ARCHITECTURE. 445 



ings ; forming the eaves. Mouldings, are continuous ornaments, 

 projecting or receding ; as the torus, or convex moulding, and the 

 scotia, or concave moulding around the base of columns ; the echi- 

 nus, or convex moulding of the capital ; and the cymatium, and 

 ogee, which are convex on the one side, and concave on the other. 

 The ovolo, cavetto, and talon, shown also in Plate X., are chiefly 

 confined to the Roman style of Architecture. 



2. Oriental Architecture, includes the Egyptian, Hindoo, Chi- 

 nese, and Moorish, or Arabian and Turkish. Egyptian architecture, 

 seems to have been modelled after the cavern or mound ; and it con- 

 sists of catacombs, temples, pyramids, pillars, and colossal statues. 

 It is characterized by sloping walls, with simple concave entabla- 

 tures ; flat roofs, and ceilings ; and short ornamented columns : the 

 capitals being sculptured with lotus leaves, human heads, or other 

 figures ; the entablature sculptured with a winged globe ; and the 

 walls, with a profusion of hieroglyphics. Of the pyramids, at 

 Gizeh, that of Cheops is the largest building in the world ; being 500 

 feet high, and 690 feet square at the base. The temples of ancient 

 Thebes, that is, at Karnac and Luxor, with their avenues of lions 

 and sphynxes, are among the most sublime monuments of human 

 labor; though consecrated to a debasing idolatry. Similar to these, in 

 its effect, is the ancient Hindoo Architecture ; as illustrated in the 

 caverns of Elephanta, Ellora, and Salsetta : but the modern buildings 

 of India, are of a lighter oriental style. The ancient Persian archi- 

 tecture, as shown by the ruins of Persepolis, closely resembled the 

 Egyptian. 



The Chinese style, modelled after the tents of the Tartar con- 

 querors, is characterized by its light and airy verandahs, or piazzas, 

 often enclosed by lattice work ; its slender columns, and widely 

 projecting concave roofs ; and its many storied pagodas, or idol 

 temples, often octagonal, and covered with porcelain, with little bells 

 hung at the angles; as in the porcelain tower at Nankin. The 

 Moorish architecture, of Arabian origin, is also, for the most part, 

 light and airy ; with numerous minarets, or small domes, projecting 

 above the roofs ; with internal courts, shade trees, and fountains ; 

 and with a profusion of ornamental tracery, or lattice work, resem- 

 bling birds and flowers, called from its origin arabesque, and bearing 

 some resemblance to the Chinese. 



3. Under the head of Classic Architecture, we comprehend the 

 Grecian and Roman styles, with their later modifications. The 

 Grecian style comprises three orders ; the Doric, Ionic, and Corin- 

 thian. The Doric Order, (Plate X.), is characterized by its strength 

 and simplicity : being the oldest order, and evidently modelled after 

 the primitive log cabin. Its columns, resting on a stylobate, are 

 usually 5 or 6 diameters high ; and are peculiar in having no base : 

 but are fluted, like those of the Grecian orders generally. The 

 capital comprises an echinus, surmounted by an abacus, or tablet. 

 The entablature is about one-third as high as the column : and the 

 architrave is plain : but the frieze is composed of alternate triglyphs, 

 or grooved projections, and metopes, or intermediate pannels, some- 

 times sculptured. The cornice comprises the mutules, or sloping 



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