frictice. 



CIVIL ARCHITECTURE. 661 



TABLE shewing the ratio of the walls, and points of support of several Edifices, to the total superficies 



which they cover. 



Practice. 



N. B. A Metre is equal to 39-371 English inches, and a Toise equal to 76.726 English inches. 



Conclusion. 



Conclusion. Having discussed the history and practice of the vari- 

 ous schouls of architecture, and also endeavoured to de- 

 velope the general principles on which the art is founded, 

 we shall conclude the subject with a few jreai-ral remarks. 

 The ancient Egyptian architecture, from the simpli- 

 city of its outlines, and the locality of the subject ot all 

 its sculptures, appears to have a strong claim to original- 

 ity. That the works, in which it was displayed, were 

 the offspring of superstition and despotism, is undeniable ; 

 that the surface of their edifices were the records of reli- 

 gious rites, astronomical knowledge, operations during 

 war and peace, is likewise most evident ; but their modes 

 of sculpture having been distinctly defined, and stamped 

 with a religious character, each effort became the act of 

 a monastic community, and proved an effectual bar to 

 any improvement arising from individual experience and 

 competition. Although the remains ot this school have, 

 as historical monumei ts, deservedly enjoyed the admira- 

 tion of mankind, yet being entirely local, and having been 

 formed under circumstances not likely again to occur, 

 few practical advantages can ever result from the study 

 of iti> principles or practice. The experiment lately 

 made in the front to the Museum in the street of Picca- 

 dily, in London, is a proof how unfit it is for private 

 dwellings, or indeed for any purpose in these times, ex- 

 cepting perhaps a mausoleum. 



The removing and arranging large blocks of stone, of 

 which many of the edilici > were composed, has been ad- 

 duced as an evidence- of the great progress mvJ'. by the 

 Egyptian, in practical mechanics; but as oil their ope- 

 rations bespeak rather the patieut application of labour 



Mode of 

 MOT iog 

 Urge 

 MCt, 



than the efforts of genius, it is reasonable to conclude 

 that the whole was accomplished by very simple means. 

 The quarries being situated on the banks of the river 

 Nile, enabled them, during its increase, to raise and re- 

 move, as far as its branches and canals extended, the 

 largi;t blocks of stone which were required. The edi- 

 fices being generally adjacent to the water, these blocks 

 could be moved from the shore by means of strong 

 frames, drawn as sledges, or upon rollers, and then rai- 

 sed into the situations fur which they were destined, 

 upon inclined planes of earth, which were afterwards re- 

 moved. 



The religious edifices of India seem to have been con- 

 e . . .... 



structed under circumstances somewhat similar to those 



in Upper Egypt, and, in respect to them, similar obser- 

 vations are applicable : They are, therefore, to the wes- 

 tern world, alao, more the subject of historical discus- 

 sion than practical imitation. The utmost splendour we 

 can trace in the descriptions of their ancient palaces, or 

 those of the most enlightened of their Mahometan inva- 

 ders, arose from the use of silks, feathers, and a profusion 

 of gold, silver, and precious stones. These latter remarks 

 are equally correct with regard to Persia, if we except p 

 Persepolis, and the works of the Greek and Roman in- 

 vaders. With regard to Persepolis, we havt- formerly ob- 

 served, ihat, from the slender proportions of the columns, 

 it is probable their covering was slight ; that the ele- 

 mentary parts of their capitals and bases, though partly 

 Egyptian, might have been suggested partly by the rich 

 silks, precious stones, and other decorations occasionally 

 attached to the tops and bottoms of slender posts. 

 Throughout Pt.-ri.ia, in latter times, the use of Gothic 

 arches, and Turkish domes, highly ornamented; have 



