1879.] on the Logic of Architectural Design, 91 



primary elements of the Doric temple, and consider what arc the 

 motives for the architectural treatment given to the various features, 

 we can without much difliculty trace in imagination the stages of trans- 

 formation througli which the square column might have gone in attain- 

 ing its complete form as a Doric column. It would soon appear, for 

 example, that the square column had a heavy and ponderous effect, 

 and that it would fnlhl its pi-actical ends just as well if the angles 

 were cut off, so as to lighten it in appearance and render it more elegant 

 in effect, and from this it would be an obvious step to remove the 

 angles again, and reduce it to a figure of sixteen sides (A, B, C, Fig. 1). 

 But it would be found that on doing this the planes of the contiguous 

 faces of the shaft lay at too small an angle to one another for effect, 

 that in certain lights the angle of incidence of the two planes would 

 be nearly lost to the eye, and hence the practice of slightly hollowing 

 each face so as to emphasize the meeting angle by a line of light and 

 shadow. The reducing of the area of the column by thus cutting 

 away the angles would, however, leave a less satisfactory bearing on 

 the top of the column for the ends of the cross lintels ; the column 

 would carry their weight just as well, but it would not appear to do it 

 so well — the lintel, for the appearance of security (which in architec- 

 ture is only second in importance to actual security), would require a 

 broader seat of a square form, and this would be supplied by the 

 interposition of a broad stone or tile (abacus) between the lintel and 

 the top of the column. This is the actual form which is found in 

 what have been called the " Proto-Doric" columns at Beni-Hassan, 

 many centuries before the Greek Doric took its complete form. The 

 intermediate steps between the two, which doubtless once existed, are 

 lost ; we have indeed forms of early Doric at Psestum and elsewhere 

 in Sicily, as well as at Corinth, but these, though ruder than the 

 Athenian Doric, have already gone through many stages of advance 

 since the first Egyptian type. Passing over these (for we are not now 

 dealing with architecture historically) and turning to the complete 

 Doric, it is very significant to observe what were the additions and 

 refinements which were arrived at in this completed form of the style. 

 One of these is the more full and marked hollowing of the faces of the 

 column, so as to give more decided shadow and strengthen the vertical 

 lines. These channels or " flutes" are increased to twenty-four, and 

 the logical suitability of this division is seen on considering the 

 plan of the column in connection with that of the abacus (Fig. 5), 

 where it will be observed that with twenty-four flutes the sinking of a 

 channel is brought under the centre of the flat of the abacus (D), and 

 the edge of a channel is brought under the angle of the abacus (E), so 

 that a more complete relation between these two parts of the design 

 is established. The diminution of the column upward is a very im- 

 portant change, and one the necessity of which, 80sthetically speaking, 

 appeals perhaps more to our instinct than our reasoning faculty. It 

 may be reasoned, however, that greater stability, both in reality and 

 appearance, is imparted to the column by slightly widening it at 



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