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PARALLEL
Ï F Ô H E
Ancient Architecture
WITH THE
MOD E R H
In a Colle&ion of Ten Principal Authors who have
Written upon the F é í å Ï R DE R b» VIZ.
PALLADIO andSCAMOZZI,] L·. B. ALBERT! and VIOLA, SERLIO andVlGNOLA, I |BULLANT and DE LORME, D. BARBARO andGATANEO, J ^Compared with one another.
The Three Greek Orders, Doric, Ionic, and Corin«
ô hi an, comprife the Firfi Van of this Treat if e.
And the two Latin,T í s e a n and Composita, the Latter.
Written in French byROLAK^D F REART\ Sieur de Chamhray.
_________Made Englijb for the Benefit of Builders.______ To which is added, An Account of Architects and Architecture, \n znHiftort-
cal and Etymological Explanation of certain Terms particularly affe&ed by Architects.
With IEON BATTISTA ALBERTS Treatife of Statues.
By JOHN EVELTNj Eiq; Fellow of the Royal Society.
The Fourth Edition, with the Addition of The Elements os Architecto-reT
Collected by Sir H en r ¥ Wo ÷ Ô ï í, Knt. from the beji Authors and Examples; and alfo other large Additions. |
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LONDON:
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Printed by Ã. W. for J, Walthoe, D. Midwinter, and A. Ward >% W. Hears,
F. Clay, B. Motte, and D. Browne,
~MDCGXXXIIL
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TO THE
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Moft Serene MAJESTY
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O F
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C H A R L E S 11.
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INC E the Great Auguflus vouchfafed
to Patronize a Work of this Nature, which was Dedicated to him by Vitru- vius, I had no reafon to apprehend, Your Majefly would reprove thefe Ad- drejfes of minea if; in prefenting You with thofe Antiquities on which that Excellent Mafler formed his Studies, I intituled Your Majefly to a Work, fo little inferior to it, and fo worthy to go in paragon with it. And, indeed, to whom could I more aptly Injcrihe a Difcourfe of Building, than to fo Royal a Builder, whofe Auguft Attempts have al- ready |
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The E Ñ 1 S T L E
ready given fo great a Splendor to our -Imperial City, and fo
Illuftrious an Example to the Nation! It is from this Con- templation, Sir, that after I had (by the Commands of the Royal Society) endeavoured the Improvement of Timber, and the Planting ïé Trees, I have advanced to that of SuM- ing, as its proper and natural Confequent: NotwithaPre- fumption to Incite or Inftruot. Your Majefly, which were a Vanity unpardonable; but by it to take occaiion of celebrat- ing Your Majeftfs great Example, who ufe Your Empire and Authority fo worthily, as Fortune feems to have confult- ed her Reajon when fhe poured her Favours upon You; fo as I never call my Eyes on that generous Deflgnation in the Epigram, --------JJt donem, Taflor, & ^Edificem,
Credis ab hoc me Paftor opes
fortafie rogare m # (
propter quod vuigus, craffa- without immediate Reflections on é our Maje-
m nihilexiftis: superos, ac fly, who feenis only to value thofe Royal Ad- Er^uSfutdonem, Pa- vantages You have above others, but that Tou fto\i^?Tdi£CenL£ ix. maJ ^%e-> and x^at You may Build. And cer-
tainly, Sir, Your Majefly has confulted the Nobleft Way of Eftablilhing Your Greatnejs, and of Per- petuating Your Memory; fince, whilft Stones can preferve Inscriptions, Your Name will be famous to Poflerity; and when thofe Materials fail, the Benefits that are engraven in our Hearts, will outlaft thofe of Marble. It would be no Paradox, but a Truth, to affirm, That Your Majefly has al- ready Built and Repaired more in three or four Years (not- withftanding the Difficulties, and the Neceflity of an extra- ordinary Oeconomy for the Publick Concernment) than all Your Enemies have Deflrofd in Twenty, nay, than all Your Majefly's Predeceffors have Advancd in an Hundred; as I could eafily make out, not only by what Your Majefly has fo magnificently defigned and carried on at that Your anci- ent Honour of Greenwich, under the Conduct of Your moft Induftrious and Worthy Surveyor · but in thofe fplendid A- partmentSa and other ufeful Reformations for Security and Delight, about Your Majeflfs Palace at White-Hall; the chargeable
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DEDICATORY.
chargeable Coverings firft Paving and Reformation of Wefi-
minfier-HaU'y Care and Preparation for St. Paul's, by the Impiety and Iniquity of the late Confufions almoft 'Dilapi- dated : With what Her Majefiy the §ltteen-Mother has added to her Palace at Somerfet-Houfe, in a Struffure becoming her Royal Grandeur, and the due Veneration of all Your Ma- jefifs Subjects for the Honour She has done both this Your Native City and the whole Nation. Nor may I here omit (what I fo much defire to tranfmit to Pofierity) thofe noble and profitable Amenities of Your Majefifs Plantations, wherein You moil referable the Divine Architect; becaufe Your Majefiy has propofed in it fuch a Pattern to Your Sub- jeffs, as merit their Imitation and profounHeil Acknowledg- ments, in one of the moil Worthy and Kingly Improve- ments that Nature is capable of I know not what they talk of former Ages, and of the now contemporary Princes with Your Majefiy; thefe Things are vifible: and Ihould I here defcend to more Particulars, which yet were not foreign to the Subjeff of this Difcourfe, I would provoke the whole World to produce me an Example parallel with Your Ma- jefiy ion Your exacl; Judgment, and marvellous Ability in all that belongs to the Naval Architecture, both as to its pro- per Terms, and more folid Iff e; in which Your Majefiy is Mafier of one of the moil noble and profitable Arts that can be wiihed in a Prince, to whom God has defigned the Dominion of the Ocean, which renders Your Majefifs Em- pire Univerfal; when by exercifing Your Royal Talent and Knowledge that Way, You can bring even the Antipodes to meet, and the Poles to kifs each other; for fo likewik (not in a metaphorical, but natural Senfe) Your equal and prudent Government of this Nation has made it good, whilft Your Majefiy has fo profperouily guided this giddy Bark through fuch a Storm, as no Hand, fave Your Majefifs, could touch the Helm, but at the Price of their Temerity. But to return to that of Architecture again (for it is hard not to ilide into the Panegyrick, when once one begins to fpeak of Your Ma- |
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The EPISTLE
jefty) 1 am Witnefs not only how pertinently You dijcourfe
of the Art, but how judicioufly You contrive: and as in all other Princely and Magnificent Things, Your Notices are extraordinary, fo 1 cannot but augure of their Effects, and that Your Majefly was defigned oiGod for a Blefling to this Nation in all that can render it happy, if we can have the Grace but to difcern it, and be thankful for it. This is, Sir, the glorious Idea which I have conceived of
Your Serene Majefly, and which I propofe for as emulous an Example as any Age has hitherto produced ; nor can there any thing be added more, but that Permanency y which the reft of Your Virtues do promife us. If fuch were thole Glorious Heroes of Old, who firft brought Men out of WzHernejjes into walled and well-built Cities, that chafed Barbarity, in- troduced Civility, gave Laws to Republicks, and to whole rare Examples and Indufiry we are accountable for all that we poflefs of ufeful in the Arts, and that we enjoy of Benefit to the Publick; How much Caufe have We in thefe Nations to rejoice, that whilft Your Majefly purfues thefe laudable Un- dertakings, that Race of Demy-Gods is not altogether extincl 1 And if after the Support of Religion, and the Eftabliihment of Laws, the Perfection of Sciences be the next in order to the Well-being of a State, This of Architecture (as one of the moil beneficial and ujeful to Mankind) owes her Renajcency amongft Us to Your Majeflfs Encouragements, and to as many of thofe lUuftrious Perfons, as by their large and mag- nificent Structures tranfcribe Your Royal Example; in par- ticular, my Lord High Chancellor of England, my Lord High Treasurer, and my Lard the Earl of St. Albans, whoL· Memo- mories deferve this Confecration. I have now but one thing more to fpeak, Sir, and that is
for the Reputation of the cPiece I prefent to Your Serene Ma- jefly: It is indeed a Tranflation; but it is withal the Marrow and very Subftance of no lefs than Ten judicious Authors, and of
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DEDICATORY.
of almoft twice as many the moil Noble Antiquities now ex-
tant upon the Bofom of the Earth: 'twere elfe a difficult Province to conceive how one mould entertain Your Maje- fly without a Spirit and a Subject worthy Your Application. There is fomething yet of Addition to it, which is New, and of mine own, the Defects whereof do fupplicate Your Ma- jefifs Pardon; to fay nothing of the Difficulty of rendring a Work of this Nature intelligible to the Vulgar, and not unworthy the Stile of a Gentleman; feeing it is not the Ta- lent of every one who understands a Language, unlefs he al- fo underftand the Art. But thefe may feem to defer to my own Glory, which is confpicuous in nothing fo much, as in laying it at Your Majefifs Feet, and the Permiffion of that Sacred Name to protect, Says-Court,
20 Aug. 1664.. SIR,
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Tour Majefifs ever Loyal,
Mofi Obedient, and Faithful Subject,
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J. Evelyn.
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To my moft Dear Brothers,
JOHN FREART, Efq;
S I E U R De C H A NT E LOU,
Counfellor to the KING, and Provincial Commit
fary in Champagne, Jljat ia, Lorrain, and Germany. AND
PAUL FREART, Ef*
SIEUR T>e CHANT ELOU,
Counfellor and Mailer of the Houihold in Ordinary^
the KING.
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My Dearefi Brothers,
pT is by your Commands that I have finiihed this
' Treatife of the Ancient Architecture compared with the Modern, which I had altogether laid afide, and even effae'd out of Mind fince the Deceafe of Mon- feigneur de Nqyers, to whom I had devoted it, as to the Meccenas of the Age, and more particularly, for being indeed the true Authoi of this Book; fmce I had never taken it in Hand, but by his fpecial Order, and to afford him fome little Entertainment during his Solitude of *Dangu, where he was pleafed, and indeed defired, I ihould follow him after his Re- treat from the Court, there to enjoy with him that Sweetnefs and Tranquillitv of Life, which we were never before acquainted with dur- (d) i»5
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The EPISTLE.
ing the time of his being Minifter of State. But this blefled Leifure,
which you fo often congratulated, was quickly interrupted by I know not what unlucky Genius, and by an intempeftive and precipitous Death, which foon extinguiihed this glorious Light of Vertue, In this great Lof^ (which was, my dear Brothers, common to us all, fince we all had the Honour to be related to him both by our Services and Birth) I only had the Affliction to be prefent at the lugubrous Object, and to behold it with mine Eyes. This has often caufed me feriouily to re- flect upon the Vanity and Volubility of the Fortunes of the Court, of which I am now fufficiently difabufed: For coniidering that fo rare a Perfonage, the greateft Minifter, the moil Difinterefled, moft Labo- rious, moft Succefsful, of fo extraordinary and approved a Probity, fo univerfal in all Sorts of excellent Qualities, and, in a word, fo extra- ordinary, after twenty Years Service and Employment in the greateft Offices of State, that a Subject (Ifay) of fo great Merit, ihouldcome to conclude his Days in the Country like an Exile: 1 confefs, my dear- eft Brothers, whilftlthink of this, all Things appear fo tranntory and uncertain in Greatnefs, that I find the Retreat of the Difgrac'd (pro- vided they are honeft Men) infinitely preferrable to their Favour. Could Merit and coniiderable Services have for ever fixed and efta- bliih'd a Man at Court, or been a Rampart againft that Envy and Jealoufy, which are the immortal Enemies and Pefts of Vertue, unhap- pily reigning in that Climate, the late Monfeigneur deNoyers was the moft worthy to have finiihed his Days gloriouily in his high Employ- ments ; fince he alone performed more in lefs than Ten Years fpace, than all his Predeceflbrs together had done in an Hundred; whether we have regard to Works which are neceffary for the Conservation and Good of the State, or confider Thofe only which gave Splendour and Magnificence to the Kingdom. It is not my Defign to repeat them here for your Inftruction, becaufe you know them much better than my felf; only that I may leave fome Memorials to the Publick, 1 ihall mention a few of them. It may be affirmed in general, that he had in his time exalted the nobleft Arts to the fupreameft Degree of Per- fection that was ever feen in France: As^rchitecJure}both Civil and Military, Tainting, Sculpture, and Trinting, which he then made truly Royal, when he lodged it at the Louvre ; the very firft Production whereof, were not only unparallefd Ì after-pieces, but, as one may fay, Libraries compleat; for in two Years there were publiihed threefcore and ten great Volumes, in Greek, Latin, French and Italian; from one part of which one may judge of the reft, viz. that general Col- lection of all the Councils, fet forth in feven and thirty Volumes, which is certainly the moft Noble, moft Ufeful,and Royal Work that ever fawLight to this Hour. This incomparable Stamp was accom- pany^ with another very rich one, I mean the newMoney,which Mon- feigneur deNoyers placed alfo in the fame Apartment of the Louvre, that he might allie together two of the moft univerfal and moft per- manent Monuments of Kings, fpreading themfelyes over all Nations, and
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1/
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The EPISTLE.
and remaining for fo many Succeffions of Ages* The exceffive Abi^
fes which were found in the Year 1638, and 1639, both in the Title and Weight of the greateft part of the Monies, as well of this King- dom as of others, which had almoft all of them been changed or disfi* gured, ftood in need of this excellent Man to reform them, whofe Af fe&ion and Zeal to the Publick might produce fo extraordinary Ef- fects. But as it was impoffible to remedy it on the fudden, without putting Commerce into very great Diforder, he, from the ill Courfe of thofe Monies, which for fome time they were forced to connive at, well knew how to derive the greateft Advantages of State, and moft fignal Honour to the King. And in effecf, 'twas none of the leaft Pieces of Politicks, to permit and even authorife this Abufe by an Edic\ which could not elfe have been fo eaiily oppofed; whilft, in the mean time, it invited the People of the neighbouring States, in hopes of Gain, to tranfport into France all the light Gold and Silver which they had, and which remained thereby reafon of its being decryed a few Months after, bearing now the Arms of France, with the Name and Effigies of Louis le Ju/ie, by that noble Converfion which he ordered to be made of it. Whilft this itrange Matter was united to ours, he fought out and difcovered prompt and eafy Expedients of giving it that excellent Form, which it now bears; curing at the fame Inftant, and by the fame Remedy, both the prefent Inconvenience, and that to come. Thus we fee, that its juft and equal Roundnefs, the Grenetis, or Graining, which is about it, and the Politure, which is on the Flat of every Piece, not only defends it from the Clipping, the File, and Operation of Strong-Waters, but even renders its Imitation in a man- ner impoffible to our falfe Cciners; fo as one may affirm of this Mo- ney, that it is the moft artiftly contrived, and the moft commodious that ever was ufed in Commerce. He caufed to be coined in lefs than four Years above an hundred and twenty Millions, and that after fif- teen or fixteen Years, that the War had lafted, and the State feemed to have been utterly exhaufted by the great and continual Expences which were inceffantly made, laid out in fortifying of Places, paying of Armies, and the Affiftance of the Allies of the Crown, at the iame time was the Louvre feen to augment, and the Royal Houfe of Fon- tainehleau, which owe not only a part of their Ornaments to the Care of this great Minifter, but their Confervation alfo, and abfolute Re- ftauration ; fince, but for him, they had been at prefent but one vaft Ruin, a very Carcafs of Building, defolate and uninhabitable. The Caftles of St. Germains and Verfailles, which were then the ordinary Befidence and Delices of the King, carry on fome Marks of the fame Hand: the firft by the Conftru&ion of the nobleft Stables and Manege which is in France, with diverfe other Accommo- dations neceflary for the lodging of a Royal Court; and the other, by a Terrajfe de Grefjerie, which is of the kind an incomparable Work, with a Circle of an hundred and twenty Yards Diameter. But whilft he thus worthily acquitted himfelf in the Charge of Superintendent |
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The E Ñ I S T L E.
of the Royal Houfes and Buildings of France (with which the King
was pleafed to gratify him for four or five Years) he employed in the mean time his chiefeft Cares for the Safety and Enlargement of the Kingdom, difpencing all neceflary Orders for the Armies both of Sea and Land; providing and furniihing the Magazines and Garrifons of Places, and a good part of the Provinces: But as Things ufeful and neceiFary are to be preferr'd before Splendor and Magnificence, he'firft began with Military Architecture, which he caus'd to march before the Civil: All our Frontiers are full of his Works: In Ticardy, the Tort-Royal oi Calais, compofedof two of the greater!: Baftions of Ma- fonry, the moil regular and noble that are in Europe: All the Forti- fications of Ardes; molt of the Baftions of Teronne, of S. Qgintin, of Han, of La Fere, *Dourlans, Amiens, and of Montreuil, efpecial- ly an Horn-Work alio of Mafonry of extraordinary Beauty and Mag- nitude; not to omit that Half-Moon oiAhheville, where the Inhabi- tants not prevailing with him to have his Arms fet on it, in Acknow- ledgement of the Favour which they had by this Means received (per- mitting it in no Place built by him, from a particular Sentiment of Honour to the King, and out of a moil Angular Modefty) planted two Rows oi Walnut-Trees, that under that Pretext they might call it by his Name. In Champagne, the Fortrefs of Mount Olympus, which, ferves Charleville for a Citadel; feveral other Works at Stenay, at Mezieres, Mozon, and Rocroy. Then, in Lorrain, the Citadel of Nancy j the Places de Vic, Moyenvic, and Marfal. In Normandy, Havre de Grace; where (befides the Fortifications of the Place) he excavated a large Balm of Mafons Works in the Port, near two hun- dred Yards long, and above fixfcore wide, to contain VeiTels always afloat: Alfo at Bourage in the Iiles of Xaintlong, which are two Mari- time Keys of the Kingdom. In Italy, Tignerol, and all the new For- tifications of Cazal. Now for Works and Curiofities oi Tainting and Sculpture (which are as 'twere the two Sifters of the Art I am now to treat of) it would require a large Difcourfe to particularize them one after another; befides that, one could not well do it, without a little Reproach to our Nation, which (by reflecting on the fudden Ceflaticn of fo many excellent Things) one would almoft believe had but one only Perfon capable of thofe rare Productions. Itihall fufficethen to fay in general, that he made the Louvre the Center of the Arts, whofe Concourfe thither in a few Years began to render it the moil Noble and Magnificent Structure of the World. It was for this glorious Defign, and for the Decoration of other Royal Houfes, that the fa- mous Monfieur le Toujfm had the Honour to be fent for by the King at the beginning of the Year éü'öï. It was then that the late M. de IV^m-difpatchedus,You and my Self (dearBrother) towards his Holi- nejs about an important Affair, with Order at our Return to make way for France to all the greateft Vertuofi of Italy; and as he was their Loadftone, we eafily drew a confiderable Number after him, whereoi the Chief was that renowned andfingular Painter M. le TouJ- J Ì
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The EPISTLE.
f ç, the Glory of the French in his Frofeffion, and, as it were, thei?^
phael of our Age : To this Effect we likewife ufed great Diligence to get made, and colled: together, all that the Leifure and Opportunity of our Voyage could furniihus, of the moil excellent Antiquities, as well in Architecture as Sculpture; the chief Pieces whereof were two huge Capitals, the one of a Column, and the other of an angular Pi~ lafter from within the Rotunda, which we chofe as the moft Noble Co- rinthian Models remaining of Antiquity: Two Modules of eleven Palms Diameter, taken from the Triumphal Arch of Conflantine-y threefcore and ten Bafs-Reliefs moulded from Trojans Column, and feveral other of particular Hiftories, feme of which were the next Year caft in Brafs, others were employed in manner of Incruftation about the Compartiment of the arched Ceiling of the Louvre great Gallery, in which M. le Toujpn moil ingeniouily introduced them, and that with an extraordinary Addrefs and Coniideration, to anfwer a certain Deiign, which was then required of him, not as the moft magnificent and fuperb he could have compos'd, but for an Ornament* which fliould be fpeedily executed, and of moderate Coil, with regard to the Time and impatient Humour of our Nation. A little while alter that, you returned (my dear Brother) to obtain the Pope's Bkfling of
the two Crowns of Diamonds, and the Golden Babe carried by an An- gel, which their Majefties fent you to prefent our Lady of Loretto in Acknowledgment, and as a Token of Gratitude which they rendred to the Virgin, for the moft happy, and almoft miraculous Birth of our Dauphin, the Ring which now reigns: You continued to have diverfe Figures and Bafs-Reliev ds wrought off, particularly the Flora and the Hercules in Fame [e s Palace, of which there is now one caft at *Paris : Two other Modules from the fame Arch of Conflantine, and both the Colo//es of Montecavallo with their Horfes, the greateft, and the moft celebrated Works of Antiquity, which M. de Noyers defign- ed to have alfo caft in Copper, to place them at the principal Entry of the Louvre. You beheld the Splendor which all this great Pro virion made in Rome, and huw every Body wonder'd that the French, who who were 'till now renown'd only for their Valour and invincible Courage in War, and feem'd to be affected only to the Arts Military, fliould ihew fo much Paffion for Thefe, which aflum'd the Reputation of being the moft Glorious, by a Prerogative above others; as if the Hemifphere of France had been lately chang'd, and Mercury, in Con- junction with Mars, began now to pour down new Influences upon her. For my own part, I can teftifie how theReport of it fpread as far as Con- Jiantinople, wfiitheri^? had born the Name of Monfeigneur deNoyers with fo much Glory, that the Patriarch of that renowned City writ him Letters full of profound Admiration, which he addrefs'd to Mon- Jieurde Vtlleroy, a noble Athenian, Refident in France for the Duke øÔáççá, delivering them to my Lord at Dangu after his Retreat from the Court, and where 1 have had and kept them a great while, and read them to feveral of my Friends, They take notice chiefly, 3 (e) how |
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The EPISTLE.
how new and unheard of a Thing it was, that there ihould be found
a Grand Vizier of our Nation, fo tranfcendent in all Excellencies; of Which fome Marks he had feen, eafily perfwaded him to believe all the other Marvels which were reported of him : (thefe Exemplars were the Books of the Royal Prefs, and fome Pieces of Coin) his Letter was fomewhat prolix, and written in a more polite Style than the vulgar Greek now fpoken in that Country. It were great Pity that a Thing fo memorable and fignal ihould be buried in Oblivion, and therefore I take Notice of it with more Circumftances than many others. But dur- ing all thefe mighty Projefts, there happen'd a ft range Revolution, which in lefs than fix Months changed the whole Face of the State, by the Death of that fuperlative Minifter, the great Cardinal de Rich- lieu, the very Column and Ornament of Monarchy; and a ihort Space after that, by the Recefs of Monfeigneur de Nojers j and immediate- ly upon this, by that Lofs to all France, the King himfelf; fo as all thefe noble Beginnings had none that followed them, there remaining not one of thofe which enter "d afterwards into the Management of the publick Affairs, who had, with their Affe&ions, the Knowledge and the Talents which were requifitefor the Continuation of thofe great De- figns. We then prefently beheld the Work of the Louvre abandoned, the finiifiing of the great Gallery to ceafe, and generally all the For- tifications in France, without Hopes of feeing the Work reaffumed and taken in hand again of a long Time, it being neceffary, for fuch an Enterprife, to find afTembled in the fame Perfon (as it was feen in that of M. deNoyers) Virtues and Qualities, both rare and extraordi- nary. Befides, to produce fuch a one as he was, of an univerfal Genius and Capacity, that loved Arts with Judgment, and cultivated them ; that would neglect his proper Intereft, to preferve that of the State and of the Publick; who, amidft an Authority arid exceeding Favour, retaining ftill the Modefty of a private Man, thinks not or eftabliih- ing his Houfe, againft the ordinary Courfe fo natural to all Men, ihould refufe to augment and heap up Riches, or feek Titles and Dig- nities for it, and that never took Thought, or laboured, as did he during an Employment of twenty Years (for the latter Six of which he had almoft the univerfal Management of State Affairs) but for the Safety, Enlargement, and Splendor of the Kingdom: For fuch a Ma- fterpiece of Nature, 1 fay, there needs the Efforts of many Ages: The Recompence of fo many Virtues was very fmall on Man's Part, but great and ineitimable on God's, who crown'd this illuftrious Life with a moil happy Death. I referve, as a Treafure ineitimable, a certain fmall Collection of the Sayings of this holy Courtier, our lnoft dear Matter, during the Continuance of his Sicknefs, which was aflifced by his Director, the R. F. de Saint! Jure, who was with him tothelaft: And as I have had the fad Confolation of being prefent at this laft ÁÝÉ of his Life, during which I remember to have heard from his own Mouth all that is contain'd in this Recital, I am not able to read them without a great deal of Tendernefs, and indeed without Tears. He |
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The EPISTLE,
died in his Caitle of Dangu, on Friday the twentieth of O&oher, at
One a Clock after Noon, in the Year 164s, and in the fix and fiftieth of his Age, two Years and a half after his Recefs from Court, his Body being tranfported to the Church of the Novitiat belonging to the Jefuits, which he had built in Honour of St. Xa^erius, and deitin'd for his Sepulchre. This Church is look'd upon as the moft regular Piece of architecture in Taris; and tho' it be not fo exceed- ingly charg'd With Ornaments as fome others are, yet it appears very noble in the Eyes of intelligent Perfons, all that is there being done with an Intention and Care fo extraordinary. But that which in it excels all the reft^ is a Picf ure of one of the Miracles wrought by St.Xavier, which was painted here at the fame Time with that, ad- mirable Supper of the Apoftles (which he caufed to be plac'd at the Altar of the Chapel-Royal of theCaftle of St. Germains, where all the Figures exceed the Natural) both of them the Works of our famous Mailer le TouJJin, and indeed worthy his Pencil, tho' the firftofthem was painted with extraordinary Haile, and during the Winter. You fee (dear Brothers) a fmall Draught of a Part of the Life of our
moil precious and moil honour'ddefuncl; M. de foyers, that incompa- rable Genius of France, never to be fufficiently praifed, never enough regretted, becaufe comparable to the greateil Examples of Antiquity, I would by all means place him in the Front of this Book of mine, to let the World fee that I had no other ObjecT in the finiihing of this Work (of which he honour'd me with the Charge) than to render the fame Service and Veneration to his Memory, being dead, I could perform to his Perfon, were he yet alive. However, in reaf- fuining it at your Requeft, my firil Ardour being much alloy'd, what was heretofore a liberal and divertiiing Study, during the Prefence of my late Lord and Mailer, is now become a Difficulty, and a kind of Conftraint; fince I have been forc'd to alter, and even retrench di- verfe Particulars which were then very eflential to my Deiign, but would now have been altogether ufelefs and unfeafonable. Receive then (my dear Brother) this Fragment of a Book, fo much at leaft as remains of it; and if there occurs any thing which may prove yet coniiderable in fuch clear and difcerning Eyes as your's are, and that my Defigns feems worthy of any Place amongft your other Curioiities, you owe the Obligation of it to our common Friend Monfieur Errard, who was pleafed to take a great deal of Pains to fee it perfected; and has not only perfwaded me (as well as you) to publiih it to the World; but has, more than this, contributed likewife to it of his own Labour and particular Eiucubrations. From Paris, the
22 of May, 1650. |
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Amieo
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Amico Optimo & Chariflimo
JOHANNI EVELYNO, Armig.
E Societ. Regali Lond. &c.
JO. B E A L E, £P. D.
In ARCHITEGTURAM ahipfaAngliceredditam, &
Graphice epcornatam,
SIC, ubide Ccelo quondamprimordta rerun
Effulfere, Chaos difcutiente €Deoi . Hortus erat primus: Tunc 'letfa, 8c Mcema> & Vrfos é Tandem &C iPyramidum nobile lurgit opus.
His aliquis molem fubjungit: In acre pendet Hortus", cX unde venit, quserere jure licet.
Nee fatis eft vitam ducamus in Arce beatam Qualem agit aetherea Jupfiiter ipfe domo j
Sed Talis fupereffe juvat poft funera longa, (Quamvis hie cineres urnula parva capit)
Maufblaa ex in cceios ta&ura fepulchra Inicriptum Herois nomen ad aftra vehunt.
Stat quoque, fi favit Victoria^ grande Tropeeum j Attollenfque apicem tunc Ohelijcus ovat.
Mox fpirare trucem poterisjurare ColoJfumy Sic movet, ut trepident, & mihi membra labent,
Sunt quibus excidium laudi eft, & lata ruina 5 Atqui exornandi gratia major erit.
Par cite Mortales, famam prohibete Negates j Ni fcelus in caufa deteriore cadit.
Sunt quoque T&nariis quibus eft iuffulta columnis Alta äæ larga nimis, fed minus apta domus:
Sumptibus hie turgent operofa palatia vanis; Materia exfuperat j fplenddr, & ordo deeft.
Ecce Auibus nidos, Afibus compingere cordi eft, Paftor Arifleus quos ftupet ipfe, favos.
Aurea fie textrix fubter laquearia Arachne ^Divini Artificis provocat ingenium.
Hofptium fibi quseque parant animalcula gratum j Solus Homo impenfis plectitur ipfe fuis.
Machina quid praftet Thufcis tra&anda peritis, Angligena ut difcant, Clare Evelyne, facis.
Nee tantum debent Volfao priftina faecla, Quantum debebunt pofteriora tibi.
Creditur Amphion molimina faxea quondam Thebarum in muros concinuijfe Lyrl:
Tu Saxa & S'dvas (nam fie decet Orphea) ple&r© Aurato in Regnum TeBa coire doces.
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t u
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ô ï
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Knight of the Honourable Order of the
BATH,
Superintendant and Surveyor of. his Majefty's
BUILDINGS and WORKS, |
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8 I R7
Ô is now fame Ten Tears fince, that to gratify
a Friend of mine in the Country, I began to in- terpret this Parallel (which I think I firfl brought out of France) hut other things inter- vening, it was laid afide, and had fo conti- nued without Thoughts of Reaffumption, had not the TaJJion of my worthy Friend, Mr. Hugh May, to oblige the Publick, and in Commiferation of the fewAffifiances which our Workmen have of this Nature (compared to what are ex- tant in other Countries) found out an Expedient, and by procur- ing a mofl accurate Edition of rf* Plates, encouraged me toâçéâ what J had begun; and to make a willing Prefent of my La- bour, and of whatever elfe I was able to contribute to jo gene- rous a Def%n, 'e
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The E PI ST L E
Sir, I am not to inflrutl you in the Merits and Ufe of this
excellent Piece; hut it is from your Approbation and particular Influence, that our Workmen ought to efieem it; and believe me too, when I affirm it, that the Ten Authors in this Affem- bly, which compofe both Jo many and (for not being vulgar) unintelligibleY oiumes, will neither afford them Jo full lnftru&i- ons in the Art, nor \o well enable them to judge and pronounce concerning the true Rules and Maxims of it as this one little, but incomparable Colle&ion. Tou well know, that all the Mifchiefs and Abfurdities in the Modern Structures proceed chiefly from our bufy and Gothick Triflings in the £ïçøï{\ý- tions of the Five Orders; and that an able Workman, who is Mailer of his Art, and has a true Relifh indeed, carries on all his Undertakings with Jpplaufe and Satisfaction: That there is not in the whole Catalogue of Authors who have written on this Subjetl, a more Jafe, expedite and perfect Guide than this Parallel ; where, from the noblefi Remains of Antiquity accu- rately meafured, and perjpicuoujly demonftrated, £^ Rules are laid down ; and from a Jolid, judicious, and mature Compa- rijon of Modern Examples, their Errors are detected; f ï that were but a little more Pains taken by our young Architects and their Subfidiaries, about the eafier Principles of Geometry, the Rudiments of Perfpective, and a ready Addrefs of well Defigning, we might by the Converjation of this Author aloney promife our Country, and the Age to come, a miraculous Im- provement of their Buildings in áâïç time. Nor would this be in the leafi to the Augmentation of theirExpences, fince there is nothing cofls dearer, and difpleajes more, than our un- digefled Contrivances, and thoje inalterable Defe&s which we have enumerated. It is from the Afymmetry of our Build- ings, want of Decorum and Proportion in our Houfes, that the Irregularity of our Humours and Affections may bejhrewd- Iy difcerned: But it is from his MajeftyV great Genius, and the Choice he has made of fuch an Inftrument, that we may hope to fee it all reformed, it being in Jo wortty an Imitation of that magnificentY^m^xox, that, touch'd with the like Indigna- tion |
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. DEDICA TOR Õ.
tion at the Encroachments and Deformities of the publkk
Edifices and Ways, caufed alike Reformation alfo; foaswe may now affirm of London, as the Poet once of Rome, Nunc Roma eft, nuper magna taber- MmmimmmHmmf^
na iUlt. Inque fuo nullum limine limen
erati
Juffifli teniies Germanice, crefcere That it now begins to have the Face of a EtZodl^fuemfemu^fa^
City indeed. And truly it■< isan Improve- N2tlemtis pila eft priecin£l{i ment fo extraordinary, which it has re- Htni*> é r 7 · ë it · ç ·> - ôç Nee Prastor medio cogitur ire
ceivedjince his Majelty j· gracious Inrlu- m.
ence upon it, that fhould I have been filent &^^ö nec c*cmo^ in his Praifes, i" might juflly apprehend 0c™faa[ au* tom *&*t ^im mox lapides clamaturos, that the very fonfir, caupo, coqum, Lamus Stones 'would cry out and become vocal. Nunc Roma ò/?, nuper magna ta-
But neither here mufi I forget what is '"SSi. m v*. e^. «so.
alone due to you, Sir, for thes Refor- mParticularsufthatRefur. mation of a Thoufand Deformities in the mation ** Rome> fi much refetn- 0 J º j . 7 Ming what his Majeity has com-
btreetS; aS by yOUr introducing that in- mandedfortheCleanfingandEn-
77T7 „_f D ,-"^.„. j. ' Urging the Streecs, the Demolition
comparable Jjorm oj ra\ing to an in- of%£lks and other obitades,
credible Advantage of i/jePublick; when ■^^^.Epignun mnt$ that which is begun i^Holbourn Jhall be- come univerfal, for the faving of Wheels and Carriages, the Cure ofnoifome Gutters, the Deftru&ion of Encounters, the Difpatch of Buiinefs, the Cleannefs of the Way, the Beauty of the Object, the Eafe of the Infirm, and the preferving of both ^Mother and the Babe; f ï many of the Fair Sex and their OfF-fpring having periihed by Mifchances (as Iamcre- dibly informed) from i^Ruggednefs of the unequal Streets, Èí. Note, that thefe Directions were Printed two Years before
the Conflagration.
But I know not, Sir, how thefe Inftances may be relifhed and
valued amongflthe Vulgar, nor am I much follicitous; fur e 1 am, that more has been done for the Ornament and Benefit of the Publick in two Years Time, that your Self, with the Commiffi*
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The EPISTLE, &c.
Gommiflioners who imdeftook the Infpe&ion, have acted, thaw
in Five hundred before: They were not afoolifh or impolitic k People, who from the very Principles of Humanity, defiin'd for the Eafe of their Subjects jo many fpacious Ways, cool Fountains, fioady Walks, refrefiiing Gardens, and Places of puhlick Recreation, as well asfiately Temples, and Courts of Juftice, that Religion and the Laws might be publijhed with the morePomp and Veneration l And if his Majeily, with your Pains ^Induftry, hath contributed to fomething of all this it is that for which the whole Nation becomes obliged-, as the promoting offuch publick and ufeful Works (and e facially that of Building) a certain Indication of a prudent Government, of dflourilhing Chappy People: So that if there remain but one Thing more to be defiredj in order to the Confummation ©f zYj* perfect Felicity, how infinitely Were it to be wilhed,£te whilfl the Beauty and Benefit of the City increafedin one part, the Deformity and apparent Ruin of it might ceafe on the other: But this we are to hope for, when, to bring this monitrous Bo- dy into Shape, and fcatterthe f e ungovernable Enormities, either the Reftraint of Building irregularly âá ñïÀéâ the Suburbs, or (which 1 rather could w'ifh) fome Royal Purchafe contraH and demoiljh them. But, Sir, / have done, and I know you will pardon this Zeal, and accept of this Expreflion of my profound Refpeofo/roM, |
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S I R;
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Your inoft humble Servant,
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J. Evelyn..
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-vu é
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THE
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ELEMENTS
OF
ARCHITECTURE.
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Colle£led by Sir Henry Wotton, KnU
from the hefl Authors and Examples.
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Ô H E
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Shall not need (Me the mo/i part of Writers) to
celehrate the Subject which I deliver; in that Toint I am at Eafe : For Architecture can want no Commendation, where there are noble Men, or noble Minds : / will therefore fpend this Pre- face rather about thofe from whom I have gather- ed my Knowledge .· For I am hut a Gatherer and "Difpofer of other Mens Stuff, at my hefi Value. Our principal Matter is Vitruvms, and jo IJhall often call him, who had this Felicity, that he wrote when the Roman Empire was near theTitch; or at leaf, when Auguftus (who favour e d his En- deavours) had fome Meaning (if he were not mifidken) to hound the * Monarchy : This, I Jay, was his good hap, for in growing and enlarging Times, Arts are commonly drowned in Action: But on the other fide, it was in truth an Unhappinefs to exprefs him- felf f ï ill, especially writing (as he did) in a Seafon of the ablefi Pens; and his Obicurity had this /Irange Fortune, that though he were hefi praBifed and hefi followed by his own Countrymen, yet after the reviving and repolifbing of good Literature (which the Combuflions and Tumults of the middle Age had uncivilized) he was hefi, or at leafi, firfi under flood by Strangers: For of the Ita- lians that took him in hand, thofe that were Grammarians/?m to have wanted Mathematical Knowledge, and the Mathematicians perhaps wanted Grammar, 'till both were Jufficiently conjoined in LeonBaptifta Alberti /^Florentine, whom I repute the fir/t learned Architect beyond the Alps; but he Jtudied more indeed to make him f elf an Author, than to illuftrate his Matter : Therefore among his Comment^ Imufl (for my private Conceit) yield the chief Traife unto the French, in Philander; and to the High-Germans, in Gualterus Rivius, who, befides his Notes, hath Ukewife publifoed the moft elaborate Tranilation that I think is extant in any vulgar Speech of the IVorld, though not without bewailing, now and then, fome Defect of artificial Terms in his own, as L mufl likewife ; for if the Saxon {our Mother Tongue) did complain ; as jufily (I doubt)
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* Tacit. Lib. i. Anna],
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The PREFACE.
doubt) in this Toint may the Daughter: Languages for the moft
part, in Terms of Art and Erudition, retaining their original To- verty,and rather growing rich and abundant in complement'alThrafes, andfuch Froth. Touching diverfe modern Men, that have written out of meerTraBice, J f jail give them their T)ue upon Occafion. And now, after this fhort Cenfure of others, I would fain fa-
ns fy ^Objection or two, which f e em to lie fome what heavily upon my felf: It willbe f aid that I handle an Art no way juitable either to my Employments, or to my Fortune; and Jo I'fall /land charged both with Intruiion and &>i/Mmpcrtinency. To the Firft / anfwer, That though by the ever-acknowledged
Goodnef of my mojl dear and gracious Sovereign, and by his long indulgent Toleration of my 7)efecls, 1 have bom abroad fome part of his Civil Service j yet when I came Home, and was again re fol- ded into my own Simplicity, 1found it fitter formy¥$n {at lea/t in this fir ft publico Adventure) to deal with the [e plain Compilements, and tratlable Materials, than with the Labyrinths and Myfteries of Courts and States ; and lef Trefumpiion for me, who have long contemplated a famous Republick, to write now of Architecture, than it was anciently for * Hippodamus the Mikiian to write of Republicks, who was him felf but an Architect To the Second, I mujt Jhrink up my Shoulders, as J have Uarned
Abroad, and confef indeed, that my Fortune is very unable to ex- emplify and actuate my Speculations in this Art, which yet, in truth, made me rather, even from my very T)iJ"ability, take Encouragement to hope that my prefent Labour would find the more Favour with others,fince it was undertaken f or no Mans fake lef than mine own: And with that Confidence I fell into the f e Thoughts, of which there were two JVays to be delivered: The one Hiftorical, by Defcriptionof the principal Works performed already in good part by Giorgio Vaflari, in the Lives of Architects: The other Logical, by cafling the Rules and Cautions of this Art into fome comport able Method, *whereof I have made choice, not only as the Jhorteft and moft ele- mental, but indeed as /^foundeft : For though in practical Know- ledges every compleat Example may bear the Credit of aKule,yet, per adventure, Rules Jhould precede, that we may by them be made fit to judge of Examples» 1 loerejore to the Purpofe, for I will Pre- face no longer, * Arifto.t. 2.. Lib. Polk. Cap. 6.
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THE
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Ï F
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CHITECTURE.
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PART I.
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Í Jrchitetture, as in all other Operative Arts, the End
muft direct the Operation. The End is to Build well
Well Building hath three Conditions; Commodity, Firm-
çåâ, and Delight.
------_„_ A common Divifion among the Deliverers or this
Art, though 1 know not how fomewhat miiplaced by Varuvms himfelr,
Lib. i. Cat 5. whom I Oiall be willinger to follow, as a Mafter ot Pro- portion than of Method. (,ç.
Now, for the attaining of thefe Intentions, we may confider the who.e
Subjea under two General Heads :
The Seat, and the Work
Therefore, firft touching Scituation. - '
The Precepts thereunto belonging, do either concern the Total Poiture,
(as I may term it) or the placing of the Parts : Whereof the firft Sort, how- foever ufually fet down by JrcbiteBs as a Piece of their Proteflion yet are in truth borrowed from other Learnings ,· there being between Arts ana Sciences, as well as between Men, a kind of good Fellowihip, and Com- munication of their Principles. - - " : For you ftadl find fomcof them to be meerly Phyfica , touching the
duality and Temper of the Air 5 which being a perpetual Ambient and Ingredient, and the Defers thereof incorrigible in Tingle Habitations (wnicn Ú moil intend) doth in thofe Refpeclis require the more exquifite Caution: That it be not too grofs, nor too penetratious, not fubjecT: to any toggy Noifomenefs from Fens or Marfhes near adjoining, nor to mineral Exha- lations from the Soil itfelf ■ not undigefted for want of Sun 3 not unexer- cifed for want of Wind h which were to live (as it were) in a Lake, or ftanding Pool of Air, as Jlberti, the Florentine AraiteB, doth ingemouily compare fa
\y Some
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ij The Elements of Architecture.
Some do rather feem a little Aftrological, as when they warn us from
Places of malign Influence, where Earthquakes, Contagions, Prodigious Births, or the like, are frequent, without any evident Caufe 5 whereof the Consideration is, peradventure, not altogether vain : Some are plainly Qe- conomical 3 as that the Seat be well watered and well fuelled 3 that it be not of too fteepy and incommodious Aecefs, to theTrouble both of Friends and Family 3 that it lie not too far from fome Navigable River, or Arm of the Sea, for more Eafe of Provifion, and fuch other Domeilick Notes. Some again may be faid to be Optical 3 fuch I mean, as concern the Pro-
perties of a well-chofen Profpeet, which I will call the Royalty of Sight: For as there is a Eordilhip (as it were) of the Feet, wherein the Mailer doth much joy when he walketh about the Line of his own PoffeiTions 3 fo there is a Lordfliip likewife of the Eye, which being a ranging, and imperious, and (1 might fay) an ufurping Senfe, can endure no narrow Circumfcription, but mud be fed both withExtent and Variety : Yet on the other fide, ß find vail and indefinite Views, which drown all Apprehenfions of the uttermoil Objects, condemned by good Authors, as if thereby, fome part of the Plea- fure (whereof we (peak) did periih. Laftly, ß remember a private Caution, which I know not well how to fort, unlefs I fhould call it Political, by no means to build too near a great Neighbour 5 which were, in truth, to be as unfortunately feated on the Earth, as Mercury Is in the Heavens, for the moil part ever in Combuftion or Obfcurity, under brighter Beams than his own. From thefe feveral Knowledges, as I haye faid, * and perhaps from fome
other, Arch'tteBs do derive their Do&rine about Election of Seats, where- in I have not been fo fevereas a great Scholar of our Time, who precifely reilraineth a perfect Scituation, at lead for the main Point of Health, Ad locum contra quemSol radios/uos fundit cumJubAnete oritur 5 that is, in a word, He would have the firil Salutation of the Spring. But fuch Notes as thefe, wherefoever we find them in grave or llightAuthors, are, to my Conceit,, rather Wiihes than Precepts 5 and in that Quality I will pafs them over. Yet I muft withal fay, that in the Seating our felves (which is a kind of Mar- riage to a. Place) Builders mould be as circumfpect as Wooers, left, when all is done, that Doom befal us, f which our Mailer doth lay upon My- tekne : AToivn, in truth, (faith he) finely built, but fooliflly planted. And lo much touching that which I termed the Total Poilure. The next in Order3 is the placing of the Parts 5 about which (to leave as
little as I may in my prefent Labour, unto Fancy, which is wild and ir- regular) 1 will propound a Rule of mine own Collection, upon which I fell in this manner : I had noted, that all Art was then in trueft Perfection, when it might be reduced to fome natural Principle : For what are the moil judicious Artizans, but the Mimicks of Nature? This led me to contem- plate tne Fabrick of our own Bodies, wherein the High Architect of the World hath difplayed fuch Skill, as did ilupify all humane Reafon : There I found the Heart, as the Fountain of Life, placed about the Middle, for the
* JoannesHeurnius Inflit, Meditin, lib. 7.Qa$,z.f Oppidum Wide'm MificatumeUgcmter fed im-
prudenter fofitum* |
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The Elements of Architecture. iij
the more equal Communication of the vital Spirits; the Eyes feated aloft*
that they might defcribe the greater Circle within their View · the Arras projected on each Side, for eafe of Reaching : Briefly (not to lofe ourfeives in this Iweet Speculation) it plainly appeareth as a Maxim drawn from the divine Light that the Place of every Part is to be determined by the life. So then from natural Structure to proceed to artificial, and in the rudeft
Things, to preferve fome Image of the cxcellenteft, let all the principal Chambers of Delight, all Studies and Libraries be towards the Eafl ; for the Morning is a Friend to the Mufes. All Offices that require Heat, as Kitchins, Stillatories, Stoves, Rooms for Baking, Brewing, Wafhing or the like, would be Meridional. All that need a cool and freffi Temper, as Cellars, Pantries, Butteries, Granaries, to the North: To the fame fide like- wife, all that are appointed for gentle Motion, as Galleries, efpecially in warm Climes, or that otherwife require a fteady and unvariable Light, as tpinacothecia (faith VitruYius) by which he intendeth (if I may guefs at his Greeks as we muil do often even at his Latin) certain Repositories for Works of Rarity, in Picture or other Arts, by the Italians called Studioli, which at any other Quarter, where the Courfe of the Sun doth diverfify, the Shadows would lofe much of their Grace : And by this Rule, having always regard to the Ufe, any other Part may be fitly accommodated. Imuft here not omit to note,that the ancient Grecians and the (Romans, by
their Example in their Buildings abroad, where the Seat was free, did al- rnoft religiouily fcituate the Front of their Houfes towards the South, per- haps that the Mailer's Eye, when he came home, might not be dazzled or that being illuftrated by the Sun,it might yield the more graceful AfpecT-, or fome fuch Reafon. But from this the modern Italians do vary, whereof I ihall fpeak more in another Place. Let thus much fuffice at the prefent, for the Pofition of the fevefal Members, wherein muft be had, as our Author doth often inimuate, arid efpecially, Lib. 6. Cap. 10. a lingular regard to the Nature of the Region: Every Nation being tied above all Rules what- foever, to a Difcretion of providing againft their own inconveniencies $ and therefore a good Parlour in Egypt, would perchance make a good Cel- lar in England, There nowfolloweth the fecond Branch of the general Section touching
the Work. In the Work I will firft confider the principal Parts, and afterwards the
Acceffory, or Ornaments : And in the Principal, firft the Preparation of the Materials, and then the Difpofition, which is the Form. Now concerning the Material Part, although, furely, it cannot difgrace
an ArchiteH, which doth fo well become a Philofopher, to look into the Properties of Stone and Wood; as that Fir-Trees, CyprefTes, Cedars, and fuch other aereal afpiring Plants, being by a kind of natural Rigour (which in a Man I would call Pride) inflexible downwards, are thereby fittsik. for Pofts or Pillars, or fuch upright Ufe ; that on the other Side, Oak and the like true hearty Timber, being ftrong in ail Pofitions, may be better trufted in crofs and traverfe Work, for Summers, or girding and binding Beams, as they term them. And fo likewife to obferve of Stone, that fome are bet- ter |
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If "the Elements- of Architecture.
ter within, and other to bear Weather :Nay, to defcend lower, even re-
examine Sand and Lime, and Clay, (of all which Things VkruYius hath difcourfed, without any Dainties, and the moft of new Writers) Ú fay^ though the Speculative Part of fuch Knowledge be libera!, yet to redeem this ProfeiTion, and my prefent Pains from indignity, I muflhere remem- ber, that to chufe and lort the Materials for every part of the Fabrick, is 2 Duty more proper to a feeond Superintendant overall the under Artizans, called (as I take it) by ourAuthoriO^cw4f0r,L/J>. 6. Cap. 11, and in that Place expreily diftinguifhed from the JrchiteB, whofe Glory doth moreconfift in the Defignment and Idea of the whole Work :, and his truefl: Ambition fliould be to make the Form, which is the nobler Part (as it were) tri- umph over the Matter 5 whereof ß cannot but mention, by the way, a fo- reign Pattern, namely, the Church of Santa Giuflina in Padua. In truth, a found Piece of good Art, where the Materials being but ordinary Stone, without any Garnifhment of Sculpture, do yet ravifli the Beholder (and he knows not how) by a fecretHarmony in theProportions» And this, indeed,, is that End, which, in fome degree, we fliould aim even in the privateft Works 5 whereunto, though Ú make hafte, yet let me firft collect a few of the leaft trivial Cautions belonging to the Material Provifion. Leon <Baptifia Jlberti is fo curious, as to wiih all the Timber cut out of
the fame Foreft, and all the Stone out of the fame Quarry* ffbilibert de f Orme, the French Architect, goes yet fomewhat farther, and
would have theLime made of the very fame Stone which we intend to em- ploy in the Work, as, belike, imagining that they will fympathize and join the better by a kind of originalKindred.But fuchConceits as thefe feem fome- what too fine among thisRubbilh, though ß do not produce them in Sport $ for furely the like Agreements of Nature may have oftentimes a difcreet Application to Art: Always it mufl; be confeiTed, that to make Lime with»· out any great Choice of Refufe.Stuff, as we commonly do, is an EngUji? Error of no fmall Moment in ourBuildings: Whereas the Italians at this Day, and much more the Ancients,did burn their firmed Stone,and evenFragments of Marble, where it was copious, which in Time became almoft Marble again, or at leaft of indiffoluble Durity, as appeareth in the (landing Theatres. 1 mufl: not here omit, while ú am fpeaking of this Parta a certain Form of Brick, defcribed by Daniel Barbaro, Patriarch of Jquileia, in the largefl: Edi- tion of his Commentary upon VitruYms : The Figure triangular, every Side a foot long, and fome Inch and a half thick, which he doth com- mend unto us for many good Conditions 5 as that they are more commo- dious in the Management, of lefs Expence, of fairer Show, adding much Beauty and Strength to the mural Angles, where they fall gracefully into an indented Work 3 fo as I fliould wonder that we have not taken them into "life, being propounded by a Man of good Authority in this Knowledge, but that all Nations do fhrt at Novelties, and are indeed married to their own Molds. Into this Place might aptly fall a Doubt, which fome have well moved^ whether the ancient Italians did burn their Brick or no5 which a Paf- iage or two in Vitruvius hath left ambiguous. Surely, where the natural Heat is ftrong enough to fupply the artificial, it were but a curious Folly $0 multiply both Labour and Expence. And it is beildes very probable, that
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the Elements of Architecture. í
that thofe Materials, with a kindly and temperate Heat, would prove fairer,
fmoother, and lefs diftorted than with a violent : Only they fuffer two Exceptions, Firil, that they are likely by fuch a gentle drying, to be the more ponderous, an important Circumftance to the main of the Work in the Compilement, The next is of no lefs moment, That they will wane a certain fucking and foaking Thirftinefs, or a fiery Appetite to drink in the Lime which muft knit the Fabrick. But this Queftion is to be confined to the South, where there is more Sun and Patience.; ß will therefore not hin- der my Courfe with this incident Scruple, but clofe that Part which I have now in hand about the Materials, with this principal Caution, thatfuffici- ent Stuff and Money be ready before we begin ; for when we build now a Piece, and then another, by Fits, the Work dries and finks unequally, whereby the Walls grow full of Chinks and Crevices j wherefore fuch a paufing Humour is well reproved by <Pailadio, Lib, é. Cap. é. and by all other. And fo having gleaned thefe few Remembrances touching the Pre- paration of the Matter,^ I may now proceed to the Difpofition thereof, which muft form the Work. In the Form, as I did it in the Seat, I will firft confiderthe general Figuration, and then the feveral· Members. Figures are eicher fimple or mix'd 5 the fimple be either circular or angu-
lar : And of circular, either compleat or deficient, as Ovals 5 with which Kinds I will be contented, tho' the Diftribution might be more curious. Now the exad Circle is in truth a Figure, which for our Purpofe hath
many fit and eminent Properties, as Fitnefs for Commodity and Receipt, being the moft capable ; Fitnefs for Strength and Duration, being the moft: united in his Parts 5 Fitnefs for Beauty and Delight, as imitating the Cele- ftial Orbs, and the Univerfal Form : And it feems, befides, to have the Approbation of Nature, when ihe worketh by Inftind, which is her fecret School 5 for Birds do build their Nefts fpherically : But notwithftanding thefe Attributes, it is in truth a very unprofitable Figure in private Fabricks, as being of all other the moft chargeable, and much Room loft in the bending of the Walls when it comes to be divided, befides an ill Diftri* bution of Li°ht, except from the Center of the Roof : So as anciently it was not ufual, lave in their Temples and Amphitheatres, which needed no Compartitions. The Ovals and other imperfea circular Forms, have the fame Exceptions, and lefs Benefit of Capacity : So as there remains to be confidered in this general Survey of Figures, the angular and the mixed of both. Touching the angular, it may perchance found fomewhatftrangely, but it is a true Obfervation, that this Art doth neither love many Angles, nor few. For, firft, the Triangle, tthich hath the feweft Sides and Corners, is of all other the moft condemned, as being indeed both incapable and in- firm (whereof the Reafon fliall be afterwards render'd) and likewife un- refolvable into any other regular Form than it felf in the inward Partitions. As for Figures, of five, fix, feven, or more Angles, they are furely fit- ter for Military Architecture, where the Bulworks may be laid out at the Cor- ners, and the Sides ferve for Curtains, than for Civil Ufe, tho' I am not igno- rant of that famous Piece at Caprarola, belonging to the Houfe of Fame/e, caft by <Baroccio into the Form of a Pentagon, with a Circle inferibed, where the Architect did ingenioufly wreftle with diverfe Inconveniencies in difpofing e of
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vj The Elements of ArchtteBure.
of the Lights, and in faving the Vacuities. But as Defigns of fu-ch nature
do more aim at Rarity than Commodity 3 foa for my part, i had rather admire them than commend them. Thefe things confidered, we are both by the Precepts and by the Prac-
tice of the beft Builders, to refolve upon rectangular Squares, as a Mean between too few, and too manyAnglesj and throughthe equal Inclination of the Sides (which make the right Angle) ftronger than the Rhornbe, or Lozenge4 or any other irregular Square. But whether the exact Quadrat, or the Éïçó Square be the better, I find not well determined, though in my own Conceit I muffc prefer the latter, provided that the Length do not ex- ceed the Latitude above one third part, which would dimimih the Beauty of the Afpect, as fhall appear when I come to fpeak of Symmetry and Pro- portion. Of mixed Figures, partly circular, and partly angular, I fhall need to
fay nothing, becaufe having handled the fimple already, the mixed, accord- ing to their Compofition, do participate of the fame Refpects: Only againft thefe there is a proper Objection, that they offend Uniformity, whereof I am therefore opportunely induced to fay fomewhat, as far as fhall concern the outward Afpect, which is now in Difcourfe. In JrchiteSiure there,may feem to be two oppofite Affectations, Unifor-
mity and Variety, which yet will very wellfuflfer a good Reconcilement, as we may fee in the great Pattern of Nature, to which I muft often refort: For furely there can be no Structure more uniform than our Bodies in the whole Figuration, each Side agreeing with the other both in the Num- ber, in the Quality, and in the Meafure of the Parts: and yet fome are round, as the Arms ; fome fiat, as the Hands; fome prominent, and fome more retired 5 fo as upon the Matter we fee that Diverfity does not deftroy Uniformity, and that the Limbs of a noble Fabrick may be correfpondent enough, though they be various 5 provided always that we do not run into certain extravagant Inventions, whereof I ihall fpeak more largely when I come to the parting and cafting of the whole Work. We ought likewife to avoid enormous Heights of fix or kvea Stories, as well as irre- gular Forms 5 and the contrary Fault of low diftendedFronts is asunfeemly : Or again, when the Face of the Building is narrow, and the Flank deep, to all which Extremes fome particular Nations or Towns are fubject, whole Names may be civilly fpared: And fo much for the general Figuration or Afpect of the Work. Now concerning the Parts in Severalty : All the Parts of every Fabrick
may be comprifed under five Heads, which Divifion I receive from Bapiijia Jlberti, to do him right 5 and they be thefe : The Foundation.
The Walls.
The Jpertions, or Overtures.
The Compartition.
And the CoVer.
About all which I purpofe to gather the principal Cautions 3 and as I pafs along, I will touch alfo the natural Reafons of Art, that my Difcourfe may be the lefs mechanicaj, JPirft,
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The Elements of Architecture. í j]
Firftjthen, concerning the Foundation, which recjuireth the exaclieit- Care 5
for if that happen to dance, it will mar all the Mirth in the Houfe : There- fore, that we may found our Habitation firmly, we muft firfl: examine the Bed of Earth (as I may term it) upon which we will build 5 and then the ITnderfilings or Subilruotion, as the Ancients did call it : For the former, we have a general Precept in VitruVms, twice precifely repeated by him, as a Point indeed of main confequencej hmLil· i.Cap. 5. And again more fitly, Lib. 3. Cap. 3. in thefeWords,as (philander doth well correct the vulgarCopies* SubfiruBionis Fundationes fodiantur (faith he) â que ant iriVeniri ad/oltdum, <jrin
folido. By which Words 1 conceive him to commend unto us, not only a diligent, but even a jealous Examination what the Soil will bear, advifing us not to reft upon any appearing Solidity, unlefs the whole Mold through which we cut, have likewife been folid j but how deep we ihould go in this Search, he has no where to my remembrance determined, as perhaps depending more upon Difcretion than Regularity, according to the Weight of the Work 5 yet Andrea Talladio hath fairly adventured to reduce it into Rule, allowing for that * Cavafione (as he calleth it) a fixth part of the Height of the whole Fabnck, unlefs the Cellars be under Ground, in which Cafe he would have us (as it ihould feem) to found fomewhat lower. Some Italians do prefcnbe,that when they have chofen the Floor,or Plot,
and laid out the Limits of the Work, we ihould firft of all dig Wells and Cifterns, and other Under-Condudts and Conveyances for the Suillage of the Houfe, whence may arifc a double Benefit, for both the Nature of the Mold or Soil would thereby be fafely fearched · and moreover, thofe open Vents will ferve to difcharge fuch Vapours, as having otherwife no iifue, might perad venture ihake the Building. This is enough for the natural Grounding, which though it be not a Part of the folid Fabrick, yet here was the fitteft place to handle it. There followeth the Subftruotion or Ground-work of the wholeEdifice,
which muft fuftain the Walls $ and this is a kind of artificial Foundation, as the other was natural, about which thefe are the chief Remembrances: Firft, that the Bottom be precilely level, where the Italians therefore com- monly lay a Platform of good Board 5 then that the loweft Ledge or Row be meerly of Stone, and the broader the better, clofely laid without Mor- tar, which is a general Caution for all Parts in Building that are contigu- ous xo Board or Timber, becaufe Lime and Wood are infociable, and if any where unfit Confiners, then moft efpecially in the Foundation. Third- ly, that the Breadth of the Subftru&ion be at leaft double to the infiftent ^all, and more or lefs, as the Weight of the Fabrick fliall require h for as I muft again repeat, Difcretion may be freer than Art. Laftly, I find in fome a curious Precept, that the Materials below be laid as they grew in the Quarry, fuppofing them, belike, to have moft Strength in their natural and habitual Pofture. For as Philippe de I'Orme obferveth, the break- ing or yielding of a Stone in this Part but the breadth of the Back of a Knife, will make a Cleft of more than half a Foot in the Fabrick aloft, fo important are fundamental Errors 5 among which Notes I have faid no- thing of Pallification, or plying of the Ground-plot, commanded by Vi~ trulnus
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* Under'diggingi or Hollowing ofthe Earth,
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vjij The Elements of Architecture.
truVius when we build upon a moift or marfhy Soil, becaufe that were an
Erroii ç the firft Choice 3 and therefore all Seats that muft ufe fuch Provi- fion below (as Venice, for an eminent Example) would, perhaps, upon good Enquiry, be found to have been at firft chofen by the Counfel of Necef- fity. Now the Foundation being fearched, and the Subftruotion laid, we muft
next fpeak of the Walls. Walls are either entire and continual, or intermitted, and the Intermifli-
ons be either Pillars or Pilafters, for here I had rather handle them than, as fome others do, among Ornaments. The entire Muring, is by Writers diverfly diftinguifhed : By fome, ac-
cording to the Quality of the Materials, as either Stone or Brick, &c. where, by the way, let me note, that to buiid Walls and greater W'orks of Flint, whereof we want not Example in our Iiland, and particularly in the Pro* vince of J^enty was (as I conceive) meerly unknown to the Ancients, who obferving in that Material a kind of metalick Nature, or at leaft a Fufibility, feem to have refolved it into nobler Ufe, an Art now utterly loft, or perchance kept up by a few Chymicks. Some again do not fo much confider the Quality, as the Pofition of the faid Materials 3 as when Brick or fquared Stones are laid in their Lengths, with Sides and Heads together, or their Points conjoined like a Network (for fo VitruYms doth call it, ^e- ticulatum Opus) of familiar Ufe, as it fhould feem, in his Age, tho' after- wards grown out of requeft, even perhaps for that fubtil Speculation which hehimielf toucheth; becaufe fo laid, they are more apt in fwagging down, to pierce with their Points, than in the adjacent Pofture, and fo to cre- vice the Wall. But to leave fuch Cares to the meaner Artificers } the more eifential are thefe : That the Walls be moft exactly perpendicular to the Groundwork 5 for
the Right Angle, thereon depending, is the true Caufe of all Stability both in artificial and natural Pofitions, a Man like wife Handing firmeft when he ftands uprighteft. That the maifieft and heavieftMaterials be the loweft, as fitter to bear than to be born 5 that the Work as it rifeth diminifh in Thick- nefs proportionally, for eafe both of Weight and ofExpence 5 that certain Courfes or Ledges of more Strength than the reft, be interlaid like Bones, to fuftain the Fabrick from total Ruin, if the under Parts fhould decay. Laftly, that the Angles be firmly bound, which are the Nerves ofthe whole Edifice, and are therefore commonly fortified by the Italians, even in their Brick Buildings, on each fide of the Corners, with well fquared Stone, yielding both Strength and Grace : And fo much touching the entire or fblid Wall. The Intermiflions (as hath been faid) are either by Pillars or Pilafters.
Pillars, which we may like wife call Columns (for the Word among Arti-
ficers is almoft naturalized) I could diftinguiih into fimple and compound- ed But (to tread the beaten and plaineft way) there are five Orders of Pillars, according to their Dignity and Perfection, thus marflialled : The Tujcan. The Vorick. The Ionick. The Corinthian. And |
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The Elements of Architecture. ix
And the Compound Order, or, as fome call it, the <^oman} others more
generally, the Italian. In which five Orders I will firft confider their Communities, and then
their Properties. Their Communities fas far as I obferve) are principally Three : Ftrfiy
They are all round, for though fome conceive ColumnaAttkurgesy mentioned by VitruYms, L. 3. Cap. 3. to have been a fcjuared Pillar, yet we muft pafs it over as irregular, never received among thefe Orders, no more than cer- tain other licentious Inventions of wreathed, and vined, and figured Co- lumns, which our Author himfelf condemneth, being in his whole Book a profeifed Enemy to Fancies. Secondly, They are all diminimed or contracted infenfibly, more or Iefs,
according to the Proportion of their Heights, from one third Part of the whole Shaft upwards, which (philander doth prefcribe by his own precife meaftiring of the ancient Remainders, as the moft graceful Diminution. And here I muft take leave to blame a Pra&ice grown (I know not how) in certain Places too familiar, of making Pillars fwell in the middle, as if they were fick of fome Tympany or Dropfy, without any authentick Pat- tern or Rule, to my Knowledge, and unfeemly to the very Judgement of Sight. True it is, that inVipruYm$f Lib. \. Cap..2. we find thefe Words, Tie adjeclioney qud adjicitur in mediis Colutonis 5 qua apud Grecos Å^ôáó-é? appellatur7 in extremo libro erit formatio ejus$ which PaiTage feemeth to have given fome countenance to this Error. But of the Promife there made, as of diverfe other elfewhere, our Mafter hath failed us, either by flip of Memory, or in- jury of Time, and fo we are left in the Dark* Always fure I am, that be- fides the Authority of Example, which it wanteth, it is likewife contrary to the original and natural Type inTrees, which at firft was imitated in Pillars, zsVitmYius himfelf obferveth, Lib. j. Cap. 1. For whoever faw any Cyprefs or Pine (which are there alledged) fmall below and above ·, and tumerous in the middle, unlefsit were fomedifeafed Plant, as Nature (though otherwife the comlieft Miftrefs) hath now and then her Deformities and Irregularities. Thirdly, They have all their "Underfettings or Pedeftals, in Height a third
part of the whole Column, comprehending the Bafe and Capital, and their upper Adjuncts, asArchitrave, Frize, and Cornice, a fourth part of the faid Pillar; which Rule, of lingular Ufe and Facility, I find fettled by Jacobo Baroccio, and hold him a more credible Author, as a Man that moft intend- ed this Piece than any that vary from him in chofe Dimenfions. Thefe are their moil: confiderable Communities and Agreements. Their Properties or Diftin&ions will beft appear by fome reafonable De* fcription of them all, together with their Architraves, Frizes, and Cornices, as they are ufually handled. Firft, therefore the Tufcan is a plain, malTy, rural Pillar, refembling
fome fturdy well-limbed Labourer, homely clad, in which kind of Com- parifons VitruYw himfelf feemeth to take Pleafure, Lib. 4. Cap. 1. The Length thereof {hall be fix Diameters, of the grofifeft of the Pillar below^ of all Proportions in truth the moft natural j for our Author tells us, Lib. 3. Cap. 1. that the Foot of a Man is the fixth Part of his Body in ordinary Mea- fure, and Man himfelf, according to the Saying of Protagoras (which AH- d flotle
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÷ The Elements of Architecture-
flotle doth fometimes vouchfafe to celebrate) is ^ >?$d-mt^m ^p^W éþô&,í^
as it were the Prototipe of all exact Symmetry, which we have had other Oecaflon to touch before : This Column 1 have by good warrant called Rural, Vitr. Lib. 3. Cap. 2. and therefore we need not confider his Rank a- mong the reft. The Diftance or Intereolumniation (which word Artifi- cers doufually borrow) may be near four of his own Diameters, becaufe the Materials commonly laid over this Pillar, were rather of Wood than Stone, through the Lightnefs whereof the Architrave eould not fufTer, tho" thinly fupported, nor the Column it felf, being fo fubftantial. The Con- traction aloft fliall be (according to the moil received Practice) one fourth part of his Thicknefs below. To conclude (for I intend only as much as fliall ferve for a due Diftinguidiment, and not to delineate every petty Member) the Tu/can is of all the rudeft Pillar, and his principal Charac- ter, Simplicity. The T>oric( Order is the graveft that hath been received into civil ufe, pre-
ferving, in comparifon of thofe that follow, a more mafculine Afpect, and little trimmer than the Tu/can that went before, fave a fober Garnifhmenc now and then of Lions Heads in the Cornice, and of Triglyphs and Me- topes always in the Frize : Sometimes likewife, but rarely, channelled, and a little flight Sculpture about the Hypotrachelion, or Neck, under the Capital. The Length feven Diameters. His Rank or Degree is the loweft by all Congruity, as being more mafly than the other three, and confe- quently abler to fupport. The Intereolumniation thrice as much as his Thicknefs below. The Contraction aloft, one fifth of the fame meafure. To difcern him, will be a piece rather of good Heraldry than of Architecture 5 for he is beft known by his Place, when he is in Company, and by the peculiar Ornament of his Frize, before-mentioned, when he is alone. The lonlck Order doth reprefent a kind of feminine Slendernefs, yet, faith
yitruVms, not like a light Houfewife, but in a decent Dreifing, hath much of the Matron. The Length eight Diameters. In Degree, as in Subftantial- nefs, next above the Vorkkj fuftaining the third, and adorning the fecond Story. The Intereolumniation, two of his own Diameters. The Con- traction, one fixthpart, beft known by his Trimmings j for the Body of this Column is perpetually channelled, like a thick plaited Gown. The Capital drefled on each fide, not much unlike Womens Wires, in a fpiral Wreathing, which they call the Ionian Valuta. The Cornice indented. The Frize fwelling like a Pillow, and therefore by VttruVius not unelegantly term'd <PulYmata. Thefe are his beft Characters. The Corinthian, is a Column lacivioufly deck'd like aCourtezan,and there-
in much participating (as all Inventions do) of the Place where they were firft born, Corinth having been, without controverfy, one of the wantoned Towns in the World. This Order is of nine Diameters. His Degree one Stage above the lonick^ and always the higheftofthefimple Orders. The In- tereolumniation, two of his Diameters, and a fourth part more, which is of all other the comlieft Diftance. The Contraction one feventh Part. In the Cornice,both Dentellizna Modiglioni *. The Frize adorned with all kinds of Figures
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Our 4rti%ans call tbemZeetk and Cartm%t$«
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7he Elements of Archite&wt. xj
Figures and various Compartments at Pleafufe; The Capitai cut into the
beautifuileft Leaf that Nature doth yield, which furely next the Aconitum (pardalianchei (rejected perchance as an ominousPlant) is tkeAcantkus or (Bran- ca Urfni, though VitruYms do impute the Choice thereof Unto Chance, and we muftbe contented to believe him: In ihortjj as Plainnefs did characterize the Tufcan, fo muft Delicacy and Variety the Corinthian Pillar, befides the Height of his Rank. The iaft is theCompounded Order jhisNarrie being a Brief of hisNature:
For this Pillar is nothing in effect but a Medley, or an Amafs of all the precedent Ornaments, making a new Kind by ftealth 5 and though the mod richly tricked, yet the pooreft in this, that he is a Borrower of all his Beau- ty. His Length (that he may have fomewhat of his own) (hall be of ten Diameters. His Degree fliould, no doubt, be the higheft, byReafons before yielded : But few Palaces, ancient or modern, exceed the third ýß the Civil Orders. The Intercolumniation but a Diameter and an half, of always fomewhat lefs than two. The Contraction of this Pillar muft be one eighth Part lefs above than below. To know him> will be eafy by the very mixture of his Ornaments and Cloathing» And fo much touching the five Orders of Columns, which I will con-
clude with two or three not impertinent Cautions. Firfl, That where more of thefe Orders than one ihall be fet in feveral
Stories or Contignations, there muftbe an excjuifite care to place the Co- lumns precifely one over another, that fo the Solid may anfwer to the So- lid, and the Vacuities to the Vacuities, as well for Beauty as Strength of the Fabrick ; and by this Caution the Confequence is plain, that when we fpeak of the Intercolumniation or Diftance which is due to each Order, we mean in a Vorick,, Ionical, Corinthian Porch or Cloyfter, or the like of one Contignacion, and not in Storied Buildings. Secondly, Let the Columns above be a fourth Part lefs than thofe below,
faith VitruYws, Lib. 5. Cap. é 5· A ftrange Precept, in my Opinion, and fo ftrange, that peradventure it were more fuitable even to his own Princi- ples, to make them rather a fourth Part greater ; for Lib. 3. Cap. 2. where our Matter handleth the Contraction of Pillars, we have an Optick Rule, that the higher they are, the lefs fhould be always their Diminution aloft, becaufe the Eye itfelfdoth naturally contract all Objects, more or lefs, ac- cording to theDiftance 3 which Coniideration may,at firft Sight,feem to have been forgotten in the Caution we have now given 5 butFitruvius {the beft In- terpreter of himfelf) hath in the fame Place of his fifth Book, well acquitted his Memory by thefe Words j Column* fuperwres quarta parte minores, øÜçé in- ferioreStfrnt confiituendd propterea qudd, open ferendo quxfunt inferiora, firmiora ejfe debent 5 preferring, like a wife Mechanick, the natural Reafon before the Ma- thematical, and fenfible Conceits before abftracted: And yet, Lib. 4. Cap. 4. he feemeth again to affect Subtilty, allowingPillars the more they are chan- nelled to be the more flender, becaufe while our Eye (faith he) <ioth as it were diftinctly meafure the eminent and the hollowed Parts, the total Ob- ject appeareth the bigger, and fo as much as thofe Excavations do fubtract, is fupplied by a Fallacy of the Sight: But here, methinks, ourMafter fliould likewife have rather confider'd the natural Inconvenience 5 for though Pil* lars
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xij The Elements of . Architecture.
lars by channelling, be feemingly ingroffed to our Sight, yet they are truly
weakened in themfelves, and therefore ought perchance in found Reafon, not to be the more (lender, but the more corpulent, unlefs Appearances preponder Truths ; but Contra Maviftrum, non efl T)ifputandum. A Third Caution mail be, ihat all the projected or jutting Parts (as they
are termed) be very moderate, efpecially the Cornices of the lower Orders 5 for whilft fome think to give them a beautiful and royal Afpect, by their Largenefs, they fometimes hinder both the Light within (whereof I fhall fpeak more in due Place) and likewife detract much from the View of the Front without, as well appeareth in one of the principal Fabricksat Venice^ namely the Palace of the Duke Grimani on the Canal Grande, which by this magnificent Error is fomewhat difgraced. I need now fay no more concerning Columns an^their Adjuncts, about which Architects make fuch a Noife in their Books, as if the very Terms of Architraves, and FrizeSy and Cornices, and the like, were enough to graduate a Mailer of this Art 5, yet let me, before I pafs to other Matter, prevent a familiar Obje&ion. It will perchance be faid, that all this Doctrine touching the five Orders were fitter for the Quarries of Afia-; which yielded One hundred and twenty-feven Columns of fixty Foot high, to the Epbefian Temple 3 or for Numidia, where Marbles abound, than for the Spirits of England, who muft be contented with more ignoble Materials. To which I anfwer, That this need not dif- couraaeus5 for I have often at Venice viewed with much Pleafure, an Atri- um Grdcum (we may tranilate it an Anti-Porch, after the Greek manner) raifed by Andrea ØáÉÉáÜéï, upon eight Columns of the Compounded Order 5 the Bafes of Stone, without Pedeftals 5 the Shafts or Bodies of mere Brick, three Foot and an half thick in the Diameter below,, and confequently; thirty-five Foot high, as himfelf hath defcribed them in his Second Book,' than which mine Eye hath never yet beheld anyColumns more ftately of Stone o* Marble 5 for the Bricks having firft been formed in a circular: Mould,, and then cut before their burning into four Quarters or more, the Sides afterwards join fo clofely, and the Points concenter fo exactly, that the Pillars appear one entire Piece 5 which ihort Defcription I could not omit, that thereby may appear how in truth we want rather Art than Stuff to fatisfy our greateft Fancies., After Pillars, the next in my Diftribution, are Pilafters, mentioned by
Vitruviusy Lib. 5 .'&£·. 1.. and fcant any where e|fe, under the Name of Øá- raflates, as (philander conceiveth 5 which Grammatical Point (though per- chance not very clear) I am contended to examine no farther. Always* what we mean by the Thing it fclf, is plain enough in our own Vulgar, touching which, I will briefly collect the mo ft considerable Notes. Pilafters muft nor be too tall and {lender, lead they refemble Pillars 5 nor
too dwarfifh and grofs, leaft they imitatePiles or Peirs of Bridges: Smooth- nefs doth not fo naturally become them, as a ruftickSuperficies, for they aim more at State and Strength than Elegancy. In private Buildings they ought not to be narrower than oneThird,nor broader than two Parts of the whole Vacuity between Pilafter and Pilafter 3 but to thofe that ftand at the Cor- ners, may be allowed a little more Latitude by Difcretion, for Strength of the Angles. In Theatres and Amphi-Theatres, and fuch weighty Works, (palladia
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The Elements of Ar chit e Bur e. xiij
øáÀúáÜéï obferveth them to have been as broad as the Half, and now and then
as the whole Vacuity. He noteth likewife (and others confent with him) that their true Proportion tTiould be an exact Square $ but for leffening of Expence, and inlarging of Room, they are commonly narrower in Flank than in Front: Their principal Grace doth confift in half or whole Pillars applied unto them 3 in which cafe it is well noted by Authors, that the Co- lumns may be allowed fomewhat above their ordinary Length, becaufe they lean unto fo good Supporters. And thus much ihall fuffice touching Pila- fters, which is a cheap, and a ftrong, and a noble Kind of Structure. Now, becaufe they are oftner, both for'Beauty and Majefty, found arched
than ottierwife, I am here orderly led to fpeak of Arches, and under the fame Head of Vaults, for an Arch is nothing indeed but a contracted Vault, and a Vault is but a dilated Arch 5 therefore to handle this Piece both compendioufly and fundamentally, I will refolve the whole Bufinefs in- to a few Theorems. THEOREMI.
All folid Materials free from Impediment, do defcend perpendicularly
downwards, becaufe Ponderofity is a natural Inclination to the Center of the World, and Nature performeth her Motions by the ihorteft Lines. THEOREM II.
Bricks moulded in their ordinary Rectangular Form, if they fliall be
laid one by another in a level Row, between any Supporters fuftaining the two Ends, then all the Pieces between, will neceffary fink, even by their own natural Gravity, and much more if they fuffer any Deprefllon by 0« ther Weight above them, becaufe their Sides being parallel, they have room to delcend perpendicularly, without Impeachment, according to the former Theorem 3 therefore to make them ftand, we muft either change their Pofture, or their Figure, or both. THEO REM III.
If Bricks moulded, or Stones fquared Cuneatim (that is, Wedge-wife,
broader above than below) {hall be laid in a Row level, with their Ends fupported as in the precedent Theorem, pointing all to one Center ; then none of the Pieces between can fink 'till the Supporters give way, becaufe they want room in that Figuration to defcend perpendicularly. But this is yet a weak Piece of Structure, becaufe the Supporters are fubjeot to much Impulfion, efpeciaily if the Line be long5 for which Reafon this Form is feldom ufed, but over Windows or narrow Doors. Therefore to fortify the Work, as in this Third Theorem, we have fuppofed the Figure of all the Materials different from thofe in the Second: So likewife we muft now change the Pofture, as will appear in the Theorem following. THEOREM IV.
If the Materials figured as before Wedge-wife, fhall not be difpofed level-
ly, but in Form of iome Arch or Proportion of a Circle, pointing all to the fame Center: In this Cafe, neither the Pieces of the faid Arch can fink e downwards.
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xiv The Elements of Architecture.
downwards, through want of room to defcend * perpendicularly 5 nor the
Supporters or Butments (as they are termed) of the faid Arch can'fuflfer fo much Violence, as in the precedent flatPofture, for the Roundnefs will al- ways make the incumbent Weight rather to reft upon the Supporters than to fliove them. Whence may be drawn an evident Corallary, that the fafeft of all Arches is the Semicircular, and of all Vaults the Hemifphere, though not abfolutely exempted from fome naturalWeaknefs, f as <Barnardino <Baldi9 Abbot of Guaflalla, in his Commentary upon Anflotles Mechanic^ doth ve- ry well prove; where let me note, by the way, that when any thing is ma- thematically demonftrated weak, it is much more mechanically weak, Errors ever occurring more eafily in the Management of grofs Materials, than lineal Defigns. THEOREMS.
As Semicircular Arches, or Hemifpherical Vaults, being raifed upon
the total Diameter, be of all other the roundeft and, confequently, the fe- cureft by the precedent Theorem5 fo thofe are the gracefulleft, which keep- ing precifely the fame Height, ftiall yet be diftended one fourteenth Part longer than the faid entire Diameter 5 which Addition of Diftent will confer much to their Beauty, and detract but little from their Strength. This Obfervation I find in Leon Baptifta Alberti 5 but the Practice how
topreferve the fame Height, and yetdiftend the Arms or Ends of the Arch is in Alberti Purer s Geometry, who taught the Italians many an excellent Line, of great ufe in this Art. Upon thefe five Theorems all the Skill of Arching and Vaulting is ground-
ed : As for thofe Arches, which our Artizans call of the third and fourth Point, and the Tuft an Writers di ter^p and di quarto acuto 5 becaufe they always concur in an acute Angle, and do fpring from Divifion of the Diameter, into three, four, or more Parts at pleafure; I fay, fuch as thefe both from the natural Imbecility of the iharp Angle itfelf, and like wife for their very Uncomelinefs, ought to be exiled from judicious Eyes, and left to their firft Inventors, the Goths or Lombards, amongft other Reliques of that barbarous Age. Thus of my firft Partition of the Parts of every Fabrick into five
Heads, having gone through the two former, and been incidently carried into this laft Do&rine touching Arches and Vaults. The next now in order are the Apertions, under which Term I do comprehend Doors Windows, Stair· Cafes, Chimnies, or other Condu&s; in ihort, all Inlets or Out-lets, to which belong two general Cautions. Firfi, That they be as few in Number, and as moderate in Dimen-
fion, as may poffibly confift with other due Refpeds 3 for in a word ail Openings are Weakenings. * Secondly, That they do not approach too near the Angles of the Walls ·
fork were indeed a moft elTential Solecifm to weaken that Part which muft ftrengthen all the reft: A Precept well recorded, but ill pra&ifed by the Italians themklvcs, particularly ztFentce, where I have obferved diverfe ftergoli, * By the Firfi ^theorem.
f Which it the [ok Prerogative of Perpendicular Urns and Right Angler.
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The Elements of Arehitefture. XV
or Meniana (as VitruVius feemeth to call them, which are certain baliifed
Outftandings to fatisfy Curiofity of Sight) very dangerouiiy kt forth upon the very Point itfeif of the Mural Angle. Now, albeit I make hafte to the calling and comparting of the whole
Work (being indeed the very definitive Sum of this Art, to diftribute ufefully and gracefully a well-chofen Plot) yet I will firft under their fe- veral Heads, collect briefly fome of the choicer! Notes belonging to thefe particular Overtures. Of Doors and Windows.
Thefe Inlets of Men and of Light, I couple together, becaufe I find
their due Dimensions brought under one Rule, by Leon Alberti (a learned Searcher) who from the School of Pythagoras (where it was a fundamental Maxim, That the images of all Things are latent in Numbers) doth de- termine the comlieftProportion between Breadths and Heighths, reducing Symmetry to Symphony, and the Harmony of Sound, to a kind of Har- mony in Sight, after this manner: The two principal Confonances thac moft ravifli the Ear, are, by confenc of all Nature, che Fifth and the OBaVe$ whereof the firft rifeth radically, from the Proportion between two and three. The other from the double Interval, between one and two, or be- tween two and four, <&c. Now, if we fihall tranfpcrt thefe Proportions from audible to vifible Objects, and apply them as they fliall fall fitteft (the Nature of the Place confidered) namely in fome Windows and Doors, the Symmetry of two to three in their Breadth and Length, in others, the double, as aforefaid, there will indubitably refult from either a graceful and harmonious Contentment to the Eye 5 which Speculation, though it may appear unto vulgar Artizans, perhaps, too fubtile and too fublime, yet we muft remember that VitruVius himfelf doth determine many Things in hisProfeffion by Mufical Grounds, and much commen- deth in an Jrcbitett, a Philofophical Spirit 5 that is, he would have him (as I conceive it) to be no fuperficial and floating Artificer, but a Diver into Caufes, and into the Myfteries of Proportion. Of the Ornaments belonging both to Doors and Windows, I fhall fpeak in another Place 5 but let me here add one Obfervation, That our Mailer (as appeareth by diverfe PalTages, and particularly, Lib.6. Cap. p.) feems to have been an ex- tream Lover ©f luminous Rooms: And indeed, I muft confefs, that a frank Light can misbecome no Edifice whatfoever, Temples only ex- cepted, which were anciently Dark, as they are likewife at this Day in fome Proportion $ 'Devotion more requiring collected than diffujed Spirits *. Yet on the other Side, we muft take heed to make a Houie (though but for civil Ufe) all Eyes, like Jrgus, which in Northern Climes would be too cold, in Southern too hot: And therefore the Matter indeed importeth naore than a merry Comparifon. Befides, there is no part of Structure either more expenceful than Windows, or more ruinous, not only for that vulgar Reafon, as being expofed to all Violence of Weather, but 3 becaufe
* Lumen eft dMFufium fui & alienL
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xvj The Elements of Architecture.
becaiife confifting of fo different and unfociable Pieces, as Wood, Iron,
Lead, and Glafs, and thofe fmall and weak, they are eafily fhaken. I muft likewife remember one Thing (though it be but a Grammatical Note) touching Doors 5 fome were Fores, and fome were Vah<z$ thofe (as the very Word may feem to import) did open outwards, thefe inward, and were commonly of two Leaves or Panes (as we call them) thereby requiring indeed a leffer Circuit in their unfolding, and therefore much in "Ufe a- mong Italians at this Day : But I muft charge them with an Imperfection, for though they let in as well as the former, yet they keep out worfe. Of Stair-Cases.
To make a compleat Stair-Cafe is a curious Piece of Jrchitetlure : The
vulgar Cautions are thefe; That it have a very liberal Light, againft all Cafualty of Slips and Falls.
That the Space above the Head be large and airy, which the Italians ufe
to call Un bel-sfogolo, as it were good Ventilation, becaufe a Man doth fpend much Breath in mounting. That the half Paces be well diftributed, at competent Diftances, for
repofing on the Way. That to avoid Encounters, and befides to gratify the Beholder, the
whole Stair-Cafe have no nigard Latitude, that is, for the principal Af- cent, at leaft ten Foot in Royal Buildings. That the Breadth of every fingle Step or Stair, be never lefs than one
Foot, nor more than eighteen Inches. That they exceed by no means half a Foot in their Height or Thick-
nefs, for our Legs do labour more in Elevation than in Diftention: Thefe, I fay, are familiar Remembrances 5 to which let me add That the Steps be laid where they join Con un tantino di fcarpa 5 we may
tranflate it fomewhat Hoping, that fo the Foot may in a iort both afcend and defcend together, which though obferved by few, is a fecret and de- licate Deception of the Pains in mounting. Laflly, To reduce this Doctrine to fome natural, or at leaft mathemati-
cal Ground (ourMafter, as we fee, Lib. o. Cap. i.) borroweth thofe Pro- portions that make the Sides of a rectangular Triangle, which the ancient School did exprefs in loweft Terms, by the Numbers of Three, Four, and Five 3 that is, Three for the Perpendicular, from the Stair-Head to the Ground, Four for the Ground-Line itfelf, or Receffion from the Wall 5 and Five for the whole Inclination or Slopenefs in the Afcentj which Pro- portion, Jaith he, will make Temperatas graduum liberations. Hitherto of Stair-Cafes which are direct: There are likewife Spiral, or Cockle Stairs, either circular or oval, and fometimes running about a Pillar, fometimes vacant, wherein (palladio (a Man in this Point of lingular Felicity) was wont to divide the Diameter of the firft Sort into three Parts, yielding one to the Pillar, and two to the Steps: Of the fecond into four, whereof he gave two to the Stairs, and two to the Vacuity, which had all their Light from above $ and this in exact Ovals, is a Mafterpiece. of
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The Elements of ArchiteUure. xvij
O/'Chimnies.
In the prefent Bufinefs, Italians (who make very frugal Fires) are per-
chance not the beft Counfellors. Therefore from them we may Better learn both how to raife fair Mantels within the Rooms, and how to difguife grace- fully the Shafts of Chimnies abroad Cas they ufe) in fundry Forms (which I fliall handle in the latter Part of my Labour) and the reft I will extract from Philippe de /' Orme, in this Part of his Work more diligent than in any other, or, to do him right, than any Man elfe. Firfi, He obferveth very foberly, that who in the Difpofition of any
Building will confider the Nature of the Region, and the Winds that or- dinarily blow from this or that Quarter, might fo caft the Rooms which fliall moil need Fire, that he fhould little fear the Incommodity of Smoak 5 and therefore he thinks that Inconvenience for the moft Part to proceed from fome inconfiderate Beginning. Or if the Error lay not in the Difpo- fition, but in the Structure itfelf, then he makes a Logical Enquiry, That either the Wind is too much let in above, at the Mouth of the Shaft, or the Smoak ftifled below: If none of thefe, then there is a Repulfion of the Fume by fome higher Hill or Fabrick, that fliall over-top the Chimney, and work the former Effect: Iflikewife riot this, then he concludes, That the Room which is infefted, muft be neceflarily both little and clofe, fo as the Smoak cannot iiTue by a natural Principle, wanting a Sueceifion and Supply of new Air. Now, in thefe Cafes he fuggefteth diverfe artificial Remedies, of whicfi
I will allow one a little Defcription, becaufe it favoureth of Philofophy, and was touched by VitruYms himfelf, Lib. \. Cap, 6. but by this Man in- genioufly applied to the prefent Ufe: He will have us provide two hol- low Brafs Balls of reafonable Capacity, with little Holes open in both for Reception of Water, when the Air fliall be firft fucked out: One of thefe we muft place with the Hole upwards, upon an Iron Wire, that fliall tra- verfe the Chimney a little above the Mantel, at the ordinary Height of the iharpeft Heat or Flames, whereof the Water within being rarified, and by Rarifaotion refolved into Wind, will break out, and fo force up the Smoak, which otherwife might linger in the Tunnel by the Way, and oftentimes revert: With the other (faith be) we may fupply the Place of the former, when it is exhaufted, or for a need, blow the Fire in the mean while 5 which invention I have interpofed for iome little Entertainment of the Reader» I will conclude with a Note from Øá\ÉáÜéï) who obferveth, that the Ancients did warm their Rooms with certain fecret Pipes, that came through the Walls, tranfporting Heat (as I conceive it) to fundry Parts of the Houfe, from one common Furnace 5 I am ready to baptize them Calidutts, as well as they are termed VentiduEis and Jquddutts, that convey Wind and Water ; which whether it were a Cuftom or a Delicacy, was furely both for Thrift and for Ufe, far beyond the German Stoves 5 and I fhould prefer it likewife before our own Fafliion, if the very Sight of a Fire did not add to the Room a kind of Reputation, as old * Homer doth teach us in a Verfe, lufficient to prove that himfelf was not blind, as fome would lay to his Charge. * Ai$v$'s q <roeps ^eitpwTgp^ ïúê& ictitixi» Horn. Epig.
(£) Touching
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xviij The Elements of Architecture.
Touching Conducts for the Suillage, and other Neceffities of theHoufe
(which how bafe foever in Ufe, yet for Health of the Inhabitants are as confiderable, and perhaps more than the reft) I find in our Authors this Counfel, That Art fhouid imitate Nature in thofe ignoble Conveyances, and feparate them from Sight (where their wants a running Water) into the moil remote, and lowed, and thickeft Part of the Foundation, with fecret Vents paffing up through the Walls like a Tunnel to the wild Air aloft, which all Italian Artizans commend for the Difcharge of noifome Vapours though elfewhere, to my knowledge, little practifed. Thus having confidered the precedent Appertions, or Overtures, in Se-
veralty, according to their particular Recjuifites, I am now come to the Calling and Contexture of the whole Work, comprehended under the Term of Compartition ; into which (being the maineft Piece) I cannot en- ter without a few general Precautions^ as ß have done in other Parts. Firfl, Therefore, let no Man that intendeth to build, fettle his Fancy
upon a Draught of the Work in Paper, how exactly foever meaiured, or neatly fet off in Perfpe&ive; and much lefs upon a bare Plant thereof, as they call the Schiographia3 or Ground-Lines, without a Model or Type of the wholeStruoture, and of every Parcel and Partition in Paftboard or Wood. Next, that the faid Model be as plain as may be, without Colours or
other Beautifying, left the Pleafure of the Eye preocupate the Judgment 5 which advice, omitted by the Italian JrchiteBs, I find in Philippe de f Orme, and therefore (though France be not the Theatre of beil Buildings) it did merit fome mention of his Name* Laftly, The bigger that this Type be, it is ftill the better 5 not that I will
perfwade a Man to fuch an Enormity, as that Model made by Antonio La- baco, of St. Peter's Church in (ftome, containing twenty-two Foot in Length, Sixteen in Breadth, and Thirteen in Heighth, and coiling four Thoufand one Hundred and eighty four Crowns, the Price in truth of a reafonable Chapel. Yet in a Fabrick of fome forty or fifty Thoufand Pounds Charge, I wifti thirty Pounds at leaft laid out before-hand in an exact Model · for a little Mifery in the Premifes, may eafiiy breed fome Abfurdity of greater Charge in the Conclufion. Now, after thefe Premonifhments, I will come to the Compartition it-
felf, by which the Authors of this Art (as hath been touched before) do underftand a graceful and ufeful Diftribution of the whole Ground-Plot, both for Rooms of Office, and of Reception or Entertainment, as far as the Capacity thereof, and the Nature of the Country will comport. Which Circumftances in the prefent Subject, are all of main Confideration, and might yield more Difcourfe than an elemental Rhapfody will permit. Therefore (to anatomize briefly this Definition) the Gracefnlnefs, whereof we fpeak, will confift in double Analogy or Correfpondeney. Firfl, be- tween the Parts and the Whole, whereby a great Fabrick fhouid have great Partitions, great Lights, great Entrances, great Pillars or Pilafters 5 in fum, all the Members great, The next, between the Parts themfelves, not only coniidering their Breadths and Lengths, as before, when we fpeak of Doors and Windows 5 but here likewife enters a third refpect of Height, a Point (I muft coniefs) hardly reduceable to any general Precept. True
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The Elements of Architeffiure. xix
True it is, that the Ancients did determine the Longitude of all Rooms
which where longer than broad, by the Double of their Latitude. Vitnceius Lib. 6. Cap. 5. And the Height by the half of the Breadth and Length fum- med together. But when the Room was precifely Square, they made the Height half as much more as the Latitude 5 which Dimenfions the mo- dern Architects have taken leave to vary upon Difcretion 5 fometimes fcjuar- ing the Latitude, and then making the Diagonal, or overthwart Line, from Angle to Angle, of the faid Square, the Meafureof the Height, fometimes more but feldom lower than the full Breadth itfelfj which Boldnefs of quitting the old Proportions, fome attribute firft to Michael Angelo daBuona- roti perchance upon the Credit he had before gotten in two other Arts. The fecond Point is Ufefulnefs, which will confift in a fufficient Num-
ber of Rooms of all Sorts, and in their apt Coherence, without Diffracti- on without Confufion 5 fo as the Beholder may not only call it Una Valu- ta ben raccolta, as Italians ufe to fpeak of well-united Works, but likewife that it may appear airy and fpirituous, and fit for the Welcome of cheerful Guefts · about which the principal Difficulty will be in contriving the Lights and Stair-Cafes, whereof I will touch a Note or two: For the Firft, I ob- ferve that the ancient Architects were at much Eafe 5 for both the Greeks and (Romans (ofwhofe private Dwellings VitruVms hath left us fome Defcriptionj had commonly two cloiftered open Courts, one ferving for the Women$ Side and the other for the Men 5 who yet, perchance, now-a-days would take'fo much Separation unkindly. Howfoever, by this Means the Recep- tion of Light into the Body of the Building was very prompt, both from •without and from within 5 which we muft now fupply, either by fome open Form cf the Fabrick, or among graceful Refuges, by Tarraffing any Story which is in danger of Darknefs h or laftly, by perpendicular Lights from the Roof, of all other the raoft natural, as ihall be ihewed anon. For the fecond'oifficulty, which is calling of the Stair-Cafes, that being iri itfelf no hard Point, but only as they are Incumbrances of Room for other "Ufe (which Lights were not) I am therefore aptly moved here to fpeak of them. And firft of Offices. I have marked a Willingnefs in the Italian Artizans to diftribute the
Kitchen Pantry, Bakehoufe, Warning-Rooms^ and even the Buttery like- wife under Ground, next above the Foundation, and fometimes level with the Plain or Floor of the Cellar, railing the firft Afcent into the Houfe fif- teenFoot or more for that End, which, befides the Benefit of removing iucH Annoys out of Sight, and the gaining of fo much more Room above, doth alfo, by Elevation of the Front, add Majefty to the whole Afpecl. And with fiieh a Difpofition of the principal Stair-Cafe, which commonly doth deliver us into the Plain of the fecond Story, there may be Wonders done with a little Room, whereof I could alledge brave Examples Abroad, and none more artificial and delicious than a Houfe built by Daniel Barbara, Pa- triarch oUquikia, before-mentioned, among the memorable Commentators upon VitruVmsi But the Definition (above-determined) doth call us to fome Confideration of our ewn Country, where, though all the other Petty-Of- fices (before rehearfed) may well enough be fo remote, yet by the natural Hofpitality of England, the Buttery muft be more vifible, arid we need, per- ehancej
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The Elements of Architecture.
chance for our Ranges, a more fpacious and luminous Kitchen than the
forefaid Compartition will bear, with a more competent nearnefs likewife to the Dining Room · or elfe, befides other inconveniencies, perhaps fome of the Diihes may draggle by the Way. Here let me note a common De- fect that we have of a very ufeful Room, called by the Italians, 11 Ttnello; and familiar, nay, aimoft eifential, in all their great Families: It is a Place properly appointed to conferve the Meat that is taken from the Table, 'till the Waiters eat, which with us, by an old Fafhion, is more unfeemly let by In the mean while. Now touching the Diftribution of Lodging-Chambers 5 I muft here
rake leave to reprove a Fafhion, which I know not how hath prevailed through Italy7 though without ancient Examples, as far as I can perceive by VitruYms. The Thing I mean, is, that they fo caft their Partitions, as when all Doors are open, a Man may fee through the whole Houfe 5 which doth neceflarily put an intolerable Servitude upon all the Chambers, fave the inmoft, where none can arrive but through the reft · or elfe the Walls muft be extream thick for fecret PaiTages. And yet this alfo will not ferve the Turn, without at leaft three Doors to every Room 5 a Thing moil in- fufferable in cold and windy Regions, and every where no fmall weaken- ing to the whole Work: Therefore with us, that want no cooling, I can- not commend the direct Opposition of fuch Overtures, being indeed meer- ly grounded upon the fond Ambition of difplaying to a Stranger all our furniture at one Sight, which therefore is moft maintained by them that mean to harbour but a few5 whereby they make only Advantage of the Vanity, and feldom prove the inconvenience. There is likewife another Defect (as Abfurdities are feldom folitary) which will neceiTarily follow upon fuch a fervile difpoiing of inward Chambers, that they muft be forced to make as many common great Rooms as there fhall be feveral Stories 3 which (befides that they are ufually dark, a Point hardly avoided, running as they do, through the middle of the whole Houfe) do likewife devour fo much Place, that thereby they want other Galleries and Rooms of Retreat, which I have often considered among them (i muft confefs) with no fmall Wonder $ for I obferve no Nation in the World by Nature more private and referved than the Italian, and on the other fide, in no Habitations lefs Privacy 5 fo as there is a kind of Conflict between their Dwelling and their Being. It might here perchance be expected, that 1 fhould at leaft delcribe (which others have done in Draughts and Defigns) diverfe Forms of Plants and Partitions, and Varieties of Inventions. But fpeculatiTe Wri- ters, as I am, are not bound to comprife all particular Cafes within the Latitude of the Subject which they handle, general Lights and Directions, and Pointings at fome Faults is fufficient: The reft muft be committed to the Sagacity of the ArchiteB, who will be often put to diverfe ingenious Shifts^ when he is to wreftle with Scarcity of Ground: As fomctimes * to damn one Room (though of fpecial Ufe) for the Benefit and Beauty of all the reft 5 another while, to make thofe faireft, which are moft in Sight 3 and
* The Italians (all it Una ftanza dannata, as when a Buttery is caft under a Stair- Cafe or. the
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and to leave the other (like a cunning Painter) in Shadow, Cummultn aliis^
which it were infinite to purfue. I will therefore clofe this Part, touching Compartition, as cheerfully as I can, with a fhort DefcnjJtion of a Feafting or Entertaining Room, after the Egyptian Manner, who feem, at the leaft 'till the Time of VitruYms, from the ancient Hebrews and <Pb(znicians (whence all Knowledge did flow) to have retained with other Sciences, in a high De- gree, alfo the Principles and Practice of this magnificent Art,- For as far as I may conjecture by our Mailer's Text, Lib, 6. Cap. 5. where (is in many other Places he hath tortured his Interpreters) there could no Form, for fuch a Royal Ufe, be comparably imagined, like that of the aforefaid Na- tion, which 1 ihall adventure to explain. Let us conceive a Floor or Area of goodly Length (for Example, at leaft
of One hundred and twenty Foot) with the Breadth fomewhat more than the half of the Longitude, whereof the Reafon fhall be afterwards rendredi About the two longeft Sides, and Head of the faid Room, fhall run an Order of Pillars, which ØáÉÉáÌï doth fuppofe Corinthian (as I fee by his De- fign) fupplying that Point out oi Greece, becaufe we know no Order proper to Egypt. The fourth Side I will leave free for the Entrance. On the afore- faid Pillars was laid an Architrave, which VitruYms mentioneth alone : ÖáÉ~ ladio adds thereunto (and with Reafon) both Freeze and Cornice, over which went up a continued Wall, and therein half or three quarter Pillars^ anfwering directly to the Order beiow, but a fourth Part lefs, and between thefe half Columns above, the whole Room was Windowed round about; Now, from the loweft Pillars there was laid over a Contignation or
Floor9 born upon the outward Wall, and the Head of the Columns with Terrafs and Pavement, Jub dio (faith our Mafter) and fo indeed he might fafely determine the Matter in Egypt, where they fear no Clouds: There- fore øáÉÉáÜúï (who leaveth this Terrafs uncovered in the Middle, and baU lifed about) did perchance conftrue him rightly, though therein difeording from others: Always we muft underftandafuffieient Breadth of Pavement left between the open Part and the Windows, for fome Delight of Specta- tors that might look down into the Room: The Latitude I have fuppofed contrary to fome former Pofitions, a little more than the half of the Length j becaufe the Pillars Handing at a competent Diftance from the out- moil Wall, will, by Interception of the Sight, fomewhat in Appearance diminifh the Breadth 5 in which Cafes, as I have touched once or twice be* fore, Difcretion may be more licentious than Art. This is the Defcription of an Egyptian Room, for Feafts and other Jollities : About the Walls whereof we muft imagine entire Statues, placed below, and illuminated by the defcending Light from the Terrafs, as likewife from the Windows between the half Pillars above : So as this Room had abundant and ad- vantagious Light 5 and befides other Garniiliing, muft needs receive rrtuch State by the very Height of the Roof, that lay over two Orders of Co- lumns. And fo having run through the four Parts of my firft general Divifion, namely, Foundation, Walls, Appertions, and Compartition, the Houfe may now have leave to put on his Hat, having hitherto been uncovered itfelf, and confequently unfit to cover others* Which Point* though it be (g ) the
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xxij The Elements of Architecture.
the laft of this Art in Execution, yet it is always in Intention the firft, for
who would build, but for Shelter ? Therefore obtaining both the Place and the Dignity of a final Caufe, it hath been diligently handled by di- verfe, but by none more learnedly than 'Bernardino Baldi, Abbot of Guaf- talla (before cited upon other Occaiiion) who doth fundamentally and ma- thematically demonftrate the firmeft Knittings of the uper Timbers which make the Roof. But it hath been rather my Scope, in thefe Elements, to fetch the Ground of all from Nature herfelf, which indeed is the fimpleft Mother of Art. Therefore I will now only deliver a few of the propereft, and, as I may fay, of the moft natural Confiderations that belong to this remaining Piece. There are two Extremities to be avoided in the Cover or Roof j that it
be not too heavy, nor too light. The firft will fuffer a vulgar Objection of prefling too much the under Work. The other containeth a more fecret Inconvenience 3 for the Cover is not only a bare Defence, but likewife a kind of Band or Ligature to the whole Fabrick, and therefore would re- quire fome reafonable Weight. But of the two Extremes, a Houfe top- heavy is the worft. Next there muft be a Care of Equality, that the Edi- fice be not prefled on the one Side more than on the other: And here (pal- ladia doth wiih (like a cautelous ArtizanJ that the inward Walls might bear fome good Share in the Burthen, and the outward be the lefs charged. Thirdly, The Italians are very precife in giving the Cover a graceful Pen-
dence or Slopenefs, dividing the whole Breadth into nine Parts 5 whereof two fhall ferve for the Elevation of the higheft Top or Ridge from the loweft. But in this Point the Quality of the Region is confiderable : For (as our VitruVms inilnuateth) thofe Climes that fear the falling and lying of much Snow, ought to provide more inclining fentices 3 and Comlinefs muft yield to Neceifity. Thefe are the ufefulleft Cautions which I find in Authors, touching
the laft Head of our Divifion, wherewith I will conclude the firft Part of my prefent Travail. The fecond remaineth, concerning Ornaments with- in, or without the Fabrick 5 a Piece not fo dry as the meer Contempla- tion of Proportions: And therefore I hope therein fomewhat to refrefli both the Reader and myfelf. |
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Part II.
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VERY Man's proper Manfion-Houfe and Home being thi
Theatre of his Hofpitality, the Seat of Self-Fruition, the comfortableit Part of his own Life, the nobleft of his Son's Inheritance, a kind of private Princedom, nay, to the Pof- feifors thereof, an Epitomy of the whole World, may well deferve by thefe Attributes, according to the Degree of the Mailer, to be decently and delightfully adorned. For which End there are two Arts attending on Architecture, like two of her principal Gentle- women to drefs and trim their Miftrefs, Picture and Sculpture 5 between whom, before I proceed any farther, I will venture to determine an ancient Quarrel about their Precedency, with this Diftinctionj that in the Garniih- ing of Fabricks, Sculpture no doubt muft have the Pre-eminence, as being indeed of nearer Affinity to Architecture itfelf, and confecjuently the more natural and more fuitable Ornament. But on the other Side (to confider thefe two Arts, as I ihall do, philofophically, and not mechanically) an excellent Piece of Painting is, to my Judgment, the more admirable Object, becaufe it comes near an artificial Miracle, to make diverfe diftinet Emi· nencies appear upon a Flat by force of Shadows, and yet the Shadows themfelves not to appear $ which I conceive to be the uttermoft Value and Vertue of a Painter, and to which very few have arrived in all Ages» In thefe two Arts (as they are applicable to the Subject which I handle)
it fhall be fit, firft, to confider how to choofe them 5 and next, how to dik pofe them. To guide us in the Choice, we have a Rule fomewhere (I well remember) in iVmji, and it is a pretty Obfervation, That-they do mutually help to cenfure one another. For fitlure is beft, when it ftandeth off, as if it were carved 5 and Sculpture is beft, when it appeareth ßï tender^ as if it were painted, I mean, when there is fuch a feeming Softnefs in the Limbs, as if not a ChilTel had hewed them out of Stone* or other Ma* \ seriaL·
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Xxiv The Elements <f Architecture.
ferial, but a Pencil had drawn and ftroaked them in Oil, which the ju-
dicious Poet took well to his Fancy : Bxcudent alij ffiirantia mollius oera.
But this Generality is not fufficient to make a good Choofer, without a
more particular Contraction of his Judgment. Therefore, when a Piece of Art is fet before us, let the firft Caution be, not to ask who made it, left the Fame of the Author do captivate the Fancy of the Buyer: For, that excellent Men do always excellently, is a falfe Conclufion 5 whereupon I obferve among Italian Artizans three notable Phrafes, which well decipher the Degrees of their Works. They will tell you, that a Thing was done Con diligen^a, Con fiudio, and
Con amore: The firft is but a bare and ordinary Diligence 5 the fecond is a learned Diligence 5 the third is much more, even a loving Diligence 5 they mean not with Love to the Befpeaker of the Work, but with a Love and Delight in the Work itfelf, upon fome fpecial Fancy to this or that Story ; and when all thefe concur (particularly the laft) in an eminent Author, then perchance Tttianus Fecit, or üö&Ì hvm^ will ferve the turn, without farther Jnquifition: Otherwife, Artizans have not only their Growths and Perfections, but likewife their Fains and Times. The next Caution muft be (to proceed logically) that in judging of
the Work infelf we be not diftracted with too many Things at once : Therefore firft (to begin with Picture) we are to obferve whether it be well drawn for as more elegant Artizans term it) well deiign'd 5 then whether it be well coloured, which be the two general Heads j and each of them hath two principal Requifites 5 for in well Defigning there muft be Truth and Grace 5 in well Colouring, Force and Affection: all other Praifes are but Coufecjuences of thefe. Truth (as we metaphorically take it in this Art) is a juft and natural
Proportion in every Part of the determined Figure. Grace is a certain free Difpofition in the whole Draught, anfwerable to that unaffected Franknefs of Faihion in a living Body, Man or Woman, which doth animate Beauty where it is, and fupply it where it is not. Force conilfteth in the Roundings and Raifings of the Work, according
as the Limbs do more or lefs require it 3 fo as the Beholder fhall fpy no Sharpnefs in the bordering Lines 5 as when Taylors out Out a Suit, which Italians do aptly term, according to that Comparifon, Cbntorni taglienti5 nor any Flatnefs within the Body of the Figure, which how it is done, we muft fetch from a higher Difcipline * for the Opticks teach us, that a Plane will appear prominent, and, as it were, emboiTed, if the Parts far- theft from the Axeltree, or middle Beam of the Eye, ihall be the moft ihadowed 5 becaufe in all Darknefs there is a kind of Deepnefs. But as in the Art of Perfwafion, one of the moft fundamental Precepts is, the Con- cealment of Art, fo here likewife the Sight muft be fweetly deceived by an infeniible PalTage, from brighter Colours to dimmer, which Italian Ar- tizans call the middle Tinctures, that is, not as the Whites and Yolks of Eggs lie in the Shell, with vifible Diftinction, but as when they are beaten and blended in a Difh5 which is the neareft Comparifon that I can fuddenly conceive. Lafilj,
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The Elements of Architecture.
Laflly, Affection is the lively Reprefentment of any Pafliofi wnatfoever,1
as if the Figures Pcood not upon a Cloth or Board, but as if they were act- ing upon a Stage : And here I muft remember, in truth, with much mar- vel, a Note which I have received from excellent Artizans, that though Gladnefs and Grief be Oppofites in Nature, yet they are fuch Neighbours and Confiners in Art, that the leaft Touch of a Pencil will tra ç flate a ^Cry- ing into a Laughing Face 5 which Inftance, befides diverfe other, doth of- ten reduce unto my Memory, that ingenious Speculation of the Cardinal Cufanus, extant in his Works, touching the Coincidence of Extremes. And thus much of the four ^equifites and Perfections in Picture. In Sculpture likewife, the two firft are abfolutely neceiTary, the third im-
pertinent j for Solid Figures need no Elevation by Force of Lights or Sha- dows : Therefore in the Room of this, we may put (as hath been before touched) a kind of Tendemefs, by the Italians termed Marhide^a, wherein the Chiifel, I muil confefs, hath more Glory than the Pencil, that being fp hard an Inftrument, and working upon fo unpliant Stuff, can yet leave Strokes of fo gentle Appearance. The fourth, which is the expreifing of Affection (as far as it doth depend
upon the Activity and Gefture of the Figure) is as proper co the Carver as to the Painter, though Colours, no doubt, have therein the greateft Power 5 whereupon, perchance, did firft grow with us the Fafliion of Colouring even Regal Statues, which I muft take leave to call an Englifh Barbarifm. Now in thefe four Recjuifites already rehearfedy it is ftrange to note, that
no Artizan, having ever been blamed for Excefs in any of the three laft, only Truth (which fliould feem the moil innocent) hath fuffered fome Ob- jection, and all Ages have yielded fome one or two Artificers fo prodigi- oufly excjuitlte, that they have been reputed too natural in their Draughts 5 which í ill well appear by a famous PaiTage in Quintilian9 touching the Characters of the ancient Artizans, falling now fo aptly into my Memory, that I muft needs tranflate it, as in truth it may well deferve. The Place which i intend, is extant in the laft Chapter fave one of his
whole Work, beginning thus in Latin: ØÞôçé, quorum quidem opera non Vefuflates modogratia Yifenda funt clari Pitlorts
fuijje dicuntur) Polygnotus atque Jglaopkon, 0-c. The whole PalTage in Englifl? ftandeth thus:
Ô H E firft Painters of Name, whofe Works be confiderable for any thing
more than only Antiquity, are faid to have been Polygnotus and Jglaopbon, whofe bare Colourings (he means I think in White and Black) hath even yet fo many Followers, that thofe rude and firft Elements, as it were of that which within a while became an Art, are preferred before the greateft Tain» ters that have been extant after them, out of a certain Competition (as I (h) coaceive
É Ë É Á Ä. æ.
Ù« ««»» Üëß÷ïéâ <Ñ'éë>ê e* ÷éñá-é» i$«*f>
n«rJVo», iii"' *f ec ìÌ ÷-çý^ý' Ëîâô» »·ëô» 'AxxfMs» ãéëÜï-áï-á.——That IS, She took btr Son into her Arms» weepingly laughing.
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xxx The Elements of Architecture.
conceive-it) in Point of Judgment. After thefe, Zeuxes and Parafus, not
far diftant in Age, both about the Time of the <Peloponnefian War (for in Xenophon we have a Dialogue between (Parafius and Socrates) did add much to this Art : Of which the firilis faid to have invented the due Difpoiition of Lights and Shadows ; the feeond, to have more fubtilly examined the Truth of Lines in the Draught ; for TLeuxesdid make Limbs bigger than the Life, deeming his Figures thereby the more (lately and majeftical, and therein (as fome think) imitating Homer, whom the ilouteil Form doth pleafe, even in Women. On the other Side, <Parafius did exactly limit all the Proportions fo, as they call him the Law-giver, becaufe in the images of the Gods, and of Heroical Perfonages, others have followed his Patterns like a Decree 5 but PiSiure did moil flourifh about the Days of fhifip, and even to the Succeifors of Alexander, yet by fundry Habilities5 for Proto- fenes did excel in Diligence; Pamphilius and Melanth'ws, in due Proportion $ Jntiphilm, in a frank Facility 5 Tbeon of Samos, in Strength of Fantaire and conceiving of Paifions 5 Apelles, in Invention and Grace, whereof he doth himfelf moil vaunt; Euphranor deferves Admiration, that being in other ex- cellent Studies a principal Man, he was likewife a wondrous Artizan both m (paintingand Sculpture. The like Difference we may obferve among the Statuaries $ for the Works of Calon and Egefias were fomewhat iliff, like the Tufcan Manner j thofe of Calamis, not done with fo bold Stroaks; and Myron% more tender than the former-, a diligent Decency in Polycletus above others, to whom though the higheft Praife be attributed by the moil, yet leaft he fhould go free from Exception, fome think he wanted Solemnefs 5 for as he may perchance be faid to have added a comely Dimenfion to humane Shape fomewhat above the Truth, fo, on the other Side he feemed not to have fully exprefTed the Majeily of the Gods $ moreover, he is faid not to have meddled willingly with the graver Age, as not adventuring beyond fmooth Cheeks: But thefe Vermes that were wanting in Polycletus were fupplied by Phidias and Alcmenes 5 yet Phidias was abetter Artizan in the reprelenting of Gods than of Men 5 and in his Works of Ivory, beyond all Emulation, even though he had left nothing behind him but his Minerva at Athens,ïô the Olympian Jupiter in Elis, whofe Beauty feems to have added fomewhat even to the received Religion, the Majeily of the Work as it were equalling the Deity. To Truth they affirm Lypppus and Praxiteles to,have made the neareil Approach $ for Demetrius is therein reprehended, as rather exceeding than deficient, having been a greater Aimer at Likenefs than at Lovelinefs. This is that witty Cenfure of the ancient Artizans, which Quintilian hath left us, where the laft Character of Demetrius doth require a little Philofophi- cal Examination, how an Artificer, whofe End is the Imitation of Nature, can be too natural 5 which likewife in our Days was either the Fault, or (to fpeak more gently) the too much Perfection of Albert purer, and perhaps alfo of Michael Angeh de iBuonaroti, between whom I have heard noted by zn ingenious Artizan, a pretty nice Difference, that the German did too much exprefs that which was, and the Italian, that which fliould be: Which feverc Obfervation of Nature, by the one in her commoneil, and by the other in her abfoluteil Forms, mull needs produce in both a kind of <$igidhy, and confequently more Naturalnefs than Gracefulnefs, This is the cleared Rea- |
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The Elements of Architecture. xxxj
fon, why fome exact Symmetriils have been blamed for being too true, as
near as I can deliver my Conceit. And fo much touching the Choice of (pi&ure and Sculpture ; The next is, the Application of both to the beautify* ing of Fabricks. Firft, therefore* touching ÖéÂçç, there doth occur a very pertinent Doubt*
which hath been paifed over too ilightly not only by fome Men* but by fome Nations $ namely, whether this Ornament cad well become the Out- fide of Houfes ; wherein the Germans have made fo little Scruple, that their beil Towns are the moil painted, as Augufta and IStoremberg. To determine this Queftion in a Word : It is true, that a Story well fet out with a good Hand, will every where take a judicious Eye i But yet withal it is as true, that various Colours1 on the Out-Walls of Buildings have always in them more Delight than Dignity: Therefore I would there admit no Paintings but in Black and White, nor even in that kind any Figures (if the Room be capable, under nine or ten Foot high, which will require no ordinary Artizan 3 becaufe the Faults are more vifible than in fmall Defigns* In unfi- gured Paintings, the nobleft is the Imitation of Marbles, and of Architetlure it felf, as Arches, Freezes, Columns* and the like< Now for the Infide, here grows another Doubt, whether Grotefca(a.s the
Italians) or Antique Work (as we call it) fhould be received againft the ex- prefs Authority of VitruVw himfelf, Lib. 7. Cap, 5/ where $iBura (faith he) fit ejus, quod eft, feu pgtefl ejje 5 excluding by this feVere Definition, all Fi- gures compofed of different Natures or Sexes ; fo as a Syrene or a Centaur had been intolerable in his Eye : But in this we rnuft take leave to depart from our Mailer, and the rather, becaufe he fpake out of his own Profeflion, al- lowing 'Painters (who have ever been as little limited as Toets) a lefs Scope in their Imaginations even than thegraveil Thilofophers, whofometimes do ferve themfelves of Inilances that have no Exiilence in Nature ; as we fee in Plato's Arnpbisbcena, and Ariftotle's Hirco-CerVus. And (to fettle this Point) what was indeed more common and familiar among the (Romans themfelves, than the Picture and Statue of Termuiuss even one of their Dei- ties ? which yet, if we will confider, is but a Piece of Grotefca. I am forthefe Reafons unwilling to impoveriih that Art, though I could wiih fuchmedly and motiy Defigns confined only to the Ornament of Freezes and Borders, their propereit Place. As for other iloried Works upon Walls, I doubt our Clime is coo yielding and moiil for fuch Garniihmentj there- fore leaving it to the Dweller's Difcrecion, according to the Quality of his Seat, I will only add a Caution or two about the difpoiTng of Pictures within. Fir ft, That no Room be furnifhed with too many, which, in truth, were
a Surfeit of Ornament, unlefs they be Galleries, or fome peculiar Repoii- tory for Rarities of Art. Next, that the beft Pieces be placed not where there is the leail, but where
there are the feweil Lights $ therefore not only Rooms windowed on both Ends, which we call thorough-lighted, but with two or more Windows on the famt Side, are Enemies to this Art 5 and fiire it is, .that no Tainting can be feen in full Perfection, but (as all Nature is illuminated) by a iingle Light. Tbfrd^
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xxxij The Elements of Archiieiiure.
Thirdly, That in the placing there be alio fome Care alio taken, how the
Painter did Hand in the Working, which an intelligent Eye will eafily difcover, and that Pofture is the moil natural 5 fo as Italian Pieces will appear beft in a Room where the Windows are high, becaufe they are com- monly made to a defcending Light, which of all other doth fee off Men's Faces in their trueit Spirit. Laflly, That they be as properly bellowed for their Quality, as fitly for
their Grace 5 that is, cheerful Paintings in Feafting and Banquetting-Rooms5 graver Stories in Galleries 5 Landskips. and Bofcage, and fuch wild Works^ in open Terrains, or in Summer-Houfes (as we call them) and the like. And thus much of Picture, which let me clofe with this Note/That though
xny former Difcourfe may ferve, perchance, for fome reafonable Leading in the Choice of fuch Delights, yet let no Man hope by fuch a fpeculative Erudition, to difcern the mafterly and myilerious Touches of Art, but an Artizan himfelf; to whom therefore we muft leave the Prerogative to cen- fure the manner and handling, as he himfelf muft likewife leave fome Points perchance of no lefs value, to others h as for Example, whether the Story be rightly reprefented, the Figures in true A&ion, the Perfons fuited to their feveral Qualities, the Affe&ions proper and ftrong, and fuch like Ob- fervations. Now for Sculpture, I muft likewife begin with a Controverfy, as before,
(falling into this Place) cr let me rather call it a very meer Fancy, ftrangely taken by Palladia, who having noted in an old Arch or two at Verona iome part of the Materials already cut in fine Forms, and fome unpolifhed, doth conclude (according to his Logick) upon this Particular, that the Ancients did leave the outward Face of their Marbles or Free Stone without any Sculpture, till they were laid and cemented in the Body of the Building - for which likewife he findeth a Reafon (as many do now and then very wittily, even before the thing it felf be true) that the Materials being left rough, were more manageable in the Mafons Hand than if they had been fmooth ; and that fo the Sides might be laid together the more exa&Iy 5 which Conceit, once taken, he feems to have farther imprinted, by mark- ing in certain ftoried Sculptures of old Time, how precifeiy the Parts and Lines of the Figures, that pafs from one Stone another, do meet; which he thinks could hardly fall out fo right (forgetting while he fptaks of an- cient Things, the ancient Diligence) unlefs they had been cut after the join- ing of the Materials. But all thefe Inducements cannot countervail the fole Inconvenience of ihaking and disjointing the Conmijjures with fo many Strokes of the Chiifel, befides an incommodious Working on Scaffolds efpecially having no Teftimony to confirm it, that Ú have yet feen, amon* the Records of Art: Nay, it is indeed rather true, that they did fcjuare, and carve, and polifh their Stone and Marble Works even in the very Cave of the Quarry, before it was hardened by open Air: But (to leave Difpu- tation) I will fet down a kw pofitive Notes, for the placing of Sculpture, becaufe the chufing hath been handled before. That firft of all it be not too general and abundant, which would make
a Houfe look like a Cabinet ; and in this Point, Moral Philofophy, which tempereth Fancies, is the Superintendant of Art, \ That
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The Elements of Architecture. xxxiij ^f
That efpecially, there be a due Moderation of this Ornament in the
firft Approach; where our Authors do more commend (i mean about the principal Entrance) a Doric^ than a Corinthian Garniihment; fo as if the great Door be arched, with fome brave Head cut in fine Stone or Marble for the Key of the Arch, and two incumbent Figures gracefully leaning upon it, towards one another, as if they meant to confer · I mould think this a fumcient Entertainment for the firft Reception of any judicious Sight, which I could wifh feconded with two great {landing Statues on each fide of a paved Way, that mail lead up into the Fabnck, fo as the Beholder at the firft entrance may pafs his Eye between them. That the Niches, if they contain Figures of white Stone or Marble,
be not coloured in their Concavity too black 3 for though Contraria jux~ ta Je pofita ôçáö ilkce/cunt (by an old Rule) yet it hath been fubtilly, and indeed truly, noted, that out Sight is not well contented with thofe fudden Departments from one Extream to another3 therefore let them have rather a duskifh Tincture, than an abfolute Black. That fine and delicate Sculptures be helped with Nearnefs, and Grofs
with Diftance 3 which was well feen in the old Controverfy between Phidias and Alcmenes about the Statue of Venus : Wherein the firft did ihew Difcretion, and fave Labour 3 becaufe the Work was to be viewed at good Height, which did drown the fweet and diligent Strokes of his Adverfary: A famous Emulation of two principal Artisans, celebrated even by the Greek Poets. That in the placing of ftanding Figures aloft, we muft fet them in a
Pofture fomewhat bowing forward j becaufe (faith our Mafter, Lib. 3. Cap. 3. out of a better Art than his own) the vifual Beam of our Eye, ex- tended to the Head of the faid Figures, being longer than to the Foot, muft neceifarily make that Part appear farther 3 fo as to reduce it to an erect or upright Pofition, there muft be allowed a due Advantage of ftooping towards us ; which Albert Durer hath exactly taught, in his fore® mentioned Geometry. Our VitruVtus calleth this Affection in the Eye* a Supination of the Figure : For which Word (being in truth his own, for ought I know) we are almoft as much beholding to him, as for the Obfervation it felf: And let thus much fummariiy fuffice, touching the Choice and Ufe of thefe adorning Arts. For to fpeak of garnifliing the Fabrick with a Row of erected Statues about the Cornice of every Con* tignation or Story, were Difcourfe more proper for Athens or (%ome, in the time of their true Greatnefs, when (as <Pliny recordeth of his own Age) there were near as many carved Images as living Men 3 like a no- ble Contention, even in point of Fertility, between Art and Nature 5 which Paifage doth not only argue an infinite abundance both of Arti- zans and Materials, but likewife of magnificent and majeftical Defires in every common Perfon of thofe Times, more or lefs according to their Fortunes. And true it is indeed, that the Marble Monuments and Memories of well-deferving Men, wherewith the very Highways were ftrewed on each fide, was not a bare and tranfitory Entertainment of the Eye, or only a gentle Deception of Time to the Traveller, but had aifo a fecret and ftrong Influence, even into the advancement of the Mo- ( i ) narchy,
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xxxiv - The Elements of AmhiteBure.
narchy, by continual Reprefentation of virtuous Examples 5 ßï as in
that Point, Art became a Piece of State. Now, as I have before fubordinated QiBure and Sculpture to Architec-
ture, as their Miftrefs 5 fo there are certain inferior Arts likewife fubor- dinate to them : As under <PiSlure, Mojaic 5 under Sculpture, öÀáâ'êÀ^ 5 which two I only nominate, as the fitteil to garnifh Fabricks. Mofak^is a kind of Painting in fmall Pebbles, Cockles, and Shells of
fundry Colours 5 and of late Days, likewife with pieces of Glafs, figured at pleafure 3 an Ornament, in truth, of much Beauty, and long Life,, but of moil ufe in Pavements and Floorings. (plaflkl^ is not only under Sculpture, but indeed very Sculpture itfelf 3
but with this difference, that the Plaifterer doth make his Figures by Ad- dition, and the Carver by Subilra&ion : whereupon Michael Angelo was wont to fay fomewhat pleafantly, that Sculpture was nothing but a Pur- gation of Superfluities : For take away from a piece oi Wood, or Stone, all that is iuperfluous, and the Remainder is the intended Figure. Of this (plafltcliAtt, the chief ufe with us is in the graceful fretting of Roofs 3 but the Italians apply it to the mantelling of Chimneys, with great Fi- gures 3 a cheap piece of Magnificence, and as durable almoft within- doors, as harder Forms in the Weather. And here, though it be a little Excurfion, I cannot pafs unremembered again, their manner of difgui- fing the Shapes of Chimneys in various Faflhions, whereof the nobleil is the Pyramidal 3 being in truth, a piece of polite and civil Difcretion, to convert even the Conduits of Soot and Smoak into Ornaments ; whereof I have hitherto fpoken as far as may concern the Body of the Building. Now there are Ornaments alfo without, as Gardens,Fountains, Groves,
Confervatories of rare Beafls, Birds, and Fifhes: Of which ignobler kind of Creatures, We ought not (faith our greatefl f Mailer among the Sons of Nature) childifbly to dejpije the Contemplation 5 for in all things that are natural, there is e~ver Jomethmg that is admirable. Of theie external Delights, a Word or two. Firft, I muil note a certain Contrariety between Building and Gar-
dening : For as Fabricks fliould be regular, fo Gardens fhould be irregu- lar, or at leail call into a very wild Regularity. To exemplify my Conceit, ß have feena Garden (for the Manner perchance incomparable) into which the firil accefs was a high Walk like a Terrafs, from whence might be taken a general View of the whole Plot below 5 but rather in a delightful Confufion, than with any plain Diftindion of the Pieces. From this the Beholder defcending many Steps, was afterwards conveyed again by feveral Mountains and Valings, to various Entertainments of Scent and Sight, which I fhall not need to defcribe (for that were poe- tical) let me only note this, that every one of thefe Diverfities was as if he had been magically tranfported into a new Garden. But though other Countries have more benefit of the Sun than we, and
thereby more properly tied to contemplate this Delight, yet have ß ieen
v t *""· lib. 1. Cap. 5. de part. Anim, Äá ì>í ßí^«éö xaihxvs tw ðçÀ ô ÷,ôøïôßîïç æßáí hie-ns^if. '£» *««
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■ The Elements of ArchiteBurei xixv
ken in our own, a delicate and diligent Curiofity, furely without paral-
lel among foreign Nations 5 namely, in the Garden of Sir Henry Fan- jhaw, at his Seat in Ware-Tar 1^, where I well remember he did fo pre- cifely examine the Tinatures and Seafons of his Flowers, that in their fetting, cheinwardeft of thole which were to come up at the fame time, ilhould be always a little darker than the outmoft, and ßï ierve them for a kind of gentle Shadow, like a Piece not of Nature, but of Art: Which mention (incident to this Place) I have willingly made of his Name, for the dear Friendfhip that was long between us: Though ß muft contefs, with much wrong to his other Virtues, which deferve a more folid Memorial, than among thefe vacant Obfervations. So much of Gardens. Fountains are figured, or only plain Water'd-Works: Of either of which,
I will defcribe a matchlels Pattern. The Firfl done by the famous Hand of Michael Jngelo da 'Buonaroti, in
the Figure of a fturdy Woman, wailiing and winding of Linnen Cloaths 5 in which A<5i fhe wrings out the Water that made the Fountain: which was a graceful and natural Conceit in the Artificer, implying this Rule, That all Defigns of this kind Oiould be proper. The other doth merit forne larger Expreflion : There went a long,
ftreight, mofiy Walk of competent breadth, green and (oft under foot, lifted on both fides with an Aqueduct of white Stone, Breaft high, which had a hollow Channel on the Top, where ran a pretty trickling Stream 5 on the Edge whereof were couched very thick all along, certain fmall Pipes of Lead, in little holes, fo neatly, that they could not be well per* ceived 'till by the turning of a Cock, they did fpurt over interchangeably from fide to fide, above Manss height, in form of Arches, without any Interfection or meeting aloft, becaufe the Pipes were not exactly op- posite ; fo as the Beholder, befides thatwhich was fluent in the Jqu^dutis on both hands in his view, did walk as it were under a concinualBower or Hemifphere of Water, without any drop falling on him. An Inventi- on for Refrefliment, furely far excelling all the Alexandrian Delicacies, and Pneumaticks of Hero. Groves and artificial Devices underground, are of great Expence,
and little Dignity $ which, for my part, ß could wifh converted here into thofe Crypteria, whereof mention is made among the curious Provifions of Tycho Brahj the Danijh Ttolemy, as I may well call him 5 which were deep Concaves in Gardens, where the Stars might be obferved even at Noon. For (by the way) to think that the brightnefs of the Sun's Body above, doth drown our difcerning of the lelTer Lights, is a popular Error 5 the fole Impediment being that Luftre, which by Reflexion doth fpread about us from the Face of the Earth ·, fo as the Caves before touched3 may well conduce, not to a delicious, but to a learned Pleafure. in Jviaries of Wire, to keep Birds of all forts, the Italians (though
no waftful Nation) do in fome Places beftow vaft Expence 5 including great fcope of Ground, variety of Bullies, Trees of good height, running Waters, and .fometimes a Stove annexed, to contemper the Air in Win- ter : So as thofe Chanterelles, unlefs they be fuch as perhaps delight as much
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xxx vj The Elements of Ar chit e Bur e.
much in their Wing as in their Voice, may live long among fo good
Provifions and Room, before they know that they are Prifoners 5 redu- cing often to Memory that Conceit of tht (^oman Stoick, who in com- parifon of his own free Contemplations, did think divers great and fplen- dent Fortunes of his Time, little more than commodious Captivities. Concerning (ponds of ØÉåá/ure near the Habitation, ß will refer my
jelfto a grave Author of our own (though more illuftrious by his other * Work) namely, Sarishurienfis de Pifcind. And here I will end a fecond Part, touching Ornaments both within
and without the Fabrick. Now as almoft all thofe which have delivered the Elements of Lo-
gick> do ufually conclude with a Chapter touching Method j fo I am here feized with a kind of critical Spirit, and defirous to fhut up thefe building Elements with fome methodical Direction how to cenfure Fa- bricks already raifed. For indeed without fome Way to contract our Judgment, which among fo many Particulars would be loft by DifFufi- on, ß fhould think it aimoft harder to be a good Cenfurer than a good Architect; becaufe the working Part may be helped with Deliberation, but the judging tnuft flow from an extemporal Habit. Therefore (not to leave this laft Piece without fome Light) ß could wiili him that Com- eth to examine any noble Work, firft of all to examine himfelf, whe- ther perchance the fight of many brave Things before (which remain like impreffed Forms) have not made him apt to think nothing good but that which is the beft, for this Humour were too fowre. Next, before he come to fettle any imaginable Opinion, let him by all means feek to inform himfelf precifely of the Age of the Work Upon which he muft pafs his Doom. And if he fhall find the apparent De- cays to exceed the Proportion of Time, then let him conclude without farther Incjuifition, as an abfolute Decree, that either the Materials were too flight, or the Seat is nought. Now after thefe Premifes if theHoufe be found to bear his Years well (which is always a Token of found Con- ftitution) then let him fuddenly run backwards (for the Method of Cen- furing is contrary to the Method of Compofing) from the Ornaments (which firft allure the Eye) to the more effential Members 5 'till at laft he be able to form this Conclufion, that the Work is commodious, firm and delightful 3 which (as I faid in the Beginning) are the three capital Conditions 'required in good Buildings, by all Authors both an- cient and modern. And this is, as I may term it, the moil fcientifical way of cenfuring. There are two other, which I muft not forget: The firft in Georgio Vajfario. before his laborious Work of the Lives of Ar- chiteBs, which is to pafs a running Examination over the whole Edifice, according to the Properties of a well-fhapen'd Man: As whether the Walls ftand upright upon clean Footing and Foundation : Whether the Fabrick be of a beautiful Stature : Whether for the Breadth it appear well burniihed : Whether the principal Entrance be on the middle Line of the Front or Face, like our Mouths: Whether the Windows, as our Eyes, be . fet
* De Nugis Cuvial, <yt.
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The Elements of Architeffiure. xxxvij
(a in equal number and diilance on both Sides; whether the Offices, like
the Veins in our Bodies, be ufefully diftributed, and fo forth : For this Allegorical Review may be driven as far as any Wit will, that is at lei- fure. The fecond Way is in VitruYius himfelf,Xf&. i. Cap. 2. where he fum-
marily determineth fix Confiderations, which accompliih this whole Art : Ordinatio. Symmet'ria.
Dijpofitio. Decor, and
Eurytbmia. Difiributio.
Whereof (in my conceit) we may fpare him the firft two '· for as far
as I can perceive, either by his interpreters, or by his own Text (which in that very Place, where perchance he ihould be cleared, is of all other the cloudieft) he meaneth nothing by Ordination, but a well fettling of the Model or Scale of the whole IVork^: Nor by Difpofition, more than a neat and full Expreflion of the firft idea or Defignment thereof 3 which, perchance, do more belong to the Artificer, than to the Cenfurer. The other four are enough to condemn, or abfolve any Fabric^ whatfoever. Whereof Eurytbmia is that agreeable Harmony between the Breadth, Length, and Heighth of all the Rooms of the Fabrick, which fuddenly, where it is, taketh every Beholder, by the fecret Power of Proportion : Wherein let me note this, That though the leaft Error or Offence, that can be committed againft Sight, is Excefs of Height 5 yet that Fault is no where of fmall Importance, becaufe it is the greateft Offence againft the Purfei Symmetria, is the Conveniency that runneth between the Parts and the
Whole, whereof I have formerly fpoken. Decor, is the keeping of a due Refpeft between the Inhabitant and the
Habitation. Wrhence (palladim did conclude, that the principal Entrance was never to be regulated by any certain Dimenfions, but by the Dig- nity of the Mafter5 yet to exceed rather in the More, than m the Lejs, is a Mark of Generofity, and may always be excufed with fome noble Emblem, or infcription, as that of the Conte dt 'BeVilacpa, over his large Gate at Verona 5 where, perchance, had been committed a little Difpro- portion. $atet Janua : €or magis.
And here likewife I muft remember our ever memorable Sir fhilip
Sidney (whofe Wit was in truth the very Rule of Congruity) who well knowing that Bafilius (as he had painted the State of his Mind) did ra- ther want fome extraordinary Forms to entertain his Fancy, than Room for Courtiers, was contented to place him in a Star-like Lodge 5 which otherwife, in fevere Judgment of Art, had been an incommodious Fi- gure. Difiributio, is that ufeful calling of all Rooms for Office, Entertainment,
or Tleafure, which 1 have handled before at more length than any other Piece. k Thefe
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xxxvii j The Elements of ArchiteUure.
Thefe are the four Heads which every Man mould run over, before
he pafs any determinate Cenfure on the Works that he mall view $ where- with I will clofe this laft Part, touching Ornaments. Againft which (me- thinks) I hear an Objection, even from fome well-meaning Man, That thefe delightful Crafts may be diverfe Ways ill applied in a Land. I muft confefs, indeed, there may be a lafcivious, and there may be likewjfe a fuperftitious Ufe, both of fiBure, and of Sculpture : To which Poffi- bility of Mifapplication, not only thefe Semi-liberal Arts are fubject, but even the higheil Perfections, and Endowments of Nature : As (Beauty in a light Woman$ Eloquence in a mutinous Man 5 <I(efolutwn in an Affaf- iinate 3 prudent Obferyation of Hours and Humours in a corrupt Courti- er ; Sharpnefs of Wit and Argument in a feducing Scholar, and the like. Nay, finally, let me ask, What Art can be more pernicious, than even (Religion itfelf, if itfelf be converted into an Inftrument of Art ? There* fore, Jb abuti ad Hon nti, negatur confequentia. |
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á Ñ a R-
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Ñ Á R A L L EL
O F. Ô H E
ANCIENT ARCHITECTURE
WITH THE
MODE R N.
The PREFACE. Reaper,
£ F Ï R E I do altogether reiiga this <Boo!^ to thy
Judgment, I advertife thee, that 'twas not my De~ fign in compiling it to teach any Man, much left yet to fatisfy thofe Critical Spirits which the World fo much abounds with : Nor is the Publick at all beholden to me 5 I have no Thought of obliging it, an envious, and evil Judge: In a Word, being nothing inclin'd to give them Satisfaction, ß have eafily gratified my Labour with the defired Succefs. My principal Drift was, Firft, to fatisfy my felf 5 nor has it coft me much Trouble 3 though we fometimes find certain Humours that are more averfe, and difficult to themfelves, than they would prove to others : For my part, I do not fo ufe to treat myfelf: We have Enemies enough beiides 5 and whatever I were able to do, I expect that Men iliould pre- fently fay of me, all that Jealoufy does commonly fuggeft in reproach of Novelty : That being no Artifan, it did not become me to prefcribe to others the Rules of their Myflery : That I teach nothing particular and extra- ordinary here : That the 'Books from whence Ú have gather'd all that Ú fay, being common, and much ampler than mine, there was no need to have B icumm'd
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2 A Parallel of the Ancient Architeffure
fcumm'd them thus fuperficially over 5 That it had been better to have fearch'd,
and produc'd fomething which the World had not yet feert : That the Mind is free, not bound, and that we have as good Right to invent, and follow our owç Genius, as the Ancients, without^rendring our felves their Slaves 5 fince Art is an infinite thing, growing every Day to more Perfection, and fuiting it felf to the Humour of the feveral Ages and Nations, who judge of it differently, and define what is agreeable^ every one according to his own Mode, with a world of fuch like vain and frivolous Reafonings, which yet leave'a deep Im~ preifion on the Minds of certain half-knowing People, whom the Practice of Arts has not yet difabus'd 5 and on fimple Workinen, whofe Trade dwells all upon their Fingers Ends only : But we mall not appeal to fuch Arbiters as thefe. There are others to be found (though truly very rarely) that having their firft Studies well founded on the (Principles of Geometry before they ad- ventured to work, do afterward eafily, and with Aifurance arrive to the Knowledge of the Perfection of the Art. It is to fuch only that I addrefs my felf, and to whom I willingly communicate the Thoughts which I have had of feparating in two Branches the Fu>e Orders of Architetlure, and for- ming a 'Body, a part of the Three which are deriv'd to us from the Greeks 5 to wit, the Dorickj lonick^, and the Corinthian, which one may with Reafon call the very Flower and Perfection of the Orders 3 fince they not only con- tain whatfoever is excellent, but like wife allthat is neceifary of Arcbitetlure 5 there being but three Manners of (Building, the Solid, the Mean, and the 'De- licate j all of them accurately exprefs'd in thefe three Orders here, that have therefore no need of the other two {Tufcan and Compofite) which being pure- ly of Latin Extraction, and but Foreigners in refpect to them, feem as it were of another Species; fo as being mingled, they do never well together, as thofe to whom 1 difcourfe will foon perceive, when they fhall have once put off a certain blind Refpect and Reverence, which Antiquity, and a long Cuftom (even of the greateir. Abufes) does commonly imprint in the moil part of Men, whofe Judgments they fo pre-occupate3 that they find it afterwards a diffi- cult matter to undeceive themfelves 5 becaufe they defer too much, and hardly dare to examine what has been received by the vulgar Approbation for fo long a time: Let them but confider, that we find no antique Example where the Greeks Orders are employ'd amongft the Latin, and that fo many Acres of Ignorance have pafs'd over us, eipecially in the Arts of Architetlure, and Fainting, which the War, and frecjuent Inundations of {Barbarians had al- raoft extinguifh'd in the very Country of their Originals 5 and which were in a manner new born again but a few Years fince, when thofe great Modern Maflers, Michael Angela, and (Raphael, did, as it were, raife them from the Sepulchers of their ancient Ruins, under which thefe poor Sciences lay bu- ried 5 and I fhall have fair Hopes of their Converfion, and to fee them of my Opinion. It is the very leaft of my Thoughts to broach Novelties." On the contrary, I would (were it poifible) afcend even to the very Source of the Orders themfelves, and derive from thence the Images, and pure Ideas of thefe incomparable Maflers, who were indeed their firft Inventors, and be inftructed from their own Mouths 5 fince doubtlefs the farther Men have wander'd from their (principles, tranfplanting them as it were into a ilrange Soil,
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with the Modern. j
Soil, the more they are become degenerate, and fcarce cognofcible to their very
Authors. For to fay Truth, have we at this prefent any Reafon in the World to call thofe Three by the Name of Orders, viz. Dorickj, lonick. and Corinthian, which we daily behold fo disfigured, and ill treated by the Workmen of this Age ? To fpeak ferioufly, remains there fo much as a fimple Member, which has not receiv'd fome ftrange and monflrous Alteration ? Nay, things are ar- riv'd to that pafs, that a Man fhail hardly find an Architect who difdains not to follow the befl and moll approved Examples of Antiquity. Every Man will now forfooth compofe after his own Fancy, and conceives, that to imi- tate Them, were to become an Apprentice again 5 and that to be Maflers in- deed, they muil of neceility produce fomething of New; Poor Men that they are, to believe that in fantaftically Deiigning fome one kind of particular Cornice, or like Member, they are prefently the Inventors of a New Order, as if in that only confiiled what is call'd Invention; as if the Pantheon, that fame flupendious and incomparable Structure which is yet to be feen at (Rome, were not the Invention of the Architect who built it, becaufe he has vary'd nothing from the Corinthian Order, of which it is intirely composed ? 9Tis not in the (Retail of the minuter (portions, that the Talent of an Archi- tect appears : This is to be judg'd from the general Diilribution of the Whole Work. Thefe low and reptile Souls, who never arrive to the univerfal Know- ledge of the Art, and embrace her in all her Dimeniions, are conflrain'd to flop there for want of Abilities, inceflantly crawling after thefe poor little Things 5 and as their Studies have no other Objects, being already empty and barren of themfelves 5 their Ideas are fo bafe and miferable, that they produce no- thing fave Mafcarons, wretched Cartouches, and the like idle and impertinent Grotefque, with which they have even infected all our Modem Architecture. As for thofe others to whom Nature has been more propitious, who are in- du'd with a clearer Imagination, they very well perceive that the true and ef- fential Beauty of Architecture confifts not limply in the minute Separation of every Member apart 5 but does rather principally refult from the Symmetry and Oeconomy of the Whole, which is the Union and Concourfe of them all together, producing as it were a vifible Harmony and Confent, which thofe Eyes that are clear'd and enlightened by the real Intelligence of Art, contem- plate and behold with Excefs of Delectation. The Mifery is, that thefe noble Genius's are in very fmall Numbers, whereas the vulgar Workmen, like to Antsy fwarm prodigioufly in all Places. Would but our Grandees once devefl them- felves of that Prejudice and Difdain which they conceive o( the Arts, and of thofe who apply themfelves unto them, and but confider the Neceility which they, above all others, particularly have of this of Architecture, there would be great Hopes we ihould yet fee them reflouriih, and be born again as 'twere from "Mew to Antique. We have had frefh Experience of this under the &{eign of Francis the Firft, one of the moil Illuilrious (princes that Hiftory has recorded 5 and who from an Affection extraordinary which he bore to Vir- tue and great Attempts, Peopled his State with Perfons the moil Rare and Accompliih'd of the Age wherein he liv'd, who erected thofe glorious Mo- numents to the Memory of this incomparable Monarch. It is, m my Opini- on; the only Expedient to re-eflablifh all the Arts in that primitive Splendor |
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4 A Parallel of the Ancient ArchtteUure
from whence this unworthy Neglect has precipitated them. The Greeks who
were the firft Inventors of them, and with whom alone they happily arriv'd to their fupreameft Perfection, preferv'd them in fo high Efteem amongil them, that the Greatefi (perjonages of their Common-wealths were not afliam'd to make open Profeifion of them, but after a manner nothing Mer- cenary. Their Works were pay'd with Honour; and as they propos'd to themfelves the Glory only, and Immortality of their Name for Recompenqe 5 fo, nor did they make any thing fave what was truly Great and Magnificent. It would appear incredulous, to relate only what we read of this Nation, were not the Credit of their Ancefiors altogether irreproachable, and that there did not remain, even to this very Day, the moft vifible Marks of what is reported. There is not in the whole Univerfe any thing worthy of Renown, which that Divine Country did not once produce in its height of Excellency. Thofe great Captains, fo many Philofophers of all Sects, (poets, Orators, Geo- metricians, (painters, Sculptors, Architects, and in fumm, whatfoever hath ftamp'd on it the Character of Virtue, proceeded firft from thence. Would we now do worthily ? Let us not then forfake the Paths which thefe ex- cellent Guides have trac'd before us; but purfue their Footfteps, and gene- roufly avow, that the few gallant things which have yet reached down to us, are due only as deriv'd from them. This is the SuhjeB that has in- vited me to aiTemble and begin this .Collection by the Greeks Orders, which I had firft drawn out of Antiquity her felf, before I fo much as examined the Writings of our Modern Authors. For even the very beft Books extant on this Argument, are the Works of thefe old Mafters, which remain to this Day, and whofe Beauty is fo perfect, and fo univerfally receiv'd, as has for almoil two thoufand Years been admired by the whole World. It is to them we flhould repair, to learn to accuftom the Eyes, and to conform the Imagination of Young Men to the Ideas of thofe excellent Spirits, who being born in the midft of the Light and Serenity of the Faireft Climate under Heaven, were fo Defecate and Inlightened, that they difcern'd thofe things as 'twere natu- rally, which we difcover with fo much Pain, after a long and laborious In- dagation. I know 'tis for every one to efteem what pleafes him beft in the mix'd Arts, fuch as is this, whofe Principles being folely founded upon Obfer- Vation, and the Authority of Examples, can challenge no precife Demonftratwn ; and therefore I mall make bold to aifume the fame Priviledge which I leave to others, of judging according to their Fancy : For my part, I find fo excellent and particular a Beauty in the three Greek. Orders, that I am hardly at all concerned with the other two of the Latin in Comparifon ; and the Station which has been affign'd them, fufficiently demonftrates that there was no Place for them, but after all the reft? as if indeed they had been refus'd by them both; The Rufticity and Meannefs of the Tufcan having ex- iled it from the Cities, has fent it to the Country Cottages $ and as unworthy of entering into Temples and (palaces, 'tis become the very laft, as even de- ftitute of Employment: For the other, which would pretend to exceed, and refine upon the Corinthian, and what they name the Compofitet 'tis in my Apprehenfion yet more irrational, and truly, methinks, altogether unwor- thy to be call'd an Order, as having been the Source of all that Confu* fion
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with the Modern* î
ßéïç which has been brought into Architecture, iince Workmen have taken
the Liberty to difpenfe with tbofe which the Ancients had prefcrib'd us, to tngothifi) (as one may fay) after their own capricious Humour, an infinite Number, which do all pafs under this Appellation. Honeft VitruYms in his Time well forefaw the ill Confecjuence which thofe of the (profejfion would introduce out of their Love of Novelty, which already began it feems to in- cline them to Lihertinifm, and the Difdain of the (Rules of that Art, which ought to remain moft Sacred and Inviolable : fo that we muft look on this as on a Grey-headed Evil, which grows worfe and worfe daily, and is be- come now almoft incurable. Notwithstanding, would our modern Archi- tects but yet fix any Limits to the Freedom they have taken, and keep themfelves within the Precincts of the (Roman Order, which is the legitimate and true Compofite, and which has likewife its Canons and (Rules as well as the reft, I mould find no Caufe of Complaint, fince we fee Inftances of it among the Vefl'igia, and Footfteps of the moft flouriflhing Ages; as in particular^ that of Titus Vefpafianus, to whom the Senate (after the Sack of Jerufalem) erected a moft magnificent Arch Triumphal, compofed of this Order : But then it mould never be employ'd without mature Advice, and always alone by icielf3 for fo we find the Inventors of this Order ufed it, who well knowing its Defects (compar'd with the reft) did ever forbear to paragon them together: But our Architects never entering into this Confideration, have fallen into an Error which admits of no Excufe, by forcing the Weaker to fupport the Stronger. Scamo^i is the firft that has fpoken of this in his Treati/e of the five Orders, where he afligns to the Corinthian the moft emi- nent Place: However, to avoid all Conteft, I find it fafeft, never to mix them together at any Time, feeing it was never practifed by the Ancients $ though (philibert de Lorme, and Sebafiian Serlio, fancy to have both of them feen it in the Colifeum, and produce likewife a Tiefign for an Example of their Compofed Order. But believe it, the Obfervation is very erroneous § for they are indeed two Corinthians, the one over the other: And albeit in the uppermoft, which forms the Corona of this great Colofs of Building, the Cornice refembles not the other, as being very particular 5 yet are the Capi* tals for all that of the fame Order, as Scamozgi has not forgotten to ob- ferve. This may therefore fuffice to advertife us, not lightly to credit what is deliver'd to us out of 'Books, when we have the Opportunity of repair- ing to the Fountain, and to be fatisfied of the Truth from thence : For having oftentimes diligently examined the Defigns of fundry Mafters, on the fame Subject, and made an exact Calculation of the Meajures which they eftabliih 3 we feldom find them to agree amongft themfelves, notwithftand- ing that all of them profefs to have accurately obferv'd them. But that we may wound no Mans Reputation, fince every one does the beft he is able, and that we have ever fome Obligation to thofe who have fo freely imparted their Labours to us, I will forbear to exemplify. Let & fuffice to have given you this Caution ; Thofe who (hall be fo curious as to try, and which wiU, 1 aifure them, be no fruitlefs Attempt, mail foon find Difficulty enough in the extraordinary Confufion of the different Manners of thofe Architects, who inftead of Working upon the Account of the Models C of
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6 A Parallel of the Ancient Architecture
of Columns (which is the moft natural Method, and particularly affected to
the ^Proportions of ArchiteSlure) amufe us with Palms, Feet, and other general MeafureSj as meer Mafons would do, which fo confounds the imagination, that 'tis extream difficult to difentangle one's felf out of them, and cofts a world of Time e'er one comes at laft to reduce and apply them to the Scale of the Model ·, without which, all their Induftry becomes fruitlefs, and to no Purpofe. To this I have principally endeavoured to apply a timely Remedy, reducing all the Defigns of this Treatife to one Common Mode\ namely, to the Semidiameter of the Column divided into thirty Minutes, that fo I may approach the precife Meafures as near as is poifible. There are haply fome Workmen who upon the fudden will not approve of it, as beino- not accuftom'd to fo exact an Examen of the Particulars which concern their Employment: However, to prevent their Cenfure, I ihall refer them to the Writings of Andrea (palladio, and Scamo^t, two of the greateft Mafiers which we have of the (profejfion 5 who in their Treatifes of the five Orders, taking the entire Diameter for Model, have aifigned it no lefs than Sixty Minutes 5 which yet they frequently fubdivide into Halfs, Thirds, and Fourths, accord- ing as they conceive it neceifary, and as will appear in this Collection, where I have punctually reported their Defigns, parallel'd one with the other by a Method fo perfpicuous, that one may inftantly perceive both in what, and how much they differ among themfelves : fo that by help of this Comparifon, every Man has the Liberty of pleafing his own Fancy, and following whether of the Authors I propofe, as being all of them within the common Approbation. But to the end we may proceed folidly, and make a judicious Election, it will firft be recjuifite to be throughly inftructed in the (principles of Archi- tecture, and to have applied our Studies to Antiquities, which are the very Maxims and (Rules of this Art \ Not as if generally the Ancients were to be imitated indifferently j on the contrary, there are but very kw of them good, and an infinite Number of them bad, which is that has produced this confu- fed Variety amongft our Authors, who treating of the Orders, and their Mea- fures, have differed fo ftrangely from one another. It is therefore undoubt- edly the fafeft Way to have Accefs to the Sources themfelves, and to follow precifely the Models and (proportions of fuch ancient Structures as have the Universal Confent and Approbation of thofe of the (profejfion. Such Ex- amples we have at (Rome in the Theatre of Marcellus, the Temple of the (Rotunda, the three Columns near the Capitol, and fome others of this fort, whofe feveral Profiles ß ihall produce on every of the Orders, and after them, thofe of our more Modern Architects $ that fo in confronting them to thefe glorious Examples, which are the Originals of the Art, they may, as to an impartial Touchftone, have recourfe to them for the Trial and Examination of their Works, as I myfelf have done with extraordinary Satisfaction in compiling of this prefent Treatije, and which every one may do as well as I, and at a far lefs Expence, by all that Time I have fpent in opening and pre- paring for them the Way. This is, Reader, what I thought fitting to inform "Thee of concerning my Labour, to the End thou mayeft have a fincere and judicious Eftimation of it, AD-
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with the Modern. j
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ADVERTISEMENT
CONCERNING THIS
E D É Ô ÉÏ Í.
SjffiBijfiSSKN reviling the (parallel, and preparing it for a New ImprefTion,
I»S«Mm8@Sb I once had Thoughts of fubjoining the exact and critical Mea- Sb§B fSnl ^ures °^ Monfieur de Gaudete $ who reckoning from the Diame- 3?BfiL WSSi ter °^ c^e ®afe °^ ^ Column, divided into Sixty ecjual Parts, jBgSHjpJi on two Models, fubdivides every Part fo minutely, and thofe Parts and Subdivifions again into yet leifer Parts, that upon fo very nice and fcrupulous an Examination of not only the feveral more Effential Members 5 but even of the leifer Jccejfaries of all the Greeks Orders yet extant, and of undeniable Antiquity (which the moil Skilful and Famous of our Modern Architects have taken their Meafures from, and propofed for their Examples) he feems to call for, and exact a New Jccbunt of all that has hitherto been done. This falling chiefly on <Palladioy Serlio, and the reft, I think myfelf concerned only for Monfieur de Cambray, Author of this Excellent Work. Not that I efteem thofe Scruples, and hardly, if at all to be difcerned Exceptions mentioned in their Pla- ces, to be very material, considering the Modeft Liberty which has fre- quently been taken by even the Ancients themfelves upon Occafion 5 but to take off the Prejudice which fome haply may conceive, who might other- wife think them of more importance than perhaps they really are 5 efpeci- ally fince, befide many other, we have the Suffrage of that able and knowing Architect, the late Monfieur Bloudel; who in his (^ecenfion of the moft Famous Architects, Ancient and Modem, has this Paifage, fpeaking of the (parallel, That moft Incomparable and Judicious Work, fays he, of Monfieur de Chamhray I can never fufficiently commend, filled and enriched as it is with a Thoufand learned and judicious Remarks: Having compared the feveral Manners of the Chief and Principal of our Modern Architects one with the other, and aifigned them their refpective Gaffes 5 that which is of infinite Advantage, is alio his having reduced ail their heretofore i£ feveral
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8 A Parallel of the Ancient Architecture
C£ feveral and different Meafures (which, 'till now, renderd them fo exceed*
" ingly troublefome and perplexing) to one and the fame fingle Divifion of Mj- " dules into thirty øarts-y which being of fuch univerfal Advantage, I know of " nothing more eafy, ufeful, and highly beneficial, than that excellent and " noble Work of his. 'Tis true indeed, Monfieur Colbert, having in the Year 16>4, procur'd
the Eftablifliment of an Academy for Architecture in (pans, and fparing no Coft to encourage, advance, and carry it on to the higheft Pinacle (after all that ØáÉÉáܺï and the reft had perform"d of more life and Accuracy than had ever yet been done $ and by their Inftructions, Travels, and Experience, publiiVd and approv'd of with fuch Applaufe) to fend Ves Godet^, a Studenc in the Academy, with other Artifts, to (Rome, to perfed and improve them- felves in Architecture, (painting and Sculpture, fubfervient to it $ where he made a more exact and nice (Refearch among the Antiquities of that City, re- meafuring and recalling to a new Calculation what had been before fo often done; and bringing back his new Defigns, with the Admeafurements, and a Precifion fo delicate, and even to a Hair's breadth, as they fay, fo fcrupulouily nice, as reaches not only to fingle Feet, Inches and Lines alone, but even to the minuteft ø art of a (part of a Line, curioufly engraven at the French King's Charge, and pompoufly fet forth under the Title of the Ancient Buildings o/Rome, with Difcourfes upon them. But now, whether after all this critical and elaborate Scrutiny, they
amount to any confiderable Advantage in the main, is left to the Judicious, and thofe who fhall think it worth the while to examine and collate them with the Tlates and Figures, where one ihall meet feveral other Defigns and Defcriptions of ancient Buildings, befides what are extant at (Rome, per- form'd, as to the Graving Part, with extraordinary Accuracy by the Murines of Marot, Le Cler3 Boijfiere, Chaflillon, fautus, Guerard} Bonart, Tournier, &c. all of them incomparable Artifts, and of Tarts alone, where they abound with excellent Graders 3 whilft our whole Nation hardly affords us One com- parable to any I have named, or indeed, that's almoft tolerable. This I mention toftir up an Emulation, and, if poffible, to encourage our
Country-Men, whofe Genius may lead them to fo laudable a Quality and Addrefs, by applying themfelves more ferioufly to it: And that we may not for ever be out-done by the French and Dutch, to the Reproach of thofe fhame- lefs Bunglers of ours, who daily difgrace fo noble and ingenious an Art with their wretched Sculps of Frontiffieces, lame Figures, Landslips and (profyefis, without Defign, Symmetry, or any regard to (perfyettive. One thing more I cannot but applaud before I have done with Monfieur
T>es Godetfy which is this 5 That whereas other Architects have generally reprefented thofe venerable and famous (Ruines of the Ancients as entire as when firft erected, or rather fuch as they fancied them before their Demo- lition (when all this while there perhaps remains not (landing above two or three Columns, broken Capitols, <Bufls, Bates, Cornices, and other miferable Frag- ments of collapfed Temples, Theatres, Aau&duBs, Amphitheatres,Triumphal Arches, Sec. and other heretofore glorious Structures) Monfieur Des Godet^ has defign'd and given us them as they are at prefent, or with very little Restoration, unlefs 3 where |
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with the Modern. <
where fome principal Member was defective in the Foliage or Voluta of a.
Capital, &c. whilft what remained found and entire,left no Occafion of doubt- ing, that what he fupplied was really the fame when perfect. That yet our (parallel may not fuffer through any material Overfight, where
Des Godet^ more finifhed (pgfearches may in any Sort contribute to its Per- fection, I have not fpared the giving notice of them, that when our Work- men fliall well confider of how fmall Importance the Particulars confift, and how eaiily reformed where neceffary, they may proceed, and with the more Courage and Affurance rely upon our 'Parallel. This Admonition, together with what of my own may attend it, ß leave,
out of the great Affection as well as the (Relation I have to theProfperity of that Jugufl and truly Glorious Foundation, which is now erected at Greenwich, to be a ftanding Seminary for the Supply, Entertainment, Relief, and Encou- ragement of emerited and deferring Seamen, next under God alone, the Guar~ dians and ProteBion of thefe Dominions. NON NOBIS SOLUM NATI SUMUS: SEB PARTIM
PATRIyE.
EXCEPTIONS.
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M. De Chamhray
Plate
--— 67 Portico of the Pantheon*
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jVL Des Gaudetg.
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Plate
VIII-
IX - XX IX - |
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Page
66 —.
As before 84 SS -
38-----
68 -—
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Page
31 3*
SS s6 ÉÏÉ IOX
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Altar of the Pantheon*
39 Fortuna Virilis. 69 Torre di Nerone* IZf Arch of Tkus.
17 Altar of Marcellm.
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148 145? & 15-0 ÉÐ
i8x 183--------IV?
184 185·--------VS
a94 t<)$ ■-----— III
2.96' z97--------IV
2.98 X99-------- V
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1x4 irf
16------ |
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As before —*#*
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41 The fame.
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40
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OBSERVATIONS.
As to the Meafures 3 Would one in earned think it much worth the Pains,
or to any great Prejudice of Monfieur de Chamhray, that fome few Members and Memhretti, were by a 20th Part, and 25th Part of a Part too high or too low? A 10th Part and 24th Part of a Part too narrower broad? Or eleven 3 (5th Parts of a Part too long or too fliort > A Projetlure too far **han by é i. The Gutu under a Triglypb too broad by H Parts of a Part ? l^tmJflragal beneath the Eggs, was too low by 1 A Parts of a Part ? ol* chat among the Ornaments and Acceffories, a plain Water Leaf was put C* inftead
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ßï Á Parallel of the Ancient Ar chit e Bur e
inilead of an indented one ? That in a Cbaplet, the (Beads did not fall exactly
under the Eggs, with Darts between the Foliage, where other Leaves fhould have been carved ? Jcanthus in a Capital, inftead of Olhe or Parfley, and a fmall (lender Caulicle, between the larger Foliage of a compofite Capital! Making the Hollow of the Voluta plain, and without Ornament 5 and embeUifhing the Edges of another with a Fret ? Sticking a ^ofe in the Middle of the Plinth ? A Cyma (jRetla in Place of an Ovolo ? Extending the Lifl with a Return above the Architrave, and over the Triglyphs, which fhould be even and ftreight 5 and the upper Part of the half Channel Chamfer d, dec. Such in Truth, and the like, are frequently the MmutU and Ammadverfions
fo nicely infilled on (though I do not fay there are none more material) but whether worth his travelling fo far, and fufFering fo much to bring Home, after his being redeemed from the barbarous iPyrates and Cor/airs (into whofe Hands he fell at his Return) I leave to others. What his Observations and Ex- ceptions are on thofe of Palladw, Serlio and their Companions in the Parallel, t am not much follicitous about 3 fince the curious may confult and confront the Defigns and (plates themfelves. Thofe in the mean time, which concern Monfieur De Chambray (not exceeding a Dozen) would have been lefs charge- able to have been added by the (Book.feller than by the (Buyer : But he defpair- ing to meet with any tolerable Graver among us (capable of approaching thofe whom Monfieur (Des Gaudet^ employed) I could not impofe it on him : Nor was it thought of fo great Importance, confidering, as already noted, the rnodeir. Liberty which it is known has now and then been taken, even by the Ancients themfelves. Let therefore our Students in Architecture, and in- dufirious Workmen proceed wich good Affurance, chat followina the Author of our (parallelj they copy after an excellent and approved Mafier.° |
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PART
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with the Modem, 11
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PART L
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Chap. I
Of the Orders in General Ô is fuffieiently difficult to determine preeifely what the
Name of Order may fignify amongft our Architects, though ie be indeed very neeeifary to underftand ic well. Of all the Moderns who have written upon the Five Orders, there is none, fave Scamo^i, who has once remembered to give us the Defi- nition 5 and it is in the é ft Chapter of his fecond Part, Line 42. where he faith, That it is a kind of Excellency which infinitely adds to the Shape and Beauty of Buildings, /acred or prophane. But in my Opinion,, he had even as good have held his Peace, as the reft have done, as to have fpoken in fuch vvandring Terms, and with fo little Solidity. The Father VirtruYius in C. 1. L. 1. calls it Ordonanee, and the Term is at prefent in huge Vogue amongft our (painters: When they would exprefs the elegant Com- pofition of a (piece, or the Diftribution of Figures in a Hifiory, they fay^ that the Ordonanee is good : Notwithstanding, this is not yet exactly the Intention of Architects $ and VitruYms, in Pain to exprefs it to us, adds, That it is an apt, and regular Difpofition of the Members of a Worifiparately 5 and a Com* parifon of the unherfal Proportion with Symmetry, Perault tranfates it, An apt and regular Difpofition of the Members of a WorSeparately} with refpetl to the Propor- tion or Symmetry of the whole. Another, peradventure more fubtile and penetrans than I am, might find out the Myftery of thefe Words, which I con- fefs I comprehend not 5 and therefore it is, that I have tranilated therri purely from the Latin Text Word for Word, that I may the more naturally propofe them to thofe who fhall defire to profit by them. Daniel Sarbaro^ who hath given us two excellent Commentaries upon this Author, has been very induftrious to clear this Paifage, which yet is not without fome Difficulty. Philander, on the fame Chapter, found out a fhorter Way, to fay nothing at all, and amufes himfelf upon other Matters far more unnecef- fary : So that to get out of this Labyrinth, we muft even take it in Pieces, and confider the Things apart 5 that ßï k may, as it were, touch our imaginati- on, and diftinotly form its Ideas in us, which is the Bufinefs we are to en- quire after: For the Art of Architecture does not confift in Words 5. the T>emonftration ought to be fenfible and ocular. It is very perfpicuous to all -- thofi
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12 A Parallel of the Ancient Architecture
thofe of this My fiery, that the principal Piece of an Order is the Column, and thai:
its Entablature being once placed on the Capital, produces the entire Compofttlon. If therefore we will define it exactly, and give the moil exprefs Meaning of it, we muft, as it were, make a very Anatomy of the Parts, and fay, that the Column, with its' (Bafe, and Chapiter-, crowned with an Architrave, Vrize and Cor- nice, forms that kind of (Building which Men call an Order 3 feeing all thefe in- dividual Parts do generally encounter, and are found through all the Orders 5 the Difference amongft them confifting in no other Particular, than in the Pro- portion of thofe Tarts, and the Figure of their Capitals. They have yet indeed lbme peculiar Ornaments, as Triglyphs, the Doric^ Dentelli, or Teeth, the Io- nich^j and the Corinthian her Modilwns: But they are none of them of fo gene- ral and indifpenfable Obligation, but that even the moil regular of the An- cients themfelves have, upon fome Conilderations, frequently difpenfed with them. For Ornaments are but AcceiTories in the Orders, and may be diverfly introduced as Occafion requires 3 principally in that of the Corinthian, where Artifis being to reprefent an effeminate and virginal Beauty (as we may eafily deduce from what VitruYius has recounted to us oiCallimachus, Chap. \. ßÂïï^4è ought to omit nothing which may contribute to the Perfection and Embel- liiliment of the Work : And the Ancients have prefcribed us fo many Exam- ples of this Order, in which they have been fo profufe and luxurious in Orna- ments, that one would fwear, they had drawn their imagination quite dry to crown this Mafter-piece of ArchiteBure, But it is not with the other Orders after this fort, where there is a more mafculine Beauty required; efpecially in the Donc^,the Solidity whereof is totally repugnant to the Delicatenefs of thefe Or- naments 3 fince it fucceeds fo much better in the plain and fimple Regularity of its Proportions. Garlands and Tofies fuit not with Hercules3 he is beft adorn- ed with a Rough-hewn and maffy Club; For there are Beauties of feveral Kinds,and thofe oftentimes fo unlike, as what is agreeable to the one, is quite contrary to the other. As for the Ihmck^Order, it is, as it were, in the Middle of the two Extreams, holding in a Manner the Balance betwixt the DorickSo- lidity and Genteelnefs of the Corinthian 5 for which Reafon we find it diverfe- ly employed in ancient Buildings, fimple and plain, according to the Genius of the ArchiteB, or Quality of the StruBure. So as thefe three Orders may very well furnifh all the Manners of Building, without being at all obliged to have Recourfe to the Tujean Order, or that which is compoJed$ both which I have therefore expreily referved for the Conclufion of this Treatifi, and feparated from the reft, as in Truth but Supernumeraries and almoft inutile. For the Excellency and Perfection of an Art confifts not in the Multiplicity of her (principles 3 but contrarily, the more fimple they are and few in Number, the more worthy they are of our Admiration. This we fee manifefted in thofe of Geometry, which is in Truth the very Foundation and univerfal Magazine of all thofe Arts from whence this has been extracted, and without whofe Aid it were impoifible it iliould fubiift. Well therefore may we conclude, that the Orders being no other than the very Elements of AchiteBure, and thefe three firfi, which we have deduced from the Greeks, comprehending all the Species of Building · it were but a fuperfluotis thing we fhould pretend to augment their Number. CHAP.
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with the Modern; I j
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C H A P. II.
Of the Dorick Order.
IT is no fmall Advantage for the Dorick^ Order, to demonftrate that it has
been the very firft regular Idea, of Architecture; and that, as the Firft-born and Heir of this Queen of Arts, it has had the Honour alfo to have been the firft Builder both of Temples and Palaces. The Antiquity of its Original, according to all thofe who have written;
thereof, is, in a manner, immemorial 5 notwithstanding VitruYius refers it, and that with fufficient Appearance, to a Prince of Jchaia^ named Dorus, who being Sovereign of (Peloponnefus, built in the famous City of Argos a magnificent Temple to the Goddefs Juno, which was the very firft Model of this Order.' In Imitation whereof, the neighbouring People erected diverfe others 5 amongft which, the moft renowned was that which the Inhabitants of the City Olympia dedicated to Jupiter, whom they furnamed ■ Olympicus* The liland of Delos built another very famous one to the God Apollo, in Memory of his Birth in that Place, and of whom there are to this Day fome Vefligia remaining. And in this it was that the firft Triglyphs were" made in the Form which we now behold them, reprefenting the Figure of an antick Lyre, of which Inftrument this God had been the Inventor. In Elis, a City of the fame Country, there were diverfe memorable Fabricks, confifting all of this Order, whereof the principal were a large Periflyk, or Porch, fervingfora publick Place, having about it a triple Range of (portico's built on Columns, and three magnificent Temples, as Paufanias in his fifth Book makes mention; the one confecrated to the Goddefs Juno, environed with huge marble Pil- lars 5. the other to Dindymene, the Mother of the Gods; and a third to Minerva, which bore the Name of their City: And this laft was without doubt a moft incomparable Mafter-piece, having been built by the famous Scopas, Compe- titor with Praxiteles in the Structure of that ftupendious Maufokum, which the Queen Artemifia erected in Memory of her Husband. In his Preface to the feventh Book, V'ttruYms makes mention of others, amongft which he celebrates thofe of Ceres and Proferpine in the City of Eleufis, as a Work of prodigious Grandeur. But it would be but unprofitable for us to make any- further Difcjuifition concerning thefe Edifices, fince thofe who have treated of them, have left us no particular Remarks touching their Form, from whence we might derive any thing of Advantage for our Imitation. They talk much alfo of the Names of many great ArchiteBs of this Age, who themfelves writ the Pules of their ProfeiTion, amongft whom, one named Silenus, had generally treated of the Doric^ Proportion 5 and a certain Tbeodorus made the Defcription of a Temple of the fame Order, erected to the Goddefs E Juno
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é4 Ë ÑsaraHei} ï)rtfay Ancient ArchiteBure
Juno by the Inhabitants of the Ifle of Samos, with fundry others mentioned in
the fame Place, whofe Books and Works are not now to be found $ fo that after the lofs of fo many incomparable Authors, who were the very Source and Fountain of the Art whence we might at prefent extract the Purity of its Ori- rind, we muft of NeceiTity content ourfelves with the Obfervations and Conjectures which the Moderns have made upon certain Tracks and Foot- fteps of Antiquity, which in this Conjuncture ferve us inftead of (Books, and wherein all thofe Mafias, which 1 have here affembled, as to an Oecumenical and General Council of Architetlure, have finifhed and performed their Studies. But for as much as naturally every Man abounds in his own Senfe, and
dreffes up a Beauty after his particular Mode, I conceived it expedient from the Deilgns which they have left us for ^ules, to have continual recourfe to the Ancients, as to the belt and moil invariable Cojnpaf^ which we can ñïßÃé- ble fleer by 5 amongil whom we ihall find fufficient Variety reafonably to fatisfy the Gufi of fuch as are defirous of Choice. And for this purpofe, I {hall upon every Order exhibit two or three Examples drawn from the Originals themfelves, and very accurately meafured by the Account of the Module of the Column, with the very DiYifion which I have obferved in the Defigns of other Maflers-, that fo all concurring in one Uniformity, and under the fame Scale, the Comparifon and Examen may become the more eafy and intelligible: For the multiplying of Operations is ever difadvantagious, by reafon of the Confufion which it ordinarily produces in the Minds of thofe who work, and that it alfo waftes more Time j both which Inconveniencies are of very great Importance. And when all the Fruit of my Travail in this Affembly of Authors {hould be of no further Profit to the Studious in this Art, than to have thus adjufted them together, I conceive they ought to be very well fatisfied. But let us return to the f)orick Order, and confider its Form, froprieties, and
Difference from the others in Grofs, before we enter into the Parcels of its Proportions, flnce general Rules are ever to precede particular. Having then propofed for a Foundation, that this Order reprefents Solidity to us, as its fpecifici and principal Quality, we ought not to employ it but in great maiTy Buildings and Edifices of the like Nature, as for (ports of Cittadels, and Fof- treffes of Towns, the Outilde of Churches or publickJPlaces, and the like, where the Delicatenefs of the Ornament is neither convenient nor profitable 5 for as much as the heroic and gigantine Manner of this Order does excellently well in thofe Places, difcovering a certain mafculine and natural Beauty, which is_properly what the French call La grand Maniere. Upon this Subject I am obferving a thing which in my Opinion is very
curious, touching the Beginning of the Difference of Manures5 whence it proceeds, that in the fame Quantity of Superficies, the one feems great and magnificent, and the other appears poor and but trifling. The Reafon of which is very pretty and not ordinary. I fay then, that to introduce into Architetlure this Grandeur of Maniere of which we fpeak, we ought fo to proceed, that the Divifion of the principal Members of the Orders confift * but
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mith the Modern, ., i|
but of few Parts 5 that they be all Great and of a bold and ample ^eiieydand
Swelling 3 that the Eye beholding nothing which is little and mean, the Ima* ginattQn. may be more vigorouily touched and concerned with it : For Exam- ple, in a Cormce. if the Go-la, or Cymatium of the Coronaf the Copings the Modiliom, or T)mteB7 make a noble Shew by their graceful Projeetures, and that we fee none of that ordinary Confufion which is the Refult of thofe lit- tle Cavities, Quarter-rounds of the Afiragal, and I know not how many other intermingled Particulars* which produce no Effect in great and fnaffy Works, and which very unprofitably take up Place to the Prejudice of the principal Members, it is moft certain, that this Manner will appear lolemri and great, and tbat^ on the contrary, become pitiful and mean$ by reafon of the Multitude of thefe fmaller Ornaments, which divide and fcatter the An- gles of the Sight into fo many Beams, and fo preifed together, that the Whole appears but a Confufion, And though one would judge upon the fudden, that the Multiplicity of Parts iliould contribute fomething to the Appearance of the Grandeur and State 3 yet notwithstanding it happens cjuite otherwife, as we may eafily perceive in examining it by Examples^ and in the Defigns of the Mafiers which I have here collected together 5 where in the fame Inftant a Man may difcern both the Quality of their Genius's, and the Variety of their Judgments : For fome of them efteem that to be delicate and rich, which others term mean and confufed j and that which feems to us of the Grand Maniere, in their Eyes appears to be but grofs and heavy 5 and indeed it would fo prove if one mould exceed the Terms of Proportion, arid did incline too much to either Extreme .* But be this only fpoken en pajfant. We proceed now to our Orders in general. The Columns of the Vorick^ Order have this remarkable amongir. the re%
that in the faireft Works of Antiquity in which they have been employed, we find them without Safes 5 as in the Theatre of Marcellus at %ome, in that at Vtcenza, and in a very magnificent Triumphal Arch at Verona 5 and VitruVtus having treated of this very Order more exactly than of any other, fpeaks not fo much as a Word of ks$afis, albeit he hath fufficiently defcribed the Mcafures of the Ionick, and of the Jttick for the Corinthian, without having fo much as omitted that of the Tufcan 5 though there is not one of our Modern Architects but make fome Cavil at it, forming one to themfelves after their own Invention. For my part, I iliould make a great Scruple to condemn thefe old Maflers,
who did all with fo much Circumfpection : One had much better endeavour to difcover their Intention, who did certainly proceed with great Judgment, than to add any thing prepofteroufly to this Order, and which may prove re- pugnant to its Principles. Let us take therefore the thing from its Original, and confider upon what
Account they added Bafes. to the Feet of Columns, and what there they repre- sent, that thence we may infer whether they are likewife as proper to thefe we fpeak of here, as^they be to the other. |
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fitru*
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I (5 A Parallel of the Ancient Architecture
VitruYiUs tells it us in the firft Chapter of his fourth Book, and had not ic
feems fo much as once fpokcn of it, but upon occafion of the Ionickj, which he affirms to have been compofed after the Module of a feminine Beauty, to which he fuits all the reft of the Parts 5 as the Volutas of the Capital to the Mode of the Head-tire and Trejjes of Womens Hair: The Vi^o, or Shaft of the Column, to their airy and delicate Shape : The Flutings and Channelling, fo the Plaits of their Robes : And the Bafe, to the buskind Ornament of their Legs and Feet. In the fame Place he compares our Dorick,to a robuft and flrong Man, fuch
as an Hercules might be, whom we never reprefent but on his bare Feet: So as from hence we may reafonably judge, that to the Dorick Order alfo Bafes are no ways proper. But the Cuftom which has licentioufly been introduced among fo many
Examples as we find among the Antiques, has fo itrangely debauched and pofleiTed the imagination, by I know not what falfe Appearance of Beauty, that it now traniports it quite befides Reafon : Neverthelefs, fuch as arc clear-fighted, being advertifed of this Abufe, will foon rectify, and unde- ceive themfelves : And, as what feems rnoit likely, is then detected to be erroneous when 'tis diligently examined 5 fo alfo the Appearances of Beauty, when they are againft Reafon, become in fine but the more extravagant. This Obfervation being eftablifhed upon thofe great Examples which I
have cited, and Reafon fervingfor its Guide, let it pafs for Demo?iflration. (But we will now confider the refl of the Order.
His Entablature is more maffy and tall than any of the following Orders 5
becaufe the Strength of the Column being greater, prepares him alfo for the greater Burthen. It has ordinarily one fourth Part of the Column j whereas in the other, he has very often but a fifth, and fometimes lefs. The Cor~ nice would not be deck'd with any Foliage, or like Trimming 5 but in cafe you allow him Modilions, they mould be fcjuare and very plain. The Freeze has a regular Ornament, which are the Triglyphs, the Compartment whereof obliges one to a very great Inconvenience, and which was heretofore fo cumberfome, that even" the skilfulleft Maflers had much ado to difengage themfelves. But VitruYius has found a very fufficient Expedient, as may be feen in his fourth Book, Cap. 2.. In the Interim let it fuffice to affirm here, that all the Inconveniency confifts in fo contriving the Matter, that the Tri- glyph be precifely placed over the Middle of the Column which it encounters 3 and that the Metops, that is to fay, the Spaces betwixt the Triglyphs, be perfectly fcjuare 5 for that is fo efiential in this Order, that one ihould never difpenfe with it. That which renders the Execution difficult, proceeds from the Diftribution of the Inteholumniations, which have alfo their Diftances regular and determined, which does not juftly quadrate and fuit with thofe of the Triglyphs. See Cap.' 2. of the Third Book of VitruVmsi commented by the Re- verend Daniel Barbara, where all this is rarely well explained, both by Dif- courfe and Figure. The
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9t
with the Modern, '17 The Architrave hath alfo its Ornament particular* which confifts in certain!
pendent Drops under the Triglyphs, that feem after a fort to be fattened to ifa as if they were all of a Piece 3 for that one never fees the one without the other. The entire Body of the Architrave ought to appear folid and very fub-
ftantial 5 for which Effect I would not have it exceed one full Face] leaft parting it in two, it appear feeble and weak, according to the Principle which we have newly eftabliihed upon the Diverfity of Manners: Neverthe- lefs this is but of fmall Confecjuence here, provided one be careful not to break it in three Faces, as in the other Orders they do 5 in which Cafe the Fault would be remarkable. Behold then in grofs as it were a rough Draught of the Dorick. Order,
upon which one may with Eafe find out all the feveral Parts of its Members in particular, with their refpective Meafures, which is by this Expedient found always within the regular Terms of its Extent. I fhall touch fome of the Principal only, that I may facilitate the Way,
referring you for the reft to the Defigns, where every thing is To clear and punctual, that having once conceived the Module, which I make ufe of throughout, to be the Semidiameter of the Column, divided into thirty Minutes 5 and, that I continually begin to meafure the Trojeclures of every Trofile from the Central Line of the Column, to have, in the mean time, with the Proportion of the Members, the right Pofition and juft Level of the (P/7/^r, all the reft admits not of the leaft imaginable Difficulty: For prefently you will find, that thirty Minutes making the Semidiameter, fixty muft compofe the whole Diameter, and forty-five, three Quarters 5 forty, two Thirds 5 twenty, one T7nrd] fifteen, a Quarter, and fo of the reft, as I have expreily obferved it, that I may by the fame means make you comprehend how I have reduced all the Meafures of my Defigns by Minutes, without making ufe of the Terms of Module, Diameter, Tliirds, Quarters, or the like Proportions, to avoid Per- plexity, and cumbering the Defigns with fo much writing j and indeed, for that they are not precife enough, and would have often obliged me to fuper- add the Minutes^ and to repeat one Module and three Minutes, two Thirds of a Module and four Minutes, a Quarter of a Minute, Half a Module and two Mi- nutes, with a Number of fuch like Fractions, which would have created much unprofitable Labour, and bred infinite Confufion. This eftablifhed, let us proceed to the Application, and take our Dorici^
Order again in Pieces. But left the Variety which we frequently encounter, amongft the Defigns of the modern Authors that I have here collected, fhould hinder us from refolving upon fomething fixed and determined, I will only purfue that ancient Example taken out of the Theatre of Marcellus, as being the moft regular of all the reft, by the univerfal Suffrage of thofe of the ProfeiTion $ and fo conformable to what VitruVms has written con- cerning the general Proportions of this Order, that fome are of Opinion he was himfelf the Architeh of this magnificent Work: But I muft confefs, Ú am not of their Faith, becaufe of the Dentelli which are cut in the Cornice 3 for VuruVius in the fecond Chapter of his firfl <Book? plainly interdicts them F the
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é 8 A Parallel of the Ancient ArcbiieBure
the Doric4 Order, as being naturally affected to the Jonick^: But this Que â ion
concerns not our prefent Difcourfe. I find then, that the whole Shaft of the Column has in Length /even times its Diameter 5 which on the Foot of the Divifion of the half Diameter in thirty Minutes (for in all this Treatife I ever take the Semidiameter of the Column for the Module of the Orders) make four hundred and twenty Minutes, which amounts to fourteen Modules. The Height of the Chapter contains thirty Minutes 5 which make one Module 5 as does likewife the Architrave: The Freeze with its Fillet (which is that fiat . and thin Band or Lifi which feparates it from the Cornice) has one Module and a Quarter, which are thirty-feVen Minutes and a half $ fo that all thefe Modules computed together, and the Number of their Minutes reduced to a Total Sum, the Altitude of the entire Order amounts to eighteen Modules and three Quarters, which make up five hundred fixty-two Minutes and a half $ and the Entablature, which is the Architrave, Freeze and Cornice, being to contain one quarter Part of the Column, which is its regular Proportion, comprehends juil an hundred twelve Minutes and a half, which are three Modules and three Quarters 5 and which I expreily repeat, that I may yet add, that though all the Examples of this Order, which may be as well found amongil the Ancients as the Modems, have not always the Entablature comprehended within the fame Terms of Modules that this has here, they may yet notwithstanding be according to Rule in the general Proportion 5 provided that the Entablature contain a quarter of the Column 5 which is neither limited to fourteen Modules^ nor yet to fifteen 5 but may fometimes advance even to fixteen, and more, as Occafion prefents itfelf: So that a Column of fixteen Modules fliall have a higher Entablature than one of[fourteen. But then it is neceffary, that all this Dif- ference of one Entablature to the other, happen only in the Cornice, in regard that the Freeze and the Architrave have always their precife and determinate Meafures: The one has a Module, the other a Module and an half, without any refpecl: to the different Height of the Columns. Now the Cornice being to fup- ply what is deficient to arrive to the fourth Part of the Column, 'tis evident that its particular Proportion muft depend on that of the Column 5 and that the Cornice of one (profile can never ferve for another, though it be of the fame Order^ unlefs the Height of the Columns be likewife equal in them both, which thing ought very diligently to be confidered : That from this Obfer- vation a Man may arrive to a good and judicious Examen of all thofe (Profiles which the Moderns have given us of this Order ♦ and understand fuch as are worthy the being followed : For the general Proportion being once defectuous, it is in vain to fearch for it in the Retail, or minuter Parts; becaufe that is neceifarily relative, and that the one cannot poflibly fubfift without the other. But. to the end we may render what we have difcufled eafy to the Reader,
who haply, for want of Practice, may find himfelf at a Lofs, I am going to deliver him a Method extraordinary fhort and expedite, by means where- of he may inftantly make it without the leaft Diforder or Confufion. He muft take the whole Height of the Entablature of the Defign which he
would examine, and thereof make a Multiplication conformable to the Pro- A portion
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with the Modem. %
portion which it ought to bear with its Column, having ftill a Regard to L·
T7 I i"PftkKi · ^CuCf't EXT^ ***■»»; as in this of
Ae Ur,ck; he muft multiply the Entablature by four ; .f it be a fifth, as we (hall fee in fome of the following Examples of the Corinthian, he muft mul-
tiply ,t by five, and fo of the reft : For the Total of this Multiplication «ught to give us preeifely the Height of the Column} and wherever this does not quadrate, certain it is, the Profile is irregular. I Should be too prolix if I pretended to decypher thus by fmaller Scruples
and Minutes all that belongs to thefe Principle,; and while I think to render myfelf intelligible by a tedious Difcourfe and Calculations, become in fine born confufed and troublefome to my Reader, who doubtlefs will fooner comprehend it all by feeing my Defigns, fince Words are never fo exprefs as ï ;
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^"^\ó"÷.
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"The. JOodule «f G*MJ*Jl ^j^Scal^fifall *e '' 'Jo Éßóößç.^ "£>l-of*le.J- .
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iff·
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CHAR
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2 ï A Parallel of the Ancient Ar chit e dure
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-.::'■■-,' \
CHAP. III.
A Particular remarkable in the Profile, drawn from
the Theatre of Marcellns.
I Admire, that of all our modern ArchiteBs, the greateft Part whereof have
feen, and fpoken of this Example, as of the moil excellent J)oric{ Model which has been left us by the Ancients, there is not fo much as one of them who has followed, or perhaps well obferved in the Original the juft Comparti- ment of the Members of the Capital, nor the Height of the Freeze, the which 1 find here vifibly lefs than that which they allow to their Defigns 3 though fome of them, particularly Vignola, have propofed the very fame (profile for the Rule of the Order 3 but with fo much Alteration in its Members, that there is not one of them remains entire : A Man mail eafily find it by con- ferring them together 5 all the Defigns of this Affemhly being therefore ficted to the fame Scale. As for the Capital, they do all without Exception affect the dividing of it into three Parts, as VitruYms will have it in his fourth 'Book., Chap. 3. giving one to the Hypotrachelion, or Neck of the Pillar ·, the other to the Echinus, Bracelets, or fmall Mouldings 3 and the third to the Jhacus or (plinth of the Capital 3 whereas they ought to have confidered, that the Text of this Author, befides that it is oftentimes fufpicious, and efpecially then when he is not conformable to the Practice of the Ancient Maflers, his Con- temporaries, it is by no means juft, that he fliould prefume thus to carry it againft fuch Examples as this here, which is without all Reproach and Ex- ception. It had been more reafonable that they who propofe it for their Model, had at leaft been fo difcreet as to have added nothing, but left him in his original Proportion. As for thofe others, who have formed Defigns after their own Fancies, they are no more to be blamed for having followed the Opinion of VitruVms, and obliged themfelves to the Terms which he has prefcnbed, though they might haply have well difpenfed with it, and with more Reafon have imitated the Ancients where this Irregularity is not to be found. The Grown of the Cornice is alfo fufflciently obfervable for its extraor- dinary Projecture, and which is, after a fort, augmented by the Sloops which the Architefi has given to the Drops which compofe the Ornament of the nether Face, and which fall on the Triglyphs. Now albeit this Piece of Opticas be admirable in this huge Colofs of (Building, yet is it by no means to be indifferently ufed every where, and upon all Occafions 3 for in Places much inclofed, where there is not ample Space and Freedom for the Eye, as the Infide of Churches, <6r. it would produce but an ill EffecT;. Wherefore I have thought it neceffary to propofe here diverfe ancient Examples upon each Order, that 1 may thereby give Opportunity to thofe of the frofefion to make ufe of them judicioufly, Regard being duly had to the Place, and the Occafion. CHAP.
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ò^
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with the Modern*
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21
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22 A Parallel,of the Ancient nrchiteffure
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C H A R IV.
Another''PwSlL· taken from the Fragment of the Dio-
cletian Baths at Rome. Ô H I S profile was one of the moft excellent Pieces of JrchiteBure in the
Baths of Dioclefian, as far at leaft as I am able to conjecture from a good number of Draughts which lie yet by me, all of them defigned by the fame Hand very neatly, and meafured with extraordinary Study 5 although fome of them methinks appear to be fufficiently licentious. But this profile is of fo noble a Compofition, and fo regular, that it is nothing inferior to that which went before : And though the fpecifick Properties of this Order are to be fingle and folid, yet are the Ornaments here fo very judiciouily applied upon every of the Members, that they conferve the one, without the leaft Violation to the other. It may ferve upon fome Occasions where that of the Theatre of Marcellws
would not be fo proper, inafmuch as the Projecture of its Cornice is a great deal lefs $ add to this the Curiofity of its Mouldings, which allure the Eye to confider them at a nearer diftance. The general Proportion of it is notabfolutely conformable to that of our
firft Example $ and the Difference makes me judge, that the Column belonging to it contained eight Diameters 5 that is to fay, fixteen Modules $ for fo the Entablature, which is of four Modules high, comes to make up a fourth part of the Pillar. That which is confiderable in this profile, as univerfally obferved by all
the Moderns for the Height of the Freeze, is, that in this Partition of the three Members of the Entablature, the*flat Fillet which forms the Capital of the Tri- glyphs compofes a Part of the Cornice, and is not comprifed within the Limits of the Freeze ; though in that of Marcellus % Theatre, I have made it to be a Part, to the end we may religioufly preferve ourfelves within the Terms of the general Rules of the Order, which precifely requires, that the Height of the Freeze mould be of one Module and a half, that fo the fcjuare Intervals of the Metops fhould be of one Module with the Triglyphs (which is indeed an. Inconvenience very great, but wkhal moft neceiiary) may be handfomely adjofted. To the reft, I will not affirm pofitively, that the Column of this (profile was without a (Bafis, for my Defign gives me only the Entablature and Capital, though I might well be inclined to think fo, for the Reafons before deduced, and amply demonftrated in the fecond Chapter. |
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CHAP.
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•Ë./
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ôááçâôáºïçññïôö^ â, -øñ^íø,çñ
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tec
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£ô
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'uMpoffl sqt qitm
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24 A Parallel of the Ancient Architecture
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C H A P. V.
Another very ancient Profile after the Grand Maniere
elevated in Perfpe&ive, and now extant at Albano near Rome. I Conceived it very advantageous, and indeed in fome fort neceifary, the
better to reprefent the Beauty and goodly Effect of this Profile, to give you one elevated in PerJpeBbe 5 becaufe I would gratify the Eye with as much as Art is capable to add to the real and natural Relievo, and fhew how it ought to fucceed in the Execution. This incomparable Doric Mafter-piece was difcovered at Albano, joining
to the Church of St. Mary, among which diverfe other old Fragments of Jrchitetlure, very curious, and of which I have a good number defigned, and with great Diligence examined as to their Meafures, though drawn fome- thing in haft as it were in palling, by the Hand of the famous Pyrrho Ligorio. That which I particularly efteem in this, is a certain Grandeur of Manner
majeftical and furprifing, which is altogether extraordinary; all which re- fu'ks from its having but few Members, and from the Largenefs of thofe which it has 5 an Account whereof 1 have already given, fpeaking of the Difference of Manners in the fecond Chapter. For the reft, the Shaft or the Column ftands limply on a Step, which ferves it inftead of a Plinth, as ß have here repre- fented it.
Now to the end this Defign may not only prove agreeable to the Eye, but
like wife profitable to thofe who fhall deiire to put it in Practice, I have alfo accompanied it with ksProfile, and particular Meafures. ß advertife moreover, that the Pillar has fifteen Modules in Height, and the
Entablature three, with two Thirds, which amount juft to the Quarter, which is the regular Proportion of the Doric Entablature with the Height of its Column. I have omitted the Profile of the Capital for want of Space, as likewife for that it is fo little differing from the ordinary in its Mouldings, and fo perfectly refembles it in Proportion. That which is moft worthy Remark, and indeed to be admired in this
Compofition, is the Richnefs, and extraordinary Form of its Modilwns, which lying plumb over the Triglyphs3 and being as it were a kind of Capitals to them, produce a marvellous Effeft, which is much augmented by thofe great P^ofes of the Sofitto or Eves of the Corona, which having an extraordinary Proje&ure, render the Order altogether Gigantic^ and this is properly that which they term the Grand Manure, |
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CHAP,
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with the Modern,
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25
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2 6 A Parallel of the Ancient Architecture
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Ka Jtl A Jr. VI»
^Judgment in general upon all the Authors fummond
together in this Collection.
THAT the Reader may now come with fome kind of Preparation to
the particular Examen of the Defigns which follow, I {hall here en- deavour to give him a general Hint of the feveral Talents and Abilities which I have remarked in every one of thofe Maflerswt are taking a Survey of in Paragon one with the other. The firft of all is, without any Conteft, the famous Andrea Palladio, to
whom we are obliged for a very rare Collection of antique (plans and Pro- pies, of all forts of Buildings, defigned after a moil excellent Manner, and meafured with a Diligence fo exaofc, that there is nothing more in that Par- ticular left us to deiire: Beiides, the very advantageous Opportunities which he has had at Venice, and in all the Vincentine, his native Country, do leave us fuch Marks as clearly ihew'd him not only to have been a Spectator of thefe great Mafiers of Antiquity, but even a Competitor with them, and emu- lous of their Glory. The Man who neareft approaches to him, is alfo another Native of Vin-
cen%a, Vincent Scamozgj by Name, a far greater Talker, as well appears in his Books, but a much inferior Workman, and lefs delicate in point of Defign: J Man may eafily perceive it by the Profiles which he has left us of the five Orders, the Manner whereof is a little dry 5 befides that, he is very poor and trite in his Ornaments, and but of an ill Gufio : He is notwithstanding this, the neareft that approaches him as to the Regularity of his Proportions, and the moil worthy to be paralleled with Palladia. Sebafiian Serlio and Jacomo !Baro2gto9 furnamed Vignola, hold of the fecond
€1áâ; and albeit they have both followed contrary Ways, and very diiFerent Manners, yet I forbear not to place them in the fame Range, and am indeed in fome Difficulty to determine which of the two has deferved more of the Publick 5 were it not that one might fay, the firfl had tjie good Fortune to work for Mafiers who needed only to be mewed the Idea of the things in Grofs, without having any thing to do with the Retail of their Proportions 5 and that the other only propofed to himfelf the Inftruclion of young Begin- ners, and to deliver to them the Rules of Art and good Defign : But it had been of excellent Advantage for us all, that Serlio's Book had been defigned like that of Vignola 5 or that Vignok9s Study and Diligence in fearching, had been equal to that of Serlio. |
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The
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with the Modern. 27
The famous Commentator of VitruVms, Daniel (Barbaro, Patriarch of Aquilea,
with very great Juftice we may fitly ftile the VitruVius of our Times,, fliall in this Place be leated in the middle of all the Mafiers to be their Prefident, as being indeed the Interpreter and Oracle of the very Father of Architetts, and his Companion (pietro Cataneo (whom I aflign only to preferve an ecjual Con- formity in my Deilgns of comparing modern Authors) mail ferve only as a petty Chaplain in the Retinue of this great (prelate, though he might well claim (Peerage even with the moil part of the reft. Among the other latter four, I have a particular Efteem for one above
the reft, and that is Leon Baptifia Alberti, the moft ancient of ail the Mo« derns, and haply too, the moft knowing in the Art of (Building, as may be eafily collected by a large and excellent Volume which he has publifhed, wherein he fundamentally fhews whatever is neceffary for an Architect to know. But as to the (profiles of the Orders themfelves, and his Regulation of them, ß cannot but ftrangely admire at his Negligence in drawing them no more correctly, and with fo little Art, himfelf being a (painter 5 fince it had fo notably contributed to its Recommendation, and to the Merit of his Works. But this I have reformed in our following Collection, and believe in fo doing to have performed him no little Service, as haply in Danger to have otherwife. never been followed 5 there being hardly any Appearance, that whiift the Defigns of his (Book^ were fo pitifully drawn, being made ufe of in Work, they mould ever produce fo good Effect:. To the moft Ancient I would affign for Co-rival, the moft Modem, that by
confronting them to each other, we might the better come to difcover whether the Art itfelf improve and proceeds to any further Perfection, or does not already begin to impair and decline. This laft Author, namely Viola, is of the Categorie of thofe which the Italians call Cicaloni, eternal Talkers to no Purpofe. He, whiift he propofes to himfelf to write of the Orders and (proportions of Architecture, of the (fyles of TerfpettiVe, of feme Elements of Geo- metry, and other the like Dependencies on his principal Subject, amufes him- felf, poor Man, in telling Stories3 fo that inftead of a Book of Architecture, he has made, e're he was aware, a Book of Metamorphofes. Beiides, he has this in common with Leon (Baptifia Alberti, that his Defigns are both very ill contrived and executed, notwithftanding he follows a more elegant Manner, and conformable enough to that of' (palladiai'5 but the Method which he ufes in his Partitions, is fo grofs and ?necbanic^> that he reckons all upon his Fin- gers, and feems to have' never fo much as heard fpeak either of Arithmetic^ or Cyphers. .. Concerning the two which remain, a Man cannot well affirm them to
have been inferior to thofe who preceded them, nor yet to have been of the fame Force with the firft, though Ú conceive they may well compare with three or four of them at leaft. And, Thefe are two French Mafters fufficiently renowned both by their Works and
Writings,, (philihert de Lorme and John (Bullant, whom yet I do not here place in the laft Range, as being at all their Inferiors 5 but only that I may fepa- rate them from the Italians·, who are in far greater Numbers. CHAP.
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2 8 A Parallel of the Ancient Architefflure
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C H A P. VII
Palladio and Scamozzi upon the Doric Order.
LE Ô us now then pafs to the ocular Demonftration of the precedent
Chapter by the Parallel of the Architects, which I have there affembled together, and whofe DefignsI am haftening to examine, by comparing them with our three antique i)efigns, that according to their more or lefs Confor- mity with thefe original Modules, we may pronounce concerning their Merit, and fee what Efteem they indeed deferve. From this Confideration it is, that of all the Choice of the other Maflers, I have extracted Palladio ancl Sea- mo^i, who having propofed to themfelves the Imitation of the ancient Archi- tects, by iiudying thofe admirable Monuments yet remaining in the City of Pome, have followed a Manner infinitely more noble, and Proportions more elegant than thofe of the School of VitruViw. The firft Profile of Palladio hath a great Affinity with our fecond antique
Example, taken out of Dioclefian snaths 5 for excepting only the Dentelli which he may have with Reafon omitted, all the reft of the Entablature is upon the matter the fame. He has likewife been fo difcreet (being peradventure obliged to follow the
vulgar Error, which will have the !Bafe of a Column of this Order to be one with the others) to advertife before-hand by an Example, which was none at all, that the Ancients did never ufe it after this manner. He allows but fifteen Modules to the Column without !Bafe, and with its !Bafe
he makes it of fixteen, and fometimes proceeds even to feventeen and a Third. The reft of the Meafures are fo diftin&ly marked upon the Profilet that it were fuperfluous to explain them. Scamozzi gives ever precifely feventeen Modules to his Columns, accommo-
dating it with the fame <Bafe that Palladio does 3 but to a great deal lefs Pur- pofe, inafmuch as he thinks fit to deck the Tore's with I know not what de- licate Foliages, which does not at all become the Order, no more than does the Ionic Fluting, which is abufively employ'd in this Place inftead of the natural Doric. His Entablature, as well as that of Palladio, fufikiently re- fembles our fecond Module, to which he has only added a fmall Cavity be- twixt the Corona and the greater Round, a thing not at all confiderable. The Compofition of his Profile taken in grofs, and altogether fimple, ap-
pears of a very gteat Idea, but the Ornaments are to be rejected. |
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with the Modern.
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29
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3 ï A Parallel of the Ancient Arcbiieciure
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CHAR VIII
Serlio and Vignola upon the Doric Order. THESE two Maflers are infinitely obliged to their Interpreters, who
produced them firft amongft the Tramontani and Strangers, and par- ticularly to our Workmen in France, who hold them in very great Estima- tion : And though they are, in truth, highly worthy of it, neverthelefs being compared to the preceding two, they lofe much of their Lulire, and come exceeding ihort of them. This the (Reader may eafily find, by comparing the one to the other with
the Ancients Originals, which I have prefixed as the Lantern and Compafi of all true ArchlteBure. But it were not juft we fhould treat Serlio in this Exa- men with the fame Rigour we have done his Companion 5 for that intend- ing to follow VitruYups, who is the moil renowned and venerable Author of the Ancients, he has worthily acquitted himielf : Whereas Vignola, who has purfued another Courfe, really a more noble, and the very fame which I al- io obferve here, knew not how to proceed without Deviation The Doric Profile which he here prefents us, is taken out of the firft Order of the Thea- tre of Marcellus, and the moft worthy Example of this kind which is to be met with amongft all the (Roman Antiquities, and of which alfo à have made choice for the firft Model of this ColkHion, with this only Difference that I have precifely cbferved all the Meafures and Allowances of the Original, which you will perceive in this Author to be exceedingly changed, particu- larly in the Cornice and Capital. The comparing of the two Defigns will in one Inftant afford more Light to the Reader, than I can do by the Difcoiirfe of an entire Tage. Serlio gives here fourteen Modules only to his Column, comprehending the
<Bafe and Chapter 5 and the Height of the Entablature amounts to three Mo- dules and a little more than two Thirds, infomuch as, contrary to his. ordi- nary Cuftom, he extremely exceeds the Quarter of his Column, which is the largeft Proportion the Ancients did ever praotife 5 fo as this great Excefs puts me in doubt whether the Text of VitruYius, upon which he relies, be not cor- rupted in that Place 5 or elfe when he fpake of that Column^ he did not mean the Shaft without its Capital: For fo by adding one Module more, which is the precife Height of the Chapter, the entire Column would be fifteen Modules and confequently the Entablature hold Proportion conformable to the Ancients. Fignolatorms his Column of iixteen Modules, and the Entablature of four, which is exactly the fourth Part of the Column, and which makes it appear very regular. As touching the 'Ba/e introduced by the Moderns into this Order, I have already declared my Opinion concerning it. |
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with the Modern*
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55
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32 A Parallel of the. Ancient Architedure
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\a JH. Á ò . I.X.
Daniel Barbaro and Pietro Cataneo, upon the
Doric Order,
Ô HI S is here a perfect School of Father VitruYius% whofe very Name
and Authority does extremely recommend it to us. Not that we are obliged indifferently, and without Choice, to follow all thofe who pretend to have underftood this grave and abftrule Author, feeing every Man ftrives to make him of his own Party, and to accommodate him to his particular Genius. The very beil of them all was, without Exception, Daniel 'Barbaro, as
well for his excellent Commentaries, as for the Exactitude and Cleannefs of his Defigns. A Man may perceive by the (parallel of his (profile with that of Cataneo, that his Adjunct of Serlio in the Page before, and fame following his Clap, that he prefides here as a Mafier among his Diiciples, It were an Amufement to no Purpofe, and very impertinent, {hould I
«quote every minute and fmall Difference of one Dtfign from the other, fines the (Reader may better fee it by one Caft of his Eye, than I deienbe it to him in the reft of this Page. I will add only his general Advertifement, that the Proportion of the Co»
hmn, with its Entablature, is the fame here which Serlio gave us before, with- out being neceflitated to repeat my own Opinion thereof, fince my Qbfer- yation is upon VitruYms, and not again ft thofe who have explained him. Daniel (Barbaro has judiciouily introduced a (Buckler in. the Angular Metop
of the Freeze, thereby fignifying, that all Ornaments fihould be accommo- dated to the Orders which they are applied to 3 and that this being of a ro- buft and martial Kind, one may, as Occafion requires, enrich it with Tro- phies of Arms, Clubs, Quivers of Arrows, and fuch like inftruments of War. To the Prejudice of Cataneo's Defign, I find that the Gula of the fuperior
Part of the Entablature is fomewhat too great 3 that the Projection of thePlinth of the Capital is a little too fmall, and renders the whole Chapter mean and ihort, which extremely disfigures his <Profiie$ befides that, the Bafe below has that Excefs which is defective in the Chapter above, |
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chap.
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with the Modern,
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U
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if.
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14 A Parallel of the Ancient Architefiure
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CHAR X.
Leon Baptifta Alberri and Jofepho Viola, on the
Do rig Order.
Ô fight of this firft Defign of Leon ®aptifla Alherti, whofe Capital is en-
_ — tirely Gothic, one might with Reafon wonder why I mould fpeak fo advantageoufly of him in the general Examen which I have made of the Mo- dern Architecls, among whom I affign him one of the principal Places · and |
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é
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in earneft I cannot excufe him here of that ill Relifli, and of this fo ill-favour'd
a Compoiition, however he pretends to have ken it, and to have taken it from fome Ancient Fragments : But fuppofe it true (for a Man may meet with bad ones enough) he might alfo have found others a great deal more tolerable : That which falls out the moft unluckily for him in this his firft Produ&ion of Skill is, that it is of very great Importance for a Man to begin well, fince the firft Impreilion continues long, and introduces a Confequence for thofe who follow after. Neverthelefs, be it what it will, every Man k obliged to accord with the Truth, and to judge of things honeftly and with- out Prejudice. And therefore to do him Juftice, having firft condemned this defective Part in his Profile, we are not to rejeft all the reft for that Rea- fon, feeing it is in Truth of a great and noble Manner. It has alfo much Con- formity with our Antique Example in the Modilions, whofe Proje&ures put into Work, would produce a noble EffecT:, as may be judged by the (per/peBive which I have made of it. His Architrave and Freeze are both regular and the Entablature entire to its exad Proportion with the Column 5 for it confifts of four Modules in Height, and the Column of fix. The Proportions of the Safe are hkewife very handfome 3 fo as in the whole Defign there is nothing icandalous befides the Capital, which may eafily be fupplied by borrowing from his Collegue Viola, whofe Profile is fufficiently corredt, and upon the Matter the very fame with that ofPalladio, whom I perceive he has imitated in all the following Orders as well as in this here. But fince he endeavours to difguife his Theft as much as poffible, in altering fome of the Moldings or mutilating fome Member, he has here made a Quarter Round inftead of a direct Cymatmm, or Ogee, of the Cornice, which is but a thing indifferent or to lerable at leaft, in the Doric Order, that of Marcelluss Theatre being the verv lame. & l* |
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CHAP.
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9a
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with the Modern.
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$S
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3 6 A Parallel of the Anciemt Architecture
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. %s*4 JLJL JUL JL * ,_-c3lA*
John Bulliant ana Philibert de Lorme, on the
Doric Order.
3 '■■■■" ' I S not without fome Difficulty that I have been able to reduce a fe-
JJL cond Qrofik of this Page to the Terms you here behold it j (philibert de Lorme having defigned it fo ilightly, and in fo fmall a Volume (though that in his Book be large enough) that it had been impoifible to give any of the Members its due Proportion without the AiTiilanceofthe Text, upon which he has made three large Chapters ; whereas by the Aid of fome better Draught, he might eafily have fpared many Words and Letters of Direotion extremely confufed throughout his whole Difcourfe, which he ufes to exprefs the Particu- lar of the Proportions of each part of his 'Profile 5 and this makes me judge that the good Man was no Defigner, which is a very ordinary Defect amongft thofe of his Profeffion. But this does not much concern our Subject in hand, where we have only to examine, whether the Dork Order, which he pro- pofes, has any Conformity to the .Antique, or at leaft to the Precepts of Vitru- Yius 5 as one may perceive by the (Parallel of his Companion John Bulliant, who has followed this old Author in his Profile very punctually, though he alfo produces others from Antiquityy in which I find him not fo juft and exact, as I took him to be in the Meaning of VitruYtus. I will not here ftand to particularife the Difference which there is betwixt
thefe two ArchiteBs, left I myfelf fall into the fame inconvenience which I but now reprehended in Philibert de Lorme 5 and for that theExactnefs of my Defigns have neither need of Illuftration or Difcourfe : However, this I may add in favour of John Bulliant, that he is the fole Sectator of VitruYtus, who has contained himfelf within the regular Terms of his Mafler, as to the Height of the Entablature, to which he allows three Modules and a half, that precifely make the fourth Part of the Column, which ought to have butfeven Diameters in Height, according to VttruYms, Lib. 4. Cap. 1. which amounts to fourteen Modules. |
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with the Modern.
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37
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38 A Parallel of the Ancient Arc hi tenure
|
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CHAP. XII.
A very ancient Sepulchre to be feen near Terracina,
on the Side of the High-way leading towards Naples. AT Terracina, upon the Confines of the Ecclefiafiick, State, there is yet ex-
tant the Vejiigia and Foot-fteps of this fmall Maufoleum, fufficiently en- tire, joining to the Jppian Way, where that diligent Obferver of all thefe an- cient Monuments, Pirro Ligorio, having difcovered, and, as one may fay, dif- interred it (for it was almoft buried amongfl the Brambles of a wild and un- cultivated Place, as himfelf reports, at the Foot of the Defign which he has made of it) took the Plan moft exa&iy, and the Elevation of the Profile $ upon which I have taken my Directions to reduce it to that Icbnographical Form which I here prefent you. I was extremely glad to encounter an Ex- ample fo exprefs and convincing againft the Abufe of the Moderns, who have very inconfiderably introduced Bafes to the Columns of this Order, of which I have formerly difcourfed fufficiently. The four Faces of the Edifice appear to have been all alike 5 and on that
which refpe<5ts the Wefl, there has been fome kind of Infcription upon the Ar- chitrave-, but there now remains nothing legible. The Mafonry is of a huge fquare'SnV^ and the Columns, with their Entahla»
ture, are made of Ttburtine Stone, the (pyramid being alfo of the fame Material. The Diameter of the Columns is near upon two Palms, the Entablature makes
a fifth of the entire Order $ that is to fay, a fourth Part of the Column, which was but feven ^Diameters in Height. This Sepulchre feems to be full as ancient as the very Jppian Way it (di
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39
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^5y
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4o A Parallel of the Ancient Architecture
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CHAP. XIII.
Of the Ionic Ordef« Ô H E firft Productions of Arts have always been exceedingly rare, be-
caufe it is fo difficult to invent; but it is not the fame of Imitation ; For after Men had once feen regular Structures, and thofe famous Temples of the Doric Order mentioned by VitruVtus and fome others, ArchiteBure did not long remain in its Infancy; the Concurrence and Emulation of the neighbouring People advanced its Growth, and made it foon arrive to its Perfection. The lonianswexe the firft Competitors with the Dorians in its Divine Art, which feemed to be defcended from the Gods themfelves, to gratify Mankind with more Opportunity of honouring them: and though thefe had neither the Ad- vantage nor the Glory to be Inventersof it, they endeavoured yet to improve and raifeit even above the very Authors. Confidering therefore that the Fi- gure of a Man's Body, on which the Doric Order had been formed, was of a Shape too robuft and maffy to fit Holy Places, and become the Reprefenta- tion of Celeflial Things, they would needs compofe an Order after their own Mode, and chofe a Model of a more elegant Proportion, wherein they had more Regard to the Beauty than to the Solidity of the Work; which gave the firft Occaiion of calling it the Feminine Order, as indeed degenerating towards an effeminate Softnefs. And the Truth is, the Order of the Caryatides quickly fprung up after it, which was an extraordinary Affront to this poor Sex, and a very Shame to ArchiteBure itfelf, for having fo irrationally employed a fee- ble and delicate Thing to perform an Office where Strength and Solidity were the only NeceiTaries. VttruYtus and diverfe of the Moderns fince him, men- tion the Original of this Order, and cell-us, that the Inhabitants of a cer- tain Cityoi tpeloponnefus, named Carya, having made a League with thefV- fians againft their own Nation the Greeks, after the Rout of the <Perfians, were afterwards befieged by the Conquerours, and fo barbaroufly Saccaged, that putting every Man to the Sword, confuming the City to Allies, and carrying the Women away captivej their Vengeance being not yet extinct, they refol- ved to eternife their Refentment, by caufing publick Edifices to be erected, wherein for a Mark of the Servitude of thefe Captives, they engraved their Images inftead of Columns, that fo they might overwhelm them likewife under the weight of the Punifliment which they had merited by the Guilt of their Husbands, and leave an everlafting Memory thereof to future Ages. This is the Example which VitruVtus has made ufe of to prove how neceifary it is that an ArchiteB mould be knowing in Hiftory, to the end he introduce nothing impertinently in his Works, and without good Reafon. The Gothic Order, which is the Folly and very Ape of ArchiteBure, in Imitation of the Caryatides has compofed certain lame Figured Mutils, or Corbells) inftead of Cartouzes, fuf- tained by I know not what Chimeras and ridiculous Monkeys, to be met with in every Corner of our old Churches 5 but fome of the Moderns having, with very good Reafon, found fault that fuch Extravagances iliould be ieen in Ho- ly Places, where Reverence and Modefty are To effendal, and confidering how- much more decent it were to fit thofe Places with fome devout Reprefentati- ons.
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with the Modern. 41
onSj without any refpeot at all to their Profeifion, or for want rather of under»
(landing the Propriety of the Orders of Archite&ure, have amufed themfelves to place the Figures of Angels and other Saints inflead of the Caryatides; making them like fo many Slaves, to carry huge Cornices, and even entire Altars upon their Shoulders; certifying thereby how prepoileroufly and without Judg- ment they confuked VitruYms upon the occafion of the Original of the Carya- tides: For they would otherwife have underilood that this Order cannot be employed, or indifferently enter into all forts of Buildings, and that it requires no fmall Difcretion to be aptly and difcreetly placed: Above all, that it ihould never be ufed in Churches, which are the Houfes of God, and AJfykms of Mercy, where Servitude and Revenge ought never to appear. They had proceeded much better to have only ufed the plain Regular Order, which we are now going to defcribe according to an excellent Antique Example, taken from the Temple of Fortuna Virilis, at prefent the Church of St. Mary the Egyptian in (Rome, the (Profile whereof has been fortunately met with amongft fome Papers of mine of that great Antiquary <Pbyrro Ligorio, whofe Manufcripts and Defigns are conferved as a very rare Treafure in the OBibliothique of the Duke of SaVoy, which has furniftied me with a Means to examine and verify diverfe Meafures, that at prefent a Man would hardly know where to take$ and to re- pair the Cornice with its proper Ornaments, which are now fo impaired through Age, that it is extremely difficult to difcern them. This is then the Model I ihall follow, and which fliall here ferve for the <%ule of this Order 5 having with mature Confederation, and for diverfe Reafons, preferred it before that which is in the Theatre of Marcellus, from whence I have taken the Doric-, which neverthelefs I fliall propofe in what follows, remitting others who concur not with my Opinion to their own Affection and Fancy. But before I enter upon the Retail of its Proportions (for Recommendation
of this Order, and the Curiofity of the Reader) I will here recount to you the Names of fome famous Temples built by the People of Ionia, whofe Antiquity is at lead of TwoThouJand Years. The moil Memorable, though not moil Ancient, is that Renowned Temple of Diana, erected, as fome think, by the Amazons in Ephefus. This was a Work of fo ilupendious a Grandure, that there was Ipent above Two Hundred Years in finifhing it, all Áâá contributing to this ineilimable Expence. VitruYms in his Third Book, Cap, 1. fays, it was. of the Dipteric Figure 5 that is, invironed with a two-fold Range of Columns in Form of a double Øïç'êï: It was in Length ö2 j Foot upon 220. All th^L· Columns were of Marble ãï Foot.in Height. The Architect of this proud Edifice, ac- cording to the fame VitruYms, was one named Ctefiphon, whom he mentions in his Tenth iBookj where he fpeaks of an excellent Machine that he invented to tranfport the Columns of this Temple 3 which for being of fo prodigious a Length that no ordinary Force was able to move and bring from their Quarries, had been all to no Purpofe had not this extraordinary Genius difcovered fome ar- tificial Forces to fupply the Defect of others. This Structure is eileemed for one of the World's Seven Wonders. There were yet in the fame City of Ephefus many other Temples of this Order 5 whereof two, one dedicated to Apollo, the other to Bacchus, are principally remarkable, as having been in fome fort comparable to this firfl3 had they received their ultimate Perfection 5 but they were leftofTun- fmifliedj by reafon of the Wars againil the Terfians, who were in Conclusion the utter Ruin and Subveriion of this People: For Cyrus having fubjugated Ì Afia,
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4% A Parallel of the Ancient Architecture
Jfia, plundered all this Country, faccaged their Cities, demolimed the Temple, and
made founiverfal and barbarous a Devaluation, that there hardly remained any thing of fuch an Infinity of ftupendous Monuments, which this noble Nation. had erected throughout all Greece: Notwithftanding this,he fpared that of Dia- w of Ephejus, whofe aftonifhing Beauty ferved as a 'Bulwark to the Fury and Rage of this mighty Conqueror. In Athens, one of the moil flourifhing Cities of the World, there was alfo of the fame Ionic Order a very great Number of Temples, amongft which that of the Delphic Apollo, and his Son JEfculapius,were highly celebrated. There is yet to be feen in the fame Place certain Vejiigut reduced to the Form of a Citadel, which they report to have been heretofore the Temple of theGoddefs Juno Attica. I could enumerate diverfe others like thefe, of which the Antiquaries we have cited report Marvels 3 but in general Terms, and without any Benefit to the Studious of the Art, who ftand in need of feme more effential Remarks and Inftructionsj I will therefore manage the reft of his Difcourfe in defcribing the Compofition and the Parts of this Order, conformable to the (profile which I have chofen for our Model, and which is precifely taken from the Antique. |
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CHAP. XIV.
The Ionic Profile taken from the Temple of Fortuna Virilis at
Rome, which is at prefent the Church of St. Mary the ^Egyptian. Ccordino- to the Opinion of that threefold grand Antiquary, fainter and
Architect, Thyrro Ligorio, of whom I have heretofore fpoken, and from whom I have borrowed this Profile,! may fafely propofe it for one of the mod regular Examples of the whole Ionic Order, which is now extant of ancient Architecture: Add to this, the Inftance which Talladio makes of it in his fourth Book, and thirteenth Chapter, being the only one of this Order, which he has inferted amongft the whole Collection of his Studies^ fo as thefe two great T^afters approving the Election and Judgment I have made thereof, it is not to be doubted for a Mafler-piece of fupreme Perfection. I will therefore make the general Defcription thereof, deducing the principal Members and Pro- portions in Grofs, without amufing my felf with the fmaller Retail of the Meafures of each particular Part, which the Defign ought to fupply. The entire Order from the Superficies of the Area to the Cornice, contains
eleven Diameters of the whole Column, which amounts to twenty-two Modules. The Column with the <Bafe and Chapter has eighteen Modules.
The Entablature, that is to fay, Architrave, Freeze and Cornice, contain four
Modules, lacking four Minutes, which are not confiderable upon the Total5 and this Height making two Ninths of the Column, produces a proportionate Mediocrity betwixt that of the Doric Order before defcribed, whereof the Entablature compofes one Quarter, and that of the Corinthian, as we fhall fee hereafter, to which the Moderns do ordinarily attribute a fifth Part. The Voluta of the Capital is after an oval Form, producing a very noble
Effect, notwithftanding that none of our Architects have put it in Practice; but the Reafon in my Opinion, is, the Difficulty of turning it with a Grace, and for that they are generally accuftomed to do all with (Rule and Compaf, which are here in a manner ufelefs. CHAP.
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170
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ThcTcmjiie cfManly 'Toifime
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44 Ë Parallel of the Ancient Arc hi tenure
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V) JL J, XI. JL . .A. V *
Another Ioni c Profile i^te /ðì» the Theatre of
Marcellus at Rome.
SO Ì E may imagine that à ought to have eflablifhed my lonk Order
upon this Example, being as it were the Twin-Brother of the firil Doric with which I have commenced this Collection of Architecture, being both of them extracted out of the fame Edifice, which is the Theatre of Marcellus. And to fpeak Truth, it was my firft Defign: But fecond Cogitations being ordinarily the more judicious, I have fince confidered, that the Amplenefs of Entablature with its extraordinary Plainnefs, was a particular EfFecT: of the Architect's Difcretion, who refolving to place this Order in an exceeding large Building, and alfo upon an elevated Place, where the Sight could hardly en- joy thofe Ornaments wherewithal it is ufually enriched, had Regard only to the Reformation of that, by a Rule of the Opticks, which the Eye might poffibly find fault with in the Grace of its general Proportions from the Di- ftance of its Elevation 3 fo that we may affirm of this (profile, that it does ex- cellently well in Work_zs it is placed in the Original3 but would not fucceed fo well in another of more Mediocrity ^ and above all, in a Work of one only Order, unlefs it were of a Cohjfian Magnitude 3 which is yet in truth nei- ther proper nor natural to its feminine Kind: However, I will here preient you with its Proportions as well as with the others. The Height of the entire Order is twenty-two Modules and two Thirds.
The Column with her Safe and Chapter hath but eighteen, and thofe pre-
cife enough 3 fo as the whole Entablature, confifting of four and two Thirds, it happens to be of an extraordinary Grandure, inafmuch as it exceeds a Quarter of the Order, which is the largeft Proportion can juftly be given even to the Doric itfelf. The (projetlure, or Jette of the Cornice, is alfo a little extravagant 5 but the
Architect has, for all that, {hewed himfelf very judicious, having refpect in that to the entire Mafs of the Building, and to the Eminence of the Site of this fecond Order: For the fame Reafon he afforded but very little Diminu- tion to the Column above. The Volutas of the Capital are Oval, as in the precedent Order 3 and this
Shape of the Volutas was much practifed by the Ancients 3 but the Method of turning them with the Compa/s is fomewhat difficult and has never as yet been demonftrated. 1 |
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CHAP.
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with the Modern
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4<5 A Parallel of the Ancient Archkedure
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C H A P. XVI.
The Perfpedive Elevation of a Profile drawn from
the Baths of Dioclefian at Rome. I Would needs make an Elevation in Perfpefibe of this (profile, that fo Ú
might add fome Variety to my Defigns, and for that likewife it is an advantagious Means to reprefent the Idea of an Order, and the EfFeot which it produces being put in Work, for their fakes who are not much praotifed in the Myftery. This Piece flood in the Baths of Diodefian, at the Angle or Coin of the return of a Wall, as I have found out by a Defign of mine very ancient and of a good Hand, where the Proportions, as well of the flan as of the (profile, are exadly noted even to the leaft Particulars, ß have reduced and accommodated them to the Divifion of my ordinary Module, as you may perceive them on the Profile which is under the Perj}e£ihe Entablature. The Height of the whole Order, from the fBafe to the Top of the Cornice,
amounts to ten Diameters and a fourth 5 which according to our manner of Meafuring, contains twenty Modules and a half 5 which being divided betwixt the Column and the Entablature, takes up feventeen, and three Modules and a half remaining, make up the Height of the Entablature. Now though there be a confiderable Difference in the Altitude of our firft Ionic Example, and this here, it rather yet conilfts in the total Quantity of the Order, than in the (proportion of their Parts 5 fori find here, that the Entablature compared to its Column, has alfo the fame relation of two Ninths 5 which is to fay, that the Height of the Column divided in nine Parts, that of the Entablature comprehends two~of them 3 which is a Symmetry particularly affeoted to this Order, as f have elfewhere fhewed. The Volutas of the Capital were turned with the Compafi, after the manner ß
fhall hereafter defcribe in a Page by itfelf, and with which I mail conclude this Order. |
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CHAP·
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with the Modern,
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37
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WMSA
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if Ofi&e %aU£S afDwcUttaTV—y
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48 A Parallel of the Ancient Arcbiteduri
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C HAP. XVII.
Palladia and Scamozzi upon the Ionic Order. Ô H E R E is fo great a Refemblanee betwixt the Mouldings and the Mea-
sures of thefe two Profiles, that the Difference is hardly confiderable unlefs it be in the Figure of the Capitals, which in truth is very different in Shape, though fufficiently refembling in Proportion. The Voluta of Scamozgi in particular, and by conference hath lefs of the
Antique than that of Palladio. ^ut Scamo^i has excogitated this Expedient, that his Capital might front on all Sides, not liking, it may be, this Variety of Afped which we find in the ordinary Valutas. The Altitude of the Column, according to Palladio, contains nine Diameters^
which make after our Meafure eighteen Modules, of which he gives to the Entablature but one fifth Part, being the fame Proportion which hereafter he afligns to his Corinthian: He had yet, peradventure, done better tO/have con» trived for this here, a more proportionable Medium betwixt the Vork and the Corinthian, proceeding by a certain Gradation from the Solid kind to the more Delicate. Moreover, I could have wiflied, that the Cornice had rather been Toothed than Modilioned, for theReafon already rendered in the general Chapter of the Ionic Order; which I mention only to Advertife, by the way as it were, what does in my Judgment feem worthy ö be obferved in this Profile, which in the reft of the Parts is exceedingly rare, and in this very Particular not abfolutely to be condemned 3 feeing Things which may be improved, are not therefore to be efteemed for ill. As for Scamozgi, befides that the fame Obfervations which I have made
on the Profile of Palladius are repugnant to him, there is this yet worfe, that the Capital being a great deal more maily, inftead of giving a greater Height to his Cornice, and compofing it of more ample Members, he has contranly made it lefs, and cut off three or four fmall P^gletss which renders it very- dry and trifling. |
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55 v.. ^3*mWAU\kWM!A.—
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5 ï Á Parallel of the Ancient Are hit e dure
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C H A R XVIII.
Serlio and Vignola, upon the Ionig Order. Ô H E Inequality of thefe two <Pro/z/« is fo wide, that it is almoil impof-
fible to approve of them both 5 and yet neverthelefs there is in a man- ner as little Reafon to condemn either the one or the other, each of them having their Principles fufficiently regular, together with their Authorities and Examples. , The firft, which is Serlio, having made a handfome Collefiion of all the
moft coniiderable Antiquities of Italy, from whence he mould have taken a no- ble Ideaoi the Orders, is returned back to the School of yitruYms, whither the Slendernefs of his Genius has recalled him. On the contrary, Vignola is fallen with Excefs into the other manner that
we may name the Grand, which though indeed more noble and advantage* ous, has yet for all that its juft Limits, which being once exceeded, become vicious and extravagant. Now the great Difference of thefe two Majlers proceeds from Serlio s mak-
ing his Column but of feven Diameters and a half, allowing only a fifth Part to the Entablature 5 and Vignolas compofing his of nine Diameters, and his Entablature of a full Quarter.
That which I chiefly reprove in this kit is, that he makes ufe of the (Safe
which VitruYms compofed for his Ionic 5 a thing not to be excufed but in thofe who follow him likewife in all the reft: For others who have endea- voured to imitate the Antique, have no Reafon to employ it, there being no Precedent for it: And in truth alfo, it never has had the Approbation oi the ableifc Modern Mafiers, who, upon Examination, have greatly wondered that VitruYms ilipuld impofe fo vaft a Torus upon fo fmall QnBwes, charging the ftrong upon the weaker 5 which being totally repugnant to the Order of Nature, is very orTenfive to the Eyes of the Curious, |
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CHAP.
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mith the Modern.
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51
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-Ë J ft
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PEPPER
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5" Ø?
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æ% A Parallel of the Ancient Archit e Bur e
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Ku Jtl ¢ Jr. .Ë.×.Á..
D, Barbaro and P. Cataneo upon the É ï í é e Order.
Õ Ï U have here the very fame Style that Serlio has obferved in the pre-
cedent Chapter: And though there be much Refemblance in the pro- files of all the three Maflers, neverthelefs we muft reckon that as to the Mean- ing of VitruYms (to whofe DoHrine they have univerfally endeavoured to con- form theinfelves) Daniel Barbara h the Captain and chief Conductor, as may be eafily difcerned from the Pattern of the Contours only, belonging to the Valuta of the Capital, which is a moil eifential Piece in this Order, and whofe Draught was never fo much as known to our modern Architects before, to whom we are obliged for the Recovery of this excellent Mafter-piece of An- cient Architecture, though he has had the Goodnefs to divide the Glory of it with his Contemporary and intimate Friend øáÀßáÜéï, by whofe Conference and Help, he acknowledges to have been aififted in the Delineation of all his Defigns. I referve it for the Conclufion of the Ionic Order, to make a Page apart of
this manner of Voluta^ where I fliall fhew a Way to trace it regularly, ac- cording to our Author $ intention. And fince it is more compendious to paint than defcribe it, 1 fliall better give you the Demon ftration by %ule and Com- pafs, than by employing a tedious Difcourfe about it. I find nothing obfervable in thefe two (profiles, befides a certain Over-fim-
plicity and Plainnefs: For the reft, the Difference of the Entablature, as well in relation to the Height, as Shape, is fo fmall, that it is nothing at ail con- fiderable: What is more worthy of Remark in the Defign of Daniel Barbaro, is this5 that he gives to every Face of the Architrave, a certain Slope, or kind of downward and inclining Stroke, as it is expreily ordained in VttruYius's, Third Book, towards the Period of the lail Chapter. But I find that the Rule of Terfpeclive, upon which he grounds it, is more refined and fubtile for its Difcourie, than any way folid in the Execution j and befides, I never faw any Example of it in any Work whatsoever. |
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CHAP.
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ipitb the Modern,
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54 ^ Parallel of the Ancient., Arcbiteciufe
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CHAP. XX.
L. B. Alberti, and Viola, upon the à ï í éc Order» THE Conformity of thefe two 1>efigns to thofe of Andrea øáÉÉáÌï and
Scamozgi is fo confpicuous, that one may eafily judge of their mutual Affiftance of each other 5 Vi%. That Viola made bold with that of (palladia, as he did before in the Doric: And that Scamozgi has imitated L. <B, Jlkrii, who is his Senior above an hundred Years. For the reft, it were a difficult thing to decide which of thefe two (profiles is to be preferred, in regard the ionic Order has been fo diverfly treated of by the Ancients, as may appear in the Examples ß have produced, of which there are fome enriched with Mouldings and Ornaments, others more naked and fimple. That which ß fiiouid have wifhed for here, as conducing to a greater and more exact Regularity, fhouid have been to have cut the Denteili upon the flat 'Band of L. B. Alherti\ Defigrt, jfince he has omitted Modilions there, which his Companion Viola, for obferving, may be the better exculed of: Though for my part, I fhould have rather employed Ventelli there, as an Ornament more particularly affected to the Ionic Order, and have refervecj the Modilions for the Order which follows next. The Reader may remember, or eife looking back on fome Pages, reflect upon what f have there obferved on the (Profiles of Palladio and Scamoz^i-, becaufe it fo much agrees with that of Viola here b to which I may yet fu- peradd, as a new Charge, that he has done ill to employ another Baje differ- ent from that of the Antique, fince he faw how his Mailer (palladio had pre» ferred it before that of VitruYms\ Compofition: He had alfo done much bet- ter to have followed precifely the (proportions of the Cornice in the fame Defign of (palladio; for in attempting to difguife his Imitation, by adding of fome Members, and changing of others, he has, in fine, rendered it but the more mean and trifling. |
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with the Modern.
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§6 A Parallel of the Ancient Archiieiufe
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CHAP. XXI.
Bulliant and de Lorme, upon the Ionic Order*
HIS firft (Profile is exactly after VitruYms, as well as that of Serlio}
Cataneo, and JDaniel (Barbara, which you have already feen j But there is in the other nothing at all worthy of our Imitation, as being neither conformable to any of the Antiques, nor to VitruYius, nor in the leaft regu- lar in its Parts: For firft, the Cornice is camuje and blunt, the principal Members, Yt%. the Cymatium and Coping fmall and ppor 5 the Freeze is larger than the Cornice, and thepafe of the Column changed both in Shape, and the Proportion of its Parts, as appears by the exceilive Dimenilons of the Tore, compared with the two Scotias underneath 3 beiides that extravagant Repetition of the two Aftragals upon the Tlinth. The Voluta of the Capital is alfo too grofs, and fo is the Collar of the (pillar together-with its Lift: In a Word, the entire Compofition is defervedly ranged in this Place. Bat after all this, I cannot but admire, that a Perfon of this Author's Condition, who was fo extremely induftrious (as may be eafily deduced from what himfelf has publiihed in his Book of Obfervations made at (Rome upon the AntiquU ties there) who had fo great a natural Propenfity to ArchiteBure, and fo many Opportunities of ftudying at his Eafe, and of inftru&ing himfelf 5 who proceeded by fo direct a Method oi the Art, and in fine, was Mailer of fo many handfome Occafions of putting his Studies into Practice 5 that, I fay, a Man furnifhed with fo many Advantages, iliould neverthelefsimmerge fo ordinary an Artijl·. But this fhews us, that we are many times deceived by our Genius, and carried to things for which we have no manner of Talent. |
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XL
58 A Parallel of the Ancient Architecture
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CHAP. XXII.
Tib Order of the C áÜõ at éü e s.
I Intend not here to repeat the Biflory from whence this Onfe/· has derived
its Original, having already fo amply deduced it in the general Chapter : the Ionic Order, whereof this is here but a Species 5 all the Difference con- fiding in the fole Alteration of the Column, metamorphofed into the Figure of a Woman, which for appearing fometimes incommodious to ArchiteBs, from the extreme over-largenefs of the Veils and Garments cumbering and difordering the Pafiage and Symmetry of the hitercolumniation, caufed them to reduce it only to the carving of Heads in place of the Capitals where they adjufted and compofed the Dreffing and Tyre to the Refemblance of Volutas, without any Alteration in the reft of the Column, unlefs where they cut Channels or Flut'mgs on it, to reprefent after a Sort the flattings and Folds of thefe Matrons Garments 5 iince this Ornament is found to change neither the "Diameter nor Height of the Shaft, which are the Safes, and as it were Foun- dations of Jrchitetlonical Proportions. That which I afferted before concerning the Caryatides in the general Chap-
ter of the Ionic Order, fufficiently difcovers how few the Occafions are where they can be employed judicioufly-5 notwithstanding fo many of our modern Architects take fo great a Liberty of introducing them indifferently into all forts of Works: For not only the (palaces of great (princes without and within, but even the Houfes of private Perfons, Churches and Sepulchres themfeives are filled with them, without any regard either to the (Reafon of the Hiflory, or to jtift Decorum : Nay oftentimes, out of an infupportable Extravagance, in lieu of thefe poor and miferable Captives, they fet the ve- nerable Figures of the Virtues, Mufes, Graces, and Angels themfeives 5 whereas they fliouid in Truth rather chain and confine the Vices there. But it is fufficient to have advertifed you of this Abufe, without any fur-
ther declaiming againft it. |
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v-' Jul ¢. x'
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Ìßh the Modern.
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59
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6o A Parallel of the Ancient At chit e Bur e
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C H A P. XXIII.
Of the Persian Order.
H O 11 G H the Name of this Order be lefs known than that of the
M^ Caryatides, under which it feems they would generally exprefs all thofe Orders where -Figures' are introduced to fupply the Places of Columns $ yet: ought we not to follow the vulgar Abufe, feeing VttruYius has put a Differ- ence betwixt them in the fame Chapter, where he fpeaks of the Caryatides: And in regard this here mould be fomewhat more folid, in reference to the Sex they ordinarily give him a Doric Entablature 3 in Confederation whereof I had once intended to have ranged it at the End of the Done Order, or placed him the firft here: But confidering, fince that VkruYms does noc treat of it 'till after the Caryatides, i thought it became me not to innovate any thing in a matter of fo final! Importance. I mail therefore fatisfy myfelf in advertififlg, that the (Romans very rarely made ufe of the Caryatides 3 and truly we do not meet with fo much as any Vefligia of them, though (pliny in his thirty-fifth Book, and fifth Chapter, has mentioned thofe of the (Rotunda, to the amufing of fo many of our Modem Antiquaries, who, through all that Temple (and which to this Day remains fo entire) can by no Diligence find any commodious Place nor Appearance where they mould have been well defigned : On the contrary, for thefe Captives, after the <Perfian, there are extant iimdry Examples 3 fome whereof are yet to be feen in the very Places where they were fee in Work, as particularly in the Arch of Con' ftantine, and fome others, which have been tranfported into Gardens and pri- vate Palaces which were taken no body knows from whence. What is here defigned is' from an excellent Original, extant yet at (Rome in the Palace of Farnezj. |
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62 A Parallel of the Ancient Architecture
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Ka Jrl A x. .KX.1V.
Of the Contour or Turning of ikloNic Voluta.
Ô H E Body of this Capital, without its Voluta or Scroul, bears a great
Conformity to that of the Doric, as may be eafily difcerned by con- ferring their (profiles the one with the other: For the Diverfity of their Form, which at firft Bluih appears fo large to the Eyes of fuch as have never exa- mined the Particulars of the Members that compofe it, confifts altogether in the Application of the Voluta upon the Abacus, which gives a moil advan- tageous Variety to the Ionic; inaimuch as the Draught of its Contour does confift of the moft induftrious Operation of the Ïçéñáâ which is practifed in the whole Art of Architecture 5 fo as whoever of our modern Mafiers he were that retrieved it (for it was a long time loft, and totally unknown to thoie of the (profepon) he has rendered doubdefs a very coniiderable Piece of Service to the Art. That famous Painter Sahiati, Contemporary with the (^. 'Daniel (Barbara,
and by confecjuence alio with Talladio, printed a fmall loofe Sheet, which he dedicated to D. Barbara, as to the moft famous Arbiter of Architecture in his Time, who alfo underftood it, and had communicated it with øáÉÉáÜéï, who accidentally, and as it were by chance, had been the firft Inveftigator of the Practice of it, while he met amongft fome ancient Fragments a Capital of this Order, on whofe imperfect and rough-hewn Voluta he obferved the thirteen Centers of this Spiral Ume% which gives fo noble and ingenious a Turn. I will not here engage myfeli on a tedious Difcourfe about its Defcription,
k being fo much a fhorter and more demonftrative Way to advance to the direct Method of its Delineation: Thus then in general you are to proceed. The Height of the Chapter, and Partition^of each Member being defigned,
one muft regulate the Extent and Proportion of the Abacus conformable to the Meafure deciphered upon the Profile at the Point of 3 2, and at the Point 2 8ta little beneath. Where the Cymatium encounters the Lift of the Scroul, make a little perpendicular Line, fo as it may pafs through the very Center oi the Eye of this Voluta marked A, 'till falling upon alight Angle by the Coinci- dence of another Line proceeding from the Middle of Collerine or Chaplet, the Point of Interjection gives you the juft Center of the Eye: Then about this Cen* ter defcribing a Circle of the Widenefs of the Collerine (which Circle, as was faid, points the precife Dimenfions of the Eye, and its true Place of Pohxion) you ihall form therein a fmall Square, through whofe Angles, having drawn two Diagonals, which cut into four Triangles, divide each Moiety of the Diagonals into three equal Parts, and each of thefe Points ihall ferve for confequetive Centers one after another, by which to form thofe feveral Quarters of Circles which compofe the Spiral Line of the Voluta. They are diftinguiihed by Numbers on the L>eftgn, according to the Order by which you are to proceed, |
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CHAP.
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If
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with the Modern»
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63
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Parallel of the Ancient ArchiteUwe
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CHAP. XXV.
. Portico of the Temple of Fortuna Virilis at Rome,
í ^hich is now the Church of St. Mary the Egyp-
tian. Aving throughly examined every Part of the Ionic Order, and ob-
ferved in particular the Shape and Proportion of all its Members 5 ic feems now in a manner neceffary, the better to conceive a perfect!^ of them* to place them together in one entire Body, that fo we may contemplate the Symmetry and Conformity which they hold mutually to each other: I have to this EfFeot, made choice of a Frontifpiece the moil noble and magnificent Composition an Edifice can poifibly be adorned with: And to the end we may contain ourfelves within the juft Limits which I have eltabliihed, f mall here make ufe of the fame Antiquity from whence I extracted my firft Modelf whereon I do principally found the Regularity of the Doric Order. Thofe who fliall have the Curiofity to examine the ØÉáç of this Temple,
with its Meafures and ^Profile of the Door, which is "exceeding noble, may find in the fourth $oo{ of (palladio, Chap. Xill. and at the fame time fee one of the raoft carious Pieces of Architecture of that whole 'Book-, which is the øÀáç of a Capital he calls Angular, that being placed upon the Column of an An- gle, renders a Face of two Sides, by which it preferves the fame Afpecl: with the reft of the Capitals, which are on the Wings and Front of the Structure. |
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CHAR
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with the Modem.
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gBiy^f
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HaaSS»: -smsmsKisaf^iia
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66 A Parallel of the Ancient Ar chit e Bur e
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C H A P. XXVI.
0/ikCoRiNTHUN Order.
Ô H E highefl Degree of Perfection to which ArchiteBure did ever afpire9
was erected for it at Corinth, that moil famous, and formerly moft opulent and flourishing City of Greece, although, at prefent, there hardly re- mains any Footfteps of the Grandure which rendered k even formidable to the People of Q^ome itfelf, but which was alfo the Caufe of her Ruin: For this Kation, impatient of Competitors, on pretence that the Corinthians had done fome Difpleafure to the Ambajjadors which (he had fent, took occafion of de- nouncing War againil her 5 fo as the Conful Lucius Mummius going thither with a great Army, reduced their City to Aihes, and in one Day deftroyed the Work of more than nine Ages from the Period of its firfl Foundation. It was from thence that our Corinthian Order affumed its Original j and al- though the Antiquity of it be not preciieiy known, nor under whole Reipri that Callimachus lived, to whom ffitruVms attributes the Glory of this excellent Production \ it is yet eafy to judge by the Noblenefs of its Ornament, that it was invented during the Magnificence and Splendor of Corinth, and not long after the Ionic Order, to which it hath much Reiemblance, the Capital only excepted 5 for there is no mention that Callimachus added any thing of his own befides that (lately Member. VitruYius, in the firft Chapter of his Fourth (Book, reports at large upon what
occafion this ingenious ArchiteB formed the Idea of this great Mailer-piece, which hath born away the Palm of all Architetlure, and rendered the Name of Corinth immortal: And though the Htflory which he there mentions, may appear fomewhat fabulous in the Opinion of Villalpandus, who treats alio of this Capital in his fecond Tome, Lib. V. Chap. XXIII. neverthelefs it were very unjuft that the particular Conceit of a Modem Writer ihould prevail above the Authority of fo grave an Author. Let us fee then what VitruYius fays of it. A Virgin of Corinth being now grown up, fell fick and died; The Day
after her Funeral, her Nurfe having put into a (Basket certain fmall VeiTels and Trifles with which fhe was wont to divertife her felf whilil fhe lived, went out and fee them upon her Tomb 5 and leail the Air and Weather fhould do them any Injury, fhe covered them with a Tyle: .Now the (Basket being accidentally placed upon the Root of an Acanthus, or great Dock^ the Herb beginning to fprout at the Spring of the Year, and put forth Leaves, the Stalks thereof creeping up along the Sides of the Basket, and meeting with the Edge of the Tyle (which jetted out beyond the Margine of the (Basket) were found, being a little more ponderous at the Extremes, to bend their Tops downwards, and form a pretty kind of natural Voluta. At this verv time it was that the Sculptor Callimachus (who for the Delicatenefs of his Work upon
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with the Modern. 6 f
upon Marble, and Genteelnefs of his Invention, was by the Athenians (um&med
Catatechnos, that is to fay Indufirious) paffing near this Monument, began to caft an Eye upori this «Basket, and to eonfider the pretty Tendernefs of that ornamental Foliage which grew about it, the Manner and Form whereof fd much pleafed him for the Novelty, that he fhortly after made Columns at· Corinth refembling this Model, and ordained its Symmetries, diftributing after- wards in his Works Proportions agreeable to each of its other Members in Conformity to this Corinthian Mode. . You fee what VitruYius reports: But Villalpandus, who will needs give this
Capital a more illuilrious and ancient Original, pretends that the Corinthians took it firft from the Temple of Solomon, of which God himfelf had been the Jrchiteii 5 and the better to elude what VitruYius but now taught us, would make us believe, that the Capitals of the Acanthus were rarely ufed by the An- cients, who were wont ordinarily to carve them with Oli^e-leayes 5 and proves in that which follows by Texts out of the Bible, and fome other Hifiorians who have given us the Defcription of this Divine Architecture, that the true Originals of the Temple were of (P^/w-Branches bearing Fruit, to which the Leaves of the Olive have a nearer Correfpondence. The Defign which we fliall hereafter defcribe, with the whole Entablature of the Order, drawn pre- cifely according to the Meafures which Villalpandus has collected, and which I expreily followed^ without regarding the (profile which he has caufed to be Engraven, will better difcover that I know not how to decry the Beamy of this Compoiition: In the mean time,, to be conftant and preferve myfeif within the Terms of the Corinthian Architetlure, which has been practiied by thofe great Ivfaflersoi Antiquity, as well Greeks as Romans, and of whom there yet remain fuch wonderful Footfteps, and even entire Temples, which may ferve as fo many exprefs and demonftrable Lectures of the Proportions of this Order $ I have made choice of one of the moil famous amongft them, to which I totally conform myfeif, without any refpect to the Opinion of the modern Authors 5 feeing they ought to have purfued the fame Paths> and re- gulated themfelves with me upon thefe Original Examples* The (Rotunda, heretofore called the (pantheon, having ever obtained the uni-
verfal Approbation of knowing Perfons, as being the moft regular Corinthian Work, and indeed the moft famous among all the Remainders of Ancient (Rome, appears to me to be the very beft Model which I could poffibly make choice of, though there are indeed others to be found which are much richer in Ornaments, and of a Beauty more elegant i But as our Gufis do gene- rally differ, I have preferred my own, which rather affects things Solid and a little (Plain, for that indeed to me they appear fulieft of Majefty, Never* thelefs, forafmuch as it is neceflary that an ArchiteB accorriode himfelf to the Perfon's Humour which employs him 3 and for that one meets with Occa» fions where Magnificence is proper, as in Triumphal Arches, K^ings (palaces. Temples, and publick Baths, which were much in ufe among the Ancients, and in diverfe the like ample Structures, where Splendour and Profuiion are chief- ly considered, 1 will produce fome Examples of the moft renowned of Antiquity, the firft whereof fhall be that great Relicjue of the Fronti/p'iece of the Torre di Herone, fo called, which has been demoliflied within thefe laft thirty
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68 A 'Parallel of the Ancient An■hiHe Sure
thirty Years, to the great Reproach of this Age, by the Avarice of fome par-
ticular Perfons. This was one of the rareft Pieces of Antiquity, as well for the Beauty and
Richnefs or its Ornaments, as for the Compofures of the Members of the Order, which even in (Paper itfelf appears bold and terrible ·, the judicious \Ar*· chitecl of this Work very well underftanding how to introduce a Grandure of Manner into his Defign, which fhould equal that Mais of Stones he heaped up and contrived into the Structure of this Gigantic Edifice, whereof the Columns contained fix Foot Diameter. It is not precifely known who it was that caufed it to be built, nor yet
to what Purpofe it ferved : Some imagine it was a. Temple ereded by the Emperor Aurelianus, and dedicated to the 5«».* Others, that it was only a par- ticular Palace, The Vulgar have a Tradition, that Nero raifed it of that Height, to behold the Conflagration oi (ftome; which is very improbable, as being too great a Work to have been accompliflied in foiliort a Time : But whatever it were, certain it is, that it has been the moil magnificent and good- lieil Order of Corinthian Work which all (ftome could boaft of, as one may well perceive by the Defign which I fhali prefent you of it after that oi the (profile of the (Portico belonging to the Rotunda, being the Model on which Ú regulate the (Proportions of the Corinthian. The enfuing Defign is a fimple Reprefentation of the Hiflory of Callimachus}
which I but now reported, and is placed here only for Ornament fake. |
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chap.
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!<sl
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f I s
with the Modern,
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9
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7 ï A Parallel of the Ancient Archil e ciure
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• C H A E XXVIT.
A Corinthian Profile taken from-the'Portico
the Rotunda at Rom e.
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€
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Ô H E whole Height of the Order, from the Safe to the Cornice, amounts to
three and twenty Modules and two thirds 3 whereof the Column,with its Saje and Chapter, contains nineteen, and the Entahktureiom and two thirds : fo as the whole Entablature, which is the Architrave, Freeze and Cornice, makes a quarter of the Column. And albeit it may feem reafonable to follow the Opinion of fome Authors, who allow it but a fifth 5 yet we find, that the moft famous of the Antique, for Example, this Frontifpiece of Nero, and the three Pillars of Campo Vaccino at ($o??ie, which in the Judgment of Architects pais for the nobieft Relicjiies of Antiquity, challenge an entire fourth Part for their Entahlature, upon this Account, 1 conceive it fafeft to preferve ourfelves within the Limits of our Example from the Rotunda, left endeavouring to render this Order more fpruce and finical, it become in fine but the mors contemptible. Behold here its Compofition in general, and the Proportions of the prin-
cipal Members, of which the Module is ever the Semidiameter of the Column, divided into thirty Minutes. J
The entire Height of the Order contains twenty «-three Modules and two
thirds, which amount in Minutes to-------------- ---- ,_____ ___ ___ -|0 |
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The Safe has one Module precifely — -—
The Shaft ol the Column fifteen Modules and two thirds, wantino- two
468
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The Chapter contains two Modules and a third only------------- — ãï
The Entablature, viz. Architrave, Freeze and Cornice four Modules and two third?
two Mmutes over —----------------------------> -—- ·------- —— —— — ë ëæ
Concerning the frriall Divifions of each Part, it would be too tedious, and
indeed fupcrfluous, to fpecify them here, fince the Defign demonftrates them more intelligibly. u I have towards the End of the Second Chapter of this <Book, taught how
one ihould make the Calculation of an Order for the examining the Propor- tion which the Entablature bears with its Column, and thereby to fee if it hold regular : it would be no Lofs of Time to the Reader, did he make Proof of his Skill upon every (profile. But I advife him before hand, that there are three different Proportions, all of them beautiful, and which may very well agree with this Corinthian Order: That is to fay, the Fourth as in this ani the following (profile: The two Ninths, which are the mean Pronortions of the Fourth to the Fifth, as in the third Profile taken from the <Baths of Diocletian : And laftly, the Fifth, as in the Profiles of Palladio and Scamo^i, not fo fre- quently encountered among the Ancients. |
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ç% A Parallel of the Ancient ArchiteHurt
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£ H A E XXVIIL
The Elevation in Perfpeclive of an excellent Corinthian Profile^
which was'in the Frofltifpiece of the Torre di Nerone at Rome. ALthough this Piece of ArchiteBure was one of the moil Magnificent of
all Antiquity, as well for the Excellency and Richnefs of its Orna- ments, as for the Stupendoufnefs of the Work j yet could 1 never certainly learn what kind of Structure this fliould have been, nor indeed under whofe Reign it was built: Some reporting it to have been a Temple dedicated to the Sun by the Emperor Aurelian : Others, that it was only a private Palace built by Nero, in which he placed that extravagant Colofs of UBrafs, which fixt a ºÍ,ïç Ultra to the Folly of the Sculptors of that Age, who, out of a facrilegious Profanation of their Art, would Veify the Emperors, by erecting Statues to them of a prodigious Grandeur, as they did heretofore to the Gods to whom this Honour was of right to be referved. Andrea Palladio conceived it to have been a Temple of Jupiter 5 fome others conjectured that it might be a Palace of the Cornelij; thus every one had his particular Conceit: Bucfince the Truth of this Queltion is very indifferent to our Subjetl in hand, which confiders only what relates to Architecture, I fhall refign the Debate thereof to our An- tiquaries. The Columns were ten Viameters in Height, every Oiameter of fix Foot;
■which being of fo exceffive a Bignefs, as tranfcended whatfoever had been built at P(omeeither before or fince, it inclines me to believe it might indeed be fome Work of Kero's. The Compofition of the Profile in general is of an excellent Idea, and each Member fufficiently regular · For the reft, I thought fit to prefent it in PerfpeBive, to fhew the ftupendous Effed of this Manner of Defign, which even upon Paper itfelf, and without at all exceed- ing the Limits and Proportions which the Art has prefcribed, prefents to the Eye a kind of aftonifhing Grandeur, proceeding partly from the extraordina- ry Projecture of the Entablature, whofe Corona carries ksjette a great way beyond the Modilions, and which indeed makes the Columns to appear a little weak and furcharged : But the Architetls had provided judicioufly for it, by making ufe of that Manner of Columnation which the Greeks have termed <Pycnoflylosy where the Pillars ate fet very near to one another. Now for thofe who have only made their Studies of Architecture but from
fimple (profiles, may wonder to fee here fome of the Members extraordina- rily diftant from their accuftomed Proportion 5 I advertife them that it pro- ceeds from an Effect of the Opticks, which never prefents things precifely to the Eye, but diverfifies them according to the various Afpects and Dp ftances from whence they are beheld 5 and the Parts which thence receive more fenfible Alteration, are fuch of them whofe Superficies is mod fiexuous and circulary, as the Gula, or Ogee, which compofes the Crown of the Cornice, which being feen from beneath, and more advanced upon the Plan, receives a confiderable Accefs of Height. The fame Reafon alfo makes the Column to diminifli, as being fee further within the Plan than any of the reft of the Members. C H A P.
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72 A ParalM of the Ancient Architeffure
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C HAP, XXIX
Another Corinthian Profile exceedingly enriched
and full of'Ornament, takenfromOioclamns Baths at K ï me, A F Ô E R this Corinthian Example, we are no more to expect any thing
rich in Architecture, but it belongs to the judicious only to put it in Practice $ for the Abundance of Ornaments is not always to be efteemed, nor of Advantage to a Building: On the contrary, unlefs the Subjeff oblige one to it by Confederations very powerful, one iriould never be too profufe, fince they but difturb the Proportions, and produce a Confufion among the Tarts, which offends the Ey*es of thofe who are truly knowing, and carries.acertain Antipathy to the very Name of Order. it is not therefore to be employed but in great and publick Works, Houfes
of (princes, and fuch (palaces that are built for Magnificence only; as were heretofore at (pome the (Baths of Diodefian, of Antonius, and Trajan, whereof there are yet to be feen fuch goodly Remainders, and from whence this (profile had been taken notice of and defigned by that famous Architetl, Tyrrho Ligorio, ia the Year 1 5745 fince which Time thefe great Theatres of Architecture have been difmantled of fundry of their Columns with their Ornaments, and of a num- ber of other incomparable Pieces, whofe Defigns I have from the Hand of fe- veral Mafiers, who had there made very curious and profitable Obferyations from many noble things, which are now no more to be found. The Diameter of the Columns of this (profile amounted to four Palms: The
Chapter had this in particular, that its Stalks and Flexures of the Leaves were made in the Form of (p^ams Horns, but the reft after the ordinary Proportions and Foliage. In fum, the whole Ornament in general was fo artificially ela- borated, and finifhed with that Affection and Politenefs, that (pyrrho Ligorio having accomplifhed theDefign, w7rit this underneath it, That by the Deli- catenefs of the Work, one would believe the Sculptors had wrought with their Tools perfumed. The Proportions of the Order»
The Column, together with its Bafe and Chapter, has twenty Modules, which
reduced to Minutes, thirty whereof make a Module, amounts to —-----· 600
The Architrave hath a Module and a Third *------- — ·----------■------- 40
The Freeze, in like manner, one Module and a Third-----------—- -~ 40
The Cornice two Modules within eight Minutes----------------------- — jz
The whole Entablature amounts to two ninths of the Height of the Column,
which is a noble Proportion, and fliews handfomely in Work, |
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CHAP-
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it h the modern.
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Ç1ÂÇÉ$9!úâ '
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ã 6 A Parallel of the Ancient At chit e Bur e
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■ >' e h a p, xxx
A Co'rm ô ç é á í Profile of the Temple of Solo-.
mon, out of Villalpandus.
Ehold here a kind of particular Order, but of an excellent Compofitkri^
which though ß dare not affirm to have been precifely the fame (profile with that of Solomon's Temple, the Model which I propofe to myfelf, yet as near as one can approach to that divine Idea from its Defcription in the {Bible7 and fome other famous Hiflories mentioned in that great Work of Villalpandus^ where all the Ornaments and principal Proportions of each Member are exactly fpecified, I conceive it to be iufficiently conformable. The Cornpo- fition is perfectly Corinthian, though the Foliage of the Capital and its Cauliculi, or Branches, are or Talmes, and the Freeze'of the Entablature has borrowed the 'Doric Ornament^ which are the Triglyphs, whofe Solidity bears but little Con- formity with the Tendernefsof the Corinthian. But by whatever Name you will call this Order (notwithftariding that Jofephus affirms it to have been the Corinthian) certain it .is, there was never any more perfect: And although the Corinthian be a very foft and maidenly Order, which does not require the Strength and Virility of the Doric, fymbolized by the Triglyphs5 yet may one, upon certain Occafions, introduce it with that AddrefsanclReaibn, as will not only render it excufable, but very judicious. For inftance, fuppofe one were to build Churches ox Altars in memory of thofe generous Virgins, who from their tender Age van-cjuiflied the Cruelty of Tyrants for the Defence of Chriflianity 3 furmoimting all forts of Torments by their Conitancy 5 what could we ima- gine more expreifive and fuitable to their Courage than this Divine Order? it may alfo be proper on fome profane Occafions, as in Triumphal Arches and the like Structures, in a Wordy fince it gave Ornament to that famous Temple of Jerufalem, which never yet had Equal, we may with Reafon call it the Flower of Architecture^ and the Order of Orders* |
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with the Moder/h
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OftL· Temple.' of ffc-ruf/dem.^
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73
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78 A Parallel of the Ancient Architecture
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CHAP. XXXI.
Palladio W Scamozzi upon the Corik ôç é an
Order.
F all the Corinthian Examples which I have formerly produced for the
_ <Kuk of the Order cxprefly chofen from the moll excellent Pieces of AntHmy there is not one of them of the Proportion which thefe two Matters here obferve who make their Entablature but a fifth part of the Column. How- ever when confider their great Reputation (particularly that of M* É)À7À { Tr .emU,ate lHe beft °f the *"&"> and the Reafons whkh
they alledge for difchargmg the Columns proportionably as they are weakened fre OrdtI rmm °(j thcir ^ a"°rdin§ t0 the Delicatenefs of
theft*», I can neither comrade their Judgment, nor blame thofe who
would .nutate them; though my own Maxim be ever precifely to conform
cTabtL'd '^ ÁáÅÂßß' and t0 the ö"º">'-'·"·'! »þ ^ey have Wtt makes his ftfe», but of nine S,,«ic„ and a half; that is to
fay, of nineteen Modules , fo as the Difference ,of the Height obfer-Ted be- twixt his Â*Ë,„« and that of -Scamp's, proceeds from S«,m„,'s Colu- mns being often Diameters, which is iikewife an excellent iropnion, and mdeea more ufual than the other among the Ancients |
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8 ï A Parallel of the Ancient Architecture
_________________ ■ ■ -____________■ -- -■ ■·■-,·-
CHAP. XXXII.
Serlio and Mptoh upon /kCoRiNTMiAN Order. MEthinks ß fee here a Giant next a:figmy; fomonftrous is the Difpro-
portion betwixt thefe two Mafiers : And the Reaibn of this fo extra- nary inequality proceeds from two Caufes-5 whereof the firft is, that Ser- lio allows to the Entablature of his (profile but a fifth part of the Column ·, where- as Vignola makes his own of an entire Quarter, and exceeds even that by fome Minutes. The fecond is, that Serlio, following VitruYms, makes the Altitude of his Column but of nine Diameters, and Vignola gives his ten, the fame which I formerly obferved in the lomc Order, where we met the very fame Inconve- nience. But albeit the Difference of thefe two profiles be in general very confiderable, yet coming to the Particulars, what we find in their Capitals is of greater Confequence, fince we muft of neceifity condemn that of V'i- truYms prefcribed in his fourth Book towards the end of the firft Chapter 5 there being no Reafon to prefer it alone to an almoil innumerable Number of moft excellent Modules which remain of Antiquity, amongft which we meet with none in the fame Terms to which he has reduced the Height of his own, unlefs it be that out of refped to this grave Author, who is indeed worthy the Reverence of all thofe of the Trofeffton, and to avoid the invidious Name of Cri- tick we fhould choofe a gentler Way, which is to elude the Quefiion after their Examples, who having already obferved the fame Miftake before us, either in Effeofc or out of Modefty, believed the Text to have been corrupted in this Place as well as in diverfe others where the Alteration is manifeftjfo as affifting the Senfe a little, one may fuppofe that VitruYms defigning the Height of the Corinthian Chapter by the Largenefs of the ^Diameter of its Column, he lliould not have comprehended the Abacus, which is the fole Ambiguity of this PafTage, and which indeed deferves Correction, or to be otherwife underftood than Serlio comprehends it. |
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8 á Á Parallel of the Ancient Arc hit e dure
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C H A P. XXXIII.
Daniel Barbaro, and P. Cataneo, upon the Corin-
ô h é á í Order.
OF all the four Orders of Architecture defcribed by VitruYms (for he fpeaks
not a Word of the Compofita, which is the fifth) this of the Corinthian appears to me to be the moil flightly handled, confidering the Noblenefs and Magnificence of its Inventors, who having fpared no Coil to render it rich and excellent beyond all the reft, were not likely to borrow any thing from thofe arnongil whom they were ranked. I conceive that VitruYms therefore at the beginning of his fourth Book, had no Reafon to affirm that they ufed to em- ploy the Entablature and the Ionic, and fometimes even the Doric Column alio, without any other Addition fave the Capital of their own Invention; finceby the ancient Examples of this Order we find the contrary: But the (2^. Daniel Barbaro, his Commentator, whofe Defign is before us, is by no means to be blamed for it, whofe Province was only to exprefs the Meaning of the Mafler whom he explained, and of which he has very worthily acccjuitted himfelf. He has therefore fitted an Ionic Entablature to this Corinthian Profile, forming
the Capital of Acanthus-leaves, conformable to the Deicription and Hiftory of its Original mentioned by VitruYms. I would not, for all this, advife any Workman to make ufe of this Compofition, without firft confidering the relative Proportion which the Entablature ought to have with the whole of the Order, a thing that I find is here extremely changed, and a great deal lefs than it fliould be, by reafon of the considerable Height which the Column has re- ceived by that of the Corinthian Chapter, which is two thirds higher than the Ionic : But this is remedied by enlarging the Freeze, and by adding fome new Moulding to the Cornice betwixt the Corona and the Dentelli, as a Quarter of a Circle or To, to carve the Eggs and Anchors in. | The Defign of Cataneo has nothing in it remarkable, unlefs it be the extra-
vagant Projetlure which he allows to the Fillet of his Dentelli, as we aifo find it in the Defign of D. 'Barbaro. They have both in this followed that Maxim which regulates the Projetlure of every Member to its Height 5 but this Rule is not always to be received. What I have faid in the precedent Page touching the Height of the Capital,
according to VitruYius, would here be Superfluous to repeat: It may there- fore ferve both for this and for all the reft that follow, being of the fame Species. |
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CHAP.
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with the Modern,
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83
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S£ A Parallel of the Ancient Architecture
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CHAR XXXIV.
L. Baptifta Alberti, and Jofeph Viola, Upon the
Corinthian Order. I Shall here need only to examine the 'Defign of Alberti, that of his Com-
panion Viola being but in imitation, or rather a perfect Copy after the (profile of Palladio, which we have feen already^ and to which I refer the {Reader as to its Original. As touching that of L. <B. Alberti, I find two remarkable Particulars in
his Defign, which feem worthy of Reprehenfion: The firft is the low Pro- portion of the Capital, which is only pardonable in the Followers of VitruVius, for we find no Example of it amongft the Ancients, fince even he himfelf imi- tates a Manner both greater and more noble than the Vitruvian. The other Obfervable is in his Cornice, to which he has given no Corona, though it be a Member fo eifential, and one of the principal in the Entablature. But though this Liberty be fomewhat bold, and perhaps blame-worthy, yet remains there one confiderable Example at <%ome, in the Cornice of that famous Tent' pie of (peace, built by the Emperor Fefpafian,. being one of the greater!: and m oft fuperb Obliques of Antiquity. The Face likewife of the Modilions feems to me of the largeft, and befides
that the Foliage which domineers in the Freeze, holds not fufficient Confor- mity with the Cornice, as too fimple and plain for fo rich an Ornament: But the Remedy is at hand, by adding a few Leaves or other Carvings on the Cyma- tiums of the Cornice ana Architrave, with Eggs upon the Quarter Round 3 unlefs it be that you would rather fave that Work by abating fomewhat of the Or- nament of the Freeze. There will yet remain this Objection ftill in the Defign-y That the Author refolving rather to fix upon the Capital of VitruVius than on thoie of the Ancients, he ought not to have carved them with OliVe~LeaVes, fince Vitruvius does expreily order them of the Acanthus. |
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85
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86 A Parallel of the Ancient ArchiteSufe
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C H A P. XXXV.
Bulliant and de Lorme, upon the Corinthian
Order.
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I Should do an Injury .to one of our prime French Architects, John 'Bulliant by
Name, if by the Examen of this-Profile ß fhould rank him with thoie of the School of Vkruvius, fince he has after this given us others of a nobler Form, which he has copied from the Ancients. But not finding him fo per- fectly exaor, in the Meafures which he affigns them, I therefore omit them. He appears in this Defign to have imitated Serlio-, and indeed the Difference between them is very inconfiderable3 notwithstanding I obferve fomething in this that is more refined, as the TrojeSiure of the Dentelli, or rather of the plain Fillet on which they fiiould have been cut, which is extremely regular 3 whereas Serlio7 s is excefiive, befldes the impertinent Repetition of a fmall Ogee, "which is thrice within the Space of the Cornice only, but which John 'Bulliant has had the Difcretion to diverfify. He alfo gives his Capital more Grace^ the Leaves and Branches whereof are better fhaped. Ú could have wifhed, for conclufion of our Corinthian Order, that T>e Lorme
had left us a more regular Defign, and of a better Relifli; But the good Man, though very ftudious,- and a Lover of the Antique ArchkeElure, had yet a Mo- dern Genius, which made him look upon thofe· excellent things of <3$ome as it were with Gothic Eyes-, as appears plainly in this Profile, which he pretends to be conformable to thofe of the Chapels of the (Rotunda. For the reft, his Style is fo exceedingly perplexed, that it is oftentimes very difficult to com- prehend his Meaning. The Reader will fmile to fee how he explains himfelf on the Subject of this Cornice (it is in the fourth Chapter of his iixth BookJ For having cited all the Meafures of each Part, Piece by Piece, he fays, that as to the Fleight of the Architrave, he had divided it into three and forty Parts and an half, to give every thing its Proportion 3 but that not falling out as it ought, he is reiolved to fpeak no more of it5 and thefe are his very Terms, As to the fBa/e of this Profile, I have taken it from the End of the Second Chapter of the fame Book. And albeit its Proportion be very extraordinary, he affirms yet to have defigned and meafured it from certain Vefiigias very Antique (thefe are again his own Expreflions) You may likewife take notice that, the Stalks or Cauliculi under the tftyfes of the Abacus, rife too high in this Capital, in Sum, the Talent of this ArchiteB, who has for all this accquired a great deal of Reputation, confliied chiefly in the contriving and furveying of a Building 3 and in truth, his chief Perfection lay more in the Art of fquaring Stones, than in the Compofition of Orders5 and of this he has indeed writ- ten with moft Advantage and at large : But fince him, and that very lately, the Sieur DeJ'argues of Lyons, one of the moft excjuifite and fabtile Geometrici- ans of this Age, whofe Genius delights to render familiar and ufeful the moft excellent Speculations of that Science, has exalted that Art to a much higher Perfection. CHAP.
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88 A Parallel of the Ancient Architecture
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C H A P. XXXVL
The Orthography of one of the Altars of the Rotunda. NO Ô to leave the Mind of our Reader altogether entangled amongft
the Moderns, and haply alio deviating from the right Path of Arcbi- tetlure, I am prefenting him with an Example from the goodlieft Temple of Antiquity, which is one of the Tabernacles now Handing in the (Rotunda 5 that fo he may return and be again reduced to this noble and perfect Idea of the Art which ß have ftill been propofing to him in my fixed Difcourfe before every Order by the like Examples 3 upon which, as upon the moil permanent and immoveable Foundations he ought to fix and eftablifh his Studies: For, compared to this, the Writings of the Moderns are but loofe Earth, and ill- bottomed, upon which one can erect nothing that is fubftantial and folid. But having already fufficiently treated of the Mouldings and Proportions of the Corinthian Orders, and that the Vefign which I here propofe, is too little for the precifely meafuring of each Member, I fhall only touch two or three Particulars here, which more import the general Compofition of theDejign than the Regularity of the Order: The firft whereof is, that its now be- come as it were the Mode, I fliould fay rather an univerfal Madnefi, to efteem nothing fine, but what is filled and furcharged with all forts of Ornaments, without Choice, without Difcretion, or the lean: Affinity either to the Work. or the Subjetl. So as the Compofition of this Altar would be efteemed very mean in the Opinion of our fmall a-la-mode Mailers 5 who to enrich it, would in lieu of the fingle Column, which at each fide fuilains the Frontifpiece, make a Pile of four or fix, and haply of more, with two or three Accumula- tions of Mouldings in the Cornice, to break the Order and exact Evennefs of the Members, whofe Regularity is anxious to them : One Fronton would be likewife two few for them 5 they add frequently two, and fometimes three, and that one within the other 5 nor do they think it fine unlefs it be broken, carded and frett, with fome Efcutcheon otCartouch at Ieail: Nay, even the Co' lumns themfelves, which are the Props and Foundation of the Orders, efcape them no more than the reft 5 for they not only abufe and counterfeit them in their Capitals and Safes, but in their very Shafts alio. "Tis now efteemed a Mafter-firoke to make them wreathed and full of (Rings, or fome other capricious Ligatures about them, which make them appear as if they had been glued f together and repaired. In fine, one may truly fay, that poor Architecture is very ill treated amongft them. But it were nt>t juft to impute this great Reproach to our French Work-men only 5 the Italians themfelves are now become more licentious, and ihew us plainly that Rome has, at prefent, as well her Moderns as her Antiques. The End of the Firfi Ø art.
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91
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PARA LLEL
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Ï F Ô H E
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ANCIENT ARCHITECTURE
, W I T H Ô H E
MOD E R U
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Par* II.
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C tl A P. I
the Tuscan Order.
Ô is an Abufe fo vifible in the JrchiteBure of the Moderns, their
confounding the Greek. Orders amongit the Latin, that I am aitomihed at the general Inadvertency of fo many Authors as treating of their Symmetries, and the Particularities of their ^^^^^^ Proportions, have fo difpofed of them, as plainly difcovers how ignorant they were of their Proprieties and ftecific Differences, without which it is io very difficult to make ufe of them judiciouiiy. I had already hinted fomething in the (preface of the Firft Part of this
Treattfe to prepare the Reader for the New Order, which I am here obfervins - but which being contrary to vulgar Opinion and current Practice will have much ado to eftabliih itfelf, and doubtlefs provoke many Adversaries But fince the Foundations of this Art are principally fix'd upon fuch Exam- pies ok An^uny as are yet remaining, I hope, that in time, my Opinion may prevail, feeing I tread but upon their Footiteps, and rather demon/Irate the thing, than dijcourje of it; ' Hitherto
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9;1- A Parallel of the Ancient Ar chit empire
Hitherto all our Architetls have generally held that the Tufcan Order was
a kind of {Building -which differed from the others only in theplainnefs of its Mouldings, folidity of its Parts, but in the reft, confirming of the fame Mem- bers, and of like Ilfage: And truly Ifhould be injurious to condemn it, fince VitruVius has in his fourth ®3c4,made a particular Chapter of the Manner how to build Temples after the Tufcan Order, Notwithstanding, however one might interpret what he there fays, it would be very difficult to invent an frahdfome Idea of Entablature, fit to place upon thofe Columns. And therefore I conceive, that the only Piece of this Order which deferves to be put in Work, and that can properly recommend it to us, is the fimple Column it felf without any Architrave at all, as we find it employed by the Ancients, For whereas by the ordinary "Ufageof it, it is ever ranged in the laft Place y thefe great Maflers have affigned it one wholly independant from the others* and treated it fo advantagioiifjy, that itjtfnay for its Beauty and Noblenefs {land in competition with all fhe reft oJlthe Orders: Kor will this I prefume be denied, when they ihall have confidered that renowned Example which I am producing of the Column Tmjan, one of the moft fuperb Remainders of the (Roman Magnificence to be..npw feenftancjing, and which has rnoreimmor- talixed the Emperdr of frajgn} than all the ø-ens of Hifiorians. This Maw /oleum, if fo we may call it, was erected to him by the Senate and (People of (Rome, in recognition of thofe great Services he had rendered his Country $ and to the End the Memory of k might remain to all iucceeding Ages, and continue as long as the ve't| Empire itfelf? they ordered them to be engra- ven on Marble, and that by the richeft Touch that was ever yet employed,, It was Architecture herfetf which was here the Hiftorwgrapher of this new kind of Hiflory 3 and who, fince it i was to celebrate a (Roman, chofe none of the Greek Orders (though they were incomparably the more perfect and in ufe ■even in Italy itfeif, than the two other Originals of the Country) leaft the Glory of this renowned Monument fhould feem to be divided 5 and to inftruct us alfo, that there is nothing fo plain and fimple but what Art knows how to bring to Perfection : She chofe therefore a Column of the Tufcan, Order, which 3tsil that time was never admitted but in Grofs and (Ruflic Works 5 and of this rude and inform Mafs made to emerge the richeft and moft noble Mafler"[>iece of the World, which Time, that devours all things, has preferr- ed and kept entire to this very Day in the midft of an infinity of Qtyins which even fill the City of (Rome, And it is indeed a kind of Miracle to fee that the Colifeum, the Theatre of Marcellus, thofe great Circus''s, the !Baths of Dwckftan, of Camcalla, and of Antonius, that proud Mole of Adrian s Sepulture, the Septizonium of SeVerus, the Amphitheatre of Augufius, and innumerable other Structures, which feem to have been built for Eternity, ihould be an atprefent ßï ruinous and1 delapidated, that it's hard even to divine what their ori- ginal Forms were 5 whilft yet this Column of Trajan (whofe Structure feemed much lefs durable) remains extant and entire, by a fecret of (providence, which has deftined this ftupendious Obelisk^ to the greateft Monarch that ever Qtyme enjoyed, the Chief-.of" the Church St. (peter, who poifefles now the Seat of that Emperor to whom it hath been erected. But to preferve my felf within the Limits of my Subject:, which is only to give you its Defcription according
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with the Modern. 93
according to the T)efign of the Architect who was the Author of it, ß fliall leave
to fuch as are contemplative, the moralizing on this fo wonderful Viciffitude^ fince it would be heer from our Purpofe, and very impertinent to the Art we are illustrating. Let us then again return to our Column, and its lingular ufe among all the
Orders of Architecture, where the reft of the Pillars do, in comparifon of thisj appear but as fo many Servants and Slaves of the Edifices which they fupportj while ours is a Queen of that Majefly, that reigning as it were alone, fhe is exalted on the Throne of her Pedeflal, decked with all the Treafures of Glo* ly, and from whence fhe as freely imparts her Magnificence to all thofe whom me vouchfafes to look upon : The firft and moft illuftrious of her Fa- vourites was Trajan, upon whofe Monument I am now forming an Idea of the Order which'I would call Tufcan, without troubling myfelfwith what^all the Moderns have written of it, who making no difference betwixt it and the (Ruftic, do no great honour to the Tufcan, while they gratifie him with fo poor an Invention : But left our Critic^s take it ill we fliould name that a Tufcan Order, which had its firft Original at (Rome, let them, if they pleafe>> call it the (Roman Order-, fince they may with much more reafon do it, than thofe who fo name the Compofita, of which we fliall fpeak hereafter. For my part I regulate myfelf upon the Profiles of the Capital and <Bafe, which I here .find to be the fame which Vitruv'ms attributes to the Tufcan Columm The moft important Difficulty, in my Opinion, would be how our Column^ having no Entablature, could be properly reckoned in the Catalogue of Or- ders, that being fo principal a Member, and, in fome Degree, the very Head of the Order. But the Architeil of this our Model well forefaw, that fomething was to be fubftituted in its place, and fo contrived it after a moft excellent manner : He propofed doubtlefs to himfelf the Imitation of thofe miraculous Memphytk Pyramids, which the Aigytians (thofe divine Wits to whom we are fo much obliged for many excellent Arts) had formerly erected to the Memory and Ajhes of their icings h who from the immenfe and prodigious greatnefs of their Tombs, one would believe had been Giants, and as it were Godsamongft Men: Their Urns and Statues crowned the Summities of thefe z.mn'auMountains, from whence, as from fome auguft and terribleDWwe, they feemed to the People to reign after their Death, and that with more Majefty than when they lived. Our prudent Architetl being to render the fame Ho» nour to Trajan, the wortrweft Prince that 'till then had borne the Title of Ein* peror, and whom the City of (Rome did ftrive to immortalize, reflected feri* oufly upon thofe ftupendous Works whence he drew this high and fublime Imitation, which we fo much admire, and which has fince become a^Rule^ and been followed on fundry other Occafions: Two moft renowned Exam-' plesot this are yet remaining, the Column of Antoninus at<Rpme, and alfo that at Confiantmople, erected to the Emperor Theodofius after his Viotory againft the Scythians 5 which fufficiently teftify by their refemblance to that of our Trajan^ that this kind of Architecture paifed currently for an Order amongft the Maflers of the Any feeing they always employed it ever fince upon the fame Occafi- ons, together with Tufcan Profilures both at the (Safe and Capital. This efta- blifhed, the reft will eafily follow, fo as not to fubjeot it henceforward to the Opinion and Diverfity of the Gufios of thofe of the Profeifion, fince B h wg
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94 - ¹ Parallel of the Ancient Archilxe8ure
we have the Original for our Model, to which we ought of necefficy to con-
form, left we tranfgrefs the Terms and Regularity €>f the Order. Now fup- pofe an Architdlht on fome occafion obligedto introduce or change any thing in it, as the Time and Quality of thisDefign may require 3 he is yet to pro- ceed with extraordinary Gircumfpecticm/ and without in the leaft altering the Form of the principal Members; in which one fliall perceive the Addreis of his Spirit, and the Gallantry of his in vendor? This is a Maxim fo uni- verfal through the Orders, that without k one fliould never pretend to give Rules, nor propofe indeed any Example for Imitation : fo naturally obnoxl·* ous indeed are our Inclinations to Novelty, and ßï blind in our own Pro- ductions. See then from what Source the Confuilon of that Order fprung, which they name the Compofita, and which the prefuraption and ignorance of Worktnen has begotten, like an extravagant Monfter blended with fo many Naturesj and fometimes fo averfe and contrary, that it is impoflible to di- ftinguifh their Species: I have refervcd their lull Examen for the Concluilon of this Treatije, where! fh-all make choice of what ß meet with of moil conformity to the Rules of Art and of good AroiteBure, and where I fliall produce fome of the moft famous Examples of Antiquity, that at leaft Men may have faithful Guides through this Labyrinth of Confufion. Our Trajan Column, which we hear fubftittite inflead of the Tujcan Order, by
the Prerogative of its excellent Compofition, has this advantage above the other Orders, that there feldom happening Occafions worthy of it; that is to fay, fuch as are particular and noble enough to merit the putting it in practice j our /mall Mafiers, incapable of fo high an Employment, haveipoken nothing of it, and by this means ihe has remained in her original purity: But the firft which was ever made in Imitation of it, and that exceedingly confirmed the Eftablifriment of this new Order, was the Column of Antoninus, which is yet very entire, and the only (paragon to ours, though it concede fomewhat to it in the execution and magisterial handling; but in recompence of this, it furpaffes it in the greatnefs of its Ìáâ, a thing very confiderable in this Order, whok fyecificl^ Beauty confifts in being vaft, and of a manner Colofeal For the reft, the Compofition and Ordinance of the whole Defign are very alike. I will now fliew in general, the Effect and Form of the principal
Members, and of what one ought to be careful in the Application of Orna~ mentSj which are to be difpofed with great Difcretion, as being of the very EJfence and Body of the Order. The firft, and as it were the Foundation of the whole Structure, is thepedeftal, which is here no lefs neceffary than is the Cor' nice to the Columns of the other Orders 5 and its Proportion, though fcjuare and folid, requires an enrichment of handfome Modenatures, and· of all other forts of Ornaments at theTHnth and Cymatium, but above all in its four Faces, which are, as it were, the Talks of (Renown, where fhe pajints the Victories of thofe Heroes to whom fhe erects fuch glorious Trophies. It is there that we be holt» all the Military Spoils of the vancjuifhed, their Arms*, the Machines they made life of in fight, their Enfigns, Shields, Cymeters, the Çáçéåâ of their Horfes and of their Chariots, their Habiliments of War, the Marks of their Religion, and, in a word, whatever could contribute to the pomp and magnificence of a TW" tmph. Upon this gloriousiBooij), our -Column, as on a Throne, is erected and revefted |
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mkb the Modern, it- g î-
with the moil rich and fplendid Apparel which Art can invent ] arid indeed,
provided the Architect be a judicious Perfon, it cannot be too glorious : I re- peat it again, that this ought in no fort to alter or in the leaf! eonfourid the proportions and Tu/can Profiles of the <Âáâ and Capital, as being the very Keys of the Confort and Harmony of the whole Order. The laft, but principal things becaufe it fets the Crown upon the whole Work, is the Statue of the Perfon to whom we ere£t this fuperb and magnificent Structure 3 this hath an Urn un- der his Feet, as intimating a Renafcency from his own AJhes, like the <Pbe- nix, and that the Vertue of great Men triumphs over Defiiny, which has a power only over the Vulgar. As to what concerns theregular -Proportion of this Figure and Urn, with the
Altitude of the Column, I can here conclude nothing precifely, this part being repaired in the Original, and that in a manner too modern and wide of the the' firil intention of the Architect, to derive any advantage thence for our1 Subject. It may yet be faid with likelihood enough, that fince it is as it were the Entablature of the Order, one fliould allow it a fourth part of the Column, as to the Trabeation of the Doric Order, to which this bears a very great re- femblance. I conceive-alfo, that the Figure ought ßï to be proportioned by the Rules of Opticks, that it may appear of a Size fomewhat exceeding the Hatural, and of an elegant Symmetry, that To k may be taken notice of above all the reft 3 but with this Difcretion yet, that being of neceifity toftand;oh its Feet, it appear of a firm Pofition, and that the Ìáâ of the Urn which' ferves it for a Pedeflal, have a folidnefs agreeable to this effecl:: For it is a thing greatly obliging in Architecture, to make every thing not only folid and du- rable, but that it likewife foappear, and thereby avoid that Gothic Indecorum which affe&s it as a Beauty j the making of their Works feem as it were hang- ing in the Ab', and ready to fall upon one's head, which is an Extravagance too^ifible for us to fpend any time in confuting. By this time ß think I have left nothing unfaid which concerns the gene-
ral Conipofition of our Column. As for the leifer retail of the Proportions and Profiles of each Member, the Defign fhews them fo perfpicuoufly, that it were but a childifh arid impertinent Labour to name them over one by one, as thofe firil in venters of .painting did, who, to fupply the weaknefs of the Art, not vet arrived to fo natural a reprefentation of the things they imitated, were forced to write under them5 This is an Ox, a Tree, a Çïéâ, a Mountain^ &c. There will be no need of this here, the Effect of the Defign having fo far exceeded the Expreflion of all Words, that it fhews us more things in an inilant, and that with infinite more precifenefs, than could have been deferr- ed by difcourfe in a very long time, ß will therefore conclude by this rare kind of Language, which has neither neqdof Ears nor Tongue, and which is in- deed the moll divine Invention that was ever yet found out by Man. For the reft, you will, in my Profileoi the Trajan Column, perceive with what
diliaence and exa&kude all thefe things conform to the Original, even to the very lead Ornaments, and thereby judge how exceedingly careful I have been in other things of greater confequence. If the Reader be intelligent, and that he have attentively viewed, and with a mafterly Eye, this rich and incomparable Piece which ß defenbe, the Satisfaction he will derive from A. 1
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9 ä A Parallel of the Ancient Architeffiufe
the accurate Obfervations I have made^ and here prefent him, will be pro-"
portioned to his Ability : For in thefe Particulars our Eyes fee no farther than ourllnderftanding purges them · nor do their admirable Beauties reveal them- felves at once, nor to all the World in general 3 they will be curiouily ob- ferved and difcovered with induftry. There are like wife feveral kinds which every one confiders according to the force of his Wit, and as they conform to his Genius. Some there are who feek only the Grace and Neatnefs of Or- naments 5 others confider the Noblenefs of the Worh^ and Novelty of the hmn- tion ; the moil knowing have regard to the (proportions chiefly, and the regu» larity of the Whole with its Parts, to the judicious Compofition, the great- nefs and folidity of the Defign, and fucheiiential Beauties as are only vifible to the Eyes of the moft intelligent JrchiteBs 3 from whence it often falls out, that the fame Work in which all thefe Parts are not equally perfeor, is vari- edly efteemed by thofe of the Profejfion-j (for there are but few like this of ours fo qualified as to merit a univerfal Approbation) and the mifery of it is, that the belt things have for the moft part many fewer Admirers than the in- different, becaufe there are more Dunces than able Men. The Module of the following Defign, and the Method of decyphering, is the
fame with what went before; Ì÷. That palling a Perpendicular through the Centre of the Column the whole Height of the Order, I divide the Semidiameter of the Pillar at the foot intothirty Minutes, which compofe the Module, upon which I afterwards regulate all the Members as well for their Heioht as Sailings over, and ProjeBure of their Profiles, ftill beginning by this Central Line of the Column, that fo the Pofition of each individual Part be exactly adjufted and precifely in its place. This is fo perfpicuous, and has been fo oft repeat- ed, that there can remain no poifible Difficulty. As to what now concerns the whole Ìáâ, the Column contains feventeen
Modules, comprehending the {Safe and Capital. The Pedeflal with its entire (Bajjament, Cymatium, and that Zocoloox Plynth above wrought with zFefloon (which in my judgment makes a part of it, as rendering it a perfect Cube, of all Geometrical Proportions the moft regular and folid, and conlequently moft agreeable to this Structure) has in Height three Modules, or a very little lefs: The <Bafe of the Column precifely one, and the Capital two thirds of a Module. |
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G H A P.
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"Trojans I Qolwnn^,.
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98 A Parallel of the Ancknt Architeflwe
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C H A P. IL
Palladio and Scamozzi upon the Tus e á í Order.
HAving declared my Opinion touching the life and Form of the Tuf-
can Order after the manner of the Ancients 5 I will now defcribe to you after what Fafliion our Modern Mafiers have handled it, and in what Reputa- tion it is at prefent amongft all our Workmen, who in regard of the meannefs of fo poor a Composition, furname it the %uftic Order, and that with Reafon there being fo little Probability that the Tufcans would ever own or acknow- ledge it in fo wretched a Condition. Andrew <Palladio, of all the Moderns the moft judicious, and to whom in this
ColkBion we have affigned the moil eminent Place, prefents us with two (pro- fits 3 one whereof is fo plain, that it has only a Summer of Timber covered with another piece inftead of a Coping and Corona for the Entablature of the Co- lumn 5 and I conceive he imagined it fhould have no other, from what Vi- truYius has written of it. But finding this Compofition too meanly handled to me- rit the Honour of an Order, this induftrious Archkefi went and fearched amongft the old Relicks of Amphitheatres, which are thofe enormous MaiTes of Architecture, where the Solidity of the Building was more require than the Sprucenefs, and Curiofity of the Orders · 'till, in fine, he difcovered in the Arenas of Verona, Öïßï, and other Places, a certain Order, which he conceived one might call the Tufcan, in imitation whereof he compofed this· For he did not tie himfelf precifely to follow one rather than the other 5 but from many he formed and ordained this, which I have rather chofen than any of the other Mafiers. That of his Companion Scamo^i, might pais tolerably well, had he not affigned him a too great Conformity with the Doric, and not fo much as once mentioned where he had feen any like it· fo as*Ving altogether Modem, and near as rich in Mouldings as the Doric itfelf it were much better to make uk of the Antique 5 this being nothing confiderablefor a Building, but for its Cheapnefs and the faving of Time. The Height of the Column with its <Bafe and Capitals is of feven Diameters
only, according to ØáÉÉáÜ'éï. Scamo^i allows to his feven and an half The Entablature contains always a fourth part of the Column, |
||||||
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C H A P.
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é ï ï A Parallel of the Ancient At chit e dure
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C H A P. III.
Serlio and Vigiiota upon /k Tuscan Order. WE have feen in the precedent Chapter the Tufcan Order of our Modern
Architects in its moil advantagious Luilre 5 but methinks it is ex- tremely decayed here, efpecially in the ^Profile of Serlio, where the Whole is indeed too plain and particular, being the only Perfon who has allowed to every Member of the Order in general, <Bafe, Capital, Architrave, Freeze, and Cornice, like an Altitude 5 this Equality being here but a falfe kind of pro- portion, and wholly repugnant to what Architecture has borrowed from the Op- ticks. VignoL· has in this refpect proceeded more rationally, adding to each Mem-
ber what it might diminifh of its Magnitude by the Diftance from the Eye 5 and therefore he has made the Cornice fomewhat higher than the Freeze or Architrave. Serlio allows his Column but CixDiameters 5 though VitruYms (whom he always
ftrives to follow) gives it kven in his Chapter, where he treats of building Tern- pies after the Tufcan Manner, which is the Seventh of his Fourth Book. Vignola, as to what imports the Column, conforms himfelf to VttruYius^ but
for the Mouldings of the Capital and Cornice, is governed wholly by his par- ticular Fancy. The Entablature both in the one and the other of thefe two (profiles, confifts
of a quarter of the Column, |
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ï 2 A Parallel of the Ancient Arehiteclure
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To DREADER.
WERE altogether a fruitlefs Study, and but labour loft, to
continue any longer in queft of this Order after other Jrcbke&Sj befides thofe four, whofe Defigns I have lately produced : I am therefore refolved to proceed no farther 5 coniidering withal^ _______ that thofe who remain, are (for the moft part) of p7truVms*s
School from whence it is exceedingly difficult to colled any thing more
eflentia'l to the Tufcan Order, than the meer fimple Form of the (Bafe and £4- pital which are already defcribed in the profile of Serlio, whereof the Repe- tition would be but fuperfluous. As to what concerns the Entablature, fmce there remains extant no ancient well-confirmed and pofitive Example, nor in- deed fo much as any intelligible Defcription of it in the Writings of Vttrtivius, I fhall make no great reckoning of their Indentions. I have like wife obfervecl, that Leon <Baptifia Jlberti (the very beft'of thofe which remain after Daniel Bar- haro) has fpoken of it, but curforily only, as in truth making no account of it and without giving us fo much as a Profile. As little does he eftiera the Compofita, of which VitruYius too has been altogether filent, |
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CHAP-
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with the Modem. ioj
|
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C H A P. IV.
Of the Compounded Order. Ô H E Compounded Order, which has hitherto obtained the firil rank amongft
the Modems, will find itfelf extremely debafed in this fevere and exact Review, which I have made upon the Five Orders 3 and where (without at all regarding the Opinion of the Vulgar j and the Judgment of others that have written before me) I value nothing unlefs it be coformable to fome famous and ancient Example, or to the Precepts of Vitruvius, that Fa- therof Architects 3 thatfo (if poiftble) I may at leaft re-eftablifri the Art oti its genuine (Principles and original Purity, from whence thofe licentious Com' pofittons of our late Workmen have fo exceedingly perverted it (under the pre- text, forfooth, of this feigned Name of the Compounded Order) that there hardly remains fo much as the leaft Idea of regular Architecture in it 5 fo ftrangely thofe Orders, which contributed to it, degenerated into Confuifbn, becoming even Barbarous themfelves by this extravagant Mixture. But as it is a thing very difficult to fubdue and reduce fome Spirits to their Devoir, when once they have taken a bent and are abandoned to Libertinifm$ fo, nor do I pretend to gain any Difciples, or be fo much as heard by thofe who have thus prefumptu^ ouily taken upon them to be Maflers, becaufe they are either grown too old in their depraved Gufio, or aihamed to acknowledge their Miftake 3 refolving rather to perifh in their own Opinion, by obftinately defending it, than be fo ingenuous as to reform it. I addrefs my Difcourfe then to thofe Perfons on- ly, who having not as yet their Imaginations prepoifefted, preferve their Judgment more entire, and are better difpofed to difcern thofe charming Beau- ties and Originals of the Ancient Architecture, acknowledged for ßï many Ages} confirmed by fuch a multitude of Examples, and fo univerfally admired. Now for as much then as it is a thing of main importance, that we fea- fon Our young Spirits with an early Tincture, and begin betimes to fettle in them thefe Ideas, I do ever at firft propofe to them the fame Models that have been left us by thofe great Geuius's, as fo many (pilots and Compaffes fleer- ing the direct Courfe to the Art, and favingthem from that Propeniion which they naturally have to Novelty, the very <%oc^ and (precipice of the firft Inch> nations of the French 3 which being once overpaffed, Reafon does then be- gin to take the Helm, to conduct and let them fee things fuch as they ought to be, that is to fay, in their (principles, without which it will be altogether impoflible to acquire more than a very ordinary and fuperficial comprehen- fion of them 3 and thofe who travel by any other Path, grope like blind Men in the dark, and walk unfecurely, without ever finding any real Satifc faction in their Wor^: For the vain Complaifance of ignorant Menj be it that they take it from themfelves (as commonly they do) or that k be deriv- ed to them from fuch as are like them, it is fo empty and falfe a Joy, as it oftentimes turns to fhame and confuiion 3 whilft the true and folid Praife which
|
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|
éï4 -# Parallel of the, Ancient Architeclure
which is attributed to the Merit of knowing Maflers, and the Excellency of
their Workinanflnp, is never obnoxious to this Self-deception. Now how little foever it be a Man poiTefTes of the Idea of this high Manner of the Ancients, and the Greatnefs of their Thoughts, he fliould foon perceive the Mean- nefs and impertinency of our Modern Compofition, when in the midft of ßï many Examples of the incomparable and only Architeclure of the Greeks, which was the Ornament and Splendor of the Ancient (pome (whofe very (ftuins and Vejlias render her yet augufi above all the Cities of the World) thefe wretched and trifling Spirits, indigent in the midft of fo great abundance, depart from the right way which thefe great Mafiers have opened to them, taking a de- vious Path to purfue an Abortive of Architecture, or the evil Genius of the Art rather, which has introduced itfelf amongft the Orders under the Title of Compoftta, the favour of Mens Ignorance, and the indifcreet Preemption of I know not what pitiful new Architects^ who have made it their Fools !Bauhley and clad it in fo many Áñ'ö and Capricious Modes, that it is now become a ridiculous Chimera, and, like æ (Proteus, not to be fixt to any conftant Form ; fo as it would be altogether labour in vain, an idle and foolifh Enterprize for us to fearch after it here through all its wild and unlimited Extent, fince k has neither (p^ules nor Measures, principles, Species, nor particular (Propriety, and fo by confeejuence not to be comprehended under the name of an Order. It would in, truth (in my Opinion) be neceifary for the good of the Art, and the Reputation of ArchiteElure, that this Monfler were altogether fmothered and that fome more pertinent and fpecifkk name were given to thofe excel- lent Profiles, which we encounter amongft fome Antiquities of the grand Defign which (from I know not what Tradition) are called of the Compounded Order 3 a Name altogether novel, not fo much as once mentioned by VitruYws, and which is in earneft too general and uncertain to iuit with a regular Or- der ; and that fince they refer the Glory of its Invention to the Romans, it were much more proper to call it the (Roman or Latin Order, as Scamo%gi has judiciouily enough done, and moreover obferved, that its Capital (by which alone it differs from the Corinthian) is of a more maify and Jefs elegant Com- pofition, whence he conceives this Order fliould not be placed upon the Corin- thian, left the weak be burthend with the ftronger: To which he might alfo add, that they can never confiftinthe fame Work together, as I have elfe- where demonftrated,and that this is fo perfpicuous5that it admits of no poffible Extenuation : However, thofe who would take advantage of this evil Practice, and Abufe of the Moderns to do the contrary, might have a way to efcape by by this Afinine-'Bridge. For the Importance is very inconilderable in com- parifon to that unbridled Licence which now a-days reigns amongft our Compofiters of the Compofita, who not only change the Rank of the Orders-, but reverfe and overturn even all their Principles, undermining the Founda- tions of true■ ArchiteSlure to introduce anew Tramontane more barbarous and tinfightly than even the Gothic itfelf But to all this let us reply (in confufi- on of its Inyenters) that an ArchiteB fliould no more employ hislnduftry and Study in finding our new Orders, to fef a value upon his Works, and render himfelf an able Man, than fliould an Orator, to acecjuire the reputation of being Eloquentj invent and coin new Words that were yet never ipoken ; or a
|
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|
with the Modern, 105
a (poet compbfe Verfe of another Cadence and Meaftire than what are pre-
fcribed and are in ufe 5 this Affectation being altogether puerile and impertinent ^ or, admit one would upon fome Occafion take any fuch Liberty, it ought to be with fuch Diferetion, and fo to the Purpofe, that the Reafon theteof ihould to any one appear immediately* Thus it was the .Ancients made ufe of it, but with fo great Caution, as that they have confined their en- tire Licence to the fole Form of the Capital, of which they have devifed an hundred gentle Compofitions, and to fome Subjects peculiar, where they fuc- ceeded incomparably, and out of whofe Limits one cannot (without mani- feft Impertinency) employ it in any Work whatfoever. I will therefore choofe two or three Examples amongft a good number of Defigns, which lie by me, of that moft famous (pyrrho Ligorio, found out and obferved by him in feveral Places of Italy with a Diligence ineftimable. But let us firii con- clude our prime Subject, which is to form the Ionian Compofita, and make of it here as regular and precife an Order as any of the former Four* I propofe^ for this effect, two antique (profiles, both of them excellent in their Kinds5 one very rich and full of Ornaments, taken from the Arch of Titus at (]$pme$ and the other much plainer indeed, but great and proud, being that of the Arco de Leoni at Verona. If thefe two Inftances fufflce not our (Reader; he may make his Election of
others more to his liking, or fix upon any of thofe who bell pleafes him of the Authors following, which ß have therefore exprefly collected together^ and amongft which I acknowledge my particular efteem for (palladio. |
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E e f.rou CHAP.
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éï6 A Parallel of the Ancient Architedure
|
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|
C H A P. V,
A Profile Compofita taken from the Arco deLeoni at Verona
BEforel propofe this Compofita for Model, I fhall firft endeavour to pre-
vent and elude certain Objections which our Criticks poiTibly raife, left they impute it to my Inadvertency, mould I pais them by in filence. The firft is, that the Cornice is defective for want of the Corona. The other is che nak- ed placing of the Dentelli, without any feparation on the Freeze. Thirdly, the exceifive Height of the Freeze. And laftly, that the three Faces of the Architrave are all inverted from the ordinary Poiition. And finally, that the plinth of the !Ba/e is a great deal too high, being compared to the reft. To all thefe Objections I might reply in a word, That in a Bufinefs of /a- chitetture the Reafon is allowable, fince I produce an antique Example, uni- verfally approved, and fuch as this is: Beiides, I add, that the very name of Compounded kerns to infer a kind of Liberty, and that therefore an Architect might fometimes be juftly permitted to take it, as occafion may fuggeft, either by introducing into the Order, or retrenching from it what he thinks moftconducible and proper to his Defign-, provided it be difcreetly managed, as it has been judiciouily obferved in. the Profile, where the Author being to make an extraordinary large Freeze for the more commodious placing of many Figures which concerned his Subject, would fpare from the Cornice what he had ufurped of more than the regular Proportion of the Freeze did per- mit him. To this purpofeit was, he cut off and abated the Corona, though in truth a considerable Member,- but which is yet (as far as I can collect from other Inftances) not abfolutely neceifary 5 fince in the Temple ofPeace. at <$ome (one of the moft ftupendious Works of Antiquity) the Cornice, though Corinthian, has no Corona at all, notwithstanding that the Architect had the Pield fo open before him. And L. iBaptifla Alherti (whofe Authority is greatly prevalent amongft our modern Mafters) without any other reafon Jor it, than that of his own Gufio, has given none to this Corinthian Order. Now as concerning the Compartment of the Swaths and Fafc'm of the Architrave, whofe Pofition here feems fomewhat prepofterous, it is (to fpeak ferioufly) a little extraordinary, however I well remember to have feen others which were like it, and Palladia produces us one Example of it towards the end of his Fourth (Boo^, taken from a Temple of Polo in Dalmatia, of the Corinthian Order, the Architecture whereof is exceedingly rare and antique 5 and there I alfo find that the <Bafe of the Column hath a Plynth likewife of an exceifive thicknefs, as indeed ours has, which fupply the place of a Zocolo. Thus you have both Reafon and Example fufficient for the Anfwer of every Ob- jection. But from hence one may alfo judge, that this Profile mould not be employed in Work without extraordinary Diicretion, and indeed fome kind . of Neceflity. That which I fhall produce in the following inftance is more regular to Particulars, and by conference more agreeable to all forts oi Works. But the general Proportion both of the one and other is fufficientty equal. The Column itfelf has ten Diameters, and the Altitude of the Entabla- ture amounts to a fourth part of the Column* |
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CHAP·
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I
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*ti
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with the Modern,
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6 ■
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Of the CaMe. ofLims \ a-tr IJ^o-tie^-,
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â
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loy
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ú ü 8 A Parallel (f the Ancient ArchiieUun
|
||||||
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G H ÁÑ. VI.
A Profile of the Compofita, taken from the Arch of
Titus at Rome.
Ô H E incomparable Idea of this Compofita, and the Richnefs of its 0r±
naments, makes me conjecture that the InVenter thereof might pofiibly accompany Titus at the Expedition and Siege of Jerufalem 5 and that it was there he had contemplated the divine Architecture of the Temple of Solomon, in imitation of which (though in a very ilender Copy, compared to that mira- culous Edifice, and efpecially in a different Order) he would ihew how ftudi- oufly he had coniidered it. This Conjecture of mine has for its Foundation, that the Triumphal Arch, from whence I have drawn it, is the very fame which they erected to the Glory of that Emperor at his return from that fa* mous Enterprife : And the Architect who haply contrived the Ordinance, and the whole Preparation of the Day of Triumph, judicioufly introduced into his Work (which was to make the moil noble and lafting part of it) the Figures of the principal Spoils of the Temple, as that of the Golden Candlefikk^ with its feven 'Branches, which ftood in the Santluary, and the Golden Table upon which was fet the Bread of (propofition, together with fome other Utenfils to this Day extant in the Work. Moreover, the Arch has this confiderable amongft others yet remaining of
the Ancients, that it was the firft and very Original of this kind of Stru- cture: And albeit there have been fince made fome more fumptuous for greatnefs of Bulk and Magnificence, this is yet of a better Hand, and more exquifite Workrnanfi)ip than any of them. I give you the Elevation in fVrj^iiVe, as well to gratifie the Curiofity of
thofe who affect this Art, as that I may alfo contribute fomething to the Beauty of the Defign j and befides, that fuch as never faw the Original may in fome fort judge of the Effeti which it produces. |
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CHAP-
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tte.
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'f I
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ttb. the Modern.
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09
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of-tjte ^tscfr ofltiuj at- J{trme>-·
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11 ï A Parallel of the Ancient ArchkeCiure
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C HA P. VII.
Palladio and Scamozzi, upon the Compofita, AKdrea palladio propofing this [profile of the Compofita, which he alfo
names the Latin Order (to make it fyecifically differ from fome others which bears the fameAppeliation) gives us a general Maxim for its proportion, which is to make it referable the Corinthian, the Form only of uie Capital ex- cepted. And though he add, that this Order ought to be fomewhat more decked and gay than the Corinthian, it is to be underftood in reference only to thofe who allow the Corinthian Column but nine Diameters (as himfelf does) whereas this mould ever have ten. Scambzgfs (profile has not fo good a Grace as that of (palladio, nor is it in-
deed fo exacl: in Regularity of its Entablature with the Column^ where it wants but three Minutes upon the Total to make it precifely a fifth: for though this be a very fmall matter, yet fince it had been better to have a little exceeded than come fhort (the Ancknts commonly allowing a whole fourth, or at leaft two ninths) the Defect is the more eafily perceived. But what is yet worfe, is, that in the Compofition of the Cornice he has accumulated fo ma- ny fmall Members one upon the other, as renders it trifling and a little con- fided* |
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C H A P.,
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with the Modem»
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112 A Parallel of the Ancient Architeffurc
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CHAP. VIII.
SerKo ^wiVigriola, upon the Compoilta. I Am aftoniihed at this laft Production of poor SerUo,wh.o having 'nil now
reafouably well conducted the firft Orders of ArchiteBure under the Di- rection and Government of VitruYius, fails miferably at the very Port juft as his ÖúÉïß has deferted him : And what does moft of all lurpriie me, is. that the Man's Genius (which was to intimate a mean and trifling Manner) fhould revolt in fuch an Inftant, and change into fo ftrange an Excefs, 1 was at firft refolved to have fuppreiTed this (Profile (for the Credit of the Perlon) had it not been to wrong his Competitor Vignola, and fo fruftrate him of the great Advantage, which, upon this Occafion, he has over him j fince in the precedent Orders I have fometimes conceived him his inferior. Ú lliall ncc dwell long upon the Particulars, which in this Compofition to me feem defec- tive 3 becaufe 1 ihall fooner have jrmifhed in faying once for all, that there is nothing as it fhould be, though the Cornice be taken from, and (as the Author pretends) followed ftroak for ftroak' after that of the fourth Order of the Colofjeum, which is indeed one of the moft renowned Pefligias of AntiquH ty, and an admirable Piece of Architecture. But one had need of a very fled- dy Head to be able to climb fuch an Height without ihaking ones judg" ment. He fhould have confidered, that this ColoJJfean Structure being a Mm of a prodigious Altitude, had need of fome Sophifiicattons from the Optkm to make it appear regular to the Eye $ and that therefore there would be m Error and Miftake in dimming up the Dimenfions and A^quipondtum of id Members at a more moderate Diftance with the fame Meafures and Propof tions. This inadvertency has made him flip into another Fault much mofc grofs and unpardonable ; for he places upon a fmall and pitiful Capital (afrei his own Mode) the whole weight of the Colojjeum, that is to fay, a GiganvA Entablature, which composes the Corona of this prodigious Edifice. This W monftruous a Medly appears more here than in the Author5 becaufe he h*s deilgned it very ilightly, and in fo fmall a Volume (in his fourth <Bool^& ninth Chapter, where he explains this laft Order) that one can hardly difcern tl'e Form of the principal Members, Vignola has proceeded with a great deal more exactnefs and judgmentJil
his Defigns, which he has alio (profiled very neatly, and in a large Volume, chat renders it commendable and of ufe to Workmen, He allows in this Compofu'oli the fame Meafures and Proportions that he does to the Corinthian. |
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C H A $
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114 A Parallel of the Ancient Architecture
----- ill in ii mi li ii ■iniii'iirnrT—З'--------" ■'"'■■ ' '■■■■■ , ———^_—————^------^-----„—T-mnmrm-ßéé..... '■"'" '' . ' '.'"'';\'." J. . . é" '":' ééé é ....... "iiitoi'iiip i''jj
f U A p TV
÷ë XJL JtX. JL. ×.Ë.· Of a certain Ornament called the Frette,
A^chiteBure is in all this Treatife fo extremely jealous of thofe Libertines
that have the rafhnefs of daring to corrupt the Forms of her (profiles by their capricious Indentions, that ihe even reiufes entrance to all kind of TSloVelty whatfoever. This it is which has put me in mind of the promife I made to prefent you here with fome extraordinary Defigns of Capitals drawn from the Antiques: But coniidering that they can ferve for no uie in any fore of Structure at prefent, as being only proper for the (pagan Deities, and than we have now no more Jupiters, Neptunes, or other Cods of that Age, for whofe Temples thefe kind of Capitals were Angularly appropriated, by Repre- fentations fyecifical to every Subjetl 5 I conceived it better to remove thofe Baits which ferved likewife but to awaken the ill Genius of our Workmm, to imitate and copy after them. To fupply then their places with fome other thing which ihould be profitable and without reproach, I have made a very curious and rare Collection of a; certain Ornament, which they call the Frette$ and of which the Ancients made great Life 5 taking infinite Delight in com- pofing variety of forts, as this Defign will iliew you. This Ornament con- iifls in a certain interlacing of two Lifls, or fmall Fillets, which run always in parallel Diftances equal to their Breadth 5 with this neceffary condition that at every Return and Interfe&ion, they do always fall into right Angles · this is fo indifpenfable, that they have no Grace without it, but become altogether Gothic* There is one (amongft the Ten \ here prefent you) that confifts but of a iingle Fillet, which neverthelefs fills its Space exceedingly well, and makes a very handfome ilhow. The Ancients did ordinarily apply them upon even and flat Members, as upon the Face of the Corona and £v« of a Cornice under the ^oofs, <Planceres and Ceilings of Architraves-, alfo about the 'Doors, and on the <PUnths of ISa/es, when their Torus and Scotia's were carved · alfo they do rarely about Tlatfonds and upon Ground Works. |
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The End of the Second Part,
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Á Í
A C C Ï U Í Ô
ft
Ï F
Archite&s and Architecture^
TOGETHER WITH
An Hifbrical, Etymological Explanation of certain
Terms particularly AfFecled by Architects. Much Enlarged and Improved fince the former Impreffion.
—■ . é ■ ■ ____________,,.,é ------
By JOHN EKELTU, Efq; Fellow of the Royal Society;
TOGETHER WITH
LEON BAPTIST ALBERT I oi Statues.
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ô ï
My moft Honoured friend, SirCHRISTOPHERWREN.KV
Surveyor of His Majefifs Buildings and Works.
SIR/ IjSflffilSBBSiSlH ATI take the Boldnefs to adorn this Little*
^^3 ?SK^ ffiwk with the Name ot the Mafler of the Works WIKm JSPS (whole Patronage alone can give it Reputation) |||fijl Pp|| 1 have no Excufe for; but an Ambition of Publick- W$Sk_ mM§ ly Declaring the great Eiteem I have ever had of jSfJtljRiEidl Your Virtues and Accompliihments, not only in the Art of Building, é but through all the Learned Cycle of the moil Ufeful Knowledge and Ahfirufer Sciences, as well as of the moft Polite and Shining : All which is fo juftly to be allowed You, that You need no Tanegyrtc, or other Htfiory to Eternize them than the greate/ß City of the linker[e, which You haveite- tuiltzna Beautified, and are ftill improving: Witnefs the Church- es, the Roy Þ Courts, Stately Halls, Magazines, Talaces, and other Publick Structures ; befideswhat You have Built of Great and Magnificent in both the Umverfities, at Chelfey, and in the Country; and are now advancing of the Royal Marine Ho [pitalat Greenwich, &c All of them fo many Trophies of Your Skill and Induftryj and Conducted with that Succefs^ that if the wdole Art of Building were loft, it might be reco- vered and found again in St. Taufs, the HifioricalTilldr, and thofe other Monuments of Your Happy Talent and extraordi- nary Genius. 1 have Named St. ?Ws, and trufys not without Admiration
as oft as I recall toMind (as frequently I do) the fad and deplora- ble Condition it was in, when (after it had been made a Stable oiHorfes, and a T>en of Thieves) You (with other Gentlemen andmyfelf) were by the late King Charles 3 named CommiJJioners to
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The 3 EDI CATION.
to Survey the 'Dilapidations, and to make Report to his Majeftf^
in order to a fpeedy Reparation: You will not, I am fure, forget the Struggle We had with fome, who were for patching it up any- how (lb the Steeple might Hand) inftead of New-Building, which it altogether needed : When (to put an End to the Conteil) five Days after that ^Dreadful Conflagration happened, out of whofe ylpjes this Thosnix is Rifen, and was by Tro'vidence Defign'jJ for You : The Circumflance is too Remarkable, that I could not pafs it over without Notice. I will now add no more, but beg Your Pardon for this Confidence of mine; after à have accquainted You, that the Tarallel (to which this was Annexed) being out of Print, 1 was Importun'd by the Boohfeller, to add fomething to a New ImpreJJion; but to which I was no way inclin'd, 'till not long lince, going to St. TauVs, to Contemplate that Ëçøâ Tile, and the Frogrefs You have made, fome of Your Chief Workmen gratefully acknowledging the Affiftance it had afford- ed them; I took this Opportunity of doing my felf this Honour, who am, |
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AJ i K.)
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Tour mofl Humble Servant,
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Feb. 16 of. |
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J. Evelyn.
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TO THE
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R E A D E R:
HE Author of the Parallel of the Ancient Archi-
tetlure with the Modern (which many Years iince I made Engliflo) had at the end of his Treatife hegun to explain a few of the hard Words, Technical Terms belonging to the Art; '^Etymologies where of he thought ne- cejfary to interpret: And, as If aid, they are but a few indeed, compared to thofe which remain, about a Dozen at the mofl; nor was it necejfary hefhould exceed that Number, in a Coun- try where Workmen are generally more intelligent in the proper Expreffions of the Terms of the Arts unto which they additl themjelves, than ours for the mofl part are ; and therefore, if waving the formal Tranflation of that Page (for it exceeds very little more) I have inlieuthereofconfider- ably enlarged upon this Occaflon, by a more finifhd and com- pleat Enumeration of the fever al Parts and Members of the Orders, as they gradually fucceed one another in Work, illu- flrated with more full and e ÷ all Definitions (than by any has yet been attempted for the Benefit of our Countrymen) J hope my Adventure may find both Tar don and Acceptance. Nor let any Man imagine we do at all obfcure this Defign by adorning it with now and then a refin'd, and Philological Re f ear ch; flnce whilfllfeek to gratify the politer Students of this Magnificent Art, I am not in the leaft difdainful of the loweft Condefcenfions, to the Capacities of the mofl Vulgar Underftandings; as far at leaft as the Defetls, and Narrow- nefs of our Language wiU extend, which rather grows, and abounds in Complement al and Impertinent Phrafes, and fuch Froth (as Sir H. Wotton weU obferves from Gualterus Rivius'j incomparable Verfion of Vitruvius in the Ger- man Tongue, and is now f ï far out-done by the Learned Perault) than in the f olid Improvements of it; by either B pre-
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The P R E F A C E.
preferring or introducing what were truly needful: And real»
ly, ihofe who are a little converfant in the Saxon Writers, clearly difcovered by what they find Innovated, or now grown Obfolete, that we have lofi more than we have gain'd; and as to Terms of ufeful Arts in particular, forgotten and lofi a World ofmoft apt and proper Exprefiions which our Forefa- thers made ufe of without being obligd to other Nations; And what CaretheFrenchhave taken upon this Account only, may inpartbejudg^dfrom that pretty, though brief Eiiky des Merveilles de Nature, & des plus Nobles Artifices, &c« but efpecially by the late Dictionaries, wherein the proper Terms ofthe mofi Vulgar, as well asmorefoliitiaArts, are indufirioufly delivered, whilft (to fpeak ingenuoufly) 1 find» very little Improvement in the mofi pretending Lexicons and Nomenclatorsyetextant; that o/BernardinusBaldus only upon Vitruvius excepted; which yet is neither after my Me- thod, nor for our Workmens Turn, beingaBook ofFricQ,and written in the mofi Learned Tongue» It is a very great De- ficient indeed, and to be deplored, that thofe indufiriousCom- pilers did make it no more their Bufinefs to gratify the World with the Interpretation of the Terms of f ï many ufeful Arts, Imean the Mechanical: Adrianus Junius has defervedwellon this Occafion, to his great Commendation; and much it were to be wifhed, that fome univerfalandpratJicalGmiuswould confummate what he has f ï happily begun, and that not only in the Arts Illiberal (as they are diflinguifaedJandThings Ar- tificial ; butfurnifh us likewifewith more exatl Notices of the feveral and difiincl Species o/Natural Things; fuel· as are the True Names of Birds, Fiflies, Infeots, Stones, Co- |
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iU lours, &c. in which diver f e worthy* Members of the Royal
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feiS;- Society, have already made f ï confider able a <Progrefs;finceit
waller, is then, and not till then, our Lexicons will have arrived to ÚÉíÃ' their defiredPerfeclion, and that Men will be taught to fpeak mcjau}efli0^e Orators indeed) properly on all Subjects, and obliged |
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Techni
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to celebrate their Labours.
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J. Evelyn.
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Á Í
ACCOUNT
OF ■-■·,.
Architects and Architecture,
TOGETHER WITH
An Hiflorical, and Etymological Explanation of certain
Terms particularly affeBed ^Architects, &c. |
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Ô
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H E Knowledge of this Sumptuous, Magnificent and Ufe-
ful Art, for having been firft deriv'd to us from the Greek?? we fliould not without infinite Ingratitude either flight, |
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or innovate thofe Terms which it has pleafed them to impofe
upon the particular Members and Ornaments belonging to the feveral Orders 5 and that as well for the Veneration which is due to Antiquity, as that by comprehending the Signification of them, we may with the more Facility and Addrefs, attain to the Intelligence and Genuine Meaning of what the Maflers in this Profeffion have de- liver d to us in their feveral Writings and Works 5 not to infill up- on (what is yet not to be defpis'd) the Decorum of fpeaking pro- perly, in an Art which the greateil (Princes and (potentates of the Earth have vouchfafed to honour by fo many Signal and Illuilrious Monu- ments, as do to this Day confecrate their Memories to Pofterity. Since the Agent does always precede the ABion, and the Per/on or Aral-
Workman is by Natural Order before his Work-, we are by an Architect** to underftand, A Per/on skilful in the Art of Building : The Word is 'Ap^THcW, a Compound in the Original, and fignifies Fabrum pr<&~ feblus, or if you will, Informator, which the Prefident, Superintendent, or Surveyor of the Works, does fully exprefs, his 'Ap^j being relative to the Fabri that are under him, as the Opera or Labourers are fubfervient to them. <Budaus calls him, StruBorum Princeps 3 and fuch a Perfon as is capa-
ble of rendering a Rational and Satisfactory Account of what he takes in Hand. Pgtiocinatio autem efl} qua res fabricatas folertia, ac ratione proportions demonflrare atque explicare potefi. Vitr. 1.1. e. é. So our Mafler j and fuch a one it feems was that Philo the Athenian Architect, of whom the Orator, Neque enim â Philonem ilium Ar- chite&um, qui Athenienfibus Armamentarium fecit, confiat perdiferte po- pulo raxionem opens fui reddidijfe, exiftimandum efl Jrchitetli potius ar~
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Account of Arc hit e els
artificio difertum, cpuam Oratoris fuijfe, de Orat. é. Seeing his Know-
ledge and Ability in this Faculty did not at all eclipfe and diminiHi his Eloquence and other excellent Parts, but rather added to them 3 and this I urge to fhew that it was no mean thing for a Man to ar- rive to the Talents of an accomplifli'd Architect 3 as he that iliall take his CharaBer out of VitruVms will eailly conclude 3 Itaque Ar» chiteBi, fays he, qui fine Uteris contenderunt, ut manibus ejjent exer- citati, non potuerant efficere ut haberent pro laboribus Authoritatem 3 as if Hands could do little in this Art for their Credit without Letters : Nay, ßï Univerfal will this great t)iBator have him 3 that in thoie Duodecim necejfaria, he Turns up no lefs than Ttvehe rare Qualities which he would have him furniili'd withal 3 Itaque eum & Ingemo» /urn, &c, I will but only touch them : t6 He ixiuft be Docil and In- genious. 2. He muft be Literate.: ñ Skilful i^/pefigning-3.na/Drawing. 4. ßç Geometry, 5:. Opticas. 6. Arithmetic\ 7. Hiftory. 8. '^hilojophf. p. Muficki 1 o. Medicine. 11. Nay, in Law 3 and é %i Afirology 3 and really, when (as in the following Chapter) he there aifembles his Reafons for all this, you will be both fatisfied with them, and ju* ftify his Curiollty. Not that an ArchiteB is obliged to be an. accu- rate Arifiarchus in Grammar, or an Arifioxenus in Mufick^, an Apelles or a Raphael for Defignlng 3 in fum, an exact (profejfor in all thefe Fa- culties, fed in his non Imperitus : Sufficient it is he be not totally æ Stranger to them 5 iince without Letters he cannot confult with Authors: Without Geometry and the Graphical Arts, he will never be able to meafure out, and caft the Area 3 draw the f/of and make the Scale : Being ignorant of the Opticks, he can never well under- ftand the due placing of his Lights, Diftance, Magnitude and Di- menfions of Ornaments: By the Affiftance of Arithmetic^ he cal- culates the Proportions of the feveral Orders, fums up his Accomptsy and makes an Eftimate of the Charge : Being Read in Hiflory he comes to difcourfe of the Reafons, and Original of many particular Members and Decorations, the Height, improvement, and Decay of this Art 3 why the Greeks inftituted the Order of the Caryatides, and the *Perfian Entablatures were fupported by Slaves 5 how the Corinthian Capitals came to be adorn'd with Foliage, the Ionic with a Matron-like Voluta, Sec. By the Study of (philofopby he arrives to the Knowledge of Natural Things, and is able to difcern the Qua- lity of the Elements, and the Materials which he makes life of: From fome Infight in Medicine he can reafon of the Temperature and Salubrity of the Air, and Situation : Mufich^ will aflift him in contriving how in Churches, Tribunals and publick Theatres, Men may with beft Advantage hear the Treachers, Magiflrates and ABors Voices: Without fome Tincture in the Laws, he cannot be fecure of his Title 3 and being wholly ignorant of Afirology, Pofition and In- fluences of the Cdeftial Bodies, the Days, Winds, Weather, Equi* noxes} and Courfe of the heavenly Orbs (as to Brutes) pafs over without Obfervation3 Benefit, or Prevention of their Effects. To % this |
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and Architecture. j
this Purpofe, though much more at large, VltruYius: But by this
you may fee how neceiTary it is, that an accompliflied Mafier-<Builder fhould be furnifhed beyond the Vulgar 3 and 1 have been the longer in the Repetition, not only that I may advance his Reputation, and for Encouragement 5 but to {hew that in the proper Notion (and as the great Tlato has forriewhere defigned him) Nullus Archite&us uti-v^- <Je tur manuum Opera, fed utentibus pr&eft. An Architect is not to be ta- %eea\fOhti ken for the commonly illiterate Mechanic^ which may bring it intoph!le USo Contempt, but for the Perfon who fuperintends and prefides over him with fo many Advantages: Yet neither is this to the Difhonour of the meaneft of thofe excellent Workmen, who make ufe of their Hands and Tools in the groiTer Materials, fince God himfelf and Na- ture, the univerfal Builders, are by Truncation truly ftiled Architects, both as to what they have excogitated fo wifely, and wrought for artificially. Be this then fpoken of the Superintendent in particular, whom for
Diftinction fake, and the Character affigned him, we may name Ar~ chiteBus Ingenio: For fince to the Perfection of an accompliflied Building there were three Tranfcendenctes required: \l[Strengthy 2. Utility é and 3. Beauty, for the apt Diflribution, Decor and Fitnefs, Symmetry and Proportion, there was likewife neceiTary as many Ca- pacities, and that befides the judicious Head, there fhould be a skil- ful Hand j to which let us add, ArcbiteBus Sumptuarms, a full and overflowing <Purfe j fince he who bears this mzy juftly be aifo ftiled a 'Builder, and that a Mafier one too5 as being the Perfon at whofe Charge, and for whofe Benefit the Fabric^is erected 5 and it is indeed the primum mobile which both begins, and confummates all Defigns of this Nature,; for if that ingredient come once to fall fihort, Men build their Monuments inilead of their Houjes, and leave Marks of^def'l Difhonour for Tables of Renown, Homo ijle cdipit ddificare Ú? nequi- yit perficere; 'Tis Man began to build, and was not able to finifh. Yet thus have I known fome excellent Perfons abufed, who trufting to the Computation of either difhoneft, or unskilful Artifts, have been forced to defift, fit down by the Lofs, and fubmit to the Reproach. But fo it feems would not the Greeks fuffer thernfelves ^ g. to be over-reached 5 when thofe great Builders of the Ephefians, who 10! knew fufficiently what a Mifchief it was- to the Publick, as well as Private Men, ordained it for a Law, That if a Clerk, undertook a Work, and fpent more than by his Calculation it amounted to, he' mould be obliged to make it good out of his own Eftate < whilft they moft liberally and honourably rewarded him, if either he came within what was firft defigned, or did not much exceed it. And this was efteemed fo reafonable, upon Confederation how many noble Perfons had been undone, and magnificent StruBures left imperfect, that VitruVius writing to the great Augujtus concerning this Subject,*^· wifhes the fame Conftitution were in Force at <$pme alfo. But thus I have done with our ArchiteBus Sumptuarius, I come to the C Manuantiiy
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4 Account of Arc hi teals
Manuarius, the third and hit, but not the leaf! of our Subfidiaries-,
for in him I comprehend the feveral Jrtifans and Workmen, as Ma- fons, Stone cutters, Quarry-men, Sculptors, Plaifierers, Painters, Car- penters, Joyners, Smiths, Glafiers, and as many as are neceifary for carrying on of a Building till it be arrived to the Pefection of its firil Idea. But tho' it is not, as I faid, expected that thefe mould trouble themfelves with much Learning, or have any thing to do with the Accompliihments of our Mafler Superintendent: Yet, ilnce an exact and irreproachable Piece of Architecture ihould be êïëïøùí totius Mathe/eus, the Flower and Crown as it were of all the Sciences Mathe- matical, it were infinitely defirable that even every vulgar Workman, whofe Calling is converfant about 'Building, had attained to fome Degree of competent Knowledge in the more eafy and ufeful Princi- ples of thofe Lineary Arts, before they were admitted to their Free- dom, or employed in Defigns of Moment. And truly, if a tho- rough Infight of all thefe, as undoubtedly they are, be neceifary to a good Artifl, I know no Reafon but fuch a Perfon, however it hath pleafed our UniVerfities to employ and decree their Chairs, might with very juft Reafon be alfo numbered inter liberalium difci- plinarum <Profeffores, and not thruft out as purely Mechanical, inter opificis, a Con verfation hitherto only admitted them 5 as if Talking, Speculation and Theories were comparable to ufeful f)emonfirations and Experimental knowledge : In a Word, the very Name imports * office an Excellency above other Sciences5 fo as when the * Orator would exprefs a Superiority above them, for its vaft Extent and Compre- heniion, he mentions Jrchitetlure with the Firfi, diftinct from the Illiberal. Great Pity then I fay it is, that amongit the Profeffors of Humanity, as they call it, there fhould not be fome LeEtures and Schools endowed and furniilied with Books, Infiruments, (plots, Types and Models of the moil excellent Fabricks both in Civil and Military Jrchitetlure, where thefe moil noble and neceifary Arts might be taught in the Englifh and Vulgar Tongue, retrieved to their proper and genuine Significations. And it is to be hoped, that when his Ma- jefly mall perfect his Royal Palace of Whitehall according to the Defign, he will, in Emulation of thofe Heroes Francis the Firfl, Henry the Fourth, Cofimo de Medices, the Dukes of Urbin, ^ichlieu, and other munificent Spirits^ deftine fome Apartments for the Eafe and Encou- ragement of the ableir. Workmen in this, as in all other ufeful, princely and fumptuous Arts 5 I mean for Printers, Painters, Sculptorsy Architects, 8cc. by fuch liberal Honoraries as may draw them from all Parts of the World to celebrate his Majefly, by their Works, to Pofterity, and to improve the Nation. From fuch a Bounty an4 vitruv./»Proviiion as this it appears to have been, which made VitruVius to Àß.À* leave us thofe his incomparable Books, that we have now enjoyed for fo many Ages : for fo he acknowledges it to the Great Augufiusy Cum ergo eo beneficio effem Obligatusy ut ad exitumVite non haberem inopU timorem, &c. 1 1 might
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and Ar chit e Sure.
I might upon this Occafion fpeak fomething here concernina the
Matter and Form of Buildings, which, after the Perfons who under- take them, are their moil Tolid and internal Principles 5 but Ú pur- pofely pafs them over at prefent, becaufe they do not properly be- long to this Difcourfe, but to fome more entire Treatife of the •whole Art than is yet extant among us 5 and to be delivered by fome induilrious Perfon, who mall oblige the Nation with a thorough Examination of what has already been written by Fitruvius, 1. 2. e. 5 and o. Palladia, 1. 1. e. 2. Leon Alberti, 1. 2. e. 45, 46. Don 'Barbaro, 1. 1 1. Sir H. Wotton in his concife and ufeful Theorems, Vejgodes, D'Jtillaf, Perault, (Blondel and others 5 and in what ihall be found moil be- neficial for our Climate: It werej I fay, becoming our great Needs that fome ingenious Perfon did take this in Hand, and advance up- on the Principles already eilablifhed, and not fo acquiefce in them as if there were a Non Ultra engraven upon our Columns like thofe of Hercules, after which there remained no more to be difcovered, at leaft in the Apprehenfion of our vulgar Workmen, who for want of fome more folid Directions, faithful and eafy Rules in this Nature, fill as well whole Cities as private Dwellings with Rubbiih and a thoufand Infirmities, as by their want of Skill in the ProfeiTion, with the moil fhameful Incongruities and Inconveniencies in all they take in Hand 5 and all this for want of Canons to proceed by, and Humility to learn 5 there being hardly a Nation under Heaven more conceited of their Understandings and Abilities, and more impatient of Direction than our ordinary Mechanicks : For let one find never fo juil a Fault with a Workman, be the fame of what Myfiery foever, immediately he mall reply, Sir j I do not come hither to be taught my Trade, I have ferved an Jppr enticefhip, and have wrought e'er now with Gentlemen that have been fatisfied with my Work, and fometimes not without Language of Reproach, or calling down his Tools, and going away in Wrath 5 for fuch I have frequently met withal. I do not fpeak this to diminifh in the leaft from the Capacity and Apprehenfion of our Nation who addict themfelves to any of the moil polite and ingenious Profejfions, but to court them to more Civility, and to humble the Ignorant : For we daily find that when once they arrive to a thorough Infpe&ion and Addrefs in their Trades, they paragon, if not exceed, even the moil exquifite of other Countries, as we may fee in that late Reformation and Improvement of our Lock? Smiths Work, Joyners, Cabinet-makers, and the like, who, from very vulgar and pitiful Jrtifls, are now come to produce Wor!?j as curious for the Filing, and admirable for their Dexterity in Contriving, as any we meet with Abroad, and in particular to our Smiths and Join-: ers, they excel all other Nations whatsoever. But as little fupportable are another Sort of Workmen, who from
a good Conceit of their Abilities, and fome lucky Jobh, as they call it, do generally engrofs all the Work they can hear of, while in the mean time they difdain almoil to put their own Hands to the Tool,
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6 Account of Arc hit e ds
Tool, but for the moft part employ their Apprentices, or fome other
ignorant Journey-men 3 as if the Fame of their Mafiers Abilities did any thing contribute to the well Performance of Work undertaken, whilft in the Interim He hardly appears himfelf till all the Faults be ilubbered over, the Remedy either impoiTible or expenfive, and our Mafier ready to receive his Money, which fuch Gentlemen Mecha- nic^ commonly confume on Eafe and Bravery, being puffed up with an empty Conceit of their own Abilities, which, God knows, is very indifferent, and the lefs for want of Exercife and Humility: A Pra- ctice contrary to the Ufage of all other Nations, that even fuch as by their Knowledge in this Kind have meritorioufly attained to the Titles of Military Dignity, have, notwithstanding, purfued their Employments and Callings in perfonal Cares and affiduous La- bours, to their eternal Fame, fo long as one Stone {hall lie upon ano- ther in this W7orld ; as I could abundantly exemply in the Works of CaValieri Fontane, (Bramanti, SanfoYmo, <Baglione, Bernini, Flamingo, &c. whofe egregious Labours, both before and fince the Accumula- tion of their Honours, do fufficiently juftify what I report con- cerning them. And that all fuch may know I reproach no Man out of Spleen or the lead Animofity to their Perfons (for fuch as are not guilty will never be offended at my Plainnefs, or take this for a Satyr) I cannot but exceedingly redargue the Want of more Ac- quaintance in thefe fo neceffary and becoming Arts even in moft of our Nobility and Gentry, who either imagine the Study of ArcUteBure an abfolute Non-necejjary, or, forfooth, a Diminution to the reft of their Education 3 from whence proceeds that miferable Lofs of fo many irrecoverable Advantages during their Travels m other Coun- tries, as appears at their Return : Whereas, if they were truly confi- dered, there is nothing which does more properly concern them, as it contributes to their external Honour, than the Effects of this illu- ftrious Art. Befides, thefe being Perfons of better Parts, are moft likely to be furnifihed with the beft Abilities to learn, and fo confe- quently enabled to examine and direct fuch as they fliall fee on Work, without Reproach either to their Conveniency or Expence, when they,at any Time build, not forgetting the Ornament and Luftre which by this Means rich and opulent Structures do add to the Com- monwealth 3 there remaining at this Day no one Particular for which Egypt, Syria, Greece, nay (%ome herfelf, beheld in all their State, Wijdom and Splendor, have been more admired and celebrated, than for the Glory, Strength and Magnificence of their incomparable Buildings 3 and even at prefent the moft noble Youth of Italy are generally fo well furniihed with Inftructions touching this laudable Art, that the Knowledge of ArchiteBure, and to fpeak properly in its Terms, <tsrc. is univerfal, and fo cherifhed, even in Men of obo fcure Extraction, that, as is already inftanced, ArchiteBs (I mean the Manuary as well as Ingeniary) have been, and are yet often re- warded with ZQiighthood, and the Art profeffed as a moft becoming |
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and Architecture. f
and necefiary Accompliiliment in diverfe of their Academies : Add to
this the Examples of fo many great and illuftrious Perfons as (with- out mentioning thofe our Mafler has recorded in the preface to his feventh Book) I might here bring upon this Theatre, famous for their Skill and Encouragement of this fumptuous Art : Emperors, J^jngs, Topes, Cardinals and Trinces innumerable, who have all of them left us the permanent Monuments of it in the feveral Places of their Dominions, befides the infinite Advantage of well managing of great and public^ Expences, as well as the moft prhate and Oeconomical and handfome and well contrived Houfe, being built at a far lefs Charge than commonly thofe irregular Congeflions, rude and brutiflh inventions, which generally fo deform and incommode the feveral Habitations of our Gentry both in City and Country. But I have done, and I hope all that love and cherifh thefe Arts,
and particularly that of Architecture, will not be offended at this Zeal of mine in befpeaking their Efteem of it; fince if I have faid any thing in Reprooi of the Errors either of thcTerfons who pretend to it, or of the Works which they do to its Difgrace, Ú have only fpoken it that both may be reformed and made the better. But leaft whilft I thus difcourfe of the Accomplishments of our Artifis, and Defects of the pretenders, I my felf be found Logod^daluSy and as they fay, Ar- chitetlus Verhorum only, I proceed from the Terfon to the Thing. Architecture, confidered as an Art, was doubtlefs, as all others
were, very mean and imperfect at firft 3 when from dark Caverns, hollow Trees, defpicable and forry Hovels and Cabanes, made with their rude Trunks, covered with Sods of Turf or Sedge, to protect themfelves from the Injuries of the Weather and wild Beafts, as at prefent favage People do, Men lived not much better accommodated than Beafts themfelves, wandering from Place to Place, either to hunt, and in cjueft of Food, or to find Pafture5 where, like the Nomades, with little Care or Labour, they make them Huts again to ihelter themfelves as before 5 'till coming into fome more fertile and fruit- ful Country, and finding no more Neceffity of ftraying farther, or removing fo often 3 they then, it is likely, begun to build more fub- ftantially and commodioufly 5 and as Plenty, their Families and Ci- vility increafed, began to inlarge, and make their Habitations as well lefs rudely as more convenient 5 proceeding in Tract of Time to great Politenefs, and to that Height of Splendor and Magnificence, as at laft, ingenious Men, from long Experience ftill advancing in improvements, began to frame fuch %ules and frecepts for Buildings as mould anfwer to all thofe TerfeBions defireable in a Building, name- ly, Solidity, Ufe, and (Beauty j and this Art was called, Architeciura, a Term deriv'd from the Gr^Subftantive V^miM-oW**» fufj
and which is by fome taken for the Art it felf, by others for the Work, tedificio ip/o O- Opera (by us for both) is thus defined 5 Scientia pluribus dijc'iplims, & ^ariis eruditionibus ornata, cujus judicio probantur, omnia qud a ceteris artibus perficiuntur, opera. Architecture, fays our Mailer VhruYms, is D a Science
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8 Account of Architects -
a Science qualified with fundry other Arts, and adorned with Variety of
Learning, to whofe Judgment and Approbation all other Works of Art fubmit themfelves. Or rather in fhort, and as effectual, cujus pm- ceptis diriguntur, & judicio probantur, Sec. for fo it feems to be more ex- plicit ; iince in a Geometrical Problem there are both the Confiruction, or Direction Opens faciendi, which thefe Pracepta define 5 and alio, the Demonflration or Probation Opens jam fatti, which is fpecifled by the Judicium in the VitruVian Definition. Ú conceive therefore the firfl Part to be the more efiential and infeparable 5 the latter to be but the Refult of the former, and no more Ingredient into the Art than the Image of one's Face in a Glafs is conftitutive of the Man. But to forbear any farther Glofs, you fee what a large Dominion
it has, and I might go on: Ea nafcitur ex fahrica & ratiocinatione, mmon- to fhew that fhe is the Daughter of (Building, and Demonfiration: Then (for fo I affeel: to render it) that 'Building is the Refult of an ar- duous and manual (practice or Operation upon apt Materials, according to the Model propounded 5 and laftly, That our Ratiocination is an Ability of explicating what we have done by an Account of the jufi (proportions: In a Word, it is the Art of Building well, which, taken in the largefl Senfe, comprehends all the Sorts and Kinds of Buildings whatfoever, of which there are more efpecially Three 3 which though differing in their Application, Deiign and Purpofe, are yet of near Relation to one onother, and therefore nor improperly under the fame Deno- mination with their refpe&ive Adjuncts of Diftindion : For In- itance, the Building of Ships, and other Veifels for failing, War and Commerce, &e. is called NaVal Architecture: The Art of Forti- fication and Defence of Places, Military Architecture 5 which, though un- der the fame Rules and general Principles, whereby to work and proceed (but indeed making ufe of different Terms of Art) yet pafs they under the fame general Name of Architecture. Now foraf» much as there's only one of thefe which properly concerns the pre- ient Subjecl (as being indeed the moil eminent, and Firfl in Order) we are here to underftand by Architecture, the Art and Skill of GVd Building for Dwelling-houfes, commodious Habitations, and more publick Edifices. What Pretence this Part of Architecture has to both the other Kinds,
namely, the TSLaVal and Military, the Foundation and Building of Cities, Walls, Towers, Magazines, Bridges, Ports, Moles, and Havens, abundantly fhew 5 together with what our great Mafler VitruVms has taught in the Conftruotion of diverfe Machines, and warlike En- gines, as well for Offence as Defence: And to fliew how reconcilable all thefe different Sorts of Building are to one another, we have a Modern, but an illuftrious Inftance, in that furpriimgly magnificent Piece of Art, the (pentagonal Palace erected fat Cardinal Alexander Farne^e at Caprarola, within twenty Miles of QUpme, by that Excellent and skilful AnhiteB VignoU, one of the firft ^anl^ and Clafs of Artifts in the foregoing parallel. f With
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and Architecture..
With Reafon .i.iore as well as Right, has the Surveyor of his
Majefty s Works ma IBuildtngs, both the Military as well as Civil Archl' tetlure properly under his intendency and Infpeotion, by a Grant, as I have heard, of many hundred Years pail. But, To enlarge on the feveral Heads of Civil Architecture, of which
there are very many, would be to extend this Difcourfe to a Length not fo proportionable to that which is defigned: Let it then fuffice to take Notice, that it is the ancient Greeks and Ionian Architecture only which is here intended, as moil entirely anfwering all thofe Perfections required in a faultlefs and accomplished Building 3 fuch as for fo many Ages were fo renowned and reputed by the uni- verfal Suffrages of the civilized World, and would doubtlefs have ftill fubfifted, and made good their Claim, and what is recorded of them, had not the Goths, Vandals, and other barbarous Nations fubverted and demoiiflied them, together with that glorious Empire, where thofe flateiy and pompous Monuments flood 5 introducing in their Head, a certain fantaftical and licentious Manner of Build- ing, which we have fince called Modern (or Gothic rather^ Congefti- ons of heavy, dark, melancholy and Monkifh Tiles, without any jufl Proportion, Ufe or Beauty, compared with the truly Ancientj: So as when we meet with the greateft induftry, and expenfive Car- ving, full of Fret and lamentable Imagery, fparing neither of Pains nor Colt, a judicious Spectator is rather diftraoled and quite con- founded, than touched with that Admiration which refults from the true and juil Symmetry, regular Proportion, Union and Difpofition, great and noble Manner, which thofe Auguft and Glorious Fabricks of the Ancients ftill produce. k was after the irruption and Swarms of thofe truculent Peo-
ple from the North, the Moors and Arabs from the South and Eafty over-running the Civilized World, that wherever they fixed them» felves, they loon began to debauch this noble and ufeful Art 5 when, inftead of thofe beautiful Orders, fo majeftical and proper for their Stations, becoming Variety, and ether ornamental Ac* ceifories, they kt up thofe ilender and mifcjiiine (pillars, or rather Bundles of Staves, and other incongruous Props to fupport incum- bent Weights, and pondrous arched Roofs, without Entablature 5 and though not without great Induftry, as K Tr Aviler well obferves, nor altogether naked of gaudy Sculpture, trite and bufy Carvings, it is fuch as rather gluts the Eye, than gratifies and pleafes it with any reafonable Satisfaction: For Proof of this, without travel- ling far abroad, I dare report my felf to any Man of Judgment, and that has the leaft Tafte of Order and Magnificence, if after he has looked a while upon IQng Henry the Seventh's Chappel at Weft- minfter, gazed on its fliarp Angles, Jetties, narrow Lights, lame Statues, Lace, and other Cut-work^ and Crinkle Crankle 3 and ihall then turn his Eyes on the <Banquetting^houfe built at White-hall by Inego Jones after the ancient Manner 5 or on what his Majefty's Surveyor^ |
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ßï Account of Architects
Sir Chriflopher Wren, has lately advanced at St. Pauls ·0 and confider what
a glorious Object the defigned Cupola,- (portico, Colonades and other (yet unfiniflied) Parts will then prefent the Beholder 5 or compare the Schools and Library at Oxford with the Theatre there, or what he has lately built at Trinity College in Cambridge, and fince all thefe at Greenwich and other Places (by which Time our Home-traveller will begin to have a juil Idea of the Ancient and Modem Architecture) I fay, let him well con- fider and compare them judiciouily, without Partiality and Prejudice, and then pronounce which of the two Manners ftrikes the Underftand- ing as well as the Eye with the more Majefty and folemn Greatnefs, though in fo much a plainer and fimple Drefs, conform to the refpec- tive Orders and Entablature, and accordingly determine, to whom the Preference is due : Not as we faid, that there is not fomething of folid, and oddly artificial too^ after a Sort: But then the univer- fal and unreafonable Thicknefs of the Walls, clumfy Buttreifes, Towers, fharp-pointed Arches, Doors and other Apertures, with- out Proportion 3 nonfenfical infertions of various Marbles imper- tinently placed 3 Turrets and Pinacles thick let with Monkjes and Cbymaras (and abundance of bufy Work and other incongruities) diifipate and break the Angles of the Sight, and fo confound it, that one cannot confider it wich any Steadinefs, where to begin or end 3 taking off from that noble Air and Grandure, bold and grace- ful Manner, which the Ancients had fo well and judiciouily efta- blifhed: But in this Sort have they and their Followers ever fince filled not all Europe alone, but Afia and Africa befides, with Moun- tains of Stone 5 vaft and gigantick Buildings indeed, but not wor- thy the Name of Architecture 3 witnefs (befides frequent Erections in thefe Kingdoms, inferior to none for their utmoft. Perform- ances) what are yet (landing at Wejlminfler, Canterbury, Salisburyt 'Peterborough, Ely, Wells, 'Be'Verley, Lincoln, Gloucefler, lork^, Durham, and other Cathedrals and Minflers : What at Utrecht, Harlem, Ant- werp, Strasburg, <Bafil, in the Lower and "Upper Germany 3 at Amiens^ (parts, (Roan, Tours, Lyons, Sec. in France 5 at Milan, Venice, Florence, nay, in <%ome herfelf: In Spain, at Surges and SeYdle, with what the Moors have left in Athambrant, Granada^ the Santa Sophia at Conflantinople, that of the Temple of the Sepulchre at Jerufalem (at the Decadence at lead of the Art) the Zerif's Palace at Morocco,, &c. befides the innumerable Monafieries and gloomy Cells, built in all thefe Places by the Chrijiians, Greeks, Latins, Armenians, Moors, and others fince the Ruin of the Empire, and compare them, al- moft numberlefs as they are, with One, St. Peters at P^me, only, which, with the reft of thofe venerable Churches, fuperb and ftately (Palaces there and at Naples, Florence, Genoa, Ejcurial, Paris, Amfler~ dam, &c. were yet all but forry Buildings, till <Bramante, (Raphael, Michael Angelo, (palladio, Bernini, and other Heroes and Matters of our Parallel, recovered and even raifed this Art to Life again, and reftored her to her priftine Splendor and Magnificence, after fo.ee- ' dious
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and Architecture. 1 j
dious and difoial a Night of Ignorance and Superitition., in which
Architecture had lain buried in Rubbifh, and fadly deformed for fo many Ages : The fame may likewife be affirmed of all thofe other Arts attendant upon her, Sculpture and /Painting efpecially, and in- deed of Letters, and all good Learning tooj which had about this time their <$efufcitation alio: In a Word, and after all that has been faid of Architecture, ancient or modern, 'tis not we fee enough to build for Strength alone 5 for fo thofe Gothic Piles we find ftand their Ground, and the Pyramids of Egypt have out-lafted all that Ait and Labour have to fhew5 or indeed for bare Accommodation only, with* out due Proportion, Order and Beauty, and thofe other Agreements^ £nd genuine Characters of a perfect and confummate Building 3 and therefore an Art not fo eafily attained by every Pretender, nor in truth at all, without a more than ordinary Difyofition, accompa- nied with Judgment, Induftry and Application, due Inftruotion, and the Rules of Art fubfervient to it. Thus accompliflied, an Ar- chitect is perfectly qualified to anfwer all the Tranfcendencies of this noble Art, which is to build handfomely, folidly, and ufefully. We have already fpoken of Workrnen and Manuary Aififtants, in
the foregoing Paragraphs, without whofe more than ordinary Skill and Diligence, the learnedft Architect miftakes the Shadow for Subftance, v.mhram, non rem conjecutm videtur, and may ferve to rear a Tabernacle, not build a Temple, there being as much Difference be- tween Speculation and Practice in this Art, as there is between a Shadow and a Subflance3 but with what Advantages thofe Perfons proceed who both know and can apply, I have already demon- strated : And when we confider that the whole Art coniiils in the moil exaot and elegant Order imaginable, it is not to be wondered there have been fo few able Men of the Profeffion. Sir H. Wotton, who reckons thofe two Parts for one, that is, the fixing of the Model to a full Expreffion of the firft Idea, paifes, with our Mafier, to the Species or Kinds of this Dijfiofition. Taxis, or, as Architects call it, Ordonance, as defined by our1"4*"·
Mafler to be that which gives to every Part of a Building the juft Dimenfion relating to its Ufes : Mr. Perault fuppofes neither fo explicit, nor as the Thing itfelf requires, or anfwerable to the In- tention 3 which he takes to confiil in the T)i\>ifion of the Plan or Spot of Ground on which one intends to build, fo to be apportion- ed and laid out (as to the Dimenfion of the refpective Parts refer- ring to their Ufe) as confifts with the Proportion of the whole and entire Fabrick 5 which, in fewer Words, I conceive differs little from the determinate Meafures of what's aifigned to compofe the feve» ral Appartments 3 to which fome add, that which gives the utmoft Perfection to all the Parts and Members of the Building: But, to proceed with the learned Commentator, it is the judicious Contri- vance of the Plan or Model, which he means by Ordonance here: As when, for Inilance, the Court} the Hall, Lodgings, and other Rooms, are E neither
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ú 2 Account of Architects
neither too large, or too little : v. g. That the Court afford conve-
nient Light to the Appartments about it, and be large enough for ufual Accefs t, that the Hall be of fit Capacity to receive Company 5 the Bed-Chambers for Perfons of Quality, and others 5 or elfe when thefe Diviiions are either too great, or too fmall, with refpc<5fc to the Place, as a very large Court would be to a little Houfe, or a little Chamber in a great and noble Palace : Whereas Diathefis, Difpofition, is where all the Parts and Members of a Building are afligned their juft and proper Places, according to their Quality, Na- ture, Office, Rank, and genuine Collocation, without regard to the Dimenfion or Quantityt which is another Consideration, as Parts of Architecture 3 though ftill with relation to its Perfection. Thus the Vefiibule, or Porch, ihould precede the Hall; the Hall the parlour, next the Witbdrawing-Qoom, which are of Ceremony, ß fpeak (as with us in England) where the Firfi Floor is commonly fo compofed of: The Anti-Chambers, <Bed'Chambers, Cabinets-, Gdlim'w. and Rooms of (parade and State in the fecond Stage, fuitable to the Expence and Dignity of the Owner : I fay nothing of the Height, and other Dimeniions, becaufe there are eilablifhed (Rules: But it is what Ú have generally obferved, Gentlemen ("who are many times at con- siderable Charges in otherwife handfome and convenient Houfes) moil: of all to fail in 5 not allowing decent Pitch to the refpeaive Rooms and Appartments, which 1 find they confhntly repent when 'tis too late. One mould feldom therefore allow lefs than fourteen Feet to the Firfi Floor 3 twelve or thirteen to the Second, in a Dwelling- Houfe of any confiderable Quality 5 to greater Fabricks, and fuch as approach toPalaces, fixteen, eighteen, twenty, &c. with regard to other Capacities: Nor let the lefs benign Temper of the Clime, compared with other Countries, be any longer the Pretence 5 fince if the Building and Finiihing be ftanch, the Floors well laid, Jppertures of Doors and Windows clofe, that Objection is anfwered. The fame Rules, as to the Confequence of Rooms and Oeconomy, is to be obferved in the Distribution of the other Offices, even the moft inferior, in which the Curious confult their Health above all Conveniency, by defign- ing their beft Lodging-Chambers towards the Sun-rifing-, and fo Libraries, Cabinets of Curiofities and Galleries, more to the North, affording the lefs glazing and fitteft Light of all other to (pictures, Oc. unlefs where fome unavoidable Inconvenience forbid it. Ano- ther great ~Miftake I likewife have obferved to be the Caufe of many Errors as incurable 5 namely, a fond, avaricious., or obftinate Re- folution of many, who having choice of Situations, for the fpar- ing of an old Kitchen, Out-Houfe, Lodge, or vulgar Office, nay, and fometimes of an ancient Wall, a fine Quicl^fet Hedge, particular Tree or two, or the like, continue to place the New Building upon the Old Foundation, though never fo much awry and out of all Square, and, as often I have leen, near fome Bank of Earth, which can- not be moved 5 pleafed with Front or gaudy Out-fide, whilft all is 1 gloomy
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and Architeffure. Ij
gloomy and melancholy within, and gives Occafion of Cenfure to
the Judicious, and Reproach to others : In a Word, I have very rarely, or as feldom found a new Building joined with any tole- rable Decency or Advantage to an old one, as a young and beau- tiful Virgin to an old, decayed, and doating Husband. ß might al- moft affirm as much concerning Repairs, where there are great Di- lapidations -j fince by that time they have calculated all Expences of pulling down and patching up, they might have built entirely new from the Ground, with the fame, and oftentimes with lefs Charge, but with abundance more Beauty and Conveniency : Fre- quent inftances of like Nature might ß produce, and of fuch as have too late repented 5 but I am to beg Pardon for this Tranfcur- fion, for which I have no other Apology, than that fince another Edition of this Piece is never likely to come under my Hand again, I have taken the Liberty of this-, to fpeak my Thoughts the more freely, not without Hope, that fome may be edified by it, and have Caule to thank me for it. To return therefore whence I diverted : I now proceed to the
proper Argument and Defign of this Difcourfe, which concerns the Terms of Archketlure, with fuch Improvements as fall in with the Subject 3 not that our politer Workmen do not underftand them well, but for the Benefit and Inftruct-ion of the lefs knowing; or fuch, who, though learned and knowing in other Arts, may haply not have much confidered this : And the firft is Ichnography, by which we are to underftand the very firft Defign zimgr»'
and Ordinance of a Work or Edifice, together with every (partition1 M'~ and Opening, drawn by (%ule and Compafi upon the Area or Floor, by Artifis often called the Geometrical 'flan or 'Platform, as in our Reddition of the Parallel : The Greeks would name it ú÷«ê y&upti, Ve- fligii Defcriptioj or rather fefiigium Operis, the fuperficial Efrorma- tion of the future Work, which our Ground-plot does fully interpret. This is properly the Talent and Work of the chief ArchiteEi or Surveyor himfeif, and indeed the moft abftrufe and difficult, by which he exprefles his Conception and Idea for the judicious Collocation, ido- neous and apt Difpofition, right Calling and Contrivement of the feveral Parts and (p^oms according to their diftincl: Offices and Ujes 5 for as Ordonation imports the Quantity, fo does this the Quality of the Building : But of this already. To this fucceeds Orthography, or the erect Elevation of the fame in Face or Front,0^*
defcribed in Meafure upon the former Idea, where all the Horizontal Lines are Parallels; Some do by this comprehend the Sides like- wife (but fo will not I) to be feen as well within as without the Model It is in truth but the fimple Reprefentation of that Part op- polite to the Eye of the Beholder, and thence by Italian ÀÁß÷áßï or I'lmpiedi, Facciata and I;rontifpiece, without Shadows or other Decep- tions, and the fecond Species of Dijjofition. The laft is |
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Scene*
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ß4 Account of Ar chit e els
scmogra. Scenbgraphy, or, as fome, Sciogrdphy, which is the fame ObjeB
elevated upon the fame Draught and Center in all its Optical Flexures, Diminutions and Shadows, together with a fore-ihortning of a third Side, fo as the whole Solid of the Edifice becomes vifible in Perfyeflive, as they fay, becaufe compofed of the three principal Lines ufed in that Art 5 íÜæ. that of the Plan, or Plot, belonging to the firft Idea 5 that of the Horizon, or Eye-line, which denotes the fecond 5 and the Line of Difiance, which makes the thirdy with all its Adumbrations and profile. Shadowings, which diftinguiihes it from what they call the Profile,
fignified by the Edging-ftroaks, by fome called Out-lines, and Contours only, without any of this folid finishing. From all which it appears, that not the bare Idea or Species, as the Term is in Vitruvius, or as others, the various Kinds of Difpofition is to be underilood 5 but the feveral Defigns and Reprefentations of the DiVfion : Seeing, in truth, thefe three "Draughts upon Paper, belong as much to the Ordonance as the Difpofition, ihewing and defcribing the Meafures and Dimenfions of the infpective Parts, Order and Pofition. From thefe three Ideas then Euryth- jc js? tnat fame Eurythmia, majeftic and Venufta /pedes JLdificii, does
refult, which creates that agreeable Harmony between the feveral Dimenfions 3 fo as nothing feems difpropordonate, too long for this, or too broad for chat 5 but correfponds in a juft and regular symme- Symmetry and Confent of the Parts with the Whole : For Symmetry
is the Parity and Equality between the Parts oppofite ; fo as one be not bigger, higher, longer, ihorter, clofer, or wider than the other : Suppofe a Column fwelling more at one Side than the other,, and not as thofe who thought it to confift in the Proportion of fome principal Part or Member only, Capital or Cornice, grofter or projecting farther than the Order permits, which feem two dif- ferent Things 5 whilft Proportion among ArchiteHs confifts in fuch an Agreement and Confent as we find in every well-limb'd and com- pofed living Animal, of whatever Species or Kind foever, where the due Make of each Member of the Body denominates the Com- pleatnefs of the Figure, be it Statue or the Life, and the fame in Building and the Parts thereof: In a Word, where Convenience, Strength and Beauty meet, and rendet it accomplifhed. Laftly, Decor. Decor, which is not only where the Inhabitant and Habitation fuit,
feeing that is many times accidental ; but where a Building, and particularly the Ornaments thereof, become the Station and Occafion, as VitruVw exprefly fhews in appropriating the feveral Orders to their natural Affections 5 fo as he would not have (ct a Corinthian Column at the Entrance of a Prifon, nor a Tufcan before the Portico of a Church, as fome have done among us, with no great regard to the Decorum. Here therefore it is that the Judgment of an Architetl ought to be confulted, fince even in the Difpofition of the Offices of our raoft private Houles, we find no where greater Abfurdities committed, whilft we many times find the fQtchen where the Parlour fhould have been,
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and Ar chit e Bur e. j $·
been,· and that in the firft and beft Story, which fiiould have been
damned to the lowermoft and the worft. (philander kerns to be in fome Doubt whether the JrchkeB did af-
ter all this make a Model of his future Work, but at lail refolves it mmm\ in the Affirmative, for many Reafons, ita enim futura deprehenduntur errata, & m'mimo impendio, nuUoque incommodo, Sec. for fo, fays he, future Errors may be timely prevented, with little Coil, and with- out any Trouble, before the Remedy proves incorrigible. Now though perhaps an accomplished Architect needs it not, yet as there is nothing certainly fpared to lefs Purpofe, and more to the Detri- ment of Builders than the fmall Expence of making this (prototype 5 fo it has been known that fome excellent Mafiers have, without Re- proach, caufed feveral to be made of the fame Building, and for the better, and which mould be framed with all its Orders and Dimen- fions, by the Afliftance of fome skilful Joiner, or other ingenious Artifl in fome flight Material, which may be to remove, uncover and take in pieces, for the Intuition of every Contignation, Partition, Pajfage, and Aperture, without other Adulteration by (painting or gaudy Artifice, but in the moil fimple Manner, as Sir H. Wotton prudently advifes, for Reafons moil material and unanfwerable : This is by fome fuppiied with a perpendicular Section of the orthographical Elevation, which lets the Eye into the Rooms in Front only 5 the Model into the whole 3 but from all which we may deduce how abfolutely neceifary it is, that an Architect have more than a vulgar Dexterity in the Art of Vefigning and Drawing, Qud autem confer ant, imo> qu& ftnt Architetlo penitus necejjaria ex artihus, hdc funt, Piclura ö Mathc matica 3 in cdteris doBufne fit, non lahoro: So the (patriarch, lib. o. upon that of our Mafler, lib. 1. e. 1. (peritus Gmphidos, Sec. and then concludes, Necejfaria igitur efi Architeblo Graphidis 3 i. e. defig- nationis ut Itali dicunt peritia, as being a thing altogether indifpen- fable 3 but of this already: For by the Method of a compleat Courfe or (Body of Architecture, one ftiould proceed to the more particular Diilributions of this Art, whether in refpect to private or publick Buildings 3 but I leave it for fome perfect Edition of what remains of the incomparable (palladia 3 when either by the fame it is begun, or by fome other charitable Hand, that, or our Mailer, VitruYms himfelf, as publifhed by the learned (perault, ihali be taught to fpeak EngUfb 3 and the Title of this Difcourfe, which minds me of a thorough Explanation of the more difficult Terms of this Art, for being principally, if not only converfant about the five Orders and their Ornaments, the Subject of our learned (Parallel, calls me back to a diilinot Survey of them, and I will begin at the Foun- dation. Now though all that is buried in the Ground to the Area be fo
called, yet properly Foundation is the very Coffer or Grounded fearched 2SS, ad folidum, &* infoltdo, as our Mafler advifes, and upon which a wife Man would only build and raife the (protO'fuhftrutTwn, or firil Begin- F ning
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I<J Account of Architects
ning of his Wall, and ought commonly to be double the Thicknefs
of the Superftrutlion. This the Greeks called stmobata. Stemobata tfipeoGavvs, folidum fulcimentum, for its artificial Firmnefs, as immediately fucceeding the underfilling of the former 5 forfo we name thofe dry Materials upon the Surface to be the (Bafts of the whole Edifice. I am not ignorant that fome contend about this Office, confounding it with the Stylobata and <Pedeftals of Columns, affigning them a regular Thicknefs of half as much more as the Or- ders they fupport 5 and then the Italians call it the Zoccolo, billow or X>i>, becaufe of its cubiaue and folid Figure : But I rather take it for the <Bafamento of the whole, which I would therefore rather aug- ment than contract to that {tinted Dimenfion. The reverend Daniel (Barbaro, e. 8. 1. 2. defcribes us all the Kinds of them, and calls this in particular, and which confirms this Divifion, the concealed Part, or fundatio in imo : And then by this elegant Dift'mttion defines strueiura. Strutlura to be that of Fronts 3 Inflrutlion that of the middle Parts 5 sJflm-' and Subflruclion of the lower3 though this laft Notion does likewife a,°' many times import fome vail and magnificent Building 5 for fo (BaldushsLS cited that PaiTage in Liv. 1. 6. where he names theftately Capital a Subflruclion only, and other Authors Subftrutliones infanas, for fueh vaft and enormous Fabricks · Buc that we may not omit the (pedefial, though of rarer "Ufe amongft the Ancients, I come next to the styUa. Stylobata 5 for our (pedeftal is Vox Hyhrida, a very Mungril, not TJdlfiai. a Stylo, as feme imagine, but a Stando, and is taken for that folid Cube, or Square, which we already mentioned to be that to the Column impofed, which the Superftruilure is to this, Fulcimentum Columns: It is likewife called Tmncus the Trunk, though more properly ta- ken for the Shaft or (Body of an Order, contained between the Cornice and ®afe, for <Pedeftals have likewife thofe Ornaments infeparably, alfo Abacus, T)ado, Zocco, &c. which is fometimes carved with <Bafs· relieVo in hiftoricai Emblems, as that of Trajan s at (Rome, and ours on Fijh'ftreet Hill: But as it was rarely ufed among the Ancients 5 fo they were all fquare alike to all the Orders 5 'till from good Examples by later Architects, and efpecially <Palladio, reduced to Proportion and Very graceful. Thofe which are more large than high, are called double (pedeftals fupporting double Columns, and fome which are con- tinued through the whole Building. Alfo Toggio, from its Office of fupporting 3 and then it is conilantly adorn d with a Cornice con- firming of a Cymatium on a Corona with Lifts, and fometimes Scotia, or ihallow Cavities, and an Addition of an upper Zocco or Tlinth of a fmaller Hollow, and part of the Cymatium, upon which the ScamilH impares Vitruviani were fet, if defigned for Statues: Or, if without, for Columns. The^/ehas likewife an Ornament ot a Cymatium inverted upon a (pMI>Vyas may be feenin the Corinthian Stylobata : The general Rule is to divide: the whole into nineteen Parts 3 the feSftal jfhall have four, the Intahlature three 3 but if a Column be \ ''öáÀ, é divide
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' and Architecture, if
divide the Height but into five equal Parts, four to the Column^ and
to the Entablature one: But, as we affirmed, the Ancients did feldom ufe <Pedefials at all, unlefs where quails and fBaluflers were reqmiite^ and (parapet Walls for Meniana* (pergolas and (Balconies, and where they ferved for Podia or Øï/aries of a leaning Height, for which they had a flight Cornice affigned them 5 and this minds me of the ò*5ëáß among the Greeks, as indeed feeming to have been derived from the Eaftern ft»*» ufed, and to the Jews, we read, enjoined upon their flat-roofed Houfes, thefe (Balufiers being in truth but a kind of petty Columns under the Rails or Architrave, between Pedeflal and Pedeflal} for that moral Reafon, the Security of the Walkers, efpeeially at what time they ufed to fpread Tents upon them, as frequently they did : But if, as we faid, for the better Eminence of Figures, then with the Impoiition of Scamilli impares, of which there is ßï much Contention amongft ft«s»
our Hypercritical Architects, though in fine they prove to be but certain Benches, Zoccos or Blocks elevating the reft of the Members of an Order, Column, Signum or Statue, from being drowned or loft to the Eye, which may chance to be placed below their Horizon 5 that is, beneath the Projectures of the Stylobata Cornices and other Sail- lies, by an agreeable Reconciliation of Geometry with the Opticks- In a Word, the Pedeflals of Statues do well exprefs them, and thofe half-round Elevations, or other unequal Eminences upon the Sty- lobata, be they one or more Plinths, like fo many Steps fucceeding one another for the Advantage of what ftands upon them : In the mean time, we find no Proportions or Form affigned for the placing Statues, Bufls or other Figures, which feems to be left arbitrary, with regard to the Subject : The lower <Pedeflals beft fuiting with the higher, contrary to <Bufls, or where more than one toge- ther, as Groups fitting, and cumbent Figures, which require longer, <&c. with fuch Ornament and Decoration as beft becomes them ß as to Nymphs, Tritons, Sea*Gods, Efcalop-Sbells, Sec. to Deejfes, the more delicate to Satyrs, (Rnflic Work, &c. But to proceed to the Orders and their feveral Members, as they naturally rife in Work. The <Bafe, derived from the Greek. Verb âáá&^ imports the Suftent, *<#
Prop or Foot of a Thing, and is in Jrchitetlure taken not for the lowermoft Member of an Order, but for all the feveral Ornaments and Mouldings from the Apophyges or Rifing of the Columns Shaft, to the (plinth : Sometimes alfo for the Spire 3 which lying on ty* the (Plinth like the Coile of a Cable, derives thence its Name, though fomething improperly methinks, confidering thefe Mem- bers do not run fpiral, but obliquely rather and in orbem; In Sum, the <Bafis is to the Column and its Entablature what the Stylobata is to the <Bafis, and the Stereobata to the (pedeflal Here note, that when a Cornice is added to a tBafe, it becomes a Pedeflal, and that to the Corinthian or Compofita the Attic <Bafe, and though faireft of all, and |
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18 Account of Architect
ufed in other Orders, by no means fo properly: It is often enriched
with Sculpture, efpecially in the Compofita-, for <Bafes differ according to the Order : Tufcan has a Torus only; the Doric an Aflragal more, by fome efteetned a modern Addition : The ionics Torus is larger on a double Scotia, betwixt which are two Aflragals: The Compofita an Ajiragal fewer than the Corinthian. The Attic Bafe, or as fome, the Attic-Curgi, confifts of a (plinth, two Torus's and Scotia, properly placed under the Ionic and Compofita, and indeed, as was faid, to all, Tufcan excepted, which has its peculiar Bafe: But to proceed ro other Particulars $ pimthm. The Plinth is the firft, and very lowed Member of the !Bafe.
The Word denotes a 'Bricks or fquare Tyle, of which haply they were ufually made, but rather for the Refemblance 5 becaufe of the Weight it was to bear, and therefore more probably of fomething more folid to preferve the Foot of the Column from rotting, when firil Pillars were made but of the tapering Bodies of Trees, as we fhall fliew hereafter. Plinth is likewife taken for a like Member about the Capital, but then always with its Adjunct, the Plinth of the Capital, Sec. be- caufe placed juft above the Echinus, as in the Dorick^, Ovolo or quarter Round in the other Orders. The Italians familiarly name it Orlo, which importing a round Welt, Hem, or Brim, mechinks is not fo properly applied to «. By Tlmth is alfo to be underftood any flat, thick Moulding in the Fore-Walls of any Building, ranging like a broad Lifl with the feveral Floors or Stages. The next is, Toms. Torus, the third Member of the (Safe, of which there is fuperior
and inferior in the iBafes of all the Orders, the Tufcan excepted, comes
from Top©., denoting the Roundnefs and Smoothnefs of it: Torus enim quicquid rotundum-, or rather as Scaliger, quod artificialiter elahoratur <£s>* tometur, becaufe artificially made fo 5 but why not from its Swelling and Brawninefs ? It much refembles the Shape of a round Cufhion, Torques or Wreath, thence ri£h, and the impofed Weight makes it feem to fwell out as if indeed it were fluffed, and that with Reafon fay the Critics, for the more eafy and fafe Poiition of the Trochik. Trochile, from ô9À÷ù or ôñü÷á, a Rundle or Pully-Wheel, which it
much refembles, and is that Cavity appearing next to the Toms : The Italians name it Baftone, or more properly Cavetto, and Cortice, tan- quam haculi cortex, the hollow Rind of a Tree, as (Barbaro. Our scotia. Workmen retain the ancient Scotia, from Óêï7/«, its Obfcurity pro-
ceeding from the Shade of the Hollownefs, but more vulgarly they call it the Cafement, and it is ever the Cavity between the former Term's, and alfo beneath the Doric Cornice, feparated from the plain Margin or ^egula called Mentum and Corona by a fmall Cymatium, or fometimes a Lifl only ·: The Capital Letter C is almoft a perfect Refemblance of this Moulding, and it is indeed frequently bordered, or rather fhut in with Lifts- Laftly, •AfiraSa. The Aflragal, which befides diverfe other Things, as the Septem
Spina Vertebra near the Neck, has here its Analogy from that Bone a little
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and Architecture. 19
little above the Heel; whence the French name it the Talon or Heel
itfelf, as our Author of the (Parallel, not improperly 3 but by the Italians, H Tondino, being a kind of half Torus, fometimes wrought in the richer Orders like an Over-caft Hem or Edge to the larger Tore^ ■which frequently is placed between, as in the Ionic Bafe with two Scotias, and fometimes, though rarely, juft about the Plinth of the <Âáâ, as fome marfhal it: Other whiles again it is taken for the Hoop, Cinftttre or Collar next the Hypotrachelium and Diminution of a Column lifted on both Edges 3 and it runs alfo under the Echinus of the Ionic. Gur Englifber of Hans <Bloome names it a iBoltell, or Fillet in any Part of a Pillar 3 but I take a Fillet to be more flat, this more fwelling^ and, as I fay, TorusAike. Moreover, we fometimes find it dividing the Fafcia of the Corinthian Architrave, where it is wrought in Chaplets and (Beads, Olives or Berries 3 and finally, in two Places, both above and beneath the Lifis joining immediately to the Square or Die of a Pedeftal where Stylobata is introduced ; and fo we have done with the Ornaments and Mouldings of the *Bafe f We come now to the Column itfelf Óàë©- nakedly, and iiriitly taken, is that Part of an Order only,
which is the Prop or Columen, placed to fupport fomething fuperior coiumn&i to it, and is here properly that round and long Cylinder diverily named by Authors, Scapus, Vivo, Tige, Shaft, Fufl, Trunke, Sec. containing the Body thereof from the Spire of the (Safe, or lately mentioned Aflragal, to the Capital: Sometimes for the Subftance and Thicknefs of the Bottom of the Pillar, and in Authors for the Checks of a Door, fecundum Cardines & Antepagmenta, of which confult the learned Baldus in the Word P(eplo de Sig Voc. Vitr. alfo the perpendicular Pofl of a Winding-flairs 5 but for the rnoft part for that Solid of a Column, which being divided into three Parts, has (as fome delight to form them, but without any Reafon or good Authority) an Entafis or Swelling, and under the Collerine or Gmba EmaJn: of the Capital, a Contracture and comely Diminution) by Work- men called the breaking of the Pillar 5 which in Imitation of the natural Tapering of Trees, is fometimes too much contracted, in others excefiively fwelled. The manner of Operation by applying a thin flat flexible <%ule, of the Length of the whole Column, divi- ded into three equal Parts, beginning at the Perpendicular of the loweft, is fo well known, that I need fay nothing more of it, than that there is hardly any fenfible Swelling to be perceived in the beft Examples, and therefore to be fparingly ufed, and with Difcretion, if at all 3 or as Vifgradet and fome aifed, tapering very infenfibly all the Way. Monfleur Perault prefcribes another Method for this Dimi* nution, fpeaking of Nicomedes's firfl: Conchoid, in his learned Comment, I 3. cap. 2. But, returning to where we Idt, the primary Iifue or"Rife of the Shaft next the Aflragal and neather Gn&ure is called the Apophyges from the Greek, Word 'A?7nSyii 3 becaufe in that Part 'Jfa*jjjjii the Column taking as it were a (ftife, feems to emerge and fly from G the
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20 Account of Architects
the iBafes like the Proceffus of a Bone in a Man's Leg j and fo it is
now and then applied to the Square of Pedeflals likewife. In fhort, 'tis no more than an Imitation of the (Rings or Feruls heretofore ufed at the Extremities of Wooden Pillars, when formerly they were made of that Material, to preferve them from fplitting, afterward imitated in Stone-Work as an infeparable Part thereof; and thence doubtlefs it is they took their original Contraction : Such Trees as grew in the moil upright Tenor and comely Diminution, being chofen for this Employment. Thefe being refembled in Stone, that is of one entire one, by
Solids were diftinguiihed from the Struiltles, or were fuch Pillars as were compounded of many. But it is not here only that thefe filings have Place, but next the
above defcribed Afiragal likewife, and wherever encountered by the Names of Jnnulus, Cintla, Cimbia, Lifiello, Fillets, P^egula, &c. broader or more narrow, as belt fuits with the confecutive Member 5 like thofe very fmallLifiellos or Annulets under the Echinus of the Doric Capital, by the Italians called Gradetti, Degrees, and by the Inter- preters of P. Lomazgp, Rulers ; and fo in like manner the Cimbia be- neath the Afiragal immediately above the Contraction. But 3J*- guU and Fillets are fomewhat larger in Places where they edge and (hut in the Cy*n**t:l*im ïß ë Cornice, Abacus, or Voluta : Moreover i note That Lifiello and Cintla are broader than Annulets, which I take to be
the very leaft of all the Mouldings in an Order. capital The Capital, with itsOrnaments, comes now to be the next collective "Member. We have already fiiewed what we are to underftand by a Column'
which nakedly confidered, does not aiiiime the Name of Order 'till it be dreiTed and habited with its diftinguifliing Ornaments, the Capital, Sec. For though by Ornament Architects, in one Word, iignify Architrave, Frieze and Cornice, which ever accompany and com pleat the Order j yet it is the Capital only which gives its Diftindtion and De- nomination : And albeit their Differences may indeed be alfo taken from the Height, Shape and Subftance, yet hardly without their Heads, as the Ionic* and Corinthian. We proceed therefore to the fecond Member towards the upper Part or Diminution of a Column, which is always the lefs abated if very tali, becaufe the Diftance affects that in them which Art produces in the lower, is the Hypotrachelium, which from the Greeks õ^^^éïí, co^ pars infra cer~
Vtcem, denotes the Neck of the Column, being that Part of Scapus be- low the Afiragal: It is as it were the Frieze of the Capital, and fo by fome termed 3 as alfo the Collar and Gorgerin, where the Pillar is moil contracted, and feems as if it were ftrangled, and may well be taken for a Part of the Capital itfelf, having both in the Tufcan and Doric another Annulus or CinBa about it next to the Echinus, a Bottle cut with an Edge, as in our Bloome it is rudely
explained. It is indeed a Quarter round., and iometimes more, fwelling
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■and Architecture. 2 I
fwelling above the CinElures, and commonly next to the Abacus^
carved with Ovals and Darts (by our Workmen called Eggs and Ankers as little politely) which is frequently ihut up with a fmaller Ovolo of (Beads and duplets, or like Ornament 5 but fo adorned, it commonly runs under the ionic Voluta, and that of the Compofita, and next the Doric Abacus 5 as in thac lingular Example of the Tra- jan Column it creeps under the (plinth of the Capital. Such as pretend to Etymologies for every thing they hear, will have it *%úßö ðç& ™ t%m or óõíß÷?» iau-tw, becaufe of a kind of Seif-contradfcion 5 others more rationally from the Refemblance and Roughnefs in the Carv- ing, É÷ßí÷ ô^÷û'ééñ©., as briftling with its Darts like a Hedge* Hog, or rather the thorny Husk of a Cbeft-nut, which being opened diicovers a kind of oval-figured Kernel, which dented a "little at the Top, the Latins call Decacuminata Ova. Under this, as we faid, is a fmaller (Bracelet again which encircles the Capital under the Valuta in the Com- pofita, taken for the Fuferole 5 and fo likewife in the other Orders where the Ovolo or £þù properly enter, having a frnail Moulding beneath it, by Palladia named Gradetto · but of this-already : In the Corinthian an Echinus frequently comes in betwixt the Corona and Dentilli. The Voluta, or as we term it properly enough, the Scroul, is not Vekm
the Derivative of any GreelWord, but the Latin, Valuta, a Vohendo * for that indeed feems to be roiled upon an Axis or Staff · Jlberti calls them Snails-flnlls from their 5^/Vd/ Turn : It is the principal and only appropriate Member of the Ionic Capital, which has four, in Imitation of a female Ornament, as both our Mafier VitruVius, and the Author of the (parallel have learnedly illuftrated* The Face of it is called Frons, the Fore-head* a little hollowed between the Edge Of Lift, and the (Return, Pulvin or Pillow betwixt the Abacus and Echi- nus refembles the fide-plaited Trejfes of Womens Hair, to defend as it were the Ovolo from the Weight of the Abacus, over which the Voluta hangs, and fuperior Members, for the fame Reafon as was intimated in the Torus of the Bafe. There are alfo Voluta s in the Corinthian and compounded Capitals
whereof the firft hath eight, which are angular, the reft conMmv rather of certain large Stalks after a more Grotefco Defign, as may be gathered from thofe %ams Horns in the Capital of the Columns taken out of the Baths of Dioclefian : And in truth they are only the pretty Flexures and Scrowlings of Vitici, like the Tendrels of Vines, whereof the four larger ones bend under the Horns or Corners of the Abacus, the other four of leiTer Size, juft under the middle of the Arch thereof, beneath the Flower : Then the Bottom or Foot of the Calathus or Panier (for that is divided into three equal Parts, as will hereafter appear) fhews in Front two entire Leaves, and as many half ones 5 íÀ÷. at the Angles, and betwixt thofe again two Stalky which, with æ tall one in the middle (that touches in the midft of the Arch, as we faid, it puts torch a Flower upon the Brim of the Abacus) make
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2 2 Account of Architects
make in all fixteen in number. To be yet as accurate as may
be in fo nice and florid an Ornament, thefe Leases did of old refem- ble either the Acanthus, though a little more indented and difguifed, from the Inventor CaUimachus, or, as fome, the Olive and Palm , for fo it is warranted by Villalpandus from that Capital of his Defcription ftanding in the Temple of Solomon. At the Extreams of thele Leaves do iifue the Caules, and Codds, breaking with the Helices, the reft of the Stalks adorned and furnifhed with Buds and tender Foliage by the Difcretion and invention of the ingenious Careen But the domineering Tendrels and Flexures confift of greater, or fmalier Valutas, emerging from between the Abacus and Echinus in fmalier. Leaves and Stalks, middling and inferior Foliage, as they are diftin- guifhed by Workmen in the three above-named Divifions of the Calathus 3 but inftead of thofe Helices, at our Corinthian Horns, the Compofita has her Voluta much more refembling the lonica, and in lieu of thofe, diverfe capricious Fancies, as Horfes Heads, Eagles, and the like; fed ea doElis non probantur, they are rejected by all good Architects, fays Philander. Voluta is likewife among the Ornaments of Mutuli, Curtoufes, &c* Now the Center or Eye of the Ionic Voluta is made by Jrtifis with a
cathum. Cathetus, which (not over nicely to diftmguifli from perpendicular, be»
caufe the Operation of them proceeds from diftincl: Terms) is meant by a Line let down from above, interfering the Line of the Collar (as it is demonftrated in Chap. 24. of the (parallel, with the Hiflory of its Inveftigation) and that fmall Circle at this Point of InterfeBion is metaphorically Oculus, the Eye, from whence the perfect turning of the Voluta has been after an excjuifite Manner (though by few ob- ferved and practifed) found out 3 it being here indeed that out Workman will be put to the Exercife of his Arithmetic, as appears by that accurate Calculation in Nicholas Goldmanus's Reftitution of this becoming Ornament. Laftly, Abacus. The Abacus, from a£«f or ÜâÜ÷éïí, which fignifies a fcjuare Ôççú
cher, or Table, is that quadrangular Piece commonly accompanied ■with a Cymatium, except in the Tufcan, and ferving inftead of a Corona or Drip to the Capital, whereof it is the (plinth and Superior, as has already been noted. This it is which fupports the neather Face of the Architrave, and whole Trabeation : In the Corinthian and Compofita the Corners of it are named the Horns, and are fomewhat blunted and hollowed^ the intermedial Sweep and Curvature with the Arch, has commonly a P>ofe, or fome pretty Flowery carved in the middle of it. Thus we have finiflied that Head of our Column, which being
taken in general for all thefe Members together, is commonly diftin- capitfh guifhed by the Name of Capital, an eflentiai Member of every
umt Order, taken, I fay, for the entire Ornament from the Aflragal
and firft Cintlure of it, to the Plinth which bears up the Architrave : But it: is not to be omitted, that the main Body of the Corinthian Chapiter
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and Architedure. 23
Chapiter, of which we have given a large Defcription under the Title
of Voluta, confifts of a Sell, or fBasket rather, which is that plain and folid Part under the Cauliculi and Stalks, and out of which they are car- ved with Helices, Tendrels and Flowers already mentioned, and which in order to their triple Series of Foliage, which feems to include and fhadow the Body of it, as it is reprefented in that curious Defign of CaUimachuss invention, is divided into three equal Parts: But of this hereafter. There is likewife another Capital, or rather a Diminutive of it, by the Greeks called êåöáë/jw, which does not only fi^nify, as fometimes, the former Calathus and Basket, but more properly that Braid or Lifl above the Triglyph in theFra?^. Moreover, to the Bodies or Shafts of fome Columns appertain
Strides, which (not to infift upon what the learned Foffius and striges* other Critics have contended) are thofe excavated Channels, by our Workmen called Flutings and Groeves : Thefe are particularly af- fected to the Ionic Order, rarely the Doric, mi flolamm ruga, in Imitation of the Waits of Womens %pbes, as our Mafier relembles them 5 and fome of thefe Channels we find to go winding about (pillars, &c. but it is not approved. Between thefe are the Stria, »«*: we may properly Englifh them q^ays or Lifts, which being twenty in the Doric, in the Ionic twenty-four in Number, are thofe plain Spaces between the Flutings in the Ionic, Doric, Corinthian and Com- pofed Orders 3 which Ornament the three lait have^ with fome fmall Difference, borrowed from the Ionic. And in fome of thofe as in that Dioclefian Doric Example, they are fo made, as to reduce' the <%ays to a fiiarp Edge only, by their Contiguity, without any Spaces at all. But fometimes we find the Striges to be filled up with a Swel- ling, a third Part from the Safe, and thefe we may call ftaVed, or ca- lled Columns j for fo I think fit to interpret the French Embaflone, and Alhertts (Jtydens. Thus we find fome Corinthian Pillars often treated - the Stria being commonly a third or fourth Part of the Widenefs of the Flutings, in the Doric not too deep, and diminishing with the Con- traction of the Scapus, unlefs the Shaft be very high, in which Cafe the Diftance does it without the Aid of the Workman 5 fometimes alfo we have feen them totally filled, and fometimes wrought, but better plain : Note, that where they exceed tiventy or twenty-four they make the Columns appear gouty. We mould now come to the Entablature 3 but a Word of (pilaflers, or fquare Columns, called by the Greeks, if ftanding fin- f*M·
gle, <Paraftat£, or by the Italians Membretti, obferving the fame Module and Ornament in <Bafe and Capital, if alone, with that of the entire Column 3 but fo they do not for their Prominency, which being to gain Room and to ftrengthen Works, fortify and uphold capacious Vaults, reduces them fometimes to the Square, whereof one of the Sides is frequently applied to Walls, by which alone fome will only have them to differ from Columns themfelves 5 but that ought to be underftood of fuch as have no Impofis and Arches, upon H which
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24 Account of Architects
which Occafions the Lights they let in do much govern their Pro-
portions, as øáÉÉáÜéý has judiciouily fhewed in /. é: e. 13, isc, Likewife, where they happen to be at Angles, and according to the futcharg'd Weight 5 and therefore a ruflic Superficies, as Sir H. Wotton has difcreetly obferved, does beft become them, as well as a greater Latitude, for fo they have fometimes been enlarged to almoft a. whole ^acuity · unlefs where, for their better fortifying, we find half, and fometimes whole Columns applied to them. As to the Extancy, engaged in the Thicknefs of the Walls, for fo we muft fuppofe them to be3 they fometimes fhew above a fourth, fifth or jlxth Part of their Square j but this is regulated according to the Nature and Difference of the Work, which not feldom reduces it to an Eighth, without any nice Regards to what were requifite if they flood alone, feeing they are often deftined to Stations which require the raoft fubftantial Props. For the reft, they carry the fame Pro- portion with their refpe&ive Orders, and are very rarely contracted, unlefs where they are placed behind whole Columns 5 if fluted, with not above Seven or Nine at moil: Be this alfo obferved 5 That as in the Fronts of large and noble Buildings, they {hew very grace- fully, being placed one over the other before the firft and fecond Storks 5 fo in lefler Fronts and Houfe*-tl»ey look but poorly. Laft- ly, be this farther noted 3 That though we find the Doric filafler with Triglygh and Metap placed about the Cupola, it is by no means to be broken in any fort, to humour the Angle of an upright Wall, though there happen to be a Cornice above it, as we frequently find3 allowing half to one Face, and as much to the other. filaflers are likewife fmaller or ihorter applied to Balconies, 8cc.
with now and then Bafts, (plinth, and Capital, and fo in Rails upon Stairs, Battlements, Sec. They alfo do properly and handfomely where they are (ct to fupport Cornices and Freezes in wainfeoted Rooms, provided their due Proportion be obferved, without thofe ridiculous Difguifements of (pedeflals and idle Fancies commonly wrought about them : They alfo well adorn Door-Cafes, Chimney-pieces, Gallery-Fronts, and other Places, whence they are called 5«·«. Antd, not improperly, as Monf Qerault fhews, from the Latin
Antdt, for their being placed before the ancient Temple Walls, and
Coines ftanding out to fecure them, and fo at the fides of Doors: In fliort, they are generally own'd among <pilaflers, obferving the fame Rule in advancing out of the Work, as Columns themfelves alfo do 3 otherwife, as was faid, <Pilaflers ufed to appear very little beyond the Perpendicular of the Wall or Work, where there hap- pened to be no Ornament above, which fallied farther 3 in which Cafe, the projeoture of both ought to be alike, or rather comply with that of the filafler. The pcmU. Impofis, by VitruYm called Incumb.*, which I mentioned, are no-
thing but their Capitals or more protuberant Heads, upon which reft the Ends of the Arches 3 which alfo muft conform to their Orders 3 fo as
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and Architecture» 25
as the Tufcan has a (plinth only 5 the Doric, two Faces around 3 the Ionic
a (plancere or Cavity betwixt the two Faces, with now and then car- ved Mouldings, as has likewife the Corinthian and Compofita a Freeze 5 fo as the Sallies of the Impofls exceed not the Body of the tpilafler: Sometimes again the Entablature of the Order ferves for the Impofl of the Arch, which is very Stately, as we fee in diverfe Churches, to which the Height exceedingly contributes, where the Projecture is fuitable 3 in the mean time where they exceeded the Square and regular Thick- nefs, they were nam'd (piU, and their Quadra's or Tables (as we yet fee them in ancient #'&
'Altars and Monuments) were employ'd for Infcriptions 5 but if ihorter, and more malTy, they ferve for the Arches of Bridges, for (Buttrejfes and the Suftentation of more folid Works, as indeed they need to be, Hand- ing in the Water, and gradually built as far as its Level 5 nor ought their Breadth to be lefs than afixth Part of the Widenefs of the Arch, nor more than a Fourth: They were fometimes made half Circular j but the Ancients preferred the pointed at right Angles, as better to refift the impetuous Current, before the more acute and iharper. Arches or Vaults confifting generally of fimple Half-Circles, and camer«:
now and then of fome leifer (point, of all other, require the Conduct of an able ArchkeB well skill'd in Geometry: I (hall not need to cri- ticize on the feveral Species of Fornices and Cradle Works, as of late wmimi fub-divided into more than we find among the Ancients, which were not above three or four : The fimple Fornix, or Hemicircular, Strait or Turning : The Tefiudo or more circular, and that which by the French is called Cul de Four and 0>m-like 5 and the Concha, which like a Trumpet grows wider as it lengthens, <Orc. Of thefe fome are fingle, fome double, crofs, diagonal, horizontally on the Plain, others afcending and defcending, angular, oblique, pen- dent ; fome that fally out fufpending an incumbent Burden, of which there are both concave and convex, as for the giving Paf- fage under upon Occafion : But of whatever Form, or Portion of the Circle, Care muil be had3 that where they crofs, the (fteins or Branches fpringing from the fame Point, and their Moulding alike, they neither crowd too near one another, nor entangle confufediy . but meeting from Angle to Angle, unite at the Key-ftone, which is commonly carved with a Rofe, or fome other Ornament 3 it being in this Difpofition of the Nerves and (Branches, wherein confifts the Artift's great Addrefs, and that the concamerated Spaces be exceeding clofe jointed, needing no Pegs or Fillings up with Mortar 5 and above all, that the Butments be fubfbntial; As now in Cellars, Churches, Sec. Vault and Arch-Work in warmer Climates, both in the firil and fecond Stories, not without frequent and coftly Sculpture^ various Frets and Compartments, of which we have Examples an- cient and modern, far more rich, grave, and fbtely, than thofe Gothic Soffits, grofs and heavy, or miferably trifling : Another great Addrefs in Vault-Work, is to render them light and cheerful, where z«**»r< they
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26 Account of Architects
they are raifed above Ground, as well as folid 5 efpecially, where
there is Occafion to contrive them as flat as poflible 5 fuch as are to be feen in many Bridges, efpecially at Pifa over the Amo, fo flat as the Curvature is hardly difcernable 5 and though it coniifts of three Arches, yet they are very large 5 and there are many at Venice, but not near of that Length : That of the famous ^ialto over the Grand- Canale, is more exalted, being in the Bafe near 200 Foot, the Chord much lefs than half the Diameter, Arches being ever ftrongeft, as they approach the half Circle : The Mafonry at the Front of thefe being cut by a peculiar Slope of the Stone, is called pennanted, 'till it come to join with the Men/uia. Menfula, which, quafi juitra, feems to be locked to the (pennants in Guize of a Wedge, and therefore by our Artifts named the I\ey'ftone: We have {hewed their Ufe where two Arches interfect, which is the camtratt, ftrongeft Manner of Cameration. Under the Title of Arch-Work^ sc*u. may not improperly come in thofe ScaU Cochlides, Jpral, annular, oval, and of whatfoever Shape, Penfile, and as it were, hanging with or without Column, receiving Sight from above 5 all of them requiring the skilful Geometrician, as well as a Mafter^Mafon 3 Stairs in general being one of the moil ufeful and abfolutely neceflary Parts of an Houfe 5 and therefore m K* contrived with good Judg- ment, whecher of scone or Timber 5 and fo as with Eafe and Cheer- fidnefs one may be led to all the Upper Rooms. With Eafe 1 mean, that the Flights be not too long, before one arrives to the (^epofes and Landings, without criticizing concerning the Number of Steps, which the Ancients made to be odd, provided they exceed not five Inches in Height, or be lefs than fifteen in Breadth, one Foot being fcarcely tolerable: And albeit the Length cannot fo pofitively be determined, but mould anfwer the Quality and Capacity of the Building, it ought not to be iliorter than five and a half, or fix Foot5 that two Perfons may commodiouily afcend together 5 I fpeak not of thofej ScaU occulta, Back-Stairs, which fometimes require much Contraction, and are more obnoxious to Winding-Steps ; But a noble and ample Houfe may extend even from eight to twelve Foot in Length. And here I think not amifs to note, That the Ancients very feldom made ufe of arched Doors or Windows, unlefs at the En- trance of Cafiks, Cities, and Triumphal Intercolumnations, for the more commodious Ingrefs of Horfe-Men armed with Spears, and Enfigns, <src. This Barbarity therefore we may look upon as purely Gothic, who confidering nothing with (Reafon, have introduced it into private Houfes, and been imitated but by too many of our lates Architects alio, to the no fmall Diminution of the reft, which is better con- ducted. By Intercolumnations I do likewife comprehend all terrafed and cloiflered Buildings, (porticos, Galleries, Atria's, Sec. as before, con- tiguous to, or (landing out from the Body of Edifices 3 in which Cafes they are becomingly proper: And this does naturally lead me to our (pillars again, and to confider the Spaces between them. Inter*
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and Archlte£lure. 27
tntercblumnation (anciently much the fame in all the Orders \vith-ln[er:oltm?
out Arches, where Spaces may be wider than betwixt fingle Columns) fignifies the Diftance or Void between (pillar and Pillar $ but this not furficiently explaining the various Diftance of the feverai Orders in Work, renders it, even in diverfe of our English Authors where they treat of this Art, of fundry Denominations: For thus it was ufually called, Xnfulata Columna, where a (pillar ftood alone like an Ifland or Rock */*'««·
in the Sea, the one invironed with Air, as the other with Water. Areoflylos belonging chiefly to the Tujcan Order, was where the In-Ar^Us*
tercolumnation is very wide, as at the entrance of great Cities, Forts, &c. upon which occafions at the leaft four or five Modules (taken for the whole Diameter) may be allowed, and commonly requires a Timber Architrave. Others almoft contrary, when they ftand at on^· ly a moderate Diftance. Diaftylos, though fometimes improperly taken for any lntercolum^T>la^lou
nation, is moft natural to the Doric, and may have three or four Di- ameters, nay fometimes more in the Ionic, as fitteft for Gates, Galleries, and Torches of (Palaces or lefter Buildings, and thence were called Tetraflylos and Hexaflylos. The Syflylos named alfo Pyaioflylos (as much as to fay thic^of $iU*rhpyfiellf lesi
becaule feidom allowed above a Module and an half, though fome diftinguifh the firft by an half Module more for the Corinthian) belongs chiefly to the Compofita, and it was ufed before Temples, and other Pub- lic and Magnificent Works of that Nature : As at prefent in the tPeriflyle of-St. Meters zz^pme, confifting of near 300 Columns; and as yet remain of the Ancients, among the late difcovered (pubis of (Palmyra. But where in fuch Structures the Intercolumnation did not exceed two Diameters, or very little more (as in the Corinthian, and efpecially the Ionic) the Proportion of Diftance was fo efteemed for its Beauty and other Perfections, that it was by a particular Eminence termed Euflylos, as being of all other the moft Graceful: But it is **/¥<»· not now fo frequent as of old, to beat that vaft Charge, as the Num- ber and Multitude of Columns (which were ufually of one entire Stone exceeding all the other Parts and Ornaments of Building) would en- gage the moft opulent (prince: Whilft we find thofeenormous Struc- tures of Temples, Amphitheatres, Naumachia, Circus, [Baths, (porches, Tri- bunals, Courts (and other Places of public Convention) were built and advanced not only by the general Contribution of the People, or out of the Fi/ch and Charge of the State 3 but very often by the Munificence of Emperors, who (glorying in nothing more than in that of beautifying and adorning of the moft famous Cities in the feve- rai Provinces) ufed to employ Thoufands of their Slaves, to hew and work in the Quarries, abounding with all forts of the richeft Marbles, or with Serpentms, Ophites, <P,-ophyris, and fuch as for hardnefs and diffi- culty of Poiifliing, our Tools will now hardly enter : And when the fillars, and Attire about them, were finiilied, to fend and beftow them J . Gratiiy
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Gratis, towards the Encouragement and Advancement of fhofe Pub»
lick Works, &c. But after this Conftantine the Gnat, meditating the Tranflation of the Imperial Seat, from the Weft to the Eaft, took ano- ther Courfe, thoJ by no means fo laudable 5 caufing moft of the moft Magnificent Buildings to be deprived of their Columns, Statues, Infcrip- tions, and Nobleft Antiquities, to be taken away, and carried to By- zantium, now Conftantino[>le, to adorn his new City with the Spoils of $(ome 5 whilft what Ruins and Fragments were left (and had efcap- ed the Savage Goths and Vandals) were ftripped of all that yet re- mained of venerable and ufe-ful Antiquity, by the fucceeding Pon- tes, for the Building of ftately (palaces, Villas and Country-Houfes o( the lip-ftart Nefiotifme, as are ftanding both at prefent in the Citiest and the fweeteft and moft delicious Parts of the Country about it 3 proud of -what yet ftood of the miferable Demolition of Temples, Arches, Mau- foleas^ Sec. So juftly perftringed in that Sarcafme, Quod non facerunt ^Barbari, facerunt <Barbarini, and indeed, the fuperl (palaces of Card. Antonio, Panfilio, Sec Nephews toPope Urban the Vlllth and his Sue* ceiTors are inftances of this: So as I hardly can tell of any one anci- ent Structure (not excepting the ^Pantheon) but what has luffered fuch ignominious Marks and Difguifes, as that the Learned Author of the /Parallel, together with all the Aflembly of the moft skilful Arttfts (which he has brought together) Juve hardly been able (with infinite Pains, Charge and induftry) to recover the juft Proportions, and ne- ceiTary Adjuncts of the Ancient Orders. But to return where we left fpeaking of Columns 5 we are not there obliged to reckon any of them, as meaning different Orders, Kind or Species of Building (as in the following Enumeration) but as relating to the feveral Difpofitions of them, agreeable to their Intercolumnation. For where the Sides had Ranges of Columns, as in thofe IbrgzlZyftas, Temples, (porticos, Atrias, and Veftihula of the Greeks and (Romans (which were certain arched or plain- ly architraVed Buildings in Form of Cloifters and Galleries, commonly (landing out from the reft of the Edifice, and now and then alone, and within alfo) the Ancients named no fewer than Seven 3 according as they were applied to the feveral Species, Dijpofttion or Compojition of the Fabric 3 or more plainly, fuch as were more proper for a Tem- ple, according as it was built and placed defignedly for more or fewer Ranks of Columns, at the Entrance only, on every Side about it, with- out or within ·, not regarding their Proportion or Ornament, which is a different Coniideration (tor fo I think fitruvius may be taken.) Of thefe the Firft is, 1 * Antes, of which we have already fpoken,
2. TheVroftyle, whofe Station being at the Front, confifted of only
feu f Columns. 3. Amphiproftyle, where the Building had a double fPronaos or Porch,
confifted but of four at each. 4. (Piriptere, where the Columns range cjuite about the Building ß
Six in Front, the Intercohmnation two ^Diameters of whatever Order it confiftj the Pillars ftanding downward. j.Pfeu- |
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.-and Architecture.. 29
<j. (pfeudodiptere (Baftard or imperfect) as confifting of a fingle
Rank only, yet of eight Columns in Front at two Diameters diftance 5 fo as left Space enough for another Row from the main Building: Whereas the 6. Viptere has a double Row of as many quite about, and OBoflyle'in
Front alfo, at the Diftance of Eufiyle, that is, two Diameters and a Quarter : This made as it were a double (portico^ which we call Ifles, Laftly, the 7. Hypethre, confifts of two Ranks of Columns all about, with Teii
at each Face of the Buildings and a(Peryftile within of Cmglt Columns $ the reft being expofed to the Air, that is not walled in (and placed as the Pycnoflyle clofer to one another) we have called Ver'tflyle, which though importing a Coknade, or Series of Columns ranging quite about; yet are not all which are fo placed to be called fo, unlefs (landing within the Walls, which iseftential to their Denomination; finee other- wife} as well the Teriptere as Monoptert (both confifting but of a fingk Range or Wing a-piece) fliould then be (periflyles, which they are not: Befides, the M&noptere is only where a Ufyof is fupported without any Wall or Clofure whatfoever, as in that Example of VitruVms, Lib. 4. Cap* 7. All which I have only mentioned for the Benefit of our Coun- try Workmen, who do frequently, even amongft our Åçöâé Tran- ilators of JrchiteBonical Treatifes, meet with thofe hard Names with- out their Interpretation, when the Difcourfe of thefe open and airy Ornaments, whether adjoining to, and fupporting more Contignatiom and Stories; or invironing them, and prominent from them; and be- caufe it is for this, that our Mailer VitruVius fo pafiSonately wifliesthac his Architect fliould be, as of old, ftyled Callimacbus, Thilotechnos, an in- duftrious Searcher of the Sciences, which is the fame that a good ØÂ- lologer is amongft our Literati. Moreover* inftead of Columns the Ancients (as now the Modern but
too often) ufed to place the whole Figures of Men and Women to fup* port and bear up entire Cornices, and even huge MaiTes of Buildings; but of this at large in Cap. n, 23, of the Parallel, Part i. Thefe they alfo named Telamones or Atlas's; the French, Confoles, where they ufually fet them to fuftain the Architrave, which for being the next ****«<««» Member in order to the Capital we come next to explain* The Greeks named that Epiflilium, which we fromamungril Com·* Eflflnium.
pound of two Languages Ü^-^Trabs (as much as to fay the prin- cipal Beam and Summer, or rather from Anus and Trabs) culArchi* tray e ; UtVelint trabem hanc Jrcus vices fufiinere qui a Columna ad Columnam ftnuari Jolet, as <Baldus with Reafon, from its Pofition upon the Column, or rather indeed the Abacus of the Capital It is the very firft Mem* ber of that which we call Entablature in our Tranilation of the (paral- lel $ and formerly in the Tu/can Order framed for the moil part ©f Timber in regard of the diftant Intercolumnation i It is alfo frequently broken into two or three Divifions, called by Artifts |
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30 Account of ArchiteBs
Àö,á. Fajcias, or rather plain Faces, a little prominent, the loweft being
ever the narrowed : Thefe Breaks arriving fometimes to 17, fome-
times to 18 Minutes in breadth, fome rather choofe to call Faces than Fajcias, Swathes, Fillets or (Bands, by which they are ufually diftinguifhed into Firfl, Second ma Third, efpecially in the three latter Orders 5 for in the Tujcan and Doric they do not fo properly enter, though our (parallel yield us two approved Examples: Thefe are frequently, and indeed for the moil: part, feparated with a fmall Aflragal cut into Heads, or fome fuch flight Carving 3 the Fajcias of the Architrave likewife curi- oufly wrought, as in that wonderful lnftance of a Corinthian Entabla- ture taken out of Dioclefian's Bathes. Fajcia, in the Notion I would rather take it, mould be for that narrower Band about the Tujcan and other Bafts as fome call it 5 or rather the fquare Lift under the fuperior Torus in fome (pedeflals named Supercilium, and not properly the Torus it- felf, as in diverfe Englijh (profiles they erroneoufly make it $ for Supercilium feems to be a kind of Corona or Drip to the fubjacent Members. In Chim- Anufagmm- çø uit Architrave is t\\zMantle 3 and over the Aniepagmenta ox Jambs of Doors Hyferthyron. and Lintels of Windows the Hypertbyron, which the Italians call Soppra frontale, and our Carpenters the F^ing-piece, immediately under the Corona, as a large Table to fupply the Freeze, efpecially in the Doric Order, and chiefly over Torticos and Doors; wbilft as to the precife Rule for the Fillet of the Architrave, the Tujcan challenges one5 the Done and Com- poftta two ; the Corinthian three 3 fometimes interrupted to let in a Table for an hifcaption. The uppermoft Fajcia of the Architrave for the moil part is, and in-
typ, deed always iliould be (the Tujcan only excepted) adorned with a Ly- fiS) or
cjmadnm. Cymatium inverted, which is no more than a wrought or plain G-gee, as our Workmen barbaroufly name it: The term isÊõìÁôéÜí, undula, and fignifies a rolling Wave, to the refemblance whereof it is moulded. By fome it is called the Throat, as from the Italian and French, Gola, Geule, or Doucine, and of thefe there are two kinds, the Fir â and Principal hath al- ways its Cavity ahoVe, and doth conftantly jett over the Corona or Drip f"-* like a WaVe ready to fall, and then is properly called Sima 5 the other has its Hollow below, and is named InVerfa-, the one Convex, the other Con- cave: The Letters £ thus placed do reafonably well exprefs thefe kind of Mouldings, which not only enter into the Member of the Architrave where it is ever inverted, but (as we faid) perpetually above the Corona, where they do frequently encounter and meet together with a fmall (%e- gula between them, which as it were feparate the Parts, as the Freeze from the Cornice and the like 3 but then the neather is the Lesbyan ever reverjed, and very narrow 3 though oft-times both of them Carved and Adorned with Foliage, &c. In the Doric Order the uprnoit Cymatium of the Entablature is fomewhat different, as coniifting but of a fingle Hollow only under the Lift: in the meantime, there is no fmall Nicety among Architects about this neceiTary Ornament, both as to the Name and Pla- cing 3 giving to the Larger the Name of Cymatium reverfed> or Doucine ·, to
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andArchit e dure. jl
to the Smaller, that of Simus, or Flat-nofed j commonly placed beneath
the other, under a fmall Fillet 5 yet not fo eifentially, but that it has been fupplied by the Aftragal '* However, the moft natural Place of the great Cymatium is upon the fuperior Cornice, where our Mafler gives it the Name of Epitlheates, and fhould ever cover the Hoping fides of Frontoons or Tympanum. Cymatium is alfo about the Heads of IvioMiom and conftitutes part of
them, as likewife it enters into Abacus, and on Pedeftals, as in Stylobau Corona, and the Safe thereof, where we find them both inverted; though I remember to have feen the upmoft with the (fietla alfo in the Cornice a- bovementioned. But inftead of Cymatium feparating the Architrave and Freeze, Taenia oftentimes fupplies the room. Tenia is properly Diadema, a Bandlet or fmall Fillet with which they ô*»*:
ukd to bind the Head 5 and rather thofe Lemmfci&nd Rubans which we fee Carved and dangling at the ends of Gyrlands. The Interpreter of Hans Bloome names it the top of a Pillar, but very infolently 5 it being indeed the fmall Fajciapart of the Doric Architrave (or as Perault, ftri&ly belonging to the Cornice alone) fometimes, but feldom, with a narrow Cymatium, or <%egula under it, as that runs under the Triglyphs as a kind of <Bafe: Some call it the neather 7k«w (as (philander frequently) to diftin- guifh it from the Bandage which compofes the Capitelli of the Triglyphs and continues between them over the Metops, and not feldom under a CaVetto or fmall Cymatiumswith which Suidas and other learned Critics many times confound it. In a Word, it is that in the Doric Architrave which Cymatium is in the other Order, and feparates the Bpiflylium or Architrave from the Freeze, the Word in Greeks Zaotpfy®*, and does genuinely import the 2™^
imaginary Circle of the Zodiac depicted with the twelve Signs 5 but by our Architects it is taken for the Second Divifion of the Entablature above the Columns, being like a Fair and Ample Table between the former To, ni<z, and which though oftentimes plain iliould be Pulvinatus, pillowed, or fwelling in the Ionic Order 5 but in the Doric enriched with the Tri- glyph and Metops, and with a Thoufand Hiftorical Symbolic, GroteJ. and o- therflored Inventions in the reft of the Orders (Tufcan excepted,) efpeci- ally the Corinthian and Compofita, and fometimes with Infcriptions. Our term is derived either from the Latin (phrygio a Border, or from the Ita· lian Freggio, which denotes any Fringed or Embroidered Belt: (Philander fays d phrygionibus, not from the Phryges a People of the Minor Afia, as fome erroneoufly 5 but phrygiones, a certain Broidery or flowered Keedle· Work, as one fhould fay Troy-flitch (whence haply our True-flitch) in imi- tation whereof they wrought Flowers and Compartments upon the Freeze-, which is commonly no broader than the Architrave: In the Ionic, if plain, a fourth Part lefs 5 if wrought, a fourth larger, of which fee more where we fpake of Ornaments. Befides this of the Entablature, the Capitals of both Tufcan and Doric
have the Freeze likewife commonly adorned with four %oJes and as ma- ny fmaller Flowers, for which caufe it is called the Freeze of the Capital K alfo
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32 Account of Architects
alio, as we noted, to diftinguifJh it from the other 5 like wile Hypotfache*
Hum, fromrjts Pofture between the Afiragal and the (ftegula"of Jnnulus of the Echinus: This Tufcan Freeze is plain and very fimple 3 but in the reft of the Orders k is employed with the Echinusy as in the lonica, and the Capital' Cmliculi or Stalks in the other two : Thefe <%pjes are alfo fometimes Infculped under the prominent Horns or Angles of the Doric Ahacus. Tophus. The Triglyphs which I affirmed to be charged On the Doric Freeze, is a moil infeparable Ornament of it. The Word ■■*&??&$©·. in Greeks im- ports a three Sculptured Piece, £«*/? $«& fa£«» Glyphas: By their Trian- gular Furrows,, or Gutters rather, they feem to me as if they were meant to;convey the Gutu or Drops, which hang a little under them 5 though there are who fancy them to have been made in imitation of Apollo's Lyre, becaufe firft put in Work:as (they affirm) at the Delphic Temple: You are to note that;the two angular Hollows are but half ChaneUed,whence they are called SemicalanicuU, to diftinguifii them from the Canaliculi, whofe Flutings are perfect, and make up the three with their Interflices or Spaces, being as many flat andilender Shanks, forfo we may interpret the Latin Femora : One of thefe is ever placed betwixt two Columns, and iliould be about the Breadth of half its Diameter below : The Italians name therrl (pianetti, fmall (plains, and fo do we 5 and they conftantly reach the whole Diameter <*£ jche Freeze, being crowned with the formerly mentioned Capi~ id/, part of i the upper Taenia, and determining with the neather, where it in- tercepts them from the Prominent, Gutu' Gutu or Drops. It is e ertainly the moil confpicuous Part of the DorhFree^e, fuppofed to have been at firft fo Carved upon -Boards only that had been
clapped on the Extremities of the Cantheru, Joifis or (Rafters ends which bore upon the upper Fa/cia of the Architrave, to take off from the Deformity, as alfo were the Triglyphs. How indifpenfably neceiTary they are both to be placed in a juft and due Square from each other, and Perpendicularly over their Columns, the Author of thcfarallel has fliewed, Chap. 2. Part 1. as in that of the Temple of Solomon according to Villalpandus $ Defign, how they have been admitted into the Corinthian Freeze, but without the Guttle; and fo in the Perftque. Thefe GutU2.xe as I faid thofe fix Appendant Drops or Tears affected only to the Doric Order, feeming as it were to trickle down and flow from the Channels and Shanks of the Triglyphs through the neather Tdnia, and fmall Piglet or Moulding under it. Gutu are fometimes made in Shape of Flat Triangles, fometimes fwelling
like the SeUion of a Cone or Bell (but fcjuare at the bottom) and therefore fo called by the French Architects. They are alfo under the Planton and the Modilions which fupport the Cornice eighteen in Number, exactly over the Triglyphs, as in that moil confpicuous Elevation of the Profile after the ftately Relique at Albano near Pgme, than which nothing can be imagined more Noble and Magnificent. Alherti calls thefe Gutu, ClaVos, as concei- ving them to be in refemblance of Nails, but without any Reafon for his Conjecture. Mttqt. Metope are the next in Order,and are nothing elfe fave thofe empty Spa* ces in the Freeze betwixt the Triglyphs in theDor/VOrder,either fur a and Plain,
or
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''-^and ArchiteBur&i Ijc
or Figured, for that is not neceffary-'always, to the great eafe of ArcL·
tetls, who oftentimes find it (o difficult to place them St juft diftances, that except in Church-Works, they frecjuendy leave them out : The 'Word is derived of S W%^kj^ cava, or if you willy Intertignium, as importingfhere rather the forena-
med Spaces, than wliatthoie pretend who will fetch it from tfieSfr&JS> or Forehead of the Beafts whofe Sculls (remaining after'tik Sacrifices) were ufually carved in theie Intervals '· becaiiie iK thele yacuitles were the Paiiages for tfrer£FfJs^ upon the Architrave, and were to fill up that Deformity,: tKey uiually
made it up with foirre Ornaments, fuppofe of; Sculls, Difees/knd other Veflcls, nay ibmetimes with Jupiter's Squibor Thunderbolt, Targets, <Battle-Axes,r (Rofes, and fuch other Trophies, as Was; round mbit appofite to the Occafion, and not prepofteroufiy filled them (as our Workmen too often do) without any relation to the Subject 5. ßï as Ú have fre- quently ieen Cta Heads Carved on the Freeze of an Houfi ofWieafure in a Garden, where (jftpfes and Flowers would have been more proper. There are fundry other Ornaments like wife 'belonging ßá'the Freeze- fuch as Encarpa, Feftoons, md Fruiages tied to thc^Horns of tL· Scuds with Tkriidand Ribbands tenderly '•^^i^^oui-^is-'i^n^ti and Ibmetimes carried by little (Htir Boys, Cupids, 'and a Thouiand other Rich Inventions to be found in good Examples: But we are now ar- rived to the third and laft Member of the Entablature feparated from the Freeze by the fuperior Tdnia, the Cornice. The Cornice, Coronis, or as it is collectively taken for its, feveral and Cermih
diftincl: Mouldings and Ornaments, comprehends a fmall é. ^egula, 2. Cy~ matium, l.Dentelli, 4. Ovoloor Echinus, 5. Modilions or Bedding-mould- ings which lupport the Corona, 6. Sima retla and inverfa (rarely a CaVetto) j. and laftly, another <%egula which concludes the whole Order.. We will begin with the Firfl, being fometimes afmall Scotia confuting of an half or quarter round, that now and then alio both in the Tuf- can and 'Doric divides the Freeze from the Cornice in place of the Taenia, as does the Cymatium in the reft of the Orders. The Ovolo is next in the plainer Orders-, but it is enriched in the Corinthian Ovol°'
like the Echinus, which (if you pleafe) you may take for the fame thing in an Italian Drefss fome like Eggs, fome like Hearts with Darts Sym- bolizing Love, &c. In the Tujcan and Dork 'tis turned like a Scima ox Cymatium, and is fubftituted for fupport of the Corona-, but in the lafly 'tis ufually accompanied with a flender%^ above it, and in the Corinthian both above and beneath, where it is like-wife frequently car- ved and adorned with a broad Welt like a flinth. Dentelli are the Teeth (a Member of the Cornice) immediately above\timhnhu.
the Cymatium of the Freeze, by fome named alfo AJferi from their fquare Form 3 ß fay in the Corinthian and Ionic, &c, for in the Doric Order they were not anciently admitted, or rather not f roperly, according to the Opinion of our Mafler, though we muft needs acknowledge to have found them in the mofl Authentical Pieces extant: As for thekDimen- 1 r
pons
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Account of Architects
[torn they kept to no certain Rule, but made them fometimes thicker,
fometimes thinner, fquare, or long, and more in number; but com- monly the Spaces kk by an half, fometimes by a third part than the Teeth, which were themfelves twice as High as their Breadth, and fre- quently (efpecially in the more polite Orders) beginning with the Cone of æößçå, pendent at the very point over the Angular Column : Lomati- us is yet moreprecife in this particular, and gives them as much height as the middle Fafcia of the Architrave, (projetlure, equal (fome what too much) Front twice the Breadth of their Height, and a third part lefs than their Breadth for Vacuity. The Dentelli have oftentimes a fmall (Regula, and now and then more than one, as ufually in the Ionica, where it has likewife an Ovolo or Echinus for the bedding of the Corona; but if inriched, and that two of them encounter, one ihould be fimple and plain, as where it happens tobeinferted beneath it : Next to this fuperior Echinus are the Modilions 5 but inftead of them Dentelli are thought to have been firft inftituted, and for that Reafon fuperfluouily joined where Mutules are 3 and therefore where we find T^nia under Modilions, it is not properly divided into Teeth, nor is it raihly to be imitated, though we have fome great Examples to countenance it. That of the (pantheon may fafely guide us herein, where it is left øÀá'éç, for this very Caufe, and that the Reafon of the Thing does not in Truth allow it: However, it muft be acknowledged, nothing has been more grofly abufed even amongft our moft renowned Mafters. Modilions, being certain Supports in form of Corbells, Cortou^es and
Mutules ate a kind of fBragets to the Corona, and in thofe Orders where they enter, fupply the part of the Bedding-moulding as our Workmen, ftyle the Ovolo in this place 5 for fo they frequently do in the Doric and Ionic, but then without any, other Ornament than a flight Cymatium to edge them, and to be always placed over the Triglyphs: In the Corin- thian and Compofita, which is their true place, they are enriched with all the delicatenefs and curiofity imaginable, efpecially in the Corinthian, capped, as I faid, with a curioufly carved fmall Cymatium, where they are contiguous to the <Plancere or Roof of the Corona. Our ordinary Workmen make fome diftinclion betweenModilions and thofe other forts of Bragets which they call Cartells and Mutules, ufually Carved like the handles of Veifels fcrolled, flowered, and fometimes fculptured with the Triglyph 3 and fuch were the Jncones amongft the Greeks: And fuch are often found fupporting little Tables for Infcriptions; the Stools of Windows, which jet out, and Shields, and Compartments for Coats of Armsf &c. That there ihould be no Gutta under Mutules, or Den- telli under Modilions, is the Opinion of diverfe learned Architects, though as was faid, we frequently find them Chanelled like the Triglyph, and that in authentick Examples : philander is for it, and pronounces them more proper than even under the pureft Triglyph, for fignifying, fays he, Canteriorum Capita, wide flillicidium fieri certum eft, Drops and Ificles commonly hanging at the ends of our Rafters upon every weeping Shower, whereas Triglyphi import only uitfrojettures of the Beams and Timbers
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andArchite&me, j f
Timbers nothing fo much expofed I But this I leave to the more judi-
cious : Whilft as to their Shape, they ihould be fquare under the Co- rona at double their Breadth the interval, and juft over the middle of the Columns, how otherwife ufed, fee in Tympanum, Mutules. Mutules quafi ìíðë@* (a kind of Modilions alfo, or rather the fame un- Uutuii
der an Italian term) have their Name from their Defect, as being made thinner,and more abated below than above,and therefore naturally and difcreetly deftined to Places where they are but little burthened with Weight, as here under that little remainder of the Cornice, are to bear up, little Statues, !Bufls, Vafas, Sec. and fo where they are fet un- der the Pedaments and Lintels of Doors and Windows : JVIoft prepofterous therefore and improper is our frequent aligning fuch weak Supporters to fuch monflrous Jetties and exceffive SuperftruBures as we many times find under (Balconies? (Bay-Windows and long Galleries 5 where in- Head of Mutules the Ancients would have placed fome flout Order of Columns : But by thefe unreafonable ProjeBures (obfeuring the Lights of the Rooms under them) it comes to pais, that in time our ftrong- eft Houfes are deftroyed, and drawn to their irrecoverable Ruin. For the Proportion of Mutules, I commonly find them a Fourth Part high- er than their Breadth, their Internals being as wide as two 5 but neither do Ú find thefe fo conftantly regular, only that there be ever one pla- ced at the Corners and returns of the Corona j and then if they inter- changeably differ as to the Spaces, and as the Rafters direct, there are Examples abundant for their Juftification: After all, they little differ from Modilions, fave that they are raoft proper to the Doric Cornice, reprefenting and covering the Ends of the (Rafters, whereasModilion ferves for any Order. I flia.ll not need to define what is meant by (projeBures, when I hxvc ñÞéâ**
faid it is the fame our Englifi? Authors call the Sailings over and Out» Jetings of any Moulding beyond the upright Wall: The Italians name them Sportiythe Greeks Ecphoras, and for the fame Reafon all Margints whatfoever which hang over beyond the Scapus of a Column are (pro- jeBures 5 and for a general Rule it mould be equai to the Breadth of what projects, relation being difcreetly had to the Height which beft determines it. Corona is next the lafl confiderable Member remaining of the intire 0«*·
Entablature, and (tho' but a part only of the Cornice) feems indeed to fet the Crown upon the whole Work: 1 fay Confiderable, becaufe being re- gularly placed fo near the uppermoft Ovob, ïé Mutules, it ferves to-de- fend all the reft oi the Edifice from the (pain and Injuries of the Wea- ther, and therefore has its ProjeBures accordingly, and fhould be one of the ilrongeft fquare Members of the Cornice : It is fometimes ta- ken for the intire Cornix or Cornice with all its Ornaments, butftriBly, for that part of it above the Modilions, ÏúïÉï, Echinus, or Ogee by a turn under the (Planceere. We find the Corona omitted and quite left out of that ftateiy Arco di Leoni, but it is worthily reproved by our Au- thor of the (parallel, as being a Member of indifpenfable uk* Corona L is
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3 6 Account of Architects
s»pemiinm. is by fome called Supercilium, but rather I conceive Stiliicidium the Drip
{Corona ehcollata Vite) and with more Reafon, fo the French Larmier, Gocc'iolatoio and Ventale by the Italians, to denote its double Office of protecting both from Water and Wind: For this reafon likewiie have our Latin Authors named this broad (plinth, Mentum a Chin -, becaufe it carries off the Wet from falling on the reft of the Entablature, as the Prominency of that part in Mens Faces keeps the Sweat of the Brows, and other liquid Diftillations,from trickling into theNec^/, and in imi- tation hereof the ancient <Potters invented the brimming of their Veffels, by turning over fome of the Ductile Matter when the Work^ was on the Wheel. Sometimes there have been two Coronas in a Cornice, as in that Corinthian Inftance of the (Rotunda$ and fo it is frequently uied in the Stylobata under Gula InVerfa 3 and truly it may be juftly repeated, as theExpofure and Occafion recjuires/o it be not too near one another, all (ProjeSiures being but a kind of Corona to the fubjacent Members ; and therefore their Projectures are accordingly to be aligned, and by no means be cut and divided to let in Window, or Tables: Corona is al- io taken for the interior and exterior Curvature of an Arch or Vault. The under parr of the (Roofs of Coronas (which are commonly
wrought hollow, by fometimes, as we faid, making part of the Cy- pianceere, matium) are by our Artifls called (planceeres,and thofe the Cofers wherein c"fm' are cut the (Rofes, (pomgranades, Flowers or Frets, which adorn the Spa- ces betwixt the Heads of the Modilions and Mutuks. This Ceiling the Italians name Soffito, and it fignifies not only that part of Corona which Tallies over, but the Lacunar, Lacus-or Plain of ail other (Roofs made of Tabulations and Boards appearing between the Joifls, and which (as now, efpeciallyin other Countries) were alfo formerly Gilded, Car- ved and moil magnificently emboifed with Frets of wonderful <Re» lievo; nay, fometimes to the Excefs of Inlayings with Iyoryt Mofaique and other rich and chargeable Works, (pliny I 3 5. cap. 11, tells us of one (pamphilius the Mafler of Apelles, to have been the firft which brought this (Roof-painting into vogue : But ß refer the Reader whothirfts after more of this, to the Learned Salmafius on Solinus, p. 1215, Nor is yet the Corona perpetually plain, as we commonly fee it j fometimes, though rarely indeed, I find it Carved alfo, as in that incomparable Com* pofitaoiTitus's Arch, and that of Diodefians Baths in the Corinthian Ïé* der,andas is indeed every individual Member of that "mmzEntabiature to the utmoft Excefs of Art 5 but how far this may be imitable, con- fult the judicious (parallel; while it is yet confiderable that it is there but wich a kind of Sulcus or Channel, in imitation of Triglyph, or a fhort Fluting rather, being indeed more proper for the carrying off the Water, than any other Work could have been devifed. Corona has over it a fmall (Regula, or an Inrichment of fome flight Chaplet in the Corinthian, &c. after which Cymatium, as in that of Titus's Arch before rehearfed 5 fometimes likewife with an Ovolo or Echinus cut with Ovals and Darts (or as we call them Eggs and Ankers) as in that Example of Kerds Frontifpiece j and upon this again the double Cymatium,whereoi the
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and Architecture. 37
the firft is inverted, and ever the neathermofl and moft narrow, the other
U\etla, very large and prominent, being now and then adorned with Lions Heads placed juft opposite to the Modthons (of which fee that cu- rious Hefearch of the Learned Dr. 'Brown in his Vulgar Errors) though fometimes they are adorned with Foliage only. Laftly, for a final %hSrrm or Super-Impofition (if I may be indulged fo to name it) we are now climbed to the moft fupream <Projeffure, and ultimate part of the whole Cornice, namely the <%egula, which fome make a part of the Sima or Gula (]{eBa. by <PaURegula'
ladio the IntaVolato, and which I think to be the foie Member which I never remember to have feen any where Carved, but always øßáéç, though in fome of the Orders of near eight Minutes in breadth. It is very true, that Scotia (which ß now and then call CaVetto or fmall Hol- low) does in fome laudable Examples fupport this Member inftead of Cymatium, but not fo frequently 5 and that the Tufcan Cornice termi- nates in a Cymatium without this (ftegula, or rather in an OVolo, as in thofe Examples after Sebaflian, Serlio, Sec. but it is not after a true Gufto, and the Fancy is particular. <^egula, called aifo Li/iellofinBa, &c. (of which fomething already hath been fpoken) is always that Supercilium or fuperior Member of the Cornice, though it be likewiic ta- ken for that which is by fome called Quadra, being thofe two Lifts commonly including Scotia, as we find it in the Ionic Spira, both above and beneath : Sometimes alfo it fignifies the tilings or fmall Feruls be-! girting the Scapus of a Column near the Apophyges, or the øÀÀçþ of a <Pedefial: Therefore 1 diftinguifh them, though yet they may be ac- counted the fame, feeing they ufually import any fmall plain Fillet di- viding grearer Members5 for fo (philander calls almoft all fimple parts broader or narrower, which like F/7/eiiencompafs the reft j or rather as Scycts, feparates the Members from Contiguity, both for Variety and Diftinftion, as in the Doric Trabeation, (ftegula, Sima, Cymatium, &c. In the Capital, ^egula, Cimatium, (phnthus .· In the Cornice of the Styhbata alfo %egula, Cymatium, Aflragalus: But where it is no lefs conlpicuous, is in that part of the Triglypb, which jets out under the TanU, and from which the Gutu depend, where it feems to be a part of the very Architrave itfelf. Laftly, before I altogether leave the Cornice (which is indeed the top of all, and may be called the Crown of the Corona itfelf) it may not be amifs to add this fhortNote,for Joiners and fuch as make Cornices of Wain/cot, or FretWorh^, concerning the (projetlures, which having relation to the Height, an inch allow- ed to every Foot fuffices for a Room of 1 5 Foot pitch, which is one Foot three inches, where there is Freeze and Cornice, if much higher, and that there be the whole Entablature, each iliall require a tenth part. To conclude, the very meaneft Building,F<w»i, or Out-houfe, deferves a Moulding, Cornice with a quarter round or Ovolo, a Cymatium and Fillet. And may thus much fuffice to have been fpoken of the Cornice or1***"'»·
upper Member of the Trabeation, which we mean by the Entablature $ for
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38 Account of Architeds
for both thefe Terms fignify but one and the fame thing, Yt%. The
Architrave, Freeze, and Cornice: which I therefore the more precifely note, becaufe fome Writers apply it only to the very Cover and up- moft Top of the Orders 3 but 10 does not our Country-man John Shute whofeBook being printed^rao 1 5 84,and one of the firft that was pub- lished of Architecture in theEngliJb Tongue, keeps rather to the Arici- entTerMs, than by mixing them with fuch barbarous ones as were after- wards introduced, indanger the Confufion of JVoung Students, and fuch as applied themfelves to the Art. Finally, to reform another Miftake, I think good to note that where we find Coronix in our Au- thors, it is rather meant for all that Moulding projecting over the Dye cimai or fcjuare of the (Pedefial, by fome called alfo Cima, than this conclu-
sive fuperior Member of the Entablature which we name the Cornice. But I have done, nor needs there more be added for the perfect Intel- ligence of the moft minute Member and Ornament mentioned in this (parallel, or, as I conceive, in any other Author whatfoever treating concerning this Art, and naturally applicable to the Order\ by which we are all along to underftand certain <%uks and Members agreed on prd0. for the Proportions and Differences of Columns, the Characters, Figures
and Ornaments belonging to every Fart and Member, whether bigger or leifer, plain or enrich'd 5 or as others, a regular Arangement of the principal and conftituentParts of aColumn,from whence there re- fults that Composition which gives it Ufefulnefs with Grace and Beau- ty. This for confiding then of the feveral Shapes and Meafures, obliges us to fay fomething more of (proportion, as being indeed the very Foundation of Architecture itfelf 3 rifing, as we fliew, from the Repre- fentation of natural Things : Nor is it in this Art only applicable to the Dijfiofitions and grinds of thofe Edifices (which we have already fpoken of ) but to every individual Member of an Order, which Vi- truvius will have taken from the regular Dimenfions and Proportions; of the Parts of the Humanefiody jn relation to any one moderate Mea- fure of the fame Body, differently multiplied in feveral Parts: As for Inftance, the Head for an eighth part of the whole 5 twice from the point of one Shoulder to the other Extream, <urc, twice in the Arm 3 four times from the Hip downwards, &c. Or as Albert T>urer, by multi- plying the Face from the bottom of the Chin, to the upper part of the Forehead, reckons the whole Length to be ten, & fie de ceteris 3 accord- ing to which the Diameter of a Column ihall be ten times in the Height of the Corinthian 5 the Intercolumnation Euflyk, two and a quarter, &c. of which let the curious confuk our learned Mailer Interpreter, lib. 3· cap. 1. where he difcourfes of pofime and unalterable Eftablifhments 5 whilft that which we mean by Proportion here, is the Scale by which all the <Parts are regulated as to their juft Meafures and Projectures; and this has by Arttfls been called the mduw. Module or as VitmYius (and fome will have it) Ordonation 3 explained by
Modica commoditas, to be taken for the Parts or Quantities by which the
feveral Members of an Order are calculated and adjufted in their Com-
1 poiition.
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and Architetturi. 39
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pofition. in the mean time to avoid all Uncertainties and Perplexity
of Meafures differing in moil Countries, fome dividing into more, others into fewer Parts, to the great Eafe of both Architects and Work- men ; by * Modules is to be underftood the Diameter or Semidiameter of that*» difSL a Column of whatever Order, taken from the Rife of the Shaft or Supe-f^j'·^ rior Member of the Bafe, namely, at the thickeft, and moft inferior ^huhispgni. Part of the Cylinder, from whence Monfieur de Chamhray (following øáÉÉá- or Geometri- dio and Scamozgi) taking the Semidiameter divided into 30 equal Parts ßß$"ß2£ or Minutes, make it to-be the UniVerfal Scale: Now tho' JrchkeBs gene- f*;£™'£.{* rally meafure by the whole Diameter excepting only in the Doric, which thefifihvow. they reckon by the half, it makes no alteration here, fo as the Work- s«w> 3 man may take which he pleafes. We proceed next to the Orders them- felves: Nor let it be thought a needlefs Repetition, if having given the Learner, fortofuch I only fpeak, fo minute and full a Defcripti- on or all thofe Parts and Members whereof thefeveral Orders are com- pofed and diftinguiilied, I goon to fhew how they are put together in Work by what they have in common, or peculiar to denominate the Species, and bring the hitherto fcattered and difperfed Limbs into their refpeclive Bodies. We have already mewed (fpeaking of Capitals) that a Column, which
is flricvbly the naked Øïâ or Cylinder only, does not afiume the Name and Dignity of any Order, 'till compleatly qualified with thofe Parts and AcceiTories, which give it Name, (Pre-eminence and (2^«4? but be- ing fo diftinguiilied, they are to Architects what the feveral Modes ate in Mufick^ and the Carminumgenere among the Poets; AllBuildings what- foever coming properly under the Regiment of fome one or other of them, or at leaft ought to do, and they are Five (according to the Vulgar Account) namely, Tu/can, Doric, Ionic, Corinthian and Compo- fita< But fince the Firfl and Laft of thefe are not admitted by our oreat Mafters as Legitimate Orders (to which indeed the ancient Greeks claim only Title) we might with Vitrutius, and our Author of the (Parallel, leave them to bring up the Rear5 did not Cuftom, as we faid, and common Ufe fufEciently juftify our affigning this Place for the Tu/can, Ruftic, or by whatever Name dignified or diigraced 5 for t*/m*.
being feldom found in the ancient Fabrics of the (Romans themfelves, by which Name it is alfo called 5 it feems yet to challenge fome re- gard from its refemblance to thofe plain and fimple Rudiments of thofe primitive Buildings, where they faid a, Beam on the top of two forked (pofls, newly cut and brought out of the Foreft, to fupport that which gave Covering and Shade to the firft Architects, fuch as they were, and we have defenbedj 'till Time and Experience, which mature and perfect all things, brought it into better Form and Shape 5 when the Afiatic, Lydiansy who are faid firft to have Peopled Italy, brought it in- to that part of it,called Tufcany ; Nor let it altogether be delpis'd be- caufe of its native Plainnefs, which rarely admits it into Buildings where Ornament its expe<5ted,fince befides its Strength andSufficiency Ì (which!
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40 Account of Architect
(which might commute for its want of other Beauty* and give place at
the Ports and Entrances of great Cities, Munitions, Magazines, Am- phitheatres, Bridges, Prifons, ire. that require Strength and Solidi- ty) we find it capable alfo of fuch illuftrious and majeftic Decorati- ons as may challenge all the Grecian Orders to (hew any thing ap- proaching it, fo long as thofe three famous Columns, thofe of Trajan and Antoninus s at (J(pme, and a third of Theodofius's at Conftantinople, ftand yet triumphant, and braving fomany Thoufands of the other Orders which lie proftrate, buried in their Duft and Ruins. Nor is this the firft Example, as fome pretend, as appears by that ancient (Pillar erected to Valerius Maximus, firnamed CorVinus ; on which was placed a (j$pen9 in Memory of what happened in the iamous Duel between that Hero and the Gygantic Gaul: Thus whilft the reft of the Orders are aflifted to fupport their Charge and heavy Burdens by their Fellows,and a Conjugation ofEntablature,not allowed to this7 the Tufcan ftands alone like an I/land fteady, and as immoveable as a Rock. . This Column with its Baft and Capital, is in Length /even Diameten,
taken at the thickeft part of the Shaft below ; the fedeftal one 5 the feafe one Module, or half Diameter, which divided into two ecjual parts, one fhall be the (plinth, the other for the Torus and Cintlure, which being but a fourth part of the breadth in this Order, only makes a part of the <Bafe (peculiar to itfelf alone) as in the other it does of the Shaft itfelf. The Capital is one Module, which divided into three equal parts, one
ihall be for the Abacus, the other the Ovolo, the third parted into feven# whereof one is the Lift, and the remaining fix for the Column. The lower Aftragal is double the height of the Lift under the Ovolo. Note, That VitruYms makes no difference betwixt the Capital of this Order from the Doric, as to Proportions, tho' Artifts difpute it $ who (as wasfaid) allow it a Semidiameter. Now^ tho' they have not granted it any fix'd and certain Entabla-
ture, but chofen what they thought fit out of other Orders 5 yet they feldom give it lefs than a fourth part of the Height of the Shaft, like the 2)bn'c, which commonly, and very properly, fupplies the place of the Tufcan, and that with a great deal of more Grace, where they ftand in Gonfort, as in Arches, and the like : The Diftance, ox Inter* columnation of this Order fometimes amounting to four Diameters, fometimes requires an Architrave of Timber ; or if of Stone, to be placed much nearer, unlefs (as we faid) in Vaulting and underground Work, to which fome alrrtoft wholly condemn it. Dork. The Doric, fo named from Ooms King of Achafis, reported to have been the firft who at Argos built and dedicated a Temple to Juno of
this Order, is efteemed one of the moft Noble, as well as the Firft of the Greeks> for its mafculine, and, as Scamozzi calls it, Herculean jfyefl, not for its Height and Stature, but its excellent Proportion, which fits it in all reipe&s, and with advantage, for any Work where- |
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A
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md Archiiefftire, ;4 ß
in the'Tu/cdn is made ufe of, arid renders that Column (among the
Learned} a Supernumerary, as well as the Compofita. The Doric, (Ba/e and Capital, challenges eight Diameters fee alone ß
but not fo many by one, in (porticos and Mural Work. TheJ,Capital one Module, with its Abacus, Ovolb, Annulets, Hypotrache-
Hum, Afiragal and Lifi beneath the Capital, making a part of the Shaft or Column. The Entablature being more fubftantial than in the reft of the Greeks
Orders, requires a fourth part of the Height of the Columns 3 where- as the others have commonly but a fifth* The Architrave one Module» compofed but of a fingle Fafcia, as
beft approved, though the modern fometimes add a feeond, with a Tenia or Band which crowns it. The Freeze with its Lifi9 which feparates it from the Cornice, is one
Module^. The Cornice holds the fame Proportion with this Note, That when the Column is above 7 Diameters, both Freeze and Architrave have their regulated Meafure, one being of a fingle Module, the, other being Three Quarters, and the remainder being a fourth part of the Co- lumn, is call into the Cornice. This Order had of Old no (Pedefial at all* and indeed Hands, hattd-
fomely without it 5 but where it is ufed, (palladio allows it two Diame~ ters and a third of the Column, and is often piaced upon the Attic-iSa/e y for anciently it had none: We find it fometimes -Fluted with a fliort Edge without Imerftice, as there is in other Orders: But that which is indeed the proper and genuine CharaBer of the Doric, is (witfh very moderate Enrichment beiides) theTriglyph and Metop in the Free^e^wiai Guttd in the Architrave beneath 3 the due Collocation and Placing of which often fubje&s our Architects to more difficulty than any other Acceifory in the other Orders-, becaufe of the Iniercolumnation, which obliges them to leave fuch a fpace betwixt two Columns, as may not be lefs than for one Triglyph to five, counting what falls juft on the Head of the Columns 3 which if placed at the entrance of a Building, the diftance muft be for Three-, which to adjuft is riot very eafy3 fee- ing the Iniercolumnation ought to correspond with the diftance of the Spaces of the Triglyphs and Metops 3 which point of Criticifm is the Caufe we often find them quite left out in this Order3 which fuits fo well in the Tycnoftyle and Acroftyk. The Ionic, invented or introduced by Ion, lent-by thofe of "Athens lonic«-
with a Colony into that Part of Greece bearing his Name(and'wherehe; erected a Temple to Diana) confifts of Proportions between the folid and manly Doric the delicate and more feminineOrinthmn, from which it but little differs, fave in the matron-like Capital ã It contains Eighteen Modules or Nine Diameters (tho' by one lefs at firft) together1 with the Capital and <Bafi, which laft was added to give it Stature. The Entablature is allowed a fifth part of the height of the Column
of which the (Bafi takes one Module (with fometimes a final] Mould-1 ing of twenty Minutes) the Capital very little exceeding a third: But its
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Account of Architects
its diftinguifliing CharaBeriflic is the Voluta 5 concerning which fundry
Architects have recommended their peculiar Methods for the tracing and turning that Ornament 5 efpecially Vignola and Goldman : The Famous Mich. Angelo had one after his own mode, and fo others 5 but that which has been chiefly followed, is what Thilip d' UOrme con- tends to be of his own Invention. This Column is Fluted with four and twenty Plaits 3 the Spaces or
Interfaces not fliarp and edged like the "Dork (which is allowed but twenty) tho' of the fame depth, and hollow to about a third part downward, where they are convexly flawed, and thence named (fydu- anty by fome <3%udent, tho' of old we find them Fluted the whole length.: Thus as the Capital refembled the modeft Trejjes of a Matron, fo did the Fluting, the Folds and Plaits of their Garments. * The <Pedeflal is of two Diameters and as many thirds : Sevefal other Obfervations pretend to this Order, to render it elegant, which are left to the Curious, but thefe are the more effential. The Corinthian had her Birth from that luxurious City 5 tricked up
and adorned like the wanton Sex, and is the Pride and Top of all the other Orders: For the reft it agrees with the Proportion of the Ionic, excepting only in the Capital: In a Word, it takes with its !Bafe Mine Diameters and three Quarters,an<i fometimes Ten : if Fluted, with as many as the Ionic, half as deep as large 5 the Liflel or Space between the Groves, 2, third of the Depth, yet not fo precifely, but that ac- cording to the Compafs and Station of the Column, the Flutes may be augmented to thirty and above. Our modern ArchiteBs for the moft part allow but one fifth of the
Height of this Column to the Entablature, comprehending 'Baje and Ca·» pital: I fay for the moft part 5 but in the nobleft and moft entire Ex- amples of Antiquity, which is that of the Roman (pantheon, the En- tablature is indeed fomewhat deeper; but with this Circumfpection to be imitated, that the Fabric to which it is applied be great and magnificent, as that famous Temple is, and which will depend on the Judgment of the ArchiteB. The Capital is of one 'Diameter or two Modules in height j the Abacus
a Sixth or Seventh part of the Diameter taken at the bigger End of the Column, which is univerfally to be underftood in the Meafure of all the Orders; The reft fliall be divided into Three equal parts 3 One for the firft Border or Toure of Leaves j the other for a Second-, the third part divided in Two, and of that which is next the Abacus the Volutas are formed, of the other the Cauliculi: The ©e// or Furfl: under the Leaves refembling Callitnachus's 'Bajk^t, under which they are carved, fall exactly with the Hollow of the Flutings. in the mean time, there is no fmall Inquiry about the Foliage of what Species of Thiflle the An- cients formed this florid Ornament 3 which is generally attributed to the Branch* Urfin* $ but of a tender, more indented and flexible kind than the wild and prickly, which we fee ufed in the Gothic Buildings 5 whilft the Compofita Capitals ftuckit with Laurel una Olive Leaves, emerg- ing |
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and Architecture. 43
ging oat of the Veflel, with the Voluta above the Echinus, and, ai
øáÉÉáÜ'éï would have it (efpecially of the OliVe) the Sprigs placed from Five to Five like the Fingers of one's Hand, as becoming it better than four, and commends fome Capitals he had feen, whofe Cauliculi were faced with oaken Leaves. Note, that the Scrolls feeming to be form'd out of the Cauliculi, the tyfes in the middle of the Abacus, was fome- times by the Antients of the fame breadth, which fince they make to bend on the middle Valuta. The <Bafe of this Order is fifteen Minutes of a Module : The fedefld
requires a fourth part of the height of the Columns, and {hall be divid- ed into eight parts 5 one to the Cymatium 5 two for the <Bafe (which is the Attic) the reft for the Zoccok or Die. And thus do the three Greek. Orders reprefent thofe three Species of Building, the Solid, the modefi Mean, and the 'Delicate, between the fimfde ÖÉáÀç, the Gay and Wanton, which are the Latin Extreams j whilft the Gothic is rifen from the Cor- ruption of them all. For after all, there's none has been more grofiy abufed, than this flouriihing and noble Order, by fuch as with their Impertineneethave iometimes rendered ic neither Corinthian nor Compofi- ta, which is the Fifth and Laft. The Compofita, being the Junior of all the reft, and Foreigner to thtCmi°f"*\
Greeks is of a ^omanExtraction, and therefore by fome called Italian 5 and tho' not without fulrlcient lnfolence, taking place of the Corin* thian, between whom and the Ionic fhe is but a Spawn and Mungrel^ as well as the Tu/can, and fo reckoned among Judicious ArditeBs, and by our Mafter himfelf, not fo much as owned anOrder, as not think- ing it poifible to invent a more noble and compleat than the Corin-> thian * They would fain, it feetns, have one to bear theCountry'sName, arid that,as they infuked over and braved the reft of the World, ihould fie triumphant over the reft of the Ordersftom whom they have pluck- ed their fine and gawdy Plumage priding it over the Corinthian, from whom and the Ionic, flie only differs one Diameter more inHeight, The Capitals four angular Scrolls, take up all that Space, which
in the Corinthian is partly filled with the Cauliculi and Stalks j and now and then an Eagle or Griphon is found to neftle among the Foliage of which it has a Series of two Rows, and under the Ovolo the Ionic Neck- lace3 whilft others affirm, that the variety of the Capital changes not the Species, which confifts (as ferault will have it) in the length of the Shaft only ; fo as no body is to wonder at the prodigious Li* centioufnefs, which fome we find have run into, togratify their Am- bition. The French (of all the Nations under HeaVen being the fond- eft of their own Inventions, how extravagant foever, and to i.m- pole them on all the World befide) call it, forfooth, the Gallic Order, and with a Confidence peculiar to themfelves, toalterand change what, for aim oft Two Thoufand Years, none has been fo bold to attempt with that Exorbitance · For theyi have garnifhed this Capi- tal wkhCocks-Feathers zn&Cocks-Combs too among the Flower-de-luces, ri- diculoufly enough 5 hanging the Leaves and Stalks about with the Í Chaim
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44 Account of ArchiteBs
Chains and (Ribbons of the Orders of the St. Efyrit and St. Michael, witn
its dangling Cockle-Shells $ in Imitation doubtlefs of Xerxes tying the SW/J and Gdriercof his Concubines and Mijfes among the Boughs of the Famous (platan, whilft one would think we might be content with what the (Romans have already fet for a Pattern on thofe ancient Columns of this Order 5 as Ú am fure the Judicious Author of the (parallel would have been, who, contrary to the Genius of his Countrymen, had the greateft averfion to the leaft Innovation in this Profeifion 3 what, as wefaid, the (Romans have left us being abundantly more graceful, and rather in excefs: Wherefore by another nice diftinction, this learned Commentator calls that the Compofita, which keeps to its fixed (Rtdes and Hated (proportions-^ and that which others every Day invent, the T)e Compofit, or, as his term is, Compo-Compofit, and fo fets it up for a Sixth Order. But to proceed. The Entablature has by fome been allowed a fourth Part of the Co-
lumn, but by (pdladio only five, as to the Corinthian. The iBafe is as the Attic, or a Compound of it and the Ionic. The
(pedejlal has a third of the Height of the Shaft : Not but that any of thefeProportions fo eftabliihed (asfometimes,and uponjuft Occafion) may be varied according to the Quality and Grandeur of the Building, as to the enlarging or diminifhing of a Member, if the judicious Jr' cbitett fee Caufe, and to be more graceful, which is a good Rule in all fuch Cafes in the other Orders, and for which VitruVmsogives excel- lent Precepts/as he likewife does to their Number and Placing in fin- gle or double Ranks, with their different Application, as whether clofeto the Wall, or to the Angle and Extremes, where, if Infulat and without touching, more thicknefs is allowable 5 fince being furround- ed by the Air only,it;is made to appear fo much the ilenderer, as that fome which have been found but of feven Diameters only, have become their Stations better than if .they had held their intire Dimenfions, There now remains, the caryatides, :, Caryatides., of which, and of the (perfian, we have an ample Account in the (parallel out of Vitrm'tus, introduced as a Mark of Triumph over the Caryans of Peloponnefus ·, whom the Greeks having vanquished with their Confederates, they caufed the Images and Refemblances of both Sexes and Nations (as Slaves, Mantes, and. Talamones) to be placed and Aland under maiTy Weight and Superftructureinftead of Columns: The Women to fignifie thofe of Carya, whom they only fpared 5 and the Men as Captive Perfians, which gave Denomination to the Order, if at leaft they may be called fo for diftinction fake only 5 fince they differ in nothing either of Height, Subftance,iQr Entablament from the Feminine Ionic, and Mafculine Doric ; But how <©r where hey had originally been employed in any remarkable Building, is not fo perfpicuous, from any ancient Vejligia at prefent remaining 3 but as they feem moft pro- perly to be placed at Entrances, and before Arches and Porticos inftead of Pillafters, fo doubtlefs they gave occafion to many Gothic Abfur- dims, and extravagant Poftures of Mm, Monkeys, Satyrs, &c. for the 1 bearing |
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and ArcMteBure*
bearing up of Cornices, in place of Mutuls, and Cartouzes] to that fliarrie-
ful Impudence, as we fee them not feldom in our very Churches. There remain yet of Columns diverfe other Sorts (to mention only
the Duilian, Roftral, Mural, Obftdional, Funebral, Aflronomial, and other Symbolical Monuments, which may upon fome particular occafions have their Places) but no more that can honeilly derive a legitimate Pe- digree 5 for fome are Wreathed, others Spiral, and the like: But as we meet them not in any approved Author, or ancient Fabric 5 fo are they very fparingly to be made ufe of, if at all: Indeed the Famous Ar- chitect, Cavalier !Berninit has eaft a kt of thefe Tor Jed Columns of a vail height 5 twilled about again with Branches, among which are Puti, little Angels, Pope Urban s Bees, and other imboifed Sculptures, all of gilded Copper, tofuftain the (Baldacchino or facred Canopy over the high Altar under the Cupola at St. Jeter's, which are exceedingly magnifi- cent : But it does not always fucceed fo well where it is pra£tifed: 'Tis yet reported that there was an ancientWreathed Column found fome- where, wound about with a Serpent, as (painters reprefent the Tree in Paradijfe, taking nothing away from the ftraitnefs of the Shaft^forfo the Ancients preferred the Solid and Subftantial in all theirWorks,admitting nothing to bear any Weight that fhould feemin the leaft to plie,yield or flirink under it,as thofe forts of Columns appear to do: But as the greatMi- flers, and fuchasMc£>. Angeio, &c. invented certain new Corbells, Scrolls; and Modilionsy which were brought into ufe 5 fo their Followers, ani- mated by their Example (but with much lefs Judgment) have pre» fumed to introduce fundry Baubles and trifling Decorations (as they fancy) in their Works 3 ambitious of being thought LiVenters, to the great Reproach of this noble Study 3 fo dangerous a thing it is to in- novate either in Arc or Government, when once the Laws and (Rules are prudently fettled and eftabliihed, without great confederation and neceifity: And therefore, tho' fuch Devifes and Inventions may feem pretty in Cabinet-Work^ Tables, Frames and other Joyners-Wor^, for Vari- ety, to place China-Difhes upon ·, one would by no means encourage or admit them in great and noble Buildings, Laftly, As to the (placing of the Orders and Stations of Columns in Work,
the fimpleft, ftrongeft, and moil; fubflantial, are ever to be aifigned to fupport the weaker. The (Romans indeed fometimes fet the Com- pofita above the Corinthian 5 but it was not approved of by the Judici- ous, nor in truth fliould they appear together in the fame Building: Generally then, the (Rule is this, to place the higheft and richeft Or* der o\et the more folid and plain, efpecially where they are to de» core the Face and Fronts of Buildings, confifting of two or three Stages: But whether at all, or not, their (proporums ihould be changed or abated, is nicely difpuced by our Architetls, of which fee Monfieur <PeraultonVitruVms, Lib.yil. Cap. y.fpeaking of Scenes 5 concluding^ that it ought to be done very fparingly, and with greatConfideration e In the mean time, Columns placed over Arches, produce this Inconve- nience, that the Arches of any of the five Orders, if well proportioned (fuppofe
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4,(5 Account of Architects
(fuppbfe for Inftance, Dork) it will become defective in the lowVand
Corinthian, by Reafon of the Intercolumnation ; the diftance hindring their Collocation fo exactly over one another, as become them. There is after all, a Lejfer fort of Column than any we have fpoken of, which now and then we find placed over a much Greater, next the f^oo/, or rather a kind of <PHlafier after the Attic Mode. To conclude, The Poiition of double Columns, upon the fame Tedefial, I find
quite condemned by M. SWJas intollerable, accounting it licenti- ous ever among the Ancients 5 which, as great Artifls do not always agree, Monfieur <Perault as learnedly defends, and vindicates; and that one is not fo precifely obliged to Rules and Examples, but that in fome Cafes, they may fafely be departed from for the better$ fince it were to put aftop to the Improvements of all Arts and Indentions whatfo- ever, none of which were confummately perfect at the firil; befides, that there is nothing ÖïâßÜâ in the Cafe : However, as to this particu- lar, the Ancients did frequently ufe to join Columns, two and two, very near to one another upon the fame Tedefial, leaving a diftance of two Inter coiumnations in one 3 which tho' Terault holds to be a little Gothic and much affected by his Country-men the French (as they do all Novelties) fo they would have it pafs for a peculiar Manner of Difpo- fition: The ø/eudoflyle is yet we find made ufe of by great Architetlst and therefore to be referr'd to able Judges. Notwithftanding, inafmuch as there do yet happen fome Superfiruc*
tures which both in Works and Books of this magnificent Science have likewife Names of doubtful Signification, and to fatisfie all that may be farther defir'd for the rendring of this Undertaking more ufeful and inftructive, I will in brief proceed to what is uled to appear further in (Buildings, where they did not flatten the <Roofs and Covers of Edifices, and which, tho'certainly of all other the moft graceful, is of Neceflity alterable according to the Climate. Thofe <i{pofs which exalted themfelves above the Cornices hadufually
in Face 2. TriangularøÀá'éç or Gahel within the Mouldings (that when our Workmen make not fo acute and pointed they call a pedament) which the Ancients named Tymtanw. Tympanum^ but this is to be taken now and then for the whole Fron- tifyiece, from the Cornice to the upmoft part of the Fafligium or fuperior Angle of it, and is commonly circumfcribed with the fame Cornice that the fubjacent Order is of. It is properly placed at the Front and Entrance, and over the <Porchest Windows, Niches, <src, to protect them from the Injuries of the Weather; and therefore very impertinently broken^ or flatted by fome, which expofes all that is under to many Inconveniencies; norfhould ic be at all allowed, fave where anabfo^ lute neceifity of fetting in fight (not otherwife to be had) pleads for it. Now tho' they are commonly made Triangular, we frequently find Semi-circular (or of fome other Section) whereof the !Ba/e is the Di> ameter ; Some again have a double Tympanum, as in that Tufian Exam- ple defcribed by Verault, Fur. I 3. where the ftanding out of the Torch from
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5
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and Architecture, 47
from the reft of the main Wall of a Temple of that Order, requires it 5
I fay, before aTemple, fince they were never made in the Fronts of any other Buildings 5 the Ancients Dwelling-Houfes being generally flat at the top, Julius C&Jar being the firft whom they indulged to raife his Pa- lace in this Fafligious manner, as Salmafius tells us in Solin. I need not add, that the Die oi a Pedefial and other flat and naked Parts in out-fide Work andPannels of Wainfcot, is fometimes calledTympana ·, fince it may be to better purpofe, to give fomeDireclions about the Proportion and AcceiTories belonging to it; it being much difputed 5 VitruYms allowing neither of Dentelli or Modilion, but a fimple Cornice only 5 tho we find them both very ornamentally applied 5 fome affecting to place them ac- cording to the Slope, others perpendicular to the Horizon, and not to the Cornice, which they feem to fupport, as well as beautify 5 or rather to the Pofture of the Rafter-ends, which they reprefent. We fometimes find Dentelli under the Modilion, but by none approved 5 a fingle Row of Teeth, or a plain Lifi only, more becoming on thofe Occafions, as well as for the Height of the Drum or Tympan (by which fome diftin- guifh the Round from the (pointed, which they name Frontons) which fome noble Statue, or Sa/s'-RelieVe, may require a more than ordinary Elevation of: In the mean time, D'Avikr's Figure following may give fome Direction to Workmen. |
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Divide the Line a b (which fuppofe the Hypothenufe of the Bafe) into
two equal Parts at the Point e, let down the Perpendicular f e d indefinite in which e d being equal to a h from d as the Centre, defcribe the Arch a e bf and where it interfects the Perpendicular^ as at e, there fhall be the Fafligium, or Point of the Tympane. There are other Methods in Serlio, and the Mailers 5 fome Ifocele,
whofe Angles oppofite to the Safe are more obtufe 5 others yet lower, and higher even to a full Diameter, as were thofe Pliny called (plafia, for Statues and taller Figures, as alio at the Cima or Point, and at each Angle, there flood of thofe fmaller Pedeftals, we fpake of, for'the placing of Statues, Bufis, Urns, Lamps of Fire, fine-Cones, Bowles, or the like Ornaments, and thefe Stylobata were called Jcroteria, from Üêñïí fumma pars, we may properly name them (Pi- ^"««w
nodes, for fo öºççá and 'Battlements were made fometimes more fharp, towring or fpiry, as pleafed the Workman ·, but where they flood in Ranges (as not unfrequently) with Rail and Balauflers upon flat Buildings, they ftill retained their Name, with this only Difference, that fuchas were placed between the Angular Points were like Ranges of (pillars, fliied the Median or middle Acroteria : For the moil part a Ï fmall
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48 Account of Architects
fmall Die without any <Bafe, in Proportion fomewhat lefs than the
Breadth of the Neck of the Column (if there ftand any directly under it) and equal in Height to the middle of the Middle Tympane 3 and that at the very Fafligium may be allowed an eighth Part more. They did like wife fometimes cover (efpecially Temples, and fuch
Magnificent and Sacred Buildings) with a Cupola, which is that Dome or Hemifpherical Concave made in refemblance of the Heavens, and admitting theLight at the top Center or NaVil only, without any Lan- tern, as is to be feen in that incomparable piece of the <Pantheon yet extant ; This is much in Vogue yet in Italy, and of late in France, efpecially at <^ome and Florence, but it is commonly with the Lantern and other Apertures to let in Day without expofure to the Weather, as appears by that on the Summit of Saint Meters 5 but it takes away, in my poor Judgment, fomething from the Solemnefs, and natural Re- femblance of the other j which yet are happly better to be endured in the more Eafiern Countries where the Weather is conilant; as we fee it practifed in what the pious Helena erected in the Holy Land, and her Son Confiantine the Great, or rather, that at prefent, by the Emperor Jufimian, (one Anthemius of Trales, and Jfidor the Miktan being the Ar- chitects) upon that magnificent Structure of Santa Sophia yet remain- ing at Confiantinople, and to tkis Day imitated by uizTurks for the Co- vering of their Mojques 3 and that it was an Oriental Covering and In- vention, the Èûë©. of the Greeks was doubtlefs derived from the He*. jbohi. hrew^br\ Thala, fignifying to fujj>end or hang as it were in the Air 3 but the Italian Name feems to come from Cuppa a Cvue, or great Wafhing- Bowl, which it much refembles. As to the Name Dome, whether from the Gree^«ipLcc,& Covering (as Du Lange) or zsVoflius, Domus, I am not concerned 3 but when they call it Dome, it ever fignifies the Cathedral3 'tis .commonly erected over the middle of the Building where the 1fl.es crofs, and ought to be in Height half the Diameter of the Church, meaning the Cuppa, only (by fome named the (Pyramis) and not the Lantern or Flos, by Architects fo called, from fome Flower or like Or- nament which was placed upon it: In the mean time, we find fome of thefe Coverings in other Shapes, and Multangular, not exceeding Eight 5 but they are nothing fo graceful as the Dome-Spheroid: Some- times alfo they are made to let in greater Light by a fort of Lucar Windows 3 by which are meant thofe Subtegularian Windows that ap- pear in our Roofs above the Cornices; of which fome arefquare with Pedaments, others round or oval and Oxe-eyed as they term them, moil accommodate to the Cupola, and had need have twice and an half the Height of Breadth, by Reafon of the Diftance, with circular Frontoons, whilft Windows in upright Walls ought not to be above a fifth Part lefs wide than thofe beneath them, which are ever to be even with the Cornices of the Ceiling : Anciently, Windows were open to the very Floor, or only clofed with a (Balkftre and ^ail, much fafer, and as commodious altogether to look into Streets or enjoy the Profpect as our late Menkna and 'Balconies are, which jettie out,
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and Architecture. 49
out, and reft only upon Scrolls and Mutules for Reafons already men-
tioned. Arched Vaults in Cellars ihouid have Arched Jbmure and Windows. Other Accejfories and Ornaments are alfo ufed in Buildings, which I
will, only touch. Niches, quafi Nidi, Neils of old Concha, are a kind of Gluteus or Niches'
fmaller Tribunals (as they are yet called in Italy) wherein Statues are ^** placed to protect them from the down-right Injuries of the Weather, as well as for Ornament to plain and limple Walls : As to their regular Sections (tho* as we have already noted, there be nothing determined, one may allow them double 5 half, or quarter more of their Breadth and half for the Cavity, whether circular or fquare : The reft fuitable to the Character of the main Building, and Proportion of the Statue defigned, and therefore in placing mHercuks,Commodus) or larger Figure, a ^ufiic, or Doric Work and Ornament would become them better than the Corinthian or Compofit Delicacy, fitter for the lefs robuft, and more effeminate, whether naked, as the Greeks Statues, or clad, as were the (Roman: And fo in refpect to Situation 5 if low, or even to the Area, or much higher, the ftatelier and taller Figures ihouid be placed in the lower Niches h the ihorter, over thofe, and their Niches, thrice the Height of the Breadth, tho' the Figure exceed not that of the Im- pofis. Square Niches have a third of their Largenefs in Depth, and twice the Height: When there happens a very large Veere, or Square (as fometimes between the Windows) they ihouid obferve the Proportion of the Aperture both for height and breadth, with fuitable Decoration: But between Columns or <Pillaflers ftanding one upon the other, Nicks are not fo proper, becaufe they fill the Spaces too much 5 and where more than one is placed, the Interval ihouid be equal to their Breadth · and never to admit them at the Coines of a Building, as frequently we fee them abroad to inihrine fome Saint, that the Image may be feen in feveral Streets: In a Word, the too thick, and frequent Niches becomes no Building, and are unfufferable where a Cornice is bro- ken to let them into Groups, and AiTemblies of more Figures, as the Action may require. The Niche is to be fuited, and ihouid begin at the Floor or Pavement, with ÖÉéçþï÷ <Pede[lal higher than for a ftand- ing Figure, which is ever to be allowed the firft : And if placed in a fpacious Court or Garden, the <Pedeflal ihouid be higher $ fo as the Statue may be viewed round about: As to farther Decoration, it were abfurd to carve a Mafkj, Satyr s or Lyon's Head, as we fometimes fee them upon the K^y-ftone^ leaft Standers-by, take the Statue for fome two-headed Monfter; nothing more becoming it within^ than the ufual Efculop, whether wrought in the Stone or Plafter,·. Indeed Ni- ches (hew beft without much Ornament, Columns or fillaflers 5 unlefs placed at the end of fome long Gallery, aortic, Veftihule of Church, Ex- change or Courts of juflice,&c. Oval Niches do handfomely for <Bufls and Vafas, if not kt in too deep 5 and therefore may be allowed to ftand on a Scroll or Mutule: Laftly, when Kicks are made ve« |
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Account of Ar cm teals
ry much larger and higher, beginning from the Pavement, they were
called Tribunals, as of old it feems applied to all high and eminent Pla-
ces, where the Tribunes of the People ufed to fit as Judges: We have a noble refemblance of this in that magnificent Throne defcribed é (Reg. ÷. ßï. built by Solomon, which feems to me to have been fuch an ample Mich, in which a Principal?a(on might fit,as it were half Ca- nopied over within the thicknefs of the Wall. In Walls like wife did they infert many noble and moil exquifite
Sculptures and Hifiorical Fables^ half wrought up, embofied and fwelling, and fometimes more than half, which ^Eminences they now call in Italy by the Name of IBajfe, and Me^zo relievo: Thefe were fometimes wrought in Marble, as in that famous Abacus and Stylobata, yet extant, of Trajan s Pillar. Their ordinary placing was in the Fronts of Edifices, as is yet to be feen in diverfe Palaces at Rome, and efpeci- ally in their Villas and Retirements of Pleafure, which are frequently incrufted with them, but vilely imitated in our expofedFntfttwJ^ about London, to the Reproach of &«^f«re,efpecially where it pretends toFigures on the outfides of our Citizens Houfes. I well remember there was in one of the Courts of Nonfuch, kvcrzl large Squares ïú Hifiorical Relieve moulded off, or wrought in Stucco hy no ill Artift (I think Italian) which, upon the Demolition of that Royal Fabric!^ é hear have been tranilated, and ornamently placed by the late moil Honourable Earl of Berkley, at his delicious Villa, Dur dens in Surrey, not far homNon- fuch ; which is thus defcribed by Camden (as lately publiihed by the ve- ry learned Mr. Gibfon) where, fpeaking of that Kingly Palace, he calls k Magnificent to â high a pitch of Oflentation, as one would thinly the whole Art of Architects were crowded into this fimple Wor^: And then, as to the (RelieVo (which appears to have flood expofed there ever fince the Reign of Henry VIM, who built the Houfe)/o many Images to the Life, upon the Walls thereof:, Jo many Wonders of an accompXifkedWorkrnanfkip, as even Vie with the (Remains of Roman Antiquity, Indeed this fort of Ve- coration has of late been fupplied by (painting in Frefco, and that by ve- ry able Hands, efpecially Signor Varrio, &c. as it is frequently in Ita- ly by the moil famous Mafiers ; which I wifh the Inclemency of our feveven Climate were as favourable to as the Work deferves. Ornaments, however gay and fine they appear to the Eye, and are
in many Cafes vere laudable and neceifary, there is yet no fmall Judg- ment required, how, and when to place them appofitely 5 fo as they do not rather detract from the Beauty of the Work, than at all con- tribute to it. Now by Ornament we underftand whatfoever of Sculp* ture and Carving is not of conftant ufe, or abfolutely neceifary in all Members; fuch as Frutages, Fefioons, Chapletsy Wreaths and other Coro- nary Works: Frets, Guilloches, Modilions, Mutuls, Chartoches, Ventelli, Metops, Tryglyphs, OVola, Pine-Cones, Niches, Statues, Bufls, Rel'ieVos, Urns, &c. In a Word, all forts of Mouldings ^Vitruvius, under the Name of Ornament, reckoning the whole Entablature 3 in which the Fri^e 1 feems |
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and'Architecture,
feems to be the moil proper Field for Decoration, as the moil con-
fpicuous place, and where, tho' the Sculptor ihewed his Addrefs and Invention, the Ancients (who fpared nothing which might accom- plifh the publick Buildings) were not at all fo lavim,in over-frequent and unneceflary Gayities : Their Temples, Amphitheatres, Circuses, Courts of Jufike, Fora, (ports and Entries of Cities, (prifons, Bridges, Bafilka, Royal (palaces, and other Buildings of State, where grave and folid Structures void of thofe little Membrets, trifling Mouldings, and fuper- fluous Carvings,, which takes away from that Majeilic and Grand Ma- nier that moil becomes them j referving thofe richer AcceJJories and coftly Finifhings, for Theatres, Triumphal Arches, Hiflorical Columns, and other oilentous Pomps: Nor even in thefe did they ufe them promif- cuouily, but with great Judgment, fymbolical to the Subject and Oc~ caiion. And therefore thofe ancient Ornaments would not fuit fo properly with the Ages fince, and may, I conceive, lawfully be chang- ed, without Preiumption or Injury to any effential Member : As if {for Inftance) inflead of Sphinges and Griphons placed before the Pagan Temples (Guardians of Trea/ure which was kept in thofe facred Build- ings) Angels fhould be fet before our Churches $ and in the Doric Frizes, inftead of Ox-ScuB, the Priefts Secejjnta, Guttd, Jcerra, Simpula and other facrificing Uteniilsj we changed them in our Churches (where that Order beil befeems them j into Cherubs, Flaming Hearts, Books laid open, the (patin, Chalice, Mitre, Crofier, 8cc. The Frontons of Maga- zines and Publick Munitions had the Sculps of Antique Casks, Targets, Battle'Axes; Thunderholts, the Battering-^am, Catapultst &e. which we may anfwer with our Modern Artillery of■'■ Cannon, Bombs, Mortars, Drums7 Trumpets and other warlike Engines. And to their ^ofira, judders, Anchors, Tridents, Scalops, &c. the wonder-working Nautic- Box, with whatever die of Uieful and Confpicuous has improved our Navigation. The Tympan before Courts of Juflice may become her. Statue fitting upon a Cube, with Fa/ces, Axes and other Emblems of Magiflracy. Therms were adorned with Jarrs, AmpulL·, Strigils in the Frizes.
The Maufolea, Urns, Lamps and fmoaking Tapers. Hippodroms, Circus's had the Statues of Horfes on the Fronts, Met*■ Obolifes, &c.The Publick Fountains were feldom without the (Jtyer Gods, Nymphs, Naides, Tritons, Hippopotoms, Crocadiles, &c. Theatres were fet out with Mafcara, Satyrs Heads, Mercury s Caduam, the Statues of Apollo, fegafus, the Mu/es, little Cupids and Gem], Laureat Bufts, See, Arches Triumphal with ${elieVo of the Conqueror's Expedition, Trophies, Spoils and Hamefi, bairns and Crowns. And where Tables for Infcriptions were inferted to continue, or but only for a fhorter time, as to celebrate fome folemn Bntry, a a Prince's Coronation, (Royal Nuptials, adorned with DeYifes and Com- partments for Pomp and Show, the Contrivance was under the Di- rection of the Architetlus Scenicus, and required a particular Talent and Addrefs, (poetic and Inventive. In Sum, all Ornaments and Decora- dons in general, fliould be agreeable to the Subject, with due and juil Ñ Regard
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j a Account of Ar chit efts
Regard to the Order, which the Ancients religioufly cbferved $ tho5
where (as we faid) it was not abfolutely eifential; leaving out or putting in as they thought convenient 5 for, excepting]the Dreft and Tire of the lonica, Corinthian and Compoftta Capitals, they were not obliged to charge the other Members with coftly Ornaments ·, fo as they frequently left out the Meters and Tryglyph in the Frizes of the Firfl (as we have already no- ted) the Dentelli, Ovolo and quarter Pgund, in the Grand Cornice of the Latter, plain and without carving j neither did they often fill the Pedeftals with (ftelieVo, nor the Stages in the Flutings 3 and rarely ever allow the Corona any Enrichment at all, orfo much as rounded 5 and were free to leave the Doric Plancere naked, or with fimple Guttd only» They were careful not to multiply larger Mouldings, which fometimes they altered, and now and then would feparate them with a imallcr Lift or fimple Fillet3 fometimes ufing the carved Aftragal, and at another, the plain ; always leaving the Lift of the fuperior Cornice flat, to fliew us, that tha fafeft Rule to go by, is to follow the Chara&er of each re- fpeotive Order: And indeed how oddly would the Tufcan or Doric become the Corinthian Coifure, or the fpruce and florid Corinthian a Tufcan En- tablature. The fame is to be confidered in the l^ey-Stone of Arches ; plain in the Tufcan and Dorica, with a moderate Projeoture : The lonica Scroll ferving as a Prothiredes, on fuch Occafions may be richly flow- ered and carved in a Corinthian or Compojit Entrance, and where they fufquert Tables and MenfuU for fome lnfcription. Ppfes, Lyons-Heads, Efcalops and other Decorations are allowable under the Corona, with this Rule, that whether here, or under any <%paf or Ceiling interlacing Frettst be ever made as Plight-Angles. Laftly, as to Podia, <%aijs, and <Baluft~ ers, fo to humour the Order, that the Tufcan be plain, but not too gouty, or too clofe to one another, or far afunder, that is, not ex- ceeding twice the Diameter of the Necks ; aor are they obliged to a conftant Shape 3 for fome fwell below, others above j and iome are made like Termes, all of them having their peculiar Grace and Beauty. What is faid of Tufcan is to be underftood of the reft 5 fo as the Corin- thian and Compoftta may be carved and enriched without any Scruple, for any thing that appears to the contrary among the Ancients, or our ableft Mafters. To conclude, not only the Roofs of Houfes, and their Fronts, had their Adornments, but the Floors alio were inlaid with Pavements of the moft precious Materials, as of feveral coloured Stones and Woods3 and this they called mbhtna. Emblema, continued to this Day by the Italians in their Pktra Comeffa-, of which the moft magnificent and ftupendious Chapel of Saint Lau-
rence at Florence, Paul the Firft at SanEla Maria Magiore in (flome, are par- ticular and amazing Inftances, where not only the Pavement, but like- wife all the Walls are moft richly incrufted with all forts of precious Marbles, Serpentine, Porphirie% Ophitis, Achat, Quants, Coral, Cornelian9 Lazuli-, &c. of which one may number near thirty forts, cut and laid into a Fonds or Ground of 'Black^Marble (as our Cabinet-Makers do their variegated Woods) in the fliape of 'Birds, Fkwns, Landskips, Grotesks and other
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mi Architecture* ' Jr§
other Compart mknts, moil admirably poliihed, a glorious and ever-
laftingMagnificence : But where it is made of leifer Stones, or rather mor- fels of them, affifted with fmall Squares of thick Glafib of which fome are gilded, or cemented in the Stuc or Plafter, it is called Mofak-Work^ *£>$&. opus Mufivum, and it does naturally reprefent the raoft curious and ac- curate fort of (painting, even to the Life, nor lefs durable than the for- mer, as is moil ccnfpicuous in that Front of St Mtrl(s Church at Ft- nice, the Na^e or Ship ofGiotto under the Cupola of Saint feterh at ^omc, and the Altar-piece of Saint Michael near it: Thefe are the Tejfelkta and Vermiculata, or fayimenta Ojarota, of thcAncients, which no Age or Expo- fure impairs, but of which 1 do not remember to have feen any pub- lick Work in our Country. In the mean time, not to be forgotten are the Floorings of Wood which her Majefty the gueen-Motber has firft brought into ufe, in England at her (palace of Somerfd'Houfe, the like whereof I directed to be made in a Bed-Chamber at <Berkjey*Houfe : the French call it !Parquetage, a kind of Segmentatam opus, and which has fome refemblatice to thefe Magnificencies $ becaufe it is exceeding beautiful, and very lading. And this puts me in mind of that moil ufeful Appendix joined to Mr. Richard's late Translation of the firft Book of (palladio, and thofe other Pieces of la Muet the French Architect^ wherein, befides what he has published concerning thefe Kinds of Tim- her-Floors, Sec. you have at the Concluiion of that Treatife a moft ac- curate Account of their Contignations and Timberings of all forts of Stories, (Roofings, and other EreBiom, with their Ufe, Scantlings and proper Names, which, for being fo perfpicuoully defcribed, deferves our Commendation and Encouragement. May this then fuffice, not only for the Interpretation of the Terras
affected to this Noble Art, but to juftifie the Title, and, in fome mea- fure, alfo for the Inftrudion and Aid of diverfe Builders, on fome Oc- cafions,, wherein they not feldom fail $ efpecially in the Country (where^ for the faving a little Charge, they feldom confult an experienced Ar- tifl, befides the Neighbour Bricklayer and Carpenter) 'till fome more dex* trous and able Hand, and at greater Leifure, oblige the Publick, and our Country-Men, with fuch a Body and Courfe of ArchiteBure, as with others, Monfieur fflondel, D 'Avilar (and inflar Omnium the Learned ÖÝ. raulty by his Verfion and ufeful Commmts on VitruYms) have done for theirs. Bum ArchiteBum oportet ufu ejfe peritum &· folertem, qui demere
mt adjicere prefcriptis Velit, |
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COSß Ì ¼ B JRTO L ß
To the moft Excellent Architect and Sculptor\
bartolomeo \a ì ì á ç ô é
A Lthough ú am perfectly aiTur'd (my moft ingenious Bartolomeo ) that
You, who are fo univerfally accomplifhed, and in particular, fo skil- ful, and well verfed in Architecture and Sculpture have ho need of thofe (Rules and (precepts rwhich the moft Judicious Leon Baptifla Alberti has Publifh'd concerning Statues; yet I eaiily perfwaded my felf that this Addrefsof them to You, would not be a thing unacceptable, as being to a Perfon fo well able to judge of that rare Fancy, and incomparable Worth of the faid Leon Baptifla, who in a time wherein little or nothing of Sculpture was known (all good Arts and Sciences being then in a manner anni- hilated and wholly extinot throughout Italy, by reafon of the many Inunda- tions of 'Barbarians) employ'd the utmoft of his Abilities to open an eafy and fecureWay for our Youth; who tho' unexperienced themfelves,delighted in this moft noble Art; and to incite them to join diligent Practice with the Obfer- vation of fure and unerring Rules. No wonder therefore, if from that time forward fuch wonderful Progrefs has been made in this Art, as has brought it to that Perfection wherein it is feen flourifhing at this Day : So as in this Age of ours, we have no need to envy thofe fo much admired Statues of the moft celebrated Sculptors of the ancient (Romans, when we well confider what has been performed by our Countryman Donato, and not many Years fince the divine Michael Angela Buonaroti» as after him, by Baccio Bandinelli, 'Benuenuto Cellini 5 and laftly, by Yourfelf 3 whereof, that I may produce fome Inftances (befides thofe many Statues which are extant of all your Hands) proclaiming your lingular Merits to the Admiration of all Men, there are to be feen in the Piazza of their Highnejjes Royal Palace, the moft beautiful Judith 5 the moft ftupendious Colojfo of DaYid, the robuft and fierce Hercules 5 the moft mafter- ly handled Perjeus, together with all his rare and curious Adornments 5 and which is indeed the greateft of all the reft, lour own Neptune, with the other three Statues accompanying it, cut out of one intire Piece of Marble, and fram'd with fo magifterial a height of Art, as not Only produces Wonder in all that attentively behold it, but does at it were wholly aftoniiTi them to contemplate the Ingenuity, the Science, the Induflry, the Diligence, the Ajfetlion, and, in fine, the never to be fufficiently celebrated Skill of the Artifls. Vouchfafe there- fore that thefe (however impoliih'd) Inftruotions, fo much conducing to the Information of unexperienced Youth, be recommended to the publick View under Your Name and (protection ; and as it has ever been Your Cuftom here- tofore, love your Friends, among whom I conjure úïç to efteem me none of the leaft. R Farewell,
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\ffere is no Man pretending to this Art, or indeed to any other
whatfoever, who does not greedily embrace all that bears the Name tf/Leon Baptift Alberti, who was ^Florentine Gentleman of illuflrious Birth, great Learning, and extraordinary Abilities*in all the politer Sciences, as he /lands celehratedby Paulus Jovius, and for which be became Jo dear to that great Mecenas Lorenzo di Medici, who chofe him, with Mariilius Ficinus,, Chriftopherus Landinus, and other the mofi refined Wits of that Age, to entertain his Academic Retirements and Solitude 0/Camaldoli: Ton have an ample Catalogue of his learned Works, Latin and Italian, publijhed at the End of his Life by Rafael du Frefne, that great French Virtuofo, together with the Hifiory of thofe many incomparable Structures defigned and con- dueled by this rare Genius., extant at this 'Day in Florence^ Mantua, Rimini, and'other Cities of Italy; as being indeed one of the veryfirfi thatpolifhed the now almofl utterly lofl and extinguifbed Art of Ar- chitecture ; in which how fuccefsfully he joined Practice to Speculation, there are abundance of Examples, fome whereof are wrought by his own Hands. He Compofed three Books, De Piotura, full of incom- parable Refeaixhes appertaining to that Noble Art: This of Statues was firfi Written in Latin, but it having never been my hap to find it {and I think it was never Printed) I made ufe of this Veriion out of the Italian, as it was longfinceTublifhedby that Ingenious Terfon Co- fimo Bartoli, and have fubjoined it to this Difcourfe of Architecture, not only becaufe they cannot well be feparated, but for that the Au- thor {being one of our Parallel) the Argument appeared f ï dppofite and full of profitable Inftrutlion to our Workmen, who for want of thefe or the like Rules, can neither fecurely Work after the Life, or their own Inventions,to the immenje Di[grace of that 'Divine Art. This brief Account I thought fit to pre]ent thee, Reader, concerning this Piece of Alberti's, it being the very Firft of the Kind which ever fpoke our Language. |
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J. Evelyn,
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[«é J
LEON BAPTIST A ALBERTI
OF
STATUES.
*ö Have often thought with myfelf that the feveral Arts, whereby Men
at firft induftrioufly fee themfelves to exprefs, and reprefent by JL Work of Hand, the Shapes and Similitudes of Bodies, fpringing from natural Procreation, took their Beginning from the accidental Obfervation of certain Lineaments either in Wood, or Earth, or fome other forts of Materials, by Nature fo difpofed, that by Altering or Inverting fomething or other in their Form, they appeared capable of being made to referable the Figures and Shapes of Living Creatures· and thereupon having feriouily confidered and examined what Courfe was beft to take, they began with utmoft Diligence and Induftry to try and make experi- ment, what was neceflary to be added or taken away, or in any other kind performed, for the bringing of their Work to fuch Perfection as might caufe it exactly to referable the intended Form,appearing, as it were^ the very fame thing » ever marking as they wrought, to fee if they had fail'd in any thing, and ftill mending as they found Occafion, fometimes the Lines, fometimes the Suffices, ToHJhmg and fypolifiirig, 'till at length (not without much Pleafure and Satisfaction) they had accompliiried their Defire : So that it is not a thing fo much to be admired, that by frequent Pra&ice in Works of this Nature, the Fancies and Ingenuities of Men have been from Time to Time improved, and advanced to that Heiohr, that at laft (without taking Notice of any rude Draughts in the Material they wrought upon, to help them in their intended Vefigns) they became able by their Skill to deftgn and exprefs upon it whatfoever Form they pleafed though in a dirTerentManner,fome one way and fome another 5 forafmuch 'as all were not taught, or applied themfelves to proceed by the fame Rule or Method. The Courfe that many take to bring their intended Figures to perfection, is both by adding to, and taking from the Material; and this is the way of thofe that work in Wax, (pkijltrot Clay* who are therefore termed Maeflrt de flucco, others proceed by taking away, and carving out of the Material that which is fuperfluous, whereby it comes to pafs that they produce out of whatfoever Mafs of Marhle, the perfect Shape and Figure of a Man which was there fiiddenly but potentially before 5 and thofe that work this way, we call Sculptors r next of Kin to whom'are they that grave in Seals the Proportions· of Faces, that before lay hid in the Matter out of which they were raifed. The Third Sort is of thofe that perform their Work, by only adding to the Material $ as Silver*
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6i LeonBaptlfta Alberti of STATUES.
Silver-Smiths, who beating the Silver with Mallets,and diflending it into thin
(plates of what FafliionorSize they think fit, lay thereupon their Superftrut- ture9 adding and inlarging 'till they have fafhioned and brought to Perfecti- on their intended Oefign. And here perhaps fome may imagine, that in the Number of this laft Sort of Artifts Painters are ,to be reckoned as thofe who proceed by way of adding, namely, by laying on of Colours 5 but to this they anfwer, that they do not ftrive fo much to imitate thofe Lights and Shadows in Bodies which they difcern by the Eye, by the adding or taking away of any thing, as by fome other Artifice proper and pe- culiar tcTxtreir way of Working: But of the fainter and his Art we (hall take Occailon to fpeak elfewhere. Now, as to thofe feveral Kinds of De- figners which we have here before mentioned, though they go feveral ways to work, neverthelefs they all direct their Aims to this End, namely, that their Labours may appear to him that ihall well obferve them, as Natural, and as like the Life as may be : For the bringing of which to effect, it is raoft evident, that by how much the more exquifitely they follow fome certain determined Rule orMethod (which $(ule we fhall afterwards defcribe) fo much the fewer Vefecls will they be guilty of, fo much the fewer Errors commit, and in all manner of Accounts their Works will fucceed and come off with the greater Advantage. What ihall we fay of Carpenters ? What would they perform to any purpofe, if it were not for the Square, the (plummet, the Line, the Terpendicular, and the Compajfes for the making of Circles, and by the means of which Inftruments they Defign their Angles their Streight Lines, their Levels, and other their Proportions, there- by finiihing and compleating all they take in Hand with the greater Exact- nefs,and without which they would be able to do nothing fubftantially ? Or can we rationally imagine, that the Statuary could perform fuch excellent and admirable Works by chance,rather than by the help of fome certain and infallible (^ule or Guide, drawn from <P(eafon and Experience.? Wherefore this we fhall lay down for a Maxim $ That from all Arts and Sciences what- ioever, there are drawn certain Principles, P{ules, or natural Conclufions, which if we fhall apply ourfelves with all Care and Diligence to examine and make ufe of, we fhall undoubtedly find the Benefit of, by the perfect Accomplifhment of whatfoever we take in Hand ; For as we were firft inftructed by Nature, that from thofe Lineaments which are found in pieces of Wood, Earth, Stone, or other Materials, may be drawn (as we laid before) the Forms of whatioever Body or Creature the Concourfes of thefe Lines refemble ; fo alfo the fame Nature has taught us certain Helps and Means, by which we are guided to proceed fecurely and regularly in what we undertake, and by the conftant obferving and ufe whereof we ihall moft eafily, and with the greateft Advantage, arrive at the utmoft perfection of the Art or Faculty we ftrive to attain. It now remains that we declare what thofe Helps are which Statuaries are chiefly to make ufe of j and becaufe their Principal Part is to make one Thing to imitate and refemble another, it will berequifite tofpcak firft of(^ejemblance, a Subject our Difcourfe might be abundantly Ample in, fince Refemblance is a Thing fo natural and obvious, that it offers idelf to our View and Gbfer- vation
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Leon Baptifta Alberti ojfStJT'UE S. %%
vation in each vifible Object \ not only every Animal, but even all things
whatfoever, that are of the fame Species, being in fome refpedt or other correfpondent and alike : On the other fide, there are not in the whole Race of Mankind, any two to be found fo excjuifitely refembling^r'each other, as not to differ fome one Tittle in the Tone of the Voice,"f3$d&t Faihion of the Nofe," or of fome other Part 5 to which we may add, that - thofe Perfons whom having full beheld infants^ we come to fee ChiU· dren of fome Growth, and afterwards at the Age of Manhood, if at length we meet them when grown Old, we lliall find them fo chang'd and al™ ter'd by Time, that we fhall not be able to know them 5 for as much as the Aptitude and Poficion of thoie numerous Lines and Features in the Countenance ftill alters and varies from Time'to Time, as Age eorries on 3 neverthelefs, in the fame Vilage there remains a certain natural and peculiar Form, which maintains and keeps up the Refemblarice inherent to the Species. But we fhall wave theie things, as belonging rather to a particular Difcourfe, and return to purfue what we firfl took in hand to treat of. The Defign and Intention of making Refemblances among Statkafiei,
I take to be twoiold : The firfr. is, that the Defign or Work intended for the Refemblance of any fort of Creature (for example, fuppofe it a Man) be fo framed, that it come as near in Similitude as may be to the faid Spe- cies, without regarding whether it reprefent the Image ïú Socrates more than that of (PUtOJ or any other known individual Perion, fince it is enough, that the Work refembles a Man in general. The other intention proceeds farther, and aims not only at the reprefenting the Likenefs oPMan in g@; rieral, but of this or that particular Man 5 as namely, of Cafar or Catoy not omitting to defcribe the very Habit he wore, the Pofture he affected^ and the Aotion he ufed · whether fitting in his Tribunal, or making Speeches to the People : It being the proper Bufinefs of thofe who addict themfeives to this laft Way of Reprefentation, to imitate and exprefs every Habit, Po- fture and Air peculiar to the Body of that known Perfon whom we intend to reprefent* Anfwerable to thefe two Intentions (that we may handle the Matter as briefly as is poffible) there are efpecially required twoThinas 5 that is to fay, Proportion, and Limitation, in treating therefore of thefe Two Particulars, that which we have to do, is to declare, Firft, what they are 1 Befides which, i cannot but by the way, take Notice of the wonderful and almoft incredible EfFe&s which they produce 5 infomueh, that whofoever fliall be well inftru<5ted in them, fhall be able, by the Help; of fome certain infallible Marks, exactly to obferve and point out the Li- neaments, Situation and Pofiture of the Parts of any Body, though ie Were a Thoufand Years after, fo as not to fail to place it exactly at his Pleafure in the very fame Direction and Pofture it ihould have happen'd to have ilood in before, and in fuch Sort, as there ihould not be the leaf! Part of the faid Body, which ihould not be reduced and refituated toward the very fame Point of Heaven againil which it was originally directed : As if, for Example* you would point out the Place with your Finger where the Star of Mercury or the New Moon would rife, and it iliould happen to S rife
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«4 Leon Baptifta Alberti of STATUES.
rife in a direct Angle overagainft the Point of the IQiee, Elbow, Finger, or
any other Part j moil certain it is, that by thefe Means and Helps, all this may be done, and that fo precifely, that there ihould not follow the leaft failing or Error imaginable $ nor need there any Doubt be made of the Cwitainty hereof Befides this, fuppofe 1 ihould take one of the Sta- tues of <Phidias, and fo cover it over with Wax or Earth, that none of the Work could be difcern'd, and that it ihould appear to be only a meet fhapelefs Trunk, you might by thefe <3$ules and Helps certainly know how to find out in one Place, by boring with a Wimble, the Tupil of the Eye, without doing it any harm by touching it 5 and in another Place the Na-- Vel, and finally in another the Great Toe, and fo other Parts in like man- ner 5 by which means you will gain a perfect Knowledge of all the An- gles and Lines, whether far diftant one from another, or nearly concurring together. You may alfo, beginning which way you will, and whether following the Original or the Copy, not only Draw or Taint, but alfo put down in Writing, the various Courfe of the Lines, the Circumfe- rences of the Circles, the Poiitions of the Tarts, in fuch fort, that by the afprefaid Helps and Means, you need not doubt the being able to produce with eafe fuch another Figure, perfectly refembling, and of what Size you pleafe, either lefs, or juft of the fame Magnitude, or of an hundred Fa?- thorns in length 3 nay, I dare be bold to fay, that were there but inftru- ments to be had, anfwerable to fo great a Defign, it were not only not impoflible, but even no hard matter, to make one as big as the Mountain Caucafus5 and that which perhaps you may moft wonder at is, that ac- cording as the matter might be order'd, one half of this Statue might be made in the lfland of (pharos, and the other half wrought and finifh'd in the Mountains of Carrara, and that with fuch exacl: Correfpondence, that the Jointures and CommiiTures of both Parts perfe&ly fitting each o- ther, they may be united into one compleat Statue, refembling either the Life, or the Copy after which it fhall have been figured. And for the per- forming of this fo ftupendious a Work, the Manner and Method will appear fo eafy, fo perfpicuous and expedite, that for my part I conceive it almoft impcifible for any to err, but thofe that fhall induftrioufly (to make tri- al of the Proof of this AiTertion) work contrary to the (joules and Method enjoin'd. We do not hereby undertake to teach the Way of making all kind of Refemblances in Bodies, or the expreiling of all thofe various Af- pects which refult from feveral differing and contrary Taffions and AffetHons·^ iince it is not the Thing which we profefs to fhew, how to reprelent the Countenance of Hercules when he combats with Jntdus, with all the Height of Magnanimity and Fiercenefs which would be rcquifite upon fuch an Occafion 5 or calling an obliging, chearful andfmiling Air, when he courts his Veianira $ ßï as that the Countenance of the fame Hercules fhould upon feveral Occafions be reprefented with as various Afpe&s: But our Purpofe is rather to take Notice of all the different Figures and Poftures that are incident to a Body from the diverfe Situations, Geftures or Moti- ons of the feveral Members or Parts thereof 3 forafmuch as the Proportion and outward Lines are one way terminated in a Body thatftands upright, another
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Leon Baptifta Alberti of STATUES. 6$
another way in him that fits, another way in one that is lying down, ano-
ther way in thofe that turn or incline themfelves towards this or that Side 5 and fo in like Manner,in all otherGeftures andMotions of theBody,of which way of Reprefentation our Intention is at thisTime 5 that is to fay, in what Manner,and by what certain and infallibleRules, thefe Geftures and various Difpofitions of the Body may be imitated and reprefentedj which Rules, as we faid before, are reduced to two Principal Heads, namely, (proportion and Limitation: And firft we fhall treat of (proportion, which is indeed no other than a conftant and certain Obfervation,by examining the juft Num- ber and Meafures, what Habitude, Symmetry, and Correfpondence all the Parts of the Body have one towards another, and that in refped of every Dimenfion of the Body, both as to Length, Breadth, and Thkknejs. This Obfervation is made by two forts of Inftruments, a large Ruler,
and two movable Squares 5 with the Ruler we take the Lengths of the Parts, and with the Squares we take their Diameters, and all the other Proportions of the faid Meafures. Upon this Ruler then let there be a Line drawn of the Length of the Body which you would meafure, that is to fay, from the Crown of the Head to the Sole of the Foot : Whence note by the way,thatto meafure a Man of a iriort Stature, you are to ufe a fhorter Ruler, and for one of a longer Stature, a longer Ruler : But whatfoever the Length of the Ruler be, it is to be divided into fix equal Parts, which Parts we will name Feet, from whence we call it the Foot-Meafure 5 and each of thefe Feet fhall again be divided into ten equal Parts, which we may term Inches. The whole Length therefore of this Model or Foot-meafure will confift
of 60 Inches 5 every one of which is again to be fubdivided into é ï equal Parts, which lelTer Parts I call Minutes; fo that thro' this Divifionof our Meafure into Feet, Inches, and Minutes, the Total of the Minutes will amount to the Number of 600, there being in each of the 6 Feet 100. Now, for the meafuring of a Man's Body by this Inftrument we are thus to proceed: Having divided our Ruler according to the aforefaid Manner, we are to meafure and obferve by the Application thereof the Diftances of the Parts of the faid Body 3 as for Inftance, how high it may be from the Sole of the Foot to the Crown of the Head, or how far diftant any one Member is from another: As, how many Inches and Minutes it may be from the Knee to the Navel, or to the Cannel Bone of the Throat and fo in like manner any other Parts : Nor is this Courfe to be at all flighted or derided either by Sculptors or (painters, fince it is a thing moft profitable and abfolutely neceiTary 5 forafmuch as the certain Meafure of all the Parts being once known,we fhall have gain'd a moft eafy and fpeedy De- termination how to proceed in our Work with any of the faid Parts or Members, without committing the leaft Error : Never think it a Matter worth Regard or Notice, if any capricious Humourift fhall peradventure find Fault that this Member is too long, or that too iliort ; fince your Model or Foot-meafure (which is the Rule that muft always direcl: and govern your Work, and than which you cannot go by a more infallible GuideJ will foon determine whether you have proceeded well or ill 3 and doubtlefs
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m Leon Baptifta Alberti ofSTJTWE S.
doubtlefs when you (hail have maturely conildered and examined thefe
Things, you will not be to feek in thofe infinite other Advantages wherein this Foot-meafure will prove ferviceable, efpecially in knowing how with abfolute Certainty to limit and determine the Longitude of the Parts in a Statue of a greater Magnitude^ as well as in one of a leifer. I So as if it mould happen that you were to make a Statue of ten Gubks,
6r whatever other Dimenilon, k would be requifite to have your Ru- ler, Model., or"Foot meafure like wife of ten Cubits, and divided into fix equal Parts 9 which ihould have the fame Correfpondence one with ano- ther as thofe of the leffer Ruler : In like Manner ihould the Inches and Minutes be proportioned, whence aifothe "life and Manner of Working would be the iame with the other 5 fince half the Numbers of the grea- ter have the fame Proportion to the Whole intire, as half the Numbers of the leffer have to the Whole intire of the leffer. Wherefore, accord- ing as the Size of your Work happens to fall out, your Ruler is to be made proportionably. We come next to treat of the Squares, which are to be two j the
firft of which (hall be made after this Manner : Let two Rulers in the nature of ftreight Lines, i. e, A, B, and B. C, be joined together fo as to make a Right Angle ; the firft Ruler, A. B. falling perpendicular, the other B. C. ferving for the Bafe -. "i~he Bignefs of thefe Squares is to be fo ordered, that their Bafes confift of at leait fifteen Inches, according to the Proportion of your main Ruler, which, as we have faid before, is to be made bigger, or leffer, anfwerable to the Proportion of the Body you would meafure. Thefe Inches, therefore, with their Points and Mi- nutes (however they may fall out) being taken exactly from the faid Ru- ler, you muft fet down upon your Bafe, beginning to reckon from the Point of the Angle B. and fo proceeding on towards G The Square being thus marked and divided, as is to be feen in the Ex-
ample A. B. C. there is to be adjoined unto it another Square made af- ter the fame Manner, according as it is demonstrated by the Letters D. F. G. ßï as that G, F. may ferve both for ftreight Line and Bafe to both. Now to fhew the Ufe of thefe Inftruments, I undertake to mea- fure the Diameter of the thickeft part of the Head H. I. K. by bringing the two ftreight Rulers A. B. and D. F. of each Square exactly oppo* fite to each other, to touch the two oppofite Points of the thickeft Fart of the Head $ and, by applying interchangeably to one and the fame Le- vel, the Bafe-Linesof the faid Squares 3 by which means from the Points H. I. which are touched by the ftreight Rulers of the faid Squares, we fhall difcover the exact Diameter of the Head. |
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Leon Baptifta Alberti of S Ô J. TUBS*_____6f_
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^rTcTafter this manner~the ThickneT7~and Bignefs of any Part of the
Body whatfoever may with great Eafe and Accuracy be found out: Ma- ny Ufes and Advantages we could reckon up, which might be made of this Ruler and thefe Squares, were it needful to infill now upon them 5 there being feveral other Ways, much after the fame manner, which the meaneft Capacity may of himfelf find out, for the meafuring of the Dia- meter of any Pare 3 as for example, fuppofe one would know how rnuch the Diameter is from one Ear to the other, and whereabouts it interfects the other Diameter which paifes from the Head to the Nuca, or the like. Laftly, our Workman may fafely make ufe of this Ruler and thefe Squares as moft faithful Guides and Counfellors, not only for the performing of any part of his Work, but alfo at the very firft, and before he fets upon it, he will receive much Light by the help of thefe Inftruments, how to begin and go about it; infomuch, that there will not be the lead part of the Statue he is to make} which he will not before have examin'd and confider'd and render'd moft eafy and familiar to him. For example, Who but a very arrogant Perfon would take upon him to be a Mafter Shipwright, that had not the perfect Knowledge of all the feveral Parts of a Ship, and how one kind of Ship differs from another, and what thofe particular Parts are which belong to one Ship more than to another f And yet who is there of our Sculptors, let him be a Man never fo fubtil and experienced in his Art, who, if it mould be demanded of him, upon what Ground or Confideration he has made this Member after this Manner, of. what may be the Proportion of this or that Member to the whole Stru- cture of the Body ? 1 fay, who is there fo diligent and accurate to have well confiderd and obferv'd all that is requifite, and which becomes that Perfon to know, who would perform as hefliould do the Art whereof he makes Profeifion ? Whereas, doubtlefsj all Arts and Faculties are moft ad- vantagiouily learn'd by Rule and Method, and by the Knowledge of fome demonftrable Operation that is to be perform'd : Nor fhall any one attain to the Perfection of any Art whatfoever, who hath not firft comprehend- ed every feveral Part and Branch of the faid Art, But thus having fuffi- T eiently
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68 Leoii Baptifta Alberti of STATUES.
ciently treated of Meafure and (proportion, and after what manner it is to be
found out by the Ruler and Squares 5 it remains that welpeak next ofLi- mitation, or the preicribing of 'Bounds. This Prefcription of Limits is the de- termining or fixing of a certain Period in the drawing of all our Lines, fo as to direct to what Point they are to be continued, whether extended out in Length, or reverfed ; how Angles are to be fix'd $ how Parts are to be rais'd or deprefs'd by Alto, ov Buffo (ftelieVo, as Artifts term it ·, each Line^An* ö. and (Relieve having their due and certainPlaces affign'd them by theCon- dual of a fure and perfect Rule : And the beft way to put this Rule of Limitation in practice, will be by a Line and Plummet falling from a cer- tain determinate Center placed in the Middle, whereby the Diftances and Extremities of all the Lines may be marked out and taken notice of, as far as the utmoft Bounds every way of the faid Body extends: But be- tween the Meafure, defcribed above, and this AiTignation of Limits, there is this Difference, namely, that that Meafure looks farther backward, and fprings from a more native and original Confrekration, as grounded upon more common and univerfal Frinciples, which are by Nature more firmly and fubftantially inherent in all Bodies, as the Length, Large- nefi and Tbicknefs of the Parts 3 whereas the prefcribing of Bounds is grounded upon the prefent and accidental variety of Poftures, refuking from the different Dlfpofitions and Motions of the feveral Parts of the Body, Chewing the Manner how to limit and faihion thofe Poftures, ac- cording to the Mixims of Rule and Art. Now, for the better Performance of this lad Part of regular Opera-
tion, we (hall recommend this following Inftrument, which is to coniiil of three Parts or Branches; that is to fay, an Horizon, a Style, and a fplumb : The Horizon is a <Plane defigned upon a Circle, which Circle is to be divided into equal Parts marked with their feveral Members, and their Subdiviiionsfet overagainft each Part: The Style is a ftreight Ruler, one end whereof is fix'd in the Center of the faid Circle, the other end moves about at pleafure, fo as it may be eafily transferred and dire&ed from one Divifion of the Circle to another : The (plumb, or (plummet, is a Line or Thread which falls parallel from the Top of the Style down to the Floor or Plane, upon which the Statue or Figure (lands, whofe Mem- bers and Lineaturesare to be meafured and limited. For the Manner of making this Inftrument, let it be thus j Take a Board well plained and fmoothed, upon which let a Circle be drawn, having three Foot Diame- ter, and let the Extremity of the faid Circle's Circumference be divided into equal parts, according as Aflrohgers divide their Aflrolabes, which Parts we will call Degrees 5 and let every of thefe Degrees be fubdivided again into as many other Parts as (hall· be thought fit 5 as for Example, fuppofe every Degree be fubdivided into fix leifer parts, which we may call Minutes'; to all which Degrees adjoin the feveral Numbers, vi%. 1. 2. 3. 4. with the reft in order, 'till the Numbers belonging; to all the Degrees be fet down. This Circle, thus made and ordered, we called the Horizon, to which we are to fit our moveable Style, being alio to be made after this manner ; Take a thin ftreight Ruler, three Foot in Length, and faften one of the Ends thereof (with a Peg) to the Center of its Horizon or Circle in fuch a manner, that thoJ the faid End is not to be
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Leon Baptifta Albert! of STATUES. 69 *-tf
be moved from the Center, yet the Peg that fallens it is fo far to be re»
lax'd that the whole Ruler may have liberty to move and play about from one part of the Circle to another, whilil the other Extream extends it felf a good way .beyond the Circumference of the faid Circle about which it is to be moved : Upon this Ruler, or Style, mark out the Inches it is to contain diftin^uifliing them with feyeral Points between, after the man- ner of the Module, or Foot-meafure, above-mention'd 3 and thefe Inches mull: alfo be fubdivided into leifer ecjual Parts, as was likewife done in the forefaid Foot-meafure ; and then beginning from the Center, adjoyn to the Inches alio their feveral Numbers, #% é, i, 3, 4, &c. Laftiy, to this Style annex a Line and (plummet. This whole Inilrument^ thus de- fcrib'd confifting of Horizon, $(ulert and (plummet, we mall call outDefinitor,. This Definitor is to be made ufe of in this manner : Suppofe the Original, or Copy the Limits of whofe Parts we would determine, were a Statue of (pbidids holding with the left Hand, on one Side of a Chariot, the, Reins of a Horfe's Bridle : This Definitor is to be fet upon the Head ol the Sta- tue in fuch fort, that it may lie exactly level upon the Plane of the Cen- ter, beincr placed juft upon the very midilof the Head of the Statue, where it is to be made fail with a Peg : Then note that Point where it is faftned upon the Head of the Statue, and mark it, by fetting up a Needle or Pin for the Center of the Circle ; Next, by turning the Initrument about from the determined Place in the Horizon, make out the firffc defigned Degree, fo as you may know from whence it is moved : Which may bell be done after this following manner: Bring about the moveable Ruler, which is the Style upon which thcTbreadand Plummet hangs/till it arrive at thatPiaee of the Horizon where the firffc Degree of the Horizon is to be fet down $ and hold- ing it faft there, turn it about together with the whole Circle thereof until the Line of the Plummet touch fome principal Part of the Statue,that is to fay* |
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f <j Leon Baptiftd Alberti of STATUES.
foffle Member particularly noted above all the reftj as the Finger of the
right Hand, or fo. v Which may ferve as the appointed Place from whence upon every new
occafion the whole Definkor may be moved, and afterwards brought back again to the fame place where it flood at firil upon the faid Statue ; yet fo, that by the turning of the Style about thePin, which pierceth from the top of the Head of the Statue through the Centre of the Definitor, the (plummet, which before fell from the firft Degree of the Horizon, may return to touch the forefaid Finger of the right Hand. Thefe Things thus ordered and de~ figned, fuppofe that we would take the Angle of the right Elbow, fo as to keep the Knowledge of it in mind, or to write it down, the Way is as followeth : Fix the Definkor with its Centre, which is upon the Head of the Statue, in the place and manner aforefaid, in fuch fort, that the Plane where- on the Horizon is defign'd, may ftand firm and immoveable; then turn about the moveable Style, 'till the Line of the Tlummet come to touch the left Elbow of the Statue which we would meafure. But in the performing of this fort of Operation there are three Things to be obferved, which will much conduce to our Purpofe : The Firft is, that we mark how far the Style in the Horizon comes to be diftant from the Place where it fhall have been firft moved, taking notice upon wha; Degree of the Horizon the Style lies,whether on the twentieth, thirtieth3or whatioever other: Secondly, ob- ferve by the Inches and Minutes mark'd in the Style, how far diftant the Elbow'(ball be from the Centre of the Circle, Laftly, take notice, by placing the Module or Foot-meafure perpendicularly upon the Plane whereon the Statue ftands, how many Inches and Minutes the faid Elbow is raifed above the faid Plane, and write down thefe Meafures in a Book or piece of Paper: For Example^ thus, the Angle cf the left Elbow is found in the Horizon to be é ï Degrees and 5 Minutes $ in the Style or <%uler 7 Degrees and 3 Minutes 5 that of the (plane in the Module amounts to 40 Degrees and 4 Minutes: and thus by the fame Rule may be meafured and computed all the reft of the principal Parts of the faid Statue or Copy : As. for inftance, the Angles of the Knees, and of the Shoulders, and other fuch like parts that are to be reckoned among the ^elkYi : But if you would meafure Concavities, orthofe parts which recede inward, and are fo remov- ed out of the reach of fight and eafy accefs, that the Tlummet'line cannot come to touch them (as it happens in the Concavities beneath the Shoul- ders, in the Regions of the Reifts, &C.) the beft way to find them is as follows i Add to the Style or <$uler another/Plummet-line vfhich may reach as far as the faid Concavity $ how far diftant it be from the firft, is not material, fince by thefe two (Plummet-lines falling perpendicularly, and be- ing interfe&ed by the Gnomon of the plain Superficies above to which they are faftned, and which extends it felf as far as the Centre of the Statue, ie will appear how much the fecond Plummet-hie is nearer than the firft to the Centre-of the Definitor, which is therefore called the middle (perpendicular, Thefe Things thus demonftrated, being once fufficiently underftood, it
will be an eafy matter to comprehend what we before commended to your Obfervation 5 namely, that ý the faid Statue fhould chance to have been ^overed
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Leon Baptifta Albert! of S Ô A TU E S. )i
covered over to a certain thicknefs with Wax or Earthy you might yet by
a Piercer, with great eafe, readinefs and certainty come to find out what- foever Point or Term you would defire to find in the faid Statue $ for as much as ic may be clearly demonftrated, that by the turning about of this Gnomon, the Level makes a circular Line like the Superficies of a Cylinder, with which fort of Figure the Statue fo fuperinduced as aforefaid, feemsto be inclofed and incircled : This Poiition eftablifhed, you may fafely infer, that as by making way through the Air (the Statue not being covered with Wax or Earth) you guide your Piercer directly towards the Point T, which, for Example's fake, we will fuppofe to be the <%elieVo of the Chin, by the fame Reaion, if the Statue were covered over with Wax or Earth, might you by boring through the faid Wax or Earth attain the point aim'd at, the Wax or Earth poneiTing but the fame place which otherwife the Air would have done. From what has been thus difcourfed concerning thefe thinCTs, it may be concluded that the ErTecl: we mentioned before concern- ing the making of one Half of the Statue in the lile of Pharos, and finiih- ing the other Half in the Mountains of Carrara, is a thing not only not irn- poifible, but very eafy to be performed : For let the faid Statue or Model of Phidias be divided into two Segments, and fuppofe, for example, this Section of a plain Superficies be made in the Waiile or Girdling-place, doubtlefs by the aififtance only of our Definitor k will be eafy to mark out in theCirck of the inilrament whatfoever Points fhall bethought fit, belong- ing to the divided Superficies. Thefe things granted to be feafibie,you ihall not need to make any cjueftion of being able to find out at pleafure in the Model, any Part whatfoever you fhall deiire to find $ and that only by- drawing a frnall red Line in the Model, which ferves inilead of an Interfe- ron of the Horizon, in the place where the Segment fhould terminate, if the Statue were divided 3 and the Points fo mark'd will direct you the way how the Work may be finiflied : And in like manner may other things be done, as hath been faid before. Finally, by the whole Difcourfe here made concerning all thefe Particulars, it is fufficiently evident, that all Meajures, Proportions, and Limitations are to be taken, whether in the Life or Copy, by a moil certain and infallible Rule for the bringing of any Work to perfection in this Art 5 and we could wifh that this way of proceeding were more ferioufly intended by all our Painters and Sculptors, fince, if it were, they would foon come to find the extraordinary Benefit of it. But becaufe all things are moil illuflrated by Example, and that the pains we have already taken in this matter may conduce to the greater ' advantage, we have thought fit to bellow yet a little farther Labour in defcribing the Meafures of all the principal Parts in Man's Body 3 and not only the Parts of this or that particular Man, but as far as was poifible, even the very Perfection of all beautiful and excellent Proportions; the fe- veral Parts whereof having obferved in feveral humane Bodies, fome ex* eeiiincr chiefly in this, fome in that external Gift of Nature, we have thought material to let down in writing 5 following the Example of him, who being employed by the Crotoniatt to make the Statue of their Goddef, went about collecting from the moil beautiful Virgins (whom, among many, U be
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7 2 Leoit Baptifta Albert! of ST AT U E S,
he with great diligence fearehed out) thofe Proportions and handfome Fea-
tures wherein each of them principally excelled, and apply'd them to his own Statue. Since much after the fame manner, we having taken the Draught from thofe Bodies that of diverfe others were judged, by the moil Sagacious in this Inquiry, to be the moil exactly built and compo- fed, with all their feveral Meafures and Proportions 5 and comparing them exactly together, to obferve wherein they excelled, or were excel- led each by the other, have made choice out of this variety of Models and Examples, of thofe middle Proportions which feemed to us moft a- greeable, and which we have here fet down by the Lengths, BigneiTes and Thicknefles of all the principal and moil noted Parts j and in the firft place the Lengths are thefe following* The Heights from the Ground. Feet. Deg. Miria
The greatefl Height from the Ground to the Influp of the-*
Foot. J The Height up to the Ankle-bone on the outfide ofthe?
Leg. j S The Height up to the Ankle-bone on the infide of the Leg. ï j t
The Height up to the Recefs which is under the Calf of>
the Leg, § ° S *
The Height up to the Recefs which is tinder the ^elkyor
of the Knee-bone within* j & 5
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The Height up to the Mufcle on the out-fide of the Knee.
The Height up to the Buttocks and Teilicles. The Height up to the Os Sacrum. The Height up to the Joint of the Hips. The Height up to the Navel. The Height up to the Waft. |
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The Height up to the Teats and Blade-bone of the Sto-T
mach. j
The Height up to that Part of the Throat where the Wee-?
zle-pipe beginneth. S
The Height up to the Knot of the Neck where the Head?
is fet on. S
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The Height up to the Chin;
The Height up to the Ear. The Height up to the Roots of the Hairs in the Forehead.
The Height up to the middle Finger of a Hand that hangsp down. 5
The Height up to the Joint of the Wrift of the faid Hand. 3
The Height up to the Joint of the Elbow of the faid Hand. The Height up to the higheft Angle of the Shoulder, |
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Leon Bap tifta Albert! of STATUES. ft
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The Amplitude or Largenejfes of the Tarts are meafuredfrom the
Hand to the Left,
Feet.
The greateft Breadth of the Foot. b The greateft Breadth of the Heel. Ï
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The Breadth of the fulled Part beneath the Jettings oik o
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the Ankl&bones. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
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The Recefs or Falling-in above the Ankles.
The Recefs of the Mid-leg under theMufcle or Calk The greateft Thicknefs of the Calf. The Falling-in under the Relievo of the Knee-bone. The greateft Breadth of the Knee-bone. The Falling-in of the Thigh above the Knee; |
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The Breadth of the middle or biggeft Part of the Thigh. ©
The greateftBreadth among theMufcies of the Joint of theThigh.l The greateft Breadth between the two Flanks above the" |
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Joints of the Thigh.
The Breadth of the largeft Part of the Breaft beneath th Arm-pits.
The Breadth of the largeft Part between the Shoulders* The Breadth of the Neck. The Breadth between the Cheeks. The Breadth of the Palm of the Hand. |
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We Breadth and Thicknefs of the Arms differ according to the federal Motions
thereof■> hut the mofi common are theje following. |
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the Breadth of the Arm at the Wrift.
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The Breadth of the brawny Part of the Arm under the Elbow. 0
The Breadth of the brawny Part of the Arm above, be-) tween the Elbow and the Shoulder. ò 0 The Thicknefs from the Fore-farts to the Hinder-Tarts.
*!he Length from the great Toe to the Heel. i
IheThicknefs from the Inftupto the Angle or Corner of the?
Heel, £ °
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Tie Falling-iri of the Inftup.
F)tn the Falling-in under the Calf to the Middle of the Shin.
lie Out-fide of the Calf of the Leg. 1e Out-fide of the Pan of the Knee* Tc Thicknefs of the biggeft Part of the Thigh. Frm the Genitals to the higheft rifirig of the Buttocks. Frtn the Navel to the Reins* TV Thicknefs of the Waft. |
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3
Ôé
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6 7
7 6 7
ÔÃ
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Fnn the Teats to the higheft Riiing of theReins of the Back, ï
Fra the Weezle-pipe to the Knot or jointure of the Neck, ï |
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ç^ Leon Baptifta Albcrti of S Ô ÁÔ¼ ES.
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From the Forehead to the hinder part of the Head. ï
From the Forehead to the Hole of the Ear. ï
The Thcknefs of the Arm at the Wrift of the Hand. ï
The Thicknefs of the Brawn of the Arm under the Elbow, ï
The Thicknefs of the Brawn of the Arm between the El-? bow and the Shoulder. æ The greateft Thicknefs of the Hand. ï
The Thicknefs of the Shoulders. ï
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ï ï
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3 4
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By means of thefe Meafures it may be eafily computed what Proporti-
ons all the Parts and Members of the Body have one by one to the whole Length of the Body j and what Agreement and Symmetry they have a- mong themlelves, as alfo how they vary or differ one from another 3 which Things we certainly conclude moil profitable and fit to be known : Nor were it from the Purpofe to particularize how the Parts vary and alter, ac- cording to the feveral Geftures incident to humane Bodies, as, whether they be fitting or inclining to this, or that Side: But we mail leave the more curious Difquifition into thefeThings, to theDiligence and induftry of our Jrtifl: It would alfo be of very much conducement, to be well informed of the Number of the Bones, the Mufcles, and Rifings of the Nerves 3 and efpecially to know how, by certain Rules, to take the Circumferences of particular Divifions of Bodies feparately conlidered from the reft, by an Infpe&ion into thofe Parts which are not outwardly expos'd to Sight ·. in like manner as if a Cylinder mould be cut down right through the Middle, h as out of that Part of the Cylinder which is vifible throughout, there fhou'd, be feparated, by a circular Section through the whole Length of the Fi- gures, an inward confimiliar Part, which was before unfeen, fo as to mak of the fame Cylinder two Bodies, whofe Bafes mould be alike, and of tie fame Form, as being indeed wholly comprized within the fame Lines ard Circles throughout: By the Obfervation of which fort ïú Section is to k underftood the Manner of Separation of the Parts and Bodies before ini- matedj forafmuch as the Defign of the Line by which the Figure is tc- minated, and by which the vifible Superficies is to be feparated from tlat which lies hid from the Sight, is to be drawn juft in the fame manne j and this Defign being delineated on a Wall, would reprefent fuch a;i- gure as would be much like a Shadow projected thereupon from fomen- terpofing Light, and which ihould illuminate it from the fame Poinof the Ayr, where at firft the Beholder's Eye was placed : But this kin of pivifion or Separation, and the Way of Defigning Things after this Mn- ner, belongs more properly to the (painter than the Sculptor, and in hat Capacity we mail treat of them more largely elfewhere. Moreover,t is of main Concernment to whatfoever Perfon would be eminent in thi&rt, to know how far each Relievo or <%ecep of any Member whatfoever di~ ftant from fome determined Pofition of Lines. |
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FINIS.
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