Alberti, Leone Battista, Architecture, 1755

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            <pb xlink:href="003/01/051.jpg" pagenum="39"/>
            <p type="head">
              <s>CHAP. XIII.</s>
            </p>
            <p type="main">
              <s>
                <emph type="italics"/>
              Whether the Obſervation of Times and Seaſons is of any Uſe in beginning a
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              Building; what Seaſon is moſt convenient; as alſo, with what Auguries or
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              Prayers we ought to ſet out upon our Work.
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              </s>
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            <p type="main">
              <s>Having got ready the Materials before
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              ſpoken of, it remains now that we pro­
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              ceed to treat of the Work itſelf. </s>
              <s>For as to the
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              providing of Iron, Braſs, Lead, Glaſs, and the
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              like, it requires no Care, but merely the Buy­
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              ing, and having them in Readineſs, that your
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              Building may not ſtand ſtill for them; tho'
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              we ſhall in due Time lay down ſome Inſtruc­
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              tions about the Choice and Diſtribution of
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              them, which is of Conſequence to the com­
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              pleating and adorning the Work. </s>
              <s>And we
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              ſhall take and conſider the Structure from the
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              Foundation, in the ſame Manner as if we were
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              actually about doing the Work ourſelves. </s>
              <s>But
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              here I muſt again admoniſh you to conſider
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              the Times, both with Relation to the Publick,
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              and to yourſelf and Family, whether they are
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              troubleſome or peaceable, proſperous or cala­
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              mitous, leſt we expoſe ourſelve
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              s
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              to Envy, if we
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              go on with our Undertaking, or to Loſs if we
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              give it over. </s>
              <s>We ſhould alſo have a particu­
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              lar Regard to the Seaſon of the Year; for we
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              ſee that Buildings begun and proſecuted
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              in Winter, eſpecially in a cold Climate,
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              are taken with the Froſt, or in Summer,
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              in a hot Climate, dry'd up with the Heat before
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              ever they have faſten'd. </s>
              <s>For this Reaſon it
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              was that
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              Frontinus,
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              the Architect, advis'd us
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              never to undertake ſuch a Work but in a pro­
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              per Seaſon of the Year, which is from the Be­
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              ginning of
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              April
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              to the Beginning of
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              Novem­
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              ber,
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              reſting, however, in the greateſt Heat
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              of Summer. </s>
              <s>But I am for haſtening or delay­
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              ing the Work juſt according to the Difference
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              of the Climate and of the Weather; and there­
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              fore if you are prepar'd with all the Things before
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              recited, and your Convenience ſuits, you have
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              nothing to do but to mark out the Area of
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              your Structure in the Ground, with all its
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              Lines, Angles and Dimenſions. </s>
              <s>But there are
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              ſome who tell us that in Building we ſhould
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              obſerve and wait for happy Auſpices, and that
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              it is of the utmoſt Importance from what par­
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              ticular Point of Time the Structure is to date
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              its Being. </s>
              <s>They relate, that
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              Lucius Tarutius
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              found out the exact Nativity of
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              Rome,
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              only
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              by the Obſervation of the Turns in its For­
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              tune. </s>
              <s>The wiſeſt Men among the Ancients
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              had ſuch an Opinion of the Conſequence of
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              the Moment of the Beginning a Thing might
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              have as to its future Succeſs, that
                <emph type="italics"/>
              Julius Fer­
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              micus Maturnus
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              tells us of ſome Mathematici­
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              ans that pretended to have diſcover'd the very
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              inſtant when the World had its Beginning,
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              and that wrote very accurately about it: For
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                <emph type="italics"/>
              Æſculapius,
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              and
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              Anubius,
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              and
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              Petoſiris,
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              and
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                <emph type="italics"/>
              Necepſo,
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              who only wrote from them, ſay that
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              it begun juſt at the Riſing of the
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              Crab,
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              when
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              the Moon was fourteen Days old, the Sun
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              being in
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              Leo, Saturn
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              in
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              Capricorn, Jupiter
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              in
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                <emph type="italics"/>
              Sagittary, Mars
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              in
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              Scorpio, Venus
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              in
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              Libra,
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              and
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              Mercury
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              in
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              Virgo.
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              </s>
              <s> And indeed, if we
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              rightly conſider them, the Times may have a
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              great Influence in Things. </s>
              <s>For how is it elſe,
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              that in the ſhorteſt Day of the Year, the
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              Penny-royal, tho' quite dry, ſprouts and flou­
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              riſhes; Bladders that are blown up burſt; the
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              Leaves of Willows, and the Kernels of Apples
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              turn and change Sides; and that the ſmall
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              Fibres of a Shell-fiſh correſpond, increaſe and
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              decreaſe with the Increaſe and Decreaſe of
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              the Moon. </s>
              <s>I muſt confeſs, though I have
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              not ſo much Faith in the Profeſſors of this
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              Science, and the Obſervers of Times and Sea­
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              ſons, as to believe their Art can influence the
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              Fortune of any Thing, yet I think they are not
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              to be deſpiſed when they argue for the Happi­
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              neſs or Adverſity of ſuch ſtated Times as theſe
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              from the Diſpoſition of the Heavens. </s>
              <s>But let
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              this be as it will, the following their Inſtructi­
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              ons may be of great Service, if true; and can
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              do little harm, if falſe. </s>
              <s>I might here add ſome
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              ridiculous Circumſtances which the Ancients
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              obſerved in the Beginning of their Undertakings;
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              but I would not have them interpreted in a
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              wrong Senſe; and indeed they deſerve only to
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              be laughed at, who would perſwade us that
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              the very Marking out of the Platform ought
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              to be done under proper Auſpices. </s>
              <s>The An­
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              cients were ſo governed by theſe Superſtitions,
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              that in making out the Liſts of their Armies, </s>
            </p>
          </chap>
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    </archimedes>
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