CHAP. IX.
A Prudent Architect will proceed in the
Method which we have been juſt laying
down. He will never ſet about his Work without
proper Caution and Advice. He will ſtudy the
Nature and Strength of the Soil where he is to
build, and obſerve, as well from a Survey of
Structures in the Neighbourhood, as from the
Practice and Uſe of the Inhabitants, what Ma
terials, what Sort of Stone, Sand, Lime or
Timber, whether found on the Place, or
brought from other Parts, will beſt ſtand againſt
the Injuries of the Weather. He will ſet
out the exact Breadth and Depth of the Foun
dations, and of the Baſement of the whole
Wall, and take an Account of every Thing
that is neceſſary for the Building, whether for
the outward Coat or the filling up, for the Li
gatures, the Ribs, or the Apertures, the Roof,
the Incruſtation, for Pavements abroad, or
Floors within; he will direct which Way,
and by what Method every thing ſuperfluous,
noxious or offenſive ſhall be carried off by
Drains for conveying away the rain Water,
and keeping the Foundations dry, and by pro
per Defences againſt any moiſt Vapours, or
even againſt any unexpected Floods or Vio
lence from Winds or Storms. In a Word,
he will give Directions for every ſingle Part,
and not ſuffer any thing to eſcape his Notice
and Decree. And tho' all theſe Particulars ſeem
chiefly to relate to Convenience and Stability,
yet they carry this along with them, that if
neglected they deſtroy all the Beauty and Or
nament of the Edifice. Now the Rules which
give the Ornaments themſelves their main Ex
cellence, are as follows. Firſt all your Orna
ments muſt be exactly regular, and perfectly
diſtinct, and without Confuſion: Your Em
belliſhments muſt not be too much crowded
together or ſcattered as it were under Foot, or
thrown on in Heaps, but ſo aptly and neatly
diſtributed, that whoever ſhould go about to
alter their Situation, ſhould be ſenſible that
he deſtroyed the whole Beauty and Delicacy
of the Work. There is no Part whatſoever
but what the Artiſt ought to adorn; but there
is no Occaſion that all ſhould be adorned
equally, or that every thing ſhould be enriched
with equal Expence; for indeed I would not
have the Merit of the Work conſiſt ſo much
in Plenty as in Variety. Let the Builder fix
his richeſt Ornaments in the principal Places;
thoſe of a middling Sort, in Places of leſs Note,
and the meaneſt in the meaneſt. And here
he ſhould be particularly careful, not to mix
what is rich with any thing trifling, nothing
little with what is great, nor to ſet any thing
too large or high in narrow or cloſe Places;
tho' things which are not equal to each other
in Dignity, nor alike even in Species, may very
well be placed together, ſo it be done artfully
and ingeniouſly, and in ſuch a Manner, that
as the one appears ſolemn and majeſtick, the
other may ſhew chearful and pleaſant, and that
they may not only unite their different Beau
ties for the Embelliſhment of the Structure,
but alſo ſeem as if the one without the other
had been imperfect; nor may it be amiſs in
ſome certain Places to intermix ſomewhat even
of a coarſe Sort, that what is noble may re
ceive a yet further Addition from the Com
pariſon: Always be ſure never to make a Con
fuſion of the Orders, which will happen if you
mix the Doric Members with the Corinthian,
as I obſerved before, or the Corinthian with
the Ionic, or the like. Let every Order have
its own regular Members, and thoſe all in their
proper Places, that nothing may appear per
plexed or broken. Let ſuch Ornaments as are
proper to the Middle be placed in the Middle,
and let thoſe which are at equal Diſtances on
each Side, be proportioned exactly alike. In
ſhort, let every thing be meaſured, and put to
gether with the greateſt Exactneſs of Lines and
Angles, that the Beholder's Eye may have a
clear and diſtinct View along the Cornices, be
tween the Columns on the Inſide and without,
receiving every Moment freſh Delight from the
Variety he meets with, inſomuch, that after the
moſt careful and even repeated Views, he ſhall
not be able to depart without once more turn
ing back to take another Look, nor, upon the
moſt critical Examination, be able in any Part
of the whole Structure to find one Thing un
Method which we have been juſt laying
down. He will never ſet about his Work without
proper Caution and Advice. He will ſtudy the
Nature and Strength of the Soil where he is to
build, and obſerve, as well from a Survey of
Structures in the Neighbourhood, as from the
Practice and Uſe of the Inhabitants, what Ma
terials, what Sort of Stone, Sand, Lime or
Timber, whether found on the Place, or
brought from other Parts, will beſt ſtand againſt
the Injuries of the Weather. He will ſet
out the exact Breadth and Depth of the Foun
dations, and of the Baſement of the whole
Wall, and take an Account of every Thing
that is neceſſary for the Building, whether for
the outward Coat or the filling up, for the Li
gatures, the Ribs, or the Apertures, the Roof,
the Incruſtation, for Pavements abroad, or
Floors within; he will direct which Way,
and by what Method every thing ſuperfluous,
noxious or offenſive ſhall be carried off by
Drains for conveying away the rain Water,
and keeping the Foundations dry, and by pro
per Defences againſt any moiſt Vapours, or
even againſt any unexpected Floods or Vio
lence from Winds or Storms. In a Word,
he will give Directions for every ſingle Part,
and not ſuffer any thing to eſcape his Notice
and Decree. And tho' all theſe Particulars ſeem
chiefly to relate to Convenience and Stability,
yet they carry this along with them, that if
neglected they deſtroy all the Beauty and Or
nament of the Edifice. Now the Rules which
give the Ornaments themſelves their main Ex
cellence, are as follows. Firſt all your Orna
ments muſt be exactly regular, and perfectly
diſtinct, and without Confuſion: Your Em
belliſhments muſt not be too much crowded
together or ſcattered as it were under Foot, or
thrown on in Heaps, but ſo aptly and neatly
diſtributed, that whoever ſhould go about to
alter their Situation, ſhould be ſenſible that
he deſtroyed the whole Beauty and Delicacy
of the Work. There is no Part whatſoever
but what the Artiſt ought to adorn; but there
is no Occaſion that all ſhould be adorned
equally, or that every thing ſhould be enriched
with equal Expence; for indeed I would not
have the Merit of the Work conſiſt ſo much
in Plenty as in Variety. Let the Builder fix
his richeſt Ornaments in the principal Places;
thoſe of a middling Sort, in Places of leſs Note,
and the meaneſt in the meaneſt. And here
he ſhould be particularly careful, not to mix
what is rich with any thing trifling, nothing
little with what is great, nor to ſet any thing
too large or high in narrow or cloſe Places;
tho' things which are not equal to each other
in Dignity, nor alike even in Species, may very
well be placed together, ſo it be done artfully
and ingeniouſly, and in ſuch a Manner, that
as the one appears ſolemn and majeſtick, the
other may ſhew chearful and pleaſant, and that
they may not only unite their different Beau
ties for the Embelliſhment of the Structure,
but alſo ſeem as if the one without the other
had been imperfect; nor may it be amiſs in
ſome certain Places to intermix ſomewhat even
of a coarſe Sort, that what is noble may re
ceive a yet further Addition from the Com
pariſon: Always be ſure never to make a Con
fuſion of the Orders, which will happen if you
mix the Doric Members with the Corinthian,
as I obſerved before, or the Corinthian with
the Ionic, or the like. Let every Order have
its own regular Members, and thoſe all in their
proper Places, that nothing may appear per
plexed or broken. Let ſuch Ornaments as are
proper to the Middle be placed in the Middle,
and let thoſe which are at equal Diſtances on
each Side, be proportioned exactly alike. In
ſhort, let every thing be meaſured, and put to
gether with the greateſt Exactneſs of Lines and
Angles, that the Beholder's Eye may have a
clear and diſtinct View along the Cornices, be
tween the Columns on the Inſide and without,
receiving every Moment freſh Delight from the
Variety he meets with, inſomuch, that after the
moſt careful and even repeated Views, he ſhall
not be able to depart without once more turn
ing back to take another Look, nor, upon the
moſt critical Examination, be able in any Part
of the whole Structure to find one Thing un