Alberti, Leone Battista, Architecture, 1755
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              <s>
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              the Pleaſure of having the Approbation of all
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              that underſtand theſe Matters. </s>
              <s>And you may
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              find your Advantage in hearkning to every
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              Body; for ſometimes it happens, that Perſons
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              of no Skill make Obſervations by no Means to
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              be deſpiſed. </s>
              <s>When therefore you have well
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              weigh'd, review'd, and examin'd all the Parts
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              of your Model, and all the Proportions of the
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              whole Building, ſo that there is not the leaſt
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              Particular any where about it, which you have
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              not conſider'd and reflected upon, and that
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              you are fully reſolved to build in that Man­
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              ner in every Reſpect, and can raiſe the Money
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              conveniently for bearing the Expence; then
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              prepare the other Things neceſſary for the Ex­
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              ecution of your Work, that when you have
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              begun, nothing may be wanting ſo as to pre­
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              vent your finiſhing your Structure expeditiouſly.
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              <s>For as you will have Occaſion for a great Num­
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              ber of Things for carrying on the Buſineſs, and
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              as if but one is unprovided, it may ſtop or ſpoil
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              the whole Work, it is your Care to have every
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              Thing at Hand that may be of Uſe to you, if
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              provided, or a Detriment, if wanting. </s>
              <s>The
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              Kings of
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              Judea, David
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              and
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              Solomon,
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              when
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              they had undertaken to build the Temple of
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              Jeruſalem,
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              having amaſs'd great Quantities of
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              Gold, Silver, Braſs, Timber, Stone and the
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              like Materials, that they might want Nothing
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              that could be ſerviceable in the eaſy and ſpeedy
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              Execution of the Work (as
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              Euſebius Pamphilus
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              tells us) ſent to the neighbouring Kings for
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              ſeveral Thouſands of Workmen and Architects.
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              <s>Which I highly commend: Becauſe it cer­
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              tainly adds Dignity to the Work, and encreaſes
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              the Glory of the Author; and Structures that
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              have been handſomely contrived and ſpeedily
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              finiſh'd beſides, have been very much celebra­
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              ted by ancient Writers.
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              Quintus Curtius
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              re­
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              lates that
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              Alexander
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              the Great, in Building a
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              City, and that no very ſmall one, near the
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              Tanais,
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              ſpent but ſeven Days; and
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              Joſephus
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              the Hiſtorian tells us, that
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              Nebuchadnezzer
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              built the Temple of
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              Belus
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              in fifteen, and in the
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              ſame Space of Time girt the City of
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              Babylon
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              with three Circuits of Walls. </s>
              <s>That
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              Titus
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              made a Wall little leſs than five Miles long,
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              and
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              Semiramis
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              near
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              Babylon
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              built the eighth
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              Part of a Mile of a prodigious Wall every
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              Day; and that ſhe erected another of above
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              five and twenty Miles in Length, very High
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              and Thick, to confine the Lake, and in no
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              more than ſeven Days. </s>
              <s>But of theſe in
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              another Place.</s>
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            <p type="head">
              <s>CHAP. VI.</s>
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              <s>
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              What Materials are to be provided for the Building, what Workmen to be
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              choſe, and in what Seaſons, according to the Opinions of the Ancients, to cut
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              Timber.
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              <s>The Things to be prepared are theſe,
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              Lime, Timber, Sand, Stone, as alſo
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              Iron, Braſs, Lead, Glaſs and the like. </s>
              <s>But
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              the Thing of greateſt Conſequence is to
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              chuſe skilful Workmen, not light or incon­
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              ſtant, whom you may truſt with the Care
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              and Management of an Edifice well deſign'd,
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              and who will compleat it with all Expedition.
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              </s>
              <s>And in fixing upon all theſe, it will be of Uſe
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              to you to be ſomewhat guided by the Conſidera­
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              tion of other Works already finiſh'd in your
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              Neighbourhood, and by the Information you
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              receive from them to determine what to do in
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              your own Caſe. </s>
              <s>For by obſerving the Faults
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              and Beauties in them, you will conſider that
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              the ſame may happen in yours.
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              Nero
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              the
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              Emperor having form'd a Deſign of dedica­
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              cating a huge Statue of an hundred and twenty
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              Foot high in Honour of the Sun at
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              Rome,
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              ex­
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              ceeding any Thing that had been done before
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              in Greatneſs and Magnificence, as
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              Pliny
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              re­
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              lates, before he gave final Orders for the
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              Work to
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              Zenodarus,
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              a famous and excellent
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              Sculptor in thoſe Days, would firſt ſee his Ca­
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              pacity for ſuch a Work by a
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              Coloſſus
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              of ex­
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              traordinary Weight, which he had made in
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              the Country of
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              Auvergne
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              in
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              France.
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              <s> Theſe
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              Things duly conſider'd, we proceed to the
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              others. </s>
              <s>We intend, then, in treating of the
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              Materials neceſſary for Building, to repeat
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              thoſe Things which have been taught us by the
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              moſt learned among the Ancients, and particu­
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              larly
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              Theophraſtus, Ariſotle, Cato, Varro,
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              Pliny
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              and
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              Virgil,
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              becauſe they have learned
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              more from long Obſervation than from any
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              Quickneſs of Genius; ſo that they are beſt
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              gathered from thoſe who have obſerved them
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              with the greateſt Diligence. </s>
              <s>We ſhall there­</s>
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