THE CIVIL ENT.IXEER AND ARCIIITECrs JOURNAL. 



[Jancaby, 



the aeo — whorever it constitutes in its jirincipal forms and in its 

 •letails anil iirniments nn Iiarmonious «li(ile, rejectinj; everytliiiif^ 

 inconsistent witli and foioifrn ti) itself, there we may find some- 

 tliinjj to learn frmn and to admire: nutliing is to he condemned 

 hut what is inliarnionious and utisuital)le. These priiuiples will 

 Mssist in fcMTnin;,' a judi,niient on the works of all aa;es and nations: 

 hearing,' tliem in mind, we shall easily perceive where a style has 

 heen Imrroied — where it lias owed its orii^in to a different climate 

 Mn<i different circumstances, hy the character of unconnectedness 

 and unsuitaldeucss it is sure to retain; until some artist of pre- 

 eminent f;eniiis steps in, and successfully f(U'nis out of the mass 

 of c(dlected material, a new, national, and consistent style of 

 huildiuij. 



What can he more suhlime than the monuments of old FIfjypt, 

 where, hy simple fjrandeiir of outline and sculptured synihol, a 

 nation in the infaru^y of the world was strufjglinff to express the 

 ehildliUe earnest veneraticni for the unseen and unknown around 

 and ahout it? — or what more ludicrous than a miniature pylon in 

 the crowded tliori>iif,'hfare of a jrrcat city, or a dromos of minute 

 (iphinxes keepiui; watch over the door-scraper and snuir entrance- 

 liall of a retireil citizen's sul)urlpan villa? M'hat could he more 

 heautifiil tlian the u:litterin£r shafts of I'entclic marhle, risitifj from 

 some tall cliff, the landmark of tlie Greek adxenturcr on his home- 

 ward way, or tjleamin}^- in the sunliyht friuu amidst the consecrated 

 grore? — or what more unsuitahle than an imitation of such a temple 

 transplanted into tlie damp and fo^^'y atmosphere of England, and 

 misconstructed into doing service as a dwelling-house, with its 

 ]iortico to ohstruct the scanty light, and low-pitched roof to lodge 

 the rain and snow? Can anything he more glorious, more signifi- 

 cant than the (iothic cathedral, with its flowing lines and multi- 

 ])licati(ui of |iarts. leading the mind onward to thoughts of immen- 

 sity and infinity; and shaft upon shaft, arch and tower and piiniacle 

 rising for ever upwards, like the aspiration of the Christians? — or 

 anything move appropriate to the spirit of the age than the strong- 

 h(dd of tlie feudal haron, with its hattlemeuts and watch-towers, 

 the terror or jirotection of the surrounding district? But what 

 shall we say of a cottage in the jjointed Christian style, perhaps 

 with the addition of a row of chimneys I'l In Ciiifjiirrenio? — or of a 

 castellated mansion, in every other respect probahly, the very heau 

 ideal of peace and security? 



liy the study of the History of Architecture, hoth excellencies 

 and defects become more evident, so that I would dwell upon it 

 not merely as an iiiffdf/int/ f/iidi/^ hut as one of the highest practical 

 importance, hoth to the architect and amateur. Jt is interesting to 

 find the liii;h estimation in which the arts were held in ani-ient 

 times. During- the intervals of peace, the spoils of war and the 

 thoughts and energies of rulers and people were dedicated to the 

 adorniiH'nt of the heloved native land. 



In Egypt, the profession of artist was considered one of such 

 imiiortance, that no illiterate person was allowed to exercise it. 

 Agamedes and Trophonius, princes of Orchomenes, in Boetia, 

 received from their countrymen an apotheosis, in honour of their 

 skill in the mechanical arts. And the Etruscan lucumones, or 

 nobles, were not only the senators, and generals, and priests, hut 

 also the astronomers, engineers, and architects of their country. 

 A\'herever architecture has been encouraged, it follows naturally 

 that painting and sculpture, and all the decm-ative arts, have flou- 

 rished at the same time, and ha\e heeu held in equal estimation. 



Though \i e Ui.iy imagine buildings to have been amongst the first 

 wants of niankiud, yet, from the probable slightness of materi.-il of 

 those ]u-imiti\e constructiuns, our oldest architectural remains 

 must date many centuries subsequent to the wooden or mud huts 

 of the early r.ices. In tracing the first steps in the art, therefore, 

 we are left to mere c(mjecture. As we must suppose the first men 

 living in a warm climate, we may also imagine that little more was 

 necessary to them than wh.it Nature had bestowed — the groves for 

 shade and shelter, anil the spontaneous ]iroductions of the soil for 

 food: thus tliey lived without care or l,-.bimr. But as m.inkind in- 

 creased, it was necessary to disperse to procure a sufliciency of 

 food; and colonies from the primeval tribe, wandering to colder or 

 hotter regions where Nature was less lilieral in her gifts, they were 

 forced to think, to invent, to labour, in order to jirovide for their 

 subsistence, VVe may sujipose these early colonists divided into 

 three classes — Hunters, Sheiilierds, and .Agriculturists, 



1st, The Hunter, leading a precarious and solitary life, depend- 

 ent n])»n his own individual exertions, and fre>iuently riianging 

 his haunts in following his prey, would, when wearied by d.iy, con- 

 tent himself at night with a cave, or any other natural shelter, 

 w-here he might jirepare his food and recruit for the next day's toil. 

 This is the rudest state of existence; nor do He find the Indian or 



New Zealander in a much arreater state of civilisatiun than their 

 most remote ancestors may have been, 



^nd. The Shf/ih<:rd, living a patriarchal life in the midst of his 

 flocks and herds. As it was necessary for him to seek the open plain 

 for pasturage, lie could not have recourse to the rocks or forests 

 for shelter; and as his was a wandering life, moving off to new 

 districts as the supply of food was exhausted in the old, neither 

 could he build himself a fixed habitation: therefore, we universally 

 find a shepherd people living in tents — which, when required, could 

 be removed with all the goods and chattels appertaining. 



3rd. The Ai/riciillurixt.s- — and it is to this class we must look for 

 the first institutions of social life, and consequent progress of 

 civilisation. The agriculturist was necessarily fixed to one spot; 

 labour was divided, the industry of each became beneficial to the 

 whole. As the community increased, a small portion of the popu- 

 lation was found adequate to the tillage of the soil; the remainder 

 must therefore devise some other method of profiting by their 

 time and labour: man's energies were thus first called forth to 

 create and supply artificial wants; members of society became 

 dejiendent on each other, rights of property were acknowledged, 

 exchange of commodities effected, and laws were framed to protect 

 the weak against the strong. The increasing: wealth of the com- 

 munity demanded additional means of safety; not only were 

 houses required for the people, and buildings in which to store up 

 the grain, but walls must lie erected to protect the infant state 

 from the incursions of their less industrious neighbours. A chief or 

 king was chosen to enforce the laws, direct the councils, and lead 

 the warriors; and as all were occupied with their several avoca- 

 tions, a ]iriestliood was set apart to watch over the interests of 

 religion, and offer up sacrifices to the gods: then altars or temples 

 were erected in honour of the presiding deity, and a palace in 

 which the chosen leader might reside with becoming dignity. t)ther 

 habitations naturally multi]died around the altar and the palace: 

 and thus the first cities originated. PVequently, in the earliest 

 times, the king was at the same time high-priest; and then we 

 find, as in Egypt, the palace and temple in one, and the hall of 

 justice an essential part of the edifice, (iradually as one city 

 arose after another, communication w.as opened between them by 

 land and sea, and roads and harbours were constructed. Some 

 united together under one chief for mutual protection, others were 

 offshoots from the mother city, always acknowledging her as their 

 metropolitan: thus kingdoms were formed, and civilisation pro- 

 gressed — not only in time of peace, but in this infant state of 

 society even more rapidly in time of war, — the conquerors adding 

 the arts and learning of tlie conquered to their own previously 

 acquired knowledge. It is this transmission and diffusion of ideas 

 that makes it so difficult to point to the exact origin of any art or 

 science, and has caused so many dissertations, wliethcr to Egypt, 

 to I'hojnicia, or to India, we owe the first advance in the march of 

 human ])rogress. Letting this question rest, I prefer to speak of 

 Egypt first, as w° have more ancient, authentic, and copious 

 records of this, than of any other nation of antiquity. 



Egypt will alwiiys claim a high place in our interest. To quote 

 the words of Mr. Sharpe, after speaking of the histories of the 

 Jews, of Greece, and of Rome, he says: ".Vfter these three his 

 tories, that of Egypt may certainly claim the next place, from the 

 influence which that remarkable ciumtry has had upon the philoso- 

 phy and science of the world, and from the additions it has made 

 to the great stream of civilisation; which, after flowing through 

 ages of antiipiity, and fertilising the centuries through which it 

 has passed, is even now, in its present fulness, still coloured with 

 the earliest of the sources from which it sprung. Architecture 

 and sculpture, the art of writing, and the use of paper, mathe- 

 matics, chemistry, medicine, indeed we might add legislation, and 

 almost every art which flourishes under a settled form of govern- 

 ment, either took its rise in Egypt, or reached Europe through that 

 country," 



Before examining the Architecture of the Egyptians, it is neces- 

 sary cursorily to notice those peculiarities of situation, climate, 

 ami habits of thought, from which it took its rise, Egypt being 

 little more than a strip of country formed by the annual inunda- 

 tion of the Nile, in the midst of a sandy desert, hounded by 

 rocks, was so far isolated and protected by the nature of its situa- 

 tion, as to he less subject to those perpetual invasions and inroads 

 that form so prominent a |)art in the histiu-y of other countries. 

 ICgypt could only be attacked through narrow and difficult passes 

 from Ethiopia, Syene, or .Vrabia Nabatoea: consequently, we find 

 the same dynasty governing many hundred years. Manetho gives 

 a list of native Thinite, .Memphite, and other kings, including 

 sixteen dynasties, extending over a period (if we may believe him) 



