Alberti, Leone Battista
,
Architecture
,
1755
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natural Beauty in the Figures and Forms of
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Buildings, which immediately ſtrike the Mind
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with Pleaſure and Admiration. </
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<
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>It is my Opi
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nion, that Beauty, Majeſty, Gracefulneſs, and
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the like Charms, conſiſt in thoſe Particulars
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which if you alter or take away, the Whole
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would be made homely and diſagreeable. </
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<
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>If
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we are convinced of this, it can be no very te
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dious Enquiry to conſider thoſe Things which
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may be taken away, encreaſed or altered, eſpe
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cially in Figures and Forms: For every Body
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conſiſts of certain peculiar Parts, of which if
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you take away any one, or leſſen, or enlarge it,
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or remove it to an improper Place; that which
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before gave the Beauty and Grace to this Body
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will at once be lamed and ſpoild. </
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<
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>From hence
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we may conclude, to avoid Prolixity in this
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Reſearch, that there are three Things princi
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pally in which the Whole of what we are look
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ing into conſiſts: The Number, and that which
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I have called the Finiſhing, and the Collocati
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on. </
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>But there is ſtill ſomething elſe beſides,
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which ariſes from the Conjunction and Con
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nection of theſe other Parts, and gives the
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Beauty and Grace to the Whole: Which we
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will call Congruity, which we may conſider as
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the Original of all that is graceful and hand
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ſome. </
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<
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>The Buſineſs and Office of Congruity
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is to put together Members differing from each
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other in their Natures, in ſuch a Manner, that
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they may conſpire to form a beautiful Whole:
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So that whenever ſuch a Compoſition offers it
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ſelf to the Mind, either by the Conveyance of
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the Sight, Hearing, or any of the other Senſes,
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we immediately perceive this Congruity: For
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by Nature we deſire Things perfect, and ad
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here to them with Pleaſure when they are of
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fered to us; nor does this Congruity ariſe ſo
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much from the Body in which it is found, or
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any of its Members, as from itſelf, and from
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Nature, ſo that its true Seat is in the Mind and
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in Reaſon; and accordingly it has a very large
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Field to exerciſe itſelf and flouriſh in, and runs
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through every Part and Action of Man's Life,
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and every Production of Nature herſelf, which
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are all directed by the Law of Congruity, nor
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does Nature ſtudy any Thing more than to
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make all her Works abſolute and perfect, which
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they could never be without this Congruity,
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ſince they would want that Conſent of Parts
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which is ſo neceſſary to Perfection. </
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<
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>But we
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need not ſay more upon this Point, and if what
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we have here laid down appears to be true, we
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may conclude Beauty to be ſuch a Conſent and
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Agreement of the Parts of a Whole in which it
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is found, as to Number, Finiſhing and Collo
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cation, as Congruity, that is to ſay, the princi
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pal Law of Nature requires. </
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<
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>This is what Ar
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chitecture chiefly aims at, and by this ſhe ob
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tains her Beauty, Dignity and Value. </
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<
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>The
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Ancients knowing from the Nature of Things,
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that the Matter was in Fact as I have here ſtat
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ed it, and being convinced, that if they neglect
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ed this main Point they ſhould never produce
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any Thing great or commendable, did in their
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Works propoſe to themſelves chiefly the Imi
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tation of Nature, as the greateſt Artiſt at all
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Manner of Compoſitions; and for this Purpoſe
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they laboured, as far as the Induſtry of Man
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could reach, to diſcover the Laws upon which
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ſhe herſelf acted in the Production of her
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Works, in order to transfer them to the Buſi
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neſs of Architecture. </
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<
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>Reflecting therefore up
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on the Practice of Nature as well with Relati
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on to an entire Body, as to its ſeveral Parts,
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they found from the very firſt Principles of
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Things, that Bodies were not always compoſed
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of equal Parts or Members; whence it happens,
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that of the Bodies produced by Nature, ſome
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are ſmaller, ſome larger, and ſome middling:
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And conſidering that one Building differed
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from another, upon account of the End for
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which it was raiſed, and the Purpoſe which it
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was to ſerve, as we have ſhewn in the ſore
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going Books, they found it neceſſary to make
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them of various Kinds. </
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<
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>Thus from an Imi
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tation of Nature they invented three Manners
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of adorning a Building, and gave them Names
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drawn from their firſt Inventors. </
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<
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>One was
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better contrived for Strength and Duration:
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This they called
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Doric;
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another was more ta
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per and beautiful, this they named
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Corinthian;
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another was a Kind of Medium compoſed from
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the other two, and this they called
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Ionic.
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<
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> Thus
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much related to the whole Body in general.
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<
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>Then obſerving, that thoſe three Things which
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we have already mentioned, namely, the Num
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ber, Finiſhing and Collocation, were what
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chiefly conduced to make the whole beautiful,
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they found how they were to make uſe of this
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from a thorough Examination of the Works of
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Nature, and, as I imagine, upon the following
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Principles. </
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<
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>The firſt Thing they obſerved, as
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to Number, was that is was of two Sorts, even
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and uneven, and they made uſe of both, but
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in different Occaſions: For, from the Imita
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tion of Nature, they never made the Ribs of
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their Structure, that is to ſay, the Columns,
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Angles and the like, in uneven Numbers; as
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you ſhall not find any Animal that ſtands or </
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