Alberti, Leone Battista, Architecture, 1755

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          <chap>
            <p type="main">
              <s>
                <pb xlink:href="003/01/025.jpg" pagenum="14"/>
              to have made a Monſter with Limbs diſpro­
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              portionable: Variety is without Diſpute a very
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              great Beauty in every Thing, when it joins and
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              brings together, in a regular manner, Things
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              different, but proportionable to each other;
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              but it is rather ſhocking, if they are unſuitable
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              and incoherent. </s>
              <s>For as in Muſick, when the
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              Baſe anſwers the Treble, and the Tenor agrees
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              with both, there ariſes from that Variety of
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              Sounds an harmonious and wonderful Union
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              of Proportions which delights and enchants
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              our Senſes; ſo the like happens in every thing
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              elſe that ſtrikes and pleaſes our Fancy. </s>
              <s>Laſtly,
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              theſe Things muſt be ſo executed, as Uſe or
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              Conveniency requires, or according to the
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              approved Practice of Men of Skill; becauſe
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              deviating from eſtabliſhed Cuſtom, generally
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              robs a Thing of its whole Beauty, as conform­
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              ing to it, is applauded and attended with Suc­
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              ceſs. </s>
              <s>Nevertheleſs, tho' other famous Archi­
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              tects ſeem, by their Practice, to have deter­
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              mined this or that Compartition, whether
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                <emph type="italics"/>
              Doric,
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              or
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              Ionic,
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              or
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              Corinthian,
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              or
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              Tuſcan,
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              to
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              be the moſt convenient of any; yet they do
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              not thereby tie us down to follow them ſo
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              cloſely, as to tranſcribe their very Deſigns into
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              this Work of ours; but only ſtir us up by
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              their Inſtructions to produce ſomething of
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              our own Invention, and to endeavour to ac­
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              quire equal or greater Praiſe than they did.
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              </s>
              <s>But of theſe Things we ſhall ſpeak more di­
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              ſtinctly in their proper Places, when we come
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              to conſider in what manner a City and its
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              Members ought to be diſpoſed, and every
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              thing neceſſary for the Convenience of
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              each.</s>
            </p>
            <p type="head">
              <s>CHAP. X.</s>
            </p>
            <p type="head">
              <s>
                <emph type="italics"/>
              Of the Columns and Walls, and ſome Obſervations relating to the Columns.
                <emph.end type="italics"/>
              </s>
            </p>
            <p type="main">
              <s>We are now to treat ſummarily of the
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              Diſpoſition of the Wall. </s>
              <s>But here I
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              muſt not omit what I have obſerved among
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              the Ancients; namely, that they conſtantly
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              avoided drawing any of the outer Lines of the
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              Platform quite ſtrait, ſo as to let any great
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              Length go on without being interrupted by
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              the Concavity of ſome curve Line, or the In­
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              terſection of ſome Angle; and the Reaſon
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              why thoſe wiſe Men did this is plain, that the
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              Wall, having, as it were, Props joined to it to
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              reſt againſt, might be ſo much the ſtronger.
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              </s>
              <s>In treating of the Walling, we ſhould begin
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              with the moſt noble Parts of it. </s>
              <s>This Place
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              thereſore naturally leads us to ſpeak of the Co­
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              lumns, and of the Things belonging to them;
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              a Row of Columns being indeed nothing elſe
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              but a Wall open and diſcontinued in ſeveral
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              Places. </s>
              <s>And having occaſion to define a Co­
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              lumn, it would not be at all improper to ſay,
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              that it is a certain ſtrong continued Part of
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              the Wall, carried up perpendicular from the
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              Foundation to the Top, for ſupporting the
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              Covering. </s>
              <s>In the whole Compaſs of the Art
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              of Building, you will find nothing, that either
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              for Workmanſhip, Expence or Beauty, de­
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              ſerves to be preferred before the Columns.
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              </s>
              <s>But theſe Columns having ſome Particulars in
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              which they differ from one another; in this
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              Place we ſhall ſpeak only of their Agreement;
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              becauſe that regards the Genus of them; but
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              as to their Difference, which relates to their
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              Species, we ſhall handle it in its proper Place.
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              </s>
              <s>To begin therefore as we may ſay from the
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              Root, every Column has its Foundation; this
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              Foundation being brought up to a Level with
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              the Plane of the
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              Area,
                <emph.end type="italics"/>
              it was uſual to raiſe
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              thereupon a kind of little Wall, which we
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              ſhall call the Plinth, others perhaps may call
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              it the Dye; upon the Plinth ſtood the Baſe,
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              on the Baſe, the Column; and over the Co­
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              lumn the Capital; their Proportion was, that
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              from the middle downwards, they were ſome­
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              what bigger, and from thence upwards grew
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              more and more taper, and that the Foot was
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              ſomething larger than the Top of all. </s>
              <s>I make
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              no doubt, that at firſt the Column was in­
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              vented to ſupport the Covering. </s>
              <s>Afterwards
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              Men's Thoughts being ſtirred up to worthy
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              Attempts, they ſtudied, tho' themſelves were
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              mortal, to make their Buildings in a Manner
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              immortal and eternal; and for this Reaſon
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              they made Columns, Architraves, Intabla­
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              tures, and Coverings all of Marble. </s>
              <s>And in
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              doing theſe Things, the ancient Architects al­
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              ways kept ſo cloſe to Nature, as to ſeem, if
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              poſſible, never to have conſulted any Thing
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              but mere Convenience in Building, and at the
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              ſame Time made it their Care, that their
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              Works ſhould be not only ſtrong and uſeful, </s>
            </p>
          </chap>
        </body>
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