas thin slices of it stuck upon a wall proiluce scarcely any effect, at all, except it be that of insipid 
 tamcncss. 
 
 If the wall surface between pilasters be rusticated — that is, show the joints of the courses of masonry — 
 the pilaster shafts will be distinctly pronounced ; or else, similar distinction and distinctness may be obtained 
 by fluting or otherwise decorating the faces of the pilasters. 
 
 Quite contrary as it would be to the practice of the Greeks, and so far at variance with bookish rules, 
 it would not be counter to the fundamental laws of jesthetic philosophy to bestow on anta: or pilasters, 
 placed at the angles of a composition, an increased degree of expression, whether it be produced by 
 enrichment i>r otherwise. When columns are placed in antis, the anta? may with assured good effect be 
 made considerably wider in front than the diameter of the columns with which they are associated. 
 
 Besides antse and pilasters, there are what — although no particular name has been invented for them — 
 may be described as fjiuulrilateral pillars, differing from columns by being square instead of round, but, like 
 disengaged or perfect columns, standing quite isolated. Such Quadrantes — to give them, for the nonce, 
 a name — come in admirably at the external angles of a prostyle, and at re-entering angles, where one line 
 of columns meets another placed perpendicularly, i.e., at a right angle to it. It is a very futile objection 
 to say that, where seen diagonally or obliquely, a square shaft appears bulkier than a round one of the 
 same diameter ; it is surely enough that it is known to be no thicker than the other when looked at directly 
 in front or drawn geometrically. Or, if objections of that kind are to be admitted as valid argument, the 
 Greeks themselves might be convicted of gross error by their mixing up antse with columns, and thereby 
 opposing flatness to convexity. As regards square pillars, so far from being freakish licenses or contrary 
 to any principle of sound architectonic construction, they are strikingly expressive of stability. 
 Fortunately, St. George's Hall, at Liverpool, now affords an eloquent example of, and precedent for, the 
 use of pillars of that description, which speaks far more in their favour than any argument on pa])er can do. 
 The lateral ranges of square shafts with low intercolumnar screens, in continuation of the central colonnade, 
 are a singularly happy idea. No doubt, it may plainly enough be traced to a similar disposition of columns 
 in some Egyptian temples ; yet that does not at all detract from its originality. The mural screens combine 
 with and fit in far better between square shafts than round ones ; therefore, so far there is decided 
 improvement. It is surely no small merit to have seized upon and tunied so well to account an idea which, 
 obvious as it now seems, had so long been overlooked by modern architects, and which would, moreover, 
 if properly followed up, lead on to picturesque combinations and effects hitherto unessayed. — [W. H. L.] 
 
 2 B 2
 
 184 
 
 OF PERSIANS AND CARYATIDES. 
 
 Besides columns and pilasters, it is sometimes customary to employ 
 representations of the human figure, to support entablatures in buildings. 
 The male figures ai-e called Persians, Telamones, or Atlantides, and the 
 females Caryans or Caryatides. The origin of this custom, Vitruvius* tells 
 us, is as follows. 
 
 The inhabitants of Caina, a city of the Peloponnesus, having joined the 
 Persians in a war against the rest of the Greeks, and that war being termi- 
 nated by the defeat of the Persians, the Greeks commenced hostilities against 
 the Caryates, took their city, demolished it, and putting all the males to the 
 sword, carried the females into captivity ; and to treat them with still greater 
 igTiominy, tlicy forbade the ladies to divest themselves of their robes, or any of 
 their ornaments ; that so they might not only be once led in triumph, but in 
 a manner suffer the mortification of a triumph all their lives after, by appearing 
 constantly in the same dress as on the triumphal day. And further, as an 
 everlasting testimony of the punishment inflicted on the Caryates, and to 
 inform posterity what had been the nature of their chastisement, the architects 
 of that time, instead of columns, employed the representations of these women, 
 to supi)ort the entablatures of their public buildings. 
 
 The Lacedaemonians did the same thing after the battle of Platea, erecting 
 with the spoils taken from the enemy a gallery, which they called Persian ; 
 wherein statues, in the form of captive Persians, with their usual dresses, 
 supported the arches, intending thereby to punish that nation in such a manner 
 as its pride had merited, and to leave posterity a monument of the valour and 
 victories of the Lacedamionians. 
 
 The introduction of figui*es of men and animals to support burthens in 
 l)uildings or otherwise, had certainly an earlier origin than that ascribed to it 
 by Vitruvius. It seems to have been a very early and favorite idea among 
 several peo])le of the remotest antiquilv. ITomor mentions ihe practice in the 
 
 • Lili. i. c. 1.
 
 Hl!> 
 
 <^^.rMa^?M a^^,J^<^a'rua^a/>.i. 
 
 ifJli-MV Jei- • 
 
 LB liftttan 
 
 hiblished hv ihf I'tvpt'ietors ol' Ihr limhhfuf News. IHSO 
 
 SIR WILLIAM C HAMBERS'TntATlSE. 
 
 ftiatti frpm Ston* by '" f •»^k«&"" *"S.ia J*»dm
 
 OF PERSIANS AND CARYATIDES. 187 
 
 seventh book of the Odyssey,* and I think, in one or more other places of his 
 poems. Hiram's molten seaf was supported by twelve bulls, and on the walls 
 of the oracle he placed alternate cherubim and palm-trees, supporting wreaths 
 of flowers, and probably the ceiling-. In the sepulchre of King Osymandyas, 
 which, as Diodorus Siculus relates, was ten furlongs in circuit ; the re was a 
 stone hall, forming a space of four hundred feet every way, of which the roof 
 instead of pillars was supported by animals, each of a single stone, and twenty- 
 four feet high, being carved in the ancient Egyptian manner. The roof was 
 also entirely of stone, composed of stones twelve feet square ; the whole being 
 coloured to represent an azure sky, bespangled with stars. Of the number or 
 natures of these animals, nothing is said ; but if the whole space was covered, 
 more than one thousand would have been requisite to support the roof, and 
 more than a thousand stones to form it. In several Indian buildings too, 
 supposed to be of great antiquity, may be observed figures of men and animals 
 supporting the roofs, after the manner described in the sepulchre of Osyman- 
 dyas ; particularly in that cut in the solid rock near Bombay, usually called 
 the Elephanta.J 
 
 Among the antiquities at Rome, there are various fragments of male figures, 
 which, from their attitudes, and some ornaments about them, may be con- 
 jectured to have served as supports to the entablatures of buildings : but there 
 are no remains of any female statues of that kind, excepting the three Graces 
 supporting an urn, in the Villa Borghese. Pliny§ makes mention of some by 
 the hand of Praxiteles, which in his time, were in the librai-y of Asinius Pollio 
 at Rome ; and of other female figures in the Pantheon, where, although the 
 structure was enriched with several works of Diogenes the Athenian, they 
 
 * X^vffuoL S'dpa KOvpot iv6fii/T0JV iiri fiiitfiwv 
 'Earaaav, aiSoiiivag SatSag ftera x'pf''' txovTig 
 4*aivoi'r€g vi'Krag Kara ^utfiaTa ^airvfioveaat. 
 
 Odyss. H. V. 100.— [Ed.] 
 f •• And he made a molten sea, ten cubits from the one brim to the other ; it was round all about, 
 and his height was live cubits, and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about. It stood upon twelve 
 oxen, three looking towards the north, and three looking towards the west, and three looking towards the 
 south, and three looking towards the east ; and the sea was set above upon them, and all their hinder 
 parts were inward." — 1 Kings, vii. 23, 25. — [Ed.] 
 
 J For an account of the origin of the use of Caryatides, see the " Exam ination of the Elements ot 
 Beauty in Grecian Architecture, with a brief Investigation of its Origin, Progress, and Perfection," 
 pre&.xed to this edition, page 43. — [Ed.] 
 
 § " Roms Praxitelis opera sunt, Flora, Triptolemus, Ceres in hortis Servilii : Boni Eventus, et Bonse 
 Fortunse simulachra in Capitolio : item et Mwnades, et quas Thyadas vocant, et Caryatidas : et Sileni, in 
 Polliouis Asinii monumentis, et Apollo et Neptunus." — Plin. Lib. xxxvi. cap. 4. Oui- author has made, 
 therefore, a mistake in the ownership of the Caryatides here mentioned by Pliny. — [Ed.]
 
 188 OF PERSIANS AND CARYATIDES. 
 
 were held in much esteem : they seem to have been cut in basso or alto relievo, 
 to have been placed over the columns, and were probably, as Fontana conjec- 
 tures, employed to adorn the Attic, and support its cornice. 
 
 Among the antiquities of Athens, published by M. Le Eoy*, there are 
 five Caryatides supporting an entablature, contiguous to the Temple of Erec- 
 theus. They bear a considerable resemblance to those celebrated ones of Jean 
 Gougeonf , in the Swiss Guai'd-room of the Louvre at Paris ; of one of which 
 there is a representation, fig. 8, plate of Caryatides. Speaking of these figures, 
 Monsieur Le Roy expresses himself in the following manner. " The history 
 of the Carvatic order," says he, " is so curious, that almost all authors have 
 quoted it ; but though we are well informed of its origin, yet we have hitherto 
 learnt nothing of the proportions observed therein by the ancients. Vitruvius 
 is silent upon the subject ; there is no monument of that order at Home, and 
 the only ancient example, perhaps, existing ^in Europe, which is that here 
 given, has hitherto remained unnoticed. The four figures standing in front, 
 resemble each other entirely, excepting that the two to the right have the 
 right leg foremost, and the two to the left, the left leg ; in order to symmetrise 
 more perfectly. They are crowned with capitals, upon which is placed the 
 entablature, remarkable by a suppression of the frieze, a peculiarity which the 
 ancients, perhaps, usually pi-actised to characterise this order. 
 
 " The general mass of the entablature is very high ; it exceeds a third of 
 the height of the figures, and it would be difficult to ascribe a reason for this 
 excess, were it not considered that a full dressed woman, which these represent, 
 forms a shape more in the proportion of a very short Doric column, than of an 
 elegant Ionic one ; which probably induced the architect to enlarge his enta- 
 blature, to prevent its appearing too slight for the figures. Be this as it mav, 
 the profile of the entablature is very perfect. Tlie dentils in the cornice show 
 it to be Ionic, and there are on the upper fascia, an ornament consisting of 
 little rounds, like nail-heads, whiih has not been introduced in any of the 
 other oi'ders. 
 
 " But that which is most excellent in this building, is doubtless the Carv- 
 atidcs themselves. There are now only five left of the six originally there ; they 
 are of a beautiful design, with (h-api'ry in the style of that of the Flora in the 
 Farnesian Palace at Rome." 
 
 * Of course the reader would not refer to Le Roy's book if lie wished to sec an approximation to a 
 likeness. Fortunately for this country, one of these statues is at the British Museum. Kcpresontations of 
 them are to be found in the " Antiquities of Atlu'Ui'," by Stuart and llevelt. — [Kd.] 
 
 t See note suprli, page 168. — [Ei>.]
 
 OF PERSIANS AND CARYATIDES. 189 
 
 I perfectly ajvrcc with M. Lc lloy as to the hcauty of the figures, but, 
 whatever might have been the architect's inducement to enlarge his entabla- 
 ture, he certainly has done it to a monstrous excess ; it seems calculated to 
 crush the fi'^ures to atoms, and all that, in my humble idea, can either be said 
 of the profile of the cornice, or the clumsy capitals on which the entablature 
 stands, is, that far from deserving to be admired, they would scarcely be 
 tolerated any where but in a traveller's book ; and it seems very extraordinary 
 that Monsieur Lc Roy, who is himself a man of excellcint taste, should applaud 
 what in his own judgment he must condemn. 
 
 Jean Gougeon, in his beautiful composition at the Louvre above mentioned, 
 has far surpassed this Greek specimen of the Caryatic order. His figures, 
 which are twelve feet high, and of exquisite workmanship, stand on bases one 
 sixth of that height ; on their heads are capitals of the Doric order, of which 
 the shape and proportion serve to decorate, but not to overload the head ; the 
 capitals support a tribune, forming the entablature, which consists of archi- 
 trave, frieze, and cornice. It is richly decorated, of the Ionic order, and 
 measures one-quarter of the height of the figures, including the bases on which 
 thev stand. By introducing these bases, the sculptor has artfully contrived to 
 diminish the height, and consequently the bulk of his figures ; and by a regular 
 division of his entablature^ he has rendered it light, at the same time that it is 
 truly proportioned to the figures by which it is supported. 
 
 "' It is not customary now, as formerly," says Le Clerc*, " to represent 
 Caryatides with attributes of slavery and servitude. Such characters are too 
 injurious to the Fair. On the contrary, they ai-e at present considered as the 
 richest, most valued ornaments of buildings, and represented under the figures 
 of Prudence, Wisdom, Justice, Temperance, &c." 
 
 Freart de Chambraif blames this practice, which he considers as the 
 effect of inadvertency in the architects who first introduced it ; observing, that 
 if they had sufficiently reflected on the text of Vitruvius, with regard to the 
 origin of Caryatides, they would have perceived the impropriety of employing 
 the representations of saints and angels, loaded like slaves, with cornices and 
 other heavy burdens ; and likewise, that of employing the Caryatic oi-der 
 promiscuously in all sorts of buildings, particularly in sacred structures, which 
 are the houses of God and asylums of mercy, where vengeance and slavery 
 ought never to appear. 
 
 Tr.iitc lie I'Arcliitecture, sect. 4. — [Ed.] 
 t Pnrallelc.— [Ed.] 
 
 2 c
 
 190 OF PERSIANS AND CARYATIDES. 
 
 On the other hand Blondel observes,* that though this remark be just, if 
 the origin of these ornaments be rigorously attended to, yet to serve in any 
 shape in the house of God, and in particular at the altar, has always appeared 
 in the minds of the prophets and saints so glorious anl great that not only 
 men, but angels, ought to esteam it a happiness ; and that consequently it can 
 be no indication of disrespect to employ their representations in offices which 
 they themselves would execute with pleasure. 
 
 The ancients, says the same author, made frequent use of Caryatic and 
 Persian figui-es, and delighted in diversifying them in a thousand manners. 
 The modern artists have followed their example, and there is a great variety of 
 compositions of this kind to be met with in different parts of Europe, of some 
 of which designs are exhibited in the annexed plate, and others may be 
 invented and adapted to different purposes with great propriety, provided the 
 figures introduced be analogous to the subject, as Mr. Waref observes, and 
 seem at least a necessary part in the composition. Thus, says Le Clerc,J if 
 they are employed to support the covering of a throne, they may be repre- 
 sented under the figures and symbols of heroic virtues ; if to adorn a sacred 
 building, they must have an affinity to religion ; and when they are placed in 
 banqueting-rooms, ball-rooms, or other apartments of recreation, they must be 
 of kinds proper to inspire mirth and promote festivity. 
 
 In composing them, particular care must be taken to avoid indecent 
 attitudes, distorted features, and all kinds of monstrous or horrid pi'oductions, 
 of which there are such frequent instances in the works of our northern prede- 
 cessors. On the contrary, the attitudes must be simple and graceful; the 
 countenances, though varied, ahvays pleasing, and strongly marked with the 
 expression peculiar to the occasion, or the object represented. There must be 
 no variety in the general form or outline of the different figures employed in 
 the same composition, and but little flutter in the draperies, which ought to sit 
 close to the bodies of the figures, with folds contrived to express distinctly 
 both their action and sha})e. Le Clerc observes, that they should always have 
 
 * Cours d' Architecture, Livro viii. c. 7, SeconJc I'artie. Latterly the daughters of Paudrosus have 
 been copied with great accuracy, ami employed moreover as appUquees to a Christiau Chun-h in the 
 Metropolis. They have found admirers, even so exhibited. — [Ed.] 
 
 t Isaac Ware, Esquire, of his Majesty's Board of Works, the author of a book entitled " A Complete 
 Body of Architecture," fol. London, 175U, a work of sterling merit, which, strange to s.iy, seems little 
 sought after in the present day. It relates to the practical as well as the theoretical and decorative part of 
 the art, and, there is no doubt, was of infinite service to our luillior in his compilation of the work now 
 before the reader. Mr. Ware translated the works of I'alladlo, fol., Lonilou, s. a. — [Ed.] 
 
 I Traite dc rArchitectwe. — [Ed.]
 
 OF PERSIANS AND CARYATIDES. 191 
 
 their legs close together, and the arms close to the body Dr head, that so they 
 iiiav have as much as possible the shape of columns, whose office they are to 
 perform* ; and it may bo added, that for the same reason, their attitudes should 
 be as nearly perpendicular as can conveniently be, without giving a stiff con- 
 strained air to the figures. 
 
 The same author observes, that Caryatides ought always to be of a mode- 
 rate size ; lest being too large they should appear hideous in the eyes of the 
 fair sex ; and indeed, as these figures arc generally re])resented in endearing 
 offices, and under the forms of amiable and benevolent beings, the caution 
 seems very proper. It will therefore be judicious never to make them much 
 larger than the human stature. 
 
 But male figures may, on the contrary, be of any size, the larger the 
 better, as thev will then be fitter to strike with awe and astonishment. There are 
 few nobler thoughts, in the remains of antiquity, than Inigo Jones'sf Persian 
 Court; the effect of which, if properly executed, would have been surprising 
 and great in the highest degree. 
 
 Male figures may be introduced with propriety in arsenals or galleries of 
 armour, in guard rooms, and other military places, where they should represent 
 the figures of captives, or else of martial virtues ; such as Strength, Valour, 
 Wisdom, Prudence, Fortitude, and the like. Their entablature must be 
 Doric, and bear the same proportion to them as to columns of the same height; 
 and the pi-oper entablatures for Caryatides will be either Ionic or Corinthian, 
 according as the character of the figures is more or less delicate. 
 
 Persian or Caryatic figures ought never to be employed to support the 
 same entablature with columns ; for figures of m6n or women, as high as columns, 
 are considerably more bulky ; and when they are of an uncommon size, convey 
 an idea of greatness that entirely destroys the effect of the columns by making 
 them appear very trifling. Neither should they be placed upon columns, as 
 thev are in the court of the Old Louvre at Paris, for the same reasons. 
 
 Palladio, sensible of this inconvenience, yet willing to introduce a specimen 
 
 • Traile de 1' Architecture. Ware also gives the same advice. — [Ed.] 
 
 f In the design for tlie great palace at Whitehall. The court in question was proposed to be a circle 
 whose diameter was 210 feet, bounded on the ground story by an open arcade, the piers between the arches 
 ol which were decorated by Persians on plinths, carrying an appropriate entablature. The upper story 
 which extended over the void created by the arcade below, was ornamented between the windows with 
 Caryatides, with capitals on their heads of the Corinthian order, carrying an entablature of that order, the 
 whole surmounted by a balustrade. An architect may be permitteil to regret the hypocritical and puri- 
 tanical vagaries of those days, that led to a frustration of the design of building a palace here, which 
 would have thrown all the present palaces of Europe into the back ground. See Inigo Jones's Designs, 
 published by Kent, fol. 17-27.— [Ed.] 
 
 2 C 2
 
 192 OF PERSIANS AND CARYATIDES. 
 
 of Persian figures, has in the Valmarana Palace at Vicenza, divided the large 
 Composite pilasters which decorate the front into five parts ; three of which he 
 has given to a diminutive Corinthian order, squeezed into the inter-pilasters, 
 and feebly sustaining the extremities of the fabric, while the remaining two 
 parts are at the angles, occupied by figures on pedestals, as diminutive as the 
 aforesaid Corinthian order, and introduced with as little propriety, more 
 especiallv as thcv arc made to support the ends of an enormous bulky Compo- 
 site entablature, of which the height surpasses two-thirds of that of the figures 
 themselves. 
 
 It is sometimes customary to employ Terms, instead of Caryatides or 
 Persians, to support the entablatures of gates, monuments, chimney-pieces, and 
 such like compositions. These figures owe their origin to the stones used by 
 the ancients to mark the limits of each particular person's possessions. Numa 
 Pompilius, to render these inviolable, and prevent encroachments, erected the 
 Terminus into a deitv, instituted festivals and sacrifices to his honour, and 
 built a temple on the Tarpeian Mount, which he dedicated to him, and in 
 which he was represented under the figure of a stone. 
 
 In process of time, however, the God Terminus was represented with a 
 human head, placed on a post or stone, shaped like an inverted obelisk ; which 
 beino- on particular solemnities adorned with garlands, composed altogether a 
 verv pleasing form ; to the imitation of which, may with great probability be 
 attributed the introduction of these ornaments into building, where they have 
 been varied into a great diversity of shapes. I have occasionally, in the 
 course of this work, given some designs of them ; and many others may be 
 invented, and adapted to the particular purposes for which they shall be 
 intended. 
 
 In consideration of their origin, the Termini are proper ornaments in 
 gardens and in fields, where the upper part of them may represent Jupiter, 
 who, in the remoter ages of antiquity, was protector of boundaries ; or some of 
 the rural deities, as Pan, Flora, Pomona, Vertunnius, Ceres, Priapus, Eaunus, 
 Sylvanus, Nymphs and Satyrs. Mr. Ware * recommends the use of them as 
 boundaries to counties, where they may be enriched with ornaments allusive 
 to the produce, manufacture, and commerce of each respective county. 
 
 The first three figures in the annexed plate of Persians and Caryatides, 
 are copied from Candelabra in St. Peter's of the Vatican. They are cast 
 from models of Michael Angclo Buonaroti, and repaired either by himself or 
 
 • In his "Comidcte I'udy of ArcLitecturc," jj.igc 250. — [Kd.]
 
 OF PERSIANS AND CARYATIDES. 193 
 
 doubtless under his direction, for the workmanship is very perfect. Figure 2 
 may be employed in buildings, but the others are more proper for the angles 
 of covered ceilings, or other such ornamental works, being not unlike some 
 introduced by the Caracci, in the Farnesian ceilings at Home. No. 4 is a 
 copy of one of the figures that surround the choir in the cathedral of Milan, 
 which arc the work of Andi-ea BiflS, a celebrated Milanese sculptor. No. 5 is 
 executed in the Judgment-Hall of the Stadt-House of Amsterdam, by Artus 
 Quellinus. No. 6 is an admired work of Michael Angelo, now in the Villa 
 Ludovisi at Rome. No. 7 iS) in part, by the same hand, and executed, from 
 the waist upwards, in the monmiient of Pope Julius the Second, in the 
 church of St. Peter ad Vincula,* at Rome. No. 8 is one of those executed 
 by Jean iGrougeon, in the Swiss Guard-room of the Old Louvre, at Paris, as 
 has before been mentioned. Nos. 9 and 10 are taken from paintings of 
 Daniel da Volterra, in the Church of the Trinita dei Monti, at Rome. 
 No. 11 is a figure in basso relievo, on the Goldsmiths' arch at Rome ; and 
 No. 12 is copied from an original design of Polidoro da Caravaggio, now in 
 my possession. 
 
 * Originally built by Baccio rintelli, by order ol' Julius II., but altered to its present state by Fran- 
 cesco Fontana, in 1705. — [Ed.]
 
 194 
 
 NOTE ON CARYATIDES, &c. 
 
 However interesting such inquiry may be to the archaeologist, the origin of Anthropomorphic pillars is 
 a matter of very little importance to the architect. What the latter has to study is how to treat such 
 figures with propriety, and employ them — which can be but very seldom indeed — so as to give greater 
 variety and richness to his composition. One very safe and simple rule to be observed is that such figures 
 should be decidedly architectonic, and evidently intended to ofliciate as columns or supports to- an entabla- 
 ture. Consequently they ought to be motionless as to attitude, perfectly serene in countenance, and 
 evidently fully able to bear their superimposed burden without betraying even the slightest degree of effort. 
 For the same reason that coluuius have their largest diameter below, so also should all figures which 
 besides being statues, are employed constructively as pillars or actual supports, whether it be to horizontal 
 entablatures or to arches. They ought to be so shaped as to their general mass as to convey at first sight 
 the idea of perfect strength and stability. No figures therefore are so well suited for the purpose as those 
 of females draped in long garments falling quite down to the feet in such manner that some of the folds 
 spread out as a base. If instead of being insulated, figures of the kind are engaged, being then connected 
 with the wall behind them, they will appear to stand sufficiently securely, though their bxUk diminish 
 downwards. 
 
 Of Caryatides proper, or genuinj statue-pillars, two examples are given in Plato 11 (Grecian Archi- 
 tecture) ; those on the contrary, exhibited by Chambers himself, Plate 15, are all of them more or less 
 faulty as regards fitness of character, and some of them have no pretension to be classed with figures of 
 the kind at all, they being rather specimens of decorative sculpture and painting. 
 
 As convenient substitutes for entire figures of the kind we may make use of pillar and statue unit ed, 
 the latter being a half-figure, terminating at the waist, and growing out of a square shaft. In such combi- 
 nation there would be no impropriety, because its very arbitrariness and evident untruthfulness to nature 
 at once get rid of the prosaic objection generally alleged against Caryatides, viz., the bad taste of 
 employing figiires in the human shape to support what woidd instantly crush to death any living persons , 
 however strong. Such objection, then, surely refutes itself, it being impossible to mistake, even for a 
 single instant, anthropomorphic jiillars for other than they are — that is, architectonic statues fully capalile of 
 bearing the weight superimposed on them, which capability they ought distinctly to manil'cst ; for bad or 
 Tery questionable taste it undoubtedly is to represent them as crouching painfully and wi-itliing beneath an 
 overwhelming load. They ought, on the contrary, as a sinc-qm'i-non condition, invariably to express power 
 adequate to the discharge of their function as pillars. 
 
 Although opportunities of introducing Caryatides arc not of evory-day occurrence, yet they need not 
 be altogether so seldom and exceptional as they now are. How they could bo introduced far more 
 efTectually than hitherto in composition must be left to the pencil to show, it being scarcely possible for the 
 pen to explain. — [W. H. L.]
 
 195 
 
 OF PEDESTALS. 
 
 Most writers consider the iietlestal as a necessary part of the order, 
 without which it is not esteemed complete. It is indeed a matter of small 
 importance whether it be considered in that light or as a distinct composi- 
 tion ; nevertheless, seeing that in the particular description given by Vitruvius,* 
 of the Doric, Corinthian and Tuscan orders, no notice is taken of any pedestal, 
 and that in the Ionic order, he only mentions it as a necessary part in the 
 construction of a temple, without signifying that it belongs to the order, or 
 assigning anv particular proportions for it, as he doth for the parts of the 
 column and the entablature, — I have judged it more regular to treat of the 
 pedestal as a separate body, having no more connection with the order than 
 has an attic, a basement, or any other part with which it may, on some occasions, 
 be accompanied. 
 
 A pedestal, like a column or an entablature, is composed of three principal 
 parts, which arc the base, the die and the cornice. 1 Le die is always nearly 
 of the s ame figure, being constantly either a cube or a parallclopiped ; but 
 the base and cornice are varied, and adorned with more or fewer mouldings 
 accordi ng to the simplicity or richness of the composition in which the pedestal 
 is employed. Hence pedestals are, like columns, distinguished by the names 
 of Tuscan, Doric, Ionic, Composite and Corinthian. 
 
 Some authors are very averse to pedestals, and compare a column 
 raised on a pedestal to a man mounted on stilts, imagining that they were 
 
 * " Stylobata," Pedestal, "Lib. iii. c. 3. Uti quadra:, irunci, lysis, ad ipsuni Stylohatam, qui erit sub 
 columns spiris, conveniat. Baldus: Plura iu Stereobata de Stylobata diximus, quare hie pauca incul- 
 cabimus. Stylobata Grseca vox, columns; pedem, fulcimentumve denotat. Nostrates, Fiedistalh dicuiu 
 Andreas vero Palladiua duin Grascam vult originem aliquatenus referre, pedistillum scripsit, ac si diccret, 
 columna; pedem — Hybrida vox. Ego stallum i stylo non puto factum, sed k stando ; quo vocabulo, licet 
 barbaro, utuntur Pontificianmi Icgimi pcriti, dum dicunt, Canonicis deberi locum in Capitulo, stallum in 
 Chore. Piedistallum igitur dicemus, pedis nempe columna stallum, id est basis ipsius scdcm." Johan. de 
 Laet de xignificatione vocabulorum qnihus Vilruvius uiitur. The pedestal or stylobata was used in Grecian 
 architecture, as on the west side of the Temple of IVIinerva Polias, and in the Choragic Monument of 
 Lysicr-ites. In the Propylca we find the columns raised on insulated stylobata?, but without a cornice, 
 and with a plain plinth below them. [Ed.]
 
 196 OF PEDESTALS. 
 
 first introduced merely through necessity, and for want of columns of a 
 sufficient length. 
 
 It is, indeed true that the ancients often made use of artifices to lengthen 
 their columns, as appears by some that are in the Baptistery of Constantine, 
 at Rome, the shafts of which being too short for the building, were lengthened 
 and joined to their bases by an undulated sweep, adorned with acanthus 
 leaves, and the same expedient has been made use of in some fragments which 
 were discovered a few years ago at Nismes, contiguous to the Temple of 
 Diana. Nevertheless, it doth not seem proper to comprehend pedestals in the 
 number of these artifices, since there are many occasions on which they are 
 evidently necessary, and some in which the order, were it not so raised, would 
 lose much of its beautiful appearance. Thus, within our churches, if the 
 columns supporting the vault were placed immediately on the ground, the seats 
 would hide their bases and a good part of their shafts ; and in the theatres of 
 the ancients, if the columns of the scene had been placed immediately on the 
 stage, the actors would have hid a considerable part of them from the audience ; 
 for which reason it was usual to raise them on very high pedestals, as was 
 likewise customarv in their triumphal arches, and in most of their temples, the 
 columns wei-e placed on a basement or continued pedestal, that so the whole 
 order might be exposed to view, notwithstanding the crowds of people with 
 which these places were frequently surrounded. And the same reason will 
 authorize the same practice in our churches, theatres, courts of justice, or 
 other public buildings where crowds frequently assemble. 
 
 In interior decorations, where, generally speaking, grandeur of style is 
 not to be aimed at, a pedestal diminishes the parts of the order which, 
 otherwise, might appear too clumsy ; and has the farther advantage of placing 
 the columns in a more favorable view, by raising their base nearer to the 
 level of the spectator's eye. And in a second order of arcades there is no 
 avoiding pedestals, as without them it is impossible to give the ai'ches any 
 tolerable proportion. 
 
 Sometimes too the situation makes it necessary to employ pedestals, an 
 instance of which there is in the Luxembourg Palace at Paris* ; where, the 
 l)i)dy of llu' l)uilding standing on higher ground than the wings, the architect 
 
 * ]3uilt from the designs of Jacfjuus de Urosse, a Frcneli architect, wlio flourished during the regency 
 of Mary ol' Mcdicis. Tliis palace was begun in 1G15, and completed in IG'iO, the gateway excepted, 
 which was the work of Dc BofTrand. 
 
 IJe JJrosse built the atiueduct of Arcueil, by which he actpiircd much reputation. He engaged 
 occasionally in the arts of Painting and Sculpture, but of his success therein much cannot be said. — [liuO
 
 OF PEDESTALS. 197 
 
 was obliged to raise the first order of the wings on a pedestal, to bi'ing it upon 
 a level with that of the body, or corps de logis of the building which stands 
 immediately upon the pavement. 
 
 These instances will sufficiently show the necessity of admitting pedestals 
 in decorations of architecture. With regard to the proportion which their 
 height ought to bear to that of the columns they are to support, it is by no 
 means fixed, the ancients, and moderns too, having in their works varied 
 greatly in this respect, and adapted their proportions to the occasion, or to 
 the respective purposes for which the pedestals were intended. Thus, in the 
 amphitheatres of the ancients, the pedestals in the superior orders were 
 generally low, because in the apertures of the arches they served as rails to 
 inclose the portico, and therefore were, for the conveniency of leaning over, 
 made no higher than was necessary to prevent accidents ; and the case is the 
 same in most of our modern houses, where the height of the pedestals in the 
 superior orders is generally determined by the cills of the windows. The 
 ancients, in their theatres, made the pedestals in the first order of their scene 
 high, for the reason mentioned in the beginning of this chapter, but the 
 pedestals in the superior orders were very low, their chief use being to raise 
 the columns so as to prevent any part of them from being hid by the projection 
 of the cornice below them ; and thus, on different occasions, they used 
 different proportions, being chiefly guided by necessity in their choice. The 
 moderns have followed their example, as will appear to any one who examines 
 the works of Palladio, of Vignola, of Michael Angelo, Scamozzi, and 
 many other famous architects. 
 
 Nevertheless, writers on architecture have always thought it incumbent 
 upon them to fix a certain determinate proportion for the pedestal, as well as 
 for the parts of the order. It would be useless to enumerate in this place 
 then* different opinions, but I must beg leave to observe that Vignola's method 
 is the only true one.* His pedestals are, in all the orders, of the same height, 
 being one-third of the column, and as their bulk increases or diminishes, of 
 course in the same degree as the diameters of their respective columns do, 
 the character of the order is always preserved, which, according to anv other 
 method, is impossible. 
 
 In the designs which I have given of arches with pedestals, the pedestals 
 
 * " Ancorcho nell' Ordinc Toscano rare volte occorra di forvi il Tiedestallo, nondiiiK'no I'lio post o qui 
 iu disegno per seguire la disposizione ; avvertcndo die in tutti i cinque ordini (c ciO scrva di regola 
 generale) ho osservato, i piedestalli, con i suoi ornamenti, dovcr esserc la terza parte della sua Colonna ; 
 colla base, e capitcUo," &c. Vignola, Capitolo terzo.— [Ed.] 
 
 2 D
 
 198 
 
 OF PEDESTALS. 
 
 are all of the same height, each of them being three-tenths of the height of 
 their respective columns ; but it is not necessary to adhere always to this 
 proportion j they may be higher or lower, as the occasion shall require. It is, 
 however, to be observed, that when pedestals are profiled under each column, 
 and the dye is much less than a square in height, the pedestal has a clumsy 
 appearance ; and when a pedestal of the same kind exceeds one-third of the 
 height of the column, it has a lean, unsolid, tottering aspect. But if they 
 are continued without any breaks, this need not be attended to ; though indeed 
 there are very few occasions in which pedestals higher than one-third of the 
 column ought to be suffered, as they lessen too much the parts of the order, 
 and become themselves too principal in the composition. 
 
 With regard to the divisions of the pedestal, if the whole height be 
 divided into nine parts, one of them may be given to the height of the cornice, 
 two to the base, and the remaining six to the dye ; or if the pedestal is lower 
 than ordinary, its height may be divided into eight parts only, of which one 
 may be given to the cornice, two to the base, and five to the dye, as Palladio 
 has done in his Corinthian order, and Perrault in all the orders.* 
 
 The plan of the dye is always made equal to that of the plinth of the 
 column, the projection of the cornice may be equal to its height, and the base, 
 being divided into three parts, two of them will be for the height of the plinth, 
 
 • Ordonnance des cinq Espcces de Colonnes. 1 Partie, ch. 6 and 7. 
 
 The following table shows the height of pedestals in antique and modern works, in minutes, each = ^ 
 of the diameter of the shaft. 
 
 Doric . 
 
 Ionic 
 
 CklBlNTIIIAN . 
 
 CoMPOSIIE 
 
 f Palladio 
 
 I Scamozzi 
 
 f Temple of Fortuna Virilis 
 
 Coliseum 
 
 ■ I Palladio 
 
 [ Scamozzi 
 
 . Arch of Constantine . 
 
 j Coliseum 
 
 ' j Palladio 
 
 [ Scamozzi 
 
 ■ Arch of Titus. . . . 
 
 Arch of the Goldsmiths 
 
 Palladio 
 
 Scamozzi 
 
 Arch of Sept. Sevcrus 
 
 Plinth. 
 
 Mouldings 
 above 
 Plinth. 
 
 Dye. 
 
 Cornice. 
 
 Total 
 Height. 
 
 MIN. 
 
 '2(i 
 
 MIN. 
 
 14 
 
 ]MIN. 
 
 80 
 
 MIN. 
 
 20 
 
 MIN. 
 
 140 
 
 ao 
 
 15 
 
 68,' 
 
 22i 
 
 136A 
 
 44 
 
 19? 
 
 9^ 
 
 231 
 
 KSOa 
 
 33^ 
 
 9i 
 
 «1,^ 
 
 17 
 
 14U 
 
 28= 
 
 ^^ 
 
 97f 
 
 21 i 
 
 l(i2;f 
 
 30 
 
 15 
 
 82J 
 
 22i 
 
 150 
 
 17J 
 
 29 
 
 153 
 
 29i 
 
 228 
 
 23 
 
 UJ 
 
 78 
 
 19i 
 
 131 J 
 
 23i 
 
 141 
 
 93 
 
 1!) 
 
 I.IO 
 
 30 
 
 15 
 
 132 J 
 
 22i 
 
 200 
 
 55 
 
 30 
 
 141 
 
 2!) 
 
 255 
 
 4G 
 
 25i 
 
 144i 
 
 25i 
 
 241 
 
 33 
 
 17 
 
 133 
 
 17 
 
 200 
 
 30 
 
 15 
 
 112J 
 
 22J 
 
 180 
 
 30 
 
 305 
 
 140^ 
 
 29,] 
 
 182i 
 
 -[Ed.]
 
 OF PEDESTALS. 199 
 
 and one for the mouldings, of which the projection must be somewhat less 
 than the projection of the cornice, that so the whole base may be covered and 
 sheltered by it, — a precaution which Scamozzi has observed in all his designs, 
 though Palladio has neglected it in the greatest part of his, the palace of the 
 Porti, and one or two other buildings in the Vicentine, excepted. 
 
 These measures are common to all pedestals, and in the annexed plate 
 there are designs of proper ones for each order, in which the forms and dimen- 
 sions of the minuter parts are accurately drawn and figured. 
 
 It is sometimes customary to adorn dyes of pedestals with projecting 
 tablets, or with panels sunk in and surrounded with mouldings. The former 
 of these practices ought seldom to be admitted, as these tablets alter the 
 general figure of the pedestal, and when they project much give it a heavy 
 appearance, and the latter should be reserved for very large pedestals only, of 
 such kinds as those supporting the Trajan and Antonine columns at Rome, 
 and the Monument in London, where they may be filled with inscriptions or 
 adorned with bas-reliefs, analogous to the occasion on which the column was 
 erected. Even in the largest buildings pedestals are commonly too small to 
 admit of such ornaments, which only serve to give them an unsolid trifling 
 appearance, and contribute to complicate, without improving, the composition. 
 
 With regard to the application of pedestals, it must be observed that 
 when columns are entirely detached and at a considerable distance from the 
 wall, as when they are employed to form porches, peristyles, or porticos, they 
 should never be placed on detached pedestals, as they are in some of Scamozzi's 
 designs, in the temple of Scisi,* mentioned by Palladio, and at Lord Archer's 
 House, now Lowe's Hotel, in Covent Garden ; for then they may indeed be 
 compared to men mounted on stilts, as they have a very weak and tottering 
 appearance. In compositions of this kind, it is generally best to place the 
 columns immediately upon the pavement, which may either be raised on a 
 continued sohd basement, or be ascended to by a flight of fronting steps, as at 
 St. Paul's, and at St. George's, Bloomsbury ;t but if it be absolutely necessary 
 
 • See note, page 165. — [Ed.] 
 
 t " 'Twill be impossible to pass by the new church of St. George, Bloomsbury, without giving it a very 
 particular survey; 'tis built all of stone, is adorned with a pompous portico, can boast many other 
 decorations, has been stinted in no expense, and yet, upon the whole, is ridiculous and absurd, even to a 
 proverb. The reason is this ; the builder mistook whim for genius, and ornament for taste. He has 
 even erred so much that the very portico does not seem to be in the middle of the church, and as to the 
 steeple, it is stuck on like a wen to the rest of the building ; then the execrable conceit of setting up the 
 king on the top of it, excites nothing but laughter in the ignorant, and contempt in the judge. In short 
 'tis a lasting reflection on the fame of the architect, and the understanding of those who employed him." 
 
 2d2
 
 200 OF PEDESTALS. 
 
 to have a fence in the intercoluniniations, as in the case of bridges and other 
 buildings on the water, or in a second order, the columns may then, in very 
 large buildings, be raised on a continued plinth, as in the upper order of the 
 western porch of St. Paul's, which, in such case, will be sufficiently high ; and 
 in smaller buildings, wherever it may not be convenient nor proper to place 
 the balustrade between the shafts, the columns may be raised on a continued 
 pedestal, as they are in Palladio's design for Signor Cornaro's house at Piom- 
 bino, and at the Villa Arsieri, near Vicenza,. another beautiful building of the 
 same master. 
 
 The base and cornice of these pedestals must run in a straight line on the 
 outside throughout ; but the dyes are made no bi'oader than the plinths of the 
 columns, the intervals between them being filled with balusters, which is both 
 really and apparently lighter, than if the whole pedestal were a continued 
 solid. 
 
 It will be superfluous to caution our English architects against employing 
 triangular, circular, or polygonal pedestals in their buildings, or such as are 
 swelled and have their dye in the form of a baluster, or are surrounded with 
 cinctures. Such extravagances, though frequent in some foreign countries, 
 are seldom to be met with in England, and are now laid aside wherever good 
 taste prevails. 
 
 In my designs of pedestals* I have represented them under the propor- 
 tions observed by me in arches with pedestals, but when it is necessary to vary 
 the general height, the measures of the particular members may easily be 
 determined, bv dividing the whole height in the Tuscan order into 4? parts, 
 in the Doric into 4^, in the Ionic into 5^, and in the Composite or Corinthian 
 into 6 parts, making use of one of these parts as the module, and determining 
 the heights and projections of the ditferent members according to the figures 
 marked in the designs. 
 
 Critical Review of the Buildings in Lomlon, 8vo. 1734. IJiilpIi(«) is, not without reason, severe on the 
 steeple in the above critique, but there is, nevertheless, much to aJniiro in the detail of this church, which 
 was built hy Nicholas Ilawksnioor, a pupil of Sir Christopher Wren. — [Ku.] 
 
 * See PI. of Pilasters. 
 
 (a) Ralpli, perhap.s, showed more wit than taste. St. George's, liloomsbury, is not, indeed, 
 without its faults; the five small doors, with as many windows over them, detract sadly from the 
 dignity of the portico ; yet, in spite of such drawbacks, that church, taken upon the whole, proclaims its 
 architect to have been an artist. As to the statue on the steeple, it tells admirably from almost every 
 point of view. It certainly is not the fashion to profess admiration of Ilawksmoor's campanile, but it is 
 infinitely more cwnorphic than any of Wren's steeples. — [W. II. li]
 
 201 
 
 OF THE APPLICATION OF THE OllDERS OF 
 ARCHITECTURE. 
 
 Among the ancients the use of the orders was very ft'cquent ; many parts of 
 their cities were provided with sj^aeious porticos, their temples wei'c surrounded 
 with colonnades, and their theatres, baths, basilica;, triumphal arches, mau- 
 solea, bridges, and other public buildings, were profusely enriched with columns, 
 as were likewise the courts, vestibules, and halls of their private villas and 
 houses. 
 
 In imitation of the ancients, the moderns have made the orders of archi- 
 tecture the principal ornaments of their structures. We find them employed 
 in almost every ])uilding of consequence, where they arc sometimes merely 
 ornamental ; but at others they are of real use as well as ornament, serving to 
 support the covering, or any other burdens placed upon them. On some 
 occasions they are employed alone, the whole composition consisting only oi' 
 one or more ranges of columns with their entablature. At other times the 
 intervals between the columns are filled up, and adorned with arches, doors, 
 windows, niches, statues, bas-reliefs, and other similar inventions. The 
 columns are either placed immediately on the pavement, or raised on plinths, 
 pedestals or basements, either engaged in the walls of the building, or standing- 
 detached, near or at some distance from them ; and frequently different orders 
 are placed one above the other, or intermixed with each other on the same 
 level. In all these, and in all other cases in which the orders are introduced, 
 particular measures, rules and precautions are to be observed, of which I shall 
 endeavour to give a full detail in the following chapters.
 
 202 
 
 OF INTERCOLUMNIATIONS. 
 
 Columns are either engaged or insulated, and when insulated they are either 
 placed very near the walls or at some considerable distance from them. 
 
 With regard to engaged columns, or such as are near the walls of a 
 building, the intercolumniations are not limited, but depend on the width of 
 the arches, windows, niches or other objects, and their decorations, placed 
 within them. But columns that are entirely detached, and perform alone the 
 oflSce of supporting the entablature, as in peristyles, porches and galleries, 
 must be near each other, both for the sake of real and apparent solidity. 
 
 The ancients had several manners of spacing their columns, which are 
 described by Vitruvius in his third and fourth books. Those practised in the 
 Ionic and Corinthian orders were, the Pycnostyle,* of which the interval was 
 equal to one diameter and a half of the column ;f the Systyle interval,| of two 
 diameters ; the Eustyle,§ of two diameters and one quarter ; the Diastyle,|| of 
 three diameters ; and the Ara>ostyle,^ of four. In the Doric order they used 
 other intercolumniations, regulating them by the triglyphs, of which one was 
 always to be placed directly over the middle of each column, so that they were 
 either svstvle monotriglyph, of one diameter and a half; diastyle, of two 
 diameters and three quarters ; or arscostyle, of four diameters ; and the Tuscan 
 intervals were exceedingly wide, some of them being above seven diameters, 
 which, as the architraves were of wood, was practicable. 
 
 Among these different intercolumniations, the pycnostyle and systyle are 
 too narrow, and though M. Fcrrault imagines, from their frequency in the 
 remains of antiquity, that the ancients delighted more in them than in any of 
 the others, yet, I believe their use must be ascribed rather to necessity than to 
 choice ; ibr as the architraves were composed of single stones or blocks of 
 marble, extending from the axis of one column to that of another, it would 
 
 * See PI. of Intercolumniations. 
 
 f From IIi'KroirriAof, qui est crcbris cfiluiiinis, ex miKvoc & (TTuXof. — [Ed.] 
 
 J I'Vom iiiffnAof, qui est columnis pauIo remissioribus. — [Kd-] 
 
 § From HiiirriiXof, cujue columnte justis'intervallisdistributa! sunt. — [Ed.] 
 
 II From AmffnAof, qui est columnis inter bc extensis. — [Ed.] 
 
 % From AfiaioorwXof, raras columnas liabcns. — [Ei>.]
 
 OF INTKUCOLUMNIATIONS. 205 
 
 have been difficult to find blocks of u sufficient length for diastyle intervals in 
 largo buiUlino-s. 
 
 With regard to the ara-ostyle and Tuscan intercolumniations, they arc by 
 much too wide, either for beauty or strength, and can only be used in rustic; 
 structures, where the architraves are of wood, and where convenience or 
 economy takes place of all other considerations ; nor is the diastyle sufficiently 
 solid in large compositions. The custyle, therefore, being a medium between 
 the narrow and wide intervals, and at the same time being both spacious and 
 solid, has been preferred by the ancients as well as moderns to any of the rest. 
 
 Vitruvius, in the second chapter of his third book, says that the thickness 
 of the column should be augmented when the intercolumniation is enlarged, so 
 that if, in a pycnostyle, the diameter is one-tenth of the height, it should in an 
 arajostyle be one-eighth ; for if, says he, in an arajostyle the thickness of the 
 columns do not exceed a ninth or tenth part of their height, they will appear 
 too slender and delicate, whereas, if in a pycnostyle, the diameter of the 
 column be equal to one-eighth of its height, it will appear gouty, and 
 disagreeable to the eye. 
 
 The intention of Vitruvius was good, but the means by which he attempts 
 to compass it arc insufficient. His design was to strengthen the supports in 
 proportion as the intervals between them were enlarged ; yet, according to the 
 method proposed by him, this cannot be effijcted, since one necessarv conse- 
 quence of augmenting the diameter of the column is enlarging the intercolum- 
 niation proportionably. Palladio and Scaniozzi have, however, admitted this 
 precept as literally just, and, by their manner of applying it, have been guilty 
 of a very considerable absui'dity. 
 
 It is evident that Vitruvius intended the five intercolunmiations mentioned 
 in his third book merely for the Ionic and Corinthian orders, the latter of which, 
 according to him, difiered from the former only in its capital ; for in the second 
 and seventh chapters of liis fourth book, he establishes other intervals for the 
 Doric and Tuscan orders. Nevertheless, they have employed these intercolum- 
 niations in different orders. Palladio has used the systyle in the Corinthian 
 and the arajostyle in the Tuscan ; by which means the Corinthian peristvle, of 
 which the character should be extreme delicacy and lightness, becomes twice as 
 strong and material as the Tuscan, of which the distinguishing characteristic 
 ought to be extreme solidity ; and Scamozzi has fallen into the same error, 
 though not to so great an excess, his Tuscan intercolumniation being only 
 diastyle. 
 
 It may perhaps be alleged, in favour of this precept of Vitruvius, that by 
 
 2 E
 
 206 OF INTERCOLUMNIATIONS. 
 
 following his doctrine, the solidity of the column is increased or diminished in 
 a ifreater degree than the breadth of the interval ; the difference of the latter 
 between columns of eight or ten diameters in height, being only as eighty to 
 one hundred, whereas that of the former is as sixty-four to one hundred. 
 But the apparent magnitudes of cylindrical bodies viewed in a vertical position, 
 are to each other nearly in the same ratio as their diameters, not as their solid 
 contents ; and as the bulk of the architrave and other parts of the entablature 
 vary exactly in the same proportion as that of the column does, the real strength 
 of the structure is not in the least affected by it. 
 
 Vignola has observed nearly one and the same proportion in all his inter- 
 columniations, which practice, though condemned by several eminent writers, 
 is certainly preferable to any other, as it answers perfectly the intention of 
 Vitruvius, preserves the character of each order, and maintains in all of them 
 an equal degree of real solidity. 
 
 Setting therefore aside the pycnostyle and systyle dispositions, on account 
 of their want of space, and the arjBOstyle for its deficiency in point of strength, 
 it may be established, that the diastyle intercolumniation, and the eustyle, of 
 which the latter ought, on most occasions, to have the preference, may be 
 employed without distinction in all the orders excepting the Doric; in which 
 the most perfect interval is the ditriglyph ; neither the monotriglyph nor the 
 arseostyle being to be admitted but in cases of necessity. 
 
 It is however to be observed, that if the measures of Vitruvius be scru- 
 pulously adhered to with regard to the eustyle interval, the modillions in the 
 Corinthian and Composite cornices, and the dentils in the Ionic, will not come 
 regularly over the middle of each column. The ancients, generally speaking, 
 were indifferent about these little accuracies; but the moderns, taking example 
 bvsomc of the chastest remains of antiquity, have, with reason, strictly attended 
 to them. A trifling alteration will remedy this defect, and being attended 
 with no inconveniency, it may without hesitation be allowed. 1 shall, there- 
 fore, in imitation of Vignola, instead of two diameters and a quarter, give two 
 diameters and one-third to the eustyle intercolumniation ; not only in the 
 Ionic, Corinthian, and Composite orders, but likewise in the Tuscan ; for I 
 would endeavour to simplify the art, and avoid an unnecessary increase of rules, 
 in a science already too nmch encumbered with them. 
 
 Sometimes, on account of the windows, doors, niches, or other decora- 
 tions, which correspond with the intcrcohininiations in the peristyle or gallery, 
 it is not possible to make the intervals so narrow as eustyle, or even as diastyle ; 
 wherefore the moderns, autliori/ed by some few examples of antiquity, where
 
 OF INTERCOLUMNIATIONS. 207 
 
 grouped columns are employed, have invented a manner of disposing theni, by 
 Pcrrault, (.ailed Ar?eosystylc, vvhich admits of a larger interval, without any 
 detriment to the apparent solidity of the building. This kind of disposition 
 is composed of two systyle intercolumniations, the cohuuu that separates them 
 being approached towards one of those at the extremities, sufficient room being 
 onlv left between them for the projection of the capitals, so that the great 
 space is three diameters and a half wide, and the small one only half a diameter. 
 
 This manner has been applied with success in the porch of St. Paul's, in 
 London, and on the principal front of the Old Louvre, in Paris ; the decora- 
 tions of the niches in the last of these buildings having required such 
 wide intercolumniations that they could never have been tolerated without 
 coupled columns. 
 
 M. Blondel, in his Cours d^ Architecture, employs several chapters of his 
 first book, part 3, to prove the absurdity of the arseosystyle disposition. His 
 principal objections are its want of real solidity, its great expense, since near 
 double the quantity of columns are required that would be sufficient in the 
 diastyle, and the irregularities which it occasions in the Doric, Corinthian and 
 Composite entablatures. 
 
 These objections are too considerable not to deserve attention, and it will 
 always be best to avoid the grouping of columns. Nevertheless, if on any 
 occasion, either to humour the fancy of some capricious patron, or to conquer 
 some other insurmountable difficulty, it should be found necessary to introduce 
 them, they may doubtless be employed, care however being taken to use such 
 precautions as will i-ender the irregularities, occasioned by this disposition, 
 least striking and disagreeable. 
 
 In the Tuscan or Ionic orders, no precautions will be found necessaiy ; 
 the entablature in the former of these being entirely plain, and in the latter 
 only enriched with dentils, which admit of a regular distribution, in all 
 intervals divisible by thirds of modules. But in the Corinthian and Composite, 
 it must be observed, that if the modillions are regularly disposed, and spaced 
 according to their just measures, they will answer neither in the large nor little 
 intercolumniation, so as to have one of them over the middle of each column. 
 
 To remedy this defect, Perrault, the architect of the peristyle of the 
 Louvre, has enlarged both the modillions and the spaces between them, the 
 distance from one centre to another, in the broad intervals, being one module, 
 thirteen minutes ; and in the narrow ones, one module, fifteen minutes. This 
 method, though tolerable in that building, where the dentil band is not cut, 
 and the angles are terminated by undiminished pilasters, will not answer in most 
 
 2 E 2
 
 208 OF INTERCOLUMNIATIONS. 
 
 other cases : for, either the whole cornice must he enlarged and all its propor- 
 tions changed, or the modillions will not fall regularly over the dentils ; the 
 coffers in the soffit will he oblong instead of square, and the space between the 
 last modillion and that over the angular column, will be less by far than any 
 of the others : all which arc irregularities too great to be tolerated. 
 
 The simplest and best manner of proceeding is to observe a regular dis- 
 tribution in the entablature, without any alteration in its measures, beginning 
 at the two extremities of the building, by which method the modillions will 
 answer to the middle of every other column, and be so near the middle of the 
 intermediate ones that the difference will not easily be pei'ceivable. The only 
 inconvenience ai'ising from this practice is, that the three central intercolumni- 
 ations of the composition will be broader by one-third of a module, than is 
 necessarv for eleven modillions ; but this is a very trifling dififerencc, easily 
 divided and rendered imperceptible if the extent be anything considerable. 
 
 In the Doric order, grouped columns are not so easily managed ; and though 
 they have been employed in many considerable buildings, and by eminent archi- 
 tects, yet, in very few of them have they been properly treated. At the church 
 of St. Gervais,* and several other buildings in Paris, the metope between the 
 coupled columns is much broader than any of the others ; at the Minimsf near 
 the Place Roy ale, that the metope might be square, the bases of the columns 
 are made to penetrate each other ; at the castle of Vincennes,^ the height of 
 the frieze is considerably augmented for the same reason ; and Scaraozzi, 
 wherever he joins together two Doric columns or pilasters, omits the base of 
 one of them, substituting a plintli in its place, that so the interval may not 
 be too broad to admit of a regular metope. 
 
 None of these methods are good, nor equal to that which Palladio has 
 practised at the palace of Count Chiericato, and in the Basilica at Vicenza. In 
 the latter of these, the interval between the coupled columns is twenty-one 
 minutes only ; so that the distance, from the axis of one column to that of the 
 other, is two modules, twenty-one minutes ; or six minutes more than is s\if- 
 iicicnt for a regular metope and two half-triglyphs. In order to hide this 
 excess, each of the triglyi)hs is thirty-one minutes broad, their centres ai^e each 
 of them removed one minute within the axis of the colunni, and the metope is 
 three minutes broader than the others ; a difference so trifling that it cannot 
 
 • JJuilt by Jacques dc lirossc, sec note page 19(i. — [Kn-] 
 
 t The last work of Franijois Mansard, an account of whom will bo IbiunI in ii subsequent note. — [Ki>.] 
 { Doric court ile8if,'ned by I>c Veau — "dove," says Jlilizia, "ainnoiUo I'liUozza ilolle colonnu d'uii 
 modulo per accrcsccr quclla del (ix'jjio, e render cos"i regoliiri i (liglifi e Ic niLtinK'." — [KdJ
 
 OF INTERCOLUMNIATIONS. 209 
 
 be perceived without great difficulty, more especially as the next metopes to 
 the wide one become, by the removal of the triglyphs above mentioned, each 
 one minute wider than the rest in the composition. 
 
 When, therefore, grouping of columns cannot be avoided in the Doric 
 order, the Attic base of Palladio must be employed, on account of its small 
 projection ; the great interval must be ai'seostyle, and the small one twenty-one 
 minutes, which leaves a space of one minute between the plinths of the coupled 
 columns. 
 
 In peristyles, galleries or porticos all the intcrcolumniations must be 
 equal ; but in a loggia, or a porch, the middle interval may be broader than 
 the others, by a triglyph, a couple of modillions, or three or four dentils, unless 
 the columns at the angles be either coupled or grouped with pilasters ; in which 
 cases, all the other intervals should be of the same dimension. For when they 
 are of difFereut widths, as at the Sorbonne,* and the College Mazarin f in 
 Paris, it creates confusion, and the unity of the composition suffers thereby. 
 
 Blondelt observes, that when peristyles, or colonnades are composed of 
 more than one row of columns, as are those of the piazza of St. Peters at 
 Eome, they should neither be of circular nor polygonal figures, but continued 
 as much as possible in straight lines; because in either of the former cases, 
 the regular disposition of the columns is only perceivable from the centre of 
 the figure ; the whole appearing, from all other points, a disagreeable heap of 
 confusion. This remark is very just. I have frequently observed and 
 i-egretted the bad effect of a circular disposition in the above-mentioned mag- 
 nificent structure, where the four ranges of columns of which the colonnades 
 are composed, offer nothing but confusion to the spectator's eye from every 
 point of view. 
 
 The same iucouveniency, though in a smaller degree, subsists with regard 
 
 * Designed by Le Mercier, the same arcliltect who gave designs for the Palais Royal at Paris. It was 
 built at the expense of Cardinal Richelieu— first stone laid in 1630, finished 1653.— [Ed.] 
 
 t Now College des Quatre Nations— founded by Cardinal Mazarin, for the education of young gentle- 
 men from the four nations conquered by Louis XIV. It was begun on the designs of Le Veau, and 
 finished by Lambert and Dorbay in 1662. — [Ed.] 
 
 I Je ne sortirois jamais de cette matiere si je voulois entrer dans un plus grand detail de la figure, et 
 dc la grandeur des Portiques, je me contenteray de dire que pour avoir agreablement la suite des Colonnes 
 dans les Peristyles ou Colonnades Polysti(iuos, c'est a dire qui ont plus d'une file, il est bon de les faire en 
 ligne droite et sans retour. Ce qui fait que je ne voudrois pas conseiller de les faire ni rondcs n'y a pans 
 sans gi-ande necessito, parceque ces figures ne permettent pas que la vcUc jouisse tout ji la fois de la beaute 
 de I'arrangement des Colonnes, qui sont interrompiies par le concours de celles qui sortent de leur aligne- 
 mcnt droit," iic. Blondel, Cours d' Architecture. Troisieme partic, liv. i. ch.ip. 14. He then proceeds 
 to a criticism on the colonnade in front of St. Peter's, in which there is much truth and justice— [Ed.]
 
 210 OF INTERCOLUMNIATIONS. 
 
 to engaged pilasters, or half columns, placed behind the detached columns of 
 single, circular, oval, or polygonal peristyles, as may be seen in those of 
 Burlington House. Wherefore, in buildings of that kind, it will perhaps be 
 best to decorate the back wall of the peristyle with windows or niches only. 
 
 When buildings are to be executed on a small scale, as is frequently the 
 case of temples, and of other inventions, used for the ornament of gardens, it 
 will be found necessary to make the intercolumniations, or at least the central 
 one, broader in proportion to the diameter of the columns than usual ; for 
 when the columns are placed nearer each other than three feet, there is not 
 room for a fat pei'son to pass between them. 
 
 NOTE ON INTERCOLUMNIATION. 
 
 The rules laid down by Vitruvius for renulating the several modes of intercolumniatiou, or spacing of 
 columns according to certain fixed measurements and names, are of no practical value whatever. The 
 intervals between the columns or width of the intercolumns must depend upon and be governed by a 
 variety of circumstances connected with each particular case, and on the character of the general composi- 
 tion, which also has to be taken into account. As regai-ds the proportions of the intercolumns, it surely makes 
 a very great difference whether the columns be six or ten diameters in height. As regards the proportions 
 of intercolumns, one tolerably safe general rule is that they should not be less than three nor much more 
 than four squares in height. Even that leaves, however, a wide margin for exceptions, for in what professes 
 to be art all rules of the kind ought to be looked upon as no more than indefinite normal directions. 
 What further may here be remai-ked is that it is a solecism to make use of the term intercolumniation, 
 in the plural number in the sense of intercolumn, for we might with equal propriety call columns colum- 
 niations, or windows fenestrations. — [W. II. L.]
 
 211 
 
 A 
 R 
 
 1 
 
 9 
 
 
 C K 
 
 u , : 1 
 
 
 OF ARCADES AND ARCHES. 
 
 Arches though not so magnificent as colonnades, are stronger, more solid 
 and less expensive.* They are proper for triumphal entrances, gates of cities, 
 of palaces, of gardens and of parks ; for arcades or porticos round public 
 
 * In note, piigc 119, mention has been made of Le Brun's Theoiie Je 
 rArchitcctuie. In its application to vaulting and arches, he proceeds upon 
 tlie same principles as in the foregoing part he does for the columnar arrangements 
 of the orders. There is so much ingenuity in the author's researches, and the 
 application of his theory, to say the least of it, so generally produces an elegant 
 result, that it may not be uninteresting nor uninstructive to glance at it in this 
 place ; it is not given here for the purpose of leading the student to believe it will 
 assist him in equilibrating his arch, which is a science that would require a distinct 
 and elaborate treatise. This caution is necessary because a dependence upon the 
 construction in question might in some cases be attended with ill consequences. 
 
 Le Brun's principle is, " that the burthen shall be equal to the support," or in other words, " that the 
 sui-face AMNGL^LGi V — and that in vaulting, the part z g m n which hangs over should be equal to that 
 
 A ZLG which has a solid bearing, and that then = l g the thickness of the pier. 
 
 Z G 
 
 The " two surfaces of the burthen a r, g z and z g m n are not exactly equal, because the triangle g o n 
 is incommensm-able ; but we will dispense with mathematical precision, and take the proportion of the 
 diameter to the eircuml'erence as 7 : 21. In this case the surface of a circle inscribed in a square will be 
 three quarters of the superficies of the square. The triangle g o n and the rectangle r a z o will be a 
 sixteenth part of the square, or, which is the same thing, they will each = square of half the radius. 
 Thus the two parts of the burthen R o l g and m z o n will be equal. In respect of the supports, it is to be 
 observed that one half of the burthen only acts on the support, by reason of the distance of its centre of 
 gravity from the vertical z G. But this centre is somewhere in a line p a, directed towards the centre of 
 the arch, since ArGL = APMN. Thus the common centre of the two parallelograms A M R n and A z g l 
 is in o, in the direction qc. Hence, by the augmentation of the incommensurable triangle o n g, the 
 centre of gravity will be somewhere from p to o ; and since the weight overhanging, and that whose 
 bearing is solid are equal, z g m n which overhangs, draws or thrusts a z l g, on account of distance of the 
 centre of gravity in o p from the vertical z o, for if this centre was in the direction of the vertical, the 
 action either way would be annihilated. 
 
 " This being the case, if we divide the surface of half the arcade by the width l g, we shall have the 
 rectangle i, g i v. From this equality between the burthen and support, the height of the arch will be 
 found equal to twice its width. 
 
 " jVrcades, whoso key-stone is less than one-fourth of the diameter of the arch, can have tlie support 
 and burthen equal, but those whose key-stone is deeper will not comply with those conditions, because the 
 supports only augment in width ; if they also increased in height, stability would be wanting, on account 
 of their resistance diminishing in an inverse ratio as the height of the centre of gravity increased. In this 
 case, in order that the supports may be stable, when the depth of the key-stone is more than half the 
 radius, the height of the arch must never exceed twice its width." — See Le Brun, page 23. — [Ed.]
 
 212 OF ARCADKS AND ARCHES. 
 
 squares, markets or large courts, and in general for all apertures that require 
 an cxtraordinarv width. In Bologna, and sonic other cities of Italy, the streets 
 are on each side bordered with arcades, like those of Covent Garden and the 
 Eoyal Exchange, which add greatly to their magnificence. In hot or rainy 
 climates, these arcades are exceedingly convenient to passengers, affording them 
 both shade and shelter ; but on the other hand, they are a great nuisance to 
 the inhabitants, as they darken their apartments, hinder a free circulation of 
 air, and serve to harbour idle and noisy vagabonds, who crowd their entrances 
 and disturb their quiet. At Kome, the Courts of the Vatican, those of Monte 
 Cavallo, of the Borghese, and of many other palaces, are likewise surrounded 
 with arcades, Avhere the equipages and domestics attend under cover, some of 
 them being sufficiently spacious to admit two or three coaches abreast. Such 
 conveniences would be very useful in this metropulis, particularly contiguous 
 to the Court, to the Houses of Parliament, to churches, to all places of public 
 amusement, and even to most town habitations of the nobility and principal 
 gentrv, where numerous fine equipages and valuable horses stand half the night, 
 exposed to all weathers. But the scarcity and prodigious value of ground in 
 the fashionable or commercial parts of the town, render them, in general, 
 unattainable. 
 
 There are various manners of decorating arches ; sometimes their piers 
 are rusticated, at others they arc adorned with pilasters, columns, terms, or 
 Carvatides ; and on some occasions thev are made sufficientlv broad to admit 
 niches or windows. The circular part of the aperture is cither surrounded 
 with rustic arch stones, or with an archivolt, enriched with mouldings, which 
 in the centre is generally interrupted by a key-stone in form of a console, a 
 mask, or some other proper ornament of sculpture, serving, at the same time, 
 as a key to the arch, and as a seemingly necessary support to the architrave of 
 the order. Sometimes the archivolt springs from an impost placed at the top 
 of the pier, and at others from columns with their regular entablature or archi- 
 trave cornice placed on each side of the arch, and there are some instances of 
 arcades without anv piers, the arches being turned from single or coupled 
 columns, sometimes with, souietinies without cntalilalurcs ; as in the Temple of 
 Faunus at Eomc, and at [hv Jioyal Exchange in LonddU, wliich however is a 
 practice seldom to be imitated, being neither solid nor handsome. 
 
 When arches are large the key-stone should never be omitted, but cut 
 into tile form of a console, and carried close u]) under the soffit of the archi- 
 trave ; which bv reason of its extraordinnry Icngtli dl' bearing, requires a 
 si\pport ill tlic mi'lcllc. And if the coluiiins tliat addrii the piers arc detached,
 
 OF ARCADES AND ARCHES. 213 
 
 as in the triumphal archos at Konio, it is necessary to break the entablature 
 over them, making its projection in tlie interval no more than if there were 
 no colunms at all ; for, though the architrave might be made sutficicntly solid, 
 yet it would be disagreeable to sec so great a length of entablature hanging in 
 the air, without any prop or apparent support. 
 
 It is, however, to be remembered that these breaks in entablatures should 
 be very sparingly employed, never indeed but to avoid some considerable 
 inconvenience or deformity ; for they are unnatural, vender the columns or 
 other supports apparently useless, destroy, in a great measure, the simplicity 
 of the composition, and can seldom bo contrived without some mutilations or 
 striking irregularities in the capitals and cornices of the orders, as may ])c 
 observed in several parts of the inside of St. Paul's in this city, and in many 
 other places. 
 
 The imi)osts of arches should never be omitted ; at least if they are, a 
 plat-band ought to supply their place : and when columns are employed 
 without pedestals in arcades, they should always be raised on plinths, which 
 will serve to keep them dry and clean, prevent their bases from being broken, 
 and improve the proportions of the arches, particularly in the Doric order, 
 where the intercolumniations being governed by the triglyphs, ai'e rather too 
 wide for a well proportioned arch. In all arches it is to be observed that the 
 circular part must not spring immediately from the impost, but take its rise 
 at such a distance above it as may be necessary to have the whole curve seen 
 at the proper point of view. When archivolts are employed without a key or 
 console in their middle, the same distance must be preserved between the top 
 of the archivolt and the architrave of the order as when there is a key, or at 
 least half that distance, for when they are close to each other their junction 
 forms an acute and disagreeable angle. 
 
 The void or aperture of arches should never be much more in height, nor 
 much less than double their width ; the breadth of the pier should seldom 
 exceed two-thirds, nor be less than one-third, of the width of the arch, accoi-d- 
 ing to the character of the composition ; and the angular piers should be 
 broader than the rest by one-half, one-third, or one-fourth. The archivolt and 
 impost must be proportioned to the arch, due care being, however, taken to 
 keep them subservient to the cornice, the architrave, and other principal parts 
 of the order. For this reason the height of the impost should not be more 
 than one-seventh, nor need it ever be less than one-ninth, of the width of the 
 aperture ; and the archivolt must not be more than one-eighth, nor less than 
 one tenth thereof. The breadth of the console or mask, which serves as a key 
 
 2 F
 
 214 OF ARCADES AND ARCHES. 
 
 to the arch, should, at the bottom, be equal to that of the archivolt, and its 
 sides must be drawn from the centre of the arch. The length thereof ought 
 not to be less than one and a half of its bottom breadth, nor more than 
 double. 
 
 The thickness of the piers depends on the width of the portico, and the 
 weight which the arcade has to carry above, for they must be strong enough to 
 bear the burthen, and to resist the pressure of the portico's vault. But with 
 regard to the beauty of the building, it should not be less than one quarter of 
 the width of the arch, nor more than one-third ; and when arches are closed 
 up, to receive doors, windows, or niches, the recesses should be deep enough at 
 least to contain the most prominent parts of what is placed in them ; otherwise 
 the architecture will appear flat, and the cornices of the niches or windows 
 projecting before the fronts of the arches, will become too principal and 
 striking in the composition ; as may be seen in the second order of the Farnese 
 at Rome. 
 
 These dimensions are general, Init for a more accurate detail, the an- 
 nexed designs* may be consulted, where the proper measures of every part are 
 expressed in figures. 
 
 Vignola in all his orders, excepting the Corinthian, makes the height of 
 the arch double its width. His piers, when the columns have no pedestals, 
 are always three modules, and four modules when they have pedestals ; his 
 imposts are all of them one module in height, and the archivolts are either 
 one module, or half a module, as they belong to arches with or without 
 pedestals. 
 
 Palladio has given designs only of arches with pedestals. Their height is 
 from one and two-thirds to two and a half of their width, and his piers are all 
 of them nearly three modules and three quarters, excepting in the Composite 
 order, where they are four and four-fifths. 
 
 Scamozzi's Tuscan arch is, in height, somewhat less than double its width, 
 which height he increases gradually till, in the Corinthian arch with pedestals, 
 it is nearly twice and one half the width. His piers diminish in proportion to 
 the increase of delicacy in the orders. His Tuscan pier in arches without 
 pedestals being four modules and a half, and his Corinthian only three modules 
 and three (juarters. In arches with pedestals, his Tuscan pier is four modules 
 and two-thirds, and his Corinthian only four modules. His imposts and archi- 
 volts are likewise varied, and their proportions are relative to the width of the 
 
 * See Plnlo of Arches .
 
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 OF ARCADES AND ARCHES. 215 
 
 arches and the height of the piers, so that they are considerably larger in arches 
 with pedestals than in those without. 
 
 Vignola's arches, being all of the same projiortion, do not characterize the 
 difference of the orders. His piers in arches without jjcdestals are too narrow, 
 and his archivolts too slight. In his Doric arch without pedestals, the distance 
 between the arch and architrave of the order is too considerable, as it is indeed 
 in several other of his arches ; and in his Doric with pedestals, the piers are 
 much too broad. Palladio makes too great a difference between the height of 
 his arches. His Tuscan and Doric are too low, his Corinthian and Composite 
 much too high. His piers bear a greater proportion to the void of the arch, 
 in the delicate orders than in the massive. His archivolts are slender, his 
 imposts clumsy and ill profiled. The apertures of Scamozzi's arches are well 
 proportioned, except in the Corinthian order, where they are, like Palladio's, 
 of an excessive height. His piers bear a proper relation to the arches, as do 
 likewise his imposts and archivolts, excepting in the arches with pedestals, 
 where they are much too predominant in regard to the other parts of his com- 
 position, and the members of which they consist are larger than those of the 
 cornice of the order, a fault which Palladio has likewise been guilty of to a 
 very great excess. 
 
 At first sight it appears extremely reasonable to augment the size of the 
 imposts and archivolts of arches in proportion to the increase of the aperture, 
 and in cases where no order is employed it ought always to be done ; but when 
 the arches are not only adorned with imposts and archivolts, but are likewise 
 surrounded with pedestals, columns and entablatui'es, it must be very improper 
 to change considerably the proportions of any one of these parts, while all the 
 rest remain unaltered — since the consequence must be a considerable disparity 
 between them, so much the more striking, as they are near each other and of 
 similar natures, both circumstances tending to facilitate a comparison ; while a 
 trifling disproportion between the aperture of the arch and its impost or 
 archivolt will seldom be perceived, and never can be very displeasing to 
 the eye. 
 
 In the annexed plates* are given designs of arches in all the orders, 
 wherein it has been attempted to avoid the faults with which the above- 
 mentioned masters are chai'ged. In the arches without pedestals, their height 
 is made equal to the length of the column ; which height is, in the Tuscan 
 and Doric orders, something less than double the width of the arch, and in the 
 
 * See Plates of Arches without and with Pedestals. 
 
 2 F 2
 
 216 OF ARCADES AND ARCHES. 
 
 Corinthian or Composite something more than double ; and in arches with 
 pedestals nearly the same proportion between the height and the width of the 
 aperture is observed. 
 
 The difference of width in the arches, supposing the orders to be all of 
 the same height, not being considerable, I have constantly observed the same 
 dimensions as well in the piers as in the imposts and archivolts ; which is done 
 to avoid a troublesome and needless detail, the characters of the different 
 orders being sufficiently preserved without it. For though the Corinthian pier 
 contains in width the same number of modules as the Tuscan, yet, as these 
 modules diminish in proportion to the increase of delicacy in the orders, the 
 real size of the one is to that of the other only as seven to ten. 
 
 In the Doric order, the distribution of the frieze makes it difficult to 
 proportion the apertures of the arches well, either with or without pedestals ; 
 for the intervals of three or four triglyphs are too narrow, and those of four 
 and five are rather too wide. Palladio, to conquer that difficulty, has, at the 
 Carita in Venice,* omitted the usual ornaments of the frieze, and introduced, 
 instead of them, an imitation of those on the frieze of the Sibyl's Temple at 
 Tivoli ;t having at the same time made the distance between the axis of the 
 columns only eleven modules and a half, instead of twelve and a half, which was 
 the regular measure. Le Clerc, in his designs of the Doric order, has diminished 
 tlu^ l)roadth of the metopes and triglyphs ; and Scamozzi has made his Doric 
 columns seventeen modules high, instead of sixteen, their usual dimension, 
 and raised them on plinths, which last expedient Sangallo has likewise made 
 use of in the lower order of the Farncse at Rome. 
 
 In imitation of Sangallo, I have, in the Doric arch without pedestals, 
 raised the columns on plinths, but avoided augmenting their height, as I did 
 not incline to i:hange the established proportions of the order, where there 
 
 * Jloiiisterio cle' Canonici Lateraneiisi ilella Carita. Tlie b\ilUliiin' has never been finisliecl. — [Ed.] 
 t This CMjuisite temple, whieli is circular, has been selected by Mr. IVicc in his Essay, as an exami)le 
 of beauty, illustrntive of Mr. Burke's doctrine of flowing lines. On this passage of Mr. Price, the noble 
 author of the " In<iuiry into the Principles of lieauty in Grecian Architecture " observes, " I have no 
 wish to deny the general beauty of tliis temple, or the cliarm of its appearance, esi)ecial]y in the situation 
 in wliicli it is ])laced, wh.atever may be the corrupt taste of some of its ornamental details." This ex 
 cal/icdn'i remark I should not have deemed it necessary to have noticed, but that the student might be 
 perhaps misled, liad I passed it in silence. If lie rely on my judgment respecting the taste of the detail of 
 the temple in i|uestion he will receive an impression toto ckIo difl'erent from that conveyed by the (juotation. 
 Tiic capital of the temple of the Sibyl at Tivoli is in its singular conslructiun (the leaves being out into 
 the bell and not applifjiieet, sec note, page lOM), a remarkable specimen of the genius and taste of the 
 architect who contrived it. It must be allowed that the work is not highly finished like the works of the 
 Greeks, but beauty of form and high finishing are not inseparable in works of taste. — [Ei>.]
 
 OV ARCADES AND AKCIIES. 217 
 
 appeared so little occasion for it. lL)\vovor, if llic lowncss of the arch should 
 be objected to, it may easily be i-emodicd either by increasing the height of the 
 column, as I'alladio has done in his arch with pedestals, or by diminishing the 
 breadth of the metopes and triglyi)hs, according to Le Clerc's method, or by 
 employing both these artitices together ; which last should bo preferred, as 
 it renders the change in the proportions of each particular part less con- 
 siderable. 
 
 The same expedients may be used in changing the measures of the Doric 
 arch with pedestals, if they should not please ; ol)serving always to divide the 
 alteration proportionably Ixitween the pedestal, the column and the frieze of the 
 order ; bv which means the height of the aperture may be brought to double 
 its width without apparent detriment to any other part; for many things 
 which, in the strictness of theory, appear licentious, are, in reality, of 
 little or no consequence in the execution, because they arc not easily 
 perceptible. 
 
 The proportions of the Tuscan arch may likewise be changed if required, 
 and the height of the aperture be made nearer to double its width, which, as 
 there are neither modillions nor dentils in the cornice, may be done without 
 changing the proportion of any part of the order. 
 
 Should the breadths which I have given to the piers of all the above- 
 mentioned arches, though they seem to me well-proportioned, bo thought too 
 considerable, they may be diminished, and in arches without pedestals, be 
 reduced to three modules and three quarters, like those of Palladio, observing,^ 
 in such case, to reduce the archivolts to twenty-six minutes, instead of the 
 thirtv which thev have in the annexed designs. The piers of arches with 
 pedestals mav likewise bo lessened, and instead of four modules and a half, be 
 only four in breadth, which may be done without changing the dimensions of 
 the archivolts; nor need, in either of the cases, the imposts of any of the 
 arches be altered. 
 
 When columns are engaged in the piers, their projection depends on that 
 of the impost, of which the most prominent part should be in a line with the 
 axis of the column, at least in the Tuscan and Doric orders ; but in the Ionic, 
 Composite, and Corinthian, it may project somewhat beyond the axis, as in 
 the Redentore* at Venice, one of Palladio's best works, because when the 
 columns in these orders are disengaged much above the half of their diameter, 
 it occasions very disagreeable mutilations in the capitals, as may be observed 
 
 * This elegant church was decreed and dedicated to the Redeemer of the World by the Venetians, in 
 gratitude for their delivery from the dreadful plague that raged in the city in the year 1576. On the 3rd
 
 218 OF ARCADES AND ARCHES. 
 
 in the porch of St. George's,* Bloomsbury, and at the Banqueting-House, 
 Whitehall. 
 
 In proportion to the increase of delicacy in the orders, I have increased 
 the thickness of the piers in each, a quarter of a module. Scamozzi's rule is 
 quite opposite to this, for he diminishes his piers in thickness as well as in 
 breadth, in the delicate orders ; by which practice the real solidity of the 
 structure is much aiFected, more particularly as the columns, which may be 
 considered as parts of the piers, or as their abutments, are much weaker in 
 the Composite and Corinthian, than they are in the Tuscan or Doric orders ; 
 whereas, according to the method here observed, the solidity of all the piers is 
 nearly the same ; a circumstance of far more consequence than any trifling 
 disproportion between the thickness of the pier and the diameter of the 
 column, which can seldom be discovered, and never without a nicer inspection 
 than can take place in observing the general eff'ect of any composition. 
 
 With regard to the interior decoration of arcades, the portico may either 
 have a flat ceiling, or be ai'ched in various manners. When the ceiling is flat, 
 there may be on the backs of the piers, pilasters of the same kind and 
 dimensions with the columns on their fronts ; facing which pilasters there must 
 be others like them, on the back wall of the portico. Their projection, as well 
 as that of those against the back of the piers, may be from one-sixth to one- 
 quarter of their diameter. These pilasters may support a continued enta- 
 blature, or one interrupted and running across the portico over every two 
 pilasters, in order to form coffers ; or the architrave and frieze only may be 
 continued, while the cornice alone is carried across the portico over the 
 pilasters, as before, and serves to form compartments in the ceiling, as is done 
 in the vestibule of the Massimi Palacef at Rome, and in the great stable of the 
 King's Mews, near Charing Cross. 
 
 Where the portico is arched, either with a semi-circular or elliptical vault, 
 the bac;ks of the piers and the inner wall of the portico may be decorated with 
 
 of May, 1577, the Doge ami Patriarch of Venice laiil the first stone of the eilifioe, on wliick was the 
 following inscription : — 
 
 EX PIO, SO/.EMNUi. VOTO REIP. AD ARCENUA FULUURA DIB.E PESTIS 
 HEDEMPT. DEO SANCT D. GREG. XIII. PONT. MAX. VENET. I)IICE 
 AI.OYSIO MOCENICO, JOAN. TRIVIS. PATRIAE. MDLXXVI. 
 
 See "Venetia Citta Nobilissima, c gingolare, descritta ila M. F. Sansovino," 4to. Venetia, mdclxiii. 
 page 255. 
 
 * Sec note at page 199. — [Ed.] 
 
 t Uy Baldassare Peruzzi, one of the many architects employed on the church of St. Peter's. Peruzzi 
 was born in 1481, and died at Rome in 1536. lie has the honour of lying by the side of the divine 
 Raff'aelie d'UrbIno, in the Pantheon. — [Ed.]
 
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 OF ARCADES AND ARCHES. 219 
 
 pilasters, as is above described, supportino- a regular continued entablature, 
 from a little above wbich tbe arcb sbould take its spring, that no part of it 
 may be hid by the projection of the cornice. The vault may be enriched with 
 compartments of various regular figures, such as hexagons, octagons, squares, 
 and the like, of which, and their decorations, several examples ai'e given 
 among the designs for ceilings. But when the vault is groined, or composed 
 of Hats, circular or domical coves, sustained on pendentives, the pilasters may 
 be as broad as are the columns in front of tlic piers, but they must rise no 
 higher than the top of the impost, the mouldings of which must finish and 
 serve them instead of a capital ; from whence the groins and pendentives are 
 to spring, as also the bands or arcs doiibleaux which divide the vault. 
 
 In the third plate of arches are six ditFerent designs of arcades, all of 
 them composed by celebrated masters, and perfect in their kind. Fig. I, 
 though less so than the rest, is, notwithstanding, the invention of Serlio,* who 
 recommends that manner of arching in cases where columns ai'C already 
 provided, as it frequently happens in places abounding with antiquities, of 
 which the length is not sufficient for the intended purpose. And he observes 
 that where these arches are used, it will be necessary to secure them with 
 strong abutments at each end. The great aperture of this kind of arch may 
 be from four and a half to five diameters of the column in width, and in 
 height double that dimension ; the width of the small aperture must never 
 exceed two-thirds of that of the large one, and its height is determined by the 
 height of the columns. To me it seems that this sort of disposition might be 
 considerably improved by adding an architrave cornice or an entablature 
 to the column, by omitting the rustics, and by surrounding the arches with 
 archivolts. 
 
 Fig. 2 is of Vignola's invention, and executed by him in the Cortile of 
 the castle at Caprarola.f The ai'ches are, in height, somewhat moi'e than 
 
 * Lib. iv. Deir ornamento Rustico. 
 
 t By Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola. Not any of liis other works, boiiulif'ul as they are, are deemed by 
 Milizia " paragonabili al Palazzo di Caprarola, che e senza diibbio Topera piii ,i;raude e piii bella di si 
 egrcgio Artista." It was built for tbe Cardinal Alessandro F.arnese, in a lonely, mountainous and barren 
 spot on the Viterbo road, about thirty miles from Rome. The building stands on the ridge of a hill 
 surrounded with rocks. The effect on approaching it resembles that of enchantment. In front, to the 
 right and left, are the stables and other offices, out of which the main body of the building rises, in the 
 form of a pentagon on the plan, whose salient angles are flanked by bastions, which give it the appearance 
 of a mixture of civil and military architecture, with an air of infinite grandeur. The details are all in 
 good taste, and exceedingly pleasing. Not less .so is the plan of this singular ))alace. Besides a large 
 loggia an<l staircase on one of the sides of the polygon, there are four great rooms, to which is a separate 
 access by means of the circular open arcade which circumscribes the central court. Though the building 
 
 ■2g
 
 220 OF ARCADES AND ARCHES. 
 
 twice tlieir width ; the distance from the arcli to the top of the cornice is' 
 equal to one-third of the height of the arch. Tlie breadth of the pier is equal 
 to the width of the arch ; and the aperture of the window occupies nearly one- 
 third of that breadth. Fig. 3 is an invention of Braniante,* and executed in 
 the Garden of the Belvedere at Konie. The height of the arch is a trifle 
 more than twice its width ; the breadth of the pier is equal to the width of 
 the arch ; and, being divided into twelve parts, two of them are given to the 
 parts of the pier supporting the archivolts, four to the two columns, two to the 
 intervals between the niche and the columns, and four to the niche. The 
 height of the pedestal is half the diameter of the arch ; the columns are ten 
 diameters in height, and the height of the entablature is one-quarter of thc- 
 height of the columns ; the impost and archivolt are, each of them, equal to 
 half a diameter of the column. Fig. 4 is very common in the works of 
 Palladio, and has been often imitated by Inigo Jones. The height of the arch 
 mav be about twice its width, and the breadth of the pier should never be less 
 than one, nor more than two-thirds, of the width of the arch. Fig. 5 is a 
 design of Yignola, executed at Monte Dragone, a seat of the Princes Borghese, 
 near Frascati. The height of the arch is something more than twice its width, 
 and the breadth of the pier, including the columns that support the arch, is a 
 trifle less than the width of the arch itself. Fig. 6 is an invention of Palladio, 
 
 is not of great iiiiigiiitude, the apartiuentj are, from their judicious disposition, of considerable number. 
 Some of the views which adorn the interior of tlie palace are from the pencil of Vignola himself. 
 " Allorche il famoso Monsignore IJarbaro vide questo Palazzo," according to Mllizia, " disse che la presenza 
 era maggior della Anna." A more magnificent villa than that just described certainly does not exist in 
 Europe. — [Ed.] 
 
 * Donato Lazzari, usually known by the name of liramante da Urbiiio, was a painter and architect. 
 He was born at Castel Durante, some say Fermignano, in tlie territory of Urbino, in 1444, and died in 
 1514. Of his works as a painter we know but little, but his talents as an architect, the original plan for 
 St. Peter's, which all the succeeding architects could not, by their many alterations, supersede, suiliciently 
 evinces. His first patron, after his arrival in Home, was Cardiual Caraffa, for whom he designed and 
 executed the choir in the Convent dei Frati. This brought him under tlie notice of Alexander VI., for 
 whom he was much employed. Under Julius II. he was engaged as superintendent of his buildings, in 
 accomplishing the junction of the Belvedere with the Vatican, by means of two galleries over a gorge. 
 At Hologna, ill 1504, ho was employed in fortifying the town during the war of Mirandola. Upon his 
 return to Home, after this journey, he made the designs for the fabric of St. Peter's, which were carried 
 into execution as high as the entablature and the four great arches for the support of the dome, before his 
 death. Michael Angelo, who admired his dt'.signs, conformed in a great measure to the original intention 
 of Bramante, in carrying on the works, but it was much altered by the architects who succeeded him. It 
 was Bramante who invited Kalfaelle, his cousin, to Home, instructeil him in architecture, and procured 
 employment for him in the A'atican. In gratitude for his care of him, UalTaclIc has lefl us his portrait in 
 the school of Athens. We have the testimony of Michael Angelo to the talents of Bramante. In writing 
 to his friend IMcs.ser Bartolomeo, he says, "Non si pui) ncgiire, che Bramante non fosse valente nell' archi- 
 Icltiirn rpianto ogni altro, che sin stalo dagli anlichi in nun," &c. — [Hi>-]
 
 OF ARCADKS AND ARCHES. " 221 
 
 and oxecutcd by him in tlio Basilica at Viccnza. The most beautiful pro- 
 portion for compositions of this kind is, that the aperture of the arch be in 
 height twice its width ; that the breadtli of the pier do not exceed that of the 
 arch, nor bo mucli less ; that the small order be in height two-thirds of the 
 large columns, which height being divided into nine parts, eight of them must 
 be for the height of the column, and the ninth ior the height of the architrave 
 cornice, two-fifths of which should be for the architrave, and three for the 
 cornice. The breadth of the archivolt should be ocjual to the superior 
 diameter of the small columns, and the keystone, at its bottom, must never 
 exceed the same breadth. 
 
 NOTE ON ARCADES AND. ARCHES. 
 
 Beiiilos coati-ibuting to decoration, both Impost and Keystono are essential to the full expression of an 
 arch of any magnitude, more especially if grand 'nr is the cliai-aoter aimed at. The value of them will be 
 best understood by considering the comparatively tame effect occasioned by their being omitted, as is for 
 instance the case with tlie otherwise noble arch at the top of Constitution-hill — now sadly dwarfed and 
 disfigured by the extravagantly large equestrian statue on its summit. In external design no other than 
 the semicircular arch is admissible — at least not if any of the orders are employed. With ordinary 
 buildings, also interiors, it is different ; in the latter the segmental arch may be used, not only without 
 disagreeable effect, but even preferably to the other, according to circumstances. Within private rooms 
 arches may, without impropriety, be left quite plain, because there any dressings to them might cause a 
 look of heaviness. That, however, depends enlirely upon circumstances, for which no rules can be laid 
 down. 
 
 It is hardly necessary to observe that, upon a curved surface, whether it be concave or convex, 
 arches have unavoidably an unsatisfactory appearance. 
 
 A spacious arch within a portico may be made a highly impressive feature, on account of its contrasting 
 most favourably with the comparatively narrow intercolumns in front. In the vastly over-praised portico 
 of St. JLirtin's Church, on the contrary, there is a most llagrant and offensive solecism, for, although 
 besides baing the principal one as regards its position, the central door looks actually lower, more mean and 
 insignificant than the other two, because, strange to say, instead of being loftier than them it looks lower, 
 on aocoant of the arched heal springing from a lower level than the tops of its companions. 
 
 [W. 11. L.] 
 
 2 G 2
 
 222 
 
 OF ORDERS ABOVE ORDERS. 
 
 When two or moi-e orders are employed, and placed upon each other in a 
 building, the laws of solidity require that the strongest should be placed 
 lowermost ; wherefore the Tuscan is to support the Doric, the Doric the Ionic, 
 the Ionic the Composite or Corinthian, and the Composite the Corinthian 
 only.* 
 
 This rule, however, has not always been strictly adhei'ed to ; most authors 
 place the Composite above the Corinthian, and we find it so disposed in many 
 modern buildings. There are likewise examples where the same order is 
 repeated ; as at the theatre of Statilius Taurusf and the Coliseum, and there 
 are others where an intermediate order is omitted, and the Ionic placed on the 
 Tuscan, or the Corinthian on the Doric ; but none of these practices are 
 regular. The first of them is an evident trespass against the rules of solidity, 
 and should never be imitated; the second occasions a tiresome uniformity; and 
 the last cannot be effected without several disagreeable irregularities ; for if 
 the diameter of the superior order be in the same proportion to that of the 
 inferior, as if the succession were regular, the upper order will be higher than 
 the lower one ; and if the diameter be lessened, in order to diminish the 
 
 * Knight, in iiis Analytical In(|uiiy into tlie I'rinciplus of Taste, Part ii., chap '2, says, " The appro- 
 priation of particular proportions to the columns ol' the particular orders, is, 1 believe, of no higher 
 antiquity than the practice of placing one order over another, of which I know of no instance anterior to 
 the theatres of the Romans, the first of which, excepting temporary structures ot wood, was that of 
 Pompey. In the arrangement of the ditrcrent orders in building's of this kind the plainest was naturally 
 placed lowest, and the most enriched highest ; anil hence tlie plainest was made the most massive, and the 
 most ornamented the most light an<l slender: b>it as this distinction of proportions' arose merely from the 
 relative positions which they held when thus employed together, and not from any inherent principle of 
 propriety, there can be no other roa,«on than that of established custom wliy it should be observed when 
 they are employed separately and independent of each other." I'pon this passage there is a note by its 
 author alluding to the temple at Tegea, said by Pausanias, Arcad. xli., to have been designed by Scopas, 
 in which there was an upper range of columns of the Corinthian order over the lower Ionic range ; but 
 Mr. Knight thinks as the temple was built on the site of one burnt in the iXith Olympiad, and that as these 
 works did not proceed with groat rapidity in inferior cities it may be likely that the upper range was 
 added under the Roman emperors. It is probable that this note escaped the notice of the author of the 
 Inquiry into Grecian Architecture, who says, |mge 176, that Mr. Knight has fallen into a mislake ; at all 
 cvent.s, it was deemed projHT to mention the substance of the note in question. — [l''i>.] 
 
 ■f See Suetonius in Vita Caligul. cap. IH, where the thcati-e of Stiitilius Taurus is noticed. — [Ki>.]
 
 tl-.io 
 
 
 •^s ^ ^g &=<*. fc«; s:^ ' fai(^"6^ 
 
 ^^' 
 
 ft.'.DiwCZf , j itf Zti-vW/y I ^ ^' ' .''-■■■■i'-' 
 
 Hii/Ushrd, h\ the .Pivpnfforx of t/w UiiiUluufl'ews. 1800 
 
 SIB WMi.ll>M CM»«BtRS TSCATISF. . 
 
 .•TOO' r-r r teit
 
 OF OUDEUS AnOVK ORDERS. 223 
 
 height, the column will be too slender, the intercolumniation, which at best 
 becomes too wide, will be still more enlarged, and the piers, if there be arches,^ 
 will be considiM-ahlv too broad, l^esides all which, the characters of the 
 different orders will be much too opposite to be employed in the same aspect, 
 without being connected by some preparatory decoration. 
 
 In placing columns above each other, it is always to be observed, that the 
 axis of all the colunnis must correspond, and be in the same pei'pendicular 
 line, at least in front ; in flank they may or may not be so, as shall be most 
 convenient, though it is certainly more regular, as well as more solid, to place 
 them on a perpendicular line in flank likewise. At the theatre of Marcellus, 
 the axis of the Ionic column is almost a foot within that of the Doric 
 one below it, which, as the columns are engaged, and the wall of the second 
 story is considerably I'ctracted, could not well be avoided, and in cases of a 
 similar nature, where the solidity of the structure is not affected by it, the 
 same method may be taken ; observing, however, never to make the retraction 
 greater than it is at the theatre of Marcellus, where the front of the plinth, in 
 the second order, is in a line with the top of the shaft in the first. 
 
 But wherever columns are detached, it will always be best to place them 
 exactly over each other, that so the axis of all may form one continued perpen- 
 dicular line, for then the structure will be solid, which it cannot be when the 
 superior column is placed considerably within the inferior one, as a great part 
 of it can then have no other support than the entablature of the order below 
 it. It is, indeed, true that by so doing, the bases of the upper order will have 
 a false bearing in front, as well as on the sides ; but there being no possibility 
 of removing this inconveniency on the sides, it would be a matter of no conse- 
 quence to remove it in front, whei'e it is scarcely perceptible. 
 
 Vitruvius, in the first chapter of his fifth book, says that the columns in 
 a second story should be less than those in a first by one quarter, for the 
 inferior parts, being most loaded, ought to be strongest ; and in the seventh 
 chapter of the same book, he repeats the same precept, adding, that if a third 
 order should be placed upon a second, its columns ought likewise to be less by 
 one (juarter than tliosc of the second order. So that, according to this rule, 
 the heiglit of the colunni in the third order, would only be nine-sixteenths of 
 that in the first, and if the columns were placed on pedestals, which, according 
 to him, must be less by one-half in a superior than in an inferior order, the 
 height of the pedestal and column in the second order would be to their height 
 in the first as eleven to sixteen ; and the height of the pedestal and column in 
 the tliird order would be to their height in the first nearly as fifteen to thirty-
 
 224 OF ORDERS ABOVE ORDERS. 
 
 two, that is, less by more than one-half. And farther, if three orders of 
 detached columns thus proportioned wei'e placed one above the other, as, for 
 instance, the Doric, Ionic and Corinthian, and the lower intercolumniations 
 were Eustyle, or of two diameters and one third, the second intercolumniations 
 would be Arseostyle, or of four diameters, and the third would be nearly of six 
 diameters and a half : a width of intercolumniation extremely unpleasing to 
 the eye, at any rate unsolid, and, according to Yitruvius's own doctrine, not 
 practicable but where the architraves are made of timber. And if, in like 
 manner, three orders of engaged columns were placed above each other, either 
 alone or on pedestals, and the lower intercolumniation was of a proper width 
 to admit a well-proportioned niche, window, door or arch, it would be exceed- 
 inofly difficult to decorate the second intercolumniation, and absolutely impos- 
 sible to decorate the third, which, though considerably wider than the first, 
 would be no more than about half as hioh. 
 
 I shall not trouble the reader with the various opinions and practices of 
 the modern architects with regard to the proportion of orders placed above 
 each other ; the curious may consult Blondel's Cours d' Architecture,* where 
 the greatest part of theni are enumerated, and their merits nicely weighed, 
 the whole discussion being spun out to the extent of seventv well-filled folio 
 pages. It will be sufficient to observe that Scamozzi's rulef is universally 
 esteemed the best, being simple, natural, and attended with fewer incon- 
 veniencies than any other. It is built upon a passage in the fifth book of 
 Vitruvius, and imports that the lower diameter of the superior column should 
 constantly be equal to the upper diameter of the inferior one, as if all the 
 columns were formed of one long tapering tree, cut into several pieces. 
 
 According to this rule the Doric column will be to the Tuscan as thirteen 
 and one-third to fourteen, the Ionic to the Doric as fifteen to sixteen, the 
 Composite or Corinthian to the Ionic as sixteen and two-thirds to eighteen ; 
 and the Corinthian to the Composite as sixteen and two-thirds to twenty. 
 
 In this progression it appears that when the Composite and Corinthian 
 are employed together, the relations between them are more distant than 
 between any of the other orders. JJut this may be remedied by lessening the 
 
 • (iuatrieme Partio, cliap. 4, ct seq. — [En-] 
 
 t " Laonde, iioi concludiamo, cbe sia moUo piu ra^ionfevole, e riescano anco niullo iiuijlio, o jiiu grate 
 all'occbio k far esse coloniie I'uiie minor! deiraltrc quanto porta la lore propria dimiiiuitione, in niodo, clie 
 la grossczza della parte di sopra dellc prime, sia il punto la grossezza dellc secondc ; e oos'i di mano in 
 inano : la qual co.sa 81 vedc osservata ncll' Ordine lonico del Theatro di Marcello, c altri cdifici : e questa Ji 
 rii;^ionf, e termine naturalo, come se d'un lunfjo, c solo iilbero si faccssero le lungliozzc de' loro fnsti, I'nno 
 dfipi) raltro," &c. See Hcamozzi, Parte Seconda, Lib. vi. eap. 11. — [Ed.]
 
 OF ORDr.RS AliOVE OUDF.US. 225 
 
 diminution of the inferior column, making its upper diameter six-sevenths, or 
 seven-eighths of the lower one, instead of five-sixths ; though, to say the truth, 
 the very best expedient will ho, never to nsc these two orders in the same 
 aspect ; for they are so nuu-h alike that it differs little from a repetition of the 
 same object. 
 
 It may probably be objected that the inferior orders, accoi'ding to the 
 above-mentioned proportions, will not be sufficiently predominant. But if 
 both the orders are continued throughout the front this is of no consequence ; 
 there are many'examples where the difference between them is not greater, 
 which yet succeed ])erfectly well and arc generally esteemed. And if the 
 superior order only subsists in the middle, or at the ends, as is often the case, 
 then the parts of the inferior order, over which no superior is placed, are 
 generally finished with a balustrade, levelling with the cills of the windows in 
 the second order ; which unites with, and is sufficient to give a proper degree 
 of predominance to, the lower part of the composition. 
 
 In Englaml there are few examples of more than two stories of columns 
 in the same aspect ; and though in Italy and other parts of Europe we fre- 
 quently meet with three, and sometimes more, yet it is a practice by no means 
 to be recommended or imitated ; for there is no possibility of avoiding many 
 striking inconsistencies, or of preserving the character of each order in the 
 intercoluunial decorations. Palladio has attempted it at the Carita, in Venice; 
 Sangallo, in the Palazzo Farnese at Rome ; Ammanati,* in the Cortile of the 
 Pitti, at Florence ; but all unsuccessfully. It is even difficult to arrange two 
 orders with any tolerable degree of regularity, for the reasons already offered 
 in the beginning of this chapter, which will remain in force, even when Sca- 
 mozzi's rule is observed, though the relations between the heights of the dif- 
 ferent orders are then less distant than by any other method. 
 
 In the first plate of orders above each other, I have given designs of double 
 colonnades in all the orders, which are so disposed that the modillions, mutules, 
 triglyphs, and other ornaments of the entablature fall regularly over the axis of 
 
 * Bartolomeo Ammanati, a Florentine architect and sculptor, was born in loll, died in 1586. His 
 first master was Baccio Bandinelli, but he afterwards studied under Sansovino at Venice. The celebrated 
 bridge of the Holy Trinity at Florence, of which he was architect, has spread his reputation throughout 
 the world. Ammanati wrote a work entitled " La Citta," never published, and for a length of time 
 supposed to have been lost, containing designs fcr all the public edifices requisite in a city. This is now 
 among the collection of designs in the Gallery at Florence. His wife, Laura Battiferri, was renowned for 
 her literary acquirements, for which she was chosen one of the Members of the Academy of Intronati at 
 Siena. A description of the bridge above mentioned, under the title " Delia vera Curva degli archi del 
 Ponte a S. Trinita di Firenze," by J'ietro Ferroni, 4to. Verona, 1808 — contains much interesting matter, 
 as well as plates of the structure. — [Ed.] 
 
 2 H
 
 226 OF ORDERS ABOVE ORDERS. 
 
 the columns, except in the Composite and Corinthian combination, where in 
 the Eustyle interval, the modillions of the second cornice do not exactly answer. 
 But the distance of the object from the spectator's eye makes this irregularity 
 less important, more especially as a modillion will fall exactly over the axis of 
 every third column. Nevertheless, if a scrupulous accuracy should be required, 
 the entablature may be augmented and made full five modules high, by which 
 means the distribution will be perfectly regular. 
 
 Among the intercolumniations exhibited in the above-mentioned plate, 
 there are some in the second orders extremely wide, su(Jh as the Ionic 
 interval over the Doric Ai'seostyle ; the Composite and Corinthian in- 
 tervals over the Ionic and Composite Arajostyles ; which, having a weak, 
 meagre appearance, and not being sufficiently solid, excepting in small buildings, 
 are seldom to be suffei'ed, and should seldom be introduced. The most eligible 
 are the Eustyle and Diastyle for the first order, which produce nearly the 
 Diastyle and the Arseostyle in the second. 
 
 Many ai'chitects, among which number ai'e Palladio and Scamozzi, place 
 the second order of columns on a pedestal. In compositions consisting of two 
 stories of arcades this cannot be avoided ; but in colonnades it may and ought : 
 for the addition of the pedestal renders the upper ordonnance too predominant, 
 and the projection of the pedestal's base is both disagreeable to the eye, and 
 much too heavy a load on the inferior entablature. Palladio, in the Barbarano 
 Palace at Vicenza, has placed the columns of the second story on a plinth only, 
 and this disposition is best : the height of the plinth being regulated by the 
 point of view, and made sufficient to expose to sight the whole base of the 
 column. In this case, the balustrade must be without either pedestals or half 
 balusters to support its extremities, because these would contract and alter the 
 form of the column ; its rail or cap must be fixed to the shafts of the columns, 
 and its base made to level with their bases ; the upper torus and fillet of the 
 columns being continued in the interval, and serving as mouldings to the base 
 of the balustrade. The rail and balusters must not be clumsy ; wherefore it 
 is best to use double-bellied balusters, as Palladio has done in most of his 
 buildhigs ; and to give to the rail very little projection ; that so, it may not 
 advance too far upon the surface of the column, and seem to cut into it. In 
 large buildings, the centre of the baluster may be in a line with the axis 
 of the column; ])ut in small ones, it must be within it, for the renson just 
 mentioned. 
 
 The height of tin- lialustrade is regulated, in a great measure, by its use ; 
 and cannot well be lower than three feet, nor should it be higher than three
 
 r 
 
 
 
 ■ft, 
 
 5* 
 
 fe 
 § 
 
 ^ 
 
 r 

 
 OF OUDEKS AUOVE OUDERS. 229 
 
 and a half or four feet. Nevertheless, it must necessarily bear some propor- 
 tion to the rest of the arehitcctnro, and have nearly the same relation to the 
 lower order, or whatever it iuunediately stands upon, as when a balustrade is 
 placed thereon, chiefly for ornament. AVherefore, if the parts are large, the 
 height of the balustrade must be augmented ; and if they are small, it must be 
 diminished, as is done in the Casino at Wilton, where it is only two feet four 
 inches hi<>h, which was the largest dimension that could be given to it in so 
 small a building. But that it might, notwithstanding its lowness, answer the 
 intended purpose, the pavement of the portico is six inches lower than the 
 bases of the columns, and on a level with the bottom of the plat-band that 
 finishes the basement. 
 
 The best, and indeed the only good disposition, for two stories of arcades, 
 is to raise the inferior order on a plinth, and the superior one on a pedestal, as 
 Sangallo has done at the Palazzo Farnese ; making both the ordonnanccs of 
 an equal height, as Palladio has done at the Basilica of Vicenza. In the 
 second plate of orders above each other, there are designs of arches upon 
 arches for each order, w hich ai-e perfectly regular and well proportioned. 
 
 Scamozzi, in the thirteenth chapter of his sixth book, says, that the arches 
 in the second story should not only be lower, but also narrower, than those in 
 the first ; supporting his doctrine by several specious arguments, and by the 
 practice, as he says, of the ancient architects in various buildings mentioned by 
 him. In most of these, however, the superior arches arc so far from being 
 nari'owcr, that they are either equal to, or wider than the inferior ones. In 
 fact, his doctrine in this particular is very erroneous, entirely contrary to 
 reason, and productive of several bad consequences ; for if the upper ai'ches be 
 narrower than the lower ones, the piei's must of course be broader, which is 
 opposite to all rules of solidity whatever, and exceedingly ugly to the sight. 
 The extraordinary bi-eadth of the pier on each side of the columns, in the 
 superior order, is likewise a great deformity ; even when the arches are of 
 equal widths, it is much too considerable. Palladio has, at the Carita in 
 Venice, and at the Palazzo Thienc in Vicenza, made his upper arches wider 
 than the lower ones, and I have not hesitated to follow his example : as by that 
 means the weight of the solid in the superior order is somewhat diminished, 
 the fronts of the upper piers bear a good proportion to their respective columns, 
 and likewise to the rest of the composition. 
 
 In a second story of arcades, there is no avoiding pedestals. Palladio 
 has indeed omitted them at the Carita ; but his arches there are very ill pro- 
 portioned. The extraordinary bulk and projection of these pedestals are, as
 
 230 OF ORDERS ABOVE ORDERS. 
 
 before observed, a considerable defect ; to remedy which, in some measure, 
 they have been frequently employed without bases, as in the theatre of 
 Marcellus, on the outside of the Palazzo Thiene, and that of the Chiericato 
 in Yicenza. This, however, helps the matter but little ; and it will be best to 
 make them always with bases of a moderate projection, observing, at the same 
 time, to reduce the projection of the bases of the columns to ten minutes onlv, 
 that the die may be no larger than is absolutely necessary ; and in this case 
 particular care must be taken not to break the entablature over each column 
 of the inferior order, because the false bearing of the pedestal, in the second 
 order, will by so doing be rendered far more striking, and in realitv more 
 defective, having then no other support than the projecting mouldings of the 
 inferior cornice. There is no occasion to raise the pedestals of the second 
 order on a plinth ; for as they come very forward on the cornice of the first 
 order, and as the point of view must necessarily be distant, a very small part 
 only of their bases wdl! be hid from the eye. 
 
 The balustrade must be level with the pedestals supporting the columns ; 
 its rail or cornice, and base, must be of equal dimensions and of the same 
 profiles with theirs. It should be contained in the arch, and set as far back 
 as possible, that the form of the arch may appear distinct, and uninterrupted 
 from top to bottom ; for which reason, likewise, the cornice of the pedestals 
 must not return, nor profile round the piers, which are to be continued in 
 straight perpendicular lines from the imposts to the bases of the pedestals. 
 The back of the rail may either be made plain, or be sunk into a panel, in 
 form of an open surbasc, for so it will be most convenient to lean upon, and 
 it should be in a line with, or somewhat recessed within, the backs of the 
 piers. The back part of the base of the balustrade may be adorned with the 
 same mouldings as the bases of the piers, provided they have not much pro- 
 jection ; but if that should be considerable, it will be best to use only a 
 plinth, ci'owncd with the two upper mouldings, that so the approach may 
 remain more free. 
 
 In the Doric arch above the Tuscan, I have reduced the entablature to 
 three modules, twenty-two minutes ; which was necessary in order to have the 
 arch well proportioned, and, as its bearing is very considerable, this license 
 seems the more excusable. The parts of the entablature have the same pro- 
 porti(jn to each other as usual; the only differen(;e being, that instead of 
 determining their measures by the module of the column, they must be 
 determined by another module, made ecjual to one-quarter of the height of the 
 entablature. The pedestals and the balustrade ;irc in (his, as in the other
 
 OF ORDKIIS ABOVE ORDKUS 231 
 
 arches, equal to the height of the entablatui-e, which was done to preserve the 
 same general rule throughout; but as the entablature here bears a somewhat 
 larger proportion to the coUuun than in the other orders, the height of the 
 balustrade is perhaps a trifle too considerable, and may therefore, if required, 
 be reduced to two-ninths of the column, as in the Ionic order ; and what is thus 
 deducted from the height of the entablature may be added to the height of the 
 column, which by that means will acquire a more elegant proportion. 
 
 I have reduced the Ionic, Composite and Corinthian entablatures, in the 
 second orders, to two-ninths of the height of their respective columns ; and 
 havino- allowed to each dentil with its interval a breadth of nine minutes of the 
 regular module of the column, the dentils and modillions answer exactly to 
 almost all the intercolumniations. In the design of arches supported by 
 columns, the small order in the second story is a trifle lower than usual, which 
 cannot be avoided ; for, if it be made two-thirds of the large column, there will 
 not be room above it for the circular part of the arch with its archivolt.
 
 232 
 
 OF BASEMENTS AND ATTICS. 
 
 Instead of employing several orders one above the other in a composition, 
 the ground floor is sometimes made in the form of a continued base, called a 
 basement, on which the order that decorates the principal story is placed. The 
 proportion of these basements is not fixed ; it depends on various cii'cumstances, 
 but chiefly on the nature of the apartments composing the ground floor. 
 
 In Italy, where their summer habitations are very frequently on that floor, 
 the basements are sometimes very high. At the palace of the Porti in Viceuza, 
 the height is equal to that of the order placed thereupon ; and at the Thiene 
 in the same city, its height exceeds two-thirds of that of the order, although it 
 be almost of a sufticient elevation to contain two stories ; but at the Villa 
 Capra, and at the Loco Arsieri, both near Viccnza, the basement is only half 
 the height of the order ; because, in both these, the ground floor consists of 
 nothing but ofiices. 
 
 It will be superfluous to cite more examples of the diversity of proportions 
 observed by architects in this part of a building; as the four above mentioned, 
 all of them estimable works of the great Palladio, will sufficiently authorize any 
 variations that it may be necessary to make. It will not, however, on anv 
 occasion, be advisable to make the basement higher than the order it is to 
 support ; for the orcU'r ])cing the richest object of the composition, and indi- 
 cating the ])rincipal part in the fabric, ought to be predominant. Besides, 
 when the grand apartment is raised too high, as is the case at Cascrta, where 
 the ascent exceeds a hundred steps, it loses much of its importance by the 
 approach to it being rendered tedious, tiresome and diflicult. Neitlier should 
 a basement be lower than half the height of the order if it is to contain apart- 
 ments, and consccjueiitlv have windows and entrances into it ; for whenever 
 that is the case the rooms will be low, the windows and doors very ill formed, 
 or not proportionate 1o the rest of the composition, as is observable at 
 llolkhani ;* but if the only use of the basement lie to raise the ground floor, it 
 need not exceed three, four or, at the most, five or six feet in height, and be in 
 the form of a (oiuinued pedestal. 
 
 • liy Williiiiii Kent.— [Ki>.]
 
 OF BASEMENTS AND ATTICS. 233 
 
 The usual manner of decorating basements is with rustics of different 
 kinds. The host, in huildinos whore neatness and finishing is aimed at, arc 
 such as have a smooth surface. Their lieight, inchiding- the joint, sliouhl 
 never be less than one module of the order placed upon the basement, nor much 
 more; and their figure may he from a triple square to a sesquialtera. The 
 joints between them may either be square or chamfered ; the square ones should 
 not be wider than one-eigluii of the height of the rustic, nor narrower than 
 one-tenth, and their depth must be somewhat less, or at most equal to their 
 width. Of those that have chamfered joints, the chamfer must form a rect- 
 angle, and the width of tlie whole joint may be from one-fourth to near one- 
 third of the height of the flat surface of the rustic. In France we frequently 
 see only the horizontal joints of rustics mai'ked, the vertical ones being entirely 
 omitted; and in Sir John Vanbrugh's works,* the like is also very common ; 
 
 " Sir John Vaiibnii;li, oiuinuiit for liis talents as a dramrttiit poet, as wel! as an architect, died in 17"2(i. 
 lie was for some time Clarencieux King of Arms, to which appointment, when he succeeded, Swift's pun 
 was that he might now build houses. lie was knighted at Greenwich, September 9, 1714, appointed 
 Comptroller of the luival ^\'^M■ks, J;iniiary 0, 1715, and Surveyor of tlie Woi'ks at Greenwich, August 17 
 1716. 
 
 The bcfpaltoring of llijipant wit with which ho was loaded by ^Valp()lu and others may be properly 
 contrasted to the opinion of Sir Joshua Reynolds, who snys, " in the buildings of Vanbrugh, who was a 
 [>oct as well as an architect, there is a greater display of imagination than we shall find, perhaps, in any 
 other; and this is the ground of the effect we feel in many of his works, notwithstanding the faults with 
 which many of them are charged. For this purpose Vanbrugh appears to have had recourse to some 
 [)rinciples of the Gothic architecture, which, though not so ancient as the Grecian, is more so to our 
 imagination, with which the artist is more concerned than with absolute truth. To speak of Vanbrugh in 
 the language of a painter, he had originality of invention ; lie understood light and sliadow, and had great 
 skill in composition. To support his principal object, he produced his second and third groupes or masses." 
 Again he s.iys, " This is a tribute which a painter owes to an architect, who composed like a painter, and 
 was defrauded of the due reward of his merit by the wits of his time, who did not understand the prin- 
 ciples of composition in poetry better than he, and who knew little or nothing of what he understood 
 perfectly, the general ruling principles of architecture and painting. Vanbrugh's fate was that of the 
 great Periault. I>oth were the objects of the petulant sarcasms of factious men of letters, and both have 
 left some of the fairest monuments which, to this day, decorate their several countries; the facade of the 
 Louvre ; Blenheim and Castle Howard." — -Discourse .xiii. 
 
 AValpole, who was content to live in a baibai-ous den at Strawberry Hill, says of this truly great 
 architect, " He seems to have hollowed ipiarrics rather tlian to have built houses." This author also- 
 attributes St. John's Church, Westminster, to Vanbrugh, in his notice of him, though at another place he 
 assigns it to Archer. 
 
 The subjoined is Vanbruglfs autograph : — 
 
 ^imy^^^^M 
 
 [Ed.] 
 2 I
 
 234 
 
 OF BASEMENTS AND ATTIC'S. 
 
 but it has in general a bad effect, and strikes as if the building were composed 
 of boards rather than of stone. Palladio's method seems far prefex-able, who, 
 in imitation of the ancients, always marked both the vertical and horizontal 
 jomts, and whenever the former of these are regularly and artfully disposed, 
 the rustic work has a very beautiful appearance. I have in the course of the 
 work given various designs of rustic basements,* distributed in different 
 manners, all which are collected from buildings of note. 
 
 The basement, when high, is sometimes finished with a cornice, as in the 
 second figure of the third plate of arches, and as in the Strand front of 
 Somerset Place ;f but the usual method is only to crown it with a plat-band, 
 as m the fourth figure of the same plate, and as in the river front and square 
 of the same building, the height of which should not exceed the height of a 
 rustic with its joint, nor ever be lower than a rustic, exclusive of the joint. 
 The zoccolo or plinth, at the foot of the basement, must at least be of the same 
 height with the plat-baud ; in general it should be somewhat higher, and 
 whenever there are arches in the basement, the plat-band which supplies the 
 place of the impost must be of the same height as one of the rustics, exclusive 
 of its joint ; and where a cornice is introduced to finish the basement, a 
 regular moulded base to the samo must also be introduced. To the height of 
 the cornice may be given one-seventeenth or eighteenth part of the whole 
 basemenf, and to that of the base about twice as much, divided into six parts, 
 of which the lower five-sixths should form the plinth, and the upper sixth part 
 be composed of mouldings. 
 
 It is sometimes usual, instead of a second order, to crown the first with an 
 attic, as Palladio has done at the Porto and Valmarana palaces in Vicenza, 
 and Inigo Jones at Greenwich Hospital. These attics should never exceed in 
 height one-third of the height of the order on which they are placed, nor ever 
 be less than one-quarter. Their figure is that of a pedestal. The base, dye 
 and cornice, of which they are composed, may bear the same proportions to 
 each other as those of pedestals do, and the base and cornice may be composed 
 of the same mouldings as those of pedestals are. Sometimes these attics are 
 continued throughout without aiiv breaks ; at other times parts project, and 
 form pilasters over each column or i)ilastcr of the order. The breadth of 
 these pilasters is seldom made narrower than the \ipper diameter of the column 
 or pilaster under them, nor ever broader. Their projection may be equal to 
 one-quarter of tlKiir breadth, or soms'wliat less, and their fronts are sometimes 
 
 ♦ Sjc I'lalc ;! of ^\■illao^v3, iiml I'liilc .1 of Arclio». 
 "I" I3y Sir William Ciiambors liimsclf. — [K"-]
 
 OF DASliMKNTS AND ATTICS. 235 
 
 adorned with panels sunk in and surrounded with mouldings, as they were on 
 the front of Powis House ; but this, on most occasions, as it looks too like 
 joiner's work, should be avoided, as well ;xs the capitals with which they are 
 often adorned, particularly in France, because they then approach too near the 
 figure of regular pilasters of the ord(!rs, and being much broader than these in 
 proportion to their height, always carry with them the idea of a stunted, 
 clumsy, ill-proportioned composition. 
 
 NOTE ON IIUSTICATION. 
 
 The Italians niiidc much of that kiad of incisoiiry, which, thougli it is termed liualicaliim, so far from 
 being necessarily rude, h capable of expressing no small degree of ornateness and carcfully-fiuislied execution. 
 There are, in fact, several varieties of it deeidodly diDTerent in character ; iVom that of bold, unpolished 
 energy, nearly up to that of elaborate embellishment. The first is in its place in prisons, the last not out 
 of its place in the facade of a palace. Rustication, however treated, prevents baldness and insipidity, 
 inasmuch as, at all events, it produces richness of surface, and what in architectural language is called 
 color. 
 
 To mention here brielly the several modes of rustication, there are, besides the coarsely rude and 
 rough, or what may be called the primitive mode, those in which the face of the stones is either 
 vermiculaleil or frosted (/.e. tooled to produce a crispy surface) ; or else made quite smooth. Of either 
 vermiculated or frosted rustics varieties may be obtained by giving a smooth border to each stone. After 
 these, there is what may be called a fifth order of rustication, in which the stones are facetted. Another 
 legitimate source of variety is, that the courses of masom-y may be alternately wide and narrow. J.Ioreover 
 and besides all which, two if not more of these several modes may be employed conjunctively, yet how far 
 successfully or not, must depend entirely upon the taste of the designer; for could architecture be 
 reduced to mere matter of method and rule, it would no longer be art. Certain it is that almost innu- 
 merable combinations may bo produced ; and that what is called rustication might be rendered a most 
 abundant source of mural embellishment externally. 
 
 With respect to columns, the rustic blocks upon them ought to be few, and if square in plan, ought 
 not to exceed the diameter of the shaft, because they define themselves distinctly without projecting at 
 all beyond the diameter of the shaft, and wherefore, it may be .asked, should not occasionally the entire 
 shaft be rusticated — that is, be left merely rough-dressed, or else roughened afterwards by " tooling ?" 
 Very much more might be said on the subject of " Rustication " than space here permits ; where all that 
 can be added is, that an interesting paper on it, by "Sir. II. P. Ilorner, may be found in the first volume 
 of the " Proceedings of the Liverpool Architectural Society."— [W. II. L.] 
 
 ■J. 1 •/,
 
 236 
 
 OF TEDIMENTS. 
 
 A PEDIMENT consists of a horizontal cornice, supporting a triangular or 
 curvilineal space, either plain or adorned, called the Tympanum or Tynipan, 
 which is covered either with two portions of straight inclined cornice or with 
 one curvilineal cornice following the direction of its upper outline. At each 
 end of these cornices and on their summit are placed little plinths or pedestals 
 called acroteria or acroters, serving to support the statues, vases, or other 
 ornaments which are used to enrich and to terminate the pediment gracefully. 
 
 Pediments owe their origin, most prohably, to the inclined roofs of the 
 primitive huts. Among the Romans they were used only as coverings to their 
 sacred buildings, till Csesar obtained leave to cover his house with a pointed 
 roof after the manner of temples.* In the remains of antiquity we meet with 
 two kinds of them, viz., triangular and circular. The former of these are 
 promiscuously applied to cover small or large bodies, but the latter, being of a 
 heavier figure, are never applied but as coverings to doors, niches, windows or 
 gates, where the smallness of tlicir dimensions compensates for the clumsiness 
 of their form. 
 
 As a ])edimcnt represents the roof, it should never be employed but to 
 terminate and finish the whole composition ; yet, in the churches of Home 
 and of Paris, we frequently see one used to finish the first order of a porch, 
 another to finish the second order, and sometimes even a third or fourth above 
 these; but this, however, is a practice which should not be imitated. Licinius, 
 the mathematician, anciently reprehended Apaturius, the painter, merely for 
 representing an absurdity of this kind in a picture,f for who, said he, ever 
 saw houses and columns built upon the roofs and upon the tilings of other 
 
 • " At /'«.v//),'/«h;, ijuo Ciu.snii> (Imiius oriiiilu est, i Inn illi m;r, tempi;!, jnilviiiari.i, (leccniovciilur, ut 
 Deo, fasfigii tanliiin ornanicniiini I'liit, ct J'a.itigium dicluin est, (|iinil erat (luoilammoilo /«.v//!,'i'' /((s/'X'"""- 
 Cic. in I'/iilipp. (Incm is niiijincm liiiiii>rcm corisecutus criil, ipiinii vt Inihirrf, jiii/riniir, siiiiiihicnim, fastiuiiuni, 
 flumincm. Nempe, i|uciiiadMU)iliim t'asli,L'ii.s temploruMi i|\ia-(lain aiMebantiir oniamcnta, quibiis priviitoruni 
 :c lllicioriini culmiiia raiebani, ut statiiii' vietijii»>, ct alia Deoiuin shnulacra : sic ciini imilla Ca'sari ileeielii 
 cssciit, ut Deo, ejus (pioi|uo iciliuui (iistljriuui codeni niodo oniaveruut, ipio solcbant uniaii Dcorum tenipla." 
 — IlnfTinanii! Lexicon. Fastigium. !See also Saluiasii Win. Exev. pa;;e H.J3. 'J raj. a<l Klien. 1GS9. — [Ki>.] 
 
 t " At Trnlles, a town of Lvdiii, wlien Apaturius, of Alabanda, had painted a scene cxcecdiuply well, 
 for tlip little theatre which thcv call 'KimXiiTiaiTri'ipiiii', having, instead of columns, substituted slalues and 
 centaurs to support the epistyliiini, the circular roof of tlie dome, and angles of the pediments, and having
 
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 SIR WILLIAM CHAMBtRS' TRCATISE. 
 
 Ihaivil frtm Stem* Vx '-" ^ Ckci&aa JrSoa J«a<la&
 
 OF PEDIMENTS. 239 
 
 houses ? Besides, the inclined top of a pediment is, in appearance, at least, a 
 very unstable base for a range of columns or other heavy bodies. 
 
 Nor is it more reasonable to place two or three pediments one within 
 another, as on one of the- pavilions in the court of the old Louvre at Paris, at 
 St. Mary's in Campitelli,* and at the church of the Great Gesuf at Home, 
 since the same buildinii- can certainlv want but one roof to cover it. 
 
 On circular bodies pediments should never be applied, as at the church of 
 St. Thomas in the Louvre, at Paris; that kind of roof being of a very 
 improper construction for covering circles, and far from pleasing to the eye, as 
 in such cases they appear, in almost every view, contorted and irregular. 
 
 Some writers there are who object to pediments in interior decorations, 
 because, say they, where the whole is covered and enclosed, there can be no 
 occasion for coverings to shelter each particular part. In this, however, they 
 seem to carry their reasoning rather too far ; a step further would lead them 
 into the same road with Father Laugicr, who, having sagaciously found out 
 that the first buildings consisted of nothing but four trunks of trees and a 
 covering, considers almost every part of a building, excepting the column, the 
 entablature, and the pediment, as licentious or faulty ; and in consequence 
 thereof, very cavaliei'ly banishes at once all pedestals, pilasters, niches, arcades, 
 attics, domes, &c., &c. It is only by special favour that he condescends to 
 tolerate doors or windows, or even walls. 
 
 oi-namcnted tlic cornice -with lious' lieads, nil of wliicli arc appropriate to tlio rooliiig and eaves of edifices — 
 he paintqd over all these in the episccnium a repetition of the domes, porticoes, balf-pediments, and otlicr 
 parts of buildings. Upon the exhibition of this scene, which pleased much on account of its richness, all 
 were ready to applaud, when Licinius, the mathematician, advanced and said, ' The Alabandines are sufli- 
 ciently informed in civil matters, but arc without judgment on subjects of less moment; for the statues in 
 their Gymnasium are all in the attitude of pleading causes, whilst those in the Forum are holding the 
 discus, or in the attitude of running, or playing with balls — so that the impropriety of the attitudes of the 
 figures in such places disgraces the city. Let us, therefore, be careful by our treatment of the scene of 
 Apaturius, to escape the appellation of Alabandines, or even Abderites; for who among you would place 
 columns or pediments on the tiles which cover the roof of your houses? These things stand on the floors, 
 not on the tiles. K then we approve of representations in painting which cannot exist, we of this city 
 shall be like those who, for a similar error, are deemed illiterate.' Apaturius dared not reply, but took 
 down and altered the scene so as to make it consistent with the truth, and then it was approved. Oh, that 
 the gods would restore Licinius to life !" says Vitruvius, " that he might correct this folly and the fashion- 
 able inconsistency in our stucco work." — Vitruvius, Book vii., c. 5. — [Kd.] 
 
 * At Rome. Built by Carlo Bainaldi, born at Kome IGU, died 1G41. This architect endeavoured to 
 calm the fears which were excited through the settlement of the campanile erected by Bernini at St, Peter's, 
 which was, nevertheless, pulled down. Rainaldi gave four designs and models for decorating the piazza in 
 front of St. Peter's. The chief works of this architect are at Rome. — [Ed.] 
 
 f Tliis truly magnificent and beautiful church, belonging to the order of the Jesuits, was erected by 
 Cardinal Farncsc, on the designs of Vignola, in 157.J. — [Ld.]
 
 240 OF PEDIMENTS. 
 
 There are many favorers of this writer's system, who, like him, eon- 
 eentrate all perfection in propriety. Tt were indeed to he wished that some 
 invariable standard could be discovered whereby to decide the merit of every 
 production of the arts, but certainly Father Laugier has not hit tlie mark. 
 Beauty and fitness are qualities that have very little connexion with each 
 other ; in architecture they are sometimes incompatible, as may easily be 
 demonstrated from some of the Fathers own singular compositions, with a 
 description of which he has enriched his book. And there are many things in 
 that art which, though beautiful in the highest degree, yet carry with them, in 
 their application, an evident absurdity ; one instance whereof is the Corinthian 
 capital, a form composed of a slight basket, surrounded with leaves and 
 flowers. Can anything be more unfit to support a heavy load of entablature, 
 and such other weights as are usually placed upon it ? Yet this has been 
 approved and admired some thousand years, and will probably still continue to 
 be approved and admired for ages to come. 
 
 Let it not be imagined, however, that it is by any means intended entirely 
 to lay aside a regard to proprietv ; on all occasions it must be kept in view. 
 In things designed for use, it is the primary consideration, and should on no 
 account whatever be trespassed upon ; but in objects merely ornamental, which 
 are calculated to captivate the senses rather tlum to satisfy the undersiaiuling, 
 it seems unreasonable to sacrifice other qualities more efficacious to fitness 
 alone. 
 
 The rigid ancient artists introduced but few pediments into their buildings 
 usually contenting themselves with a single one, to distinguish and adorn the 
 centre or principal part of the structure ; but in the more licentious times of 
 antiquity, as well as in modern practice, and particularly among the Italians, 
 such has been the rage after pediments, that their buildings frequently consist of 
 almost nothing else. At \[<>mv the fronts of most of their churches are covered 
 with them, as are likewise many df their i)alaces and private houses, wliere 
 they are seen of all sizes and figures ; for besides the triangular and round, 
 they have some composed of both these forms, some of an undulated figure, 
 some semi-hexagwnal, some with the inclined cornice and tym])an ojien in the 
 middle, to nMcivc; a vase, a bust, a niche with a statue, or a table! fur an 
 inscription, and uiln rs where the aperture is Ict't void, and the two ends of the 
 inclined (;ornice are finished with a couple of volutes or rteurons. 'I'licre is 
 likewise a sort of pediment composed of two half-i)edimen(s, which are not 
 joined togetlier to form a whole- one, but reversed, the summits being turned 
 outwards. Of this kind there is one under the porticoes of the (Jallny (jf
 
 OP PEDIMENTS. 241 
 
 Florence,* with a bust wedged in between the two sections. England is fai- 
 from being free of these extravagances ; the buildings of London exhibit many 
 examples of each kind, which, not to offend, I sliall forbear to point out. 
 
 The beam being a necessary part in the construction of a roof, it is an 
 impropriety to intermit or retrench the horizontal entablature of a pediment, 
 by which it is represented, cither to make room for a niche, as at St. John's, 
 Westminster,! °^' ^'°^* ^" ai'ch, as in the cathedral church of St. Paul's, or for a 
 window, as is customary in most of the new buildings in this city, where a 
 semicircular window is generally introduced between the inclined cornices of 
 the pediment and the aperture of the door, in order to gain light for the hall 
 or passage ; and this license is so much the more reprehensible, as it is 
 extremely ugly, the two parts of the inclined cornice thus disunited, as it were 
 untied and unsupported, always striking the spectator with the idea of a couple 
 of levers applied to overturn the columns on each side. The making several 
 bi'caks in the horizontal entablature or cornice of a pediment, as at the 
 King's Mews| near Charing Cross, and on the pediments in the flanks of St. 
 Paul's, is an impropriety of a similar nature, and equally unpleasing to the eye. 
 
 Vitruvius observes that the Greeks never employed either modillions or 
 dentils in the horizontal cornices of their pediments, both of them representing 
 parts in the construction of a roof which cannot appear in that view. This 
 their practice is observable in the temple of Minerva at Athens, and in some 
 other buildings yet standing in Greece. There is an ancient Roman instance 
 of it in the temple of Scisi, mentioned by Palladio, and a modern one in the front 
 of the Feuillans, near the Tuileries, at Paris, built by one of the Mansards.§ 
 
 * By Giorgio Vasari, the author of ' Lives of the Painters'. — [Ed.] 
 
 f Built bj- llr. Arclicr, the groom porter. He built Heythrop, St. Philip's Church at Birmingham, 
 Cliefden House, and a house at Roehampton for Mr. Cary, anno 1710 ; "But," says Walpole, "the chef- 
 cCtBUvre of his absurdity was the church of St. John, with four belfries, in Westminster." Archer, 
 judging from his works, seemed to think that the only use of a pediment was to break its continuity, and 
 cut off its ape.x. — [Ed.] 
 
 % The architect is generally understood to have been Lord Burlington, though Kent has the credit 
 of it.— [Ed.] 
 
 § Fran(;oi3 Mansard was the architect of the church Des Feuillans in the Rue St. Honore. He was 
 born in 1598, died in 1G66. Mansard was the first contriver of the kerb roof, which is sometimes called a 
 Mansard Roof. After having made his designs for the Louvre, and submitted them to the inspection of 
 Colbert, that minister was so much satisfied with them that he wished Mansard to bind himself to refrain 
 from making any alterations in them. To this the architect objected, and refused to engage in the 
 execution of the work under such conditions, being detennined, as he said, to preserve the privilege of 
 doing better than he had promised. His chief works, besides that above mentioned, are, the Church of 
 Les Filles Sle. Marie, Rue St. Antoine, Gate of the Minims, a part of the Hotel de Conti, iind tue Hotels 
 Jars, Toulouse, and Bouillon. His nephew, Jules Hardouin, a son of Mansard's sister, took his ccrae on 
 coming into his uncle's property, and was the architect of the enormous palace at Versailles. Born 
 in lG-17, and died 1708.— [Ed.] 
 
 2 K
 
 242 OF PEDIMENTS. 
 
 Ail -this is no doubt extremely proper, but at tbs same time it is as surely 
 extremely ugly. The disparity of figure and enrichment between the horizontal 
 and inclined cornices are such defects as cannot be compensated by any 
 degree of propriety whatever, and therefore to me it appears best, in imitation 
 of the greatest Eoman and modern architects, always to make the two cornices 
 of the same profile, thus committing a trifling impropriety to avoid a very 
 considerable deformity. 
 
 In regular architecture no other form of pediments can be admitted 
 besides the triangular and round ; both of them are beautiful, and when a 
 considerable number of pediments arc introduced, as when a range of windows 
 are adorned with them, these two figures may alternately be employed, as they 
 are in the niches of the Pantheon at Eome, and in those of the Temple of 
 Diana at Nismes. 
 
 It is to be observed that the two uppermost mouldings of the cornice are 
 always omitted in the horizontal one of a pediment, that part of the profile 
 being directed upwards to finish the inclined cornices. This difference of 
 direction increases the height of the cyma very considei'ably, and makes it far 
 too large for the other parts of the entablature, to obviate which some archi- 
 tects have made a break in the cyma and fillet, as represented in the fourth 
 figure, plate of pediments ; but this being productive of a considerable 
 deformity, it will always be better whenever the whole object is covered with a 
 pediment to make the profile of the cyma lower than usual, by which means it 
 may, notwithstanding the increase occasioned by the difference of its direction, 
 be made of a size suitable to the rest of the cornice. But if the inclined 
 cornices of the pediment be on each side, joined to horizontal ones, as is the 
 case when the middle pavilion or other projecting parts are flanked with 
 buildings, the only good method of lessening the above-mentioned deformity is 
 to give very little projection to the cyma, by which means the increase in its 
 height mav be rendered very trifling. 
 
 O •/ Jo 
 
 The modillions, mutules, dentils, and other ornaments of the inclined 
 cornices, must always answer perpendicularly over those of the horizontal 
 cornice, and their sides be always perpendicular to the horizon. 
 
 The ancients judiciously avoided the introduction of difliu'ent sized 
 pediments in the same composition. Among the chaste remains of antiquity I 
 do not recollect any examples, even of two different sizes in the same aspect. 
 Neither do we find that they over adorned their niches, doors, or windows with 
 pediments when the whole front, or any considerable part thereof, was covered 
 with one, justly judging that the immense disparity between the prineijial 
 pc:limcnt and those that should cover the parts could not but produce a
 
 OF PEDIMENTS. 243 
 
 disagreeable opposition in the same manner as a i)iginy and a giant, exposed to 
 view at the same time, are both made ridiculous by a comparison. 
 
 These cautious proceedings of the ancient artists are good lessons to tlio 
 moderns, which they would do well to have in memory in all sorts of 
 compositions ; for wherever there is a considerable difference of dimension in 
 objects of the same figure, both will equally suffer by it : the largest will 
 appear insupportably heavy, the smallest ridiculously trifling ; and wherever 
 the difference of dimension is inconsiderable, it will always strike the beholder 
 as the effect of inaccuracy in the workmen, or of inattention in the contriver, 
 as may be verified by inspection of the arches in the basement story of the 
 Horse Guards* towards St. James's Park. 
 
 The proportion of pediments depends upon their size, for the same propor- 
 tions will not succeed in all cases. When the base of the pediment is short, 
 its height must be increased, and when long it must be diminished ; for if a 
 small pediment be made low, the inclined cornice, which is always of the same 
 height, whatever may be the dimension of the pediment, will leave little or no 
 space for the tympan ; consequently little or no plain repose between the 
 horizontal and inclined cornices. And if a large pediment be made high, it 
 will have too lofty a tympan, and the whole composition will appear straggling, 
 and too heavy for that which is to support it. The best proportion for the 
 height is from one-fifth to one-quarter of the base, according to the extent of 
 the pediment, and the character of the body it serves to cover. 
 
 The face of the tympan is always placed on a line perpendicular with the 
 frieze ; and, when large, may be adorned with sculpture representing the arms 
 or cipher of the owner, trophies of various kinds, suited to the nature of the 
 structure ; or bas-reliefs, either representing allegorical or historical subjects ; 
 but, when small, it is much better left plain. 
 
 Vitruvius determines the height of the acroters by the height of the 
 tympan, and Scamozzi,f by the projection of the cornice, giving to the dye as 
 much height as the cornice has projection ; but neither of these methods are 
 well founded; for, when the building is terminated by a balustrade, the 
 pedestals of the balustrade serve for the side acroters, and that at the summit 
 must be suited to them. But when there is no balustrade, the acroters must 
 always be of a sufficient height, whatever that height may be, to expose to 
 
 * By William Kent, born 1685, died 1748. His patron, Lord Burlington, left no means unused to 
 raise the reputation of this architect. His friendship and munificence towards Kent was such that he 
 lodged him in his house whilst living, and in his family vault at Chiswick when dead. Kent's best work is 
 Holkham in Norfolk. 
 
 t See Scamozzi, Parte Seconda, Lib. Sesto. c. 8. — [Ed.] 
 
 2 K 2
 
 244 
 
 OF PEDIMENTS. 
 
 view the whole statue or vase, or other ornaments placed upon them, from the 
 proper point of sight for the building.* 
 
 * In a brochure of great merit, entitled, "Considerations sur les Frontons," &c., by Stanislas 
 L'Eveillc, 4to. Paris, 1824, the subjoined excellent method of determining the height of a pediment is 
 given. The author of this publication points out the absurdity of regulating it by the usual rules, and 
 shows that a blind adherence to them may produce the most ridiculous errors : for instance, a tympanum 
 higher than the columns by -which it is borne. — [Ed.] 
 
 From the points a, b, the extreme boun- 
 daries of the corona, with a radius a, b, 
 describe the arcs ax, bx, and from their 
 intersection x, with the same i-adius a b, 
 describe the arc a y b. On y, with a radius, 
 the depth of the horizontal cornice, describe 
 the portion of the circle fyg, and tangen- 
 tially to its upper part draw yh,ya, which 
 give the inclination of the upper member 
 of the corona. 
 
 The other lines are parallels dependent on 
 these, and will not need further explanation.
 
 245 
 
 NOTE ON TEDIMENTS. 
 
 Even considered merely testhetically, the Pediment is of great value in composition, for the reason that 
 it produces variety, the oblique or diagonal lines of its raking cornices contrasting favourably with the 
 others, and thereby brcalcing up horizontality and rectangularity, besides which, its apex serves to empha- 
 sise, by distinctly pronouncing it the central line of the whole composition. To a prostyle of any kind, — 
 that is, a range of columns projecting from the main structure, a pediment is almost a sine qua non. With- 
 out one, it shows too much like an excrescence, which having no marked termination to it might be extended 
 indefinitely. 
 
 With regard to the decoration of pediments, almost the only mode hitherto devised is that of 
 filUng up the tympanum with a crowd of figures squeezed into what is the most ungainly of framings, and 
 one which compels the most monotonous treatment, — a t.all figure in the centre, accompanied by others 
 which grow gradually less, till they diminish into dwarfs crouching into the acute angles of such framing. 
 No doubt, a pediment, as being the very front and forehead of a portico, is a very proper place for 
 decoration, for without something to emlch it, it is apt to strike as bare and blank, more especially if 
 ornateness is aflected for the order and the rest of the structure. It does not follow, however, that it 
 must of necessity either be lefl blank or filled in with phonetic sculpture, which in modern buildings is 
 scarcely ever better than an enigma in stone. The same degree of enrichment may be produced just 
 as well by ornamental cai-viug as by figure sculpture, or perhaps better, because then what seems intended 
 to challenge particular examination would not be put where it cannot be seen properly. In his " Principles 
 of Design in Architecture," Garbett has started an idea for decorating the tympanum of a pediment, of 
 which much might be made. Or if figures there must be, three are quite sufficient ; they would acquire 
 importance by showing themselves far more distinctly than a mob of them can possibly do, and be 
 introduced with far greater propriety than the same number of statues perched on the apex and extremities 
 of a pediment, where they make no better appearance than so many pinnacles, nor even so good, for they 
 always seem to stand insecurely and totteringly, and to be put where any statue worth looking at ought 
 never to be placed. 
 
 To go satisfactorily into the subject of pediments would require not only a note but an entire chapter, 
 and not only a chapter but a special treatise on the use and abuse of the pediment. Of its abuse Chambers 
 himself has shown us many instances, among them one most notable for its execrable hideousncss. Never 
 even in his maddest freaks did Borromini put forth anything like the morbid maniacal strength of Vasari 
 (shown in Plate 22). Borromini may have been insane, but Vasari must have been a downright raving 
 Bedlamite. 
 
 One of the simplest and safest iniles for regulating the height of a pednnent, is to proportionate it in 
 accordance with the horizontal entablature beneath it, so that its height and bulk never seem oppressive to 
 the latter. 
 
 Chambers gives it as his opinion that when a pediment is small it is better to leave its tympanum 
 quite plain ; but there we may be permitted to dissent from him, for carved ornament is not out of 
 place within the pediments to windows where an unusual degree of richness ia aimed at. Sir C. Barry has 
 left an example of such decoration in the principal floor windows of Bridgewater House. — [W. H. L.]
 
 246 
 
 OF BALUSTRADES. 
 
 Balustrades arc sometimes of real use in building, and at other times 
 they are merely ornamental. Such as arc intended for use, as when they are 
 employed on steps or stairs, before windows, or to enclose terraces or other 
 elevated places of resort, must always be nearly of the same height, never 
 exceeding three feet and a half, nor ever being less than three, that so a person 
 of an ordinary size may, with ease, lean over them without being in danger 
 of falling. But those that are principally designed for ornament, as when they 
 finish a buildinij, or even for use and ornament, as when thev enclose the 
 passage over a large bridge, should be proportioned to the architecture they 
 accompanv ; and their height ought never to exceed four-fifths of the height of 
 the entablature on which they arc placed ; nor should it ever be less than two- 
 thirds thereof, without counting the zoccolo or plinth, the height of which 
 must be sufficient to leave the whole balustrade exposed to view from the point 
 of sif^ht for the building-. Palladio has, in some of his works, made the 
 height of the balustrade equal to the whole entablature, and Inigo Jones has 
 followed his example in many of his buildings, particularly at the Banqueting 
 House ; where, besides this extraordinary loftiness, it is raised on a very high 
 plinth. I do not think either of these great artists arc to be imitated in this 
 practice, as it renders the balustrade much too predominant, and very 
 prejudicial to the effect of other parts in the composition, particularly of the 
 entablature to which it is contiguous. 
 
 There arc various figures of balusters,* the most regular of which are 
 delineated in the annexed plate. The handsomest are the thret> in the first 
 row, their profiles and dimensions are all dift'erent ; the simplest of them may 
 
 * Baluster — The word is said to be derived from Balanalrnm, or the Greek nnXni'trnni', the ilowcr ol' 
 the wild pomegranate tree, a resemblanGC between the form of which and the architectural baluster has 
 been discovered by some. The use of the baluster was unknown to the ancients. There Js no trace of it 
 in any of their works. Perhaps the most ancient .are to be found in Italy, and it may be considered an 
 invention which fust appeared on the revival of the arts in lliat country. There are singular specimens of 
 it at Venice and at Florence. The first used were generally in the shape of stunted columns, and there 
 arc many examples of it surmounted by the Ionic capital — [En-]
 
 i7s3. 
 
 
 , yM^rM./i ^ouc i?r -./^mcy €^^?imM.n ff?'^m/u^fil&- 
 
 TS vrct^f dfi. 
 
 S.T^rtrr /c. 
 
 TtibLLshed h\ the Proprietors of the Buildm^Ne\A'S. 1800 
 
 SIR WliLlAM CHAMBERS" TREATISE. 
 
 Ihattd froB Stes* ^ TT t!W£&a >: Sn i«>4oa.
 
 OF BALUSTRADES. 249 
 
 serve to finish a Tuscan order, and tho others may be employed in the Doric, 
 Ionic, Composite or Corinthian orders, according to their degrees of richness. 
 
 The best proportion for bahislrades of this kind is to divide the whole 
 given height into thirteen ctpial parts, and to make the height of the baluster 
 eight of those parts, the height of the base three, and that of the cornice or 
 rail, two. Or, if it should be required to make the baluster less, the height 
 mav be divided into fourteen parts, giving eight of these to the baluster, four 
 to the base, and two to the rail ; one of the parts may be called a module, and 
 bein<>- divided into nine minutes, serve to determine the dimensions of the 
 particular members, as in the annexed designs. 
 
 The other balusters exhibited in the same plate are likewise perfect in 
 their kinds, and collected from the works of Palladio, or other great masters. 
 The double-bellied ones being the lightest, are therefore properest to 
 accompany windows or other compositions of which the parts are small and 
 the profiles delicate. The base and rail of these balusters may be of the 
 same profile as for the single-bellied ones, but they must not be quite so 
 large. Two-ninths of the baluster will be a proper height for the rail, and 
 three for the base. The proportions of the balusters may easily be gathered 
 from the designs, where thev are marked in figures, the whole height of each 
 being divided into such a number of parts as is most convenient for the deter- 
 mination of the inferior divisions ; one of these parts is the module, and is 
 divided into nine minutes. 
 
 In balustrades, the distance between two balusters should not exceed half 
 the diameter of the baluster, measured in its thickest part, nor be less than 
 one-third of it. The pedestals that support the rail should be at a reasonable 
 distance from each other; for, if they be too frequent, the balustrade will have 
 a heavy appearance ; and if they be far asunder, it will be weak. The most 
 eliflrible distance between them is when room is left in each interval for eight 
 or nine whole balusters besides the two half ones engaged in the flanks of the 
 pedestals. But as the disposition of the pedestals depends on the situation of 
 the piers, pilasters, or columns in the front, it being always deemed necessary 
 to place a pedestal directly over the middle of each of these ; it frequently 
 happens that the intervals are sufficient to contain sixteen or eighteen balusters. 
 In this case, each range may be divided into two, or which is better, three 
 intervals, by placing a dye, or two dyes, in the range, each flanked witli two 
 half-balusters. The breadth of these dyes may be from two-thirds to three- 
 quarters of the breadth of those of the principal pedestals. It w^ill be best to 
 continue the rail and base over and under them in a straight line, without 
 
 2 L
 
 250 OF BALUSTRADES. 
 
 breaks ; for frequent breaks of auy kind, tending to complicate without neces- 
 sity, are defects, and most so ^yhen of different dimensions, because tliey then 
 complicate more, and serve to render the confusion greater. 
 
 The breadth of the principal pedestals, when placed on columns or 
 pilasters, is regulated by them, the dye never being made bi'oader than the top 
 of the shaft, nor ever much narrower ; and when there are neither columns 
 nor pilasters in the composition, the dye should never be much broader than 
 its height, and very seldom narrower ; on the contrary, it is often judicious to 
 flank the principal pedestals on each side with half dyes, particularly where 
 the ranges are long, and divided in the manner above mentioned, as well to 
 mark and give consequence to these pedestals, as to support the ends of the 
 rails, and give both apparent and real solidity. In such case, these principal 
 pedestals must break forward more or less as the nature of the design may 
 requii-e, and the base and rail must profile round them. 
 
 On stairs, or other inclined planes, the same proportions are to be 
 observed as on horizontal ones. It is, indeed, sometimes customary to make 
 the mouldings of the balusters follow the inclination of the plane ; but this is 
 difficult to execute, and, when done, not very handsome, so that it will be 
 better to keep them always horizontal, and shape the abacus and plinth in the 
 form of wedges, as in figure A B, plate of balusters, making their height, at 
 the axis of the baluster, the same as usual. The distance between two 
 balusters on inclined planes must not be quite so much as when they are in a 
 horizontal situation, because the thickest parts do not then come on the same 
 level. Lc Clerc* thinks it best to finish the inclined balustrades of stairs or 
 steps with horizontal pedestals placed on the floor or pavement to which they 
 descend. The method of joining the horizontal mouldings of these to the 
 inclined ones of the rail and base of the balustrade, is expressed in figure A of 
 the annexed plate. 
 
 As the intention of balustrades is properly to enclose terraces, and other 
 heights to which men resort, in order to prevent accidents, it is an impropriety, 
 as D'Avilerf observes, to place them on the inclined cornices of pediments, as 
 
 " " Dans lc3 Balustrades d'cscalicrs lc socle doit Ctre de la hauteur des llarclics, ct la Balustrade 
 80 tcrmine beaucoup mieux par un Piudestal sur le pave," &c. Sec Lc Clcrc, Traito d' Architecture, 
 sect. 7.— [Ed.] 
 
 t " Cost un abus de fgindre des Balustrades devant Ics tremcaux ct pilicrs d'une Farado, ainsi qu'ii la 
 Maison do Ville de Lyon ; dc mesmo cjue d'en mcttrc sur Ics corniehes ranipantcs d'un fronton pointu, 
 coinmc aux Egliscs dc Saintc JIaric de la Victoire ct dc Sainte Suzanne devant la place de Termini, et les 
 Orenicrs publics dc Rome." Sec Cours d'Architecturc, par A. C. D'Avilcr, Art. Balustrc, Tom. i. p. 
 .•Jai.— [Ed.]
 
 OF BALUSTRADES. 251 
 
 at St". Susanna* and St\ Maria dclla Vittoria,f near Dioclesian's baths, at 
 Rome, or in any other places where it is not, apparently at least, practicable for 
 men to walk. 
 
 Wherever balustrades arc used in interior decorations, as on stairs, or to 
 enclose altars, thrones, tribunals, alcoves, buffets, or music galleries in public 
 assembly rooms, or when in gardens they enclose basins of water, fountains, or 
 any other decorations, the forms of the balusters may be varied, and enriched 
 with ornaments properly adapted to the place they serve to secure and 
 adorn. 
 
 When statues are placed upon a balustrade, their height should not 
 exceed one-quarter of the column and entablature on which the balustrade 
 stands. Their attitudes must bo upright, or, if anything, bending a little 
 forwards, but never inclined to either side. Their legs must be close to each 
 other, and the draperies close to their bodies ; for whenever they stand strad- 
 dling, with bodies tortured into a variety of bends, and draperies waving in the 
 wind, as those placed on the colonnades of St. Peter's, they have a most 
 disagreeable effect, especially at a distance, from whence they appear like 
 lumps of unformed materials, ready to drop upon the heads of passengers. 
 The three figures placed on the pediment of Lord Spencer's house J in the 
 Green Park, which were executed by the late ingenious Mr. Spang, are well 
 composed for the purpose. The height of vases placed upon balustrades should 
 not exceed two-thirds of the height given to statues. 
 
 Some there arc who think statues of the human figure, employed to 
 decorate buildings, should never exceed the real human size, alleging that they 
 are the scales by which we judge of grandeur, and that, therefore, any increase 
 
 ♦ The facade of this church was by Carlo Madcrno, the subject of the following note. — [Eu.] 
 t By Carlo Madcrno, born 1556, died 1629. This was the architect who changed the plan oi' St. 
 Peter's from a Greek into a Latin cross, besides other works about that fabric which did him no credit. 
 He was a native of Bissone on the Lago di Como. Forsyth, in his admirable "Remarks on Antiquities, 
 Arts, and Letters in Italy," 8vo. Lond. 1816, 2nd Edition, spesiking of St. Peter's says, " JVlichael Angelo 
 left it an unfinished monument of his proud, towering, gigantic powers, and his awftd genius watched 
 over his successors, till at last a wretched plasterer came down from Como to break the sacred unity of the 
 master idea, and him we must execrate for the Latin cross, the aisles, the attic, and the front." The foot 
 which he added to the cross was executed in the most disgraceful manner ; instead of continuing it in a 
 direction parallel to the central line from west to east, he laid his foundations so inaccurate, that the 
 adjunct swerves three feet and nearly two inches northward from the proper direction, and to coax the 
 blunder, he made the nave wider at the eastern than at the western end. I ascertained this deviation by 
 boning a line along the plinths on the pavement, and can therefore vouch for the accuracy of the dimension 
 stated. — [Ed.] 
 
 t By J. Vardy, Architect. — [Ed.] 
 
 2 l2
 
 252 OF BALUSTRADES. 
 
 of dimension in them must necessarily lessen the grandeur of appearance in the 
 whole structure. 
 
 For my own part, I cannot be of their opinion, being persuaded that few, 
 if any, judge by such far-fetched comparisons, and that no violent impressions 
 can be made upon the mind by combinations which arc too complicated to be 
 instantaneous ; it is indeed true that statues of an enormous size make the 
 architecture which they accompany appear trifling ; but it is as true, that dimi- 
 nutive ones make it appear clumsy. Yet neither of these effects are owing to 
 the forms, but entirely to the dimensions of the objects ; for it is very certain, 
 that if instead of statues, flower pots, bomb shells, flaming altars, or any other 
 things of a disproportionate size were employed, they would produce the very 
 same effect, though they were ever so unlike either the human figure, or any 
 other animal being whatever. It will therefore be proper on all occasions, where 
 statues are employed in decorations of architecture, to observe the proportion 
 above established, which is built upon the practice of the greatest architects of 
 preceding ages, whose aim it constantly was to give to each object its due 
 consequence in the composition, without detriment to the rest, that so all might 
 equally contribute to produce the general wished-for effect. 
 
 Others there are who totally reject the practice of placing statues on the 
 outsides of buildings, founding their doctrine, probably, upon a remark whicli 
 I have somewhere met with in a French author, importing that neither men, 
 nor even angels or demi-gods, could stand in all weathers upon the tops of 
 houses and churches. 
 
 The observation is wise, no doubt ; yet, as a piece of marble or stone is 
 not likely to be mistaken for a live dcmi-god, and as statues, when properly 
 introduced, are by far the most graceful terminations of a composition, one of 
 the most abundant sources of varied entertainment, and amongst the richest, 
 most durable and elegant ornaments of a structure, it may be hoped they will 
 still continue to be tolerated. 
 
 In interior decorations it is sometimes customary to employ, instead of 
 balusters, certain ornaments called Frets, or Guilloolics. I have in the plate 
 of balusters jjiven some desisrns of such for the use of those who incline to 
 employ th(Mn, and many others may be fouml in Lc Pautre's,* and other 
 
 * 'J'liCrc were three of tliein, Antoiiie Le I'aulro, an aveliitect of I'aiis, wlio excelled in the ornamental 
 parts of his edifices, lie was a member of the academy of Sculpture, and his works were published in 
 Paris, fol. 1G52. 
 
 Jean Lc I'aulre, a relation of the former, was born in l(il7. lie was a nuiiilicr of the Academy of 
 Painting and Sculpture, and was considered an excellent engraver as well as designer of architectural 
 ornaments. lie died in 1G82; his plates have been collected in 3 vols, folio. 
 
 Pierre Lc Pautre, son of the last named, applied himself chiefly to sculpture, and became director
 
 OF BALUSTUADES, 253 
 
 ornamental publications. But it will be advisable to use them sparingly ; for 
 representing leaves, ribands and flowers, they do not carry with them any idea 
 of strength, and appear therefore not calculated for a fence or any thing to 
 lean upon. 
 
 of the Academy of Lt. Luke at Rome, where he executed a grouj), much celebrated at the time, of iEacas 
 and Anchiscs — and another of Lucretia stabbhig herself. Pierre died in 1744 at the age of 84. — [Ed.] 
 
 NOTE ON BALUSTERS. 
 
 It is not undeservedly that the Baluster h;\s been called one of the happiest inventions of the moderns ; 
 and it is worthy of note that though its office is analogous to that of the column, both the one and the 
 other being employed to support a horizontal member, they are totally different in their configuration and 
 proportions, the baluster being, relatively to its size, far more bulky than a column. The beauty of the one is 
 quite antithetical to that of the other. Supposing it were practicable to make them so, columns shaped and 
 proportioned like balusters would be downright monstrosities, revolting to common sense ; and, on the other 
 hand, balusters shaped like diminutive columns are a tasteless solecism. Why, then, is it so ? — how happens 
 it that the same form that would be oll'ensively clumsy for a column, becomes pleasing and even graceful in 
 the baluster ? The answer to the question is not vei'y far to seek : it is simply because forms pleasing as 
 those of smaller members, when applied as those of larger features would, even if practicable, become 
 absurd by their evident misapplication and unfitness ; and vice versa it is the same. 
 
 The singlcd-bellied baluster is by far more graceful and pleasing than the double-bellied, which looks 
 comparatively feeble, minikin and poor ; whereas the former possesses more of developed rotundity and 
 flowing contour. 
 
 Although he has pointed out and justly censured one egregious instance of the misapplication of a 
 bidnstrade. Chambers himself has fallen into an error of a similar kind, by crowning the summit of a small 
 dome with a balustrade, as may be seen in plate 4'2. 
 
 Whether the baluster owed its origin to the play of a freakish imagination, that fused together the 
 forms of vase and column, history and the records of art say not. — [W. II. L.]
 
 254 
 
 OF GATES, DOORS AND PIERS. 
 
 There are two kinds of entrances, doors and gates. The former serve only 
 for the passage of persons on foot, but the latter are likewise contrived to 
 admit horsemen and carriages. Doors are used as entrances to churches and 
 other public buildings, to common dwelling-houses, and as communications 
 between the different rooms of apartments ; gates serve as inlets to cities, 
 fortresses, parks, gardens, palaces, and all places to which there is a frequent 
 resort of carriages. The apertures of gates being always wide, they are 
 generally made in the form of arches, that figure being the strongest ; but 
 doors, which are usually of smaller dimensions, are commonly of a parallelogram 
 figure, and closed horizontally. The ancients, indeed, sometimes made their 
 doors, and even their wdndows, narrower at the top than at the bottom ; in the 
 Temple of Vesta at Tivoli there are examples of both, and Vitruvius, in the 
 sixth chapter of his fourth book, lays down rules for the formation of Doric, 
 Ionic, and Attic doors, by which the apertures of all are made considerably 
 narrower at the top than at the bottom. This oddity has been very little 
 practised by the modern artists. Scamozzi* disapproves of it, so do several 
 other writers, and it is a matter of surprise that a person of such refined taste 
 as the Earl of Burlingtonf should have introduced a couple of these ill-formed 
 doors in the corfile of his house in Piccadilly. 
 
 * Scamozzi, Parte secondu, lib. G. cap. 14. — [Ed-] 
 
 7 Richard Boyle, Earl ol' Rurlington, says Walpolc, "had every quality of a genius and artist except 
 envy. Though his own designs were more chaste and classic than Kent's, he entertained Iiiiu in liis 
 house till his death, and was more studious to e.\tond his friend's fomc than his own. Nor was his 
 munificence confined to himself and his own houses and gardens, lie spent great sums in contributing to 
 jiublic works, and was known to choose that the expense should fall ou himself, rather than that his country 
 should be deprived of some beautiful edifices. His enthusiasm for the works of Inigo Jones was so active, 
 that he repaired the church of Covent Garden, because it was the production of that great master, and 
 ])urcha3cd a gateway at Ueaufbrt Garden in Chelsea, and transported the identical stones to Cliiswick with 
 religious attachment. With the same zeal for pure architecture he assisted Kent in publishing the designs 
 for Whitehall, and gave a beautiful edition of the antique baths from the drawings of Palladio, whose 
 papers he procured with great cost." — Walpolc's architects in the reign of George II. 
 
 Among his works are enumerated the front and colonnade at Burlington House in Piccadilly ; the 
 dormitory at Westminster School, to which institution he was most probably indebted for his education ; 
 the Assembly Room at York; Lord Harrington's at Petersham; General AV^ado's house in Cork Street, &c. 
 This munificent nobleman was born 25th April, 101)5, and died December, 1753. — [Eu.]
 
 OF GATES, DOORS AND PIERS. 255 
 
 It must, however, bo allowed that they, like some other uncouth things, 
 have one valuable property : they shut themselves ; which, in a country whore 
 neither man nor woman takes thought or trouble about shutting dooi's after 
 thcni, deserves its praise, and was, perhaps, the original cause of their intro- 
 duction among the ancients. 
 
 The general proportion for the apertures, both of gates and doors,* 
 whether arched or quadrangular, is that the height be about double their 
 breadth, or a trifle more. Necessity, probably, gave birth to this proportion, 
 which habit confirmed and rendered absolute. In the primitive huts the 
 entries were doubtless small, perhaps in imitation of those to swallows' nests, no 
 larger than was sufficient for a man to creep through. For those rude buildings 
 being intended merely as retreats in the night, or in times of bad weather, it is 
 natural to suppose they made the entrance to them as small as possible, to 
 exclude the air and rain ; but when architecture improved and methods were 
 discovered of shutting the door occasionally, they made it of such a size as 
 was necessary for giving admittance to a tall bulky man, without stooping or 
 turning aside ; that is, they made it about three feet wide and six feet high, or 
 twice as high as broad ; which proportion, being become habitual, was preferred 
 to any other, and observed even when the size of the entrance was consider- 
 ably augmented, and other proportions would have been equally convenient. 
 
 We may, I believe, look for the origin of many proportions in the same 
 source, and of forms, in their aptitude to the purposes they serve, particularly 
 with relation to such objects as were or are of real use; and the pleasm'e 
 excited in us at their sight must, I am persuaded, be ascribed rather to con- 
 venience, custom, prejudice, or to the habit of connecting other ideas with 
 these figures, than to any peculiar charm inherent in them, as some ai'e 
 disposed to maintain. 
 
 Thus when struck with a fair female face, bright eyes, a florid complexion, 
 good teeth, well-turned limbs, a smooth unspotted skin, it is not so much the 
 form of color, the elegant turn or smoothness of the frame, which affects us, as 
 the inferences deduced from these appearances of the general state of mind, 
 the bodily health and activity, the pm*ity and fragrance, the sensibility and 
 powers of communicating pleasure, inherent in the beloved object ; for if those 
 spai'kling eyes have borne false testimony, or those limbs, which indicated 
 agility and graceful motion, are found sluggard, heavy and awkwai'd; if, 
 
 * The note, page 209, relates to tlic proportions of arcades according to Lc Brun's theory, but in his 
 work, to wliich the reader is referred, it will be seen that ho has not neglected the consideration of those 
 of doors. — [Ed-]
 
 256 OF GATES, DOORS AND PIERS. 
 
 instead of purity and fragrance, their opposites offend the senses, and instead 
 of sensibility, dulness or distaste, our affection quickly abates, and the same 
 object which commanded our love, soon excites no other emotion than that of 
 indifference, pei'haps of disgust, and even aversion. 
 
 And thus with regai'd to structures, whether considered in their general 
 form or separately in their parts, whenever the masses and sub-divisions are 
 few in number, firmly marked by quick and opposite transitions, the breadths 
 and widths being predominant, we are impressed with ideas of grandeur, 
 majesty, manly strength and decorous gravity ; and when the composition 
 appeal's more detailed, the changes gradual and less contrasted, the heights 
 pi'edominant, we arc impressed with ideas of elegance, delicacy, lightness and 
 gaiety. Excesses in either of these cases are equally dangerous, and productive 
 of sensations, though opposite, yet equally disgusting ; a step beyond the 
 bounds of grandeur, sinks into clumsiness and ponderosity ; a step beyond the 
 limits of elegance, degenerates into weakness, triviality and affectation. 
 Perfection consists in mediums between extremes, and forcible effects are 
 produced by verging towards them ; all which the rules of art tend to point 
 out and to explain. 
 
 Our Saxon and Norman forefathers,* ultimate corruptors of the almost 
 effaced Roman architecture, sufficiently prove, by the remains of their churches, 
 monasteries and castles, to what extent barbarism may carry deformity, gloom, 
 unwieldy grandeur, and clumsy solidity ; and their successors of the thirteenth 
 century, though following a manner infinitely more scientific and regular, often 
 
 * In a German work by George Moller, iiititled " Donkmaehler der Doutsclien Baukunst," which has 
 been recently translated, and published in this country, there is a philosophical and highly interesting view 
 of the origin and progress of what is usually denominated Gothic Architecture. This author, says chap. 
 3, "on comparing the antient churches of Germany with each other, we discover in their style of building 
 two leading diflerences, all the others being mere gradations or combinations of them. The first, which is 
 oldest. Is foi'oign, and came from the south. It Is by no means rude, having been originally a highly 
 finished style of building, but is now degenerated. The buildings of this kind are distinguished by forms 
 and decoration.s, cither lioman or imitated from the lloman, but especially by Hat, or at least not very high 
 roofs, by semicircular arches and vaults, and by the great solidity of their construction. The second, and 
 more modern style of building still retains the semicircle, but begins to substitute for the southern flat 
 gable end the high roof, which is more suitable iov a northern climate. To harmonize with the shape of 
 the roof, the points of the towers are pyramidal and the windows and vaults in the pointed style, whilst all 
 the minor ornaments still preserve the semicircular form. It was only at a later period that the decoration.^, 
 and all the minor and subordinate parts of the main building, assumed the shape of the pointed arch." 
 "These are the chief features in the church architecture of Germany oliservable in ancient buildings. 
 They show how a northern peculiar style was gradually formed out of the foreign soulhcrn one, and they 
 arc by no means in contradiction to history, although we arc still ignorant of the many causes which may 
 Iiavc Influenced the improvement of the arl." A jierusal, however, of the work In question Is strongly 
 recommended to the student. — [Kn.j
 
 OF GATES, DOORS AND PIERS. 257 
 
 carried cleg-ance, lightness, and excessive decoration far beyond their proper 
 limits, till, in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, that manner had its last 
 polish among us, was cleared of its redundancies, improved in its forms, 
 simplified and perfected in its decorations, in short, made what it is, in 
 some of the last structures of that style, the admiration of all enlightened 
 observers. 
 
 Amongst the restorers of the ancient Roman architecture, the style of 
 Palladio is correct and elegant, his general dispositions are often happy, his 
 outlines distinct and regular, his forms graceful ; little appears that could with 
 propriety be spared, nothing seems wanting, and all his measures accord so 
 well that no part attracts the attention in prejudice to any of the rest. 
 
 Scamozzi, in attempting to refine upon the style of Palladio, has over- 
 detailed and rendered his own rather trifling, sometimes confused. Vignola's 
 manner, though bolder and more stately than that of Palladio, is yet correct, 
 and curbed within due limits, particularly in his orders ; but in Michael 
 Angelo's* we sec license, majesty, grandeur, and fierce effect extended to 
 bounds, beyond which it would be very dangerous to soar. 
 
 But whether thei'c be anything natural, positive, convincing, and self- 
 amiable in the proportions of architecture, which, like notes and accord in 
 music, seize upon the mind, and necessarily excite the same sensations in all, 
 or whether thev were first established by consent of the ancient artists, who 
 imitated each othci', and were first admired because accompanied with other 
 real convincing beauties, such as richness of materials, brilliancy of color, fine 
 polish, or excellence of workmanship, and were after only preferred through 
 prejudice or habit, are questions which have much occupied the learned. 
 Those who wish to see the arguments for and against these respective notions, 
 are referred to Perrault, Blondel, and other writers upon the subject. To the 
 plurality of students in the profession it may be sufiicient to observe, without 
 attempting to determine in favour of either side, that both agree in their 
 conclusion ; the maintainors of harmonic proportions proving their system by 
 the measures observed in the most esteemed buildings of antiquity, and the 
 supporters of the opposite doctrine allowing that, as both artists and critics 
 
 * It is rather surprising that our author should have made so little mention of Sanmichele in his work. 
 Sanmichele was an artist whose designs can never be too much studied by the architect. The fancy and 
 elegance he displayed in combining military and civil purposes in the same cihfice entitle him to the highest 
 rank in his profession. He was the inventor of triangular bastions in fortifications, of which honor Pagan, 
 Blondel and Vauban have endeavoured to deprive him. Of his many works in civil architecture it would 
 be unjust not to mention the Cappella Pellegrini at Verona, which for beauty and invention has rarely been 
 equalled. He was born at the last-named city in 1484, and died in 1559. — [Ed.] 
 
 2 M
 
 258 OF GATES, DOORS AND PIERS. 
 
 I'orni their ideas of perfection upon these same buildings of antiquity, there 
 cannot be a more infallible way of pleasing than by imitating that which is so 
 universally approved. 
 
 It must, however, be observed that sounds operate very differently from 
 visible objects ; the former of which affect all, and always in the same manner. 
 The operation being merely mechanical, the same sort of vibration produces 
 at all times the same effect, as equal strokes upon a bell produce the same 
 sounds ; but visible objects act differently. Their effect is not alone produced 
 by the image on the organ of sight, but by a series of reasoning and association 
 of ideas, impressed, and guiding the mind in its decision. Hence it is, that 
 the same object pleases one, and is disliked by another ; or delights to-day, is 
 seen with indifference or disgust to-morrow ; for if the object seen had alone 
 the power of affecting, as is the case with sounds, it must affect all men alike, 
 and at all times in the same manner, which by long and repeated experience 
 we know is not the case. 
 
 One certain source of general approbation, which admits of no dispute, nor 
 is subject to any exceptions, is a strict conformity of character between the 
 object and its application, between the whole and the parts of which that 
 whole is composed ; the least discord between these immediately seizes upon 
 the mind and excites disgust, contempt or ridicule, in proportion as tlie 
 deviations appear greater or less, more unusual or more unnatural ; and it is 
 further to be observed that the same proportions, the same objects and combina- 
 tions which satisfy, even excite admiration in one case, or upon one occasion, 
 may excite dislike in others if erroneously applied, of which there cannot 
 be a stronger illustration than the human frame, male and female, since 
 almost every (juality which constitutes perfection in one, becomes, by being 
 applied to the other, a striking blemish either of a disgusting or ridiculous 
 nature. 
 
 The usual ornaments of gates consist of columns, pilasters, entablatures, 
 pediments, rustics of various sorts, imposts, archivolts, consoles, masks, 
 &c., &c. ; and the common method of adorning doors is with an architrave 
 surrounding the sides and top of the aperture, on which are placed a I'cgular 
 frieze and cornice. Sometimes, too, the cornice is sujiported l)y a couple of 
 consf)les, placed one on each side of the door ; and sometimes, besides an 
 architrave, the aperture is adorned with columns, pilasters, caryatides, or 
 terms, supporting a regular entablature, with a pediment, or with some other 
 termination cillicr of architecture or sculpture. In the two annexed plates 
 arc given various designs of gates and doors.
 
 ^^,^?z^yc^^. 
 
 Ctfi^ . 
 
 ^1.24- 
 
 
 I\ibUshrd b\ thf Pf'opnt'h'is cf' Ihr Biahh/u]Mws. 1H0(1 
 
 SiB WILLIAM CMAMeLRS'TREATISE:- 
 
 Ebattd from Ston* b^CFCbc^iu IbSco latAca.
 
 OF GATES, DOORS AND PIERS. 
 
 261 
 
 Fig, 1 in the plate of doors is a rustic door, composed by Vignola, in 
 which the aperture occupies two-thirds of the whole height and one-half of 
 the whole breadth, the ligurc thereof being a double squai-e. The rustics 
 may bo cither smooth or hatched, frosted or vcrmiculatcd, but their outline 
 must be sharp, and their joints must form a rectangle. Each joint may bo in 
 breadth one-third or two-sevenths of the vertical surface of a rustic. The 
 joints of the Claveaux, or arch-stones, must be drawn towards the summit of 
 an equilateral triangle, whose base is the top of the aperture. The architrave 
 surrounding the aperture may be composed either of a large ogee and fillet, or 
 of a plat-band, conge, and fillet. Its whole breadth must be one-tenth of the 
 brcadtli of the aperture, the remaining part of each pier being left for the 
 rustics. The entablature is Tuscan ; the cornice thereof is to be one-fifteenth 
 of the whole height of the door ; and what remains below it being divided 
 into twenty-one equal parts, the two uppermost of them will be for the frieze 
 and architrave, and the remaining nineteen for the rustics and plinth at the 
 foot of the door. Fig. 2 is another very beautiful composition of the same 
 great master, executed by him at the palace of Caprarola,* in the Ecclesiastical 
 State, and copied by Inigo Jones in the hospital at Greenwich, a circumstance 
 which pleads strongly in its favour, though I cannot say but our English 
 architect has altered the proportions of the original much for the worse. The 
 aperture is in the form of an arch, and occupies somewhat more than two- 
 thirds of the whole height. It is adorned with two rusticated Doric pilasters, 
 and a regular entablature. The height of the pilasters is sixteen modules, 
 that of the entablature, four. The width of the aperture is seven modules, its 
 height fourteen, and the breadth of each pier is three modules. Fig. 3 is 
 likewise a design of Vignola. It is of the Corinthian order, and executed in 
 the Cancellaria at Rome. The height of the aperture is equal to double its 
 width, and the whole ornament or entablature at the top is equal to one-third 
 of the height of the aperture. The breadth of the architrave is one-fifth of 
 the width of the aperture, and the pilasters which support the consoles are 
 half as broad as the architrave. The whole is well imagined, but rather 
 heavy, and it would succeed better if the architrave were i-educed to one-sixth 
 of the aperture, the whole entablature being proportionably diminished. The 
 pilasters may remain of the breadth they now are, which is not too considei-able 
 Fig. 4 is a disposition of Michael Angclo. The windows of the Capitol are of 
 
 • For a description of tLis palace see note page 217. — [Er>.]
 
 262 
 
 OF GATES, DOORS AND PIERS. 
 
 this kind, and Sir Christopher Wren* has executed doors of this sort under 
 the beautiful semi-circular porches in the flanks of St. Paul's Cathedral. The 
 
 * The life of this celebrated man is so familiar to the English student that it is almost unnecessai-y to 
 give the following sketch. 
 
 Sir Christopher, the only son of Dr. Christopher Wren, Dean of Windsor, was born on the 20th day 
 of October, 1632. His mother was jMary, daughter and heiress of Mr. Robert Cox, of Fonthill, in tlio 
 county of Wilts. He was placed under Dr. Busby, at Westminster School in 1643, and admitted at the 
 age of fourteen a gentleman commoner at Wadham College, 0.\ford, where he acquired great mathematical 
 reputation. He proceeded B.A. in 1650, M.A. 1653, and in the same year was elected a fellow of All 
 Souls. In 1657, being then only twenty-five, he was chosen Gresham Professor of Astronomy, and in 1660 
 Savilian Professor of Astronomy at Oxford. In 1661 he took liis degree of D.C.L. at Oxford, and soon 
 after that period was admitted to the same degree at Cambridge. 
 
 In 1667-8, two years after he had visited Paris, he succeeded Sir John Denham, the poet, a strange 
 sort of person to have filled the situation Inigo Jones held, as surveyor-general ; and in 1674 his Majesty 
 conferred on him the honour of knighthood. In 1680 he was elected President of the Royal Society. He 
 sat in two parliaments ; in the first for Plympton, in Devonshire, and in the other for Weymouth and 
 Melcombe Regis. Sir Christopher was twice returned for New Windsor, and, upon petitions against the 
 returns, bad the ill luck to be, upon opposite determinations of the house in respect of the identical same 
 points, both times unsuccessful. 
 
 A comparative view of the four principal cathedrals in Europe is not, perhaps, improperly introduced 
 in this note. 
 
 The sections aljovc given arc of St. Peter's at Rome, numbered 1 ; a half section of Sta. Maria del 
 Fiorc at Florence, numbered 2; a half section of St. Paul's, numbered 3; and a like section of the 
 Pantheon at Paris, numbered 4. All to the same scale.
 
 OF GATES, DOORS AND PIERS. 263 
 
 aperture of this design may be a double square, the architrave one-sixth of the 
 width of the aperture, and the whole entablature one-quarter of its height. 
 The front of the pilasters or columns on each side must be on a line with the 
 lower fascia of the architrave, and their breadth must be a semi-diameter. 
 Fig. 5 is imitated from a design of Philibert Delorme. It may serve cither 
 for a gate or outward door, by observing, in the former of these cases, to raise 
 the columns on plinths, and in the latter, besides plinths, to place them on 
 steps, as all outside doors ought to bo, both because the lower apartments 
 should never be on a level with the ground, and because this elevation will 
 show the door, or indeed any other composition, to more advantage. The 
 aperture may be in height twice its Avidth, the piers may be a little more than 
 half that width, and the columns must occupy half the breadth of the pier ; 
 their height may be eight diameters, or somewhat more, the architrave and 
 cornice must bear the usual proportion to the columns, the frieze is omitted. 
 The archivolt is in breadth a semi-diameter of the column, and its whole 
 curve being divided into thirteen equal parts, there will be room for seven 
 Claveanx and six intervals. The shafts of the column from the top of the 
 impost downwards, it divided into eight equal parts, will afford room for four 
 intervals and four rustic cinctures ; whereof that which levels with the impost 
 
 It does not appear that Wren ever visited Italy, an omission to be much lamented, as it would doubtless 
 have had a beneficial effect on his designs. To the eternal disgrace of the reign of George the First, he 
 ■was, at the advanced age of eighty-si.x, after fifty years of useful, active, and laborious self-devotion to the 
 service of the public, dismissed from the office of Surveyor-C4encral. His death took place on the 25th 
 February, 1723, in the ninety-first year of his age. Over the grave in which he was interred under the 
 south aisle of the choir of St. Paul's, is the following inscription on a small marble tablet. 
 
 Sl'BTUS COXDITVR 
 
 Htjjus ecclesi;e, et ubbis conditok 
 CHRISTOPHORUS AVREN, 
 
 QUI VIXIT AJINOS I'LTRA NOSAGINTA 
 
 NON SIBI, SED BONO PCBLICO. 
 
 LECTOB, SI MOSUMENTCM REQUIRIS, 
 
 CIECUMSPICE ! 
 
 OBIIT XSV FEB. ANNO MDCCXXIll, .EIAT. XCI. 
 
 The above inscription has of late years been transferred, in large characters, to a mai-blc slab of 
 considerable dimensions jilaced over the iron gates leading to the choir. Sir C. Wren's Autograph is 
 subjoined.
 
 264 OF GATES, DOORS AND PIERS. 
 
 may be square, as in Delovme's design, the rest of tliem being made either 
 cylindrical or square at pleasure. Fig. 6 is a door in the saloon of the 
 Farnese Palace at Eome, designed by Vignola. The aperture forms a double 
 square, and the entablature is equal to three-elevenths of the aperture's height, 
 the ai'chitravc beins one of these elevenths. The whole ornament on the 
 sides, consisting of the architrave and pilasters, is equal to two-sevenths of the 
 width of the aperture. The cornice is Composite, enriched both with mutules 
 and dentils, and the frieze is in the form of a festoon of laurel. Fig. 7 is 
 copied from a door at Florence, said to be a design of Cigoli.* The height 
 of the aperture is a trifle more than twice its width ; it is arched. The 
 impost is equal to half a diameter ; the columns are Ionic, somewhat above 
 nine diameters high, and their shafts ai'e garnished, each with five rustic 
 cinctures. The entablature is less than one-quarter of the column ; and the 
 length of the tablet, in which there is an inscription, is equal to the width of 
 the aperture. 
 
 Fig. 8. is a composition of Inigo Jones. The aperture may be a double 
 square ; the architrave may be from one-sixth to one-seventh of the width of 
 the aperture, and the top of it must level with the upper part of the astragal 
 of the columns. The columns ai-e Corinthian, their height is ten diameters, 
 and they must be placed at a sufficient distance from the architrave to leave 
 room for the projection of their bases. The entablature may be two-ninths or 
 one-fifth of the column, according to the character of the building in which 
 the door is employed, and the height of the pediment may be one-quarter of 
 its base or somewhat less. 
 
 Fig. 9 is a design of Serlio.f The aperture may be either twice as high 
 as broad, or a trifle less. The diameter of the columns may be equal to one- 
 quarter of the width of the aperture, and their height inay be from eight 
 diameters to eight and a half. The entablature must be somewhat less than 
 one-quarter of the height of the columns, and the height of the pediment may 
 be one-quarter of its base, or a trifle less if required. 
 
 From these designs and descriptions, the manner of composing doors may 
 easily be collected ; and every man may invent a variety of other designs, 
 suitable to the occasions on which they shall be wanted. Yet such as ai*e not 
 
 * Luigi Cnrdi, commonly called Cigoli. An arcliilccl who olT'orcil designs in competition with Carlo 
 Maderno, for the sides and fa(;a<lc of St. Peter's — but Paul V. prcfcn-cd those presented by the latter. 
 Cigoli w.as born in 1559, and died in KilS. Milizia says of liini, "Fu buon Pittorc, Anatt)mico, Poetn, 
 ccccUcntc Suonatore di liuto, cd Architctto." If so, he was no ordinary character. — [Ei>.] 
 
 t See his fourth book. — [Kd.]
 
 OF GATES, DOORS AND PIERS. 265 
 
 eiitlued with the talent of invention, will do well to copy these, which are all 
 very excellent in their kind ; and for more variety, they may recur to the 
 designs of windows contained in tliis work, which will, most of them, answer 
 equally well for doors. 
 
 In the plate of gates and piers, Fig. 1 is a pier, of which the diameter 
 may he one-quarter of its height, exclusive of the plinth and vase placed upon 
 it ; the height of both which may be equal to one diameter of the pier. The 
 rustics may either be plain, chipped, frosted, or vermiculated ; and the height 
 of each course be one-eleventh part of the height of the pier, counting to the 
 top of the entablature ; the entablature two-elevenths, and the base of the pier 
 one-eleventh part; or, if that should not be thought sufficient, one of the 
 rustic courses may be left out, and the base be made two-elevenths instead of 
 one. Fig. 2 is a gate, imitated from M. Angelo Buonaroti's design for 
 Cardinal Sermonetti.* The height of the aperture is somewhat more than 
 twice its width, which width occupies one-third of the breadth of the whole 
 composition. The order is Composite, and the height of the entablature is 
 equal to one-quarter of the height of the column. A break is made in it, 
 over each column ; but unless the columns project considerably, it will be as 
 well to carrv the entablature on in a straight line. The dimensions of the 
 particular parts may be measured on the design. Fig. 3 is a design of piers 
 executed at Goodwood,f in Sussex. The diameter is one-quarter of the 
 height, exclusive of the finishing, which is equal to one diameter ; and the 
 height of the pier, fi'om the top of the entablature downwards, being divided 
 into eleven parts and a half, one of them is given to the base, one to each 
 course of rustics, and one and a half to the astragal, frieze, and cornice. On 
 many occasions, however, it may be proper to augment the height of the base, 
 by omitting one of the rustic courses, and making it two parts instead of one. 
 Fig. 4 is a composition of the late Earl of Burlington, which has been 
 executed at his Lordship's Villa, near Chiswick, and likewise with some little 
 diflPerence at Bedford House,J in Bloomsbury Square. Fig. 5 is an invention 
 of mine, which has been several times executed ; and Fig. 6 is one of Inigo 
 
 * Sir Vi'. Cluuubers has altered the design much lor the better — the original may be seen in D'Aviler's 
 C'ours d' Architecture, in which the pediment is curved and broken in the middle for the reception of a 
 tablet. There is also over the whole an acroterion full of the wildness of the master. — [En.] 
 
 j The seat of the Duke of Richmond. — [Ed.] 
 
 J Xow no longer in existence, having been pulled down ibr the extensive alterations and new buildings 
 in the neighbourhood of Russell Square. It stood on the north side of Bloomsbury Sfjuare, and was built 
 on the designs of Inigo Jones. Behind the house were extensive gardens, which commanded a view of the 
 county towards Hanipstead and Highgate. — [Ed.] 
 
 2 N
 
 266 OF GATES, DOORS AND PIERS. 
 
 Jones, which kind of pier he has executed at Amesbury,* in Wiltshire, the 
 seat of his Grace the Duke of Queensbury. 
 
 Among the designs at the end of this work, there are various other 
 compositions for gates, and any of the ai'ches, either with or without pedestals, 
 of which I have given designs in treating of arcades, may likewise be employed 
 as gates ; observing, however, where the piers are weak to fortify them, and 
 make them at least equal to half the width of the aperture. 
 
 The first consideration, both in gates and doors, is the size of the 
 aperture ; in tixing the dimensions of which, regard must be had to the bulk 
 of the bodies that are to pass through. For this reason, inside doors, however 
 small the building may be in which they are used, should never be narrower 
 than two feet nine inches ; nor need they ever, in small private houses, exceed 
 three feet six inches in width, which is more than sufficient to admit the 
 bulkiest person, and enough for the passage of two moderate ones. Their 
 height should, at the very least, be six feet nine inches, or seven feet ; else a 
 tall man with a hat, or a lady in feathers, cannot pass without stooping. In 
 palaces, or great men's houses, to which much company resorts, and all the 
 doors of the state apartments are frequently thrown open, they are made much 
 larger than above mentioned ; often four, five, or six feet wide, with folding 
 doors, which shut back in the thickness of the party wall, and leave a free 
 passage for the company from one room to another. 
 
 Doors of entrance to private houses should not be less than three feet 
 six inches vride, nor more than six feet ; but to churches, palaces, and other 
 public structures, where there is a constant ingress and egress of people, and 
 frequently great crowds, the apertures must be larger, and their width cannot 
 be less than six feet, nor should it exceed ten or twelve. 
 
 The smallest width that can be given to the aperture of a gate is nine 
 feet, which is but just sufficient for the free passage of coaches ; but if 
 waggons and loaded carts are likewise to pass, it must not be narrower than 
 ten or eleven feet ; and gates of cities or other entrances, where carriages 
 are liable to meet, should not be narrower than eighteen or twenty feet. The 
 same widths as are above mentioned, must likewise be given to the intervals 
 between piers, which equally serve as entrances, and answer all the purposes 
 of gates. 
 
 In settling the dimensions of the apertures of doors, regard must be had 
 to the architecture with which the door is surrounded. If it be placed in the 
 
 * This house was linishcd \<y Wul)!), a scholar oC Inigo Jones. — [Eu-]
 
 jz^'iifia^u Uf-r ua^ ^'S^^t^yn) . 
 
 n 2s 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^s^ 
 
 illMiillillllllKl 
 
 WOuzmier^ tnir- 
 
 HtbUshr/i hv t/if Prr^jjntlnrs nl' the BiuMvu/Jlews. ISIiO. 
 
 Sir willi»m c h » m b t r s' t r t at i s e . 
 
 >i.'' 1 fr^-B Stocr by '"
 
 OF GATES, DOORS AND PIERS. 269 
 
 intcrcolumniation of an ordor, the height of the aperture should never 
 exceed three-quarters of the space hetween the pavement and the architrave 
 of the order ; otherwise there cannot be room for the ornaments of the door. 
 Nor should it over be much less than two-thirds of that space, for then there 
 will be room sufficient to introduce both an entablature and a pediment, 
 without crowding : whereas if it be less, it will appear trifling, and the 
 intercolumniation will not be sufficiently filled. The apertures of doors, 
 placed in arches, are regulated by the imposts ; the top of the cornice being 
 generally made to level with the top of the impost. And when doors are 
 placed in the same line with windows, the top of the aperture should level 
 with the tops of the apertures of the windows ; or if that be not practicable 
 without making the door much larger than is necessary, the aperture may be 
 lower than those of the windows, and the tops of all the cornices made on the 
 same level. 
 
 With regard to the situation of the principal entrance, Palladio* 
 observes, that it should be so placed as to admit of an easy communication 
 with every part of the building. Scamozzif compares it to the mouth of an 
 animal ; and as Nature, says he, has placed the one in the middle of the face, 
 so the architect ought to place the other in the middle of the front of the 
 edifice, that being the most noble situation, the most majestic and convenient. 
 
 In several of the palaces at Rome, as those of the FamfiliJ in the Corso, 
 and of the Bracciano§ at Santi Apostoli, there arc two principal entrances in 
 the same aspect : but this in general ought to be avoided, as it leaves strangers 
 in doubt where to seek for the state apartments, which should always be 
 contiguous to the principal entrance. In interior dispositions, the doors of 
 communication must be situated, as much as possible, in a line ; the 
 advantages of which are, that it contributes towards the regularity of the 
 decoration, facilitates and shortens the passage through the apartments, and 
 
 * " Si deve elBggere il luogo per lo porte principal!, ove facilmente da tutta la casa si possa andire." 
 See Palladio, Lib. i. c. -25.— [Ed.] 
 
 t Our author misunderstands Scamozzi, whose words are, " E senza didjbio di qui potero venire 
 quelle apritiire, !e quali ne' primi tempi lurono asscgnilte nelle prime antlohe case de' Pastori, e degll 
 Arcadi per uso del transithre e gli huomini, e gli animali, e I'altre cose necesshrie alle loro bisogna, le quali 
 cose dair ingegno degli Architelti in progresso di tempo hebbero poi le loro forme proportionilte, e tutte le 
 loro parti regolate, ed abbellite con ornameriti all' imposte, a gli archivolti, e a' serragli, &c." See Scamozzi, 
 Parte Seconda, Lib. vi. c. 4. — [Ed.] 
 
 J By Giacomo del Duca, a Sicilian architect. But the far;ade toward the side of the Collugio Romano, 
 was by Borromini. — [Ed.] 
 
 § By Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini, of whom see note page 71. — [Ed.]
 
 2/0 OF GATES, DOORS AND PIERS. 
 
 in summer, or on public occasions, when the doors are set open, it produces a 
 freer circulation of air ; and likewise gives a much more splendid appearance 
 to the apartments, by exposing to view at once the whole series of rooms, 
 which is more particularly striking, when the apartments are illuminated, as 
 on occasion of balls, masquerades, routs, or other rejoicings. There should, if 
 possible, be a window at each end of the building, directly facing the line of 
 the doors of communication ; that so the view may be more extensive, and 
 take in at once, not only all the rooms, but likewise parts of the gardens or 
 other prospects surrounding the building ; and whenever this is not practicable, 
 it will do well to place mirrors at each end of the apartment, or to counterfeit 
 doors, and fill them with large plates of glass, or with sashes and squares of 
 looking-glass, as is the custom in France ; which by reflection multiply the 
 rooms, the doors, and other objects, making an apartment, though limited or 
 small, appear very considerable. 
 
 The door of entrance from halls, vestibules, or ante-chambers, either to 
 the principal apartment, or to any even of the inferior ones, should be in the 
 middle of the room if possible, and facing a window ; those that lead to 
 galleries, or any other long rooms, should be in the middle of one of the ends ; 
 and, in general, all entrances should be so contrived as to oflfer to view, at the 
 first glance, the most magnificent and extensive prospect of the place thev 
 open into. The doors of communication, from one room to another, of the 
 same apartment, must be at least two feet distant from the front walls, that 
 the tables placed against the piers, between the windows or other pieces of 
 furniture put there, may not stand in the way of those who pass. In b(>d- 
 rooms care must be taken to make no doors on the sides of the bed, unless it 
 be to communicate with a water-closet, wardrobe, bath, or other conveniency 
 of that kind, as well on account of the draught of air, as of the noise 
 communicated through them, or attending their opening and shutting ; both 
 which are always troublesome, and on some occasions dangerous. Neither 
 ought doors to be placed near chimneys, for the same reasons, and as the 
 opening them would disturb those who sit by the fire. 
 
 In onr northern climates, the fewer doors a room has, the more it will ])e 
 comfortably habital)lc ; for as we have much more cold than hot weather, it is 
 very necessary to make the rooms as close as possible, otherwise they will not 
 be fit to live in the greatest part of the year. Wherefore it will be advisable 
 never to make cither more windows or doors than are absolutely necessary ; 
 and the feigning doors to correspond with the real ones, may certainly be 
 omitted on many or on most occasions. Here in England, the real and fcMgned
 
 DOORS AND PIEUS. 271 
 
 doors of a room, with their ornaments, frequently cover so great a part of the 
 walls, that there is no place left for either pictures or furniture ; and one often 
 sees, in houses built forty or fift)' years ago, particularly those designed by 
 Mr. Kent; or Lord Burlington, a hall or a saloon large enough to receive 
 a companv of sixty or a hundred persons, furnished with six or eight chairs 
 and a couple of tables. 
 
 In composing doors, regard must be had, both in their size and their 
 enrichments, to the place they lead to. Those that give entrance to palaces, 
 churches, theatres, state apartments, or other places of consequence, must be 
 large and profusely enriched ; but such as open to humbler habitations may be 
 small and sparingly decorated, unless the nature of the building should require 
 otherwise. Where several doors are in the same aspect, as on the inside of a 
 hall, saloon, or gallery, they should all be of the same size and figure, unless 
 there be many, in which case the principal ones, provided they stand in the 
 middle of a side, or in the middle of the ends of the room, may be larger, of 
 a different form, and more abundantly adorned than the rest. But whenever 
 more than two sorts are introduced in one room, it always tends to confuse the 
 spectator. 
 
 Gates in their composition must be characteristic ; express the nature 
 the place they open to, and by their dimensions, give some idea of its extent 
 and importance. Gates of cities or of fortresses should have an appearance 
 of strength and majesty ; their parts should be large, few in number, and 
 of a bold relief. Tlie same oun^ht likewise to be observed in the rates of 
 parks, public walks, or gardens ; and these succeed better when composed of 
 rustic work, and of the massive orders, than when they are enriched with nice 
 ornaments or delicate profiles. But triumphal arches, entrances to palaces, to 
 magnificent villas, town or country houses, may with propriety be composed 
 of the more delicate orders, and be adorned in the highest degree. 
 
 The gates of parks and gardens are commonly shut with iron folding 
 grates, either plain or adorned ; those of palaces should likewise be so, or else 
 be left entirely open all day, as they are in Italy and in France ; for the 
 grandeur of the building, together with the domestics, horses, and carriages, 
 with which the courts are frequently filled, give a magnificent idea of the 
 proprietor, and .serve to enliven the scenery. 
 
 In London, many of our noblemen's palaces appear from the street like 
 prisons or gloomy convents ; nothing is seen but high blank walls, with one, 
 two, or three ponderous castle gates, in one of which there is a hole for the 
 conveyance of those who aspire to get in, or wish to creep out. If a coach
 
 272 OF GATES, DOORS AND PIERS. 
 
 arrives, the whole gate is indeed opened, but this is a work of time and hard 
 labour ; the more so, as the porter exerts his strength to shut it again 
 immediately, either in discharge of his duty, or for some other reasons. Few 
 inhabitants of this city suspect, and certainly few strangers ever knew, that 
 behind an old brick wall in Piccadilly, there is, notwithstanding its faults, one 
 of the finest pieces of architecture in Europe ; and many very considerable, 
 some even magnificent buildings, might be mentioned, that were never seen 
 by any but the friends of the families they belonired to, or by such as arc 
 curious enough to peep into every out-of-the-way place they happen to find in 
 their way. 
 
 The ancients frequently covered the closures of their doors with plates, 
 and bassi relievi of bronze. There are some examples yet remaining of this 
 practice, both at the Pantheon, and at St. John Lateran ;* the doors of which 
 last building formerly belonged to the temple of Saturn. The doors of St. 
 Peter's of the Vatican arc likewise covered with bronze ; and at Florence, 
 those of the baptistery, fronting the cathedral, adorned with a great number 
 of figures by Lorenzo Ghibcrti, are much esteemed. Of these we have now 
 in the collection of the Eoyal Academy very perfect casts. But the 
 extraordinary expense, and gi-eat weight of such doors, have occasioned their 
 being laid aside, and wood alone is now used. The commonest sort are made 
 of deal or wainscot, painted in various manners, and the better kind of them 
 are of mahogany, or of different sorts of rare wood inlaid. 
 
 With regard to their construction, Mr. Ware observes, that strength, 
 beauty, and straightness are to be considered ; all which purposes are 
 answered by composing them of several panels. The lunnber of these must 
 depend on the size of the door, which should likewise regulate the thickness 
 both of the panels and the framing. If the doors be adorned with ornaments 
 of sculpture, as is sometimes usual in very rich buildings, they must cither bo 
 sunk in or kept very flat upon the surface, both for the sake of lightness and 
 to prevent their being broken. The panels may be either raised or flat, and 
 surrounded with one or two little plain or enriched mouldings, contained in 
 the thickness of the framing; not projecting beyond it, as is sometimes seen in 
 old buildings. 
 
 Doors that exceed three feet and a half in breadth, arc generally composed 
 
 ' 'J'lie liiisilica of .San Giov.armi Liitcrano unites spccinKms of tlm talents oT tlio fullowing areliilects : — 
 licniardo Koscllini, V'ignolii Ijy whom is the tomb of Carilinal Uuccio in this cliurch, liuri'omini who maih; 
 tlic great nave and its termination westward, Alessandro (Jalilci who designed the fa(;ade. For tlie hitter, 
 designs were also given l^y Nieeohi Salvi and I,ui;,'i Vaiivil('11i. — [Kn.]
 
 OF GATES, DOORS, AND PIERS. 273 
 
 of two flaps ; by which means each part is lighter, when open docs not project 
 so far into the room, and when required, may be made to fold entirely into the 
 thickness of the wall, as has been above mentioned. It is to be observed, that 
 all doors should open inwards, otherwise in opening the door to give a person 
 entrance, it must open in his face, and may chance to knock him down. 
 
 NOTE ON DOORS. 
 
 In every style, doors, that is, entrance doors into a building, have been regarded as important features, 
 and distinguished accordingly from other apertures, not only by their size, but by a much greater degree of 
 decoration. The scale on which doorways, or as they ought rather to be designated portah, were some- 
 times executed by the ancients, was such both as regards amplitude and loftiness that scarcely a single 
 modern example will bear any comparison with them in that respect. We can, indeed, boast of one 
 grandiose, though not strikingly ornate, doorway in London, namely, that which forms the central feature 
 of the west facade of the Bank, which for grandiosity has not its rival in the metropolis. 
 
 When, as in the fa<;ade of a church, or within a portico, there are three doorways, it is usual, and no 
 more than natural likewise, to distinguisli the central one, if not by its greater size, at least by some artistic 
 stratagem ; for even supposing the actual aperture to be no larger than the others, there are very obvious 
 means of making it appear so, or, at any rate, of making it show itself decidedly the principal one. Yet, 
 simple as it is, such natural law of arcliitectui-al composition has been sadly violated in what has the 
 stereotyped reputation of being one of the finest porticoes in Loudon, namely, that of St. IMartin's, where 
 the middle door is made to appear actually insignificant and depressed in comparison with the other two ; 
 for being arched, yet not rising at all higher than them, it shows as positively lower, which has a highly 
 disagreeable effect. 
 
 From fig. 8, plate 24, may be seen how a composition for a doorway may be extended beyond the 
 aperture, so that in case of there being three doors within a portico, all of the same size, the two side 
 ones need have only architrave dressings, while the other would be sufficiently distinguished by greatly 
 augmented decoration. That idea leads to many others, one of them being that a similar mode of 
 treatment might occasionally be adopted for the purpose of distinguishing a central window in an astylar 
 facade. 
 
 In interior design very much indeed depends upon doors, fust upon their position in rooms, next upon their 
 material,the style of their panelling and other ornamentation. In fact, doors become almost a special branch of 
 study for those who are employed upon palatial mansions. There is this great difference between a door and a 
 window, that whereas in the latter architectural design is confined to the dressings of the aperture, in the 
 former it extends to the surfiice tliat closes up the aperture, or the door itself, where infinite diversity of 
 design and decoration presents itself. '\\''hat is first to be thought of is the scheme of the panelling, with 
 respect to which Schinkel appears to have been content with a single pattern for it. Where the walls are 
 of sufficient thickness, as in a mansion they ought to be, to admit of double doors between adjoining 
 rooms, besides being in itself a luxury, that allows the doors in one room to be quite differently designed 
 from those in the next one. Another advantage attending thick walls is that where a false door would 
 else be necessaiy in order to balance another, they render it practicable to have a real one, though it might 
 open only to a mere book-closet. Or should that not be practicable, there is a different expedient for 
 
 2o
 
 274 NOTE ON DOORS. 
 
 keeping up the general symmetry of a room by filling in the door-case within plates of looking-glass , 
 thereby producing the appearance of an open doonvay. This is mentioned for the consolation of those 
 tender consciences who are, or affect to be shocked at all such innocent ai-tifices in design as sham doors 
 and windows, as if they were no better than so many wicked " lies " perpetrated for fraudulent and 
 immoral purposes, though in the meanwhile their own over-acted morality may be the greatest sham of all. 
 
 It ought to be hardly necessary to say that at the end of gallery or other long room the door should be 
 placed centrically ; nevertheless, obvious as it is, that rule or principle rather, has sometimes been grossly 
 violated, even where there has been no excuse for it. However formidable difficulties of plan may be, it is 
 in the power of artistic contrivance to overcome them. It is impossible to prescribe beforehand for every 
 case, and without seeing the actual patient, or in other words, the plan. All that can here be done is to oflfer 
 one or two general maxims. Doors ought to be in some degree proportioned to the size of the rooms. 
 Unless it can be placed centrically as an architectural feature, a large door causes a moderate-sized room 
 to appear much smaller than it otherwise would ; .and if a door must, out of downright necessity, be so 
 placed as to cut up ^symmetry altogether, the only next best thing to be done is to make it as little 
 observable as possible. 
 
 Although there is ample precedent for them, it is not altogether without reason that pediments over 
 doors within a building, or even within a portico, are considered objectionable. Such application is not 
 only doing away with a distinction that ought to be observed between exterior and interior design, but it 
 further does away with the opportunity of increasing such very desirable distinction by some fresher and 
 more appropriate mode of decoration with which to surmount the cornice of an inner door. What, among 
 other things, suggests itself for the purpose is a finial of scroll-work, somewhat analogous to that on the 
 face of a Greek antefixa, and then perhaps spreading out below to the extremities of the cornice. 
 Should there, in addition to other dressings, be columns to an internal doorway, they also afford the 
 architect who is capable of taking advantage of it a fair opportunity of producing something more than a 
 mere copy of any one standard example of an established order ; and as columns so applied are of only 
 comparatively small dimensions, and are subjected to the closest inspection, they seem naturally to require 
 a far greater degree of highly-wrought detail and elaboration than do those of an external order upon 
 a greatly larger scale. In fact, there ought to be a decided difference observed between an external order 
 and internal columns. The severity becoming the former is rather out of place in rooms where all besides 
 bespeaks the latitudinarianism of modem decor.ation. To speak of the inexhaustible diversity of design 
 obtainable not only from the ornamentation of doorways, but from that of the doors themselves, would 
 greatly exceed the limits of a note. Internal doors afford ample opportunity of producing artistic effects, 
 not only by the scheme of their panelling, but by the filling in of the panels, accordingly as it may be of 
 the same or a different material from that of the doors themselves. Of course, the doors in a room ought 
 to be in keeping with its destination, and appropriate to the character of the room. What would show as 
 frivolous taste in a library or dining-room may not be out of place in a drawing-room or ball-room. 
 There, doors panelled with velvet, or scagliola, or buhl, or looking-glass, or with tapestry, or with open 
 metal-work, whether gilt or not, before looking-glass, would not be out of character. In sucli rooms the 
 doors may properly enough be further ornamented by studs cither in metal or cut glass. To advert to one 
 quite recent example, Cockerell's brass doors in St. George's Hall, Liverpool, deserve infinitely more 
 attention than they have yet obtained. 
 
 Of doors tliem-selves, and the various modes of panelling. Chambers gives no examples; and his rules 
 for the proportions and decoration of doorways may be thought too minute and methodical ; but as 
 himself observes (p. 264), from the designs shown, "every man may invent a variety of others;" which 
 remark, by the by, he applies to many other of his teachings. 
 
 From Donaldson's two publiciitions, the one on Ancient, the otlicr on Modern Doorways, the 
 thoughtful student may derive much instructive information. The I'ortonc, at Loreto, which would be 
 remarkable if only for its loftiness, is a perfect chef-itceuvre of artistic design stamped, by energy and 
 grace, and by a most felicitous combination of simplicity witli richness. — [W. H. L.]
 
 275 
 
 OF WINDOWS. 
 
 The first considerations with respect to windows are their number and 
 their size ; which must be such as neither to admit more nor less light than is 
 requisite. 
 
 In the determination of this object regard must be had to the climate, 
 the aspect, the extent and elevation of the place to be lit, to its destination, 
 and, in a certain degree, to the thickness of the walls in which the windows 
 are made ; as on that circumstance in some measure depends the greater or 
 less quantity of light admitted through the same space. In hot countries, 
 where the sun is seldom clouded, and where its rays dart more intensely upon 
 the earth, the hght is stronger than in those which are temperate or cold ; 
 therefore, a smaller quantity of it will suffice, and more than sufficient should 
 not be admitted, as the consequence is the admission of heat likewise. The 
 same is the case with a southern aspect, which receives more heat, and con- 
 sequently more light, than a northern, or even an eastern or western one. A 
 large lofty space requires a greater quantity of lighting than one circumscribed 
 in its dimensions ; and art demands that the quantity introduced should be 
 regulated so as to excite gay, cheerful, solemn, or gloomy sensations in the 
 mind of the spectator, according to the nature and purposes for which the 
 structure is intended. 
 
 Wherever sunshine predominates, light must be admitted and distributed 
 with caution, for when there is an excess, its constant attendant, heat, becomes 
 insuffijrably incommodious to the inhabitant. In Italy, and some other hot 
 countries, although the windows be less in general than ours, their apartments 
 cannot be made habitable but by keeping the window shutters almost closed 
 while the sun appears above the horizon. But in regions where gloom and 
 clouds prevail eight months of the year, it will always be right to admit a 
 sufficiency of light for these melancholy seasons, and have recourse to blinds 
 or shutters, whenever the appearance of the sun renders it too abundant. 
 
 Palladio, in the twenty-fifth chapter of his first book, observes, that no 
 
 certain determinate rule can be established concerning- the height and width of the 
 
 apertures of windows ; but that to him it appeared proper, in conformity to the 
 
 2o2
 
 276 OF WINDOWS. 
 
 doctrine of Vitruvius, 1. 4, c. vi. to divide the space between the floor and ceiling 
 into three parts and a half, and give to the height of the window two of these 
 parts, and to its width one of them, less one-sixth. In another part of the 
 same chapter he says, the windows should not be wider than one-quarter of the 
 width of the room, nor narrower than one-fifth ; and that their height should 
 be double their width, more one-sixth ; but as in every house, says he, there 
 are large, middling, and small rooms, " and it is yet necessary to keep all the 
 windows on the same levels of the same form, I prefer those rooms for 
 determining their measure, of which the length is to the width as five to 
 three : thus, when the width of the room is eighteen feet, and the length 
 thirty, I divide the width into four parts and a half, giving one of these parts 
 to the width of each window ; to its height two of them, more one-sixth ; and 
 make all the other windows on the same floor of the same dimensions." 
 
 This last rule, which neither determines the number of windows, the 
 height of the room, nor the side on which the light is to be admitted, is surely 
 too vague, and subject to error : I have somewhere seen a better rule, but 
 cannot remember where.* To the best of my recollection, it proportions the 
 quantity of light to be thrown in, to the number of square feet contained on 
 
 * It is probable tbe author alluded to was James Morris, who published " Lectures on Architecture, 
 consisting of Ilules founded upon Ilai-monic and Arithmetical Proportions in Buildings," 8vo. Loud. 1734. 
 As the book is not very common, I have extracted the parts to which I think Sir W. C. alludes. At page 
 109 the author says — 
 
 "Let the magnitude of the room be given, and one of those proportion.^ (harmonic) I have proposed 
 to Ije made use of, or any other ; multiply the length and breadth of the room together, and that product 
 multiply by the height, and the square root of that sum will be tbe area or superficial content in feet, &c., 
 of the light recjuired. Example — Suppose a room, whose magnitude is the arithmetical proportion of .5, 4, 
 and ;i, and is 20 feet long, 16 feet broad, and 12 feet high, the cube or product of its length, brcadtli and 
 height multiplied together is 3840, the square root of which sum is 02 feet ; if the lieight of the story is 
 12 feet, as is liefore mentioned, divide that ()2 feet into three windows, each window will contain 20 feet 8 
 inches of superficial light, and those will be found to be 3 tiiet 2 inches and one-half broad, and (i feet 
 5 inches high." I'age 109, "If you extend the rule to larger rooms, the same methods will be preserved, 
 even if their height be continued through two stories ; if the upper windows be made square and to have 
 two tire (tiers) of windows. Let us suppose the room with two tire of windows in height to be 50 feet 
 long, 40 feet wide, and 30 feet high, the arithmetical jiroportion of 5, 4, and 3, the product of tliosc 
 numbers multiplied together will be U0,000, the square root of which sum is 245 superficial feet ; divide 
 that sum for the tire of windows into three parts, or take one-third of it, and that makes the attic or 
 square window 81 foot 8 inches sujicrficial light; divide, this into five window.-!, and (licy are four feet and 
 half an inch .square, and the five lower window.s consisting of 1(13 feet 1 Inches superficial liglit, being wliat 
 remains out of the 245 feet the root, each of these windows is 4 feet Inilf an Inch by 8 foot 1 inch, or two 
 diameters, which 245 feet, the whole sum of the square root of tlie room, will suniclcntly illuminate tlic 
 same." 
 
 For the regular distribution of the piers, some Jiseful formulic will be found in tlic OIKIAIA, or 
 Nutshells — a book which has already been noticed at the foot of page 73. — [Ec]
 
 OF WINDOWS. 277 
 
 the plan of the room, by which method, supposing due attention given to the 
 height and depth of the room, something more certain may be attained than 
 by that of I'alladio. 
 
 In the course of my own practice I have generally added the depth and 
 the height of the rooms on the principal floor together, and taken one-eighth 
 part thereof for the width of the window ; a rule to which there are but few 
 objections ; admitting somewhat more light than Palladio's, it is, I apprehend, 
 fitter for our climate than his rule would be. 
 
 Here, in England, our apartments arc seldom made so lofty as in Italy, 
 those of our smaller dwelling-houses often do not exceed ten feet, and arc 
 seldom higher than twelve or fourteen. In such, the windows may be from 
 three to four feet wide, and in the rooms on the upper floor double, or some- 
 what more than double of that in height, by which means, when the window 
 sill is placed at a proper distance from the floor for a grown person to lean 
 upon, the aperture will rise to within eighteen inches or two feet of the ceiling, 
 and leave suflScient space above it for the cornice of the room, and the 
 architrave or mouldings which surround the window. But in more considerable 
 houses, where the apartments are large, and run from sixteen to twenty feet 
 hio-h, or sometimes more, the windows should never be narrower than four feet ; 
 they often require to be made four and a half, sometimes even five, or five and 
 a half feet wide, and high in proportion. These dimensions are sufficient for 
 dwelling-houses of any size in this country ; when they are lai-ger, they admit 
 too much of the cold air in wintei", and are troublesome to manage ; but 
 churches, banqueting rooms, or other buildings of a public nature, may have 
 much larger windows, and proportioned to the architecture of which such 
 structures are composed, the parts whereof are generally large. 
 
 With rea-ard to the beautv of exterior decorations, if an order com- 
 prebends two stories, the apertures of the windows with which it is 
 accompanied should not much exceed three modules in width, but when it 
 contains only one story, their width may be four and a half or even five 
 modules. Windows contained in arches may have from two-fifths to three- 
 sevenths of the arch in width, and their height must be such that the last 
 horizontal moulding of their cornice may answer to the top of the impost of 
 the arch, the whole pediment being contained in the circular part. The 
 pediment must be triangular, for curves above each other, unless they be 
 similar and parallel, do not succeed. 
 
 The proportions of the apertures of windows depend upon their situation ; 
 their width in all the stories must be the same, but the different heights of
 
 278 OF WINDOWS. 
 
 the apartments make it necessary to vai'v the heights of the windows 
 likewise. 
 
 In the principal floor it may be from two and one-eighth of the width to 
 two and one-third, according as the rooms have more or less elevation ; but in 
 the ground floor, where the apartments are usually somewhat lower, the 
 apertures of the windows should seldom exceed a double square ; and when 
 they are in a rustic basement, they are frequently made much lower. The 
 windows of the second floor may be, in height, from one and a half of their 
 width to one and four-fifths, and those of attics or mezzanines, either a perfect 
 square or somewhat lower. The character of the order in which the windows 
 are employed, and that of the profiles with which they arc eni'iched, must, 
 likewise, in some measure be consulted, and the apertures be made more or 
 less elevated as the order of the whole decoration, or of the window itself, is 
 more or less delicate. 
 
 The windows of the principal floor are generally most enriched. The 
 simplest method of adorning them is with an architrave surrounding the 
 aperture, covered with a frieze and cornice suited thereto ; but when the 
 aperture is remarkably high with respect to its width, it becomes necessary to 
 spread the ornaments on the sides thereof, by flanking the architrave with 
 columns, pilasters, or consoles, in order to give the whole composition an 
 agreeable proportion. The windows of the ground floor are sometimes left 
 entirely plain, without any ornament whatever ; at other times they are 
 surrounded with an architrave, or with rustics, or have a regular architrave 
 crowned with its frieze and cornice. Those of the second floor have generally 
 an architrave carried entirely round the aperture ; and the same is the method 
 of adorning attic or mezzanine windows ; but these last two have seldom or 
 ever either frieze or cornice, whereas the second floor windows, whenever 
 their aperture approaches a double square, arc often adorned with both — as at 
 the Banqueting-House, and in many other buildings of note. 
 
 The sills of all the windows on the same floor should be on the same 
 level, and raised above the floor, from two feet nine inches to three feet at the 
 very most. When the walls are thick they should be reduced under the 
 apertures of the windows for the conveniency of looking out, and seats may be 
 contrived to fit these recesses, as is the custom in many of our modern English 
 houses. " In France, and now too often here, the windows arc carried quite 
 down to the floor, which, when the building is surrounded with gardens or 
 other beautiful prospects, renders the apartments exceedingly pleasant in 
 summer, but then they become exceedingly cold in winter ; and the ironwork,
 
 OF WINDOWS. 279 
 
 which in Franco, and latterly very much here, is placed on the outside, by 
 way of fence against accidents, ought never to have place where regular 
 architecture is intended, for all the gilding and flourishing in the world can 
 never make it tolerably accordant with the rest of the composition. 
 
 In rejjular built houses the sills of the windows on the around floor 
 should be raised six feet above the pavement on the outside of the building, to 
 hinder passengers from looking into the apartments ; but when this cannot be 
 done without raising the floor itself more than may be necessary, the lower 
 parts of the windows may be furnished with blinds. The tops of the 
 apertures of windows should never, within the apartments, be carried close up 
 to the cornice of the room ; a sufficient space ought always to be left for an 
 architrave, or at least two or three mouldings to surround them, without 
 crowding upon the cornice, between which and these architraves the laths 
 whereon the curtains fasten are generally placed. 
 
 The interval between the apertures of windows depends, in a great 
 measure, on their enrichments. The width of the aperture is the smallest 
 distance that can be between them, and twice that width should, in dwelling- 
 houses, be the largest ; otherwise the rooms will not be sufficiently lighted, 
 and the building will have rather the appearance of a prison than of a 
 structure calculated for the conveniences and enjoyments of life. The purpose 
 for which the building is intended should, as has been before observed, 
 regulate the quantity of light to be introduced, and therefore in dwelling- 
 houses, and all places where comfort and pleasure are the main purposes, 
 there cannot well be too much ; but in sacred structures, which should affect 
 the mind with awe and with reverence, or in other great works where grandeur 
 of style is aimed at, it should be cautiously and rather sparingly distributed. 
 
 The windows nearest to outward angles must be at least the width of 
 their aperture distant from the angle, and a larger space will be still more 
 seemly, and render the building more solid. In all the stories of the same 
 aspect, the windows must be placed exactly one above the other, and those to 
 the left symmetrize with those to the right, both in size, situation, number, 
 and figure. The reasons for all these things are obvious enough, and 
 therefore it is needless to mention them. The licentious practice of inter- 
 mitting the architrave and frieze of an order, in the intervals betw.een the 
 columns or pilasters, to make room for windows and their enrichments, which 
 are carried close up to the cornice, can on no account whatever be suffered in 
 regular architecture, it being in the highest degree absurd to carry the 
 windows above the ceiling, and great want of judgment in an architect to
 
 280 OF WINDOWS. 
 
 intermix crowded together such a number of rich complicated parts, as are 
 those of the entablature of the order and the entablatures of the windows. 
 Besides, the whole beauty of the order, when so mutilated, is destroyed ; its- 
 proportions and figure being entirely changed. An interruption of the whole 
 entablature, to make room for a window, and converting it into an impost to 
 the archivolt, as we see done on the flanks of the Mansion House, is a licence 
 equally unpardonable. Sir Christopher Wren was extremely fond of these 
 mutilations, and every lover of architecture, while he admires the exterior of 
 St. Paul's, must owe him some grudge for having so unmercifully mangled 
 many parts of the inside of that splendid structure. 
 
 The common sort of builders in this country are extremely fond of 
 variety in the ornaments of windows, and indeed in every other part of a 
 building, imagining, probably, that it betrays a barrenness of invention to 
 repeat the same object frequently. There is a house near Berkeley Square 
 with only eleven windows in the whole front, and yet they are of seven 
 different sorts. At Ironmongers' Hall* in the City the case is the same, 
 there being seven or eight sorts of windows in the same aspect ; and the like is 
 to be met with in many other buildings both in town and in the country. 
 
 These inventive gentlemen would do well to give their attention to some 
 ])rofessors of the mechanic arts, who, though exercising their talents on 
 meaner objects, are nevertheless Avorthy of their imitation. No tailor thinks 
 of employing seven or eight kinds of buttons on the same coat ; a cutler will 
 not make ten different sorts of knives for the same set ; and if a cabinet- 
 maker be trusted to furnish a room, he seldom introduces more than one or 
 two sorts of chairs. Their practice is founded on experience, the general 
 approbation of mankind is the standard they go by. 
 
 We do not discover, either in the works of antiquity or those of the 
 great ni<)d(!rn architects, any traces of this childish hankering after variety. 
 The same object is freciuently by them repeated a hundred times over, and 
 this is one of the causes of that amazing grandeur, that noble simplicity, so 
 much to be admired in tlieir productions. 
 
 This sameness must, however, have its limits, lor wlien carried too far the 
 imagination of the beholder stagnates for want of occupation. In the most 
 admired works of architecture we And the same object generally continued 
 througlnmt tlic same level ; thus one order, and one sort of windows or niches 
 generally reign tlu'oughout the story; hut in tlie dtlujr stories where the eye 
 and the imagination necessarily assume a fresh course, the decoration is altered. 
 
 * A miserable coiiipoaition, crcctt'd in 174S. — [I'^u.]
 
 OF WINDOWS. 281 
 
 Scamozzi, and some other eminent architects, both in their docti-inc and 
 practice are fond of distinguisliinii- the middle of every composition by an 
 object different from the rest. Tluis in a range of windows, the middle 
 one is generally either Venetian or in the form of an arch, though all the rest 
 are square. How this may affect others I do not well know, but for my own 
 part I do not like the practice, excepting where it may be absolutely necessary. 
 Every one from his own experience must, I think, have felt a sudden 
 uneasiness arising on finding a stile, a ditch, or other impediment of that 
 nature in his way ; and the mind is equally disturbed when thus violently and 
 unexpectedly interrupted in contemplating the parts of a building. 
 
 Sometimes, however, it may be necessary to increase the size, and vary 
 the fio-urcs of the windows, either in the centre break, or in some other 
 prominent part of a front, in order to light a saloon, a gallery, or a hall, higher 
 than the rest of the rooms. But then it will always be advisable to repeat 
 the same form if simple, as an arch, three, five, or more times, according to 
 the extent of the plan, as has been done in the south front of Holkham, that 
 so the mind may be in some degree satiated, before it is conducted to a new object. 
 
 Venetian windows, and Venetian doors too, arc on some occasions 
 necessary, particularly in small buildings, to light a hall, a vestibule, or such 
 other rooms as cannot admit of two windows, and yet would not be suificicntly 
 lit with one. But where they can be avoided, it is best, for the columns 
 which separate the large interval from those on the sides form such slender 
 partitions, that, at a distance, they are scarcely perceived, and the whole looks 
 like a large irregular breach made in the wall. 
 
 And however advisable it may be to repeat the same form, as has above been 
 mentioned, the repetition of these Venetian windows should always be avoided. 
 In the north front of Holkham, there are no less than seven of them, which, 
 added to the quantity of trifling breaks and ups and downs in the elevation, 
 keep the spectator's eye in a perpetual dance to discover the outlines, than 
 which nothing can be more unpleasing or destructive of effect. Indeed 
 Mr, Kent, who was the designer of this building, though we have it published 
 under another name, was verv fond of puzzling his spectators, witness the 
 Horse Guards, Holkham, the Treasury, and other of his works, which 
 certainly would have added more to his fame had they been less complicated 
 and abundant in variety. 
 
 The sashes of windows are generally made of wainscot or mahogany, 
 and sometimes of copper or other metals. The London artificers excel in 
 these works, they make them very neatly, and though in appearance slight, 
 
 2 p
 
 282 OF WINDOWS. 
 
 Terv strong. The squares of glass are proportioned to the size of the 
 windows, there heing commonly three in the width and four in the height, 
 whatever he the dimensions of the window; each sash is composed of two 
 equal parts, placed one ahove the other, and either the lowermost, or hoth of 
 them, heing hung on pulleys and counterpoised with weights, are moved up or 
 down with great ease, both the cords and the weights heing concealed. These 
 are much neater, and much more convenient, than the French ones, which are 
 composed of two vertical divisions, turn on hinges, and are shut with an 
 apparatus of ironwork, always in the way, and weighing almost a hundred- 
 weight. The shutters ai-e always within the apartments wherever beauty is 
 aimed at, those on the outside destroying the appearance of the front. They 
 are divided into several vertical slips, folding behind each other, for the 
 convenicncy of ranging or boxing them when open, in the thickness of the 
 wall. Each slip or fold is framed and composed of several panels, either 
 raised or flat, surrounded with small mouldings contained in the thickness of 
 the framing, which, when the profiles in the room are enriched, should like- 
 wise be so, at least on the fold that faces the aperture when the shutters are 
 turned back, the front of which must stand flush with the inner edge of the 
 architrave suiTounding the window, all the other folds being ranged behind it. 
 In the three annexed plates of windows, I have given a great variety of 
 designs. Fig. 1, in the first of these plates, is imitated from the lower 
 windows of St. Peter's, composed by M. Angelo Buonaroti.* The aperture is 
 somewhat lower than a double square in height ; the architrave is one-seventh 
 of the width of the aperture, which is likewise the breadth of the pilasters ; 
 the consoles, both at bottom and top of the window, are in length one-third of 
 the width of the aperture ; and the whole entablature is equal to one-quarter 
 the height thereof. Fig. 2 is a composition of Bartolomeo Ammanati, 
 executed in the ground floor of the Mattel Palace at Rome. The whole 
 design, and particularly the lower part, is well composed, but rather apijroach- 
 ing towards the heavy ; the parts made somewhat less would succeed better, 
 as would also a pediment instead of the sloped covering at top. Figs. 3 and 4 
 are both of them composed by Bernardo Buontalenti,f and executed in 
 
 * Tliis extraordinary man, whose various and wondcri'iil talents and genius place him on a level with 
 the greatest characters that have ever appeared in the world, descended from an ancient but reduced 
 family of Tuscany, was born in 1474. He died, crowned with glory, in 1564. His disinterestedness 
 knew no bounds. He conducted the worka at St. Peter's for seventeen years without salary. — [Ed.] 
 
 f Hemardo Ruontalenti, a Florentine, bom 1536, died 1608. He was an architect and painter of 
 considerable celebrity. In his infancy the house in which he dwelt fell down and killed all the inmates, 
 cxcejit Uernardo, who miraculously escaped by falling under some vaulting. On this occasion the grand 
 duke of Florence, commifcrnting the situation of the orphan, provided for his education as an artist.— [Kd.]
 
 Z):esigx^s' I'CR TemDows. 
 
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 OV WINDOWS. 
 
 285 
 
 different places. The aperture of this sort of window may he a double square, 
 or a trifle more ; the architrave from one-sixth to one-seventh of the width of 
 the aperture, and the pilasters either the same or less by one-third, one- 
 quarter, or one-fifth, accordino- as the architrave is broader or narrower, there 
 beinf very few cases in which both together should exceed one-third of the 
 width of the aperture at the most. The height of the whole entablature 
 should not exceed one-quarter of the height of the aperture, nor ever be much 
 lower. The consoles may be equal in length to half the width of the aperture 
 at most, and to one-third of it at the least. 
 
 In the second plate, fig. 1, is a design of P. Lescot,* abbot of Clagny, 
 executed in the Old Louvre at Paris. The proportions may be the same, as 
 in the two last mentioned ones. Fig. 2 is what we commonly call in England 
 a Venetian window. It is an invention of Scamozzi. The height of the 
 arched aperture is twice and one-half its width ; those on the sides are half 
 the width of that in the middle, and their height is regulated by the height of 
 the columns. The breadth of the archivolt is equal to the superior diameter of 
 the columns. Fig. 3 is a design of Palladio, executed by him in many of his 
 Iniildings. The aperture is a double square, the breadth of the architrave is 
 one-sixth of the width of the aperture, the frieze and cornice together are 
 double the heiffht of the architrave, and the breadth of the consoles is two- 
 thirds of the breadth of the architrave. This sort of window succeeds much 
 better without breaks in the architrave, which only serve to render it top- 
 heavy, and the consoles when placed on pilasters seem more supported, and 
 serve to give a better form to the whole than when they are only stuck on the 
 wall. The breaks, though frequently introduced by Inigo Jones and other 
 copyers or imitators of Palladio, are always unnatural, and can only be 
 tolerated for the sake of variety, or with a view of spreading a composition in 
 itself too leanly elevated. Fig. 4 is likewise a design of Palladio, executed at 
 the Chiericato in Vicenza. Its proportions differ very little from the former ; 
 the plat-band that supports the window is equal to the breadth of the 
 architrave. Fig. 5 is a Venetian window, invented, I believe, by Mr. Campbell. 
 Fig. 6 is a design of Inigo Jones, executed at the Banqueting-IIouse. I do 
 not know exactly what proportions he has observed, having never had an 
 opportunity of measuring the original ; but the aperture may be a double 
 square, the architrave one-sixth of the aperture's width, and the whole 
 
 * Pierre Lescot, Abbot of Clagny, was celebrated as an architect during the reigns of Francis I. and 
 Henry II. He was a coteraporary of the famous Jean Gougeon, and the ai-chitectural part of the beautiful 
 Fountain of the Innocents at Paris is attributed to him, as is the sculpture to Gougeon.— [Ed.]
 
 286 OF WINDOWS. 
 
 entablature one-quarter of its height ; the breadth of the consoles may be 
 two-thirds of the breadth of the architrave. Fig. 7 is a design of M. Angelo 
 Buonaroti, executed at the Farnese Palace in Rome. For the beautiful 
 disposition represented in fig. 8, we are indebted to the late Mr. Kent, and it 
 is executed, with some little ditfei'ence, at the Horse Guai'ds, in St. James's 
 Park. Its proportions may be collected from the design. Fig. 9 is a design 
 of Ludovico da Cigoli, and executed in the ground floor of the Renuccini 
 Palace at Florence. In the third plate of windows, fig. 1 is imitated from a 
 design of Rafiuelle Sanzio da Urbino, executed in the principal floor of the 
 Pandolfini Palace at Florence. The height of the aperture is a trifle more 
 than twice its width ; the architrave is equal to one-seventh of the width of 
 the aperture ; the columns are Ionic, and will succeed best if entirely 
 detached, yet that cannot well be, excepting on a ground floor ; their height is 
 nine diameters, their distance from the architrave of the window is a quarter 
 of a diameter, which is likewise the distance of the entablature from the top 
 of the same architrave. The height of the whole entablature is equal to two- 
 ninths of the column, and the height of the pediment is one-quarter of its 
 base, or a trifle less ; the pedestals and balustrades are in height one-quarter 
 of the column and entablature taken together. Fiff. 2 is an invention of 
 Andrea Palladio, executed, with some little difference, in the Porto Barbarano 
 Palace at Vicenza. Inigo Jones has very judiciously introduced the same 
 design in the flanks of Greenwich Hospital, and managed all the parts of it 
 more gracefully than in the original. Fig. 3 is imitated from the windows in 
 the principal floor of the Bracciano Palace at Rome, designed by Bernini. 
 Fig. 4 is an invention of Palladio, and the design here given is very accurately 
 measured and copied from the Tluene Palace at Vicenza, in the principal floor 
 of which it is executed. The height of the aperture is two and one-tenth of 
 its width, the columns are Ionic, one-quarter engaged in the wall, and nine 
 diameters high ; the bottoms of the capitals are on a line with the top of the 
 aperture, they have angular volutes, with an astragal and flUet below the 
 volute. The bases are Tuscan ; there are five rustic dies on the shaft of each 
 column, which are all of an equal bi-eadth ; the inner sides of them arc on a 
 line vdth the sides of the aperture ; and their projection is equal to tliat of the 
 plinth of the base, which is one-fifth of a diameter of the column. The key- 
 stones arc distributed in the manner represented in the design ; they incline 
 forwards towards the top, their surface is rough, and hatched irregularly with 
 long chops, as are likewise the dies on the columns, their angles alone being 
 left smooth, and with a sharp outline, which roughness makes an agreeable
 
 OF WINDOWS. 287 
 
 opposition to the smooth finishing of the other parts. The entablature is 
 Ionic, the architrave composed of two fascias, only the frieze is swelled, and 
 the dentil-band is placed immediately on the frieze without any moulding to 
 support it, a singularity which Palladio has repeated in others of his designs, 
 though it has but an indifferent effect. The pedestals and balustrade are a 
 trifle higher than one-third of the columns ; the dyes and balusters are placed 
 immediatelv on the plat-band that finishes the basement, which is not so well 
 as if there had been a base, but has been done in order to diminish the 
 projection. This beautiful window differs considerably from the design given 
 of it in Palladio's book, and is undoubtedly superior to it. Fig. 5 is likewise 
 a design of Palladio, copied from the Porto Palace at Vicenza ; and fig. 6 is, 
 I believe, an original invention of Inigo Jones, which has been executed in 
 many buildings in England. 
 
 I have given, in all, nineteen designs for windows, and for greater variety 
 the figures 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, in the plate of doors, may be employed, they being 
 equally proper either for windows or doors. 
 
 NOTE ON AVINDOWS. 
 
 Fenestration is such an important and copious subject that it would afford matter fur a special 
 treatise. It may be said to constitute one main distinction between ancient and modern Classic ; for 
 of windows very few examples at all are to be found in the monumental edifices of the ancients, which is, 
 perhaps, rather fortunate than not, because, having no express and authoritatively accredited precedents 
 to follow, the Kevivalists were left to work out a system of fenestration by themselves, unfettered by 
 Vitruvian rules, and some of them have shown that windows might be made most expressive and 
 characteristic features. They are, in fact, or else might be, au almost inexhaustible source of infinitely 
 diversified decoration. Yet, however satisfactory may be the design of the wir.dows themselves, very much 
 will depend upon the character of wliat — to coin a not unneeded or superfluous tenn — may be called 
 Interfcnestratioii, formed by anakigy i'rom that of intercolumniation, for as the latter refers to the spacing 
 of columns, so does the one here proposed to the spacing of windows. 
 
 One difference to be noted between interfencstration and intercolunmiation is, that whereas wide 
 spacing is rather a defect in the latter, it is just the reverse in the other. A multiplicity of windows, 
 especially in Ijoth directions — vertical as well as horizontal — -unavoidably give a crowded and squeezed-up 
 appearance to a front, altogether at variance with the expression of nobleness. Closely-set columns produce 
 richness, closely-set apertures quite the contrary eflect. '\\'here apertures are in excess comj^ared with 
 the solids, one unsatisfactory result is the appearance of insufficient stability ; besides which, in case of 
 fire, the danger becomes all the greater. It is their largeness of interfencstration, (juite independently 
 of design, which gives such an air of aristocratic dignity to the Pall-mall Club-houses, those especially by 
 the late Sir Charles Barry, which are eminent for a quality that cannot be counterfeited — namely, 
 breadth and repose. Of' Barry it may indeed be said that he was the first to show us what 
 might be made of decorated fenestration. Instead of adopting ready-made window-dressings, as had been 
 done by former architects, he not only designed them, but displayed the happiest originality. In the examples 
 ofwindows shown by Chambers, in those which have columns they arc mere ex])lelivcs — not that such appli- 
 cation of them i.s to be reprobated as faulty — but BaiTy greatly inijirovcd upon it by employing the 
 columns or pilasters, as the case may be, constructively as the jambs of the window openings, so as to form 
 its reveals. This gives an unusual degree of architectural expression and finish, because each pilaster 
 exhibits two entire faces, and the return one sho'ws itself from within. The windows of the Travellers'
 
 288 NOTE ON WINDOWS. 
 
 Club-house are of this description; therefore, by referring to I'hite 28, Fig. 1, showing a window from the 
 Palazzo Pandolfini (which building Barry is said to have copied), it will be seen that the mode just 
 described was an invention of Barry's own, and a singularly happy one, because, besides its propriety, it 
 pi-oduces compactness. It must, however, be admitted that the other mode (Plate 28, Figs. 1 and 3) is 
 not without its advantages, inasmuch as it enlarges and gives greater importance to the composition ; there- 
 fore either may be the preferable one, according to circumstances. There is something no less pleasin"- 
 than unusual in the example (Fig. 3) from the Palazzo Bracciano, and which is not a little suggestive also. 
 When columns or pilasters are employed for the decoration of such apertures as either doors or windows, 
 they may reasonably enough be treated with greater freedom of design than a large order. With respect 
 to pediments over windows, it has been the practice of many to make them alternately pointed and cui'ved ; 
 yet, if not to be condenmed, neither is it to be recommended. Such practice was not that of either 
 Sir William (Chambers) or Sir Charles (Barry). The former appears to have never employed the curved 
 pediment at all, whereas the other did lor all the principal floor windows of Bridgewater House, which 
 shows what may be made of fenestration in astylar composition. Again, with respect to the distinguishing 
 a central window from the others on the same floor, no rules can be drawn up or laid down. What suits 
 one case is utterly unsuitable for another ; nor is the impossibility of providiug a special rule for each indi- 
 vidual case to be regretted. AVe need not have architectural design reduced to a sort of multiplication 
 table and the rule of three. 
 
 Besides the dressings or ornamentation of the apertures, much depends upon the mode of glazing the 
 windows. 'When sashes were first introduced they were exceedingly co.arse and clumsy, as may be seen by 
 those of the Banqueting House, Whitehall, and Greenwich Hospital. Wo have now lallen into the contrai-y 
 extreme, and because plate glass is so much cheaper than formerly, it is no unusual thing to fill each sash 
 with a single square of it, without any vertical bars at all, but the effect is by no means the best : there is a 
 disagreeable appearance of emptiness, which is none the less for the window being divided into two squares 
 by the horizontal bar between the upper and lower sash. Certain it is that Barry did not approve such 
 fashion, lor his ajsthetic feeling led him to reject it where, had lie recommended them, there would have beert 
 plates of glass, whose dimensions would have almost rivalled those of — a shop window. Although it has 
 only very seldem indeed been resorted to, gilding the sashes of the windows produces a most superb eflect. 
 In his Treatise on Ai-chitecture, Hosking condemns what are called '' A^enetian windows " as licing " radi- 
 cally inelegant," which is surely a hasty and ill-considered opinion. Some windows of that kind are indeed 
 decidedly uncouth, as is the case with the one represented in PUite 27, Fig. 5; but the example just beneath 
 it (Fig. 8), is of totally different character, and hy no means deficient in elegance. AA'hen windows consist 
 of three openings, they afford a wide scope for design both as regards the general composition, and its orna- 
 mentation, yet — and it is somewhat remarkable — they do not seem ever to have found favour with French 
 architects, neither have they adopted the Greek Ionic capital with its charmingly and emphatically pro- 
 nounced volutes. To return after this somewhat aside remark to the subject proper, — if in a Triple, or 
 what here goes by the name of a Venetian, window, however unlike it may be to anything to be seen in 
 A'enice, the colunms would be more eflective were they three-quarter ones, and still more so were they 
 quite insulated. ISTo doubt, that would require greater thickness of wall ; yet even that difficulty 
 may, by a little thoughtful contrivance, be got over. Of late years the jn-actice of arching 
 the central ojicning has been abandoned, probably on account of the difficulty of satisfac- 
 torily arranging the window-curtains where the central oi)ening is very much loltier than tlie two 
 side ones. Still there are ways and means of getting over that diillculty, and far more formidable ones, by 
 exercise of thought. To speak out frankly and freely, it is one great shortcoming of Chambers' and all 
 similar treatises, that in .s])eaking of windows they say nothing whatever as regards internal design and 
 eilect. Draperies are of course upholsterers' work, yet it is lor the architect to consider and provide lor a 
 tasteful and convenient arrangement of the curtains if the window consists of more than one opening, or 
 should several windows lie grouped together — of which mode Barry has left a truly charming example in 
 the south front of the Travellers' Cluli-house. 
 
 An altogether different method of lighting rooms from the ordinary one is that of lighting them through 
 the ceiling by " lanterns " : but lest this note shoidd seem too long, that is left to be sjiokcn of in 
 another further on, upon ceilings ; what may be here observed, is that the sufficiency of light will vary very 
 much acconling to the particular purpose and destination of the room itself. If it be a dining-room, 
 ball-room, or any other that is expressly prepared for evening enjoyment, sufficiency of light by day is iv 
 matter of minor consideration, in some cases it is desirable that windows should come down to the floor 
 within, althougli there may be balustrades before them externally, which show not only from without but also 
 from within. In others it is rather more desirable tliat the windows should be raised about some seven feet 
 above the floor, in order to exclude "outlook," and also secure the look of greater [irivacy and retirement, 
 as in a library. One no small disadvantage attending a room lighted by several thick-set windows on one. 
 of its longer sides, is that when the curtains are closed that side will overpower all the rest, and 
 completely destroy the valuable (juality of huluncc. It is possible, however, if not entirely (o overcome, to 
 greatly moderate such dolbrmity. It can be done, and there are more ways than one, Ipy wdiich, if it has 
 not yet been done, it may be accomplished. But so long as architects will not condescend to bestow any 
 attention upon such trifles it will never be done at all. — [^V'. II. L.]
 
 289 
 
 OF NICHES AND STATUES. 
 
 Abchitecture, as D'A viler observes, is indebted to sculpture for a great 
 part of its magnificence ; and as the human body is justly esteemed the most 
 perfect original, it has been customary, in all times, to enrich different parts 
 of buildings with representations thereof. Thus the ancients adorned 
 their temples, basilica;, baths, theatres, and other public structures, with 
 statues of their deities, philosophers, heroes, orators, and legislators ; and the 
 moderns still preserve the same custom, placing in their churches, palaces, 
 houses, squares, gai'dens, and public walks the busts and statues of illustrious 
 personages, or bas-reliefs and groups, composed of various figures, representing 
 memorable occurrences, collected from the histories, fables, or traditions of 
 particular times. 
 
 Sometimes these statues or groups ai'e detached, raised on pedestals, and 
 placed contiguous to the walls of buildings, by the side of flights of steps or 
 stairs, at the angles of terraces, in the middle of rooms, or of courts and 
 public squares ; but most frequently they occupy cavities made in walls, which 
 are called niches. Of these there are various sorts ; some for the reception of 
 statues or groups, being formed like arches in their elevation, and either semi- 
 circular, semi-elliptical, or squai-e in their plan ; others used for the same 
 purpose are of a parallelogramical figure both in the plan and elevation ; 
 and others, for the disposal of busts or vases, ai'e circular or oval, square or 
 oblong in the elevation, and either sunk squarely or spherically into the walls. 
 
 The proportion of the former sorts of these depends on the characters of 
 the statues, or on the general form of the groups placed in them ; the lowest 
 are at least a double square in height, and the highest never exceed twice and 
 one-half of their width. With regard to those intended for busts, they are 
 always proportioned nearly alike, being made to fit the shape of the things 
 placed in them, either a trifle above a square in height, or circular or oval, 
 more or less elevated. The manner of decorating high niches, if alone in a 
 composition, as they are in the principal front of the Old Louvre at Paris, 
 is generally to enclose them in a decoration or panel, formed and proportioned 
 like the aperture of a window, which is adorned in the same manner, and 
 
 2 Q
 
 290 OF NICHES AND STATUES. 
 
 bears the same proportion to the architecture they accompany as a regular 
 window would. The niche contained in them is more or less recessed, and is 
 carried quite to the bottom ; but on the sides and at the top there is a small 
 space left between the niche and the architrave of the panel. When niches 
 are intermixed with windows, as they were in the front of Old Somerset 
 House,* towards the river, and as they are at St. Paul's ; they may be adorned 
 in the same manner as the windows, provided the oi'naments can be of the 
 same figure and dimensions, but when the space between two windows is not 
 sufficient to admit of this, it is much better to make the niches entirely plain, 
 or suiTounded only with rustics, than to contract the aperture, and by that 
 means make the decoration narrower than those of the windows, as Inigo 
 Jones had done at Old Somerset House, or than to adorn the niches in a 
 dififerent manner, as Sir Christopher Wren has at St. Paul's ; for both these 
 expedients are irregular, and occasion confusion. The tops and bottoms 
 of these plain niches must level with the tops and bottoms of the 
 apertures of the windows, and neither be raised above nor sunk below 
 them, as D'Avilerf teaches : for on this, and on all other occasions of the like 
 nature, a continuity of straight horizontal lines must constantly be aimed at ; 
 it being certain, that whenever the eye of the spectator is forced to dance up 
 and down, and hunt, if I may be allowed so to call it, for an outline, the 
 operation is always painful, and the images raised in the mind are always 
 confused. To this, in a great measure, may be attributed the general dislike 
 to the Horse Guards, in St. James's Park, which is a building of so com- 
 plicated a figui'e, both in plan and elevation, that it is impossible to form 
 a distinct idea of the whole at once. 
 
 The same kind of plain niches may likewise be employed in narrower 
 intercolumniations ; but care must withal be taken not to squeeze them in 
 between the columns or pilasters. And therefore, when the interval is not 
 sufficient to aff'oi-d room for a wcU-pi'oportioned niche, and a space on each 
 side between it and the columns of at least two-thirds of a module, it will be 
 better to have no niches at all. 
 
 The size of the statue depends upon the dimensions of the niche ; it 
 should neither be so large as to seem rammed into it, as at Santa Maria 
 
 * The loss of this building is niucli to be rej^'etted. It was not only pei'haps the most elegant of the 
 works of Inigo .lones, but contained fewer abuses than most of liis other buildings. An elevation of part 
 of it is given at page 1 77. — [Ei>.] 
 
 f " Lorsquc dans une Fai;ade lea Fenestrcs sont asscz eloiguees pour avoir dcs niches d'unc grandeur 
 proportionniie aux Fcnestres, et quelles sont au mcsmo Niveau que leurs appuis, on les pent decorer de 
 mCsmc, et les placer dans un petit renfonceinent de la grandeur dcs Crois6es," &c. A''ol. i. p. 1 50. — [Ed.]
 
 OF NICHES AND STATUES. 291 
 
 Maggiorc* in Rome ; nor so small as to seem lost in it, as in the Pantheon, 
 where the statues do not occupy above three-quarters of the height of the 
 niche, and onlv one-half of its width. Palladio, in arched niches, makes the 
 chin of his statues on a level with the top of the impost, so that the whole 
 head is in the coved part. In the nave of St. Peter's, at Rome, the same 
 proportion has been observed, and it has a very good effect. The distance 
 between the outline of the statue and the sides of the niche should never be 
 less than one-third of a head, nor more than one-half, whether the niche be 
 square or arched ; and when it is square, the distance from the top of the 
 head to the soffit of the niche should not exceed the distance left on the 
 sides. The statues are generally raised on a plinth, the height of which may 
 be from one-third to one-half of a head ; and sometimes where the niches are 
 verj' large in proportion to the architecture they accompany, as is the case 
 w^hen an order comprehends but one story, the statues may be raised on small 
 pedestals, by which means they may be made lower than usual, and yet fill the 
 niche sufficiently, it being to be feared lest statues of a proper size to fill such 
 large niches should make the columns and entablatures appear trifling. The 
 same expedient must also be made use of whenever the statues in the niches, 
 according to their common proportion, come considerably larger than those 
 placed at the top of the building. A trifling disparity will not be easily 
 perceived, on account of the distance between their respective situations ; but 
 if it be great, it must have a very bad effect, and therefore this must be well 
 attended to and remedied, either by the above-mentioned method, or by 
 entirely omitting statues at the top of the building, leaving the balustrade 
 either free, or placing thereon vases, trophies, and other similar ornaments. 
 
 Some writers there are who give to these ornaments the preference at all 
 times, alleging that it is absurd to suppose horses and men constantly standing 
 on the roofs, or stuck up in the niches of a second or third story, in situations 
 shocking and frightful to the imagination. De Cordemoy advises by all 
 means to avoid placing statues too far from the ground, and Le Clercf is for 
 having nothing but tutelar angels on the tops of houses. 
 
 * Upon the Basilica di Sta. ^laria Maggiore as many aixhitects were employed as upon tliat of S. 
 Giovanni Laterano, which has been mentioned in a preceding page. We find the following names among 
 them — Marchione, who built in it the Cappolla del Presepio ; Sangallo, who restored and decorated the 
 ceiling ; Domenico Fontana, who restored the first-named chapel ; Flaminio Ponzio, who built the sacristy ; 
 Girolamo Rainaldi, who designed the altar of the Cappella Paolina, and Ferdinando Fuga who designed tlie 
 fa(;ade. — [Ed.] 
 
 t " Au lieu de mettre des Statues pour servir d'Amortissemens aux Etages les plus elevez, on pourroit 
 mettre des Vases, des Torchers, des Pots fumans, des Trophees, et semblables Ornemeiis qui meme 
 
 2 Q 2
 
 292 OF NICHES AND STATUES. 
 
 To me there appears something ridiculous in this atfectation of propriety^ 
 and, I believe, it may in general be established, that whenever the image is so 
 different from the original it represents as not to leave the least probability of 
 its being ever mistaken for the real object, this strict adherence to propriety is 
 very superfluous. 
 
 The character of the statue should always correspond with the character 
 of the architecture with which it is surrounded. Thus, if the order be Doric, 
 Hercules, Jupiter, Pluto, Neptune, Mars, Esculapius, or any male figures^ 
 representing beings of a robust and grave nature, may be introduced ; if 
 Ionic, then Apollo, Bacchus, Ceres, Minerva, Mercury ; and if Corinthian, 
 Venus and the Graces, Flora, or others of a delicate kind and slender make 
 may properly have place. 
 
 Niches being designed as repositories for statues, groups, vases, or other 
 works of sculpture, must be contrived to set off" the things they are to contain 
 to the best advantage ; and therefore no ornaments should ever be introduced 
 within them, as is sometimes injudiciously practised ; the cove of the niche 
 being either filled with a large scallop shell, or the whole inside with various 
 kinds of projecting rustics, with moulded compartments either raised or 
 sunken, or composed of different coloured marbles ; for all these serve to 
 confuse the outline of the statue or group. It is even wrong to continue an 
 impost within the niche, for that is of considerable disadvantage to the 
 figures, which never appear so perfect as when backed and detached on a 
 plain smooth surface. An excess of ornaments round the niche should 
 likewise be avoided, and particularly masks, busts, boys, or any representations 
 of the human figure, all which serve to divide the attention, and to divert it 
 from the principal object. 
 
 The depth of the niche should always be sufficient to contain the whole 
 statue, or whatever else it is to contain, it being very disagreeable to see 
 statues, or any other weighty objects, with false bearings, and supported on 
 consoles or other projections, as is sometimes done ; and in the case of niches, 
 the side views become exceedingly uncouth ; for in these a leg, an arm, a head, 
 in short, those parts alone which x«'oject beyond the niche, appear and look 
 like so many fragments stuck irregularly in the wall. 
 
 conviendroient micux a ces endroits, (juc dcs Figures liumaines : :i moiiis iiu'cllcs no representasscnt des 
 Anges Tutclaires destincz 'a la garde et ii la conservation dii Bfitimcnt." — Section G. How tiuly 
 absurd!— [Ed.]
 
 293 
 
 NOTE ON NICHES AND STATUES. 
 
 Ai-TiiorGii it scorns to have been scarcely known to the Greeks, the Niche is an exceedingly liappy inven- 
 tion, and may bo made to contribute very largely to variety in architectural composition. It would not be 
 without its value had it no other than that of clearly expressing thickness of wall and solidity of con- 
 struction. Hardly anything could have been better devised for the reception and exhibition of statues in 
 combination with architecture than the niche; besides which, niches themselves admit of very great 
 diversity of char.acter : they may be plain or dressed, be either round or square-headed, and if the latter, 
 may be either rectangular or semicircular in plan. As a niche is intended — at least looks as if it were 
 intended — to receive something, it is, perhaps, a solecism to leave it empty, thereby letting it be seen 
 how greatly performance had fallen short of intention. It does not, however, follow that the soniethin'^ 
 must of necessity be a statue ; certainly not in interior design. There niches may be tenanted citlier by 
 choice and elaborately worked vases or candelabra, and if rectatangular in plan, be backed by lookin". 
 glass. In interiors very much more than has, apparently, yet been thought of, might be done by lining 
 niches either with marble or scagliola, so as to give relief and emphasis both to them and whatever they 
 may contain. When, as is sometimes done in rooms, a large niche, or rather niche-like recess, is carried 
 down to the floor, its head may properly enough be coffered or otherwise enriched ; as may likewise be 
 done in other cases where the statue, or whatever else may be placed within the niche, rises no higher than 
 the impost line. Niches are sometimes made alternately square and round-headed ; or a central niche is 
 distinguished from those on each side of it by being carried up higher, as is done in the statue-gallery at 
 Holkham, whore it produces a singularly pleasing effect. 
 
 For rooms iu general niches are out of the question ; but in vestibules, staircases, dining-rooms, or 
 perhaps libraries, where the walls are neither hung nor papered, they give decided .architectural expression. 
 Should the inner walls not be sufficiently thick to admit of niches being practised in them, there is one 
 way of getting over that difficulty by the simple expedient of cutting off the angles of the room, so as to 
 obtain space for a niche. In a dining-room, some 25 feet by 36 feet, while the cutting off the angles 
 would detract nothing from commodiousness, it would break up the monotonousness of rectangularity, and 
 thereby render the room all the more striking as contrasted with the other. 
 
 With respect to Statues, amply warranted as it is by precedent, the practice of hoisting them up aloft 
 on the summit of a building, is the reverse of coramend.able, for the simple reason that it is putting them 
 where they cannot be seen at all properly. It is employing them as mere accessories, quite subordinate 
 to the architecture, and introduced merely for the purpose of setting it off. Upon figures so preposterously 
 placed, good design and execution would be thrown away; consequently, the m.iking use of them, only 
 encourages a very inferior gi-ade of sculi)ture. The proper place for statues, or for other scvdjjture that 
 claims to be considered more than mere decorative carving, is that where it can be distinctly seen and con- 
 templated. Appreciatingly placed within a niche, a statue is not only framed in, but is thrown into strong 
 relief by shadow — a vei-y important consideration; whereas planted on the summit of a building, instead of 
 being relieved by background, it is seen against the sky, which is no small disadvantage. Another disadvan- 
 tage is that seen from a short distance off below, a statue so placed becomes foreshortened. No doubt 
 figures so applied serve to break the sky-line, but the same number of pinnacles (of course not Gothic 
 ones) would answer the purpose just as well, and in one respect even better, because then there would be 
 no misapplication of statuarj- professing to be art, and something better than architectural garnish. Escep-
 
 294 NOTE ON NICHES AND STATUES. 
 
 tional cases there are, in which a statue may be employed as an anthropomorphic finial, as witnesses that 
 which crowns the pyramidical steeple of St. George's, Bloomsbm-y, where the single statue produces an 
 unusually striking effect, by terminating the campanile very picturesquely, and becoming an important 
 object. 
 
 As mere acroters for the purpose of giving some play to the sky-line, vases are preferable to statues. 
 They are, or ought to be, and may be eumorphic objects, evidently intended like very much in every other 
 style, chiefly for decoration, consequently with more or less of the " useless " and " unmeaning." The brumma- 
 gem criticism which likens vases to tea-urns, and spires to candle extinguishers, may be despised as unworthy 
 of serious refutation. One equally brief and intelligible rule respecting statues is to make the most of them 
 by putting them where they can show themselves as works of art that will bear being examined. They find 
 a very suitable place, for instance, within a portico or colonnade, where two life-size statues would 
 tell more impressively than a score of figures twice as large exalted to such a height that nobody pays any 
 attention to them. It has been complained that our architects do not make sufficient provision in their 
 designs for statuary or other sculpture, — a rather unreasonable accusation, for though some have put it in, 
 perhaps rather liberally, in their drawings, it has almost invai-iably been left out in the executed structure. 
 Architects would be only too glad could they have their ideas ftdly carried out by the addition of the pro- 
 posed complementary sculpture, without which, if it has been tasteftilly introduced, the building may look 
 rather unfinished, in compai'ison with the original design. 
 
 Although considered as architecture, the front of the Soane Museum is poor enough in itself, the two 
 figures before the second floor hold out a good idea for applying statues in a similar manner still lower 
 down, as at the angles of a loggia just over the ground floor. The recesses between columns on the west side 
 of the Bank seem to have been almost expressly intended for the reception of statues or groups. One very 
 appropriate situation for statues is on the pedestals of a balustraded teiTace, or on those of flights of steps, 
 where they not only produce foreground to the building, but give life and spirit to it. Sir Gardner 
 Wilkinson has well remarked that, notwithstanding it is sanctioned by the practice of the Greeks, the custom 
 of putting sculpture in the tympanum of a pediment, or upon a frieze, is rather irrational. In fact, it is little 
 less than degrading sculpture by introducing it when well designed carved ornament would produce equal 
 effect. At the same time that a pediment is a very suitable place for sculpturesque embellishment, its form 
 is decidedly an unfavorable one for a composition of figures, inasmuch as it invariably necessitates the same 
 awkward and hackneyed ai-rangement — a tall figure in the centre, and the others lower and lower, till the 
 last squeeze themselves, as well as they can, into the acute comers of the triangular frame. Yet that 
 apparently insuperable disadvantage might be got over by limiting tlie number of figures to three, or even 
 a single one, leaving the rest of the tympanum either plain or having some pattern worked upon it. Or 
 the whole might be fitted up with ornament only. — [W. H. L.]
 
 295 
 
 OF CHIMNEY-PIECES. 
 
 As the Egyptians, the Greeks, and the Romans, to whom architecture is 
 so much indebted in other respects, lived in warm climates, where fires in the 
 apartments were seldom or never necessary, they have thrown but few lights 
 on this branch of architecture. Amongst the antiquities of Italy, I do not 
 recollect any remains of chimney-pieces. Palladio, indeed, mentions two ; the 
 one at Baia, and the other near Civita Vecchia, which stood in the middle of 
 the rooms, and consisted of columns supporting architraves, whereon wei-e 
 placed the pyramids or funnels through which the smoke was conveyed, much 
 after the manner of the fireplace in the rotunda of Ranelagh Gardens. 
 Scamozzi* takes notice of three sorts of chimney-pieces used in Italy in his 
 time. One of these he calls the Roman, the aperture of which is surrounded 
 only with a clumsy architrave ; another he calls the Venetian, which is like- 
 wise adorned with an architrave, upon which are placed a frieze and cornice, 
 and on the sides thereof are pilasters with consoles. The third sort he calls a 
 Padiglione. 
 
 This last he particularly recommends where the walls are thin, it being 
 not hollowed into the wall, as both the other sorts are, but composed of a 
 projecting entablature, supported by consoles, termini, or caryatides, on which 
 the pyramid is placed. This sort of chimney-piece is still very common in 
 Italy ; the Dutch are very fond of it, and we find it in many of our old 
 English country houses. The figures 4 and 9 in plate 29, are the lower 
 parts of two of them, designed by Palladio, and executed, the one in the 
 Casa Trevisana, in the Island of Murano, and the other in the Valmarana 
 Palace at Vicenza. 
 
 Neither the Italians nor the French, nor indeed any of the continental 
 nations, have ever excelled in compositions of chimney-pieces : I believe we may 
 justly consider Inigo Jones as the first who arrived at any great degree of per- 
 fection in this matei-ial branch of the art. Others of our English ai-chitects, 
 have, since his time, wrought upon his ideas, or furnished good inventions of 
 
 • Parte Seconda, Lib. vi. c. 35.— [Ed.]
 
 296 OF CHIMNEY-PIECES. 
 
 tlieir own ; and England, being at present possessed of many ingenious and 
 very able sculptors, of whom one chief employment is to execute magnificent 
 chimnej'-pieces, now happily much in vogue, it may be said that in this parti- 
 cular we surpass all other nations, not only in point of expense, but likewise iu 
 taste of desion and excellence of workmanship. Scamozzi mentions a chimney- 
 piece, in one of the public buildings at Venice, executed from his design, as a 
 most uncommon piece of magnificence, having cost upwards of a thousand 
 crowns.* In this country a much larger expense is very frequent, and many 
 private gentlemen's houses, in most parts of England, are furnished with several 
 chimney-pieces at least as valuable. 
 
 The size of the chimney must depend upon the dimensions of the room 
 wherein it is placed. In the smallest apartments the width of the aperture is 
 never made less than from three feet to three feet six inches ; in rooms from 
 twenty to twenty-four feet square, or of equal superficial dimensions, it may be 
 four feet wide ; in those of twenty-five to thirty, from four to four and a half ; 
 and in such as exceed these dimensions, the aperture may be extended to five, 
 or five feet six inches : but should the room be extremely large, as is frequently 
 the case of halls, galleries, and saloons, and one chimney of these last dimen- 
 sions neither afibrd sufficient heat to warm the room, nor sufficient space round 
 it for the company, it will be much more convenient, and far handsomer to 
 have two chimney-pieces of a moderate size, than a single one exceedingly 
 large, all the parts of which would appear clumsy and disproportioned to the 
 other decorations of the room. 
 
 The chimney should always be situated so as to be immediately seen by 
 those who enter, that they may not have the persons already in the room, who 
 are generally seated about the fire, to search for. The middle of the side 
 partition wall is the propcrest place in halls, saloons, and other rooms of passage 
 tu which the principal entrances arc, commonly, in the middle of the front, or of 
 the back wall : but in drawing rooms, dressing rooms, and the like, the middle 
 of the back wall is the best situation, the chimney being then furthest removed 
 from the doors of communication. The case is the same with respect to 
 galleries and libraries, whose doors t)f tnitrance are generally either at one or 
 at both ends. In bed chambers the chimney is always placed in the middle 
 
 ' " Di nostro online si sono f;ittc Nappe di tutte le forme r.iccontnte, c con vStatuc, o Fregioni, clie 
 sostengono I'ornamento di sopra, c tutte esse opere condotte di finissimi maiini bianclii, storiatc, cd 
 intagliato, c con girari di fogliami ne' Frcgi, c altri Ornanienti di CartcUe, Fcstoni e Puttini, ne' loro 
 Ciinieri, c qucsti anco tocclii d'oro : o fra Ic nitre (|uella del AnticoUeggio della Sci'onissima Signoria qui 
 in Vcnezia ; laqualc costo piii di inilic scudi ; ma questc, e simili opere si convcngono ii punto ii Prencipi 
 c personaggi, e non a personc private." — I'artc Second. Lib. vi. c. ."iS. — [Ed.]
 
 TUg. 
 
 
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 fi'i'AjViri^./.' l/lf 
 
 BibUshfd by the Pt'opnetors aftfmBuiUlmgUews.lSeO. 
 
 SIR WflLLlAM CHAMBERS' TREATISE. 
 
 To fhlh'W j)a^f'. 296. 
 
 ftuud&om Sua* Vt^ f CUftficos l*S<>a Xoa^tn
 
 nio. 
 
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 SIB V»ILLI«M CHAMBtRSTREATlSE. 
 
 To rdlow jxufe. Z96. 
 
 hut«i &tmi Suii« brCFCha&AsA-SoB .U>wfe&
 
 OF CHIMNEY-PIECES. 207 
 
 of one of the side });irtitioii walls, and in closets, or other very small places, it 
 is, to save room, sometimes placed in one corner. 
 
 AVhenever two chimneys arc introduced in the same room, they must be 
 regularly placed, either directly facing each other, if in diiFercnt walls, or at 
 equal distances from the centre of the wall in whic;h thev both are placed. The 
 Italians frecpiently put their chimneys in the front walls, between the windows, 
 for the benefit of looking out while sitting by the fire ; but this must bo 
 avoided, for by so doing that side of the room becomes ci'owded with ornaments, 
 and the other sides arc left too bare ; the front walls are much weakened b} 
 the funnels, and the chimney shafts at the top of the building, which must 
 necessarily be carried higher than the ridges of the roofs, have, from their great 
 length, a very disagreeable effect, and are very liable to be blown down. 
 
 In large buildings, where the walls are of a considerable thickness, the 
 funnels are carried up in the thickness of the wall ; but in small ones, this 
 cannot be done : the flues and chimney-pieces must necessarily advance forward 
 into the rooms, which, when the break is considerable, has a very bad effect ; 
 and therefore, where room can be spared, it will always be be^t^ either in show 
 or state apartments, to make niches or arched recesses on each side ; and in 
 lodging I'ooms, presses, or closets, either covered with the paper, or finished in 
 any manner suited to the rest of the room. By these means, the cornice or 
 entablature of the room may be carried round without breaks, the ceiling be 
 perfectly regular, and the chimney-piece have no more apparent projection than 
 may be necessary to give to its ornaments their proper relief. 
 
 The proportion of the apertures of chimney-pieces of a moderate size, is 
 generally near a square ; in small ones a trifle higher, and in large ones some- 
 what lower. Their ornaments consist of architraves, friezes, cornices, columns, 
 pilasters, termini, caryatides, consoles, and all kinds of ornaments of sculpture, 
 representing animal or vegetable productions of nature ; likewise vases, patera;, 
 trophies of various kinds, and instruments or symbols of religion, arts, arms, 
 letters, and commerce. In designing them, regard must be had to the nature 
 of the place where they arc to be employed. Such as are intended for halls, 
 guard rooms, salons, galleries, and other considerable places, must be composed 
 of large parts, few in number, of distinct and simple forms, and having a bold 
 relief ; but chimney-pieces for drawing rooms, dressing rooms, bed chambers, 
 and such like, may be of a more delicate and complicated composition. The 
 workmanship of all chimney-pieces must be perfectly well finished, like all other 
 objects liable to a close inspection, and the ornaments, figures, and profiles, 
 both in form, proportions, and quantity, must be suited to the other parts of 
 
 2 u
 
 298 OF CHIMNEY-PIECES. 
 
 the room, and be allusive to the uses for which it is intended. All nudities 
 and indecent representations must be avoided both in chimney-pieces and in 
 every other ornament of apartments to which children, ladies, and other modest 
 grave persons have constant recourse ; together with all representations 
 capable of exciting horror, grief, disgust, or any gloomy, unpleasing sensations. 
 
 Chimnev-pieces are made either of stone, of marble, or of a mixture of these 
 with wood, scagliola, ormolu, or some other unfragile substances. Those of 
 marble are most costly, but they are also most elegant ; and the only ones used 
 in high finished apartments, where they are seen either of white or varie- 
 gated marbles, sometimes inlaid and decorated with the materials just men- 
 tioned. All their ornaments, figures, or profiles are to be made of the pure 
 white sort, but their friezes, tablets, panels, shafts of columns, and other plain 
 parts, mav be of parti-coloured marbles, such as the yellow of Siena, the bro- 
 catello of Spain, the jaspers of Sicily, and many other modern as well as 
 antique marbles, fi'equentlv to be had in England. Festoons of flowers, 
 trophies, and foliages, frets, and other such decorations, cut in white statuary 
 marble, and fixed on grounds of these, have a very good effect. But there 
 should never be above two, or at the utmost three different sorts of colours in 
 the same chimney-piece, all brilliant and harmonizing with each other. 
 
 In the two annexed plates are eleven different designs for chimney- 
 pieces ; some of them composed by Palladio and Inigo Jones, the rest by me. 
 Their proportions mav be gathered from the designs, which are executed with 
 tolerable accuracy. Some other chimney-pieces will be found among the 
 designs at the end of the book . 
 
 The shafts of the chimney funnels should be regularly disposed on the 
 roofs of buildings, and all of them be made of the same height, breadth, and 
 figure. Thev arc handsomest when made of stone, of a cubical figure, and 
 finished with a light cornice, composed of few mouldings. Scamozzi recom- 
 mends obelisks and vases ; Serlio has given several designs for decorating the 
 tops of funnels, which resemble towers ; and Sir John Vanbrugh frequently 
 converted his into castles ; as may be seen at Blenheim, Castle Howard, and 
 others of his numerous stately works. 
 
 Neither the Italians above cited, nor the Englishman, have been very suc- 
 cessful in their designs ; but upon the same ideas good ones might be composed, 
 and made to terminate a structure with grace and proj)ricty.
 
 299 
 
 NOTE ON CHIMNEY-PIECES. 
 
 A few remarks on this subject will not, perhaps, be altogether superfluous. A chimney-piece oujht 
 not to be the least striking feature in a room — rather the contrary, especially in this climate where it is 
 expressive of comfort, and should, accordingly, be rendered an attractive and cheerful-looking object. Yet, 
 if it be made, as is sometimes done, of black or dark-colored marble, a chimney-piece shows only as a 
 dismal blot in the room, unless blackness were to be carried out consistently by ebony doors, ebony 
 furniture, and black velvet window curtains. Another more common, but hardly less oflTensive, solecism is 
 that of putting a plain marble chimney-piece, without any carved mouldings at all, into a room that makes a 
 pretentious show by its elaborate cornices and other stuccatura work. To bestow thoughtful desio-u on, 
 and to finish up, chimney-pieces is, if not a generally approved, or generally observed rule, at any rate a 
 very sound maxim. At one time, indeed, the inconsistency used to be of an opposite sort; the opening of 
 the fireplace being exceedingly large, and the chimney-piece an extravagantly-ambitious piled-up structure, 
 profusely adorned with carved work, though there was scarcely any attempt at decoration elsewhere. Xot 
 only does a chimney-piece of that description look heavy and cumbrous, but it takes off from the heio-ht of 
 a room. Yet, under particular circumstances, even what would else be a preposterously large chimney- 
 piece may be made to accord with, and to be balanced by, some other corresponding architectural feature ; 
 as when, for instance, spacious folding-doors are at one end of a room, and the chimuey-piece at the 
 opposite one. In such case, enlargement greatly beyond what is required for, or proportioned to, a fire- 
 place as its dressings, — 'departure from ordinary rules becomes allowable, and if successful, no less laudable 
 also. So much depends upon a chimney-piece that particular attention ought to be given to it. Tasteless 
 furniture can be changed, chimney-pieces are fixtures, and once put up must remain ; even though, intended 
 at first to be ornamental features, they come at last to be positive eyesores. The examples shown l)y 
 Chambers are not now to be recommended as faultless and unimproveable. — [W. H. L.] 
 
 2 r2
 
 300 
 
 OF PROFILES FOR DOORS, WINDOWS, NICHES, 
 CHIMNEY-PIECES, ETC. 
 
 AVhen any of the above-mentioned objects are very large, the profiles of 
 the orders ai'e employed in their decoration ; but when small, as is more fre- 
 quently the case, other profiles of a less complicated figure are used. Palladio 
 has in his first book eiven desiijas of several, three of which are exhibited in 
 the annexed plate. Fig. 1 is the richest of the three, and very proper for 
 windows or doors of the Corinthian order. The account given by that author 
 of its proportions, being very tedious and somewhat confused, is here omitted. 
 But all the operations for proportioning the different members by equal parts, 
 are expressed on the design. 
 
 Fig. 2 may be employed in an Ionic, or rich Doric order. Its architrave 
 is to be divided into four parts ; the frieze to be made equal to three, the 
 cornice to five of these parts. For the subdivisions see the plate, or consult 
 Palladio's book : his whole text upon so slight a subject being too long to be 
 inserted here. 
 
 Fig. 3 is proper in a Doric order. Its divisions ai*e less complicated than 
 the former two, and may easily be collected from the design. 
 
 In the beginning of this work, I have pointed out the trouble and tcdious- 
 ness of determining proportions by equal parts* ; those who peruse the three 
 paragraphs in Palladio's work, employed in proportioning the three cornices 
 just mentioned, will, I think, have few doubts remaining upon that subject. 
 And for my own part, though I see no objection to Palladio's great proportions, 
 which are proper, in most cases, where swelled friezes are used, and the archi- 
 trave of the door or window is not less, nor much exceeds, one-sixth of the 
 width of the aperture ; yet, for the parts, I venture to prefer employing tlu> 
 entablatures of the different orders of architecture, proportioned as they are, 
 with the rejection of such mouldings or members as seem superfluous, and 
 which, if introduced, w(iuld render the object confused, and, from the small- 
 ness of its dimension, too diminutive to stand a comparison with other parts of 
 the composition. 
 
 * See page 123.— [Ed.]
 
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 PROFILES FOR DOORS, WINDOWS, NICHES, ETC. 303 
 
 Thus, for instance, if the order in which the door, window, or niche is 
 placed, be Composite or Corinthian ; the Composite or Corinthian entablature 
 may be used for their dressings, with the omission of either dentils or modillioiis. 
 The Composite ar(;hitravc may be used as it is, but the Corinthian should be 
 divcste<l of the lower fascia, with the little astragal by which it is separated 
 from the fascia directly above it. 
 
 In the Ionic order, the Ionic entablature may on some occasions be used 
 as it is, to dress the doors and windows, provided the dentils be not cut : but 
 in most cases it will be propcrest to leave out the dentil band, with the astragal 
 above it ; and strengthen the fillet, which then will make the separation be- 
 tween the ovolo and the bottom moulding. 
 
 The profiles of doors, of windows, of niches, and in short the profiles of 
 all subservient parts, must not only be less in the whole, but likewise in each 
 particular member, than those of the orders employed in the same composition, 
 or than the cornice or entablature, which serves as a finishing to the whole 
 design ; it being among the grossest of en-ors to make any ornaments belong- 
 ing to the parts more predominant than those which are particularly appro- 
 priated to the embellishment of the whole mass, as Pietro da Cortona * has 
 done at St. Carlo in the Corso at Rome, where the profiles of the great door, 
 on the inside of the church, are considerably larger than those of the order in 
 which that door is contained. 
 
 The usual proportion given to architraves of outside windows, niches, or 
 doors, is from one-seventh to one-fifth of the width of the aperture. Where 
 the architrave is supported on each side by pilasters, as is frequently the 
 case, or where rustics are applied, it may be a seventh, and should never exceed 
 a sixth of the width of the aperture ; but whenever it is unaccompanied, it 
 ought never to bo less than one-sixth, nor should it ever exceed one-fifth 
 thereof. If the friezes be swelled, their dimensions, as well as those of the 
 cornices, may be determined as Palladio directs, by dividing the breadth of the 
 architrave into four parts, and giving three of these parts to the height of the 
 frieze, and five of them to that of the cornice ; but if the frieze be flat and 
 upright, its height must be equal to the breadth of the architrave. 
 
 The pilasters which accompany the architrave may be from one-half to 
 two-thirds of its breadth. They commonly support consoles of various forms, 
 equally broad with themselves, and in length generally from one-half to two- 
 
 • The celebrated painter, who was also umcli engaged as an Architect: he was born in lu<J6, and died 
 at Rome in 1669. The designs for this church were made by Onorio Lunghi ; but the finishing, and the 
 tribune and cupola, are by Cortona. — [Ed.]
 
 304 PROFILES FOR DOORS, WINDOWS, NICHES, ETC. 
 
 thirds of the width of the aperture. These support the corona of the cornice 
 ahove, and rest below on masks, shells, leaves, bells, or drops. 
 
 In interior decorations, where the eye is nearer the objects than in 
 exterior, everything should be more delicate, and calculated for closer 
 inspection ; the door architraves there should never exceed a sixth of the 
 aperture, and the frieze and cornice may be proportioned to them, as is before 
 directed. 
 
 It is not usual to employ either frieze or cornice over inside windows, as 
 they would stand in the way of the curtains, and though the windows are in 
 general made wider than the doors, their architraves are never made larger ; 
 on the contrary, they ai'e often, for the advantage of having more room in the 
 piers for large glasses, reduced to three or four mouldings, surrounding the 
 aperture, and forming boxes for the shutters to fold into. 
 
 With respect to chimney-pieces, they are of such various compositions, 
 and so great a latitude is allowed the composer, that little can be determined 
 concerning them. In general, their architraves should not be less than one- 
 sixth, nor exceed one-tifth of the aperture's width ; their friezes may be from 
 two-thirds to three-fourths of the architrave, and their cornices should seldom 
 or never be higher than the frieze, but on most occasions somewhat lower, since 
 when they are large and project much, they become inconvenient, and dan- 
 gerous to the heads of the company.
 
 305 
 
 OF BLOCK COENICES AND EXTRANEOUS 
 ENTABLATURES. 
 
 Block cornices and entablatures are frequently used to finish plain build- 
 ings, where none of the regular orders have been employed. Of this kind 
 there is a very beautiful one composed by Vignola, much used in Italy, and 
 employed by Sir Christopher Wren to finish the second order of St. Paul's. I 
 have given a design of it in the second plate of the Composite order, with the 
 measures of all its parts, determined, according to Vignola's method, by a 
 module divided into eighteen minutes. When this entablature is used to finish 
 a plain building, the whole height is found by dividing the height of the whole 
 front into eleven parts, one of which must be given to the entablature, and the 
 remaining ten to the rest of the front. And when it is employed to finish an 
 order, which, however, may as well be let alone, it must be somewhat less in 
 proportion to the columns than a regular entablature would be, because its parts 
 arc larger. The angles of the building, where this entablature is used, may be 
 adorned with quoins ; the short ones about a module long, and the long ones a 
 module and a half, the height of each being about three quarters of a module, 
 including the joint. 
 
 Among the profiles for windows, &c., there arc three other block entabla- 
 tures of a simpler make ; the second of which Palladio has executed in a couple 
 of houses : the one at Vivaro, and the other at Monteccio, villages of the 
 Vicentine. The other two ai-e not very diflFcrcnt from that ; the measures of 
 all of them are taken from Mr. Gibbs's rules, and may easily be collected from 
 the designs. These entablatures need not exceed one-thirteenth of the whole 
 height of the front, nor should they ever be much less than one-fifteenth. 
 Figs. 7 and 9 in the same plate are two block cornices, the former of which is 
 executed in a palace at Milan, and the other by RaflTaelle, at a house in the 
 Lungara at Rome ; the height of these need never exceed one-sixteenth part 
 of the whole front, nor should it be less than one-eighteenth. Fig. 8 is an 
 
 2 s
 
 306 OF BLOCK CORNICES, ETC. 
 
 architrave cornice, which M. Angelo, Baldassare Peruzzi,* and Palladio, have 
 employed in some of their compositions. This kind of profile is a proper 
 finishing for columns supporting the archivolts of arches, as it approaches 
 nearer the proportion of an impost than a regular entablature would ; its height 
 may be one-eighth of the height of the column. 
 
 * Baldassare Peruzzi, an architect and painter, born at Volterra in 1481, died 1556. He was em- 
 ployed at Rome by Julius 11. and Leo X., by the latter as one of the architects of St. Peter's. — [Ed.] 
 
 NOTE ON CORNICES AND QUOINS. 
 
 The architects of the Vitruvio-Palladian school appear to have thought that little could be done 
 without an order, either of columns or pilasters, and had no idea of how much may be accomphshed in 
 astylar composition, by drawing freely upon the other resources of decorative design. Nothing sets off 
 a building so much as a bold and even energetically expressed cornice for its crowning and completing 
 member, or rather its salient and not least ch.'u-acteristic feature ; yet during oui- so-called Greek mania, 
 cornices were reduced to little more than shelf-Iilie projections, without any display of bed-mouldings, 
 or other ornamentation to make amends for the (trifling) omission of the bossy, sculptured frieze below it. 
 
 It was reserved for Barry to be the first to adopt and introduce among us the Italian cornicione, and 
 a great deal more besides, in all which he miglit easily enough have been anticipated by others, wliich is 
 to be accounted for only by their just happening not to see or think of what he did. 
 
 Rustic quoins — another Italian invention — contribute greatly to finish ; for besides indicating increased 
 strength, and keeping up ornateness at the extremities of a facade, they define its termination very 
 forcibly and unmistakably. Quoins and cornicione together serve to accentuate termination, both vertically 
 and horizontally, and distinctly frame in the rest of the composition. Quoins tliemsolves admit of con- 
 siderable diversity of character, and consequently of combination also. Their joints may l)c moulded or 
 not, their faces may be cither smooth or tooled, and both modes may be applied together by the tooled and 
 the smooth quoins being placed alternately, not to mention otlier diversities. 
 
 Enriched string-courses again, arc a source of appropriate and varied embellishment. Ornateness 
 should ever be carried out consistently. Even in the absence of rules altogether, .artistic instinct ought to 
 make the architect, if artist at all, to feci that. No doubt such wholesome principle has been ignored 
 by those whose names have awed wliat ought to be all tlie more vigorously exacting criticism, into the 
 hyprocrisy of sinmlated admiration. — [W. II. L.]
 
 307 
 
 OF THE PROPORTIONS OF ROOMS. 
 
 The proportions of rooms depend, in a great measure, on their use and 
 actual dimensions ; but, with regard to beauty, all figures, from a square to a 
 sesquialteral, may be employed for the plan. Inigo Jones, and other great 
 architects, have sometimes even exceeded this proportion, and extended the 
 plan to a double square ; but the great disparity between the width and 
 length of this figure, renders it impossible to suit the height to both : the end 
 views will appear too high, and the side ones too low. 
 
 It may perhaps to some appear absurd to make this objection, when 
 galleries are frequently three, four, or five times as long as they are wide ; but 
 it must be observed, that, in this case, the extraordinary length renders it im- 
 possible for the eye to take in the whole extent at once, and therefore the com- 
 parison between the height and length can never be made. 
 
 The heights of rooms depend upon their figure : flat ceiled ones may be 
 lower than those that are coved. If their plan be a square, their height 
 should not exceed five-sixths of the side, nor be less than four-fifths ; and when 
 it is an oblong, their height may be equal to their width. But coved rooms, if 
 square, must be as high as broad, and when oblong, their height may be equal 
 to their width ; more one-fifth, one-quarter, or even one-third, of the diflfe- 
 rence between the length and width ; and galleries should, at the very least, be 
 in height one and one-third of their width, and at the most, one and a half, 
 or one and three-fifths. These proportions are all perfectly good, as they 
 obviate any idea of confinement, and, at the same time, render it practicable for 
 those who are in the room to examine the fiofure and ornaments of the ceilino-, 
 without either pain or difficulty. 
 
 It is not, however, always possible to observe exactly these proportions. In 
 dwelling-houses, the height of all the rooms on the same floor is generally the 
 same, though their extent be diff\jrent ; which renders it extremely difficult 
 in large buildings, where there ai'e a great number of diff\}rcnt-sized room^, to 
 proportion all of them well. The usual method, in buildings where beauty and 
 magnificence are preferred to economy, is to raise the halls, saloons, and galleries, 
 higher than the other rooms, by making them occupy two stories : to make the 
 
 2 s 2
 
 308 OF THE PROPORTIONS OF ROOMS. 
 
 drawing-rooms, or otlicr largest rooms, with flat ceilings ; to cove the middle- 
 sized ones a third, a quarter, or fifth of their height, accorditig as it is more 
 or less excessive ; and in the smallest apartments, where even the highest coves 
 are not sufficient to render the proportion tolerahlo, it is usual to contrive 
 mezzanines above them, which aflFord servants' lodging-rooms, baths, powdering- 
 rooms, wardrobes, and the like ; so much the more convenient, as they are 
 near the state apartments, and of private access. The Earl of Leicester's 
 house at Holkham is a master-piece in this respect, as well as in many others : 
 the distribution of the plan in particular deserves much commendation, and 
 does great credit to the memory of Mr. Kent ; it being exceedingly well con- 
 trived, both for state and convenience. And, with regard to the whole interior 
 decoration, it mav certainly vie, in point either of magnificence or taste, with 
 anvthing now subsistent in England. 
 
 Since writing the above, thirty years have elapsed * ; and a very different 
 style of decoration has been introduced, which, for richness and neatness of 
 execution, far surpasses anything done at that time. The executive powers of 
 our woi'kmen are certainly much improved ; yet it is far from certain that the 
 taste is better now than it was then. That style, though somewhat heavy,, 
 was great, calculated to strike at the instant ; and although the ornaments 
 were neither so varied nor so numerous as now, they had a more powerful 
 effect, because more boldly marked, less complicated in their forms, and less 
 profusely applied. They were easily perceptible without a microscope, and 
 could not be mistaken for filigranc toy-work. Content with the stores which 
 the refined ages of antiquity had left them, the architects of tliat day ransacked 
 not the works of barbarous times, nor the portfolios of whimsical composers, 
 for boyish conceits and trifiingly complicated ornaments. 
 
 The coldness of our English climate, and the frugality of those who 
 build, are strong objections to high rooms ; so that we frequently see the most 
 magnificent apartments, not above fifteen, sixteen, or at most eighteen feet 
 hi<di, though the extent of the rooms would reiiuire a mu(;h more considerable 
 elevation. This practice is, however, not to be imitated, where beauty or cftect 
 is aimed at. Tliere arc many good expedients for warming rooms, however 
 spacious or lofty ; and to consider expense in that particular alone, is an ill 
 judged piece of parsimony, as it renders all other expense employed in the 
 decoration of the room inefl'ectual. 
 
 When rooms are adorned with an entire order, the entablature should 
 never exceed one-sixth of the whole height, nor be much less than one- 
 
 * The period between the (ir^l iiinl tliii'il editions, — [Kd.]
 
 OF TIIK I'KOPORTIONS OF HOOMS. 309 
 
 seventh in flat-ceiled rooms ; and one sixtli or seventh of the upright part in 
 such as arc coved. And when there arc neither cohimns nor pilasters in the 
 decoration, but an ental)lature alone, its height should not be above one- 
 seventh or eighth of those heights. If rooms are finished with a simple 
 cornice, it ought never to exceed one-fifteenth, nor ever be less than one- 
 twentieth part of the above-mentioned heights ; and when there is a frieze 
 added to the cornice, with an astragal or other mouldings under it, as is 
 sometimes customary, the whole height of these, together with the cornice, 
 should never exceed one-eighth of the upright hci<i;ht of the room. In general, 
 all profiles within a building must be more delicate than those on the outside ; 
 the architraves of the doors and windows should never exceed one-sixth of the 
 breadth of the aperture, on most occasions one-seventh will be sufficient, and 
 all other parts must be diminished proportionablv. 
 
 NOTE ON TROPORTIONS OF ROOMS. 
 
 Among those matters for which no express rules can be laid down, or if laid down be adhered to ; 
 nor is it desirable that they should be, for, as Mr. S. Smirke observed in one of his lectures, very ditlercntly 
 proportioned rooms may in themselves be equally pleasing and equally striking and effective. To establish 
 a tixed, immutable standard of proportions, is only to cut off from the architect what ought to be a never- 
 failing source of variety. Another source of varied design there is, which because advantage can be taken 
 of it only in exceptional cases, is ignored in ai'chitectural teachings ; that, namely, which is derived from, 
 not the proportions only, but the forms of rooms, and the breaking uj) that monotonous rectaugularity 
 of which Milizia complains. Deviation from rcctangularity, both horizontally and vertically, that is, as 
 regards not only plan but section, is not to be looked for even in first-rate town houses ; yet ought to be 
 looked for, and also a good deal more besides, in palatial mansions, erected seemingly with far less regard 
 to money expenditure than to a;sthetic effect, although the latter ought to be, when a man is building, 
 if not the chief, a leading consideration, for in all that is, or professes to be, art, effect, however it m.iy 
 be named, is of paramount value. It is that which not only vivifies, but irradiates what, but for its magic 
 touch, would else be little better than respectable common-place mediocrity and dulness. — [W. II. L.]
 
 310 
 
 OF CEILINGS. 
 
 Ceilings are either flat, or coved in different manners. The simplest of 
 the flat kind are those adorned with large compartments, either let into the 
 ceiling- or flush with its surface, and surrounded with one or several mouldings, 
 as represented in the first, second, and tenth figures of the first plate of 
 ceilings : and when some of the mouldings which surround the compart- 
 ments are enriched, and some of the compartments adorned with well- 
 executed foliages, or other stucco or painted ornaments, such ceilings have 
 a very good effect ; they are very proper for common dwelling-houses, and for 
 all low apartments. Their ornaments and mouldings do not require a bold 
 relief, but being near the eye they must be finished with taste and neatness. 
 For higher rooms, the kind of flat ceilings represented in the third, fourth, 
 seventh, and eighth figures of the same plate, and in one of the figures of 
 the second plate, are more proper, as they have a much bolder relief. The 
 use of these is frequent both in Italy and England. They seem to be com- 
 posed of various beams, framed into each other, and forming compartments 
 of different geometrical figures. The designs which I have given, are all for 
 square ceilings ; but oblong, or those of any other form, may be comparted 
 in the same manner, the figures of the compartments being varied according 
 to the fancy of the composer, and made either polygonal, circular, or ellip- 
 tical. The sides of the beams forming these compartments are generally 
 adorned with mouldings, and represent either a simple architrave, or an archi- 
 trave cornice, according to the size of the compartments and the height of the 
 room. Sometimes the larger compartments are deeper than the small ones 
 with which they are accompanied, and surrounded with a fuller profile, as in 
 the flat ceiling of the second plate, which is a design of Baldassare Pcruzzi, 
 executed in the vestibule of the Massimi Palace at Home. The soffits of the 
 beams are seldom left plain, but are adorned with Guilloches or frets of 
 various kinds, of which I have given a good number of designs, in the first 
 and second plates of ceilings ; and when tlie utmost degree of richness in the 
 decoration is aimed at, the ground of the compartments is likewise adorned, 
 cither with paintings, or with bassi-rclievi representing grotesque figures,
 
 OF CEILINGS. 311 
 
 foliages, festoons, tripods, vases, and the like, of which there are some designs 
 in the first plate of ceilings. 
 
 Coved ceilings are more expensive than flat ones, but they are likewise 
 more beautiful, susceptible of a greater variety of decorations, and in general 
 more splendid. They are promiscuously employed in large or small rooms, and 
 occupy from one-fifth to one-third of the height of the room, according as 
 that height is more or less considerable. If the room is low in pro- 
 portion to its width, the cove must likewise be low ; and when it is 
 high the cove must likewise be so; by which means the excess of height 
 will be rendered less perceptible. But where the architect is at liberty to pro- 
 portion the height of the room to its superficial dimensions, the most eligible 
 proportion for the cove is one-quarter of the whole height. In parallelogram- 
 figured rooms, the middle of the ceiling is generally formed into a large flat 
 panel, as in the fifth and sixth figures of the first plate of ceilings, which is 
 either left plain or painted, adorned with coffers and roses, or compartments, 
 or with grotesque ornaments, according as the decoration is to be rich or 
 simple. This panel, with the border that surrounds it, may occupy from one- 
 half to three-fifths of the breadth of the room. The form of the cove is gene- 
 rally either a quadrant of a circle, or of an ellipsis, taking its rise a little 
 above the cornice, and finishing at the border surrounding the great centre 
 panel, that so the whole curve may be seen from the end of the room. This 
 border is made to project somewhat beyond the cove on the outside, and on the 
 side towards the panel, it is usually made of a sufficient depth to admit the 
 profile of an architrave, or of an architrave cornice. 
 
 The coved part of the ceiling may either be left plain, as in one of the 
 above-mentioned designs, or adorned as in the other, either in the manner 
 there represented, or in any other of the same kind, or else with coffers of dif- 
 ferent polygonal figures, of which there is a great variety in the third plate 
 of ceilings, very proper both for this purpose and likewise to adorn flat 
 ceilings. 
 
 In England, circular rooms are not much in use, but they are nevertheless 
 very beautiful. Their height must be the same as that of square rooms ; 
 their ceilings may be flat, but they are handsomer when coved, or of a concave 
 form, whether of a semi-circular or semi-elliptical profile. In the fourth plate 
 of ceilings, I have given five different designs for them, composed by M. 
 Angelo, Bartolomeo Ammanati, Baldassare Peruzzi, and Algardi * ; they are 
 
 • Alessandro Algarili, a painter and sculptor of Bologna. — He studied under Ludovico Caracci, and 
 died at Rome in 1645.— [Ed.]
 
 312 OF CEILINGS. 
 
 executed in the Capitol, the Mattei Palace, and the Villa Pamfili at Eome. 
 Most sorts of compartments and coffers are likev.ise very proper for these 
 circular coves, as well as for coves of octagonal or other polygonal plans. 
 
 Arcs Doiihleaiix, or, as Mr. Gibbs calls them, soffits of arches, are frequently 
 enriched. When narrow, their ornaments consist of GuillocJies or frets ; but 
 when broad, they are adorned in a variety of different manners. I have given 
 several designs of them composed by RafFaelle, Ammanati, and M. Angelo, 
 which are executed at St. Peter's, at the Palazzo Mattei, and the Villa 
 Madama near Rome. 
 
 When the profiles or other parts of a room arc gilt, the ceiling must 
 likewise be so, and that full as profusely as the rest. The usual method here 
 is to gild all the ornaments, and to leave the grounds white, pearl, straw 
 colour, light blue, or of any other tint proper to set off the gilding and orna- 
 ments to the best advantage ; but I have frequently seen that practice reversed 
 with more success, by gilding the grounds, and leaving the foliages white, 
 parti-coloured, or streaked with gold. 
 
 It requires much judgment to distribute either gold or colours properly. 
 Great care must be taken not to leave some places dull or bare, while 
 others are so much covered that they appear like lumps of gold, or beds of 
 gaudy flowers : in general, it is to be observed, that wherever the gilding or 
 colouring tends in the least to confuse the design, to give it a clumsy ap- 
 pearance, or to render the outline of any part indistinct, they are certainly 
 ill employed. 
 
 Painted ceilings, which constitute one of the great embellishments of 
 Italian and French structures, and in which the greatest masters have dis- 
 plavcd their utmost abilities, are not ia use among us. For one cannot 
 suffer to go by so high a name, the trifling, gaudy ceilings now in fashion, 
 which, composed as they are of little rounds, scjuarcs, octagons, hexagons and 
 ovals, excite no other idea than that of a dessert, upon the plates of which 
 are dished oul bad co])ies of indifferent anticjues. They certainly have 
 neither fancy, taste, splendour, execution, nor any other striking quality to 
 recommend them. But should the true style of such compositions ever come 
 into fasliion, we might hope to sec history painting flourish in England. Till 
 then it cannot reasonably be expected ; while religion has banished pictui*es 
 from churches, and the prejudices of connoisseurs have excluded modern 
 ]»aintings frdin (lur houses. 
 
 It must, however, be allowed, that since the first publication of this book, 
 the art of painting has taken a very different turn. At that time, little
 
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 OF CEILINGS. 313 
 
 encouragement was afforded to any but portrait painters ; and to confess the 
 truth, very few, even of these, deserved much to be encouraged : but the insti- 
 tution of a Koval Academy for the regular instruction of artists ; the esta- 
 blishment of an exhibition under royal patronage, in whicli they are admitted 
 to stand competitors for fame with those most famed ; the encouragement held 
 forth to them by his Majesty, the nobility, the gentry, and even by some of 
 their own profession, has roused the genius of our English artists, stimulated 
 their ambition, brightened up their prospects. Many of them now vie with the 
 first of their contemporaries in Italy, in France, or elsewhere ; and should 
 encouragement become yet more gcnei-ally diffused, it might reasonably be 
 conjectured, from the rapid strides already made towards perfection, that, in 
 the course of a few years, the English school might aspire to stand unrivalled, 
 or be at least equal in fame to any other of its time. 
 
 I have now gone through the principal branches of the decorative part 
 of architecture, which was all originally intended ; my purpose having then 
 been to reserve, for a future occasion, whatever related to the convenience, 
 strength, or economical management of buildings. Ignorant how far I might 
 be equal to the task undertaken, it seemed presumptuous to come upon the 
 public with a bulky performance, possibly of no merit; and it would have 
 been imprudent to risk my own fortune in a business which might have been 
 ruinous to me without being profitable to others. What then was published, 
 I offered as a specimen of that which was further intended ; determined to be 
 ruled by its reception, either to proceed or to desist. 
 
 The concise manner in which it has been attempted to ti'eat the subject 
 of the present publication, will, it is hoped, be some inducement to persons of 
 distinction to peruse the performance ; and if the precepts are as clear and 
 satisfactory as the author intended, the work may be of use even to gentlemen, 
 travellers in particular, most of whom, from utter ignorance in architecture, as 
 well as in other arts, have heretofore lost half the fruits of their journeys, re- 
 turned unacquainted with the most valued productions of the countries they had 
 visited, and perfectly dissatisfied with expeditions, from which they had derived 
 very little useful instruction or real amusement. 
 
 2 T
 
 314 
 
 NOTE ON CEILINGS AND CEILING FENESTRATION. 
 
 Of Ceilings nothing more is said by Chambers than what relates to their surface decoration, in which 
 he shows himself too favorably disposed towards that most iHiarchitectural species of it where picture, 
 preposterously placed, is substituted for what ought to show itself distinctly and decidedly as the roof or 
 covering of the room. The absurdity is none the less because some great masters have so misemployed 
 their skill. No man iu his senses thinks of nailing a picture, be it ever so large a one, on the ceiling ; 
 better banish it to the lumber-room at once. No doubt, when picture painting is put overhead upon a 
 ceiling, that is one sure and certain way of getting high art, unless, indeed, the ceilings were so low that a 
 tall man might touch it by stretching out his hand. No mastery of di sotto in su perspective can possibly 
 overcome the disagreeable effect resulting from figures so shown, because, however well they 
 may be when looked at in one direction, in another they become distorted. Although it is one of a 
 different kind, it is a solecism to paint a ceiling in imitation of a sky, thereby causing the room to pretend 
 to be roofless, unless there happen to be the droll effect produced by seeing a chandelier suspended from 
 the clouds. When it is no more than simple polychrome decoration, not picture, painting may be applied 
 to a ceiling properly enough. Delicate tints are to be preferred to deep colours, for the reason that the 
 latter not only occasion an air of heaviness overhead, but lower the apparent height of a room. 
 
 When Chambers wrote, which is now rather more than a century ago, what may be termed Ceiling 
 Fenestration had scarcely been imagined. Since then it has developed itself not a little, and greatly 
 enlarged the resources of internal design. In shaping out ceilings and ceiling fenestration. Sir John 
 Soane was quite a master, and although some of his ideas were exhibited rather crudely and unsatis- 
 factorily, there was always something more or less in them quite sufScient to impregnate all but the most 
 torpid imagination with a superfoctation of ideas. 
 
 It is, indeed, only under certain conditions, and consequently only in e.'cceptional cases, that it is 
 possible to light a room through its coiling, yet that very circumstance serves to give additional value to 
 that particular mode of fenestration, which, besides being highly pleasing in itself, gives the charm of 
 varied efroot by contrast with that of side-lights and wall fenestration in the other rooms. Altliough the 
 architect has to provide for the admission of sufficiency of light, it is not unfrcquently desirable that he 
 Bhould at the same time exclude prospect, or rather out-look. For picture-gallorics and libraries, or dining- 
 rooms, and ball-rooms, out-look is not at all required ; because, as fiir as light is concerned, so that there be 
 sufficiency of it in the day-time, for rooms of that description, nothing further is desirable. Ceiling fenes- 
 tration is acknowledged to be the most artistic mode of admitting light, and it certainly admits also of almost 
 mfinitc variety of shape and design. Among its numerous recommendations it may, perhaps, be thought 
 one that it can never become common. Another and better founded one is that, if it shuts out view, 
 which might not, perhaps, be at all a desirable one, it serves at the same time to shut out sound ; and, 
 moreover, diminishes danger in case of fire. Another and more o1)viou3 advantage is, that there being 
 no side windows, the walls (in a picture gallery) are left quite free for hanging pictures, except 
 where there may happen to be doors ; which advantage is attended by a secondary — or rather principal 
 one aa regards general architectural character and effect, namely, that of balance, or tlie .limilarity and 
 correspondence of opposite sides. Not in a jjicturc gallery only, l)ut in a lil)rary it is, if merely for
 
 NOTE ON CEILINGS AND CEILING FENESTRATION. 315 
 
 convenience sake, not a little desirable to be able to economise space, an<l at the same time consult 
 artistic eflfect. The less a private library looks like a bookseller's shop the better. It ought not, like the 
 latter, to be shelved from lloor to ceilinp;. The topmost shelf ought to be within roach of an outstretched 
 arm, when all above that height would be left as an ample field for decoration. At any rate, a library, if 
 it can be otherwise lighted, does not require side-windows, or even shows bettor without them. Where it 
 is possible to secure it, the e.\pression of seclusion from " the noisy busy world shut out," is not at all 
 inappropriate for a library. 
 
 Ceilings, and ceiling fenestration are, or ought to be, considered such important matters in interior design 
 that it strikes as strange that so little attention should have been given to them by those who have written 
 tipon the practice of architecture. It is to be accounted for only by the comparative recentness of such 
 fenestration, and its not being of general evory-day application. In the homely ordinary skylight we see 
 the germ of the modern ornate ceiling window, or windowed ceiling — a transformation almost as great as 
 that of a chrysalis into a butterfly ; and as striking an illustration of progress as is that of Fergusson, 
 borrowed from ship-building. As regards the windowed ceiling — or by whatever other name it may be 
 best described — the architects of our time cannot be charged with dealing in nothing more than more 
 copyism, and the repetition of stale hackneyed ideas. Compelled to make sky-lighting or ceiling-lighting 
 at least sightly, and emancipated from the trammels of precedent, some of them have transmuted the 
 indispensably necessary into the ffisthotically beautiful ; without, however, blocking up the way against still 
 farther advance and improvement. Should remarks of this kind be deemed out of place in a note, the 
 reader is quite at liberty to condemn them. 
 
 After the above somewhat lengthy parenthesis, the proper subject of this note is now resumed ; — in 
 hyper-fenestration, if such term for it will be admitted, at least until a bettor and more definite one be 
 invented, there are two most active principles of design that may be brought into play almost illimitably, 
 namely, plan and section. 
 
 With respect to section, one very obvious mode of deviating from that of the cove and plafond, is the 
 giving the whole ceiling a low segmental ciu've from side to side in its longitudinal direction, thereby pro- 
 ducing, at each end, a tympanum or arched surface above the cornice ; which, like that of a pediment, 
 presents a very prominent and suitable space for decoration. Or should there be occasion and opportunity 
 for doing so, such space may bo filled in with a window of corresponding shape. Although not so preten- 
 tious as the fully developed dome, the Velum is — or may be made, a not little striking and agreeable variety 
 of the domical or concave ceiling. As the term itself is omitted in most architectural dictionaries and 
 glossaries, it may perhaps be necessary to explain that the velum is a portion of a dome stretched like an 
 awning (velum) over the four sides of a square plan, whose diagonal gives the diameter of the base of the 
 dome. Such conjunction of the square or cubical with the hemispherical may probably be objected to by 
 some ; yet the velum must be allowed to be a valuable variety of the dome. The beauty of the one is 
 indeed dissimilar from that of the other, which in itself is no small advantage, inasmuch as such distinct 
 difference of character greatly enlarges the resources of architectural design. In a velum the penden- 
 tives produced by the transition from the rectangular plan of the lloor to the circular concave over head, pre- 
 sent spaces not only admirably adapted for decoration, but suggestive of infinite variety of it. The same may 
 be said of the lunettes or arched heads (whether semicircular or segmental) of the four walls below which cut 
 into the dome suspended over and supported by them. What may be done with the velar ceiling, even upon 
 a very moderate scale, may be seen in a small room in the Soane Museum, where the curvature of the 
 ceiling is struck from the floor, consequently very shallow. Even that single example holds out to those 
 who can read it what ought to be a most exciting as well as instructive lesson, suggestive of variations and 
 combinations innumerable, as of the truncated velum when the square is gathered up by pendentives into 
 a circular plafond, or the circular flat (plafond) opens into a superadded dome. 
 
 In his chapter on ceilings. Chambers has paid a compliment, though a cold and scant one, to Ilolkham 
 Kothing less than a chcf-d'ccuvre as reg-ards planning and much else besides, Ilolkham is not faultless, yet 
 peerless, and, taken all in all, unrivalled. Compared with contemporary buildings of the same class, the 
 interior of Holkham is a masterpiece. There are, perhaps, what may now be thought some short-comings, 
 
 2 T 2
 
 316 . NOTE ON CEILINGS AND CEILING FENESTRATION. 
 
 for when Ilolkbam was planned, ceiling fenestration was, as far as it existed at all, only in its infancy ; 
 or else had the Statue Gallery been lighted from above, as without difficulty it might have been, it would 
 have been still more captivately charming than it now is. Had lighting from above been adopted, with only 
 3 single window for out-look on the West side of the room to balance the chimney-piece on the opposite 
 one, completeness, as far as balance is concerned, would have been secured. 
 
 The subject of ceiling fenestration is so extensive that to do justice to it would requu-e a volume 
 devoted to it, and illustrated by examples. In a mere note like this, it must sulEce to have directed atten- 
 tion to a speciality which affords such wide, not to say illimitable, scope to artistic design and decoratiou. 
 
 [W. H. L.]
 
 317 
 
 DESIGNS FOE CASINES, TEMPLES, GATES, DOORS, ETC. 
 
 In tlic first and second plates arc the elevation and plans of a casine 
 erected at Marino, a villa belonging to the Earl of Charleniont, near Dublin. 
 
 This design was originally one of the end pavilions of a considerable com- 
 position, made soon after my return from Italy, for Edwin Lascelles, Esq., 
 now Lord Harcwood, which, among many others, his Lordship procured for 
 Harewood House. The same composition, with considerable variations, was 
 afterwards wrought to the extent of a palace for her late Majesty, the 
 Dowager Queen of Sweden. The only part, however, of either of the large 
 designs which has been executed, is the present little publication, which was 
 l)uilt by Mr. Verpyle with great neatness and taste, after models made here 
 and instructions sent from hence. 
 
 In the third plate are the plans and elevation of a casine, built some years 
 ago at Wilton, the seat of the Earl of Pembroke, in Wiltshire. It consists of 
 a small saloon and portico above, and of a little kitchen or servants' waiting- 
 room below. 
 
 In the fourth plate is the elevation of a hunting pavilion, designed many 
 years ago for the Earl of Ailesbury, then Lord Bruce. 
 
 In the fifth plate is a plan of the said pavilion, and also of a kind of 
 circular monoptcros temple with two rooms adjoining to it, composed originally 
 for Henry Willoughby, Esq., now Lord Middleton. The design was after- 
 wards considerably augmented in its plan, and contrived for the reception of 
 statues and other valuable antiquities, belonging to the Earl of Charlemont's 
 collection at Marino. 
 
 The sixth plate exhibits an elevation of the said circular monopteros 
 composition. 
 
 In the seventh plate are the elevation and plan of an octagonal Doric 
 temple, designed while at Florence, for the Earl of Tylney ; and proposed to 
 be executed in his Lordship's gardens at Wanstead. 
 
 The eighth plate exhibits the same disposition decorated in a different 
 manner.
 
 318 DESIGNS FOR CASINES, TEMPLES, ETC. 
 
 In the ninth plate are designs ot a Corinthian prostyle temple, made for 
 her late Eoyal Highness the Princess Dowager of Wales, and proposed to be 
 erected in the gardens of Kew. 
 
 In the tenth plate are the plan and elevation of a design made for Sir 
 Thomas Kennedy, late Earl of Cassilis, with intention to be erected at his 
 Lordship's seat in Scotland. 
 
 In the eleventh plate are the plan and elevation of a mausoleum to the 
 memory of Pope, Gay, and Swift, designed for Kew Gardens. 
 
 In the twelfth plate are two doors designed by Andrea Palladio, and 
 serving as entrances to a garden near the Theatre at Vicenza. 
 
 In the thirteenth plate is a Tuscan gate, imitated from one designed by 
 Palladio, which serves as a back entrance to the public garden at Vicenza. 
 I have executed nearly the same design with additions at Blenheim, where it 
 serves as the principal entrance to the kitchen garden. 
 
 In the fourteenth plate is the principal front and plan of a triumphal 
 arch, composed by me, and executed under my direction at Wilton. 
 
 In the fifteenth plate are designs of a rustic Tuscan gate, imitated from 
 Inigo Jones's York Stairs. An ancient inscription was by mistake put into 
 the tablet,* which could not be effaced without spoiling the plate. I have 
 since executed nearly the same design in the embankment of Somerset Place, 
 with the addition of lions over the columns of the order, medallions and vases 
 in the side intercolumniations, and pedestals under the columns ; which, with 
 the steps down to the Thames, considerably improve and augment the conse- 
 quence of the composition. 
 
 In the sixteenth plate is a design made by desire of his Grace the 
 Duke of Richmond, for an entrance to Privy Garden, Whitehall. 
 
 In the seventeenth plate is a tripod, designed for his Grace the Duke of 
 Marlborough, executed by Mr. Witton in Portland stone, and erected in the 
 gardens at Blenheim. 
 
 In the eighteenth plate are various ornamental utensils, designed for the 
 Earl of Charlcmont, for Lord Melbourne, and for some decorations in my own 
 house. 
 
 In the nineteenth plate are two designs of chimney-pieces, the one 
 intended for Windsor Castle, the other for Melbourne House in Piccadilly. 
 
 A twentieth plate was designed, and partly engraved ; it consisted of 
 ornamental utensils, invented for their Majesties, for his Grace the Duke of 
 Marlborough, and for the Royal Academy ; but the engraver, Mr. Charles 
 
 * The inscription lias been omitted in the plate to this edition. — [Ed,]
 
 DESIGNS FOR CASINES, TEMPLES, ETC. 319 
 
 Grignion, finding it would have required more time to finish in the manner he 
 wished than his other avocations would aflford, declined to proceed : and the 
 impossibility of finding an equally able ornamental hand to finish what he 
 had so well begun, obliged me, though very reluctantly, to lay the publica- 
 tion aside.
 
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 th£ud torn Sion« by C F CUiJOM JrSn L>ad0i.
 
 321 
 
 CONCLUDING REMARKS. 
 
 That the lapse of an entire century since its first publication has somewhat ilimiuislied llic iui- 
 portance of Sir William Chambers' Treatise may be aduiitteil without detracting from its real merit, 
 to which testimony has been borne by the almost simultaneous appearance of two different editions 
 some years ago — one by Papworth, ihe other by Gwilt; of which latter the present one is a reprint. 
 
 In Chambers' time only one style — that to which his teachings exclusively refer — was practised ; 
 but of late, many have done their best to put us out of conceit with it, and bring it into discredit. 
 ■One allegation brought against it is its being un-English, another that it compels copyism. The first 
 charge may bo replied to by frankly confessing that our Anglo-Italian did not originate with ourselves, 
 ^lost undeniably it was at first a borrowed and imported style ; yet what of that ? it is a style which, though 
 transplanted from Italy proper, has struck (inn root, not only in this country, but throughout Europe — from 
 the Tiber to the Neva, and has since spread to the other hemispliere, which would hardly l)e the case had 
 it been found unfitted for any other climate tliuii that of Italy itsell'. Were it now proposed for the very 
 lirst time to introduce here and make trial of the so-called Italian, or modern secular and domestic 
 Classic, it might with some plausibility be objected to as being an outlandish and exotic mode of building ; 
 whereas not only has trial been made of it, but it has been adopted long ago, and has taken such linn root, 
 and spread itself so widely throughout the length and breadth of tlie laud, that to exterminate it has become 
 an utter impossibility. 
 
 That our Anglo-Italian does not .at all represent or rellect our now happily by-gone pliase of 
 Mediievalism may be very safely granted. ^Vith the Electric Telegraph, and a great de.al besides, staring 
 us in the face, and convicting us of departing furtlicr and further irom Mediievalism, we may be well 
 excused for not simulating or attempting to revive it in architecture, when in all else the tide and current 
 How in the contrary direction. That, considered not only as a style, but as a -syxtem of building, what, for 
 want of more exact designation, we term Italian is well adapted to our purposes and requirements, is sulliciently 
 evident from the fact of its being conformed to universally when no regard is had to style, nor any 
 attempt made at architectural design. There is no constitutional difference between it and what lias been 
 stigmatised and sneered at as our English Vernacular — which, no doubt, has nothing of the poetic or the 
 pieturesfiue, yet, pi-osaic as it is, it possesses one neg.ative merit, for if it does not affect the poetry, neither 
 does it palm upon us the doggrel of arcliitecture, and accordingly spares lis many monstrosities. 
 
 With respect to the charge of copyism, it must be acknowledged that hitherto we have had too 
 much of it ; owing to undue stress having been laid upon the observance of too minute and (juite 
 arbitrary rules. As leading-strings to the student, rules are decidedly serviceable, but they ought 
 not to be allowed to become fetters to the advanced artist architect. This is, indeed, not altogether in 
 accordance with Chambers' own teachings; yet, had he written at the present day, ho would perhaps 
 have consiilerably modilied some of his opinions; nor ought respect for him to deter us from .adopting 
 more enlarged and liberal views. So far from opening the door to lawless laxity of design, rational 
 liberty is the safety-valve that secures from the explosions of wild caprice. Had thci-e been no pedantic 
 strait-laced Vitruvianists, probably the Renaissance would have developed itself more genially. Vitruviiis 
 himself seems to have had very little of the artist in him ; and however interesting his writings may be to 
 the archa;ologist and the scholar, they are of no real value to the architect — at least not now, when 
 all the positive information to be derived from them has been diffused through modern works. Somewhat in 
 
 2 u
 
 322 CONCLUDING REMARKS. 
 
 like manner, too, as the superstitious reverence of Yitruvius blighted tlie budding Renaissance, did Stuirl 
 and Revett's far-famed work, -nith the minutest measurements of details figured on the plates, mild ;w, 
 though no doubt quite unintentionally, our Anglo-Greek. 
 
 If not a sad, a very great mistake it was, to attempt to reduce veritable Greek architecture to the 
 quite diflerent exigencies of modern requirements, by the simple process of merely eliminating and 
 expunging the manifold elements of artistic design that had been gradually added to its originally few and 
 scanty ones. Instead of so diminishing the resources of architectural composition and design, the more rational 
 course would have been, while retaining Roman ideas, Roman inventions, Roman architecture, with all its 
 later aggregate accretions, to have endeavoured to refine it by shedding Attic grace over Roman grandeur. 
 Since it cannot be denied, it may as well be candidly admitted, that Roman is greatly inferior to Greek as 
 regards studied elegance of detail ; yet, at the same time, it is vastly superior to it in its power of producing 
 grandiose effects and varied combinations. Properly considered, to the modern architect it is rather an 
 advantage than the contrary, that the defects and shortcomings of Roman and its Italian successor aflford 
 him the opportunity and ample excuse for breaking away from copyism, by correcting what are admitted 
 to be defects, by supplying or supplementing what are felt to be deficiencies. When it was taken up by us, 
 Greek certainly needed to be supplemented, and veiy largely too ; nevertheless, it was not. On the 
 contraiT, it was, quite as often as not, only torn out from " Stuart," and tacked on as a purpureus paimus to 
 the vilest dowlas. No wonder, then, that after such experience of Greek, or rather would-be Greek, a sudden 
 reaction took place, and fortunately when there was just " the man for the hour." Sir Charles B.vrry 
 may be said to form an epoch in the history of our Anglo-Italian, not only by what he himself did in it, 
 but also by the impulse he gave it in a fresh direction. All at once he brought into vogue that class 
 of Italian which differs considerably from the Palladian, and is, therefore, sometimes distinguished by the 
 epithet palazzo. Borrow he certainly did, yet he never copied ; on the contrary, gifted with the eye and 
 with the instinctive feeling of an artist, whatever " he touched he adorned," by treating it with consummate 
 taste, " and snatching a grace beyond the reach of rules." Even had he done nothing besides in other respects, 
 lie would have done much, and rendered us a great service, by showing how important it is to attend to 
 consistency and completeness ; also that it is not impossible to reconcile richness with sobriety, and 
 highly finished-up and varied detail with simplicity. Always attentive to artistic expression, Barry was 
 never commonplace, but, on the contrai-y, sometimes showed great originality where there was nothing 
 to strike the ordinary spectator as being at all out of the common. IIow much he did for advancing 
 architectural taste may, perhaps, be best estimated by contrasting his ornate astylar with the pretentious 
 poverty of consumptive Italian subsequently to Chambers' practice, when, by the Taylors and Wyatts of 
 that day, a mere Order, either of columns or pilasters, was made the substitute for bona fide design. The 
 suppression of cons'stently articulated detail was then thought to be, or pt any rate was then honoured 
 with the name of, simplicity and lightness, which latter is a quality of exceedingly questionable merit in 
 architecture, un'ess the terra is to be interpreted '^runo Mtli.s, and by " lightness" no more is to be understood 
 than op]iosition to oflTensive heaviness. As to simplicity, we have tolerated too much of a \cry spurious 
 sort of it. Real artistic simplicity can hardly exist apart from uniformity of character, whether it be that 
 of plainness or ornateness being kept up throughout, so as, at any rate, to secure congruity of ensemble, 
 which, important as it is, is oftener than not wholly disregarded. Not unfreijuently both pretentiousness 
 and parsinioniousness were displayed in one and the same design, together with many other similar 
 incongruities and contradictions, which, however, are to be attributed not to the incapability of the 
 style itself, but to the incapacity of those who, having no ideas of their own — no sympathy with it, nor any 
 intuitive perception of the eiimnrpliic, — arc unable to )irodure freshness of character by means of judicious 
 nioillticatlons. Itegard is to be had to normal forms and conditions, yet there will still be a large n\argln lor 
 almost innumerable varieties, all having something in common, yet at the same time some distinctive 
 diftercncc, more or less strongly marked, as is the case with many antlcjue capitals. The architect who 
 hail thoughtfully stuillcd and caught thi" spirit of his models, might surely be safely trusted to break away 
 from literal mechanical imitation, without much danger of his intlulgiiig in the crude vagaries of an undij.-
 
 CONCLUDING REMARKS. 323 
 
 ciplined fancy, ilcvoid of any real power of imagination ; or attempting to shape out all at once a distinct 
 ninctecntli century style ; yet aught really worthy to be termed a style of architecture must grow up 
 from circumstances, anil be built up gradually by the workings of many minds. 
 
 That tlioro should be any demand, in any quarter, for a new style, is rather than not an unhealthy 
 symptom. That Modern Classic is not without Its shortcomings must be admitted, and may be so, not 
 only frankly, but even cheerfully, since it follows that the road to further ailvancu is not blocked up, liut an 
 opening is yet left for improvement and extension of the style. We have only to go on in the same track, 
 and such change us is at all desiiablo will take place spontaneously, without premeditation or ellbrt on 
 our part, and manifest itself as the natural, if not inevitable, result of progress in all those subordinate and 
 ancillary arts and appliances which minister to architecture. One truly happy innovation of former 
 practice has been adverted to in the Note on Ceilings (p. 310) ; and to say nothing of very superior general 
 clTect in a gallery lighted through its ceiling, almost double the available space for hanging pictures properly 
 is obtained, in comparison with what would be were it lighted from one of its sides. The same applies to 
 libraries, where convenience would be best consulted by having the topmost shelf for books within arm's 
 reach. A private picture-gallery ought not to look like a plethoric cramfuU exhibition-room, neither ought 
 a Ubrary to look like a bookseller's shop. 
 
 Besides what may be called Ceiling Fenestration proper, it is now in our power entirely to cover in 
 very large spaces — even what would otherwise be open courts — with a single roof of glass, so that all 
 beneath it is completely protected from the weather, and it becomes possible to have an indoor winter- 
 garden. Nor is there any reason wherefore more than has yet been attempted should not now be done with 
 colored glass. Wliy should the use of iridescent diaphonous polychromy, in other woods, of painted 
 windows, be looked upon as the exclusive privilege of the medijcval styles ? Sameness of material does not 
 necessitate the slightest similarity of character with respect to design ; and perhaps it would be all the 
 better were there to be no attempt at pictorial representation of any kind, but merely unmeaning 
 ornamental pattern-work, which, however unmeaning, need not be either ungraceful or unimaginative. 
 
 Much more than seems yet to have been thought of may likewise be done with unglazed encaustic tiles ; 
 yet how far it be done successfully must depend entirely upon the taste shown by those who employ them, 
 since excellence of material by no means insures excellence of design, or even tolerably satisfactory effect. 
 Ornamental pavement with tiles of that description is suitable not only for halls and vestibules but for 
 external colonnades. We are, indeed, told by some that colonnades are not at all suited to this climate, yet, 
 il so, the climate itself must be a most extraordinary one, if, though it permits us to have uncovered 
 terraces, it forbids the roofed-in, sheltered colonnade, which, if properly placed, may be made a most 
 convenient and desirable ambulatory in immediate connection with the principal rooms, which arc now 
 almost invariably on the ground floors. Are the colonnades of Greenwich Hospital no better than idle, 
 useless .ippeudages to that noble pile, intended merely to make up architectural show ? We need not wait 
 for the reply. 
 
 A colonnaded ambulatory may net only be made a beautiful architectural feature as well as a 
 commodious appendage to a country mansion, but also serve to screen out the unsightly domestic oflices or 
 stable yards; and if, as we are now told by some, the architect ought to be guided by Nature, he ought 
 also to know that Nature ever keeps the unsightly out of sight. Nature teaches whit some now call sham. 
 It venecrx the human frame with only skin-deep beauty, sparing us the horrors of the dissecting-room. 
 Nature inculcates the observance of symmetry in all the higher organised animated forms, whether brute or 
 human. This remark is to be considered as merely parenthetical. To return after its interruption from 
 what, if followed up, would lead to a lengthy digression, most assuredly it is not our climate that condemns 
 the colonnade or pillared terrace as an absurdity. Neither need _an entrance-portico be a mere ornamental 
 excrescence, for it may be rendered practicable for carriages, so that visitors can alight under cover. As 
 far as comfort is concerned the carriage-portico is a decided improvement ; how far it is made a decidedly 
 beautiful feature, with all besides in accordance with it, depends not upon the style, but upon the discretion 
 of him who employs it. During the so-called Greek mania, porticoes — some of them by eminent
 
 324 CONCLUDING REMARKS. 
 
 architects — were the veriest phititudes of design, — mere cockneyism, concocted out of Athenian StuartV 
 drawings. A completely linished-up portico, as regards not only external elevation, but internal plan and 
 background, has yet to be produced, and for producing it the means are as ample as they seem to be 
 ill-understood. An .almost yet untrodden patli presents itself to the architect in that direction, which, like 
 a very great deal besides, seems to have been hitherto overlooked. So iar from being, as some would 
 have us believe, exhausted, the classic system is fraught with inextinguishable vitality. To all appe.irance, 
 too little study is given to general composition and artistic combination of existing elements of design. 
 Kor is it, indeed, to be expected that routine office-training should 
 
 " Imp the fledged pinions for their loftiest flight." 
 
 The architect is no exception to the rule that all those who have distinguished themselves in art, no 
 matter of what kind, have been more or less, self-taught — h.ave felt the inspiring linmcn, and yielded to its 
 power, sim]>Iy because they could not resist it. 
 
 Although architecture justly ranks as one of the three arts of design, it is very differently circum- 
 stanced from the other two. Of all arts it is the most monumental, — the one which records 
 
 " Nations extinct, and empires passed away." 4 
 
 At the same time, it must be confessed Ihat it is of very ccntaiir-like nature, — a compound, not unnatural 
 but inevitable, of the animal with the intellectual. Architecture necessarily includes Building ; the former 
 is conseqtiently iniluenccd more or less, whether for evil or for good, by external circumstances. The 
 rolling tide of mechanical improvement comes in, defiant alike of Canute's royal mandate to retire, or of 
 !Mrs. Partington's attempt to mop it out. Kot only does every improvement in the mechanic and industrial 
 arts affect architecture, but also the changes in habits of living. To trace the progressive change from the 
 utter wretchedness of a IL-udal castle to the amenities of a modern mansion, 
 
 " M'liere breatlus the statue, and tlie picture speaks," 
 
 would be neither uninstructive nor uninteresliug. 
 
 The various improvements which have taken place within the memory of those still living, are certainly 
 neither few nor inconsiderable. In fact, if we fairly compare together houses of the same class, everything 
 bcs])eaks improvement, whether as regards usefulness or appearance. The gcncr.al style of furniture, 
 fittings up, paperhangings, is greatly better than it used to be at the commencement of the century. 
 Although graining and other imitations, whether of the choicer kind of wood, or even of marble, arc 
 unsparingly condemned by some as nothing less than downright dishonesty, something is to be said in 
 defence of them ; at any rate, such dishonesty does not injure our neighbour, and it also creates a demand fur 
 skilled labour, and for a degree of ability far surpassing that of the ordinary house-painter or white-washer, 
 who works only with a single colour. The operative becomes something more than a mere living machine 
 inasmuch as he must employ his mind as well as his hand. The greater tho deception — or shall we call it 
 dishonesty? — the greater the pleasure it affords. Besides which, well-executed deceptions of the kind are 
 too expensive to become vulgarly common. Even as bad taste may bo shown with genuine and costly mate- 
 rials, so may those which arc of comparatively little or no money-worth, except in the first instance, be 
 made, if applied with discreet reserve, to exhibit artist-like treatment, and more than ordinary good taste. 
 
 'VVe ouglit, perliniis, to be grateful that plaster casts have not yet been denounced as no better than shams ; 
 still more grateful ought we to be so that we arc now able to acquire at a mere fractional cost copies of some 
 of the finest productions of sculpture. As Sir Gardner Wilkinson has well remarked, the poor Italian 
 inioge-boys, who carry about their plaster figures on a board, have done much towards dill'using a belter taste 
 among the population of this country. 
 
 To pats on to what is more especially connected with architecture, the means of architectural illuslra- 
 lion have been wonderfully facilitated and economised by lithography and wood engraving ; but, above 
 all, by the discovery of photography. How greatly and how rapidly lithography has advanced since its 
 first infantine efforts need not be said. In that species of it called chromo-lilhography, perfection seems to
 
 CONCLUDING REMARKS, 325 
 
 have been attiiineil, nnJ leaves notliing to be ilesirctl for the complete rendering of ornament and pattern, 
 in nhieh colour plays a proniiiient part. Although itself is no now invention, wood engraving has become 
 a very superior and tiir more important branch of graphic art than it used to be not very many years ago, 
 more especially as regards architectural delineation, it having been shown to be now fully capable of 
 exhibiting the utmost sharpness and accuracy of lines with spirited effect ; in proof of which, it may be 
 permitted hero to refer to some specimens of it that have appeared in the Buii.niNti Nkws. The advan- 
 tages attending wooil engraving are sufliciently obvious without being pointed out ; it has certainly 
 rendered considerable service to architectui-e by helping to popularise the study of it, by bringing subjects 
 of the kind before a much larger public than formerly. 
 
 15ut it is the invention, or rather discovery, of Photography that not only promises much, but has 
 already achieved marvels ; and fortunate it is that it is most of all successful in expressing what is most of 
 all difficult, not to say impossible, the minutest .irchitectural details with unerring truthfulness. Nor 
 is instautaneousness of execution its least recommendation. What, if delineated by the most practised 
 baud, would be the labour of days, is performed almost in a few seconds, no matter how intricate and full of 
 detail the subject may be, though success, of coui'se, depends upon the skill and experience of the operator 
 himcelf, there being a very great diflerence indeed between a successful and an unsuccessful photograph, as 
 regards effect and distinctness. The satisfaction derived from a perfect photographic impression — so to 
 call it — is greatly enhanced by the assurance of its trustworthiness, since there can be neither error nor 
 deception, — none of those delusive, though, perhaps, captivating effects, in which a cunning pencil is apt to 
 indulge as legitimate artistic licenses, but, on the contrary', there must be perfect truthfulness, both as to 
 perspective and to light and shade, — of which latter too little account is taken in architectural composition, 
 in fact, it is altogether ignored in mere outline engraving, now the prevalent mode of execution for nearly all 
 the more important architectural works published on the Continent; with which remarks, the subject of 
 Photography must bj hero dismissed, or it woidd detain us too long. 
 
 Whether this be exactly the place or not for speaking of it, the system of public architectural com- 
 petitions demands some notice. Considered abstractedly as a general principle, competition, that is, the 
 spirit of emulation and rivaliy, is no doubt a very excellent one, and not a little beneficial to society ; but 
 architectural competition is something of a quite different and very peculiar nature. Much, indeed, may 
 be urged in fiivour of it : it stimulates to exertion, and it opens opportunities to unknown talent to emerge 
 from obscurity. Theory is most decidedly in favour of architectural competition, since it assumes, as a 
 moral certainty, that out of a number of designs the very best is sure to be the one selected; they who 
 ask for designs being, of course, perliictly qualified and competent to sit in judgment on those which are 
 submitted to them. Yet, unfortunately, Practice tells a very different tale from Theory : building com- 
 mittees are apt to act very arbitrarily ; and, instead of regarding themselves as stewards for others, seem, 
 almost as often as not, to consider themselves perfectly at liberty to indulge their own fancies or private 
 partialities, without being accountable to any one for their doings. 
 
 Competitions would be somewhat differently managed, and, no doubt, more satisfactorily to those who 
 engage in them, were the wholesome check of responsibility imposed upon those who undertake the 
 management of them. Sir Gardner Wilkinson has made some very stringent observations on the 
 imperative necessity for such responsibility. " Each member of a committee," he says, " should be obliged 
 to put down his opinions in writijiff, and give his reasons in writing." No doubt such a regulation would be 
 a most salutary and beneficial one ; but, it will be asked, how is it to be enforced and rendered compulsory ? 
 Well, at any rate, there is one most emphatic and ctfectual mode of persuasion that, having been found 
 efficacious in other cases, might be resorted to, n.inicly, an Act of Parliament, rendering it illegal to invite 
 architects, by public advertisement, to send in designs to a public competition, unless publicity be given to 
 all the subsequent proceedings ; whereas, at present, nothing more than the bare result is known. It may, 
 indeed, be questioned if competition, as now managed, be really so beneficial to architecture itself, or to 
 those who practise it, as is generally supposed. Very certain, however, it is that it afl!brds architects a 
 very great deal of employment, quite voluntary, no doubt, but at the same time unprofitable — at least 
 not paid for.
 
 326 CONCLUDING REMARKS. 
 
 One iuconvenience generally attending competitions is occasioned very needlessly by the inadeijuate 
 time allowed for preparing designs. To say the least of it, this is strangely inconsiderate, if only 
 because such Uljudged hurry renders it scarcely possible to obtain cai-efully-studied and well-matured 
 designs, between which and showily ad captaiidiim executed drawings there is a very material difference. 
 Those who, for their own advantage — real or supposed — invite architects to compete, must be fully aware 
 that they are luring all but the successful one, and those who obtain a premium, into giving their time and 
 labour gratis, therefore ought to show some decent consideration for persons whom they so employ, with 
 which remark the subject of competition must be now dismissed. 
 
 Not a little remarkable is it that Italian Gothic has of late been taken into especial favour by some 
 of those who are strongly opposed to Italian Classic. Yet the objection urged against the latter, on the 
 score of its being of foreign origin, surely applies still, more forcibly to a species of Gothic decidedly 
 inferior to that of our own country, and which is, besides, almost altogether deficient in those charac- 
 teristics of the style upon which so much stress is laid by its advocates and admirers. Instead of 
 verticality, it is horizontality and Jiatness that prevail, as is undeniably the case with the Ducal Palace at 
 Venice, also, though in a lesser degree, with most of the lacjades of the mediaeval palaces in that city, in 
 which the gable is an unknown feature. A parallel, a la Plutarch, or a " contrast," a la Pugin, might here 
 be drawn between that style and our own secular and domestic Gothic, were it not that it would detain us 
 too long, and be likely to be looked upon as an excrescence. What does call for some observation is the 
 change which in this country took place, occasioned by the gradual lowering of the arch, when .applied to 
 the apertures of domestic buildings, till it w.ts at length discarded ; and in our Elizabethan the square- 
 headed form was generally adopted as the more convenient one for windows, especially internally, where 
 they are, besides, more in accordance with square-headed doors, and with horizontal ceilings. 
 
 By some, Gothic has been commended on account of its not requiring — at least being supposed 
 not to require — any attention to be paid to symmetry, or even general homogeneousness of chai-aoter. 
 To be allowed to put doors and windows any how is, no doubt, highly convenient; it at once gets over a 
 oreat many difficulties, and spares the architect no small amount of trouble, since no study, no ingenuity is 
 required for putting together a patchwork assemblage of discordant parts. However good it may be in 
 itself, as such, mere common-sense building is not architecture, the latter standing in the same relationship 
 to the other as the flower of a plant does to its I'oot, or as poetry does to prose. 
 
 Fine art architecture accordingly demands strict observance of symmetry in composition, and its 
 productions should bear evidence of artist mind having been employed upon them. In every style of 
 architecture, all noble works have ever been devised with regard to regularity of organisation — at 
 least originally, however much the symmetry intended at fu'st to be observed has been afterwards 
 broken up. 
 
 No doubt it is not always an easy matter to reconcile the requirements of external design with those 
 of internal plan ; but then, the greater such difficulty, the greater the merit of overcoming it. By 
 stiumlating invention, ditUculties sometimes lead to happy ideas that might not else have presented 
 themselves. At any rate, if concinnity of external design is made to give way to the exigencies of internal 
 plan, we have some right to expect that the latter will be more than ordinarily satisfactory; which is, 
 however, by no means the case. On the contrary, more than one recently-erected large country 
 mansion might be named whicli is as wretchedly arranged within as it is slovenly designed witlio\it. If 
 merely tacking room to room is to be considered planning, the study else requisite for that important pait 
 of architectural design is reduced to a minimum, or, rather, got rid of altogether ; more, perhaps, to the 
 convenience of many who call themselves architects than to the benefit and advancement of archi- 
 tecture itself. 
 
 These "Remarks" might be greatly extended, but it has become time to bring them to a close. 
 Tliat every one will agree with all that has been said in the course of them i.s not even for a moment to be 
 .supposed, since more than one cannot but take exception to some of the opinions put forth, not only here, 
 but in several of the previous Notes. Those who disapprove — and they may be the majority — will have 
 reason to be gruleful, not to me, but to circumstances hindering me from giving utterance to a very great
 
 CONCLUDING REMARKS. 32/ 
 
 deal more. By the Classicisls I shall probably be considered very lax and laliludinanar. ; by the 
 Gothieists be regarded as an avowed foe, for the reason that notwithstanding my admiration of Gothic 
 itself as a past style, impressively characteristic of an earlier period of our civilisation, I hold it to be 
 almost wholly unsuitable for secular buildings generally — whether public or private ones — at the present 
 day. And I dissent entirely from those who, like Welby Pugin, woulil fain revive not only Gothic 
 arebiteeture, but Median-alism also, in every department of Art. 
 
 After all, whiehevcr be the style adopted, very much will depend upon the ability of those who employ 
 it ; since the excellence of a style, simply co ii<idcred as such, by no means ensures excellence of design 
 in it, and successful treatment of it. It is for the architect to bring out all the better qualities of 
 the style he practises, and perhaps develop others, by treating it, if not with positive genius, with con 
 amove geniality, and genuine artistic feeling, cultivated by earnest study, 
 
 Wliicli power in-dwcUing, will to Inm impart, 
 AVIiose master- passion is the love of Art. 
 By tliat impelled, 'tis given him to reach 
 Tliat liappy skill which rules can never teach. 
 
 W. n. LEEDS.
 
 329 
 
 PRINCIPAL TERM8 EMPLOYED IN THE SCIENCE 
 
 OE ARCHITECTURE. 
 
 Abacus. The upper member of the Capital of a Column 
 wheroon the Architrave rests. In tlie Corinthian order 
 it-^ (bur silifs rtrede inwardly in segments of ('irclcs on 
 the plan, and are decoriited in the centre with a tlower 
 or other ornament. The original object in its use was 
 doubtless to give l)readth to the top of the Column, 
 and prepare a larger level bed lor the reception of the 
 Entablature. 
 
 Scamozzi uses this term for a concave moulding in 
 the Capital of the Tuscan Pedestal, which, considering 
 its etymoio}j;y, is an error. 
 
 ABtJTMENT. The solid part of a pier from which an arch 
 springs. 
 
 Ac.iNTiius. .V plant called in English Bear's Breech, 
 whose leaves are employed for decorating the Corinthian 
 and Composite Capitals. 
 
 The leaves of the .\eanthus are used on the beil of 
 the Capital, and distinguish the two rich orders from 
 the three others. In those two orders they are however 
 ditferently disposed, as may be seen by reference to the 
 plates of the Corinthian and Composite orders in this 
 work. 
 
 In the Composite Capitals of the Arches of Titus and 
 Septimus JSeverus, the leaves seem from their strong 
 indentations to be meant to represent Parsley leaves. 
 Those in the Temple of Vesta at Home ditt'er from the 
 .Vcanthus, and are usually denominated Laurel leaves. 
 
 AcBOTERiA. The small Pedestals placed on the extremities 
 and apc.t of a pediment. They are usually without 
 bases or plinths, and were originally intended to bear 
 statues. 
 
 Vitruvius gives rules for their dimensions. Some use 
 the word Aeroterion to express a figure of stone or 
 metal placed on the top of a building, but in its strict 
 meaning it can only be applied to the Pedestals above 
 mentioned. 
 
 Alcove. The original and strict meaning of th's word, 
 which is derived, from the .Spanish Alrohii, is that part 
 of a bed-chamber in which the bed stands, and is 
 separated from the other parts of the room by Columns 
 or Pilasters. The seats in gardens have however in 
 this country been expressed by this term. 
 
 AMriiiPROSTTLE. In ancient Architecture, a Temple 
 with Columns in the rear as well as in the front. 
 
 -iMViiiTnE.XTRE. .V double theatre, of an elliptical form 
 on the plan for the Exhibition of the ancient (JIadiatorial 
 fights and other shows. Its Arc/iuor Pit, in which 
 those exhibitions took place, was encomi),issed with 
 seats rising above each other; and the extirior had 
 the accommodation of porticos or arcades for the 
 public. It was distinguished from the Theatres, by 
 Its consisting of two theatres placed end to end. 
 
 The remains of four very considerable -lui phi theatres 
 are still in existence, that of Pola in Istria. The 
 Coliseum at Home, built by Vespasian. One at Verona, 
 and the fourth in Languedoc, near Nismes — besides some 
 others. 
 
 A.vcoNES. The Consoles or ornaments cut on the keys of 
 .\rcl1e3, sometimes serving to support busts or othei 
 figures. 
 
 Annulet. A sm.ill square Mouldins, which crowns or ac- 
 companies a larger. .\lso that fillet which separates the 
 flulings of a column. It is sometimes called a list or 
 Itstella — which see. 
 
 2 X 
 
 AxT.E. A name given to pilastei's attached to a wall. 
 Vitruvius calls them Pard.itdtie when insulated. They 
 are not dimniished, and in all the Creek examples their 
 capitals are dittl-rent Irom those of the coluimis they ac- 
 company. 
 
 AroPiivoK. That Part of a Colunm between the upper 
 fillet of the base and the cylindrical part of the shaft 
 of the column, which is usually curved into it by a 
 cavetto. 
 
 Aqueduct. .Vn artificial Canal for the conveyance of 
 Water, either above or uiider ground. The Roman 
 Afiueducts are mostly in the former predicament. 
 
 Ar.eostyt.e. That style of building in which the Columns 
 are distant four and sometimes five diameters from 
 each other, but the former is the proportion to which 
 the term is usually applied. This Columnar arrange- 
 ment is suited to the Tuscan order only. 
 
 .-Vrch. An artful arrangement of bricks, stones, or other 
 materials in a curvilinear form, which by their mutual 
 |)ressure and sujiport perform the otKce of a lintel, and 
 carry superincumbent weights — the whole resting at its 
 extremities upon piers or abutments. 
 
 ARCIIITH.4VE. The lower of the primary divisions of thB 
 Entablature. It is placed immediately upon the Abacus 
 of the Capital. 
 
 Astragal. I'rom the Greek nffrpayreXof, a bone in the 
 foot, to which this moulding was supposed to bear a 
 resemblance, is a small moulding, who.se profile is semi- 
 circular, and bears also the name ot 7'n?0K or Tondino. 
 The Astragal is often cut into beads and berries, and 
 used in ornamented entablatures to separate the faces of 
 the .\rchitrave. 
 
 Attic Base. See Base. 
 
 .iTTic Order. .4n order of low Pilasters, generally p'aced. 
 over some other order of Columns. It is iuiproperly so 
 called, for the arrangement can scarcely be called an 
 Order. 
 
 Balcony. A Projection from the surface of a wall, sup- 
 ported by Consoles or Pillars, and surrounded by a 
 Balustrade. 
 
 Baluster. \ small Pillar or Pilaster, serving to support 
 a rail. Its form is of considerable variety, in different 
 examples. .Sometimes it is round, at othf;r times 
 square: it is adorned with mouldings and other de- 
 corations, according to the richness of the order it ac- 
 companies. 
 
 B.iLusTRADE. A connected range of a number of Balusters 
 on Balconies, Terraces, round Altars, &c. — See Ba- 
 luster. 
 
 Band. A term nsed to express what is generally called 
 a Face or Fitsria, It more properly means a fiat 
 low square prnfih-d m<-'ml)er, without respect to its 
 place. That from which the Corinthian or other 
 modillions, or the Dentils project, is called the 
 .Modillion Band, or the Dentil Band, as the case may 
 be. 
 
 Bandelet. A diminutive of the foregoing term, used to 
 express any narrow flat moulding. The Tsenia on the 
 Doric Architrave is called its Bandelet. 
 
 B.VSE. The lower part of a Column, moulded or plain, on 
 which the shaft is placed. 
 
 The word also signifies any support, but is in deco- 
 rative Architecture mostly used in the above sense- 
 The earlie- 1 Columns, as those of the Grecian Doric,
 
 33 
 
 PRINXIPAL TERMS EMPLOYED IN THE 
 
 were without Bases, standing immediately on tlic 
 floor or pavement of the Portico. Tlie Tuscan Base 
 has only a sinjjle torus or round member on the Plintli. 
 The Roman Doric, a torus and an astragal. The 
 Ionic, a single large torus placed over two slender 
 scotise, whicii are separated by two astraiials. The 
 Corinthian Base has two tori, two scotiae, and two 
 astraguls. The Composite has a double astragal in the 
 middle. 
 
 Besides the above there is another species deno- 
 minated the Attic Base. This base consists of two tori 
 and a scotia. Tlie former are of different dimensions, 
 the upper one being the least, ami are separated from 
 the scotia by a fillet on the top of one and at the bottom 
 of the other. 
 
 Basilica. A Town or Court Hall, a Cathedral, a Palace 
 where Kings administered justice. This name is parti- 
 cularly applied at Rome, to the Oiurches of Sfntfti 
 Crocc di Gcnmrilciiinie, San Giovanni Lntcrano, 
 Santa Maria Magr/iore, San Lorenzo fuori Ic imirii, 
 San Paolo, San Sehastiano, and San Pictro del 
 Vaticayio. 
 
 Bed Mouldings. Those mouldings in all the Orders 
 between the Corona and Frieze. 
 
 Bossage. (.\ French term). Any projection left rough on 
 the face of a stone I'or the purpose of sculpture, which 
 is usually the last thing finished 
 CLTIN". .4 name g" 
 or quarter round. 
 
 Cablixg. The filling up of the lower part of the fluting 
 of a Column, with a solid cylindrical piece. Fluting^ 
 thus treated are said to be Cabled. 
 
 Caisson. A name given to the sunk panels of various geo- 
 metrical forms symmetrically disposed in flat or vaulted 
 ceilings, or in soffits generally. 
 
 Capital. The head or uppermost part of a Column or 
 Pilaster. The Capitals of the several orders differ as 
 follows : — The Tuscan capital consists of an abacus or 
 square piece at tlie top, under which is an ovolo or 
 quarter round, and under that a neck, terminated by 
 an astragal or fillet, which latter is considered as belong- 
 ing to the shaft of the Colunm. The Roman Doric 
 Capital has an abacus, ovolo, and neck like the Tuscan, 
 but in addition has three annulets under the ovolo and 
 a cyma or ogee, with its fillet over the abacus. Tlie 
 Grecian Doric, however, has only a square abacus, 
 ovolo, and small fillets. The Ionic capital consists of 
 three priiiciital j>arts — an abacus composed of an ogee 
 and fillet, a rind wliieli forms the scrolls, and an ovolo 
 and astragal at bottom. The Corinthian consists of an 
 abacus of peculiar (iirm, and a bell covered with leaves 
 and stalks; the leaves fonning its under part, and the 
 stalks rising between llieiu, and turning down in the 
 form of scrolls when they reach the abacus. The Com- 
 posite Capital borrows an ovolo from the Doric, and 
 Volutes from the Ionic, and a double tier of leaves from 
 the Corintliian. 
 
 Cartol-cii. The same as modillion, except that it exclu- 
 sively used to signify tiiose blocks or niodillions at the 
 eaves of a Ikhisc. — Sei^ Mudilhon. 
 
 Caiiyatidf.s. Figures of women, which serve instead of 
 Columns to support the entablature. Their origin, as 
 asserted by Vitruvius, in representing the captive 
 women of Cana, is erroneous. It is probabh? that they 
 they were originally statues in honour of Diana. 
 
 Casemknt. The same as Scotia, whicli see— also the term 
 used for a sash hung on hinges. 
 
 C'AL'LicuLirs. Till: volute or twist under the flower in the 
 Corinthian Capital. 
 
 Cavktto. A holbiw moulding, whoso profile is a quadrant 
 of a circle, principally used in Cornices. 
 
 Cbll. .See JVaos. 
 
 CiNC'TITKK. A ring, li.st or fillet at Ihr' to|) and hottiim of 
 a (.'nluiiin, servhig to divide the shaft of the Column 
 from itii Ca[>ita! and Itasi;. 
 
 CoLL'MN. A nuMnber in Arcliitectiire of a cylindrical form, 
 (ronHJstinj; of u basr-, a shaft or body, and a cajiital. It 
 did'ers from the I'ihistei- which ]■* sipiap- on the plan. 
 ColuTiiiis •.liriubl ahviiys stand perpendicularly. 
 
 COMi'osiTE OitDBii. One of the orders of .Vrcliilccture. 
 
 Conge. Another name for the echinus or quarter round, 
 as also f(tr thecavetto ; the former is called the Swelling 
 Conge, tlie latter the Hollow Conge. 
 
 Console. See Ancones. 
 
 Corbel, or Corbeille. A short piece of timber or stone 
 let into a wall half its length or more, as the burthen 
 super-imposed may require, to carry a weight above it, 
 projecting from the general face of tile work ; itiscarveii 
 in various fanciful ways ; the commonest form is, how- 
 ever, that of an ogee. 
 
 Corinthian Order. One of the orders of .Architecture. 
 
 Cornice. The projection, consisting of several members, 
 which crowns or finishes an entablature, or the body or 
 part to w'hich it is annexed. The cornice used on a 
 pedestal is called the Cap of the Pedestal. 
 
 CoHON.4.. Is that flat square and massy member of a Cor- 
 nice more usually called the drip or larmier, wliose 
 situation is between the cymatium above, and the bed" 
 mouklings below : its ufe is to carry the water drop by 
 drop from the building. 
 
 Corridor. A Gallery or open Communication to the dif- 
 ferent apartments of a House. 
 
 CORSA. The name given by Vitruvius to a platband or 
 square fascia, whose height is more than its projeeture. 
 
 CurOL.V. .\ small dome, either circular or polygonal, 
 standing on the top of a dome. By some it is called a 
 Lantern. 
 
 Cushioned. See Frieze. 
 
 Cyma, called also Cy.matium. Its name arising from its 
 resemblance to a wave. A. moulding which is hollow 
 in its upper part, and swelling below. 
 
 There are, however, two sorts, the Cyma Recta just 
 described, and the Cyma Reversa, whose upper part 
 swells, whilst the lowest part is hollow. 
 
 DEc.iSTYLE. A building having ten Columns in front. 
 
 Dentils. Small square blocks or projections used in the 
 bed mouldings ot the Cornices in the Ionic, Corinthian, 
 Composite, and sometimes Doric orders. Their breadth 
 should be half their height, and their intervals, accord- 
 ing to Vitruvius, two-thirds of their breadth. The 
 (ireeks were not accustomed to use theai under nio- 
 dillions. 
 
 Diastyle. That Intercolnmniation or space between 
 Columns, consisting of three diameters — some say four, 
 diameters. 
 
 Die or Dye. A naked square Cube. Thus the body of a 
 pedestal, or that part between its base and its cap, is 
 calleil the Die of the pedestal. Some call the .Vbacus 
 the Die of the Capital. 
 
 Diminution. A term expressing the gradiml decrease 
 of thickness in the upper part of a Column. 
 
 Dii'TKKAL. X term used by the .\ncient.s to express a 
 Temple with a double Range of Columns in each of its 
 flanks. 
 
 DodkcastY'LE. \ building having twelve Colimmsin front. 
 
 Du.ME. The spiierical or other formed concave ceiling over 
 a circular or polygonal building. 
 
 Doric Order. One of the five Orders of Architecture. 
 
 DkH". See CouONA. 
 
 DKors. See (iUTT.i!. 
 
 EciriM's. The same as the ovolo or quarter roumi ; but 
 perhajis it is only called Echinus with propriety when 
 carved with eggs and anchors. Echinus is the husk 
 or shell of the chestnut, to which it is said, ])erliaps 
 erroiKjonsly, it bears a resemblance. 
 
 Encaui'Us. Tlie festoons on a frieze, consisting of fruits, 
 flowers, and leaves. See Fe.stoon. 
 
 Entablature. The assemblage of pai'ts supported by the 
 C'olumn. It cnnsisls of three parts — tlie ,\rcliitravc 
 I'rieze, and ( 'oriiice. 
 
 Entasis. Tiie swelling of a Column. 
 
 Entresol. See Mezzanine. 
 
 Ei'isTVLiUM. The .same as Architrave, which .see. 
 
 Et;sTvi.i:. That IntercoUimiiiation which, as ils name 
 would import, the ancients considered the most elegant, 
 viz. two diameters and a (piartir of the Column. 
 Vitruvius says this manner of arranging Columns 
 exciids all others in strength, convenience, and 
 beauty.
 
 SCIENCE OF ARCHITECTPUE. 
 
 331 
 
 Faoade. The face or front of any considerable building to 
 a street, court, e;nr(ien, orotber place. 
 
 Fascia. A flat niemln'r in the enlablaliire or clsewlifrr, 
 beinij in fact nothing: more tban u band or brnad fillit. 
 Tile archilravc in tbc more eb'jfant ordiTs is divided into 
 three bands : tlies<' are called I'asciit. The lower is calleil 
 tlie first Fascia, the middle one the seconil, and the 
 upper one the third Fascia. 
 
 FA.-4T1GUM. See I*i;i)I.MENT. 
 
 Festoox. -Vn ornament of carved work, representinj:; a 
 wreath or j^arlainl of flowers or leaves, or both inter- 
 woven with each other. It is tiiickest in the middle, 
 and small at each extremity, where it is tied, a part 
 often han^inj^ down below the knot. 
 
 JFlLLET. The small si|nare member which is placed above 
 or below the various square or curved nienib(;rs in an 
 order. 
 
 i'LLTiNT.s. The vertical channels on the shafts of Columns, 
 which are usu.illy rounded at the top and bottom. In 
 the Doric order they ari^ twenty in number ; in the 
 other orders, the Tuscm excepted, which is never fluted, 
 tlieir number is twenty-lour. They are soinetiiues 
 cabled. See Caui.ini;.' 
 
 F'RIE/.k or Fkizk. The middle member in the entablature 
 of an order, which separates tlie.Vrebitra\e and Cnrniee. 
 lu the Tuscan order it is always pl;iiii. In the Doric it 
 is ornamented with Tri,i;ly)>lis. In the Ionic it is somi*- 
 tim(;s swelled, and in the Corinthian and Composite is 
 variously ilecorated at the pleiisure of the architect. 
 When it swells in the Ionic order, it is called a pul- 
 vinated or cushioned Irieze, 
 
 Frontispiece. The face or fore front of a house; but 
 it is a term more usually applied to its decorated 
 entrance. 
 
 Fust. The shaft of a Column. See Shaft. 
 
 Glyphs. The vertical channels sunk in the triglyphs of 
 the Doric frieze. 
 
 GoL.v or (ici.A. The same as o<ree, wliiuli see. 
 
 Gorge. The same as cavetto, which sec. 
 
 GuTT.l-: or Duors. Tbofc frusta of cones, in the Doric 
 entablature, which occur in the architrave below the 
 Taenia under each Triglyph. They are also found in 
 the under part of the mutules or modiUions of that 
 order. 
 
 Helix. The curlinf; stalk under the flower in the Corin- 
 thian capital, .'^ee CAVLICCLUt?. 
 Hexastvle. a building having- si.x columns in front. 
 Hvp.iiTHRAL. In the open air, or uncovered by a roof. 
 Hyperthyron'. The lintel of a doorway. 
 IIVPOTRACUELION. The iieck of a capital. 
 
 Jambs. The side pieces of any opening in a wall, which 
 bear the piece that discharges the superincumbent 
 weight of such wall. 
 
 Impost. The capital of a Pilaster supporting an arch. 
 The Impost varies in form according to the order with 
 which it is u.sed. Sometimes tlie entablature of the 
 order serves for the Impost of an arcii. 
 
 Ixsui.ATED. Detached from another building. A church 
 is insulated, when not contiguous to any other edifice. 
 A column is said to be insulated when standing free 
 from any wall ; thus the columns of peripteral tem[)le3 
 were insulated. 
 
 iNTEHcoLUM.NiATiox. The distance between two 
 coluiuns. 
 
 Ionic Order. One of the Orders of .Vrchitecturc. 
 
 Key' Stoxe. The stone in an arch which is equally 
 distant from its springing extremities. In a circular 
 arch there will be two Key Stones, one at the sum- 
 mit, and the other at the bottom thereof; in semi- 
 circular semi-ellijitieal arches, 6cc., it is the liighest 
 stone, and it is ii'equeutly sculptured on the face and 
 return sides. 
 
 LAcrxAR and LAfjuEAR. The fame as Poflit, which see. — 
 It is, however, to be observed, that it is a Lacunar only 
 when consisting of compartments sunk or hollowed", 
 without the separation of platbands or spaces between 
 the panels. When they are added, it is called Loquear. 
 
 Larmier. Called also Corona, which see. 
 
 I.EAVi:s. Oriumients representing natural leaves. The 
 ancients used two sorts of leaves, natural and ima- 
 giiiio-y. Till' natural wiTe those u! the laurel, jialm, 
 aeaiitbus, and olive, but they took such liberties in the 
 form of these, that they might almost be said to be 
 inuiginary too. 
 
 LiXTEi,. A piece of timber or stone placed horizontally 
 over a door, window, or other opening. 
 
 List or Listel. The same as Filh't or Annulet. 
 
 Metope. The square space between two triglj phs of tlic 
 Doric order. It is sometimes left plain, at other times 
 decorated with sculpture. 
 
 Mezzanine. .V low story, introduced between two prin- 
 cipal stories. 
 
 Minute. The sixtieth part of the diameterof a Column. 
 It is the subdivision by which Architects measure the 
 small parts of an order. 
 
 Modii.lion. An ornament in file entablature of the richer 
 orders, resembling a bracket. ModiUions are placed 
 with the intervention of oiui or two small members 
 under the Corona. They should be .so distributed that 
 the centre of one should always stand over the centre 
 of a cohunn. In the Corinthian order they are enriched 
 with carvings; in the Ionic and Composite they are 
 generally more simple. 
 
 The term Mutule, which is confined to the Doric 
 order, is in fact the same as tho. Modillion. The Mu- 
 tules always answer to the 'I'rielypbs. 
 
 Module. The serai-diameter of a Column. This term is 
 only properly used when speaking of the Doric order. 
 As a .semi-diameter it consists of only thirty minutes. 
 — See Minute. 
 
 Monopteral. Among the ancients, a circular building 
 having Columns, but without a Cell. 
 
 Mouldings. Those parts of an order which are shajied 
 into various curved or square forms. 
 
 Mutule. See Modillion. 
 
 Naked. The unornamented plain surface of a wall, column, 
 
 or other part of a building. 
 Nags or Cella. Tlie part of a temple within the walls. 
 Newel. The solid, or imaginary solid when the stairs are 
 
 open in the centre, round which the steps are turned 
 
 about. 
 Niche. A square or cylindrical cavity in a wall or other 
 
 solid. 
 
 Obelisk. A fall slender frustrum of a Pyramid, usually 
 idaccd on a Pedestal. The ditt'erence between an Obe- 
 ii>k and a Pyramid, independent of the former being 
 only a pin'tion of the latter, is that it always has a small 
 base in proportion to its height. 
 
 Octasty^le. a building with eight columns in front. 
 
 Ogee or Ogive. The same as Cyma, which see. 
 
 Order. An assemblage of parts, consisting of a Base, 
 Shaft, Capital, Architrave, Frieze, and Cornice, whose 
 several ser\'iees requiring some distinction in strength, 
 have been contrived or designed in five several species 
 — Tuscan, Doric, Ionic, Corinthian, and Composite; 
 each of which has its ornaments, as well as general 
 fabric, proportioned to its strength and character. 
 These are the five orders of Architecture, the proper 
 untlerstanding and ap])lication of wdiich constitute the 
 fouiidation of all excellence in the art. 
 
 Ordonnance. The arrangement of a design, and the dis- 
 position of its several parts. 
 
 Orlo. The plinth of a Column or Pedestal. 
 
 OvOLO. A moulding, sometimes called a quarter round, 
 from its profile being the quadrant of a circle; when 
 sculptured it is called an Echinus, which see. 
 
 Parapet. From the Italian Parapetto, breast high. The 
 
 defence round a terrace or roof of a building. 
 PARASTAT.ii. Pilasters standing insulated. 
 Pedest.vl. The substruction under a column or wall. A 
 
 Pedestal under a column consists of three parts ; the 
 
 Base, the Die, and the Cornice or Cap. 
 Pediment. The low triangular crowning ornament of the 
 
 front of a building, or of a door, window, or niche. 
 
 Pediments are liowever sometimes in the form of the
 
 332 
 
 PRINCIPAL TERMS EMPLOYED. ETC. 
 
 segment of a circle, when applied to doors and windows. 
 The Pediment of a building is not unfrequcntly orna- 
 mented with sculpture. 
 
 Peripteral. A term used by the ancients to express a 
 building encompassed by Columns, forming as it were 
 an aisle round the building. 
 
 Peristylium. In Greek and Roman houses was acourt, 
 square, or cloister, which sometimes had a colonnade on 
 three sides only, and therefore in that case improperly 
 so called There were other Peristylia with a colonnade 
 on each of the four sides ; that on the south side was 
 sometimes Iiiiiher than the rest. Thisspecies was called 
 a Rhodian Peristyle. 
 
 PiAzz.\, A square open space surrounded by houses. 
 This term is ignorantly used to denote the walk under 
 an arcade. 
 
 Pier. A solid between the doors or the windows of a 
 building. The square or other formed mass or post to 
 which a gate is hung-. The solid support from whieli 
 an arch springs. In a bridge, the Pier next the shore 
 is usually called an Abutment Pier. 
 
 Pilaster, A square pillar engaged in a wall. 
 
 Pillar, A column ot irregular form, always disengaged, 
 and always deviating from the proportions of the 
 orders, whence the distinction between a Pillar and a 
 Column, 
 
 Pl.\xceer, The same as Soffit, which see. 
 
 PLATB.iXD, A square moulding, whose projection is less 
 than its height or breadth. The fillets between the 
 flutes of columns are improperly called Platbands, The 
 lintel of a door or window is sometimes called by 
 this name. 
 
 Plinth, The square solid under the base of a column, 
 pedestal, or wall. The abacus of the Tuscan capital is 
 sometimes called the Plinth of that capital. 
 
 Portico, A place for walking under shelter, raised with 
 arches in the manner of a gallery. The Portico is 
 nsually vaulted, but has sometimes a flat sofBt or ceil- 
 ing, 'This word is also used to denote the projection 
 Itetbre a church or teni])le supported by columns, 
 
 PosTicUM, The back-door of a temple, also the Portico 
 behind the temple. 
 
 Profile, The contour of the diflerent parts of an order. 
 
 Prostyle, A building or temple with columns in front 
 only, 
 
 PsErDODiPTERAL, A term used by the ancients to ex- 
 press a building or temple in which the distance from 
 each side of the cell to tliesurrounding columns is equal 
 to two intercolumniations, but wherein the intermediate 
 range of columns which would occur between tlie outer 
 range and the cell is omitted, 
 
 PcLviNATED, A term used to express the swelling of the 
 frieze in the Ionic order 
 
 Pycnostyle, An intercolumniation equal to one diameter 
 and a lialf, 
 
 Pyra.mid, A solid with a square polygonal or triangular 
 base, terminating in a point at top. 
 
 Quarter Round, See Ovolo and Echikis, 
 QloiKS, The external and internal angles of buildings or 
 of their members. The corners. 
 
 Reglet, The same as Listel, 
 
 Regula, The same as Listel, 
 
 Reticulated Work, That in which tlie courses are ar- 
 ranged in a net-like form. The stones arc square and 
 placed lozenge-wise. 
 
 Ring. A name sometimes given to the list, cincture, or 
 fillet. 
 
 Roman Order. Another name for the Composite. 
 
 Robe, The representation of this flower is carved in the 
 centre of each face of the Abacus in the ('.orintliidti 
 Capital, and is called the Jtn.i/: iif that capital. It is 
 also uw-d in decorating the cnisMjus in the soflit of the 
 corona, nnrl in those of wilings, 
 
 RUBTIC, The courses of stone or brick in which the work 
 i« jagged out into an irregular surface. Also work leit 
 rough without tooling. 
 
 8AI.ON 
 
 paintingD 
 
 An apartment for state, or for thr reception of Zocle or ZoccOLO, Sec 80CI.B 
 ingii, and uwiully running up through two stories ZoopnoROS. The same as I'riezt 
 
 of the house. It may be square, oblong, polygonal, or 
 circular. 
 
 .ScAPus. The same as shaft of a Column, which see. 
 
 Scotia, The name of a hollowed moulding, principally 
 used between the Tori of the base of columns : 
 it derives its name from the shadow it produces. 
 It is sometimes called a casement, sometimes Trochilus, 
 rpo\iXof, fi'ora its resemblance to a common pulley. 
 
 Sh.\ft. That part of a column which is between the base 
 and capital : it is also called the Fust as well as Trunk 
 of a Column, 
 
 Sh.\nk. a name given to the two interstitial spaces 
 between the channels of the triglyph in the Doric frieze. 
 They are sometimes called the legs of the triglyph. 
 
 Socle. A square flat member of greater breadth than 
 height, usually the same as plinth. 
 
 Soffit. The ceiling or underside of a member in an order. 
 It means also the under side of the larmier or corona in 
 a cornice : also, the under side of that part of the archi- 
 trave which does not rest on the Columns. — See also 
 Lacunar. 
 
 Stereobata or Stylobata. The same as Pedestal. 
 
 Swelling. The same as Entasis. 
 
 Systyle. An iutercolunmiation equal to two diameters, 
 
 T.^nia, a tenn usually applied to the Listel above the 
 architrave in the Doric order. 
 
 Talon, The French name for the Astragal. It is by the 
 French also used to denote the Cyma Reversa. 
 
 Terminu.s, a stone anciently used to mark the bound.ary 
 of property, A Pedestal increasing upwards, or some- 
 times a parallelopiped for the reception of a bust, 
 
 Tetrastyle, a. building having four columns in front. 
 
 Theatre, A building 'for the Exhibition of Dramatic 
 Shows, It was among the ancients semi-circular in 
 form, (see Amphithe.vtre), encompassed with Por- 
 ticos, and furnished with numerous seats, which in- 
 cluded a place called the Orchestra, in the front of 
 which was the floor of the Theatre, called the Pro- 
 scenium. 
 
 ToNDiNO. The same as Astragal, 
 
 ToKUS, A moulding of semi-circular profile used in the 
 bases of Columns, 
 
 Traeeation, The same as Entablature, which see, 
 
 Trigly-ph. The ornament of the frieze in the Doric order, 
 consisting of two whole and two half channels, sunk 
 triangularly on the plan, 
 
 Trochilus, See Scotia, 
 
 Trunk. See Shaft, When the word is applied to a 
 pedestal, it signifies the dado or die, or body of the 
 pedestal, answering to the shaft of the Column, 
 
 Tusc.iN, One of the Orders of Architecture, 
 
 Tympanum, The space enclosed by the cornice of the 
 sloping sides of a pediment, and the level fillet of the 
 Corona. 
 
 Vase. A ternt sometimes used to denote the inverted bell- 
 like form of the ground on which the leaves of the 
 Corinthian Cajiital arc placed. 
 
 Vault, An arched roof so contrived that the stones or other 
 materials of which it is composed, support ami kri'pcaeli 
 other in their places. Arched ceilings reseinlple vaults, 
 and are circular, elliptical, or of other forms. When 
 more than a senii-circlc^ they are called surmounted, 
 an<l when less, tiurbftst'd Vaults, 
 
 Vestibule, An Ante-IIall, Lobby, or Porch, 
 
 VoniTii, The scroll which is apjiended to the capital of 
 IIk' Ionic order. There are Volutes also in tlie Co- 
 rinthian order, but they arc smaller, more numerous, 
 anil always diagonally placed. In the Ciunposile the 
 ^■|llMll s lire also diagonally placed, hut larger than in the 
 Ciiniilhian, 
 
 XvsT or Xystos. A term used to express a Portico of 
 great length, in which running and wrestling wa.s 
 lirailiMd. It was sometimes covered, and sometimes 
 oj)en.
 
 IJN^DEX. 
 
 A. 
 
 Aberdeen's, Lord, " Inquiry into the Principles of Beauty 
 in Grecian Arcliitcctur«," 12, note. 
 
 ' " Review of Dutens's ' Rechorclies sur 
 
 Ic Toms le plus reciiU' do I'Usrif^e des Voutes,' *' 49. 
 AcANTiiu.s, seldom employed but in the Composite, 224. 
 AoA.li, Robert, a contemporary of Sir William Cham- 
 bers, 9. 
 Aduia.n, his skill in the arts of design, 01. 
 Agrigextum, aduicasuremcnt of temjjles at, 35, 36 ; tomb 
 of Theron at, a singular mi.xture of the Ionic column with 
 8 Doric entablature, 41. 
 Albekti, L. B., one of the restorers of pure architecture in 
 
 Italy, 84, note. 
 Aloardi, Alessandro, a painter and sculptor of Bologna, 
 
 311, note. 
 Ammanati, Hartolomeo,a Florentine architect and sculptor, 
 
 studied under Sansovino, 22.5, note. 
 AxTJi, Greek, for what purpose they were used, 173 ; note 
 
 on, 183. 
 Antoninus Pius, re-edified a great part of Rome, 91. 
 Apollo, the temple of, at Delos; observations on the plate 
 
 of, 51. 
 Apollodorus, a celebrated architect in the time of 
 
 Trajan, 93. 
 Arcades and Arches. The invention of the arch, the 
 most important discovery in arcliitecture, 48. 
 
 Application of Le Brun's Theorie de 1' Architecture to 
 vaulting and arches, 209, note. 
 Various manners of decorating arches, 210. 
 Observations on six different designs of arcades, 217. 
 Archer, architect, 241, note. 
 
 Architect, sliould collect his knowledge of the orna- 
 mental part of architecture from the remains of Roman 
 antiquity in Italy, France, &c., 88; which afford a com- 
 plete system of decorative architecture, 92; to these may 
 be added the labours of the masters of the liith, IGth, and 
 17th centuries, ib. ; how Ije is to collect his knowledge of 
 distribution, 13.3; directions to, liow to study the economy 
 of architecture, kc, 97. 
 Architecture, has a very considerable part in almost 
 every comfort or luxury of lite, .3.3; affords lasting records 
 for posterity, .5(3. 
 
 List of the principal works on architecture in the Italian, 
 French, and English languages, 95, 96, note ; minute orna- 
 ments should not be used in exterior compositions, 108; 
 excessive ornaments destroy the grandeur of effect, ib. 
 
 Of the parts which compose the orders of architecture, , 
 and of their properties, application, and enrichments, 
 100—109. 
 
 Of the orders of architecture in general, 110 — 120; 
 note on, 172. 
 
 Architraves. Seethe Different Orders of Archi- 
 tecture. 
 Arcs Doubleaux, 312. See Ceilings. 
 Atreus, the treasury of, at Mycense, 22. 
 
 B. 
 
 Balance, 288, note. 
 
 Balustrades, sometimes useful and sometimes orna- 
 mental, 247. 
 Balusters are of various figures, 240. 
 Frets, or GuUloches, sometimes used instead of 
 balusters, 252. 
 
 Note on Balusters, 253. 
 Bariiaro, Daniel, 121, note. 
 Barozzi, Giacomo (da Vignnia), 119, note. 
 Barry, SirC.,his account of the tombsof Benihassan, with 
 two illustrative engravings, 33 ; excellence of his fenestra- 
 tion (note on Windows), 287 ; his artistic power, 324. 
 Basements and Attics. Instead of employing several 
 orders one above another in a composition, the ground 
 floor is sometiiries made .in the form of a continued base 
 or basement, 2:51. 
 
 Attics. Instead of a second order, the first is some- 
 times crowned with an attic, 234. 
 Bases, reasons for the absence of the base in ancient ex- 
 amples of tlie Doric order, 143. 
 Beauty, elements of, in Grecian architecture, 11—17. 
 Benihassan, account of the tombs of, with two illustra- 
 tive engravings and admeasurements, 33, note. 
 Bernini, G. L., though an able architect, 95, note. 
 Blondel, FranQois, Cours d'Architecture, 95, note. 
 
 Jacques Frang. ( 'ours d'Architecture, 95, note. 
 
 Books on architecture in the English language, list of, 59, 
 note ; in the Italian, French, and English languages, 95, 
 96, note. 
 BoRHOMiNi, Francesco, studied architecture under Carlo 
 
 Maderno, 170, note. 
 Braiviante, 218, note. 
 Bridge, extraordinary one over the Danube, almost two 
 
 miles in length, 90. 
 Building, on the Origin and Progress of, 77 — 99. 
 BuoNAROTi, M. A., architect, painter, and sculptor, 282, 
 
 note. 
 BuoNTALENTi, Bernardo, an architect and painter of con- 
 siderable celebrity, 282, note. 
 Burlington, Richard Boyle, Earl of, 254, note. 
 
 C. 
 
 Cablings, how composed in some rich buildings, 168. 
 
 C^sAR, Julius, passionately fond of architecture, 89. 
 
 Cardi, Luigi (Cigoli), 264, note. 
 
 Carpentry, account of De Lorme's system of, 121, note. 
 
 Caryatides, Vitruvius's account of their origin, 184; 
 note on, 194. 
 
 Various figures in the Roman antiquities, evidently de- 
 signed for the same purpose, 187 ; an entablature conti- 
 guous to the temple of Erectbeus supported by five 
 Caryatides, 188; AI. Le Roy's remarks on them, ib. 
 
 Description of the figures in a plate of Caryatides, 192; 
 note on, 194. 
 
 Chambers, Sir William, life of, 1 — 10.
 
 334 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Ceilixgs, either flat or covered in different manners, 310. 
 
 Ceilings, note on, 314. 
 
 Ceiling Fenestration, ib. 
 
 Chimxet-pieces, none of the Continental nations have 
 excelled in compositions of cliimney-pieces, 295; Inigo 
 Jones the first wlio arrived at any degree of perfection in 
 them, ib. 
 Tile size of the cliininey-piece to depend on the dimen- 
 sions of the room, '296. Note on chimney-pieces, 209. 
 CiGOLi.— See C.iRDi. 
 
 Com.MXs, strange conjecture respecting the origin of 
 fluting in, 37 ; only a Grecian improvement on the poly- 
 gonal columns of Egypt, 38 ; another probable origin of 
 fluted columns, 82 ; table of the heights of columns in the 
 Doric, Ionic, Corintliian, and Composite orders; diameter, 
 diminution, &c., 127. 
 Competitions, architectural remarks on, 327. 
 Composite Order, a mixture of tlie Ionic and Corinthian. 
 160. 
 
 Palladio's Composite, IGI; Vignola's, 102; Scamozzi's 
 entablature, ib. 
 CoRixTHiAN" Order, chapter on, 167. 
 
 The Ionic entablature frequently employed by the 
 ancients in the Corinthian Order, llil). 
 
 Table showing the height of pedestals in ancient and 
 modern works of this order, 260, note; intercolumnia- 
 tions in, practised by the ancients, 260. 
 <;oBXicES, Block, and entablatures, remarks on, 305; note 
 on, 300. 
 
 D. 
 
 Daxcbe, a celebrated bridge over the, nearly two miles in 
 length, 123. 
 
 D'.\TiLER, X. C, 134, note. 
 
 De Brosse, Jacques, architect of tlie Luxemburg palace 
 at Paris, 196, note. 
 
 Decoration, interior, in buildings, mnny iui]irt)venients 
 in, by Sir William Chambers, 9. 
 
 On the proper introduction of decoration in architec- 
 ture, 10. 
 
 Minute ornaments should not be used in exterior com- 
 positions, 108. 
 
 De Cordemoy's opinion respecting the employment of the 
 acanthus, instead of olive leaves, in the Corinthian capital, 
 109. 
 
 De Lor.me, Philibert, notice of, 121, note. 
 
 Desgodetz, a., caution respecting Marshall's transla- 
 tion of his " Edifices de Rome," li'j, note. 
 
 Design or Disposition-.— See Order and H.^rmony. 
 
 Diastyle, interval of tlie, 202. 
 
 Do.MiTiAN, his passion for architecture, 90 ; his celebrated 
 palace, ib. 
 
 Doors, note on, 273. 
 
 Doric Order, chapter on, 137; opinions of Vitruvius and 
 Scamozzi respecting the base, 142 ; of De Chambrai and 
 Le Clerc, 143. 
 
 The shaft sometimes made prismatic, 144; the Doric 
 entablature the most difhcult to distribute, l.')0; the 
 trielyplis often omitted, ib. 
 
 Table sin-wing the bi-iglit of pedr^stals in works of this 
 order, by Palladiound Scamozzi, 19S, note. 
 
 DCTE.NS, an advocate for tlu; early use of the arch among 
 the Grecians, 49. 
 
 E. 
 
 Egyptian' architecture, liarmony in, carried to an excess, 
 1.'* ; fluted Jigyptinn columns in, 3:j, noti;. 
 
 Entarlature". — Sec the different Orders of Archi- 
 tecture. 
 
 EitBCTiiEi-8, obscn'ations on the plate of, ul. 
 
 1'i;nk»tratiox, and Windows, note on, 2H7 ; ciiling, 
 
 I'HKART, Itolnnd (dc Chamlmii), his " PnralUle do I'Arclii- 
 tecture .Vnliquc uvcc la Modtrne," UU. 
 
 French architects, the merits of the most celebrated, 
 
 e.vamined with attention by Sir William Chambers, 2 
 Frets, or Guillociies, sometimes employed instead of 
 
 balusters, 252. 
 Frezier, a. F., Traite de Stereotoniie, ou la Theorie et la 
 
 Pratique de la Coupe des Pierres et dcs Bois, 96, note. 
 Friezes, on the ornaments for, 108.— See the different 
 
 Orders of Architecture. 
 
 G. 
 
 G.iLiLEi, Alessandro, 351, note. 
 
 G-iNDON, James, a pupil of Sir William Chambers ; archi- 
 tect of the Custom-House, and other public works, at 
 Dublin, 10. 
 
 Gates, Doors, and Piers. The apertures of gates gene- 
 rally made in the form of arches, 2.M ; but doors of 
 smaller dimensions are usually of a parallelogram figure, 
 ib. ; the usual ornaments of gates and doors, 2-58. 
 
 Observations on various designs of gates and doors, 
 201 ; on designs of gates and piers, 265. 
 
 Remarks on the profiles for doors, &e., 300 — 303. 
 
 G ER MANY, leading liiiferences in the style ot building in the 
 ancient churches of, 250, note. 
 
 Gothic Architecture, a philosophical and highly in- 
 teresting view of the origin and progress of, in AloUer's 
 Deiikmaehler der Doutsclien Baukunst, 250, note. 
 
 GouGEON, Jean, a French sculptor and architect, 168, 
 note. 
 
 Grecian .Architecture, an examination of the Ele- 
 ments of Beauty in Grecian Architecture, with a brief in- 
 vestigation of its origin, progress, and jierfection, by 
 Joseph Gwilt, 11-52; Elements of Beauty iu, 4, 5. 
 Observations on Grecian Architecture, 81. 
 Examination of the Elements of Beauty in Grecian 
 Architecture, 11 — 17. 
 
 On the Oiigin, Progress, and Perfection of Grecian Ar- 
 chitecture, 18—49. 
 
 H. 
 
 Harmony and Order, 15. 
 
 Hiram's pillars, Jachinand Boaz, in Solomon's Temple, 83. 
 IIolkham, in Norfolk, built by W. Kent, 243, note ; the 
 distribution of the plan of the rooms, a master-piece, 308. 
 HosKlNO's prejudice against Venetian windows, 288. 
 
 Ii.Y'ssus, height of columns, &;c., in the temjilc of, 40; ob- 
 servations on the ])lates of, 61. 
 
 Intercoi.umni.ition, 202. 
 
 Interpenestration, 287, note. 
 
 Ionic Order, age of the, 38; examination of the compo- 
 nent parts of the Ionic order, 41. 
 
 The form of the Ionic profile more determined, among 
 the ancients, than that of an-, other, 152 ; Ionic cntabla- 
 t\ires in Palladio's works, ili. ; manner of tracing the 
 v»)lutes, 153; exai.-.iiiation of ditli'i-ent architraves, 154; 
 on the entablature and nietbnd ot reducing it, ib. ; ou the 
 frieze, 157 ; few examjiles of swelled friezes in the antique, 
 ib. ; note on the Ionic order, 159. 
 
 luoN.MONGERs' Hai.i,, has seven or eight sorts of win- 
 ilows in the sami' aspect, 280. 
 
 Italian .\uciiiti;cts, a list of the principal works 
 written by, 95, note. 
 
 J. 
 
 Jones, Inigo, notice of, 232, note. 
 
 Juno, temple of, at .Sauios, the most ancient temple of the 
 
 Ionic order, 39. 
 J u PITER, tcniiile, of, at Olympia, one of the earliest temples 
 
 of the Greeks, 31. 
 Olynijiins, observations on Ibe plate of the teni|ilc 
 
 dedicated to, 52. 
 
 Kent. M'illiam, 213, note. 
 
 Krappt's " l.'Arl di' la Cliarpentc,'' worthy n place in 
 cvei'y architect's library, 90, note.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 335 
 
 Lavcieu, M. a., notice of, C3, note; his absurd objec- 
 tions to pilastiis, 17;). 
 
 Lazz.vri, Donato {llraiiinnle da Urbino), painter and 
 iircliitect, ■-•18, note. 
 
 Le rAiriiE, I'ierre, sculptor, 3.V2, note. 
 
 Lk Uov, M., his " .intiquitiea oI'drMCe," noticed, 'i. 
 
 Lesc'ot, rieiTt', celft)rutfd arcliitcet, *2t^i'), twlc. 
 
 L'KvEiLI.i:, Stanislas, his " C'onside'rations sur Ics Fron- 
 tons," \c., u hrorliitrr of preat merit, ^44. 
 
 Lotus and 1'al.m-leai', Corinthian capital derived Iroin, 
 I."). 
 
 Lt.sicrates, tlie Clioraijic monument of, a specimen of 
 the Corinthian order in the genuine Greek taste, 12; 
 admeasurement of, ib. 
 
 M. 
 
 MADERXd, Carlo, arehitict, SA, note. 
 
 MAiiXiTiiiE, in architecture, 13. 
 
 Mans.vri), I'raneois, 241, note. 
 
 Minerva, nilmeasurenient of tlie temple of, at Syracuse, 
 35; at Sunium, ib. 
 
 • i'olias, heiplit of columns, &c., in the temple of, 
 
 4^; observations on the plate of, 01. 
 
 JIoi.ler's, ti., " Denkmaehler der Deutschen Baukunst," 
 .strongly recommended to the notice of the student, 25(5, 
 note. 
 
 MoiLDiNGs, eight regtilar ones described, 103; an as- 
 semblage of essential parts and mouldings a ProHle, 100 ; 
 on the ornaments for mouldings, ib. 
 
 N. 
 
 Nerva, considerable public works erected in his reign, 00. 
 
 Niches and Statues, chapter on, 2W); maimer of de- 
 corating high nielies, ib. ; when intermi.xed with windows, 
 202; note on, 203. 
 
 O. 
 
 ORnKR and IIaumon'v, considered as qualities in archi- 
 tecture, l.j.— See Harmony. 
 
 Orders OK Arcuitkcture. Of the parts which com- 
 pose tliem, and of their properties, application, and en- 
 richments, 100—1110. — See the Different Oudhks. 
 
 Orders of .Vrciiitecture in (;eneral, chapter on, 
 110; note on, 172. 
 Application of tlic orders, 201. 
 
 Orders ahove Orders, cliapter on, 220; axis of all 
 the eolunms should correspond, 223. 
 
 Few examples in England of more than two stories of 
 columns in the same asjieet, 225. 
 
 Oriental Ahiiiitkcture, uniformity of taste in the 
 ornamental style of, 18.— See Kgyptian Architec- 
 ture. 
 
 Oriental Gardening, Sir W. Chambers's Dissertation 
 on, 5. 
 
 Ornaments, directions respecting, IOC, 107.— See The 
 Dippehext Orders of architecture. 
 
 P. 
 
 P.ESTUM, admeasurement of the Ilypiethral temple at, 35; 
 of the Enneastyle leinjile, ib. ; of tliu Ilexastyle temple, ib. ; 
 observations on the plate ot, 50. 
 
 Palladio, Andrea, notice of, 110, note. 
 
 Palm-tree, origin of the use of its leaf in the capit.'ds of 
 the Egyptian columns, 19, note. 
 
 Parthenon, an example of simplicity in architecture, 15 ; 
 great merit of its metopes and pediment, 35; admeasure- 
 ment of, 35-30 ; comparative dimensions of, and of St. 
 Martin's-in-the-Fields, ll.j, note; cost of erecting the 
 Parthenon, 85, note. 
 
 Patte, M., " Memoires sur les Objets les plus importans 
 d' Architecture," worthy a place in every architect's 
 library, 00, note. 
 
 Pedestals, chapter on, 195. 
 
 Pedi.ments, origin of, 2;)li ; among the anciiiits there 
 were triangular and circular pediments, ib. ; excellent 
 metliod of determining the lieight of a pediment, 244, 
 luite. 
 
 Peristyles, or colonimdes, wIh'ii composed of more than 
 <trie row of colnmns, should be eoiitiuued as nuu'li as pos- 
 sible in straight lines, 275; bud effect of the contrary 
 practice, ib, 
 
 Perraui.t, Claude, one of the greatest architects France 
 ever produced, 110, note. 
 
 Perspective, great use of, to an architect, 70. 
 
 I'ERUzzi, Haldassare, 210, note. 
 
 PlIILli' of Maeedon, admeasurement of the jiortico of, 
 35, 30 ; observations on the ])late of, 51. 
 
 Pilasters, a Koman invention, 173; substituted for the 
 Oreek anta:, il). 
 
 PiRANESi, G. 11., notice of, with a list of his works, 08, 
 note. 
 
 Pilasters and Ant.e, note on, 183. 
 
 Polygonal shafts, instances of, in Egyptian temples, 30, 
 note ; tlie roof of the temple of lileutiuas supported upon 
 polygonal columns of sixteen sides, 34, note. 
 
 Pottery, great improvement in the designs lor, ij8, note. 
 
 Price, Mr. U., observations on the Siljyl's temple, 214, 
 note. 
 
 Principles of design in architecture, cited, 22. 
 
 Problem of Sansovino, 201, note. 
 
 Profile, an assemblage of essential parts and mouldings, 
 100.- See The Different Orders. 
 
 Profiles for doors, windows, niches, chimney-pieces, Sec, 
 remarks on, 300. 
 
 Proportion, remarks on, 117, note. 
 
 Publications, arcbitectui-al, list of, 05. 
 
 Pycnostyle, interval of the, 200. 
 
 Pythius, his statement of requisites for an architect, 85; 
 built a magiuficent temple at Priene, ib., note. 
 
 Q. 
 
 QtiiNCY, Q., "de I'Architecture Egyptienne," &c., an 
 
 elegant work, 51, note. 
 Quoins, note on, 300. 
 
 Rainaldi, Carlo, built St. Mary's in Canipitelli at Rome, 
 
 239, note. 
 Reveley's, W., observations on Chambers's remarks on 
 
 Grecian Arciiiteeture, 85, note. 
 Reynolds, Sir .losliua, his defence of Vanbrugh, 233, note. 
 Richness and Simplicity, as qualities in architecture, 
 
 considered, 15; see Decoration : example of richness, 
 
 ib. ; of simplicity, ib. 
 Roman Architecture contrasted with that of Greece, 
 
 89. 
 
 Architecture flourished among the Romans till Con- 
 
 stantine removed the seat of empire to Byzantium, 91; 
 
 origin of tlie Tuscan and Roman or Composite orders, 
 
 114, — See Tuscan and Composite Orders. 
 Roof of the Greek temple, its inclined sides (brmed what is 
 
 termed a pediment, 47. 
 
 Mansard the first contriver of the kirb-roof, 241, note. 
 Rooms, the proportions of, 307; note on, 309. 
 Rustication, note on, 235 and 330. 
 
 S. 
 
 Saint Martin's in the I'ields, comparative dimen- 
 sions of, and of the Parthenon, 85, note. 
 
 Saint Peter's at Rome, Braniante made the original 
 design for, 218, note. 
 
 Salisbury and other cathedrals, more constructive skill 
 shown in, than in all the works of the ancients put toge- 
 ther, 94, note. 
 
 Salvi, N., gave designs for the church of San Giovanni 
 I.aterano at Rome, 3.")1, note. 
 
 Sangallo, Antonio, a Florentine architect, 144, note. 
 
 S.\NsoviNO, 151, note. 
 
 ScA-MOZZi, Vincenzo, 107, note.
 
 336 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Serlio, Sebastiano,]-2-2, note. 
 
 Sibyl's temple at Tivoli, selected by Mr. Price as an 
 
 example of beauty, illustrative of Mr. Burke's doctrine of 
 
 flowing lines, 214, note, ib. 
 Simplicity in architecture, the Parthenon an instance 
 
 of, 15. 
 Somerset House, Sir William Chambers appointed to 
 
 conduct the works at, 7. 
 Sounds, the operation of, compared with the effects of pro- 
 portions in architecture, 258. 
 ST.iTUES should never exceed the real human size, when 
 
 placed on buildings, 2.51. See NicuES. Note on Niches 
 
 and Statues, 203. 
 Strength, a requisite quality in architecture, 13 ; see 
 
 Magnitude. 
 SuPERcoLUMNiATioN, See ORDERS above Orders. 
 
 T. 
 
 Tables of Greek edifices and their measurements, 35, 36, 
 
 40, 42. 
 Terms sometimes used instead of Caryatides or Persians, 
 
 192. 
 Terms, explanation of the principal ones, 329. 
 Theron, tomb of, a singular mixture of the Ionic column 
 
 with a Doric entablature, 41. 
 Treti, small temple at, its singular mixture of columns 
 
 and pilasters, 165. 
 Tuileries, exquisite Ionic columns in the palace of, 168. 
 
 Tuscan Order, no remains of a regular Tuscan order 
 among the antiques, 130 ; Italian designs oS, examined, 
 ib. 
 De Chamhrai's opinion of the Tuscan order, 134. 
 
 Vanbrugh, Sir John, eminent for his talents as a dramatic 
 poet, and as an architect, 233, note. 
 
 Vaulting and Arches. — See ARC.iDES and .\rChes. 
 
 Velum, or Velar Ceiling (note on CeiUng Fenestra- 
 tion), 315. 
 
 Venetian, Gothic, 328. 
 
 ViGNOLA. — See B.iRozzi. 
 
 ViTRUvius, his account of the origin of the orders of 
 architecture an absurd fable, 28; his statement of qualifi- 
 cations for an architect, 64. 
 
 Volutes, manner of tracing, 153. 
 
 VoLUTED, or Ionic Order, note on, 159. 
 
 W. 
 
 Webb, a scholar of Inigo Jones, 344, note. 
 Wilton, the triumphal arch, Palladian bridge. Sec, exe- 
 cuted by Chambers, 6. 
 Windows, chapter on, 275; note on, 267. 
 Wren, Sir Christopher, note on, 262. 
 
 LONDON : 
 UELLY AND CO., PniNTERB, 18 TO 22, OLD DOSWELL COURT, ST. CLEMENT'S, STRAND, fl'.C. 
 
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