1natural Beauty in the Figures and Forms of
Buildings, which immediately ſtrike the Mind
with Pleaſure and Admiration. It is my Opi
nion, that Beauty, Majeſty, Gracefulneſs, and
the like Charms, conſiſt in thoſe Particulars
which if you alter or take away, the Whole
would be made homely and diſagreeable. If
we are convinced of this, it can be no very te
dious Enquiry to conſider thoſe Things which
may be taken away, encreaſed or altered, eſpe
cially in Figures and Forms: For every Body
conſiſts of certain peculiar Parts, of which if
you take away any one, or leſſen, or enlarge it,
or remove it to an improper Place; that which
before gave the Beauty and Grace to this Body
will at once be lamed and ſpoild. From hence
we may conclude, to avoid Prolixity in this
Reſearch, that there are three Things princi
pally in which the Whole of what we are look
ing into conſiſts: The Number, and that which
I have called the Finiſhing, and the Collocati
on. But there is ſtill ſomething elſe beſides,
which ariſes from the Conjunction and Con
nection of theſe other Parts, and gives the
Beauty and Grace to the Whole: Which we
will call Congruity, which we may conſider as
the Original of all that is graceful and hand
ſome. The Buſineſs and Office of Congruity
is to put together Members differing from each
other in their Natures, in ſuch a Manner, that
they may conſpire to form a beautiful Whole:
So that whenever ſuch a Compoſition offers it
ſelf to the Mind, either by the Conveyance of
the Sight, Hearing, or any of the other Senſes,
we immediately perceive this Congruity: For
by Nature we deſire Things perfect, and ad
here to them with Pleaſure when they are of
fered to us; nor does this Congruity ariſe ſo
much from the Body in which it is found, or
any of its Members, as from itſelf, and from
Nature, ſo that its true Seat is in the Mind and
in Reaſon; and accordingly it has a very large
Field to exerciſe itſelf and flouriſh in, and runs
through every Part and Action of Man's Life,
and every Production of Nature herſelf, which
are all directed by the Law of Congruity, nor
does Nature ſtudy any Thing more than to
make all her Works abſolute and perfect, which
they could never be without this Congruity,
ſince they would want that Conſent of Parts
which is ſo neceſſary to Perfection. But we
need not ſay more upon this Point, and if what
we have here laid down appears to be true, we
may conclude Beauty to be ſuch a Conſent and
Agreement of the Parts of a Whole in which it
is found, as to Number, Finiſhing and Collo
cation, as Congruity, that is to ſay, the princi
pal Law of Nature requires. This is what Ar
chitecture chiefly aims at, and by this ſhe ob
tains her Beauty, Dignity and Value. The
Ancients knowing from the Nature of Things,
that the Matter was in Fact as I have here ſtat
ed it, and being convinced, that if they neglect
ed this main Point they ſhould never produce
any Thing great or commendable, did in their
Works propoſe to themſelves chiefly the Imi
tation of Nature, as the greateſt Artiſt at all
Manner of Compoſitions; and for this Purpoſe
they laboured, as far as the Induſtry of Man
could reach, to diſcover the Laws upon which
ſhe herſelf acted in the Production of her
Works, in order to transfer them to the Buſi
neſs of Architecture. Reflecting therefore up
on the Practice of Nature as well with Relati
on to an entire Body, as to its ſeveral Parts,
they found from the very firſt Principles of
Things, that Bodies were not always compoſed
of equal Parts or Members; whence it happens,
that of the Bodies produced by Nature, ſome
are ſmaller, ſome larger, and ſome middling:
And conſidering that one Building differed
from another, upon account of the End for
which it was raiſed, and the Purpoſe which it
was to ſerve, as we have ſhewn in the ſore
going Books, they found it neceſſary to make
them of various Kinds. Thus from an Imi
tation of Nature they invented three Manners
of adorning a Building, and gave them Names
drawn from their firſt Inventors. One was
better contrived for Strength and Duration:
This they called Doric; another was more ta
per and beautiful, this they named Corinthian;
another was a Kind of Medium compoſed from
the other two, and this they called Ionic. Thus
much related to the whole Body in general.
Then obſerving, that thoſe three Things which
we have already mentioned, namely, the Num
ber, Finiſhing and Collocation, were what
chiefly conduced to make the whole beautiful,
they found how they were to make uſe of this
from a thorough Examination of the Works of
Nature, and, as I imagine, upon the following
Principles. The firſt Thing they obſerved, as
to Number, was that is was of two Sorts, even
and uneven, and they made uſe of both, but
in different Occaſions: For, from the Imita
tion of Nature, they never made the Ribs of
their Structure, that is to ſay, the Columns,
Angles and the like, in uneven Numbers; as
you ſhall not find any Animal that ſtands or
Buildings, which immediately ſtrike the Mind
with Pleaſure and Admiration. It is my Opi
nion, that Beauty, Majeſty, Gracefulneſs, and
the like Charms, conſiſt in thoſe Particulars
which if you alter or take away, the Whole
would be made homely and diſagreeable. If
we are convinced of this, it can be no very te
dious Enquiry to conſider thoſe Things which
may be taken away, encreaſed or altered, eſpe
cially in Figures and Forms: For every Body
conſiſts of certain peculiar Parts, of which if
you take away any one, or leſſen, or enlarge it,
or remove it to an improper Place; that which
before gave the Beauty and Grace to this Body
will at once be lamed and ſpoild. From hence
we may conclude, to avoid Prolixity in this
Reſearch, that there are three Things princi
pally in which the Whole of what we are look
ing into conſiſts: The Number, and that which
I have called the Finiſhing, and the Collocati
on. But there is ſtill ſomething elſe beſides,
which ariſes from the Conjunction and Con
nection of theſe other Parts, and gives the
Beauty and Grace to the Whole: Which we
will call Congruity, which we may conſider as
the Original of all that is graceful and hand
ſome. The Buſineſs and Office of Congruity
is to put together Members differing from each
other in their Natures, in ſuch a Manner, that
they may conſpire to form a beautiful Whole:
So that whenever ſuch a Compoſition offers it
ſelf to the Mind, either by the Conveyance of
the Sight, Hearing, or any of the other Senſes,
we immediately perceive this Congruity: For
by Nature we deſire Things perfect, and ad
here to them with Pleaſure when they are of
fered to us; nor does this Congruity ariſe ſo
much from the Body in which it is found, or
any of its Members, as from itſelf, and from
Nature, ſo that its true Seat is in the Mind and
in Reaſon; and accordingly it has a very large
Field to exerciſe itſelf and flouriſh in, and runs
through every Part and Action of Man's Life,
and every Production of Nature herſelf, which
are all directed by the Law of Congruity, nor
does Nature ſtudy any Thing more than to
make all her Works abſolute and perfect, which
they could never be without this Congruity,
ſince they would want that Conſent of Parts
which is ſo neceſſary to Perfection. But we
need not ſay more upon this Point, and if what
we have here laid down appears to be true, we
may conclude Beauty to be ſuch a Conſent and
Agreement of the Parts of a Whole in which it
is found, as to Number, Finiſhing and Collo
cation, as Congruity, that is to ſay, the princi
pal Law of Nature requires. This is what Ar
chitecture chiefly aims at, and by this ſhe ob
tains her Beauty, Dignity and Value. The
Ancients knowing from the Nature of Things,
that the Matter was in Fact as I have here ſtat
ed it, and being convinced, that if they neglect
ed this main Point they ſhould never produce
any Thing great or commendable, did in their
Works propoſe to themſelves chiefly the Imi
tation of Nature, as the greateſt Artiſt at all
Manner of Compoſitions; and for this Purpoſe
they laboured, as far as the Induſtry of Man
could reach, to diſcover the Laws upon which
ſhe herſelf acted in the Production of her
Works, in order to transfer them to the Buſi
neſs of Architecture. Reflecting therefore up
on the Practice of Nature as well with Relati
on to an entire Body, as to its ſeveral Parts,
they found from the very firſt Principles of
Things, that Bodies were not always compoſed
of equal Parts or Members; whence it happens,
that of the Bodies produced by Nature, ſome
are ſmaller, ſome larger, and ſome middling:
And conſidering that one Building differed
from another, upon account of the End for
which it was raiſed, and the Purpoſe which it
was to ſerve, as we have ſhewn in the ſore
going Books, they found it neceſſary to make
them of various Kinds. Thus from an Imi
tation of Nature they invented three Manners
of adorning a Building, and gave them Names
drawn from their firſt Inventors. One was
better contrived for Strength and Duration:
This they called Doric; another was more ta
per and beautiful, this they named Corinthian;
another was a Kind of Medium compoſed from
the other two, and this they called Ionic. Thus
much related to the whole Body in general.
Then obſerving, that thoſe three Things which
we have already mentioned, namely, the Num
ber, Finiſhing and Collocation, were what
chiefly conduced to make the whole beautiful,
they found how they were to make uſe of this
from a thorough Examination of the Works of
Nature, and, as I imagine, upon the following
Principles. The firſt Thing they obſerved, as
to Number, was that is was of two Sorts, even
and uneven, and they made uſe of both, but
in different Occaſions: For, from the Imita
tion of Nature, they never made the Ribs of
their Structure, that is to ſay, the Columns,
Angles and the like, in uneven Numbers; as
you ſhall not find any Animal that ſtands or