instead of mortar, in the construction of the tower of Babel.

2. The ancients, especially the eastern nations, infinitely surpassed the moderns, in the greatness or bulk of their structures. Not to mention the Tower of Babel, of which an old author says its foundations were to be seen in his time, and looked like a spacious mountain, what could be more noble than the walls of Babylon, its hanging gardens, and its temple of Jupiter Belus, which rose a mile high, by eight several stories,-each story a furlong in height, and on the top of which was the Babylonian Observatory. In addition to these may be noticed the vast rock that was cut into the figure of Semiramis, with the smaller rocks that lay by it in the shape of tributary kings; and the prodigious bason, or artificial lake, which took in the whole Euphrates, until a new canal was formed for its reception, with the several trenches through which that river was conveyed.

3. The origin of all regular buildings, may be plausibly deduced from the construction of the meanest huts. These were, at first, probably made of a conic figure, which is the simplest in structure, but being inconvenient on account of its inclined sides, both the figure and construction of the huts were changed, by giving them the form of a cube. At length, mankind insensibly improved in the art of building, and invented methods of rendering their habitations durable and handsome, as well as convenient. They deprived the trunks of trees of their bark, and other inequalities of surface, raised them above the wet, or humid soil, by means of stones, and also covered each with a flat stone, or slate, to exclude the rain. The interstices between the ends of the joists, were closed with wax, clay, or similar substances. The position of the roof was altered and elevated in the centre, by placing rafters on the joists, to support the earth, and other materials of the covering, and to carry off the abundance of rain

water.

4. When the rude builder began to erect stately edifices of stone, he imitated those parts which, from necessity, had composed the primitive huts. Thus, the upright trees, with stones at each end, were the origin of columns, bases, and capitals; and the beams, joists, and rafters, which

formed the covering gave rise to architraves, friezes, and cornices. Although the first buildings were rough and uncouth, because the artificers of those remote ages possessed neither skill, experience, nor tools, yet, when by practice, certain rules had been established, and many new instruments invented, the art rapidly advanced towards perfection; and a variety of style, or different methods of building, were discovered. To the Egyptians, ever considered as the inventors of arts, may be attributed that species of original architecture, in which the strength of the fabric was more regarded than either its elegance, or symmetry.

5. The Greeks, whose sublime and penetrating genius prompted them to combine elegance and convenience, derived their first ideas of building from the Egyptians. The mind of man being unquestionably influenced by the mode of government under which he lives; the Greeks, with their independence, lost the ascendency in works of genius. From that period, the Romans were the encouragers of this noble art. Vitruvius, the learned Roman architect, had for his patrons, the two great emperors Julius Cæsar and Augustus, and though he was employed in few works of any considerable bulk or magnificence, yet his rules for architecture were highly esteemed by the ancients, and are still a standard for practice among the moderns. The Romans carried the five orders of architecture to the highest perfection. These are the Tuscan, the Doric, the Ionic, the Corinthian, and the Composite; and though the moderns have materially improved the general structure, and internal convenience of buildings, nothing has been added to the beauty and symmetry of these columns.

§ 2. Different Orders of Architecture.

1. Tuscan. This order has its name and origin in Tuscany, which was first inhabited by a colony from Lydia, whence it is likely the order is but the Doric simplified. On account of its strong and massive proportions, it is cominonly called the rustic order, and is chiefly used in edifices of that character. It is composed of few parts, is devoid of ornament, and capable of supporting the heaviest

weights. The Etruscan architecture appears to have been nearly allied to the Grecian, but to have possessed an inferior degree of elegance. The Trajan column at Rome is of this order; and is less remarkable for the beauty of its proportions, than for the admirable sculpture with which it is decorated.

2. Doric. The Doric order was so called from Dorus, who built a magnificent temple in the city of Argos, and dedicated it to the goddess Juno. The character of this order is grave, robust, and of masculine appearance, whence it is figuratively termed the Herculean order. The Doric possesses nearly the same character for strength as the Tuscan, but is enlivened with peculiar ornaments in the frieze and capital, which are inseparable from it. In various ancient remains of this order, the proportions of the columns are different. Ion, who built a temple to Apollo in Asia, taking his idea from the structure of man, gave six times the length of the foot or diameter of the base for the height of the column. Of this order is the Temple of Theseus at Athens, built ten years after the battle of Marathon, and at this day almost entire.

3. Ionic. This order derived its origin from the people of Ionia. The Ionic column is more slender than the Doric, but more graceful. Its ornaments are elegant, and in a style between the richness of the Corinthian, and the plainness of the Tuscan. It is simple, yet graceful and majestic; whence it has been compared to a female rather decently than richly clad, whose locks of hair decorated with flowers, are represented by the volutes, scrolls, or spiral horns of the capital ornamented with festoons. When

Hermogenes built the celebrated temple of Bacchus, at Teos, he rejected the Doric after the marbles had been prepared, and adopted the Ionic in its stead. Of this order were the temples of Diana at Ephesus, of Apollo at Miletus, and of the Delphic oracle.

4. Corinthian. This is the finest of all the orders, and was first used at Corinth. It is expressive of delicacy, tenderness, and beauty. The invention of the elegant capital with which it is adorned has been attributed to Callimachus; who seeing a basket covered with a tile over the root of an acanthus plant which grew on the grave of a

young lady, was so struck with the appearance, that he executed a capital in imitation of it, in which the tile was represented by the abacus, the leaves of the acanthus by the volutes, and the basket by the body of the capital. The entablature was much enriched by the ancients, who introduced, in the frieze, representations of groupes of figures. When the entablature is thus ornamented, the columns are fluted The most perfect model of the Corinthian order may be found in the three columns in the Campo Vaccino, at Rome, the remains of the temple of Jupiter Stator. This order marks an age of luxury and magnificence, when pomp and splendour had become the predominant passion, but had not yet extinguished a taste for the sublime and beautiful.

5. Composite. This order was invented by the Romans, and partakes of the Ionic and Corinthian orders, but principally of the latter, particularly in the leaves of the capital. The establishment of this order shows that the Greeks had, in the three original orders, exhausted all the principles of grandeur and beauty; and that it was not possible to frame a fourth but by combining the former.

Different Parts of an entire Order.

The

6. Every order consists of three divisions; the pedestal, the column, and the entablature. The pedestal consists of a base or plinth, the dado, and the cornice. The pedestal is used to elevate the column to a necessary height. column includes a base, a shaft, and a capital. The entablature consists of an architrave, a frieze, and a cornice. The plinth is so called from a brick or flat square stone, on which columns, in the early state of architecture, were originally placed. The dado or dye is so called from being of the form of a cube. The cornice is from corona a top, or summit. The base of the column is its foundation. The shaft is that straight part of a column, compre hended between the base and capital, resembling a pillar. The capital is so denominated from caput, the head; the abacus is the upper member of the column, and serves as a covering. The architrave is so called from two Greek words, signifying, "principal beam," on account of the architrave being the principal support to the entablature. The frieze is a large flat face, which was sometimes enrich

ed with the figures of animals, and is so called from a Greek word signifying a fringe or border.

7. Some of the smaller members are, (1.) The torus, which is the swell above the plinth. (2.) The astragal, a small round member in the form of a ring, which terminates the extremities of the column. (3.) The scotia is a hollow moulding used in bases, and receives its name from the strong shadow produced by the concavity. Each column has its particular buse; the Tuscan base is the most simple, having only a torus and a plinth: the Doric has an astragal more than the Tuscan. To the Ionic base the torus is larger on a double scotia, with two astragals intervening. The Corinthian base has two toruses, two scotias, and two astragals. In the Composite base, there is one astragal less than in the Corinthian. Corona is a large flat-member in a cornice used to screen the under parts, and to prevent the rain from running down the column. The name of soffit is given to the under part of the corona.

§3. Gothic Architecture.

1. Gothic is a general term for that architecture which was formerly used in England and on the continent. But the ancient buildings in this country are more accurately divided into Saxon, Norman, and Saracenic. When the Romans invaded Britain, they found no places corresponding with our ideas of a city, or town. Dwellings, like those of the ancient Germans, were scattered over the country, and generally situated on the brink of a rivulet, for the sake of water, or on the skirt of a wood or forest, for the purpose of hunting and providing for their cattle. These inviting circumstances being more conspicuous in some parts of the country than in others, the princes and chiefs selected the most agreeable spots for their residence.

2. When the Romans began to form settlements and colonies in this island, a sudden and remarkable change took place in the style of architecture. They not only built a considerable number of solid, convenient, and magnificent edifices for their own accommodation, but also exhorted and instructed the Britons to follow their example. Soon after this, however, architecture, aud the arts connected with it, began sensibly to decline in Britain. This arose, perhaps, partly from the building of Constan