The Developing of Art 



that he had been using, and finally the idea came to him that 

 by placing flat stones upon each other he could construct a 

 wall that was more durable than any shelter he had yet 

 made. As yet he had no idea of beauty or design. His only 

 thought was that of a shelter, but by slow degrees he began 

 to conceive the idea of beauty and form in erecting struc- 

 tures. It was in this manner of evolutionary development 

 that the Art of Architecture had its beginning. 



As man progressed in the art of building the environ- 

 ment under which he had been living began to express itself 

 in the buildings he constructed. They became more than 

 mere shelters and the racial characteristics of the builders 

 were woven into forms of beauty and design that were 

 pleasing. 



In no other art is this environmental expression more 

 pronounced. In Chaldea, Babylon, Assyria and Egypt and 

 in fact in all the ancient kingdoms and empires the soul of 

 the people is expressed in its architecture. In Egypt we 

 find expression for man's dream for immortality in the Pyra- 

 mids, the Obelisks and the Sphinx. They reveal to us the 

 Egyptian's belief in the immortality of the soul and that of 

 his physical body as well. The ancient Egyptian rulers were 

 looking after the welfare of their own souls and bodies with 

 little or no thought of the welfare of the souls of the mil- 

 lions who slaved in the hot sun for unknown generations to 

 prepare a place for the repose of the soul of their ruler. 

 The wealthy people had their bodies embalmed and 

 wrapped in costly linens while the bodies of the poorer 

 classes were pickled in brine. Herodotus tells us that it 



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