DOMAIN XI. DECOMPOSED. 



be laid in its original position in the quarry, 

 that the first compression may still exist, 

 as otherwise it will imbibe the moisture, 

 and thus split or crumble in frosty weather. 

 Sculptors are singularly anxious that the 

 stone which they use should not be subject 

 to this defect; and their example should 

 be followed by architects, as the duration 

 of their works and reputation depends en- 

 tirely on this branch of knowledge. It 

 would appear that the ancients, who always 

 mingled the useful with the ornamental, 

 had particularly investigated this subject, 

 even in very early times ; for the Egyptians, 

 in their eternal monuments, had already 

 learned to prefer granite and porphyry, the 

 two most durable substances in nature; 

 and which have the additional advantage 

 that they afford no temptation for destruc- 

 tion, because they cannot, like marble, 

 be converted into lime : for some of the 

 noblest monuments of Greece have been 

 used for this purpose by the barbarous. 

 Turks ; and a temple or statue of Diana 

 has been turned into cement, for the volup- 



