Alberti, Leone Battista, Architecture, 1755
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              <s>
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              no leſs Awfulneſs, than Ornaments do Beauty,
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              to any Structure of this Nature. </s>
              <s>The Anci­
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              ents, who had their Inſtructions from the
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                <emph type="italics"/>
              Etrurians,
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              thought the ſame Kind of Situation
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              not proper for the Temples of different Gods:
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              The Temples to the Gods that preſided over
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              Peace, Modeſty and good Arts, they judged
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              fit to be placed within the Compaſs of the
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              Walls; but thoſe Deities that were the Guar­
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              dians of Pleaſures, Feuds and Combuſtions,
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              ſuch as
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              Venus, Mars
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              and
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              Vulcan,
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              they placed
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              ſomewhere without the City.
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              Veſta, Jupiter
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              and
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              Minerva,
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              whom
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              Plato
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              calls the Protectors
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              of Cities, they ſeated in the Heart of the
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              Town, or in the Citadel;
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              Pallas,
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              the Goddeſs
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              of working Trades, and
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              Mercury,
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              to whom the
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              Merchants ſacrificed in the Month of
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              May,
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              and
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              Iſis,
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              they ſet in the publick Market-place;
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                <emph type="italics"/>
              Neptune,
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              upon the Sea-ſhore, and
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              Janus
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              on
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              the Summit of the higheſt Hills; the Temple
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              of
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              Æſculapius
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              they built in the Iſland of the
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                <emph type="italics"/>
              Tiber,
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              being of Opinion that the chief Thing
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              neceſſary to the Sick, was Water. </s>
              <s>In other
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              Countries
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              Plutarch
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              tells us, that they uſed to
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              place the Temple of this God out of the City,
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              for the Sake of the Goodneſs of the Air. </s>
              <s>Fur­
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              ther, they imagined that the Temples of vari­
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              ous Gods ought to be built in various Forms.
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              </s>
              <s>The Temple of the
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              Sun
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              and of
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              Bacchus
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              they
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              thought ſhould be round; and
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              Varro
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              ſays,
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              that of
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              Jupiter
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              ſhould be partly uncovered at the
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              Top, becauſe it was that God who opened the
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              Seeds of all Things. </s>
              <s>The Temple of the God­
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              deſs
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              Veſta,
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              ſuppoſing her to be the Earth, they
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              built as round as a Ball: Thoſe of the other
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              celeſtial Gods they raiſed ſomewhat above the
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              Ground; thoſe of the infernal Gods they built
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              under Ground, and thoſe of the terreſtrial
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              they ſet upon the Level. </s>
              <s>If I am not miſtaken
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              too, their various Sorts of Sacrifices made them
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              invent different Sorts of Temples: For ſome
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              waſhed their Altars with Blood, others ſacrificed
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              with Wine and a Cake; others were daily
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              practiſing new Rites.
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              Poſthumius
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              enacted a
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              Law among the
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              Romans,
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              that no Wine ſhould
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              be ſprinkled upon a funeral Pile; for which
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              Reaſon the Ancients uſed to perform their Li­
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              bations not with Wine but Milk. </s>
              <s>In the
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              Hy­
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              perborean
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              Iſland in the Ocean, where
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              Latona
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              was fabled to be born, the Metropolis was con­
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              ſecrated to
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              Apollo;
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              the Citizens of which, be­
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              ing uſed conſtantly every Day to ſing the
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              Praiſes of their Gods, were all good Maſters of
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              Muſick. </s>
              <s>I find in
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              Theophraſtus
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              the Sophiſt, that
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              the People of the Iſthmus, or the
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              Morea,
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              uſed
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              to ſacrifice an Ant to the Sun and to
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              Neptune.
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              It was not lawful for the
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              Ægyptians
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              to appeaſe
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              their Gods by any Thing but Prayers within
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              their City; wherefore, that they might ſacri­
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              fice Sheep to
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              Saturn
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              and
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              Serapis,
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              they built
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              their Temples out of the Town. </s>
              <s>But our
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              Countrymen by Degrees got into a Way of
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              making uſe of Baſiliques or Palaces for their
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              Places of Worſhip; which was occaſioned by
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              their being accuſtomed from the Beginning to
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              meet and get together in the Palaces of private
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              Perſons; beſides, that the Altar had a very
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              great Air of Dignity when ſet in the Place of
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              the Tribunal, as had alſo the Choir when diſ­
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              poſed about the Altar. </s>
              <s>The other Parts of the
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              Structure, ſuch as the Nave and the Portico,
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              ſerved the People either to walk about in, or
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              to attend the religious Ceremonies. </s>
              <s>Add to
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              this, that the Voice of the Pontiff, when he
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              preached, might be more diſtinctly heard in a
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              Baſilique cieled with a Timber, than in a Tem­
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              ple with a vaulted Roof: But of theſe Things
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              we ſhall treat in another Place. </s>
              <s>It may not
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              be amiſs to take Notice here of what the An­
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              cients tell us, that the Temples dedicated to
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              Venus, Diana,
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              the
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              Muſes,
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              the Nymphs and the
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              more tender Goddeſſes, ought in their Struc­
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              ture to imitate that Virgin's Delicacy and ſmil­
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              ing Gaiety of Youth, which is proper to them;
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              but that
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              Hercules, Mars,
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              and the other greater
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              Deities ſhould have Temples which ſhould ra­
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              ther fill the Beholders with Awe by their Gra­
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              vity, than with Pleaſure by their Beauty. </s>
              <s>Laſt­
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              ly, the Place where you intend to fix a Tem­
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              ple, ought to be noted, famous, and indeed
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              ſtately, clear from all Contagion of ſecular
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              Things, and, in order thereunto, it ſhould have
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              a ſpacious handſome Area in its Front, and be
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              ſurrounded on every Side with great Streets, or
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              rather with noble Squares, that you may have
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              a beautiful View of it on every Side.</s>
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