Alberti, Leone Battista, Architecture, 1755
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              <s>CHAP. VIII.</s>
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              Some ſhort, but general Obſervations which may be looked upon as Laws in the
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              Buſineſs of Building and Ornament.
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              <s>I shall here put together ſome ſhort and ge­
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              neral Admonitions, which are abſolutely
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              neceſſary to be obſerved as ſo many Laws, as
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              well in Point of Ornament or Embelliſhment,
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              as in all the other Parts of Architecture. </s>
              <s>And
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              this may ſerve to acquit us of the Promiſe
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              which we made of taking a ſhort Review of
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              the whole Work by Way of Epilogue. </s>
              <s>Firſt
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              therefore, as we laid it down for a Rule at the
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              Beginning, that all Errors which any Ways de­
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              form the Structure were to be avoided princi­
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              pally: We will now ſpeak in the firſt Place of
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              ſuch Errors, and eſpecially of the greateſt. </s>
              <s>Er­
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              rors ariſe either from the Judgement, and lie
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              either in the Deſign or Election; or from the
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              Hand, and lie in the Workmen's Execution.
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              <s>The Errors of the Judgment are both in Time
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              and in their Nature of much the greateſt Im­
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              portance, and when committed, leſs capable of
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              being remedied. </s>
              <s>With theſe therefore we ſhall
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              begin. </s>
              <s>The firſt Error is to chuſe for your
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              Structure a Region which is unhealthy, not
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              peaceable, barren, unfortunate, melancholy, or
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              afflicted with Calamities, either apparent or
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              concealed. </s>
              <s>The next Errors to this are chuſ­
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              ing a Platform not proper or convenient; add­
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              ing one Member to another, without conſtant
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              Regard to the Accommodation of the Inhabi­
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              tants, and not providing fit and ſuitable Con­
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              veniencies for every Rank and Degree of them,
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              as well Maſters as Servants, Citizens as Ruſ­
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              ticks, Inmates as Viſitants: Making your Build­
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              ing either too large and ſpacious, or too ſmall
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              and narrow; too open and naked, or too much
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              ſhut in and confined; too much crowded, or
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              too rambling with too many Apartments, or
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              too few: If there be a Want of Rooms where
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              you may ſecure yourſelf againſt exceſſive Heats,
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              or exceſſive Colds, of Places where you may
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              exerciſe and divert yourſelf when you are in
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              Health, and of others where you may be ſuf­
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              ficiently ſheltered againſt any Inclemency of
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              Air when you are ſick: To which add the
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              Structures not being ſufficiently ſtrong, and as
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              we may ſay, fortified to be ſafe againſt any ſud­
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              den Attack: If the Wall be either ſo ſlight as
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              not to be ſufficiently ſtrong to ſupport itſelf
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              and the Roof, or much thicker than Neceſſity
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              requires, if the different Roofs beſpatter each
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              other with their Waters, or throw them againſt
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              any Part of the Wall, or near the Entrances:
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              If they be either too low, or too high: If your
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              Windows be too wide, and admit unwhole­
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              ſome Winds, noxious Dews, or too much burn­
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              ing Sun; or, on the other Hand, if they be ſo
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              narrow as to occaſion a melancholy Gloom:
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              If they break into any of the Ribs of the Build­
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              ing: If the Paſſages are any Ways obſtructed,
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              or lead us to any Object that is offenſive: Or,
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              in ſhort, if any of thoſe other Inſtructions are
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              neglected, which we have given in the preced­
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              ing Books. </s>
              <s>Among the Errors in Ornament,
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              the Principal, in Architecture as in Nature, is
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              making any Thing prepoſterous, maimed, ex­
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              ceſſive, or any other Ways unſightly: For if
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              theſe Things are reckoned defective and mon­
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              ſtrous in Nature herſelf, what muſt we ſay of
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              an Architect that throws the Parts of his Struc­
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              tures into ſuch improper Forms? </s>
              <s>And as the
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              Parts whereof thoſe Forms conſiſt, are Lines,
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              Angles, Extenſion, and the like, it is certainly
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              true, that there can be no Error or Deformity
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              more abſurd and ſhocking, than the mixing
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              together either Angles or Lines, or Superficies
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              which are not in Number, Size and Situation
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              equal to each other, and which are not blended
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              together with the greateſt Care and Accuracy.
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              <s>And indeed who can avoid blaming a Man ex­
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              tremely, that without being forced to it by any
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              Manner of Neceſſity, draws his Wall crooked
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              and askew, winding this way and that like a
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              Worm crawling upon the Ground, without
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              any Rule or Method, with one Side long, and
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              another ſhort, without any Equality of Angles,
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              or the leaſt Connection with Regard to each
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              other; making his Platform with an obtuſe
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              Angle on one Side, and an acute one on the
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              other, and doing every Thing with Confuſion,
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              Abſurdity and at a Venture: It is another
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              great Error to have raiſed your Structure in
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              ſuch a Manner, that, though indeed with Re­
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              lation to its Platform, it is not amiſs, yet, not­
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              withſtanding it may be in very great Want of
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              Ornament, it may be utterly incapable of any </s>
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