Alberti, Leone Battista, Architecture, 1755

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            <pb xlink:href="003/01/132.jpg" pagenum="114"/>
            <p type="head">
              <s>CHAP. III.</s>
            </p>
            <p type="head">
              <s>
                <emph type="italics"/>
              That Architecture began in
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              Aſia,
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              flouriſhed in
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              Greece,
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              and was brought to
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              Perfection in
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              Italy.</s>
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            <p type="main">
              <s>The Art of Building, as far as I can
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              gather from the Works of the Ancients,
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              ſpent the firſt Vigour of its Youth (if I may
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              be allowed that Expreſſion) in
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              Aſia:
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              It after­
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              wards flouriſhed among the
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              Greeks;
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              and at
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              laſt came to its full Maturity in
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              Italy.
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              </s>
              <s> And
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              this Account ſeems very probable; for the
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              Kings of
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              Aſia
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              abounding in Wealth and Lei­
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              ſure, when they came to conſider themſelves,
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              their own Riches, and the Greatneſs and Ma­
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              jeſty of their Empire, and found that they had
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              Occaſion for larger and nobler Habitations,
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              they began to ſearch out and collect every
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              Thing that might ſerve to this Purpoſe; and
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              in order to make their Buildings larger and
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              handſomer, began perhaps with building their
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              Roofs of larger Timbers, and their Walls of a
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              better Sort of Stone. </s>
              <s>This ſhewed noble and
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              great, and not unhandſome. </s>
              <s>Then finding
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              that ſuch Works were admired for being very
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              large, and imagining that a King was obliged
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              to do ſomething which private Men could not
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              effect, theſe great Monarchs began to be de­
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              lighted with huge Works, which they fell to
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              raiſing with a Kind of Emulation of one an­
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              other, till they came to erecting thoſe wild im­
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              menſe Moles, the Pyramids. </s>
              <s>Hereupon I ima­
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              gine that by frequent Building they began to
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              find out the Difference that there was between
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              a Structure built in one Manner, and one built
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              in another, and ſo getting ſome Notion of
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              Beauty and Proportion, began to neglect thoſe
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              Things which wanted thoſe Qualities.
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              Greece
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              came next; which flouriſhing in excellent
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              Geniuſſes and Men of Learning, paſſionately
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              deſirous of adorning their Country, began to
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              erect Temples and other publick Structures.
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              </s>
              <s>They then thought fit to look abroad and take
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              a more careful View of the Works of the
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              Aſ­
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              ſyrians
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              and
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              Ægyptians,
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              till at laſt they came
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              to underſtand that in all Things of this Nature
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              the Skill of the Workman was more admired
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              than the Wealth of the Prince: For any one
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              that is rich may raiſe a great Pile of Building;
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              but to raiſe ſuch a one as may be commended
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              by the Skilful, is the Part only of a ſuperior
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              Genius. </s>
              <s>Hereupon
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              Greece
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              finding that in theſe
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              Works ſhe could not equal thoſe Nations in
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              Expence, reſolved to try if ſhe could not out-do
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              them in Ingenuity. </s>
              <s>She began therefore to
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              trace and deduce this Art of Building, as in­
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              deed ſhe did all others, from the very Lap of
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              Nature itſelf, examining, weighing and con­
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              ſidering it in all its Parts with the greateſt Di­
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              ligence and Exactneſs: enquiring with the
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              greateſt Strictneſs into the Difference between
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              thoſe Buildings which were highly praiſed, and
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              thoſe which were diſliked, without neglecting
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              the leaſt Particular. </s>
              <s>She tried all Manner of
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              Experiments, ſtill tracing and keeping cloſe to
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              the Footſteps of Nature, mingling uneven
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              Numbers with even, ſtrait Lines with Curves,
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              Light with Shade, hoping that as it happens
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              from the Conjunction of Male and Female, ſhe
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              ſhould by the Mixture of theſe Oppoſites hit
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              upon ſome third Thing that would anſwer her
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              Purpoſe: Nor even in the moſt minute Parti­
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              culars did ſhe neglect to weigh and conſider all
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              the Parts over and over again, how thoſe on
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              the right Hand agreed with thoſe on the left,
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              the Upright with the Platform, the nearer with
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              the more remote, adding, diminiſhing, propor­
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              tioning the great Parts to the Small, the Simi­
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              lar to the Diſſimilar, the Laſt to the Firſt, till
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              ſhe had clearly demonſtrated that different
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              Rules were to be obſerved in thoſe Edifices
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              which were intended for Duration, to ſtand as
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              it were Monuments to Eternity, and thoſe
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              which were deſigned chiefly for Beauty. </s>
              <s>Theſe
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              were the Methods purſued by the
                <emph type="italics"/>
              Greeks.
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              </s>
              <s>Italy,
                <emph.end type="italics"/>
              in her firſt Beginnings, having Regard
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              wholly to Parſimony, concluded that the Mem­
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              bers in Buildings ought to be contrived in the
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              ſame Manner as in Animals; as, for Inſtance,
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              in a Horſe, whoſe Limbs are generally moſt
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              beautiful when they are moſt uſeful for Service:
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              from whence they inferred that Beauty was
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              never ſeparate and diſtinct from Conveniency.
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              </s>
              <s>But afterwards when they had obtained the
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              Empire of the World, being then no leſs in­
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              flamed than the
                <emph type="italics"/>
              Greeks
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              with the Deſire of a­
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              dorning their City and themſelves, in leſs than
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              thirty Years that which before was the fineſt
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              Houſe in the whole City of
                <emph type="italics"/>
              Rome,
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              could not </s>
            </p>
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