338 



COLUMN. 



found in the works of Denon, and other travellers in 

 Egypt. It is of Thebaic granite, of the Corinthian 

 order, and according to the best authorities, measures 

 sixty-four feet in the shaft, about five feet in the base, 

 ten feet in the pedestal, and from ten to eleven in the 

 capital. A Greek inscription was discovered by the 

 British, who were there at the time of Sir Ralph Aber- 

 crombie's expedition, which dedicates it to the emperor 

 Diocletian, under the government of the prefect Por- 

 cius. The opinion sustained by its common name, that 

 it was erected by Caesar to commemorate his victory 

 over Pompey, has had respectable supporters. Denon 

 iiiul some other writers have supposed it part of an 

 immense building, of which they trace the ruins ad- 

 joining. It has been sometimes thought to comme- 

 morate the favours of Adrian to this city, and still 

 more frequently those of Severus ; while some writers 

 ascribe its erection to Ptolemy Philadelphus, in me- 

 mory of his queen Arsinoe ; and others to Ptolemy 

 Euergetes. 



The Trajan column is one of the most celebrated 

 monuments of antiquity. Its height, including the 

 pedestal and statue is 132 feet. This monumental 

 column was erected in the centre of the forum Tra- 

 jan i, and dedicated to the emperor Trajan for his de- 

 cisive victory over the Dacians, as is testified by the 

 inscription on the pedestal. It is of the Doric order, 

 and its shaft is constructed of thirty-four pieces of 

 Greek marble, joined with cramps of bronze. For 

 elegance of proportion, beauty of style, and for sim- 

 plicity and dexterity of sculpture, it is the finest in 

 the world. The figures on the pedestal are master- 

 pieces of Roman art. It was formerly surmounted 

 by a statue of Trajan, which has been succeeded by 

 a statue of St Peter. 



The column of the emperor Phocas is near the 

 temple of Concord. It is of Greek marble, fluted, 

 and of the Corinthian order, four feet diameter, and 

 fifty-four feet high, including the pedestal. The An- 

 tonine column was erected by the Roman senate to 

 the glory of Marcus Aurelius, for his victories over 

 the Marcomanni, in the reign of Commodus. Aure- 

 lius afterwards dedicated it to his father in-law, An- 

 toninus Pius. According to a rigid admeasurement, 

 made by M. de la Condamine, this column is 116 

 French feet in height, and eleven in diameter. It is 

 built entirely of marble, and encircled with lassi 

 rilievi, which form twenty spirals around its shaft. 

 It has been well illustrated by engravings and de- 

 scriptions by Pietro Santi Bartoli. It is in every re- 

 spect inferior to that of Trajan as a work of art, par- 

 ticularly in the style and execution of the sculptures. 

 It was repaired, in 1589, by Fontana, under the pon- 

 tificate of Sextus V. who placed a colossal statue of 

 St Paul upon its summit. There, is also in Rome 

 another column bearing the same name, situated on 

 the Monte Cittorio. Its sliaft is of a single piece of 

 Egyptian granite, forty-five feet in height, and five 

 feet eight inches in diameter. Its pedestal is orna- 

 mented with bassi rilievi, representing the apotheosis 

 of Antoninus and Faustina, and other events relating 

 to the history of Rome. It was repaired by Lam- 

 bertiril. Pius VI. removed the bassi rilievi to the Va- 

 tican. There is an engraving of it in the 5th volume 

 of the Museo Pio- Clementina. On one of its sides it 

 has the following inscription : " Divo ANTONINO 

 AVGVSTINO PIO ANTONINVS AVGVSTVS ET VERVS 

 AVGVSTVS FILII.*' 



Till the commencement of the 18th century, there 

 were to be seen at Constantinople two insulated 

 columns, ornamented with bassi rilievi, in the style 

 of the Trajan column at Rome. One was erected in 

 honour of Constantine, and the other of Arcadius or 

 Theodosius. Of the latter there is nothing left but 

 its granite base, the column having been destroyed 



by the Turks. It had been several times damaged 

 by earthquakes, and they were fearful of its falling. 

 The Constantine column was composed of seven largt 

 cylindrical blocks of porphyry, and was originally 

 surmounted by a statue of Constantine. After hav. 

 ing been several times damaged by fire, it was re- 

 paired by the emperor Alexis Comnenus, as is in- 

 dicated by an inscription in Greek. 



Of modern columns, tliat called the Monument, at 

 London, which was erected in commemoration of the 

 great conflagration of 1666, is at once the loftiest, 

 the best constructed, and the most beautiful. It is 

 a Doric fluted column, 202 feet high from the bottom 

 of the pedestal, which is ornamented with bassi rilievi 

 of Charles II. and his court giving protection to the 

 fallen city, and various inscriptions, to the top of 

 the vase of flames, by which it is surmounted. There 

 are, also, several smaller columns, but of beautiful 

 proportions, in various parts of England, in imitation 

 of the above, but mostly of the Grecian or pure 

 Doric order, as the Anglesea column, erected in 

 commemoration of the battle of Waterloo and the 

 noble earl of that name, in the island of Anglesea ; 

 the column at Shrewsbury, erected in commemora- 

 tion of the same event and of another noble general, 

 lord Hill ; the Nelson columns, at Yarmouth, and in 

 Dublin ; the Wellington column, at Trim, in the 

 county of Meath, Ireland, &c. To the above list 

 we may add the fVashington monument, at Balti- 

 more, on which a colossal statue of Washington is 

 placed. The pillar is of the Grecian Doric order, 

 and of very massive proportions. It stands on a 

 grand base or zocle, and is surmounted by a circular 

 pedestal, on which the statue rests. This base or 

 zocle of the monument is fifty feet square, and 

 twenty-five feet high; the column twenty feet in 

 diameter, and, with its sub-base, 130 feet high ; the 

 capital is twenty feet square. The statue is fifteen 

 feet high, and the whole height of the monument, from 

 the pavement, including the statue, will be 176 feet. 

 As it stands on a hill 100 feet high, this structure 

 rises 276 feet above tide. It is constructed of white 

 marble, which is slightly variegated, and is a very 

 conspicuous object to every one approaching the 

 city, whether by land or water. 



COLUMN, IN MILITARY TACTICS; a deep, solid 

 mass of troops, formed by placing several bodies 

 of men behind each other (sections, platoons, com- 

 panies, squadrons, and even several battalions). 

 The column is either an open or a close one (with 

 intervals, or having the sections close behind each 

 other :) it may be formed either for marching or for 

 attack. By means of columns, it is possible to 

 march in places where it would be impracticable to 

 move with unbroken lines. They also increase the 

 force and steadiness of troops, both in attack and 

 defence. The drawing up of the infantry in line is 

 advisable, where there is no obstacle in the ground 

 to prevent advancing in this order, or when the 

 enemy is to be received with the fire of musketry, 

 and where cannon-balls and grenades are more to be 

 feared than case-shot and musketry. The order in 

 mass is to be preferred when you have to move 

 in a broken or hilly country, where a charge is in. 

 tended, in which physical force, given by the depth 

 of the column, is necessary, and the fire of the enemy 

 is to be avoided as much as possible (which, on ac- 

 count of the small breadth of the column, is com. 

 paratively inefiectual), and also where a charge, 

 particularly of cavalry, is apprehended. Though a 

 cannon-ball, and still more a grenade, in the midst 

 of the mass, causes a greater havoc, the probability 

 of being hit is diminished, on account of the small 

 front exposed. An objection to columns, founded 

 on the difficulty of moving so dense a mass, and of 





