Alberti, Leone Battista, Architecture, 1755

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              <s>
                <pb xlink:href="003/01/278.jpg" pagenum="201"/>
              Shaſt. </s>
              <s>But from that natural Inſtinct or Senſe
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              in the Mind by which, as we have already ob­
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              ſerved, we judge of Beauty and Gracefulneſs,
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              they found, that one of theſe was too thick and
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              the other too ſlight; for which Reaſon they
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              altered them both, rightly ſuppoſing that the
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              Truth muſt lie in ſome Medium between theſe
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              two vitious Extremes. </s>
              <s>Accordingly, with the
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              Help of the Rules of the Arithmeticians, they
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              joined their two Numbers together, and divid­
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              ed the Total in half, and then they found that
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              the mean Number between ſix and ten was
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              eight: Whereupon they made the Height of
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              their Column eight Times the Diameter of the
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              Bottom of the Shaft; and this they called the
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                <emph type="italics"/>
              Ionic.
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              </s>
              <s> They alſo formed their
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              Doric
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              Column,
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              which is proper for Buildings of greater Solidi­
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              ty, by the ſame Rules. </s>
              <s>For Example, they
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              joined the ſmaller Number before-mentioned,
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              which was ſix, with the
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              Ionic
                <emph.end type="italics"/>
              mean, which was
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              eight, whereof the Total was fourteen; this
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              Total they divided into two equal Parts, and
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              this gave them the Number ſeven, which they
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              took for their
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              Doric
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              Column, making its Length
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              ſeven Times the Diameter of the Bottom of the
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              Shaft. </s>
              <s>Laſtly, they made their thinneſt Order,
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              which they called the
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              Corinthian,
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              from the
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              Ionic
                <emph.end type="italics"/>
                <lb/>
              mean Number joined to the greateſt of the for­
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              mer Numbers, and ſo taking the Half as
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              before; for the
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              Ionic
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              mean Number was eight,
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              and the greateſt Number was ten, which add­
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              ed together made eighteen, the Half whereof
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              was nine, whence they made the Height of
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              their
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              Corinthian
                <emph.end type="italics"/>
              Column nine Times the Dia­
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              meter of the Bottom of its Shaft, as they did
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              the
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              Ionic
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              eight, and the
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              Doric
                <emph.end type="italics"/>
              ſeven: Of which
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              we need ſay no more in this Place. </s>
              <s>We are
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              now to ſay ſomething of the Collocation, which
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              relates to the Situation of the ſeveral Parts;
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              and this is much eaſier to conceive where it is
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              ill done, than it is to lay down exact Rules for
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              the doing it: Becauſe indeed it is chiefly to be
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              referred to the natural Judgment which we
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              have formerly obſerved to be innate in the
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              Mind of Man, though it may in ſome Mea­
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              ſure be derived from the foregoing Rules for
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              the Finiſhing. </s>
              <s>However, we ſhall juſt men­
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              tion a few general Remarks upon this Head.
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              </s>
              <s>The very ſmalleſt Parts or Members of the
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              Work, if they are ſet in their right Places, add
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              to the Beauty of the whole; if they are placed
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              in mean or improper Situations, though excel­
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              lent in themſelves, they become mean. </s>
              <s>We
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              ſee the very ſame Thing in the Works of Na­
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              ture: As for Inſtance, if a Dog had one Ear
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              like that of an Aſs, or if a Man had one Foot
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              bigger than the other, or one Hand very large,
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              and the other very ſmall, we ſhould immedi­
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              ately pronounce ſuch a one deformed; or to
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              ſee even an Horſe with one Eye grey, and the
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              other black, is very offenſive: So agreeable it
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              is to Nature, that the Members on the right
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              Side ſhould exactly anſwer the left: Wherefore
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              the very firſt Thing we are to take Care of
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              muſt be, that every Part, even the moſt Incon­
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              ſiderable, lie duly to the Level and Plum-line,
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              and be diſpoſed with an exact Correſpondence
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              as to the Number, Form and Appearance; ſo
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              that the Right may anſwer to the Left, the
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              High to the Low, the Similar to the Similar, ſo
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              as to form a correſpondent Ornament in that
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              Body whereof they are Parts. </s>
              <s>Even Statues,
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              Pictures, or any other Ornaments of that Sort
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              with which we embelliſh our Work, muſt be ſo
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              diſpoſed as to ſeem to have ſprung up naturally
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              in their propereſt Places, and to be Twins. </s>
              <s>The
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              Ancients were ſo punctual in this mutual Cor­
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              reſpondence of the Parts, that even in fixing
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              up their Scantlings of Marble, they uſed to
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              make them anſwer each other exactly to a
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              Size, Quality, Angles, Situation and Colour:
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              And eſpecially in thoſe moſt beautiful Orna­
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              ments, Statues, wherein the Ancients were ſuch
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              great Maſters, and in which I ſo much admire
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              the Excellence of Art, they were careful in fix­
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              ing them up, as well on Pediments of their
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              Temples, as elſewhere, that thoſe on one Side
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              ſhould not differ from thoſe on the other, in
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              the ſmalleſt Particular either of Deſign or Ma­
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              terial. </s>
              <s>We ſee Statues of two or four Horſes,
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              and of their Drivers and Lookers on ſo exact­
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              ly like to each other, that Art in them may be
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              ſaid to have exceeded Nature, in whoſe Works
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              we hardly ever ſee one Feature ſo exactly like
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              the other. </s>
              <s>Thus we have ſhewn what is Beauty,
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              and wherein it conſiſts, and with what Num­
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              bers and Finiſhing the Ancients uſed to erect
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              their Structures.</s>
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