Alberti, Leone Battista, Architecture, 1755

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              <s>
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              Altar ſix Foot high and twelve Broad; and on
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              it placed the Statue of their Deity. </s>
              <s>Whether
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              or no it be proper to have more Altars for Sa­
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              crifice in a Temple, than one, I ſhall leave to
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              the Judgment of others. </s>
              <s>Among our Fore­
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              fathers, in the primitive Times of our Religi­
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              on, the devout Chriſtians uſed to meet toge­
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              ther at the Holy Supper, not to fill their Bodies
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              with Food, but in order to ſoften and huma­
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              nize their Manners by frequent Converſation
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              and Communion with each other; and having
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              filled their Minds with good Inſtructions, they
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              returned every Man to his own Home, warm­
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              ed and inflamed with the Love of Virtue. </s>
              <s>For
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              having rather taſted than eat the moderate
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              Portion that was ſet before them, they read
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              and reaſoned upon all Sort of divine Subjects.
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              </s>
              <s>Every one burnt with Charity towards his
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              Neighbour, for their common Salvation, and
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              for the Divine Worſhip. </s>
              <s>Laſtly, every Man,
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              according to his Power, paid a Kind of Tax
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              due to Piety, for the Maintenance of ſuch as
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              truly deſerved it, and the Biſhop diſtributed
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              theſe Contributions among ſuch as wanted.
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              </s>
              <s>Thus all Things were common among them,
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              as among loving Brethren. </s>
              <s>Afterwards when
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              Princes conſented that theſe Duties ſhould be per­
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              formed publickly, they did not indeed deviate
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              much from the Inſtitution of their Forefathers;
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              but as greater Numbers came in than before,
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              the Supper was ſtill more moderate. </s>
              <s>The Ser­
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              mons preached in thoſe Times by the learned
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              Biſhops, are ſtill extant in the Writings of the
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              Fathers. </s>
              <s>Thus in thoſe Ages they had but
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              one Altar, where they uſed to meet to cele­
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              brate only one Sacrifice in a Day. </s>
              <s>Next ſuc­
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              ceeded theſe our Times, which I wiſh to God
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              ſome worthy Man might ariſe to reform, and
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              be this ſaid without Offence to our Popes, who,
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              though to keep up their own Dignity, they
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              hardly ſuffer themſelves to be ſeen by the
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              People once in a Year, yet have ſo crowded
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              every Place with Altars, and perhaps too with
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              -------But I ſhall venture to ſay no more.
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              </s>
              <s>This I may venture to affirm, that as there is
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              nothing in Nature can be imagined more Holy
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              or Noble than our Sacrifice, ſo I believe no
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              Man of Senſe can be for having it debaſed by
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              being made too common. </s>
              <s>There are other
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              Sorts of Ornaments alſo, not fixed, which
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              ſerve to adorn and grace the Sacrifice; and
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              others of the ſame Nature that embelliſh the
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              Temple itſelf, the Direction of which belongs
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              likewife to the Architect. </s>
              <s>It has been a Queſ­
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              tion which is the moſt beautiful Sight: A large
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              Square full of Youth employed about their ſe­
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              veral Sports; or a Sea full of Ships; or a Field
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              with a victorious Army drawn out in it; or a
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              Scnate-houſe full of venerable Magiſtrates; or
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              a Temple illuminated with a great Number of
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              chearful Lights? </s>
              <s>I would deſire that the Lights
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              in a Temple ſhould have ſomewhat of a Maje­
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              ſty in them which is not to be found in the
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              blinking Tapers that we uſe now-a-days. </s>
              <s>They
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              might, indeed, have a good Effect enough if
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              they were ſet in Rows with any thing of a
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              pretty Regularity, or ſtuck all along the Edge
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              of the Cornice. </s>
              <s>But I am much better pleaſed
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              with the Ancients, who on the Top of their
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              Candleſticks fixed large Shells in which they
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              lighted an odoriferous Flame. </s>
              <s>They divided
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              the whole Length of the Candleſticks into ſe­
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              ven Parts, two of which they gave to the Baſe,
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              which was triangular, and longer than it was
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              broad , and broader at Botton than
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              at Top . The Shaft of the Candle­
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              ſtick was divided by ſeveral little Pans placed
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              one above the other, to catch the Drops that
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              fell from the upper Shell; and at the Top of
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              all was that Shell, full of Gums and odoriferous
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              Woods. </s>
              <s>We have an Account how much
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              ſweet Balm uſed to be burnt on every Holy­
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              day in the principal Churches by the Emperor's
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              Order in
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              Rome,
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              at the publick Charge; and it
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              was no leſs than five hundred and four ſcore
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              Pounds Weight. </s>
              <s>And this may ſuffice as to
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              Lamps: Let us now juſt mention ſome other
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              Things, which are very noble Ornaments in
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              Temples. </s>
              <s>We read that
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              Gyges
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              gave to the
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              Temple of the
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              Pythian Apollo,
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              ſix great Cups
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              of maſſy Gold, which weighed thirty thouſand
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              Pound Weight; and that at
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              Delphos
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              there
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              were Veſſels of ſolid Gold and Silver, each of
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              which would contain ſix Amphoras, or about
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              four-and-fifty of our Gallons, among which
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              there were ſome that were more valued for the
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              Invention and Workmanſhip than for the Me­
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              tal. </s>
              <s>We are told that in the Temple of
                <emph type="italics"/>
              Juno
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              at
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              Samos,
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              there was a Veſſel, carved all about
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              with Figures in Steel, ſent by the
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              Spartans
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              as
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              a Preſent to
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              Crœſus,
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              ſo large, that it would
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              hold three hundred Amphoras, or two thou­
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              ſand ſeven hundred Gallons. </s>
              <s>We read too that
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              the
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              Samians
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              ſent as a Preſent to
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              Delphos
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              an
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              iron Cauldron with the Heads of ſeveral Ani­
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              mals finely wrought upon it, and ſupported ſe­
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              veral kneeling coloſſal Statues ten Foot and a
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              half high. </s>
              <s>It was a wonderful Contrivance of
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                <emph type="italics"/>
              Sanniticus
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              the
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              Ægyptian,
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              in the Temple of the
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              God
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              Apis,
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              which was extremely rich in diffe­</s>
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