Alberti, Leone Battista, Architecture, 1755

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              <s>
                <pb xlink:href="003/01/215.jpg" pagenum="163"/>
              from the Fatigue of Travelling. </s>
              <s>For which
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              Reaſon, as I had always the higheſt Eſteem for
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              the Prudence oſ our Anceſtors in all their In­
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              ſtitutions, ſo I particularly commend them for
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              that Cuſtom of theirs, whereof we ſhall ſpeak
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              immediately, by which, though in it they aim­
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              ed at much greater Ends, they afforded ſo much
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              Rccreation to Travellers. </s>
              <s>It was a Law of the
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              twelve Tables, that no dead Body ſhould be
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              interred or burnt within the City, and it was
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              a very ancient Law of the Senate that no
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              Corpſe ſhould be interred within the Walls,
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              except the Veſtal Virgins, and the Emperors,
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              who were not included within this Prohibition.
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                <emph type="italics"/>
              Plutarch
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              tell us, that the
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              Valeri
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              and the
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              Fa­
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              bricii,
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              as a Mark of Honour, had a Privilege to
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              be buried in the Forum; but their Deſcend­
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              ants, having only ſet their dead down in it,
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              and juſt clapt a Torch to the Body, uſed im­
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              mediately to take it up again to bury it elſe­
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              where; thereby ſhewing that they had ſuch a
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              Privilege, but that they did not think it decent
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              to make uſe of it. </s>
              <s>The Ancients thereſore
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              choſe their Sepulchres in convenient and conſpi­
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              cuous Places by the Side of Highways, and em­
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              belliſhed them, as far as their Abilities and the
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              Skill of the Architect would reach, with a per­
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              fect Profuſion of Ornaments. </s>
              <s>They were built
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              after the nobleſt Deſigns; no Columns or Pi­
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              laſters were ſpared for, nor did they want the
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              richeſt Incruſtations, nor any Delicacies that
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              Sculpture or Painting could afford; and they
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              were generally adorned with Buſts of Braſs or
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              marble finiſhed after the moſt exquiſite Taſte:
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              By which Cuſtom how much that prudent Peo­
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              ple promoted the Service of the Common­
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              wealth and good Manners, would be tedious
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              now to recapitulate. </s>
              <s>I ſhall only juſt touch
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              upon thoſe Points which make to our preſent
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              Purpoſe. </s>
              <s>And how, think ye, muſt it delight
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              Travellers as they paſſed along the
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              Appian
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              Way, or any other great Road, to find them
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              full of a vaſt Number of Tombs of the moſt
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              excellent Workmanſhip, and to be every Mo­
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              ment picking out ſome more beautiful than the
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              reſt, and obſerving the Epitaphs and Effigies of
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              their greateſt Men? </s>
              <s>Do you not think that
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              from ſo many Monuments of ancient Story,
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              they muſt of Neceſſity take continual Occaſion
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              to diſcourſe of the noble Exploits perſormed by
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              thoſe Heroes of old, thereby ſweetning the Te­
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              diouſneſs of their Journey, and exalting the Ho­
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              nour of
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              Rome,
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              their native City? </s>
              <s>But this was
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              the leaſt of the good Effects which they pro­
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              duced; and it was of much more Importance
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              that they conduced not a little the Preſervation
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              of the Commonwealth, and of the Fortunes of
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              private Perſons. </s>
              <s>One of the chief Cauſes why
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              the Rich rejected the
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              Agrarian
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              Law, as we
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              are inſormed by the Hiſtorian
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              Appian,
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              was be­
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              cauſe they looked upon it to be an Impiety to
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              ſuffer the Property of the Tombs of their Fore­
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              fathers to be transferred to others. </s>
              <s>How many
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              great Inheritances may we therefore ſuppoſe
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              them to have left untouched to their Poſterity,
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              merely upon this Principle of Duty, Piety or
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              Religion, which elſe would have been prodi­
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              gally waſted in Riot and Gaming? </s>
              <s>Beſides
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              that thoſe Monuments were a very great Ho­
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              nour to the Name of the City itſelf, and of a
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              great Number of private Families, and was a
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              conſtant Incitement to Poſterity to imitate the
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              Virtues of thoſe whom they ſaw ſo highly re­
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              vered. </s>
              <s>Then again, with what Eyes think
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              you, whenever ſuch a Misfortune happened,
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              muſt they behold a furious and inſolent Enemy
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              ranſacking among the Sepulchres of their An­
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              ceſtors? </s>
              <s>And what Man could be ſo baſe and
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              cowardly, as not to be immediately inflamed with
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              Rage and Deſire of revenging ſuch an Inſult
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              upon his Country and his Honour? </s>
              <s>And what
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              Boldneſs and Courage muſt Shame, Piety and
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              Grief ſtir up in the Hearts of Men upon ſuch
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              an Occaſion? </s>
              <s>The Ancients therefore are great­
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              ly to be praiſed; not that I preſume to blame
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              the preſent Practice of burying our Dead within
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              the City, and in holy Places, provided we do
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              not lay them in our Temples, where our Ma­
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              giſtrates and great Men are to meet for the
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              Celebration of holy Rites, ſo as to pollute the
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              moſt ſacred Offices with the noiſome Vapours
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              of a rotting Corpſe. </s>
              <s>The Cuſtom of burning
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              the Dead was much more convenient.</s>
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            <p type="head">
              <s>CHAP. II.</s>
            </p>
            <p type="head">
              <s>
                <emph type="italics"/>
              Of Sepulchres, and the various Manner of Burial.
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              </s>
            </p>
            <p type="main">
              <s>I shall here take an Opportunity to inſert
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              ſome Things, which in my Opinion, are by
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              no means to be omitted, concerning the Struc­
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              ture of Sepulchres, ſince they ſeem to partake
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              of the Nature of publick Works, as being de­
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              dicated to Religion. </s>
              <s>Let the Place where you </s>
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