Alberti, Leone Battista, Architecture, 1755

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              inaſmuch as they were to be one People joyn­
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              ing in the Worſhip of one God, by whom
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              alone they were defended and preſerved. </s>
              <s>Now
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              I cannot approve of either of theſe Particulars:
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              For as to the Firſt, it muſt be extremely in­
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              convenient to the People, and eſpecially to
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              thoſe who frequent the Temples moſt, as the
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              old Folks and the Infirm; and the Second muſt
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              take very much from the Majeſty of the Struc­
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              ture. </s>
              <s>As to what I have obſerved in ſome
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              ſacred Edifices, built not long before our Time,
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              to which you aſcend by a few Steps on the
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              Outſide, and afterwards have as many to go
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              down again within, I will not abſolutely call it
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              ridiculous; but why they ſhould contrive it in
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              this Manner, I cannot imagine. </s>
              <s>Indeed I would
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              have the Plain of the Portico, and ſo of the
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              whole Temple, ſomewhat raiſed above the Le­
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              vel of the reſt of the Town, which gives the
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              Fabrick a great Air of Dignity. </s>
              <s>But as in an
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              Animal, the Head, the Feet, and every parti­
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              cular Member, ſhould be exactly proportioned
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              to all the other Members, and to all the reſt
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              of the Body; ſo in a Building, and eſpecially
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              in a Temple, all the Parts ſhould be made to
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              correſpond ſo exactly, that let us conſider which
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              of them we pleaſe, it may bear its juſt Propor­
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              tion to all the Reſt. </s>
              <s>Thus I find that moſt
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              of the beſt ancient Architects uſed to take their
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              Elevation of the Plain of their Temple, from
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              the Breadth of the Temple itſelf, which they
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              divided into ſix Parts, giving one of thoſe
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              Parts to the Height of the Plain or Mound of
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              the Structure. </s>
              <s>Others, in larger Temples, raiſ­
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              ed it only a ſeventh Part, and in the Biggeſt of
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              all, only a ninth. </s>
              <s>The Portico, by its Nature,
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              ſhould have a continued Wall but of one Side,
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              and all the other Sides ſhould be full of large
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              Apertures for Paſſage. </s>
              <s>Your Buſineſs there­
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              fore is to conſider what Kind of Apertures you
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              would make uſe of; for Colonades are of two
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              Sorts; one where the Columns ſtand wide and
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              at a great Diſtance from each other; and the
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              other, where they ſtand cloſe and thick. </s>
              <s>And
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              neither of theſe Sorts is without its Inconveni­
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              encies; for in the wide Sort, the Apertures are
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              ſo large, that if you would make uſe of an
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              Architrave, it is apt to break in the Middle,
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              and if you would carry Arches over it, it is no
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              eaſy Matter to turn them upon the Heads of
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              the Columns. </s>
              <s>Where the Columns ſtand cloſe
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              and thick, they intercept the View, the Light
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              and the Paſſage, and upon this Account, a
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              third Manner has been found out, in a Medium
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              between the other two, which is called Elegant,
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              and avoids the Defects of the others; is more
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              convenient and much more approved. </s>
              <s>And
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              with theſe three Sorts we might have been con­
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              tented; but the Diligence of Architects have
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              added two other Sorts, which I ſuppoſe may
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              be accounted for as follows: Not having a
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              ſufficient Number of Columns for the Exten­
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              ſiveneſs of their Area, they deviated ſomewhat
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              from the laudable Medium, and imitated the
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              wider Apertures; and when they happen to
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              have Plenty of Columns, they were fond of
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              ſetting them cloſer together; whence aroſe five
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              Sorts of Intercolumniations, which we may call
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              by the Names of Wide, Cloſe, Elegant, Leſs­
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              wide, Leſs-cloſe. </s>
              <s>I further ſuppoſe it to have
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              happened, that the Architects being ſometimes
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              deſtitute of long Stones, were obliged to make
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              their Columns ſhorter, knowing that this
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              would take much from the Beauty of the
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              Structure, they ſet a Plinth under their Columns,
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              in order to give them their juſt Height; for
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              they found by a careful View and Examinati­
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              on of other Buildings, that Columns had no
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              Grace in a Portico, unleſs a right Proportion
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              was obſerved both in their Height and Thick­
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              neſs. </s>
              <s>This induced them to lay down the fol­
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              lowing Rules for this Purpoſe. </s>
              <s>The Interco­
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              lumniation may be unequal; but the Columns
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              themſelves muſt always be exactly equal. </s>
              <s>Let
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              the Apertures that anſwers to the Door be ſome­
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              what wider than the reſt. </s>
              <s>Where the Inter­
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              columniation is cloſe, make uſe of thinner Co­
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              lumns; where it is wide, make uſe of thicker;
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              thus always proportioning the Thickneſs of the
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              Colums to the Interſpaces, and the Interſpaces
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              to the Thickneſs of the Columns, which you
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              may do by the following Rules. </s>
              <s>In the cloſeſt
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              Sort of Colonades, let the Intercolumniation be
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              never narrower than one Diameter and a Half
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              of the Column; and in the wideſt, let it be
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              never broader than three Diameters and three
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              eighths. </s>
              <s>In the elegant Sort of Colonades you
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              may allow two Diameters and a Quarter, in the
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              Leſs-cloſe, two; in the Leſs-wide, three. </s>
              <s>The
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              middle Interſpace in the Colonade ſhould be
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              ſomewhat wider than the reſt, and the Ancients
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              direct us to give it an Addition of one fourth
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              Part: But by an Examination of old Buildings,
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              I find that this middle Interſpace was not al­
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              ways made according to this Rule; for in the
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              wide Colonades, no good Architect ever made
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              it a fourth Part wider, but only about a
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              twelfth; and herein they acted very prudently,
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              leſt an unfaithful Architrave ſhould not be able
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              to bear even the Weight of its own Length, </s>
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