1no leſs Awfulneſs, than Ornaments do Beauty,
to any Structure of this Nature. The Anci
ents, who had their Inſtructions from the
Etrurians, thought the ſame Kind of Situation
not proper for the Temples of different Gods:
The Temples to the Gods that preſided over
Peace, Modeſty and good Arts, they judged
fit to be placed within the Compaſs of the
Walls; but thoſe Deities that were the Guar
dians of Pleaſures, Feuds and Combuſtions,
ſuch as Venus, Mars and Vulcan, they placed
ſomewhere without the City. Veſta, Jupiter
and Minerva, whom Plato calls the Protectors
of Cities, they ſeated in the Heart of the
Town, or in the Citadel; Pallas, the Goddeſs
of working Trades, and Mercury, to whom the
Merchants ſacrificed in the Month of May,
and Iſis, they ſet in the publick Market-place;
Neptune, upon the Sea-ſhore, and Janus on
the Summit of the higheſt Hills; the Temple
of Æſculapius they built in the Iſland of the
Tiber, being of Opinion that the chief Thing
neceſſary to the Sick, was Water. In other
Countries Plutarch tells us, that they uſed to
place the Temple of this God out of the City,
for the Sake of the Goodneſs of the Air. Fur
ther, they imagined that the Temples of vari
ous Gods ought to be built in various Forms.
The Temple of the Sun and of Bacchus they
thought ſhould be round; and Varro ſays,
that of Jupiter ſhould be partly uncovered at the
Top, becauſe it was that God who opened the
Seeds of all Things. The Temple of the God
deſs Veſta, ſuppoſing her to be the Earth, they
built as round as a Ball: Thoſe of the other
celeſtial Gods they raiſed ſomewhat above the
Ground; thoſe of the infernal Gods they built
under Ground, and thoſe of the terreſtrial
they ſet upon the Level. If I am not miſtaken
too, their various Sorts of Sacrifices made them
invent different Sorts of Temples: For ſome
waſhed their Altars with Blood, others ſacrificed
with Wine and a Cake; others were daily
practiſing new Rites. Poſthumius enacted a
Law among the Romans, that no Wine ſhould
be ſprinkled upon a funeral Pile; for which
Reaſon the Ancients uſed to perform their Li
bations not with Wine but Milk. In the Hy
perborean Iſland in the Ocean, where Latona
was fabled to be born, the Metropolis was con
ſecrated to Apollo; the Citizens of which, be
ing uſed conſtantly every Day to ſing the
Praiſes of their Gods, were all good Maſters of
Muſick. I find in Theophraſtus the Sophiſt, that
the People of the Iſthmus, or the Morea, uſed
to ſacrifice an Ant to the Sun and to Neptune.
It was not lawful for the Ægyptians to appeaſe
their Gods by any Thing but Prayers within
their City; wherefore, that they might ſacri
fice Sheep to Saturn and Serapis, they built
their Temples out of the Town. But our
Countrymen by Degrees got into a Way of
making uſe of Baſiliques or Palaces for their
Places of Worſhip; which was occaſioned by
their being accuſtomed from the Beginning to
meet and get together in the Palaces of private
Perſons; beſides, that the Altar had a very
great Air of Dignity when ſet in the Place of
the Tribunal, as had alſo the Choir when diſ
poſed about the Altar. The other Parts of the
Structure, ſuch as the Nave and the Portico,
ſerved the People either to walk about in, or
to attend the religious Ceremonies. Add to
this, that the Voice of the Pontiff, when he
preached, might be more diſtinctly heard in a
Baſilique cieled with a Timber, than in a Tem
ple with a vaulted Roof: But of theſe Things
we ſhall treat in another Place. It may not
be amiſs to take Notice here of what the An
cients tell us, that the Temples dedicated to
Venus, Diana, the Muſes, the Nymphs and the
more tender Goddeſſes, ought in their Struc
ture to imitate that Virgin's Delicacy and ſmil
ing Gaiety of Youth, which is proper to them;
but that Hercules, Mars, and the other greater
Deities ſhould have Temples which ſhould ra
ther fill the Beholders with Awe by their Gra
vity, than with Pleaſure by their Beauty. Laſt
ly, the Place where you intend to fix a Tem
ple, ought to be noted, famous, and indeed
ſtately, clear from all Contagion of ſecular
Things, and, in order thereunto, it ſhould have
a ſpacious handſome Area in its Front, and be
ſurrounded on every Side with great Streets, or
rather with noble Squares, that you may have
a beautiful View of it on every Side.
to any Structure of this Nature. The Anci
ents, who had their Inſtructions from the
Etrurians, thought the ſame Kind of Situation
not proper for the Temples of different Gods:
The Temples to the Gods that preſided over
Peace, Modeſty and good Arts, they judged
fit to be placed within the Compaſs of the
Walls; but thoſe Deities that were the Guar
dians of Pleaſures, Feuds and Combuſtions,
ſuch as Venus, Mars and Vulcan, they placed
ſomewhere without the City. Veſta, Jupiter
and Minerva, whom Plato calls the Protectors
of Cities, they ſeated in the Heart of the
Town, or in the Citadel; Pallas, the Goddeſs
of working Trades, and Mercury, to whom the
Merchants ſacrificed in the Month of May,
and Iſis, they ſet in the publick Market-place;
Neptune, upon the Sea-ſhore, and Janus on
the Summit of the higheſt Hills; the Temple
of Æſculapius they built in the Iſland of the
Tiber, being of Opinion that the chief Thing
neceſſary to the Sick, was Water. In other
Countries Plutarch tells us, that they uſed to
place the Temple of this God out of the City,
for the Sake of the Goodneſs of the Air. Fur
ther, they imagined that the Temples of vari
ous Gods ought to be built in various Forms.
The Temple of the Sun and of Bacchus they
thought ſhould be round; and Varro ſays,
that of Jupiter ſhould be partly uncovered at the
Top, becauſe it was that God who opened the
Seeds of all Things. The Temple of the God
deſs Veſta, ſuppoſing her to be the Earth, they
built as round as a Ball: Thoſe of the other
celeſtial Gods they raiſed ſomewhat above the
Ground; thoſe of the infernal Gods they built
under Ground, and thoſe of the terreſtrial
they ſet upon the Level. If I am not miſtaken
too, their various Sorts of Sacrifices made them
invent different Sorts of Temples: For ſome
waſhed their Altars with Blood, others ſacrificed
with Wine and a Cake; others were daily
practiſing new Rites. Poſthumius enacted a
Law among the Romans, that no Wine ſhould
be ſprinkled upon a funeral Pile; for which
Reaſon the Ancients uſed to perform their Li
bations not with Wine but Milk. In the Hy
perborean Iſland in the Ocean, where Latona
was fabled to be born, the Metropolis was con
ſecrated to Apollo; the Citizens of which, be
ing uſed conſtantly every Day to ſing the
Praiſes of their Gods, were all good Maſters of
Muſick. I find in Theophraſtus the Sophiſt, that
the People of the Iſthmus, or the Morea, uſed
to ſacrifice an Ant to the Sun and to Neptune.
It was not lawful for the Ægyptians to appeaſe
their Gods by any Thing but Prayers within
their City; wherefore, that they might ſacri
fice Sheep to Saturn and Serapis, they built
their Temples out of the Town. But our
Countrymen by Degrees got into a Way of
making uſe of Baſiliques or Palaces for their
Places of Worſhip; which was occaſioned by
their being accuſtomed from the Beginning to
meet and get together in the Palaces of private
Perſons; beſides, that the Altar had a very
great Air of Dignity when ſet in the Place of
the Tribunal, as had alſo the Choir when diſ
poſed about the Altar. The other Parts of the
Structure, ſuch as the Nave and the Portico,
ſerved the People either to walk about in, or
to attend the religious Ceremonies. Add to
this, that the Voice of the Pontiff, when he
preached, might be more diſtinctly heard in a
Baſilique cieled with a Timber, than in a Tem
ple with a vaulted Roof: But of theſe Things
we ſhall treat in another Place. It may not
be amiſs to take Notice here of what the An
cients tell us, that the Temples dedicated to
Venus, Diana, the Muſes, the Nymphs and the
more tender Goddeſſes, ought in their Struc
ture to imitate that Virgin's Delicacy and ſmil
ing Gaiety of Youth, which is proper to them;
but that Hercules, Mars, and the other greater
Deities ſhould have Temples which ſhould ra
ther fill the Beholders with Awe by their Gra
vity, than with Pleaſure by their Beauty. Laſt
ly, the Place where you intend to fix a Tem
ple, ought to be noted, famous, and indeed
ſtately, clear from all Contagion of ſecular
Things, and, in order thereunto, it ſhould have
a ſpacious handſome Area in its Front, and be
ſurrounded on every Side with great Streets, or
rather with noble Squares, that you may have
a beautiful View of it on every Side.